Stokoe Westbergs in India: We did not expect ...

... this day to turn out the way it did!

Saturday April 19, 2014
Our original plan was to go to the zoo in Dehli. Driver ordered and we went to bed at a decent hour. Saturday morning the phone rings, and we are suddenly invited to lunch at Di Ghent Café, a Belgian restaurant at the Cross Point Mall here in Gurgaon by a colleague of Ian's and his wife. OK, Dehli and the zoo will still be there next weekend ...
A really nice place, and they told us it is pretty much the only place where they trust the cleanliness enough to actually order a sallad. I have been yearning for a good, crisp sallad for 3 weeks now, and of course ordered one. So did Ian. One with Rocket, goat's cheese and pomegranate seeds. Yummy!

A few hours later, after a lovely lunch with interesting discussion, we head across the road to the Galleria Market. Ian needed new glasses and we had been recommenced someone there. Ian had to wait 5 minutes to get in, examination took about 20 minutes, choosing frames another 10 - done! And the glasses ready to pick up the following day. Brilliant.

Park Plaza again ...

Back at the hotel we were again very happy to have more than one bathroom ... Sallad? Water? Something else? Who knows ...

In any case, we had no inclination to have any more food ... so we just stayed in the room.
Towards 9 pm Maia suddenly says that there is a procession in the street below. We had heard a lot of noise for a while, but we seem to have gotten used to it already. Weddings in India can be very noise!

We look out and see ... a LOT of bright lights and a float moving up the street.

I grab my camera and in a minute we are on the street ... with a lot of other people including tourists.

The "driver" is a very beautiful man in a fantastic costume The whole carriage is decorated with flowers.

The carriage was pulled by this impressive pair:

The carriage and the wedding guests were flanked on both sides by guys who carry either parasols or lamps powered - by electricity!

Can you see, that there are cables going to and from this lamp? All of them are interconnected! They had to stay at the right distance from each other at all times. Careful not to trip!