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Heading to India!

jsleikjsleik
100 Comments
in South Asian Weddings
So with one wedding down, we're off for the second one next week!  I think we have all of the presents we need to bring packed, but now I'm starting to think about what I need to bring along.  For all of you ladies who have gotten married in India, what am I forgetting to bring?  My MIL has my wedding sari.  I'm bringing my mangla sutra.  But what else do I need to bring?  We're doing 1 week in Kolkata, having the reception there and then a week traveling around Rajasthan.  I'm thinking make-up, jewelry, toilettries, clothing options, all of it!

Thanks in advance!
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Re: Heading to India!

  • RyansBelovedBrideRyansBelovedBride member
    500 Comments
    Congratulations!! I don't have any advice, just wanted to say congrats and have a wonderful time!
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    "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." -Isaiah 61:10 NKJV
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  • temurlangtemurlang member
    1000 Comments Third Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited January 2012
    I've been thinking about you!

    Couple of things off the top of my head (I might think of more in the morning):

    My usual travel med kit includes:  Imodium, Advil/Eccedrin, Pepto, Cipro, Neosporin, Benadryl, and band-aids.  Insect repellent is a blessing in Kolkata, and you'll want sunblock too.  If you have a sensitive stomach I recommend carrying power bars, just so you... you may not be able to get appropriate food if you feel sick, and with power bars at least you won't starve.

    Kolkata will probably be hot, and when I' wasn't wearing a silwar kameez I went with lightweight trekking pants.  Delhi and Jaipur should be pleasant and you could wear jeans.  I always keep a scarf handy for modesty emergencies and pollution protection.  Flat but thick soles on shoes are ideal.

    For the wedding events I recommend bringing a few pairs of shoes since you haven't seen the saris.  I took gold, silver, and black, and didn't use the black.  Also, bring safety pins.  If you get dressed in the salon they will pin you securely, but if you put on a sari at home you'll want them (MIL doesn't use them, and thus doesn't keep many at home).

    If you have specific hair and makeup preferences or needs, bring everything!  For example, the salons do not have makeup primer or setter, base or top coats for nail polish, sulfate-free shampoos, etc.  Also, if you do go to a salon, take your own makeup for hygiene reasons, but watch it closely... some of mine vanished.

    Make sure you have plenty of room in your luggage for the stuff you'll bring back.  The gifts your taking should be about equal in volume, but we ended up with a weight-distribution issue.  I think checked bags can weigh up to 50, but the Asian airlines are strict with carry-ons (maybe 20).
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  • ShazasScrapbookShazasScrapbook
    10 Comments

    oooh one week - goodluck! I hope you have a fabulous time!

    Although I'm not from India, I'm going to suggest the following:
    - Make sure you take something for Travellers Diarrhea!!
    - Like the above, power bars are great!
    - Toilet paper
    - Primer, primer, primer! Not sure how hot it'll be in the cities you're going to but my makeup melts off my face as soon as I'm in Pakistan
    - Advil/Tylenol/any med you can take from here... for some reason, meds from there don't ever work on me. Soo I always travel with my own :)

    Just be careful when you're eating outside - always have mineral water and always ask for a straw!

    I hope you have an awesome time!

    Follow my blog as I plan my multi-day wedding!

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  • jsleikjsleik
    100 Comments
    Thanks for the ideas!!!  I would have forgotten my make-up primer I spent a fortune on for the wedding here!  :-)  I was just sizing up my cereal bar box from Costco and deciding if that was enough! 

    If anyone thinks  of anything else, let me know!!  Now to go add to my list....  (which yes, my husband has typed up for me!)

    Oh, and please settle this debate for us - do you guys use locks on your luggage?  I never have used one.  He won't travel without one. 

    Thanks!!
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  • temurlangtemurlang member
    1000 Comments Third Anniversary Combo Breaker
    The US generally won't let you use a lock on your luggage, unless it's one of those that the TSA can open.  I used to have one, but it was stolen off my luggage!  So, no, we don't lock our luggage.  Really valuable stuff (passport, wallet, money, wedding jewellery, cameras, iphones, laptop, etc.) stays on our person or in the carry-on.

    Note that not every hotel in India has a safe.  We didn't have any problems, but I wouldn't leave anything too accessible.

    BTW, which hotels are you staying in in Kolkata and Jaipur?

    Another thing I thought of is flip-flops for indoors.  Stone floors can be chilly in winter, and many homes and some hotels will have neither carpeting nor heat.  Also, if you stay somewhere with an Asian bathroom and your H is anything like mine, it will be a swamp in there after he showers, so flip-flops help out there too.

    I feel prepared for our next trip now, too, after thinking of all this!  SIL has finally set the date as April 14th!
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  • jsleikjsleik
    100 Comments
    Temurlang - congrats on the wedding date!!  That is great news! 

    Thanks for the flip-flop advice.  We just a discussion about flooding the bathroom before he left yesterday!  :-)  So I'm sure that will be an issue!  Also, I won't bother with the locks then.  I knew they had to be TSA-OK'ed, but I just don't think it'd be that hard to copy that key, so what's the point? 

    Sooooo excited!!!
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