Our first stop during our trip to India was Jaipur.

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city is named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City of India.

We started our journey on 21st March, midnight, with Air Asia bound to Kolkata (RM 690, 3 hours of flight). From Kolkata, we boarded India's budget airline, IndiGo( Rs 13,726). All flight tickets are purchased before hand.

Our flight from Kolkata to Jaipur took about 1 hour and 30 minutes and it was a smooth flight. The sun rises very early in India. Around 6.15am and we managed to capture the sunrise during our Jaipur bound flight. The time different is 2 1/2 hours behind Malaysia.

On roaming:
Purchasing a local sim card is not easy in India. Some require a lot of documents for verification. Fret not, because internet is available at most hotel/hostels. Check with your network provider if your sim card is equip with roaming service before flying. It's more convenient that way.

On weather:
The temperature in Jaipur is around 33 degree Celsius in the day and could go down to 29 degree Celsius at night. The weather is not as hot as in Malaysia. Wear cotton clothing and something light. If you plan to go for backpacking, bring clothes with light materials where they could be washed and dry easily.

 As we arrived earlier than expected, we called the hotel to inquire if we could check in and they said the room is available for us. We stayed at Laxmi Palace Hotel. The hotel is situated near to the City Palace and other local attractions. You can check out their rates here. The price is affordable and the room and shower are spacious. What I like about this hotel is the bed is big enough to fit 3 to 4 person (with my size). You should also try their food in the hotel. They serve breakfast from 7am to 11am, lunch from 2pm to 5pm and dinner from 7pm till 11pm.

A day that we were supposed to check out from our hotel, we asked the hotel reception if we could have a shower before we check out. Just reserve a room for us to clean up after our trip to Amber Fort. The thing about budget hotels in India is, most of them are flexible enough to cater to some of your needs, like ours. You can inquire from them should you have any specific request a day before your check-out or perhaps the day when you check-in into the hotel.

The total cost was  around Rs 3,600 (Rm 220) including the hotel food we had for 3 nights. Although it is cheap, it would be nice if you could give some tips. The locals are mostly humble and helpful and they're happy if their effort are being appreciated. Like one of the hotel staff who had our needs fulfill throughout our stay (photo below). He helped us arrange tuk-tuk to bring us to our destinations, give us tips on being smart on the streets of Jaipur and we also had the chance of having a casual conversation with him. Oohhh, we gave him some tips too and I can see that he was happy and delighted.

He has been working with Laxmi Palace hotel for the past 7 years. He came all the way from Calcutta (24 hours of train ride) and only goes back to his home town once a year for a month. Interesting part is he only sleeps around 5 hours a day. His work schedule starts from 5am till 2 am with 2 hours of sleeps between 2pm to 4pm, and 2am to 5am. We had a pleasant stay in Laxmi Palace and recommend you to stay here and say hi to him if you do see him :-)

I don't deny that what you heard and see about India on TV are true. But behind those things, India is a unique and perhaps a systematic city. Their system maybe old but they work in their own way.

Pigs hanging out by the road side

Extreme pollution

Continuous honking on the road

Donkeys, cows, dogs and horses around the city

Extreme driving

Extremely dirty street

*This post contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.

The city is filled with animals roaming around the street. When I say animals, expect to see pigs and dogs. Definitely not the average animals you can find on the streets of Malaysia. Certain places you can even spot horses and donkeys. However, the animals you see on the streets of India are majority tame unlike some that you see in our country.

India, officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya),is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

 India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

 India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.

A few tips that I pick up along the way:

1. For Muslims, advisable to bring a bottle or a bar of sabun sertu.

2. Wear shoes at all the time because most places are dusty and some parts are muddy.

3. Bring a face mask because the air is heavily polluted especially in Agra.

4. Tuk-tuk price is negotiable. Ask the hotel staff on the average price before calling for a for tuk-tuk because some tuk-tuk driver might charge you at high price.

5. If you're lost, don't panic. Ask the local who looked well dressed.

6. Not all local speaks English. If this happen, use word and body language. They'll be able to understand. Speak one by word in a slow manner.

7. Do not consume their road side food as they're mostly unhygienic.

8. Try not to take taxi unless if it is necessary. Taking tuk-tuk will enable you to see a clear picture of how India real thing is.

9. Don't travel alone. Bring along a partner or a friend. A group of 4 will be a nice number.

10. I also noticed that the locals are more interested in Asians compare to the whites, so try to dress down when you travel and avoid bright colors.

Since this is my first post on our journey to India, let me start with how did this trip came up.

It all started with a 'ping' notification on my Facebook. I checked. It was from Dianah, my sister. It was a reply to my question, whether she'll be coming back to Malaysia for her upcoming semester break. Not sure, was her reply. She then changed the topic into persuading me to visit India. BACKPACKing. She said she can be my tour guide. In fact it was her 2nd trip to India. The first was when she visited my dad a couple of years ago, which I also tailed later on.

The first thing that went through my mind when she mentioned the word, BACKPACKing was....dirty laundry, sweat, stink, dusty. But hey, there's always a first time for everything. I dragged Juan along.

She said she plans to backpack again before flying back, this time with one of her AFS friend and thought we might be interested to join. I asked Juan, and the rest was history. By the time we knew, we were in front of the PC, applying for visa..

Penang-Kuala Lumpur-Kolkata-Jaipur-Agra-Shimla-Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur-Penang.
 That was our itinerary. Dianah was supposed to arranged for our hotel, train tickets and return ticket. While I was in charge of purchasing tickets for myself and Juan to Jaipur which will be our meet up point. The plan started in November. The preparation for the trip didn't take much effort as I was familiar with some things there except there were few unexpected things I stumbled throughout my stay.

And so the adventure starts......

We're still in one of the country where one of the 7 wonders of the world is situated.

We'll be back next week and I'll share some photos.

Pray for our safe return and at the mean time, have a great weekend.

As you age, your skin loses it's collagen and suppleness. Your food intake and product usage comes hand in hand. A good skin regime is important to make sure that your skin stays fresh, clean and retain the suppleness. 

I decided to give Safi Rania Diamond a try after much said and advert about the product. It's an over-the-counter product that you can easily purchase from Watson, Guardian and other major supermarket. Priced at less than RM 60, this product could either be working or it's just another failed investment towards a youthful skin.

I had Safi Rania Diamond in my possession for over a month. What I like about this product, it has the illusion of shimmers on your face that makes it glowy. It also has a sweet smell. The texture is slightly thick and the serum doesn't absorb immediately into your skin after application. Wait for a few second, then follow by your face cream.

 Pimpin Aku Ke Syurga, Afdholul Rahman

Internet today is a must-have travel item and most gadgets are Wi-Fi ready. However, when you are travelling in a group and need connectivity on the go, it is best to get a Wi-Fi router and create a hot spot so that that it can connect multiple devices at one go.

Before getting yourself a pocket wifi, take these into consideration:

• Data plans

If you are buying a locked device, check the data plans offered by the internet service provider.

There will be several plans offered under prepaid and postpaid categories. At times, service providers offer the device at a very cheap price but have expensive data plans.

• Locked or unlocked

This is one of the most important factor – is the device locked to a specific service provider? If you are getting the device very cheap, there is a very high possibility that the router is locked to a service provider. If you buy a locked device, you will not be able to use it with any other service providers. If you are investing your money into a Pocket Wi-Fi Router, go for an unlocked device so that you can change your service provider whenever you want.

• How many devices to connect at a time

Check how many devices can be connected to the router. Mostly, devices allow five connections, which seem to be reasonable. Depending on the usage, if you have a bigger family or plan to use it for small office, you may want to go for devices that allow higher number of connections.

• Compatibility with your service provider

Think about the service provider you are going to use most of the time. Not every internet service provider will have coverage in all areas. And not every wireless router will be compatible with every service providers. Before you buy a portable WiFi hotspot device, check if it is compatible with your SIM, USB datacard and the service provider.

• 3G/4G Data Card support

3G and 4G is on a roll. To enjoy high speed internet access, before purchasing a pocket Wi-Fi router ensure that the router supports 3G/ 4G Data Card.

• Wi-Fi speed

One of the crucial thing one should keep in mind before buying.

Courtesy of The Indian Express