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by Melissa TerrisThree things to know before traveling to India:
The primary reason for my travel to India in 2019, was for a good friend’s wedding (Hi Vinnie 👋🏾). When she told me that the wedding would take place in India, I was ecstatic. I had never visited India, and it contained one of the most beautiful world wonders, in my opinion - Taj Mahal. Once we found out about the big day we began planning.
One of the first things that needed to be done was to get a visa, which leads me to tip number one. An e-visa isn’t hard to acquire. You need to go online and provide personal information, and within a few days (about one week) you’ll be issued the e-visa (the website I used was here). The validity period of the visa is 60 days from the date of first arrival in India. However, if you are like me and you don’t fill in information correctly or your photo is blurry, it will be rejected and you’ll have to do it by mail. This process is more in-depth, requiring you to mail in your passport and then you will have an official visa placed into your passport. It’s more expensive and time consuming but worth it for a trip to India.
The next tip is booking a tour. The company that we picked was ‘Private 3 day Golden Triangle Tour’. (Their website is here) This tour includes hotel stay, some meals, and a private tour guide, I’d say it’s definitely worth it. A recent check of prices was $781 per traveler, but with a large party the price can be significantly cheaper. This tour includes visits to the city of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. A quick google search and you’ll find a lot of similar tours, I’d advise you to read the reviews and go with the one you feel is the best.
A flight to Delhi is about 14 hours non-stop. Our flight landed at night, but once the sun rose and the city was awake it was busy and fast paced. We walked the streets where people were getting haircuts on the road, and selling all types of goods. I loved every minute of it. The first step was to go for our bridesmaids dress fittings, and what better way to get there than a rickshaw?! We traversed traffic with such ease you’d forget that you were in one of the world’s worst traffic-congested cities.
Our tour started the next day; the stops in Delhi included Humayun ‘s tomb, Isa Khan garden tomb, and the lotus temple. The following day we were up by 5 am all for a glimpse at the world famous Taj Mahal. This is my third tip, you MUST see the Taj Mahal while in India. Make sure you arrive early to avoid the long lines and crowds, and you’ll be there for hours taking in the stunning white mausoleum made of beautiful marble. Next we were off to Agra fort where you’d be able to explore the interior and interesting architecture. After many hours on the road we made it to the city of Jaipur. On our way you’ll see the Hawa Mahal, which is another stunning structure. We visited the Palace of Raja Man Singh which we traveled to by elephant.
After finishing up our three day city tour, we made it back to Delhi for our flight to Punjab for all the pre-wedding and wedding festivities. A Sikh wedding includes many customs and traditions, however, I’ll stick to the first part of the wedding day which included the Baraat which was the groom's procession. He rode in on a horse, surrounded by close friends and family. His procession included Bhangra dance, singing, and drummers.
Following the Baraat, was the Milni, which is the welcoming of the Baraat by the bride's family. Then off to the Gurdwara, which is the Sikh place of worship for the ceremony or Anand Karaj. The ceremony was under an hour, and was very much what you would expect at a traditional western wedding ceremony with hymns and singing, but with some distinct differences. Following the ceremony the post wedding celebration begins, this included food, dancing, and did I mention dancing(?) more food, and did I mention food and tons of fun(?!) The celebrations were so vibrant and full of unbelievable energy; we had an amazing time! The people of India were kind and inquisitive, I’d highly recommend you visit.
While in Asia however, we didn’t want to make India our only stop so the journey continues. Catch the next post to see the next destination.
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