Dhanyavaad, India!

Hey guys! I'm finally going back to Manila tomorrow (after 3 weeks of being here in India) and thankfully, I had the time to write today so I'll be updating my blog. If you are curious about the title of this post, it actually means "Thank you, India".
This isn't my first time in the country. I went here last 2016 and stayed or a week and a half. However, that was purely a work trip. This time though, it's still work-related but we (I'm with 2 co-workers, Eric and Sarah) managed to squeeze in a 3-day side-trip to the north and actually see the beauty this majestic country could offer.


Here's us by the way, we really are working hard here (HAHA):

So from Bangalore (South) we travelled via plane for 2 hours to the northern part of India. We went first to Jaipur. Jaipur is known to be the Pink City mainly because most of its buildings are pink in color. As per history, the city was painted pink to impress Prince Albert during his 1876 tour in India. Here's a picture I got from Google so you'd have the idea on how pink it is:

In Jaipur, we toured around Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar, Panna Meena Ka Kund. We also went to this shop (Ratnavali) wherein they showed us how to make jewelries from precious stones. I got a special pair of earrings for myself and ordered some bracelets for some friends.

Sharing some pictures in no particular order:

 

On our first night, we stayed at a hotel in Jaipur. We then left for Agra the following morning. We booked a tour service and it was a whole 5-hour trip with which we actually did not feel at all since we just pretty much slept the whole time.

Next stop, was Agra. Agra is where you will see the incredible Taj Mahal. Without wasting any time, we immediately went ahead as soon as we reached Agra. Most of the landmarks we went to had an entrance fee of around 500 to 600 rupees (roughly around 400 to 450 pesos), while for Taj Mahal it was at 1100 rupees (roughly around 750 pesos). It was Sunday and it was incredibly humid! There were also lots of people. But seeing Taj Mahal made it all worth it. Since this is already our topic, I wanted to share some interesting Taj Mahal facts which I also learned from that tour:

- The Taj Mahal is made up of pure white marble built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. In Arabic, the Taj Mahal is known as "crown of palaces". Inside the Taj is where you can see the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Unfortunately she died while giving birth to their 9th child

- It took 17 years to build! With the help of 22,000 laborers and thousands of elephants. Some say that when the Taj was finished, the emperor ordered to chop off the hands of the workers so they will not be able to make something as amazing as it ever again

Enough with the talking, share some pictures we took:

After visiting Taj Mahal, we went around and toured Agra more. We ate north Indian food which is my favorite (most favorite I could recommend would be Buttered Chicken paired up with Butter Garlic Naan). We also went to this shop (JK Cottage Industries) which specializes in marble. Their pieces were so beautiful that I know I just had to buy a souvenir. I got a marble mama elephant and a baby elephant as well - they say it's good luck :)
We also went to this place called Red Fort, it could pass as a location for Game of Thrones :D

On the same day, we travelled from Agra to Delhi which was a good 5 hour ride again. But again, we just slept as our itinerary was always packed.
Delhi is the capital city of India - it's your usual city, full of tall buildings and all. But they also have their share of historic places and we were able to tour it on our 3rd day.
We went to India Gate, Qutb Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the Parliament House.

I am now blogging this in my Bangalore hotel and I could say that I am very pleased with my India trip this time around. Taj Mahal has been crossed out of my bucket list and I can't wait to cross off more! But for now, I am so excited to come home to my family and to my Paul. Three weeks is three weeks and I'm sure they are missing me so much. <3

Xoxo,

Ellie <3

India 2018

Hey guys! I've had an adhoc 3-week travel to India (due to work). It's much longer than my stay way back 2016, but the good thing here is that I got to do a side-trip to the north! I will be blogging the whole thing... but for now, here's me at the one and only Taj Mahal! It was soooo majestic! <3

Will do a follow-up post later this week. Right now, I'm just so excited to go back home to the Manila :)

Xoxo,

Ellie <3

 

Alternate Reality

In some other universe, there's a version of us apart
And they are constantly wishing to have each other's heart
They believe that in a different universe, another version of them is together
That is you and me, we are the parallel universe's version of forever

- Mara Manzano (07/24/2018)

Home

When Paul and I broke up last summer, and me having all the affirmation in the world that I'm fine (when I'm really not LOL), I did what any heartbroken person would do - I deleted ALL of our pictures in my phone, Facebook and Instagram. Yes, I took that awful step - which I now regret. :(
As it turns out, we were able to find our way back to each other's arms and thankfully Paul still has his copies, but I lost mine :( And realizing this, I am sooo glad that I kept my blog updated! Good thing I did not lose my mind there and deleted my posts.
With this, I realized that my blog really has become my online diary. I even joke that if ever one day I will lose my memory, at least I have my blog to check and look on to.
Now since I have a lot of catching up to do.. let's start.


Paul and I went to Baguio for his 29th birthday. Baguio is very special for us, so going there again for his birthday trip and our 1st trip since getting back together makes it even more special!

Late June, we had another first! We tried shooting (with a real gun yes) in a shooting range. It's actually Paul's father's day gift for Tito Roland (his dad) and I'm just glad he tagged me along. It was really so much fun! The whole month was pretty stressful for us in terms of work and releasing it through this one is a whole lot of fun.

And just recently, we went to Tagaytay to attend a good friend's wedding. We made sure to make the most out of it so we took a side trip to Batangas and stayed there for 3 days - making sure that we are just near the wedding venue. We stayed at Canyon Woods since the wedding took place at Caleruega. There was a storm at that time but our stay couldn't be more pleasant and relaxing. We took a break from all the riot of the real world and had a quality time together.

Well truth be told, I can say that we've come out stronger than before. We became more mature and with everything that's happening, we're lucky to have gotten a chance to have a glimpse of our future... a life that is happy, exciting and full of love. If I were to ask one thing then that would be good health for the both of us - so we can continue to enjoy and live our lives to the fullest. This time around, it's for good. <3

xoxo, Ellie

P.S. How beautiful is my bouquet? Paul got them for me when

he fetched me from work a few weeks back. Sweetums! <3