We had heard so many horror stories about India that we were prepared for the worst. As anticipated, it was crowded, dirty and a little confronting, but all of this didn't bother us nearly as much as we'd expected. Perhaps we've been severely desensitised spending so much recent time in the developing world...

Except for the constant stream of loud farts coming from the old guy sleeping across from us, our first sleeper train to Delhi was actually pretty comfortable. Arriving in the centre of old town Delhi, we avoided the hustlers and sidestepped our way to the very modern and convenient metro system, which carried us out to Mayur Vihar. One of the wealthier outer suburbs of New Delhi, this is where the wedding festivities were to be held.

Aidan's cousin, Kiran, was adopted from an orphanage in Hyderabad over 30 years ago. She married Neeraj, an Indian Bollywood producer, in Australia a couple of years ago, and ever since then they've been planning a second wedding in Delhi. Conveniently for us, this managed to line up perfectly with our travel plans, and they seemed impressed that we were able to find our way to the front door of Neeraj's family home.

We stayed at the nearby empty apartment of a family friend with the three sisters, namely Aidan's mum and two Aunties, Ali and Robyn (Kiran's adopted mum). It was comfortable but a little bit strange as we slept in the prayer room, which was full of statues of Ganesh, the elephant god, and photos of various Hindu Gurus. Spending time with Aidan's family was great, and we both got to know them a little better than before. We also discovered that Neeraj comes from a very talented family. We met professional dancers, musicians, television producers and an uncle who had just published a beautiful book of photographs from the remote Indian Bhuddist region of Sikkim! This was a very different side of India to the crowded streets, pollution and poverty that most people associate with the country.

We arrived just in time for Holi, which is basically the day when all of India lets each other know how much they care by covering them in paint and water! At some point we were introduced to a happy herbal drink called 'Bang', and with everyone looking like a piece of saturated artwork we proceeded to dance, sing, eat, drink and paint each other a bit more. A couple of weeks later and we still have patches of pink and green in our hair!

The festivities spread over two full days, which is apparently short for an Indian wedding. The first event was Puja, which is a couple of hours worth of music, prayers and singing. Aidan helped to keep the rhythm by shaking a wooden board threaded with cymbals, while Jess helped with some of the singing and chanting. In the evening a Mendhi artist turned up to decorate all the girls hands and arms with Henna. It was a slow process as there was only one artist for dozens of waiting girls, but everyone was patient and passed the time with some good Bollywood style dancing!

The second day was a bit more serious as we were joined by a Hindu priest, or Sadhu. This was the Hindu equivalent of taking vows. Everybody sat in a circle with the bride and groom and the Sadhu led them through a series of delicate rituals, including an indoor open wood fire, a number of blessings, symbolic gestures and offerings of fruit to various Gods. This is a very deep, spiritual and superstitious religion and beginning to understanding all the intricacies seems to be a challenge even for most Indians! The main thing that we did manage to work out was that by the end of it, Kiran and Neeraj were officially wed, for the second time!

The reception began with a parade from the house to the venue. For two or three kilometers, Neeraj trotted along on a white horse while everyone else danced along to the beat of drums and a full brass band! When we reached the venue we found a grand entrance decorated to welcome us, but soon realised that this wasn't meant for us. Ours wasn't the only wedding of the night and we had to go through a security scanner and up an escalator to reach our reserved section of the building.. Someone worked out there were seven wedding receptions occurring in the same building that night!

This was definitely the main event and friends and family from all over India turned up for it. The food was amazing and plentiful, the dancing was relentless and the photography unshameful. Being a strict Hindu event, we didn't touch a drop of alcohol, but somehow still woke up the next day with a hangover!

As it was Aidan's mum and Aunt's only chance, we decided to ignore our body's cries for rest and take a day trip out to Agra the next day. Aidan and his Mum had been to visit the Taj Mahal about 25 years before, but neither could remember it very clearly. After accidentally booking standing tickets for the three hour train journey, we realised our mistake and managed to upgrade to some more comfortable seats. We decided that we're all getting a little bit old for that, although the two of us will definitely try it out before we leave the country.

The memories came flooding back to Mum as we turned down the waiting camel drivers and walked down the esplanade leading to India's proudest building. The crowds were not nearly as bad as we'd expected, and it was actually very peaceful wandering around the outer gardens with peacocks, hawks, monkeys and chipmunks all around. The Taj Mahal was built as a grand mausoleum for a much loved Princess, and as such, is a very romantic place. With Mum and Ali around, we saved the romance for another time and spent the afternoon appreciating the intricate marble carvings, and trying to capture the best sunset photo of this amazing place!

Getting back to Delhi was another adventure on it's own. Racing against the peak hour traffic, we narrowly missed the last train back to the capital. Mum and Ali had to catch a flight to Amritsar early the next morning, so we had no choice but to get a taxi for the four hour journey. After stopping somewhere random to borrow a drivers uniform, changing a punctured tyre and asking a few slummers for directions, we finally made it home by around 1am!

We spent the last couple of days exploring the markets around new and old Delhi, while getting our heads around a slightly more concrete plan about how to spend the next few weeks. Thanks to the Indian Railway's convenient and accessible service for unorganised foreign tourists, our next stop is the holy Hindu city of Varanasi!