- Preeti -

Back to School

2011-10-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

Going back to college after working for 8 years can be a daunting (even scary), but very worthwhile experience.

Why is the return to school such a moving experience?

No doubt there is a different motivation for just about anyone considering this otherwise pointless musing of mine, but when you really get down to the core of it, wouldn’t you say it is because the ‘back to school’ experience (and ultimately life’s entire educational process for that matter) is a necessary progression in life that all of us look forward to? It’s sort of like reading a book.

As you experience each page the anticipation builds with each chapter you turn to. As our worlds turn we eagerly anticipate turning the pages of our lives, leading into each new chapter as though we are engrossed in an awe-inspiring story

We are living out our own adventure, drama, fantasy, folklore, love story, and mystery all wrapped up into one if you will. There would be something incredibly wrong if we didn’t look forward to turning the pages of our lives to reveal a new chapter of our ever-revolving world. The back to school experience is merely another of those vehicles we use to ride on (like a school bus you could say) in our emotionally and socially developing journey.

Once I came back to school, I realized, it’s an experience one never outgrows quite frankly.

No worries about offshore calls, no worries about meeting project deadlines, resource allocations, performance appraisals ..yuk…and no stress about consulting in super bore towns.

Well, absence of paycheck does make you look forward to happy hours and sale shopping but who doesn’t enjoy and $2 beer!

School started with pre-mba classes, during which I met couple of my classmates. As everybody, I was a little lost and confused for the first couple of weeks but I got to know my classmates better, made some amazing friends, went to Germany, Brussels, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden on amazing, supposedly “study-trips” and loved every minute of the one year at school.

I had my favorite and not so favorite professors, absolutely adorable and not so tolerable classmates; thoroughly enjoyable sustainability classes and super scary Accounting and Finance.

But what totally killed me was “writing”. Yes, writing. I mean writing 5,10,15,20 and even a freaking 40 page papers for assignments, case analysis and what not….Gosh! Whatever happened to bullet point writing people!

Even the painful papers, writing, tests, presentations, bad grades were exciting and fun coz I knew this was it…this was my last chance to re-live or rather live-it-up again before getting back to the daily work grind…

Ah those days - Hanging out with friends every day, every evening, every weekend…studying hard…partying harder….I think I had enough alcohol within one year of school to make up for the last 8 years of I’m-a-grown-up-drinking J

I miss it all….

Germany-Brussels

2011-10-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

So, this was our first school trip in Feb. Obviously, it was super exciting coz I had never travelled with so many friends together.

Trust me, there is no place on earth and no flight to that place on earth that can be boring if you are with 24 good friends.

For me , fun started right from the drive to the airport. We carpooled, met everybody at the airport and even before the flight was boarded, intoxication was at its highest!! J

Everybody ridiculed my bright yellow suitcase but I forgave them when they hauled it all over the train station without an elevator….

Well, cologne was beautiful, the cathedral was breathtaking, the late night doner kebabs, shopping with girls, day trips to Bonn and vw and dhl was all fun.

But the highlight of the trip had to be when we all heard “The Barbara Streisand” song for the first time in a nightclub in cologne – the already boisterous group of smbaers went ouuta control..hahhaha….

Schnitzelllllll and Kulsh….more please…

Sweden-Denmark-Finland-Iceland

2011-10-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

The first trip to cologne was so much fun that there was immense pressure on the second trip to match up to it…

The second trip was to Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. We started in Sweden with the most good-looking Swedish boys from the Lund school. It was great to meet up with other sustainability students, who were as interested in the environment and also having a good time as us. Due to lack of funds and also lack of places to go out to on a weeknight, we all played a heated game of asshole which ended in an argument and card games that ended in ev

erybody drunk and dancing till dawn in the pantry of the school lodge.

Stockholm was breathtakingly blue. If there is one thing that makes Stockholm stand out, then it is its relationship with water. The city was built on 14 islands, all connected with bridges for cars AND pedestrians, and you never have to walk far to get a stunning view over the water. Loved it!

Copenhagen was beautiful and not so adventurous until the evening dinner, which was followed by some exchange of gifts bought from Christiania…followed by ice cream – t’was perfect!

The cruise from Stockholm to Helsinki was one of a kind with the weirdest crowd, the weirdest bars and weirdest food-Pyttipanna...u name it - it was all weird..

Helsinki was not much to talk about until Iceland won the world cup of hockey and suddenly a cold, quiet windy city turned into a crazy frenzy with people screaming and dancing on top of cars, in open car boots and all over the place, really.

A road trip from Reydarfjordur in Eastern Iceland to Reykjavik gave us an amazing scenic view of Iceland.

The wonderful phenomenon to note was that it was bright at 10:00pm when we entered the clubs and it was bright at 3:00 am when we stepped out for a snack and it was still bright at 5:00am when we were walking back to the hotel after a long bright night…

And the city that never goes dark, literally doesn’t sleep as well – we lived up the last night of the trip with some amazing friends, lovely strangers and some hard-hitting Brennivín (aka "Black Death")…

Some of the paintings i have made in the last 5 years..

2011-07-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

My first - All Good Music Fest

2010-08-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

As music-and-camping festivals become more and more ubiquitous, there are increasing lengths that enthusiasts go to get to their favorite summer haunts.
These “massive festies” will certainly not fail to be a party touched with large-scale hedonism, nearly 24-hour activity and welcomed sensory overload.
Just to make it clear, I had never attended any music festival ever until I went for the All Good this summer.

Before I went for the festival, my expectation was that these types of festivals with camping will guarantees a sense of airiness on the grounds and a more relaxed, alternative camping experience.
I went with an open mind as all of these have their merits, their ecstasies and their gripes. To each his own, and as is often the case, all to each.
The festival started with amazing music, DSO and so on and so forth – truly amazing bands and groups ranging from Phil Lesh to Umphrey’s Mcgee….While I had just started enjoying the music…..Just then– drum roll, please – there came the “dirty festies” part - categorized by excessive, blatant drug use and sharing and selling; a higher percentage of hard drugs.
All of this was in the middle of the main campground road during the early afternoon, and this sort of thing was commonplace in all places and at all time throughout the festival. For me - disbelief abounded.
Music was abundant – There was non stop good music and among several dozen acts, this kind of music could not go wrong in a million years and a billion dimensions. The sonic journeys are plentiful and unending, and I believe that the music is (or should be) the true reason for any festival’s following or attendance; but I had to question that after my experience.
Yet atmosphere, community spirit and fellow festivalgoers’ intent indeed played an important role in my experience. After all, one cannot constantly glue one’s eyes and ears to a particular stage and completely block out all else; food probably has to be procured at some point, ice bought, sleep had, campground visited. Probably have to talk to someone at some point.

Ultimately, whether festivals truly have “grit” or not depends on what experience each individual festivalgoer makes for him or herself while there.
I tried to come to the shows of interest and have a quieter, and just as enjoyable, time amongst nature(or whatever was left of it) and good friends.
I think, festivals should be about freedom of expression, escaping daily, often mundane toil in the workaday world and the exuding and absorption of creativity.
How certain people choose to express, escape, exude or absorb differs widely, and it is up to each to find their niche while there.
True – an abundance of those in the red zone, so to speak, can usher in negativity for the crowd at large
In the meantime, there’s enough goodness remaining for “All Good” ..I guess….

So I might as well begin to put some action in my life - Breaking the world record..

2010-06-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

So what do you do to be part of a new Guinness World Record? Easy, go to Pittsburgh and canoe on the confluence of Pittsburgh's three rivers – I was lucky to find this event just in time for my travel to Pittsburgh.
I was excited about it all week and then the eventful day arrived. The effort was to form the largest fleet of canoes and kayaks in one location, hoping to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
We and 1800 or so other canoeists and kayakers got together on Saturday in an effort to set a new world record.
Once we got to the venue, registering and finding a canoe was easy, but then came the long wait to get into the water…
We were hoping that all the dark clouds and overcast skies don’t affect the event that we were so much looking forward to. Thankfully, it didn’t.
Once we were in the water , there were traffic issues :) thousands of canoes and kayaks floating around and we were trying our best to maneuver through, there was a little bit of “NOT HERE…PADDLE THERE!!..between me and my friend but we made without hurting each other or anybody else :)
Once we were all there, we all held each other’s canoes and kayaks when we came to know that we need to completely off land and some of the canoes/kayaks were close to the banks so a fleet of numerous canoes magically moved towards the center..imagine, asking hundreds and thousands of people to move a little left.,….errr a little right…just a little left …felt like a family photograph being taken where everbody needs to move a little left and then a little right :)
Anyways, it was brilliant , colorful paddles held up we made the record and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better …baseball sized rain drops started hitting my head – the downpour lasted just a few seconds but was enough to make the memorable day a little more fun…

Check out the timelapse video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bcpq5quYow&feature=player_embedded
Kayakers launched their boats from downtown and formed a raft near Point State Park. Once arranged, each pulled up his or her paddle and held onto an adjacent boat for 30 seconds—long enough to satisfy the record's time requirement.
See everyone get completely drenched at 0:36.

Berry Picking..Yayyyyy...

2010-06-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

As our car bumps and rumbles through the mud roads of rogers, we notice beautiful fields, crazy dogs and lazy cows and buffalos. It’s still morning but the sun was beating down like crazy, where the trees overlooking the berry farm are heavy with deep cool shade. Reaching into the fragrant, scraggly branches, tugging the strawberry free as the sun starts to warm ... could there be a more perfect summer ritual?
Even for those of us who grew up far from the countryside, the first nip of crisp air and hint of color in the trees seem to awaken some primal urge to harvest. And so we head to the fields and farms to do what comes naturally: pick berries. We picked berries worth 6 $ but the experience was priceless, my basket had the best and the biggest and brightest strawberries…
Pickers like us, I say 

2010-04-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Fencing – Bow politely aannddd ATTACK!!
I have been interested in fencing for very many years, the white suit, the black mask, the stance and the swords swishing – it just has a certain honorable baronial charm to it which I was absolutely taken over by.
So a few months ago, I finally decided to join fencing lessons. And just as I had thought, the sport not only “looks” honorable , but also the rules are very much on the same lines…
l Break off your attack if you see that your adversary is about to retreat into an obstacle to his rear.
l Respect your adversary's weapon as though it were sharp.
It’s obviously not a sport for someone who is interested in fighting off attackers in a dark alley. A prissy nobleman following the rules of the Code Duello – sure – fencing is your game then my boy.
People argue that fencing is not even close to real swordsmanship and that if you really had to fight someone you would never bother about the rules yaaaadi yaada n all that.
Me lord, if I may, here is my defense to that - if you were the kind of person who couldn't comprehend "formal duel" then you wouldn't be fighting one. You should go straight to the horsewhipping. You don't duel with thugs; you have your retainers beat them up J
I think that's all the viewpoints are fair and well said. Though I think that fencing can be viewed as a pure sport as well, without being too concerned about its history.
(Admittedly, though, the history and romance is part of the joy of fencing, just as much as is the sport of it all. I know that I can easily imagine myself wearing a cape and plume as I step up to the piste!)

2010-03-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

Make a Wish.Its my B'day!
When you are little, every birthday is a big one. But when you grow up, it just feels right to let them get small. When my friends and family asked how I wanted to celebrate my birthday this year - I was at a loss to answer. I count it as a gift to have reached an age at which I am content to observe the date - or overlook it.
Ten felt very big-those two digits, And 13, which made it official: childhood is memory now; life is PG-13.Sixteen was sweet:18 was freedom...Your self hatches again and again between birthdays, so marking them has meaning-turn 14 and grow five inches, turn 17 and fall in love...wonder what it is for me now....
But at some point, all that changes, once time is not sliced into semesters anymore. How different really is 27 from 26, or 42 from 41? The journey curves and loops; your age in years seems to detach from your age in experience. You circle back on certain ages, replaying them until you get them right. And our culture conspires to add to the confusion, now that 50 is the new 40 is the new 30.
Above all, it was travelling incessantly, moving between countries every couple of years, moving cities every year, starting all over again..again and again...messed up the age and life cycle for me.
Who has time to stop and look closely at the calendar? But when we do, when we gather with family and friends and count our blessings, what i find I'm most grateful for, nestled so deeply here is being able to watch the candles flicker and marvel at how many birthday wishes past have come true.

2010-02-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

My cool Snowman
Or
Snowman gone terribly wrong !!

He wasn’t supposed to look like this – darn the powdery non-sticky snow!

The other day I was sad thinking that the snow was pretty much gone and I hadn't made a snowman yet. Well, I got my wish because we had a big snow storm last week. I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so we got to work – early and bright on Saturday morning.
We took the small naturals plastic hat, harry potter glasses, corn cob for nose and black grapes for eyes and mouth.
I’m not sure we could have managed to make a snowman big enough to use baseball caps for buttons, but it quickly became obvious once I got outside that we weren’t going to make a traditional three-ball snowman at all. The powdery stuff just wouldn’t pack.
The snow we had outside wasn’t melting anytime soon, but the closest we could come was a one-ball snowman. My red and black mittens were white with snow by the time we were done but I loved our “studious” little snowman who braved it all the way through the weekend till today – Tuesday.
He might not be your regular snowman but let me tellya , he has a certain charm!

2010-01-04T12:56:00.001-08:00

I love Mickey!!
It’s been very many years since I went to Disney World – The last time I went to Disneyland – it was in Tokyo on a cold day with no fun.
Well, this time when I came to know that I’m going to Magic Kingdom – I was excited but still knew that I might not like it as much as I’m not a roller coaster girl (or for that matter any fast ride). Well, as soon as I got in – I realized that I’m gonna love it – starting with my Mickey hat to carousel ride , “it’s a small world” ride (ah those cute lil characters) , the Christmas parade (esp. the chipmunks singing) , the banana split , pirates of the carribean – I loved it all….i just totally loved it.
And with my Mickey tee shirt and my mickey hat – I’m sure it wasn’t hard for anyone to guess that “I love Mickeeeeyyyyyyyyuhhhh”.

2010-01-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve 09
Every year- my new years eve plans are the same – Go to a party.
And every year – I end up doing something completely different.
Well, this year was no different – the plan was to meet up with some friends and go party.
I ended up being in Florida with lots of sun and sand on some beautiful beaches and lots of oysters for every meal – well sun and sand sound good anytime of the year but uber-good especially in Dec when you have travelled from one cold location (Delhi) and are heading to the another extreme cold location with tons of snow (Bentonville, AR).

2009-12-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

All the metal I needed - Mettalica!!

The Bottom Line Despite being around for over a quarter of a century, Metallica can still party like it's 1989. I finally had another opportunity to see heavy metal legends Metallicaat Madison square gardens in HYC ... with a whole lot more headbanging guaranteed.
Metallica took the stage in darkness, illuminated only with moving laser beams of various colors, while the ominous intro of "That Was Just Your Life" welcomed the metal giants. They ripped into the song and immediately got the crowd pumped. This perfect opening choice was followed by fellow Death Magnetic track "The End of the Line."
The Death Magnetic tracks sounded great amongst the old-school classics, but of course it was the classics that yielded the most powerful responses.
"One" was an impressive spectacle. During the intro, flames of varying sizes burst from the floor, simulating exploding bombs and landmines. Huge flames burst forth on either side of the drum kit while Lars Ulrich blasted out his machine-gun-style beats leading up to everyone's favorite part of the song. Though most of the night was dedicated to speed metal, no one had a problem hearing slow ballad "Nothing Else Matters,"- especially me…loved it!
The biggest reaction of the night - aside of course from main set closer "Enter Sandman" - came from "Master of Puppets," a thrash classic that had us all happily obliging when James instructed us to "Obey your master!"
For the most part, this show was all about energy, and Metallica kept that going with plenty of lightning-fast metal.
As giant, black beach balls fell from the ceiling, the crowd gave all the energy it had left in an attempt to match the band's output. As they exited the stage, each of the four band members took turns walking around the stage - to express their thankfulness for those who came out to support them and live metal in general. As evidenced by the multitude of ovation, sweaty black t-shirts, and "Metallica!!!" shouts, the genuine appreciation was mutual.

2009-12-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

How I built my bear

So, yea, okay, awrite awrite…I did go to build-a-bear in nyc and yes, it was amazing.
You go pick the bear you want – you can add a voice/sound(I skipped that) - you fill it up – sew it up and lo and behold! Your bear is ready!
Lots of other cool stuff that I didn’t try – accessories/clothes for the bear , add sound/voice etc.
Btw, just in case somebody is interested – my bear is dark blue with navy blue eyes…and absolutely adorable..!!

2009-12-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

Tailgating Tale

Tailgating at Clemson is truly an unbelievable experience! I went for one of the games this last month and it absolutely blew me away. The little town of approximately 16,000 suddenly starts filling up with 85,000 orange clad fans. As soon as you pull off the interstate (15 miles from campus) you see orange Tiger Paws painted on all roads leading to Clemson. Most fans start tailgating 4 to six hours before kickoff.....many others start much earlier. Well, we were supposed to be there by noon and just as how efficiently a group of 20 people can execute a plan; we were there by noon.
It was Orange everywhere! Flags waving, grills cooking.... saw an antique fire truck that was painted all orange and decorated with paws- an orange hearse with "Paw Bearer" painted on the side. We had the typical - beer and tailgating food. After a day of tailgating, I then get the payoff.......The Tigers take busses from their locker room to The Hill at the other end of the stadium. The cannon fires.... 85,000 screaming fans...and the team runs down The Hill for what has been called "The most exciting 25 seconds in college football"! And then the most exciting game of football. And to top it all – Clemson won the game!! (I will skip the Clemson field goal fiasco for now J)

2009-11-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

Here we go around the pumpkin patch – pumpkin patch – pumpkin patch……
I’ve always wanted to carve a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. Every time I mentioned this to anybody; they would go – naaah- they wont let you do it. Well, I kept my faith and finally this season – I DID IT! – Yes, IN a pumpkin patch!! Ah what satisfaction
And so here is what you do – you go to a pumpkin patch on the last day of Halloween- coz that’s the only day, they don’t care about getting their patch dirty and un-walkable. Dress comfortably – coz u r gonna be sitting in the patch and pulling pulpy stuff out of the good ol pumpkin. I made the most of my pumpkin – I carved a Japanese face on one side and named him akira – I carved a jack-o-lantern on the other side – I carved my name in English on the third side and I carved my name in Japanese on the fourth side – errr , yea – it was a big pumpkin!!
And I have come to realize - Pumpkin carving isn’t about just cutting out a face or your traditional jack-o-lantern – its getting your hands and tee dirty – with all the super-appetizing yellow pulpy goo, its getting your jeans dirty – with all the mud in the patch – its getting your face dirty – when you trust your friend and sit in the pumpkin push-cart for some relief and your friend turns the cart so that you fall face-down in the patch….

2009-11-17T09:32:00.001-08:00

My first Football Game – My first Razorback game

This season I became a football fan...i followed as many teams , as many games as I could..i rooted for my home team - the razorbacks and i went to see them in action as well.
I’ve been in Bentonville, northwest Arkansas for almost a year and so, I finally went for my first Razorback game. Ask anyone who follows college football and you'll find out there are very few things Arkansans love more than their Razorbacks. Arkansas is well known for its fanatical devotion to its team. It's amazing to see the show of support for the Hogs on the roads of bentonville whenever there is a home game. It doesn't matter if they win or lose, we're always proud to Hog Call them (if you've never heard the Hog Call, you should attend a game sometime and get first hand experience).

2009-11-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

U2 360° Concert
So, we light 3 diyas to celebrate diwali away from home ;after choti di has already made me jealous enough by talking about all the sweets and fun she was having at home with dad and mom.
And then, we head to Tulsa – a beautiful 2 hr drive which just breezed by as the fall colors kept us mesmerized and the endless toll gates kept us looking for cash throughout.
Reach Tulsa-Rush through the front desk-Rush to the room-to the TV-ESPN-Razorbacks vs FSU – And boy of boy – A game worth rushing through it all….Cant wait to sport a Razorback tee shirt the next chance I get (I can see Ben rolling his eyes on this as he has heard me say this so many times already)
Next day – Drive to Norman – Amazing parking spot, burger and beer and then walk into the stadium and boom –I see this imposing, "in the round" spaceship superstructure towering over Owen Field. And then is the next boom - the black eyed peas performing an energetic set of recent hits including "Boom Boom Pow," "I Gotta Feeling" and "Meet Me Halfway," the opener was the equivalent to a slick, Auto-Tuned pep rally for U2, but while the Peas had much of the crowd moving throughout their 45-minute segment, even a seemingly unstoppable dance-pop machine was merely a prologue for the stars of the evening.
There was a lot of visual flash to go with the superfluous stage and it was all in service to the band-U2, which performed a lengthy set spanning 26 years -- or, as said early in the set, the length of time since the group's last stop in Norman. "It took us 26 years to travel one mile," Bono said, referring to the band's performance at llyod nobel center in Norman in 1983."Believe it or not we built this spaceship to get closer to you," a black-leather clad Bono said, gesturing up at the towering four-footed contraption supporting the band's massive, circular stage. "We're looking for intimacy.""Intimacy on a grand scale" he quickly added, self-aware enough to chuckle at the irony of his words, given the situation.
Yes, there really were special, intimate moments at this stadium show.
When the slow expansion of a giant LCD sculpture more or less stole the show (err I was amazed at the screen so much that I almost ignored Bono singing in the background). The new single "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight." was ridiculously amazing.
U2 also brought an uncommon intensity to some older material, especially during a fiery version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" that was performed against images from this year's election protests in Iran.
In short - if you’re a U2 fan, go see this show when it comes to your town. If you enjoy spending two hours singing and cheering along with tens of thousands of your neighbors - it’s worth every penny.

2009-06-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Surf Surf Surfff awayyyy....

My First Surfing Experience

Where was I?
Could I stand?
Did I get out of the white-water?
Did I have a spectacular wipe-out?
How did it feel when the wave first picked me up?
Was I scared?
AND….What was I thinking?
Sharing the stoke guys!

Hawaii was beautiful; it could have not been any better place to go surfing for the first time in my life.
When I started ..it was all about falling and crashing into the sea….

Fell flat..fell down…crashed for the first hour and then suddenly I kind of did this thing where I went up on my back knee then straightened on a wave.

Had the poo-man survival stance all the way in! But from then I was hooked! It was a really cool moment.
Yea, this summer was the first time i really surfed. I had a really hard time getting out there cuz it was kinda choppy. I was scared actually because surf intimidates me (not anymore!). My first 50 tries i didnt get the wave (i was paddling hard but i just couldnt get the wave). When i did get the ride, i either hesitated or stood up and did a nasty nose dive with slat water running up my nose (ahhhhh!!!) I did get I think like 2 waves in total of 3 hours. Every time though, i couldn’t get the nerve to fully stand up. I got kneed it through. Until finally i could stand.

I’m back now and i just cant stop thinking about surfing (I wana get my own board). If anyone could have tips for me, please shoutout!

Scuba Scuba Scuba in the Red Sea,Aqaba – Jordan. Ohhhh I loved it!

2009-01-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

Scuba Scuba Scuba in the Red Sea,Aqaba – Jordan. Ohhhh I loved it!
Aqaba works on siesta time; everything shuts down at 3pm or earlier and reopens later in the evening – just my kind of place.
I was most excited about going to Jordan coz I wanted to dive in the Red Sea at Aqaba- one of the most beautiful diving sites of the world. I hadn’t dived before and was crazy scared but dint have the room to express it as every 2-5 minutes, there was a rhetorical question from dad – “beta, you sure?”, “do you really want to?”, “ahhhh, doesn’t look exciting”……and I kept my fear and cool and replied with the same monotonous answer “yes dad “, “yes dad”, and eventually “stop it dad”…….
Aqaba is Jordan’s only stretch of coastline and is home to over 300 types of corals in the red sea. Sounds nice rite? Well, it dint sound very interesting when I was stepping into the sea. I had my equipment, my gear, my oxygen tanks , even my instructor but the moment I put my head inside the water and saw no sea bed whatsoever …I freaked out….!!
I wanted to stop and get out but I was already down and couldn’t turn back...the first 5-10 minutes, all I was doing was concentrating on my breathing and telling myself...I got air…so what if I don’t see land…..I got air and that too lots of it..So breathe on….
Once I got comfortable with breathing and once I stopped looking down and freaking out I looked around to see beautiful huge corals, amazing colorful fishes swimming by and guess what, I started to enjoy it….it was the most amazing experience ever…

I just couldn’t stop myself, I was so much in awe of the huge colorful corals all around me and every now and then there would be zillions of tiny colorful fishes passing by in groups – I just had to stop and watch em….after 5 minutes I realized they weren’t as interested in looking at me and obviously had things to do , they would swim by in less than 30 seconds – tons of them – just zip by you…
I had forgotten about my tanks and my weights and the no-seabed-in-sight fright when it was time to go back…. we went in as much as 10,000-15,000 feet and it just kept getting better….cant wait to go back and jump in the red sea and dive along – well not without an oxygen tank of course…

Floating on the Dead Sea -the weirdest experience

2009-01-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Floating on the Dead Sea -the weirdest experience
Part of the Jordan and Israel and Palestinian territories goes through the Dead Sea; a lake with such high salinity that your body floats – suicidal travelers should note that drowning would be quite a feat here.
The salt content is over six times greater than the ocean, so plant and animal life is impossible. The only living thing in the dead sea are the floating , swimming tourists….swimming here is difficult because you are too high in the water to stroke properly, of course you can always float on your back and bask in the sun or read a newspaper. The buoyancy that you’ll experience is the sort of thing that you will understand once you ve been there and you ve heard squeals of surprise from people visiting. While in there you will discover cuts that you never knew you had and if any water gets into your eyes, be prepared for a few minutes of agony. The moment I stepped out I could feel salt caking up on my body and face….but floating in the dead sea without making any effort whatsoever made me understand how ships and boats must be feeling – hmmm…lazy and nice….

Petra – Jordan

2009-01-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

Petra – Jordan

People say that if you only go to one place in Jordan, make it Petra. I beg to differ. Well, it’s a personal preference to sea than ruins. However, Petra is spectacular as the monuments; tombs themselves are the countless shades and Neapolitan swirls formed in the rock. Petra is often called the rose-red city but even this hardly does justice to the extraordinary range of colors that blend as the sun makes its daily passage over the site. We drove from Aqaba to Petra and reached just in time to catch it during sunset. It’s muddy, dusty and overpopulated with tourists but you can feel the excitement build when you walk the Siq, the long dramatic chasm that links the ancient city to the outside world.

Three weeks later,back home, whenever I walked in the same shoes I wore in Petra-I was leaving little piles of powdery red sand- my favourite souvenier from Jordan.

2009-01-05T18:06:00.001-08:00

Amman - Jordan

So after a long long flight, I reached Amman at midnight. The drive from the airport through the city was fast and I was impressed. But hold on there, that was because it was well past midnight.
The next morning I realized that with its endless one way streets, stairways, narrow lanes and jebels (hills), Amman is confusing enough to get around anyway, but the ambiguous names for the streets and circles would challenge the navigational skills of even the most experienced explorer.
One of the greatest challenges is likely to be making it safely to the other side of the street. A car missing you by inches may scare the hell out of you but it is actually a normal and precisely calculated course of events. I learnt that you gotta cross wide roads a lane at a time – if you wait for a big gap you’ll be there all day. If all else fails, put your pride behind you and ask some old lady to lead you by the hand or at least follow in their slipstream.
I must say Amman is one of the most modern Arab city that I have seen (not that I have seen too many).The young generation of Jordanians makes it a very urbane suburb. There are plenty of places to get superb Lebanese food in Amman.
However, one of the traditional Bedouin favorites is the eyeballs of a whole roast lamb which is presented to honored guests – which yes, as a foreigner means you!

London - What can I say...

2008-07-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

London - What can I say...

Well, finally after months and months of planning, cancelling, re-planning , I went to london last week. And guess what - I loved it !

Well, well - I had a great time in london alright - now, lets take time to figure out if I loved the city with its tiny hotel rooms, damp walls and crowded subways or was it just meeting up with friends that made the city special for me.

After hours of flying, I dragged my jet legged body off my flight to see what was waiting for me on the outside. Well, it was a tube! I figured I will take the tube to my hotel. Walk from the airport to the station was quite something - inspite of the fact that I was travelling light ( I m sure my friend will have to say otherwise :) ).

I have travelled in the tokyo and new york subways, but my friend - dont let that experience give you any kind of confidence coz this is something else. There are levels and more levels and some more levels in each station ,there are these really fast and steep escalators and then there is this heat and stuffiness in the tube that can make you want to walk from Heathrow to Canary wharf!! No wonder I saw a guy passed out at 6:00 in the morning in the tube - well, err, i guess alcohol might have had some role to play as well.

The pubs are amazing and the streets are lovely - I dint see much...well.. I dint see anything . But if you go out there then you gotta see the palace, the change of guard, the london eye and so many more things. I had done my home work but when I met my friends - it was all about talking and catching up - accompanied by a beer - of course - in regulated quantities - followed by many other means of getting the conversation flowing....

I had checked the weather forecast and I was armed with an umbrella and was itching to use it but the few days that I was there, not a drop of rain...I was just lucky coz the weather was just so lovely. I added "oh-the-weather-is-so-lovely" to almost everything I said in those 3 days and must ve irritated my pals but they took it well coz I dint hear em complaining. The late night cab ride in a BMW with no fare-meter and with indian film music playing out loud and the absolutely indian looking cabby speaking with a thick english accent was another highlight.(For that matter, now that I think about it, I am not even sure if that was a cab! oops!)

The balti-indian-food( dont ask me what that means - it needs code word clearance) , the cab ride, the subway , the pubs, the streets - now,- that- you can find anywhere but what made me love london was meeting up with friends.

Couldnt meet quite a few other very dear friends this time, sorry guys, I'm gona stop by soon and then there we can have a sequel to this oh-so-amazing-"London Experience".

Chocolates, waffles and frites - Thats Brussels for you

2008-07-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

Chocolates, waffles and frites - Thats Brussels for you

Now now, do we see a pattern here..chocolates, waffles and frites - Thats what you get in every nook and corner of this lovely city.

There was a lot of mussels talk around but I dint try it.

Me being the glutton that I am , did not miss this opportunity and ate to my hearts content.I went to brussels for a few days and as usual wasnt very interested in going to every museum or palace but walking around the town with the typical european narrow streets with all the street music was a lot of fun. The weather was absolutely ridiculous -

9:00 am - Sunshine - wow , I m gonna wear that tee shirt today.

9:05 am - Rain - What!! what happened - okay, Let me wear that trench coat.

9:10 am - Sunshine - Okay , lets drop the coat.

9:15 am - Cloundy and windy - I just might feel cold. Let me take that jacket.

And it goes on and on until I realize that its already noon and I still havent stepped out. The hotel was good - A hundred times better than the London place. The beer was great. And the food I must say was very very FATTENING !!

Skydiving - Yes, I m free..free falling....

2008-04-27T20:30:00.001-07:00

Skydiving - Shut up and Jump...

That was the banner slogan at the skydiving club and man, i took it seriously....i dint shut up..i was screaming my lungs out but i jumped alright!

I went Skydiving today and it was incredibly fun. I have been wanting to do it for a while.I figured this was it, this was the time to do it and this was the only time..so I really had to do it, before what not builds up and my excitement dies down or I chicken out(which happens quite often btw) .

We went to do it last weekend but because of strong winds we couldnt dive. So we reach today at the hanger..early and bright...and we wait and wait and wait some more for our turn as we hadnt made a reservation.Anyways,I’d describe today as a series of “Point of No Returns.” I am in Fremont, but was doing the jump at Monterey(1.5 hrs drive from fremont),long drive and busted previous weekend diving plans n all that so today when we reached the hanger,it was point of no return.
Making final payment -point of no return. Having “skydiving lessons” in which the instructor basically laughed at how scared we’d be and gave us a few tips-point of no return.
As I got closer and closer to the jump time, the “point of no returns” came faster and faster.
Getting in harness - point of no return.Getting on plane - point of no return.Strapping in to instructor (tandem jump) - point of no return.Plane taking off - point of no return.Plane surpassing 15,000 feet - point of no return.
Each point of no return, your stomach drops a little, realizing what’s about to happen.
I’m second in line. Person in front of me has a photographer who non-chalantly flings herself out of the plane. Person in front of me goes. My instructor starts walking me toward the edge of the plane. My knees are sticking out of the perfectly good plane, looking down 15,000 feet. I don’t want to go and all Im screaming at this point is "oh my god...ooohhh my god"(talk about profanity of speech and dearth of lexicon at crucial moments in life). Luckily the jump master strapped to my back makes me go. 3-2-1. FALL......ooohhh myyyy goddd......
I'm scared as in actually-scared , i dono where to look...i look down and i m all the more scared and then suddenly i look out at the horizon and its beautiful and i look up to see amazing clear blue sky and the sun shining , i look away and i see deep blue ocean....lovely,oh so beautiful!..and then suddenly realization hits again...ohh myy godd..I’m hurtling towards earth at 100 mph. All I can really do is let out a huge profanity as we keep hurtling.
After about 2 minutes, the ripcord is pulled and I sail down towards the base. The beautiful view of blue sky and the lovely blue bay hardly registers in my head as the adrenaline slowly rushes out of my body. And then finally ...Land. ..phew....

2007-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

Amsterdam - Do I have to state the obvious here??

I was very excited about going to Amsterdam, I was excited about seeing everything I'd ever heard about the place.
Amsterdam, where do I begin...
Of course there are the famous qualities that tourists flock here for ,like the legalised canabis coffee shops, the magic mushroom stores & of course the red light district. But the things I loved about Amsterdam were the things that you don't really hear about, like the circling canals that cover the city, the beautiful shop lined streets, the amazing history, & the relaxed & buzzing atmosphere of the locals & tourists.
Okay okay, I admit I loved Amsterdam for the obvious reasons as well but the place really IS charming…..

2007-11-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

Si Paris -

So... the most popular tourist destination in the world, France. I recall reading about it on Wiki-pedia and it saying somewhere that, "One can say, with confidence, that Paris is the most beautiful city in the world." Wow... bold claim.

I went to the Eifel Tower and walked the stretch from there to Louvre which covers almost everything you might want to see in Paris.The walk was nice and long for a perfect day with a little breeze a little sunshine and lots of beautiful places. The streets are clean, the buildings polished. The sights are simply unbelievable. It’s pretty incredible. The sights of Paris... every corner you ask yourself, surely there's not another room filled with priceless works of art bumping frames, overflowing the walls, sometimes the ceiling. And then there is. And another. And another.
Every time you turn a corner, you see some beautiful church or cathedral or monument or something. Okay, you think to yourself, surely that's the last one. That was like the millionth or two millionth of such structures, surely that's the last one. Then you turn another corner, and there's another huge church or statue or something. It just never ends. It's all very nice and all, but feels a bit sterile sometimes. It lacks the level of character of a city like Amsterdam or Istanbul. I can completely understand why people love this city, there is plenty to love, I just prefer a different style.

2007-11-30T22:47:00.000-08:00

LUXOR - The Valley of Kings

Once mighty Thebes, now Touristopolis, where hustle meets bustle, and cruise ships are stacked along the banks of the Nile life so many Lego blocks. There's a McDonalds here with free delivery, a Club Med, and touristicles by the thousands.
10,000 tourists a day tread the paths of the Valley of the Kings alone, with 100 tour buses making a daily 10-hour round trip from Hurghada, on the Red Sea coast, to the sites at Luxor.
Inevitably, the sheer touristic value of the archaeological wonders of Thebes draws the touts, like flies to honey, and the inescapable price dualities and rip-offs.
But not even the relentless cries of "Papyrus?", "See my shop!", or "Water? 10 pounds", can distract from the incredible sights on offer here, in the West Bank. The Valley of the Kings needs no introduction, of course. Here, the tombs of dozens of pharaohs have been discovered in the last 200 years, with the most recent being found only last year. the most famous, without doubt, is the Tomb of Tutankhamun.
Many of the tombs are closed to the public unfortunately, for restoration work, so my choice was limited. In the end, I was able to explore the tombs of Ramses IV, Ramses III, and Ramses I, all of which contain exquisite and delicate frescoes depicting their respective pharaoh's passage to the afterlife, and the wealth he took with him to the realm of the gods. Alas, photography was not allowed inside, with the ever vigilant guards more than willing to drag offenders outside by their camera straps, so I have nought but memories to take with me, and no photos to share. You'll just have to come here yourselves!
Of the many other highlights on offer, I managed to get around the imposing edifice of the Temple of Hapshupset (built by one of Egypt's greatest female pharaohs) and wander casually through several of the vividly decorated Tombs of the Nobles. The best of these was the Tomb of Ramose, where I was able (for a little baksheesh, of course) to clamber into the bowels of the earth, 50 feet below the main chamber, to where the sarcophagus used to lie and there discover, amid the Stygian gloom, the skull of poor departed Ramose. My second mummy's skull in 2 weeks - not bad going really!

2007-11-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

Sipping Singapore Slings-

When heading to Singapore, I expected a cool city despite, especially with such cool facts. I was not disappointed in the slightest.
I got on the subway into the central business district and was overwhelmed with huge skyscrapers. I could see nothing but buildings, having to crank my neck to see the blue sky. The streets were rubbish free and the pavements had almost no black splodges of chewing gum (chewing gum is illegal in Singapore). The greenery was pristinely kept and the public spaces were neat and sharp.
I did feel that Singapore lacked a human touch with all the concrete jungle and buildings. Plenty of travelers dislike Singapore, dismissing it as boring. Singapore was a business city where conversation was always unlikely to sporadically happen and character was hard to find unlike other SE Asian cities/countries.
I appreciated it for what it is: a Westernized, cosmopolitan city with great modern architecture and of course the “Southernmost point of Asia Continent”.
But the foodie in me takes over and I have to vouch for the Singapore Laksa and Singapore Slings …they totally worked for me….

2007-05-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Viva Vegas!!

Las Vegas......the town that never sleeps. I went visiting the city of big lights, big dreams and big money and realised that it truly is an adult playground. Casinos,neon lights,musicals ,shows,bars,Elvis look-a-likes,clubs and lots and lots of posters of women on taxi's,hoardings,hand outs...well...everywhere.

Popularized by the catchy phrase "What happens in Vegas STAYS in Vegas" this town is certainly never one to disappoint in the arena of entertainment. Whether it be the bottomless cocktails, the endless all-you-can-blow-24 hr casions, the amazing shows or the NYC-style Broadway musicals, this city breaths fervor and excitement into your life as you step out on the strip walking along the wide array of glitz and glamour that is Vegas.
The plane landed in Las Vegas and the first thing that I saw were... slotmachines! This is Vegas of course.Seared in my memory - a decrepit old woman in a casino,monotonously dropping quarters down a slot machine with one hand & holding a lit cigarette in the other.

With no interest in gambling I explored the shows in Vegas and I must admit ..I was floored.Amazing theatre's with colorful costumes ,songs,dances,lighting and never seen before stage and yes of course lots of artists flying here and there in the theatre effortlessly.The shows are a visual feast and unbelieveably choreographed.

The clubs are very strict about the dresscode which did irritate me but I still had a blast.Handsomely dressed men and lovely chic women ,endless spirits and gambling ,a 24 hour city,Vegas certainly is a symbolic high point where the best venues of entertainment and fun are put on opulent display.

2007-04-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing - I love San Francisco!

Every chance I get,every time I want to shop,everytime I want to hit a beach,relax,explore or just have fun - I head to San Francisco.

Beautiful bay,beaches,bridges...
mountains,stylish boutiques,old architecture,burgeoning neighborhoods fit for hippies,hipsters,asians,hispanics and americans alike.

It’s a breeze to be in SanFran.Walking past architecturally-distinctive housing ranging from ship captain's cottages more than 125 years old to Art Deco apartments to interesting little china towns and japan towns to stylish and suave shopping districts(Powell/Union Square).

From beautiful foggy mountains behind the golden gate bridge to the lovely bay with beaches and lighthouses.

Fisherman’s Wharf,Japan Town,Union Sqaure,China town,lombard street,cable car are all a must see/visit/walk/ride.

My favourite,Haight and Ashbury is like travelling back to Woodstock or the 60’s. Yes, you can even smell pot in the air!

San Francisco is a city that knows its tattoos—Famous artists and awesome tattoo parlors with loads of attitude and style are there everywhere on Valencia and Haight.

The city of SanFran, with colorful people from all walks of life and doles of panache is a delight.

2007-02-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

I m a highway star...................

Rocky embankments jutting into the clear blue waters of the Pacific ,Crashing waves, rolling fog, and pleasant bends and curves make a trip down Highway 1 an unforgettable experience.

2007-01-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

No Customer Service for you!
I moved to America and now I am even more optimistic than before about India. The appalling deterioration in customer service is set to be the nemesis of American capitalism if I can call it that at all. Many a corporate bastion once built on the exacting standards of customer service is being leveled in the United States.
There is a denial-of-service attack happening at almost all American establishments. At a premium clothes store, there is nobody to help in the women’s section……in the men’s section…….and even at the billing counter! The girl at the till yawns regularly and serves customers with detachment. Customer care has become a missing ingredient.
In retail America, I found an astounding lack of customer care. American stores seem to have been taken over by an army of unskilled or semi-skilled or rather unskilled temporary workers who work by the hour and have no engagement or involvement with the company they work for. They are casual at work stations, sipping coke, throwing dirty glances at you if you have a look of i-need-to-ask-u-a-question or i-need-help at the till. In fact, they give the impression that every customer is a drag on their limited resources. The temp works by the hour and has no idea of up-selling and sees every customer as a pain. Thanks to this the general lack of education and the remarkable dumb-isation of the American society and what you have is perhaps the most unenviable retail sales force in the world.
And I am sure whoever had tried to call a customer service number in the US will be nodding in acquiescence. Consider yourself lucky to hear a bored disinterested human voice after 20 minutes of mechanical mambo jumbo and she gives you a another number to dial which turns out to be a wrong number! I dial again, struggle and stay alive through the much mumbo jumbo again and this time the poor girl doesn’t know how to fix your problem so she puts you on hold…for ……hold your breath…20 minutes…20 MINUTES! With regular interruptions of hang on…I m trying to find the solution. I don’t know this so I m trying to figure this out for u……All this for activating a cell phone???!!!
All this gives me hope for India.
There is something about our can-do attitude; our expanding service economy and our personalized customer care that inspires confidence.
The sales staff of a small shop in Delhi’s chandni chowk can beat the hell out of its counterparts in AE.

2006-11-02T02:18:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow-I finally made it to Varanasi!

Tonsured heads, chillum-smoking sadhus, the chanting of mantras and cremation grounds where the fire never dies down. This is Varanasi - the holiest of Indian cities. Also known as Kashi or the city of light, the abode of Lord Shiva where, according to Hindu religious legends, the first rays of light fell after creation. It is here, in Varanasi, that the Hindu world converges to partake in an endless cycle of birth and death, life and salvation. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Varanasi is paralleled only by Damascus in terms of antiquity.
I have been wanting to visit Varanasi for a very long time.Made plans -Cancelled.Made plans again-Cancelled again.But finally,this Diwali I headed to varanasi from Delhi.Exiting the train station,I walk into a wide plaza that stretches out to the main road. As I weave my way out,a big group of rickshaw and taxi drivers approached me but I escaped and found a rick a lil away from the station.A ruckus of horns,bells,shouts.A river of vehicles:trucks,scooters,auto rickshaws,bikes,cows,pedestrians.A ride in Varanasi is an experience. Somehow you get where you are going…….eventually…usually. A sari shop explodes in brilliant colors , a stark contrast to the dirty dusty tones.Contrasts everywhere!
I went for an early morning boat ride which began at 5am and was astounded. The sky was full of cotton candy and wispy gray, the fires on the banks flickering brightly. We glided past hundreds of bathers, eyes closed, lips moving in prayer.
It's baffling to be in a city where old men with beards to their waists praying,Women next to them praying for the long life of their families, kids getting their head tonsured ,boatmen and touts out to con you, dhobi ghat right next to the ghat where people are taking holy dips to get them salvation, cremation grounds with ashes strewn all over. What a haunting and magical place.

I must mention that the Samosas, chaat, kachauri’s and rabdi’s are available at their best in almost all the tiny roadside outlets.
I had days dedicated to each dish. Hogged 6 samosa’s on one day, had loadsa lassi,rabid on the next. Was out having tons of all kinds of banarasi paans on the last day.
Many people refer to Varanasi as Benares, an anglicized corruption of its ancient name. Attracting over a million pilgrims every year, the city lives and breathes traditional Hindu religion and culture. I went to many temples in Varanasi, and can’t really remember many except the Vishwanath temple and the Sankat Mochan Temple.

Varanasi is also the place that has evoked some of the most creative processes in philosophy, religion, the arts ,craftsmanship and temple of knowledge-BHU.I went visiting BHU and met quite a few Dad’s frens.
What Varanasi offers is life itself, in myriad hues like the changing face of its ghats (river landings) with shifting rays of light. The numerous ghats along the Ganga, the narrow alleys and streets with a mixture of rickshaws, cycles, auto rickshaws, pedestrians and even cattle and the religious shrines all form a bizarre circus. The devout come to pray here, but it is also an amazingly lively place. Famed for its religious fervor as much as its thugs.

2006-10-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yummy Monjayaki!!

Moving to Tokyo had meant my lifestyle had been through a lot of changes. However, none of those changes are perhaps quite so significant as the fact that I could now eat "Monjayaki", a famous Tokyo speciality, pretty much any time I wanted.

Monjayaki is for me a perfect example of trying slightly too hard to create something unique. It is a dish that has either evolved or devolved (depending on your viewpoint) from Okonomiyaki, which is a popular type of thick, savoury Japanese pancake-mix, mixed with cabbage, meat and other things, cooked on an iron hotplate and eaten nationwide.

Effectively then, Monjayaki is fried soup. Trying to understand even the basic physics of how that might work has made generations of people go completely insane and it is clear to me that - judging by the way Monjayaki is served - most people still don't know.

Other cultures might improve on recipes by developing new cooking techniques or adding new and interesting herbs / spices to create new flavours, but the people of Tokyo have assessed their options and decided that adding a whole jug of water to what was effectively already liquid, is in some way creating a delicious regional dish, a signature for the capital of Japan.

Of course, upon arriving in Tokyo, I knew none of this. So imagine my surprise as I ordered Monjayaki at an Okonomiyaki restaurant, about a month after moving here. Okonomiyaki, for those who don't know, comes in "raw" form as a kind of runny pancake batter with bits in, which you then cook yourself using a hotplate which is at the center of each table. In front of me was the usual hot-plate but in my bowl was not the usual gloopy, viscous Okonomiyaki pancake mix but an altogether more soupy abomination, with a few pieces of token tofu and vegetables floating around inside it. My initial reaction was simply to look up at the waitress as if she had just given me somebody else's order, but after an extended, awkward silence, I kindly asked her what I was supposed to do with it.

The waitress, probably used to bemused outsiders like me, was happy to oblige by taking over the reins and proceeded to make it for me. The way to cook Monjayaki is largely the same as Okonomiyaki except you spread it out much thinner. Of course that's no more a quirk of the serving style than it is a physical inevitability, since Monjayaki is basically just greenish brownish water with lumps in, making it impossible to arrange it into any shape other than "thin", when you pour it onto a flat surface.

After a lengthy frying time, which was peppered throughout with me looking at the watery, bubbling mess in front of me then looking up at the waitress with my best "I'm sorry my dear but how do i get this done?" face, the Monjayaki was "ready" to eat. You eat Monjayaki by scraping it off the hotplate little by little with a special utensil which looks like a metal spatula made for tiny little pixies. It is literally no bigger than an adult index finger and I cannot possibly think of a more suitable tool for scraping food off a searing hot metal cooking surface, other than perhaps your own bare hands or chopsticks.

2nd degree burns to the hand aside, is it worth all this trouble? Yes. Monjayaki tastes almost exactly the same as Okonomiyaki - an attribute that should be fairly obvious as it contains almost exactly the same ingredients, but of course the texture is entirely different.

Anyways,it was worth the trouble.Yummy Monjayaki!!

2006-10-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

Munnar-NeelKurinji-Once in 12 Years

My heart goes out to all the people who safar-ed and suffered the time between world cups of any sport.4 years of waiting for cricket and football and olympics makes the occasion a great deal,right!? Let me put it this way,for most people 'worth the wait' is defined by a few things that most people wait for.. each day for its night, each week for its sunday, each month for its pay-day, each year for zillion-billion things..birthdays, anniversary, increments, miss world, mr. world etc. etc.so, 4 years is a lot, isnt it. what if one had to wait for something beyond that. How about 12. yes, yes twelve.How ABOUT WAITING 12 YEARS for a flower!? hahahahahaha..precisely my reaction!till i read, heard and finally saw the KURINJI. Responsible for the entire Nilgiri's being called Nil ( blue) giris( mountains) this tich of a weed holds a flower bright purple blue on its head, for exactly a week once every twelve years! and this, my friends, was the year!!! If you thought mahatma gandhi gave a billion roads in india his name for his aura, this flower has given an entire mountain range its identity. Now if this is not stupendous, what is! Do yourself a favor, unless you are in the middle of something even more rare in your life, give this plant a standing ovation by being in the middle of it. Munnar is where I thought I will head to during the long weekend to check the neelkurinji out. ….the winding road and the bus did play some nasty tricks on my stomach but when I reached munnar finally, I forgot everything when I saw the most ideal tea county.
I must admit that the mist covered hills, the verdant slopes are being taken over by the not-so-pleasant-weekenders from Trivandrum and Bangalore. But it still retains its aura of serenity and serendipity is one word you can feel at every turn of the road.It's calm, it's serene, it's green, it's blue, it's purple, it's …, it's the Malabar whistling thrush, it's the sound of the streams down the hills, it's the sound of rain amidst the Tall Trees. …it's the soft grilled trout, it's the heady aroma of tea, …it's the violet of neelkrunji, Sometimes these do happen when you can smell the colors and eye the flavors. And thats Munnar for you.This was my first trip to Munnar. I was looking for a resting place that suits my pocket and my soul and therefore I went for Zina cottages. I had just read a few reviews on the net and was hoping that it would be quiet,coz after seeing the noisy traffic ,crowded roads,hoards of people…quiet was what I needed the most. We reached Zina Cottage and on a trip such a beautiful as this; the most unexpected happens when you least expect it!How many times have you lived in a place where you wake up to see a Malabar whistling thrush or a spotted an doves,bulbuls,koels in your own courtyard? How many times have you sipped on early morning sun while walking through abundance of green tea estate on all four sides? Have you ever sat on the wet grass with a hot cup of coffee on a misty – hilly morning? The cottage offered them all and a lot of tranquility which couldn't be broken even by the shrills of cicadas!Waking up early on a leisure holiday is strictly a matter of choice. It's a pretty bad fight against your own will but what you get in return is something you take back to the plains. A brisk stroll along the cobbled way, through the half-dark half-lit woods or through a lush green tea garden with leaves wet with early morning dews….they spell magic! Come back from a walk and watch the morning coming to life across the hills while you sip on a cup of hot leaf tea, sitting with your legs stretched on a comfy chair at the cottage verandah.In the day time; I headed straight to Rajamalai to catch a few glimpses of the endangered Nilgiri Tahrs and the amazing valley views of neel kurunji. The queue was endless but after a long wait we did have a great time walking around the national park.We were just in time coz after a while the fog and the low cloud and mist approached very fast and visibility became very poor.Back in town and some good kerela parottas and we were back in our lovely cottage..chit chatting.
Sick of the noise and the crowd , Next day,we took a 15 km trek through the tea estates and small hills which took us to the falls. It was a cloudy morning but as the day progressed it got sunny. And I got a real bad tan and a burnt nose!The road that takes you back to the lower hills of Munnar is narrow and winding. It goes through the endless tiers of tea plantations and gives you the perfect photo ops. So grab on the opportunities as we did.Next day we woke up to a bright morning after a chilly night. Some nice yoga and then some breakfast. We were ready to head back .15 hour bus ride brought me back to bangalore.
Tired and sleepless,I came back to my room..shut my eyes…And then it happened. I remembered the views that greeted me everytime I took a turn on the winding road in munnar,all I saw was a lovelier view of the endless green, tanned high hills, soft white clouds. The word 'panorama' got re-defined in munnar.
Some new day, some new turn, 'panorama' gets refined once again!

2006-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

Japan-Lost in Ueno

I wandered into Ueno park with every intention of spending a quiet afternoon watching pandas and penguins at the zoo. I started the day with a visit to the statue of Takamori Saigo, the legendary Ronin then wandered among the various shrines and temples located in the park.

I paused briefly at the Kaneiji Kiyomizudo Temple. According to the guidebook, this is where women wishing to become pregnant come to pray to the Goddess of Mercy (fill in your own punch line). Those whose prayers are answered return later to pray for the health of the child. Many leave dolls behind as a sort of offering. The description in the book left me with visions of a mound of dolls piling up in the back room of this temple while disgruntled monks looked for a way to quietly dispose of these ritualistic offerings. Or maybe the monks were also doll collectors. The mind reels with possibilities.

The area was mostly deserted and the temple appeared to be closed. I peered through the gates hoping for a glimpse of some massive mountain of dolls, but there wasn't much to see on this particular morning. Just a maintenance man raking some leaves.

After leaving the temple, I worked my way around the park and down towards the lake. At this point I was wandering aimlessly, and as I climbed back up Ueno hill, I must confess I was not sure exactly where I was and was actually feeling a bit lost and after a while i realised that I was actually lost.

It was kinda good to be lost ..i had a peaceful evening and thereafter everytime I wanted to get lost I headed to Ueno.

2006-09-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Back in Yokohama-

I was back in Japan and was at Shizuka’s place again. My trips to Japan seem to have very predictable itineraries, but well…
After getting into a number of wrong trains me and Shizuka made it to her house. It was a wonder, my friend boards the same trains everyday for the past don’t-know-how-many years now. Met up with her family and as always it was such a pleasure to be meeting all of them. Lunch was great, thanks to Kumi.After lunch, me and Shiz, Kumi and Mi-chan decided to go to Sea Paradise. The highlight of sea paradise is a chance for people to see White dolphins running wild, in their 15 foot square tank. The prized exhibit was four enormous white dolphins that had the crowds fascinated. Of course, for most Japanese people, this is one of the few chances they’ve had to see an intelligent sea mammal that wasn’t served up on a bed of rice.
Sea paradise is built on a custom made island, just off the coast of Yokohama. The theme park consists of two roller coasters, a free-fall chair ride, numerous kiddy rides, an animal show and an aqua museum.
The museum was the first thing we visited. The idea of building the theme park on an island must be particularly galling for these animals, as they are so close to escape. It is said that goldfish have a three second memory, and yet even they seemed to be bored here. I am sure I m sounding cynical but I am not very fond of zoo’s and places where animals/fishes are up in cages/tanks to be viewed for pleasure.
The show lasted around 40 minutes, during which animals were made to imitate popular animation characters, punch footballs and dance on stools. Even flipper didn’t have to suffer the indignities these animals did. Nevertheless, the fishes were very cute and very well trained….
We bought some souvenirs and I bought a spoon and a fork shaped like a fish! It was really cute….Kumi gave us all similar phone bands and I being the special kid got a box of cookies as well!!Yipee!
I know I know…as kiddish as all this sounds….i was having a good time feeling like I was back to being 5!!!It’s not always that you get to feel like that!
As the line for most of the rides looked like a soviet bread queue, we decided to catch some breeze by the port.
All of us got some ice-cream and sat by the port and had a good chat watching the sun go down…………….

2006-09-22T03:57:00.000-07:00

Back in Tokyo-Catching up with ol frenz-

I met up with some old friends when I was in Tokyo recently. When we were all in Bangalore about a year ago, we were such a riot together. If we meet during lunch then the lunch would be followed by coffee followed by some more chatting, followed by lets-get-out-early-today’s and by the time we would know we ‘d be out somewhere chatting,eating,drinking.
There were weekends when we would go out Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays without fail. When broke we would meet up at friend’s place and chit-chat and wait eagerly for somebody to suggest going out. As soon as somebody hesitatingly mentions going out-well! we d all be out.
I met them after a year and all of them are married. One of them even has a kid.
We met up for a official party and figured that the place was too cramped and there were too many Indians wanting to have Indian food in Tokyo. There was a queue for buffet and an hour later, it became clear to me that this wasn’t a line for a ride, but some kind of hideous arborous. The man in front of me was reading war and peace; in Russian! The man in front of him was writing out his will in case he didn’t make it to the food in time. Several people had set up a small subsistence farm to help them survive the wait.
We got out and got some Japanese food but one friend had to rush coz his wife called him, one looked at his wife for agreement before he ordered his drinks! How things change!…..as much as I thought that it wud irritate me…I found the whole situation very pleasant and cute......
Wishing all my friends a happy married life!

2006-09-22T01:25:00.000-07:00

Big Bang Bangkok

I didn't arrive in Bangkok until early morning and I was struggling to stay awake through customs and immigration.
The person who was supposed to pick me up was not there and after waiting for a good 1 hour I took a cab and headed to my hotel.
The cab flew over smoothly paved highways and skyscrapers whizzed by.
I reached my hotel-Amari Atrium.Now the hotel is great, it’s a 5 star and lives up to all its stars but is quite inconvenient as is not connected by trains at all.
So try living in the centre of the city if you want to shop n all.

Day one –
I had no clue that Bangkok is famous for its tailors. I saw a million tailor shops and decided to go to one.
I called a tailor shop which my friend had recommended and they actually came to pick me up from the hotel.
Its amazing how fast you can get a whole suit made in Bangkok. I chose a cloth, color and they delivered my suit to my hotel within 8 hours.
The prices are not fixed and a wise man must bargain till he drops. It was easy to bargain as the lady was quite sweet and I bargained for a long time and got a suit made in 6000THB.The price quoted to me was 9500THB.
Afternoon was spent seeing all the temples and usual touristy places in Bangkok. I must admit that the temples are BEAUTIFUL with all the glitter and gold. I loved em.

Evening I went to to Sukhimvit Road, one of the main shopping/eating streets in Bangkok, especially for tourists. I strolled past the endless stalls of DKNY, Burberry, Calvin Klein and D&G knock-offs. So cheap! The bargaining was beyond me, though. My Japanese friends said that you should start at 30% of the asking price!!! 30%! I couldn't do it. Every time a keen mean shop owner would see me eyeing a product and ask, "How much do you want to pay?" I would go red and stammer, "Um, well, oh, I don't know..." and back away. Sad, very sad, but I'm not business-savvy!
We went out for dinner to this massive restaurant - an indoor beer garden called Tawandang Brew House. Brilliant concept, I must say - pack hundreds and hundreds of people into a cavernous German beer hall, brew your own beer, provide cheap, local Thai food, and in the center of it all, have a stage with live entertainment. So I LOVE spicy food. At home I'm always dousing my pizza slices with red peppers, asking for my dishes "extra hot" and looking for ways to add chilli’s to every dish. Ha, in Thailand I AM NOTHING. The food I had at Tawandang comprised one of the hottest meals I've had in recent memory. I literally CRIED my way through the dinner, glaring jealously at all the native Thais slurping on their own soup happily, seemingly unaffected by the cruel chilis. Were we eating the same food?
Just when I thought the fire raging in my mouth was absolutely unbearable, the live entertainment began, which was a good distraction. It was a revue-style show (no cover, either!), complete with dancers in costume, big band music, and then covers of songs ranging from Cher to the theme from the movie "The Land Before Time." I know, it sounds outrageously tacky, but it wasn't! It was surprisingly professional and thoroughly entertaining. Somehow, I never pictured myself at a German Brew House in Bangkok, Thailand with watering eyes, listening to a Thai woman sing Britney Spears. But there I was.
After the lovely dinner, all the ladies decided to head to the Suam night market. So there we were me, my Japanese friend and our Thai friend at the Siam night market looking around the place with stars in our eyes. We were so happy to be there! And we went berserk shopping.
It's the size (and shape) of a football stadium, I kid you not. Food served is very 'locally-priced' - 25 baht for noodles & rice dishes. And as entertainment, local rock bands, that seem to all stem from the Def Leppard variety, perform on a huge stage up front. The prices of goods in Suan Lum is very comparable to Chatuchak, so you don't lose out on value-for-money. You can also bargain to the teeth here. I bought some lovely clothes and bargained price of dress from 800 baht to 550 baht. I was the evening’s hero. :)
It was crowded and sweaty and hot and humid….but we dint stop until we felt that we were gonna drop with dehydration.
All in all, you'll get the variety and prices you need, with the sweat, pain & tears. Suan Lum is the way to go for me - whoo hoo!
Next day, I headed to the floating market. The large and popular floating market is about 80 km southwest of Bangkok in Ratchaburi province. I took a lot of pictures of this vibrant market featuring many small boats laden with colorful fruits and vegetables and paddled by Thai women wearing bamboo hats. The Floating Market is routinely crowded with hundreds of vendors and purchasers floating in their small rowing boats selling and buying agricultural products and local food, which are mostly brought from their own nearby orchards. It is a very attractive place to see this old style and traditional way of selling and buying goods. And guess what, I actually witnessed a traffic jam in the market! All the boats were neck to neck and there was no place for the boats to move. There was a lot of chaos and screaming but after 15 mins ,the traffic moved and the boats floated by.
The last day in Bangkok and I decide to go and explore the Chatuchak weekend market.Just in case you haven't heard, Chatuchak Weekend Market is this amazingly huuge market that sells everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING. No really, EVERYTHING. Clothes, accessories, bags, furniture, food (dry & wet), books,.... I even saw pets, like dogs, birds, cats & very very cute rabbits! Crowds throng Chatuchak every weekend. (It's only open on Saturdays and Sundays). To get there is such a breeze - just take the BTS Skytrain northwards. Even if you forget the name of the stop, simply follow the crowd. Everybody gets off at the Chatuchak stop. The train is left virtually empty. So it'll be very obvious if you've missed the stop. ^__^
I didn't take any pictures inside the market. That's because the lanes between stalls are very narrow & it's so crowded you feel like you're being pushed along all the time. Whenever you reach a cross-junction of lanes, you really do get a sense of being in a chaotic traffic jam, only you don't have the safety or air-conditioning of a vehicle. It's human traffic and be warned, it can get quite frustrating and even, annoying, what with everybody pushing and shoving here and there. What makes it worse is that the market area is covered. This means ventilation is limited and it does get quite hot, especially in the afternoons. Prices are definitely worth it, but personally, I did find myself uninspired to shop because of the unbelievable throngs of people everywhere. PLUS, it is soooo huuge that you kind of get a bit overwhelmed. Still, Chatuchak is an experience that locals & tourists continue to flock to. If you're like some of the Singapore girls I know, very focused and tenacious about shopping & getting good deals, you'll do well here. This is not a stroll in the park, by any means. So, if you must, arm yourself with a Chatuchak map.
Instead of Chatuchak though, I would highly recommend paying Suan Lum Night Bazaar a visit. It had its own bit of fresh air (literally), compared to the hot & stuffy Chatuchak, where even breathing was a problem at times! Located at the southeast corner of Lumphini Park, Suan Lum is Bangkok's, and possibly Thailand's, first government-developed Night Market. (Read: it's not seedy, smelly, murky, muddy etc.) In fact, it's a really neat romp, with wider covered markets, cleaner lanes, and a huge beer garden & hawker centre in the middle to boot!
Oh! I must mention the Thai Massage as well.Ahem ahem!
I went to this cool and pristine massage parlor.In 5 minutes I was wearing pajamas and sipping Chinese tea while I waited for the masseuses!
The massage took ONE HOUR, but it flew by. The massage was rough and smooth, painful at times, but it felt wonderful. I swear the woman had a hidden strength that you would never ever guess just from looking at her! There was this one time when I was sitting and she had her knees bended by my back and suddenly, before I knew it, she had lifted me up in the air….my arms and my legs hanging and my back was on her legs. I was so shocked and taken aback that I started to move and made her lose her balance.hahaha!Had I been a little more calm, maybe I would have enjoyed that as well.
Bangkok mantra!
Shop shop shop…get some massage and when ready again ..shop shop shop in Bangkok!

2006-09-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

Food I ve tested,tried and liked - Thai

Eating in Bangkok was an amazing experience.
There was quite a bit of food by the road sides but I wasn’t too sure about the hygiene. I did try a few things and they were quite nice.
I must mention this restaurant where I had the MOST wonderful thai food I have ever had!
Ban Klang Nam
Choose a table by the railing so you can gaze at the river and all the shipping activity; you can also opt for a seat on the dock. The difficult-to-make mee krob (pan-fried rice noodles) shows off the skill of the kitchen. The fried sea bass in garlic and pepper and the snapper in oyster sauce are superb, as is the smooth tom yam kung (hot-and-sour shrimp soup). Ban Klang Nam is the place to eat when in bangkok.
It’s a little far from the city and takes a while to reach there but the food is so worth it.
The flavor.. the smell …the color. everything about thai food is just so amazing.I loved it!

2006-06-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Tapti Friends-Friends for life!

I am not in touch with any of my school friends. I see people around me still in touch and still friends with classmates from school, these guys still hang out together and keep in touch and I think “Wow, that’s something.”
I ve always had something about being friends with somebody for long. I do not particularly like to put in extra effort to stay in touch with friends. If they call and if I feel like it then I call. No complaining and kvetching about not keeping in touch or for not calling and all. If they just go,”hey, good to hear from u after such a long time”, then I am all their’s.
My dearest friends come from JNU.My Tapti hostel mates and some other friends from jnu.I still am in touch almost all of them,made some precious friends for life.
I was in room no 3 all my 5 years and rupali was in room no 4.We were neighbors and were great chums. Still are! Then there was neha in 4,ranjeeta and ashwini in 15,anu in 14,eva in 10,shuchi in 5,ati in 12,ira in 202 and trina in 216,mamta in 102 and so many more girls. My ground floor gang was the closet and the wildest residents of tapti.In hot summer afternoons 10 of us have slept in 1 room with water all over the floor and bed to keep us cool with minimal clothing.We have shared achar bottles,sweets and food from home.We have shared the last cookie and the last packet of maggi.Stolen food from the mess.Watched movies together in common room,shared all good and bad secrets and been there for each other all the time.
Holi was crazy with colors and buckets being spashed at you right at 4 in the morning.crazy Pranks in late afternoons,bitching about common enemies ,discussing dates,discussing studies,Hrithik Roshan poster in the bathroom,secret cooking sessions and the endless chit chat sessions.Gate crashing in other centre’s freshers parties and farewell parties.Celebrating each others birthday’s.Eat outs when broke.Honest complements and honest criticism.Reading hands.Going shopping.Dressing up for parties and dates.Crying and laughing together.Sharing each other fears and uncertainities about future.Helping each other,holding hands,passing strength.
The girls were my friends my family.
Being there for me,come what may.
Loving and caring for me,always.
Miss you all and Love you all.
Remember,how our kindergarten teachers always told us how we should be sharing and caring,well I would have believed otherwise all my life but for the 5 years in Tapti.Taught me everything I needed to know about sharing,caring,selflessness,friendship and love.

2006-06-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Becoming a new person at JNU-

"Writing an exam is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, andsociety are the natural enemies of the examinee. He must be alone,uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking."
While I was working,I enrolled myself for a distance learning mba course in 2003.I finally appeared for the exams last month and boy! Was it tough.It was really difficult to get back to studies,just sitting and trying to concentrate and read was a feat in itself.Exams over for now.The next set comes by in dec.God help me!

But while I was preparing and writing for the exams I invariably thought of my school and college days.

College was JNU for 5 years and it was in JNU that I became what I am today.I really did have lot of fun along with my studies.But then again,even with the fun, 5 years of college was quite something. And trust me Japanese was not too much of fun,along with the tough language ,we had a faculty to match up to our torture.I am sure Ranjeeta,Eva,Neha,Ira and Trina will agree!We had sessionals for all the subjects each month and final sem exams and self study and homework to do.Was quite a bit.
And JNU was quite something.5 years in Jnu,5 years in Sl,5 years in tapti hostel and ,5 years of endless fun…nothing can ever match up to those days.
I know everyone loves and misses college but JNU is a unique experience in itself.You have classmates from the lowest and the highest strata of the society.You don’t worry about branded clothes and how good you are looking.Jnu is all about you are what you think.
Jnu is kurta and jhola.Jnu is simplicity and rich knowledge.Being one of the best university’s of asia,JNU teaches you literally how to keep it simple,how to believe in what you think and how to keep your head high irrespective of what you have in your pocket.
When walking in the university you will see people in chappals and kurtas and jholas sitting by the roads and drinking tea from the dhaba.Just catch anybody and listen to him speak about what he believes in and why and you would be bowled over.Being there,you start questioning all the things you have always blindly believed in,Say,religion.why am I a hindu?bcoz I was born a hindu?do I want to be a hindu?why do I want to be a hindu?what does Hinduism have that other religions don’t?i want to be hindu by choice and not by birth.There are so many other things ,what is that differentiates me from others?my clothes?my shoes?or how I think?Why do I judge people by their backgrounds?
Can I get over these vaults in my head?Do I want to get over them?

Another thing that I leant there was the value of money.Each penny is precious.we had subsidized lodging,subsidized fees,subsidized food.Our monthy expenditure would never be more than 1000 bucks and it never made a difference to me.And then I noticed that there are people around me,right next to me,sitting by me in the class,my room mate..so many of them for whom every penny was a struggle.I decided to earn on my own ,right from my first year of college.I hadn’t studied enough of Japanese to teach anybody else so after my first sem,I took a summer job of direct sales,went door to door,it sure was tough commuting by bus everyday in the scorching heat of delhi for 2 months,the peak of summer but when I got my first salary,I knew it was all worth it.My 2nd sem and I started giving tuitions to school kids for basic subjects.Learnt a lot there too.By 3rd sem I was quite okay with Japanese and I started taking assignments for translation and interpretation.In my 2nd year summer vacations,me and rupali took a job with Britannica encyclopedia and had loads of fun,made loads of friends ,well,dint earn loads of money.Actually we weren’t paid as promised!We had lots of fun and also learnt that being naïve and nice wont get us our salaries.I am sure rupali remembers,Skinny Zulfi and Fatty Adnan,laughing machines me and her,Lost in ozone-kishore,kunal and adleey.By my 4th semester ,I had started giving tuitions for Japanese language to professionals and kids.It dosent sound like a lot of money now but back then,500 bucks an hour was huge!Throughout my graduation and post graduation,I kept on with my tuitions and translation and interpretation assignments.Every interpretation assignment,every summer job,every tution taught me something along with the value of money.

At JNU ,more than the course material that you read,you get a thorough education about everything that you would ever need to know.It lights that spark in you and then you can leave the university,move to Bangalore or Boston but that spark will always be in you somewhere and keep urging you to question and strengthen your beliefs.

2006-06-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

Japan-Takao san Trek-

Mt. Takao-san, located in the western Tokyo and at the eastern edge of the Kanto Mountain Range, is a sacred mountain that represents the Tama area.Its close to Tokyo and so me and a few friends from Infy decided to trek Mt.Takao over the weekend.The scenery was awesome and the trek interesting.There were lots of pit stops selling hot ramen and lots of other local food which i obviously hogged on.At the peak,there are quite a few shrines and I tried Omikuji there.Omikuji are slips of paper forecasting people's luck and this is the most popular way to look at their future; it is like a fortune cookie. Many Japanese usually go to Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples during the New Year’s holiday to buy good luck charms and omikuji for the year ahead. To get omikuji, they shake a container and pick up a stick on which is drawn a number, and then they exchange the stick for the slips of paper. This paper shows the forecast of people’s luck. If you get bad luck (bad omikuji), you should tie the slips of paper to a tree in the shrine.By leaving bad luck in the shrine, Japanese believe that they can keep away a bad future. Well,I got a great Omikuji and I saved it.Still have it in my walleｔ：）Talk about superstition!

2006-06-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Japan-OSAKA

If you describe yourself as young-minded, trendy, have tons of money and don't know where to spend, getting dulled from the cuisines at home and don't know where else to try, then Osaka is the place.
I went around the city,checked out the famous Osaka Castle and then headed straight to Ebisu-bashi.The vibrant Ebisu-bashi has restaurants, fashion shops, food stands and they all seem to be endlessly extending on both sides of the crowds, proudly featuring the famous Osakan octopus balls(my personal favorite), Japanese-style fried pancakes, caramel fried sweet potatos, ramen, crab meals... You name it.There are lots of historical places in Osaka to see but I preferred walking on the streets and trying out all kinds of local Osaka food. I must mention that the people are much more friendlier than Tokyo-ites.

2006-06-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Japan-Destination Nikko

It was autumn and the leaves were turing red and orange.I wanted to head out.Its best to visit Hakone and Nikko in autumn.I had already been to Hakone so I decided to go to Nikko.I must add here that you must visit each destination in summer,winter,autumn and spring.In Japan,the beauty of the place accentuates with each season.Even if you have visted the same place before,you will find it very different if you visit it in a different season.
Well,I took a day trip out to Nikko, which is northeast of Tokyo. About 40 minutes by shinkansen (bullet train) and then another 20 on the local rail.
I have to make a point of saying that I've mastered the Tokyo metro system; subway, rail lines. I even helped out another Japanese person who was lost earlier today. Anyway, Nikko is a small rural town, but just outside of Tokyo, where there are these amazing temples and mountains and a lake on the top of the mountain.
It was a lot of hills and stair-climbing - that membership at Extreme Fitness really payed off :).
The place just took my breath away with the scarlet,red,orange trees ,I could see millions of shades of red and yellow all over the trees.I visited the temples and trekked up the mountain.Took a bus till Chuzenji lake but it was getting dark and I had to quickly get into the last bus.
Red ,Bright and Happy.That’s what Nikko is in Autumn.

2006-06-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Japan-Yokohama

After a heartening breakfast ,me and shizuka went around yokohama seeing the bay and marine museums and shopping. Yokohama is located on a peninsula facing the western side of tokyo Bay, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Tokyo, to which it is connected by a half-dozen railway lines as well as expressways and surface streets. Although the city is largely a bedroom community for people commuting to Tokyo everyday for work,just like Shiz.
It was a cold morning and me and Shiz hadnt had enough of sleep but the bay and the breeze brought us back to our spirits and we had a great time walking around the city and we of course went to our fav spot-Hard Rock cafe and bought some merchandise.By the way,Hard Rock Cafe in Tokyo was where me and Shiz met up every friday to chit chat and party.
Miss You Shiz.

2006-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Japan-Kamakura

Kamakura boasts a heritage comparable with that of Kyoto and Nara. You can experience the charm of many ancient temples and shrines, including the famous Great Buddha statue. It can be reached by train in 30min. from Yokohama.So after reaching Shiz's house in Yokohama,me and Shiz headed out to Kamakura.The huge Buddha statue was lovely and it was great to walk around all the lovely temples,cookie stores and the highlight of the while trip was the jinrikisha which is a rikshaw being pulled by a person.There are no jinrikisha's in Japan anymore and it was quite an experience to sit in the traditional mode of transport and see the historical town.

2006-06-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Japan-Shiz's Family-Home away from home.

One of the weekend's I went to Yokohama,thats where Shizuka stays.I started in the morning and within two hours I was in Yokohama.Shizuka was at the station waiting to pick me up.We headed straight home and met Kumi,Shiz's mom.Pretty and adorable-just like all the lovely mom's Ive met.We had a lovely lunch of miso soup-my fav and some salad and rice and beef.
After lunch we headed to Kamakura.By the time we came back from Kamakura we were quite tired so we headed home.After some lovely green tea we were quite rejuvenated to join the family for dinner.Being invited to Shiz's place had me quite excited.I hadnt been home in over a year.And just the thought of having dinner with a family was quite overwhelming.After I met her dad and her sis and bro I was missing home so bad.Her dad was sweet and we spoke about the Indian flute music that he likes and cute,sweet and shy Mi-chan spoke about kendo at school and Kazuki,Shiz's bro was quiet but when it came to music he had loads to tell.He is a DJ and was interested in Goa Psychedelic trance which even I wasnt sure about ：）.
Me and Shiz headed out for a drink and came back very late to find Kumi waiting for us.I felt quite gulity and quickly went to bed.Woke up late the next day to see that the whole family was waiting for me to wake up so that we could have breakfast together.Ouch..Guilt strikes again.
I had a great time.Love that family.That was my home away from home.
Thank you Otosan,Kumi,Mi-chan,Kazuki and Shiz.
Otosan has promise to trek Fuji san with me.Remember Otosan?
Miss you all.

2006-06-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Love the Japanese Yukata -

Yukata is a much simpliifed version of the Japanese Kimono.It is basically simple summer cotton kimono.Much simpler to wear and much more comfortable to walk in.
I had taken a fascination for the Yukatas and Zori（wodden chappals）while in Japan.I actually bought them with me when i came back.Havent had much ocassions to wear the Yukata except office Japanese functions but I have been using a lot of the Zori.Quite trendy I must say.Looks awesome and goes very well with any kind of dressing.They actually go "clank-clank".Though you so have to get used to the chappals before you can walk on the roads with potholes ：）

2006-06-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Food I ve tested ,tried and liked - Egyptian,Turkish and Tanzanian

Egyptian food was great.Loved the Falafal and Humus and egyptian bread by the river Nile in Cairo.

Turkish meal of Shish Kebap and Kashkek are unbeatable.Lots of meat but very delicious in the tiny cobbled street shop of Istanbul.Wash it all down with Raki-Turkish Spirit or Turkish Tea.Your choice.Both are as good.Tanzanian Food-Food all over Africa ia almost similar.Dip into the Ugali or cassava or rice or other dish with the three fingers of the right hand, and once you have mastered this you will find the taste of the food quite different. You discover how to "work" the stew and vegetables into a loose ball of the right texture so that you can bring it to your mouth without dripping.

Ethopian Food is a mix of African and Middle eastern food.The spicy vegetables and the kik alicha are delicious.Beef and lamb stews flavored with a rousing dark-red hot sauce, and wonderful vegetarian dishes seasoned with complex spice blends, all eaten with pieces of injera, a spongy flat bread with the enticing flavor of sourdough.

2006-06-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Food I ve tested ,tried and liked -Japanese

Lets talk about food.My favourite topic :)
Indian food is any day my favourite but Japanese comes a close second.I always like trying food of that country ,in that country.Coz nothing beats that authenticity.Indian food in India is unbeatable obviously.

Japanese food was the most interesting cuisine I tried.I love Sushi especially the fresh Oyster Sushi.I was a frequent visitor to the Sushi Bars in Tokyo.Ramen(Noodles in soup) was my daily dinner for about a year and I am a great fan of the same.Tempura(fried Veggies and seafood) and Nabe.Yum!Love Osaka for Okonomiyaki(large, savory pancakes made with diced seafood, meat and vegetables) and Takoyaki(Made chopped boiled octopus, pickled ginger, scallions, and rice crispies).

Natto - Stinky fermented beans which have long sticky white substannce oozing out of it and which smells of stinky socks is a hot favourite in Japan but was just not for me.

Edamame-raw green pea sods are great with beer.Raw chopped octopus with mint leaves are a great to go along with original Japanese beer and sake.

Beaten eels on sticks and packed cute bento lunches...miss em all.

I can go on endlessly about Japanese food.Love it completely.

2006-06-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

My best form of expression-My Paintings -

I have been painting for a while.I used to do water earlier and then moved to oils.
I dont paint much in a year but I do paint whenever I feel strongly about something or somebody.I have painted when I have been very hurt ,very angry,very happy or very in love.Its the only form of expression that helps me vent out whatever is caged in me. If I am very happy all I can do is jump,smile for a while and then I dont know what to do to let that happiness come out.So I paint.And after I have painted,It just feels like my happiness is all over and all around me and I feel so contented.When I am upset or angry,its the same story,If i speak I ll speak rubbish and there is no way I can express what I am feeling to anybody and I dont expect anybody to be able to understand what and how and why about my feelings and thoughts running in my head at that point of time and so I paint.After the painting is complete,I feel like I have expressed myself the best I could and my ire just poofs away. And then there are times when I am very very hurt or very touched,overwhelmed by some feeling,overwhelmed by some person,action,thoughts.At such times,I might be able to describe what I am feeling but I feel that nobody would understand how profound the hurt or the importance of that person or relationship in my life is;and so I paint.I paint about that feeling,about that relationship,about those thoughts.I paint for that person or for that dream which/who affects me so deeply.

The paintings I have made in Bangalore are `Calm Rage` ,one of my favourites which I made when i was trying to get back to my equanimity after a terrible fit of rage.Then there is something called `Tears`,dont have to explain much about that I am sure.Then there is the optimistic `Life goes on`.
And then I have some very personal paintings,Soul Mesh,Ittaikan-this means oneness or togetherness,then there is Jim Morrison and Grateful dead.
Soul Mesh is a set of 2 paintings called `soul mesh`.Both of them together form what I wanted to depict there. I did not name them when I painted them or even after I painted them.I did not name them 6 months after I painted them.I named them last night.
Currently I am working on the biggest and most important painting I have ever made,not just in size but in thought and time.In this painting I am trying to evince my past one year and the thoughts and my relationship with the most important person in my life.Hope it turns out well.

2006-02-22T05:26:00.000-08:00

Istanbul-

The city makes you feel like you are in one of those cities which would have had Sinbad and Aladdin.
I have to admit I am not very interested in travelling to historical places. But the moment I saw the mosques,minarets,tombs,mosaics,rugs,stained lamps…I was glad I had decided to stop by in Istanbul.
The history all around you just takes your breath away.
And if not that, then the hookah café certainly will :)

The city bustles with life on Fridays and that’s when I was there.
Checked out all the historical places on the first day by foot as the major sites are all located around Sultanhamet Square, where my hotel was.
Shopping in Istanbul was another exhilarating experience altogether. I bought hookahs and quite a few knick knacks while walking through the bazaars all day.
The rugs are awesome and most of the café’s and restaurants are covered with them. Not just the flooring but the walls also. In the evening I went out for some Turkish dinner and caught some lively Turkish dances being performed round the corner. There is belly dancing in turkey too but the style is a bit different from the Egyptian belly dancing. I couldn’t make out any difference though. The girls were as pretty and graceful but that’s what the guide told me.
Next day I went for a long 4 hour cruise on the Bosphorous Sea, which connects the Mediterranean to the Black Sea via the Aegean Sea. The palaces on either side of the sea were beautiful. The bosphorous sea divides the asian and the European side of Istanbul.I checked out both and both were as amazing.
The best buy in Istanbul was definitely my black leather jacket…(eventually you just have to give in).And the craftsmen actually made my jacket in front of me. right from cutting,stiching,pasting and ironing. It took them just about 2 hours lo and behold. my jacket was done.
I spent a lot of time just walking around and enjoying the place. There were so many intriguing tiny details everywhere in the city that it’s somewhat overwhelming, but in a grand way.

Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - Turkey

2006-02-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

Egypt -

If you're a movie lover and want to go back in time to imagine that you're in "The Maltese Falcon" or "Indiana Jones" then Cairo is for you! A sprawling buzzing mass of humanity.

I landed in cairo in the middle of the night and was woken up by the speedy cab I was in.Was staying with my dad so everything was quite peaceful.The best thing about our hotel was that the balcony opened to River Nile and you could see the whole city of Cairo.
While in Cairo ,I obviously checked out the Pyramids and the Sphinx.I had heard that the pyramids are close to the city itself but they are Bang! In the middle of the city.The pyramids ,the camels ,the sand ..everything was quite picturesque.
The bazaars of Cairo are always crowded and unless you are with somebody there is a 100% probability of getting lost.Went to some of the famous bazaars and bought some awesome Egyptian jewellery.
The roads of Cairo deserve a mention.
You just have to walk and hope. As I stand on the edge of the road and hesitate for a while, I see some locals just walk out and let the cars dodge them. My golden travel rule of "do as the locals" was put into practice. I walked out and jumped back in again. It was crazy. People just walk all over the road and don't really look where they are going or what the traffic is doing. My golden travel rule of "do as the locals" was regressed.

The citadel,the museum ,the cairo tower are all good places to sightsee.The scene stealer was lovely cruise dinner on nile with traditional Egyptian music and yes of course!belly dancing.Guys! you gotta check it out.
I also went to another old city of Egypt,called Alexandria.Its by the coast of Meditteranean sea and has an amazing view.The food obviously is great.
Egypt is certainly one of those places that is so different to anything I have ever experienced before and am so happy I did it.

Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - Egypt

2006-02-22T04:02:00.000-08:00

African Adventure-
Safari –

Headed for the “game drive" after the Trek.Honestly, the Safari’s were quite tough bcoz of the heat and the dust, but rewarding and quite full of action. I had the luxury of a private Safari and therefore enjoyed it thoroughly.At Arusha, I started in the afternoon and the game drive went on till late evening. Drove around all day through the jungle, vast grasslands, mountains, lakes and lots of animals.The jungle, the breeze and the sunset made this an extremely pleasurable experience. Felt like right out of “The Lion King”.
In the other Safari’s, I didn't see a lot I hadn't seen before, and the drive was terminated by a typically huge thunderstorm. The dawn drive the next morning made up for it, with a misty sunrise and lots of animals to see. The game drive went on for hours and you are not allowed to get down of the jeep at all…I mean AT ALL…..
It is amazing how much control you can exercise over your bladder in such circumstances.Another long drive, but this time through the Western corridor of the Serengeti into the central portion. This was interesting but to be frank the Serengeti is so big there is not a lot of game to be seen. However the wide open spaces were worth the trip. The next day proved incident packed. Now the roads in the Jungles are dirt roads full of craters and potholes etc, and it had rained bucket-loads the night before. Suffice to say I was entertained by some great shows of "truck surfing" on several occasions. Amazingly we didn't get stuck.Sometime before lunch I rolled up to the visitors centre. The paved walkway had been closed as they had seen lions there early that morning. We were driving around when my guide, Aiesac hushes up and goes” Elephants”…Elephants?? Where?? “Right in front of u”… Where????
And then suddenly I saw huge elephant walk through the bushes.
To cut a long story short, this gave me a real feel for just how close a large animal can get without being seen.On the way out of the park I passed through the migration of Wildebeest and Zebra, which was extremely impressive. We drove for 20km through wildebeest as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. The long afternoon drive up to the Crater was spectacular, through high mountains and scenic Masai villages (some no doubt real, some no doubt positioned for the tourists). Mist rolled down the crater walls forming cadaverous fingers in the ravines. The whole thing looked a lot like Scotland, but with lions and elephants. Later that day, I went to one of the local households and had a taste of homemade African beer (fermented bananas and some more ingredients).It stinks like crazy and has this thick layer of sawdust like substance which I tried real hard to blow away before I drank but in vain. The taste was not bad; it was rather good considering the stench.
My wild dusty sweaty Safari ended with a pleasant night in a comfortable hotel not very far from the national parks.
During the Safari, there were so many times when I wanted to stop and play in the dirt, find out exactly how rough the skin of the cattle is, see up close the giant termite mounds that i've already seen a hundred times from this distance - only on the tv and internet.
I must mention that I was completely taken in by the grace with which a Giraffe runs. I saw lots and lots of them and every time they could hear a vehicle they would run….not sprint with dust clouds. not run with speed..but just float in slow motion and before u know they are gone. Trust me …its not the slow motion button being pushed on discovery ,these lovely creatures actually move like that.
The Safari’s were probably one of the highlights of the trip, and I was happy just sitting on top of the vehicle taking in the scenery, although I also saw a fair old bit of game.

Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - Tanzania

2006-02-22T03:37:00.000-08:00

African Adventure-
The Kilimanjaro Trek

At the end of january i set off on the most awesome adventure i've ever undertaken.Tanzania Egypt Turkey
Its been quite some time since I came back .Work has been crazy and finally I get time to write to all of you …The whole trip was way too cool to be put up in one blog and thats why I am gonna send 3 blogs.(I can see Adarsh worried :)Trust me guys ,I need to do full justice to all the places.
First comes-Africa>>Tanzania>>Dar es SalaamI reached there after a grueling long flight from Delhi.The place is usual…any other city .What makes the city wonderful is the lovely Indian Ocean Coast. Ah!thats where I got my african hairdo with at least 30 braids all over my head.To top it all all the braids had colorful beads.The hairdo is fun..u can swing around and all the braids swing with u.

Africa>>Tanzania>>KiliI had plans to climb kilimanjaro, the world's highest free standing mountain at a daunting 5895m and the whole trek takes about grueling 7-9 days of trek.you wouldn't do this kind of thing for fun (i mean you might, but i wouldn't).I opted for a 3 day trek upto a few bases.There are five main routes to the top -- Marangu, Shira, Mweka, Umbwe and Machame. The most popular route is the Marangu Route which starts at the Marangu Gate at 6000 ft. and has huts and facilities along the way. Regardless of the route taken, the vistas are magnificent and the flora and fauna of the different life zones are fascinating. Rain forests give way to moorlands and alpine meadows until these, too, give way to an alpine desert where lichens cling tenuously to rocks. The landscape, though desolate, is hauntingly beautiful as you walk among the clouds.
First Day -After breakfast we drove upto Marangu Gate (1 860 m). The route passes through tangled rain forest to the Mandara Hut at 2 752 m, close to the Maundi Crater. The climb is reasonably easy although the path is sometimes slippery.The drive till the Marangu gate is also quite fascinating, on the right side of the car you can see the horizon stretching upwards into the clouds, then on the left of the car it pokes back down again, a worryingly far distance from where it began. THIS is kilimanjaro and I couldn't even see it because it's so damn big. The climb started with a dirt road, which is dissapointing when you want to be in the wild away from all of civilization, but it soon becomes less of a road and more of a well worn path. it's pretty much rainforest all day. All around there are these all kinds of ferns and trees and palms. i'm hoping the photos will speak for themselves because there's no way i can describe the density and wonder of the rainforest to my satisfaction.In the beginning,every other group I had met had over taken us(me and my guide). i suspect that "poley poley" is said more as a joke by these guys, but we're determined to stick to it. and what's the rush anyway? it's not like there was endless fun to be had at the camp. i was starving though, and visiting the toilet shed was something of an adventure. I reach the camp.Nice and comfortable.My legs were hurting a lil but I was still confident, actually I was dreading the night. The moment the sun fell it was instantly freezing. it caught me off guard and each night it was only going to get colder. we huddled in the mess tent and ate popcorn. By this point i'd already removed my glasses, i figured i'd do it early so as not to forget or lose it.
But what a mistake, as I file out of tent after dinner I was greeted by the fullest night sky you could ever see. the milky way has torn a gash in the sky from horizon to horizon. it pours across and you can see right into its depths. amongst the millions of stars above me.I couldnt even spot a single constellation that i could recognise (not helped by this being the southern hemisphere and a completely different sky :)), there were just too many stars. it makes me completely forget how cold i am, and after standing still for a few too many minutes i'm more than happy to get into the sleeping bag that i'd previously been terrified of. it's cramped and halfway into space i'm still too cold in it (something i' was sure i'll appreciate after I hit 35 degrees of dare es salaam later).getting up in the morning it remained freezing until the sun finally appeared from behind the mountain. for breakfast our cutlery was so cold i had to wear my gloves to hold my fork. i'm wondering why they bring metal cutlery and china plates up the mountain when i'd honestly prefer lighter plastic ones.between then and and the next camp it was a constant uphill. It was steep and hard route but also a rewarding one. whenever you turn around all you can see is a sea of billowing clouds fading slowly into the sky. the world has disappeared completely. the only trace of it remaining is mt. meru, visible in the distant distance, like a volcanic iceberg.ahead of me, the trees are black, gnarly and very much dead. our guide explains to us that they're all burnt, demonstrating by pulling one of them out of the ground. a fire tore up this part of the mountain in early 1999. it took a huge team of local people to put the blaze out, and much of the vegetation was lost. as a grey cloud passes right through us it makes for the gloomiest scene. I was quite tired and out of breath by afternoon.it turns out all i had to do was take it easy. "poley poley" really does mean slowly.The first day of trek i heard the most terrifying noise. it was a deep gutteral rumble and i swear i could feel the ground vibrate with it. It was rolling and never ending. deep down i knew it's thunder, but the fear said Elephants marching right at you Preeti…ruuunnn!! I just stood and waited for some huge elephants to show up from amongst the bushes and trample me …and then our guide goes….oh that’s just the wind….Yea rite!!Relief!! what was scared anyway?:)
The final part of the trek was easily my favourite - climbing up along a sharp walkway, the rainforest floor far below us on either side. the views into it were just incredible. The tops of a hundred different plants and trees floating amongst the clouds.
Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - Tanzania

2006-01-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve at Tusker Valley - Dec 31st 2005

Hey Everybody,
Long time since I called or mailed anybody.
The excuse is usual - work :)
Well,I am sure all of us had some great experiences over the new year's eve.
This is mine.

I had a good weekend..a good new year's eve. Really, no sarcasm implied.
One of my friends asked me if I wanted to accompany him to some place close to Ooty and I jumped at the offer.Me,my friend and his dog were suppossed to go together so I guesed we are gonna be driving there.After a late friday night,I woke up early and reached his place promptly on time.Goofy,the dog was going with another friend in his jeep and I was suppossed to be riding with my friend.But as I had forgotten to get my helmet,I sat in the jeep with goofy.The drive after that was nonstop for about 2-3 hours.I was trying to sleep but it was getting difficult for goofy to be comfortable.
The space was just not enough.I moved to the far end and squeezed myself against the door.The space was still not enough.I put his front paws on me so that his body can strectch out in the rest of the space but The space was NOT enough.Anyways,me and goofy somehow got ourselves as comfortable as we could in that backseat and slept off.Its amazing how much he has grown in the past 2 -3 months.We stopped next at a petrol bunk in Mysore and Goofy was ecstatic to see my friend.
So much so that he put his head out of the window and put his paws on the window switch.As the window was rolling up and choking Goofy and he was pressing harder at the switch.I noticed him whining and turned to see him almost frantic with the window pressing against his neck.Pushed his paws away and rolled the window down.Whuf!!
That was scary.
But wait...there is still more to come.

My friend and a few other boys were riding along with our jeep.
As usual I slept off.(I know thats not new for most of my friend's who have been reading my blogs.:)
The drive was long and it was getting hotter.
Driving in the forest.Bang!!Wakey wakey Preeti.Our car had hit the car in front.
Our Jeep's front was damaged and it took the boys a good 1 hour to fix it.
Back on the road and all I could see was lush green mountains.
And suddenly,I saw a tiny red house bang in the middle of one of the mountains.
No trails no roads no clearing.All I could see was that tiny red house.
And guess what...that was where we were all going.
Before I could ask anybody about the roads or trails to that place,our jeep took a sharp turn into the jungle.
When I say,into the jungle,I literally mean,,,,right INTO the jungle!
There was this faint trail downhil...steep as hell..and we were sliding on it.
Me and Goofy clinging on to each other.
Then suddenly uphill..as steep as it could be.
Wonder how these guys rode their bikes up.
After finally reaching that place.....it took a while to get out of my dizziness to see the place.
It was breathtaking.Beautiful.
Sat and watched the sunset.
And then there was some nice food and booze and quite a few means to keep up the spirits.Became quite chilly in the night.
Was too smashed after a while to feel the chill.If u wanna know what I was really feeling....well.....floating spinning.drifting rambling swaning.......something like that.... :)
Crashed in one of the tents.
Next morning most of us started back but few people stayed back including my friend and goofy.
Missed goofy so much :(
My friend was not with me even while we were going to that place,but the fact that he was somewhere around on his bike was quite comforting.
Without him and Goofy,the drive back was not fun at all.

In any case,had a great time.
Hope everyone else had an equally stellar time!
Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - New Year's eve at TuskerValley2006-01-03

BTW,we recently had a great party at work.The best I have ever had with Infy folks.
Pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
Folder - Infy Bonenkai 2005-12-27
(Tink's..thats your guitar..Thx dude.)

2005-10-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

Coorg Trip

We started driving to coorg in the afternoon.was quite sunny..took a few stops…..by the time it was 5 or 6 in the evening…it had turned cloudy and inexplicably beautiful……..followed by showers….Reached coorg in the night………picked some food and booze and shambhuJDrove to this village…..couldnt find the hut as it was pitch dark………torches helped…..The sky was all lit with zillion stars and the breeze was awesome…we lit a campfire and cooked some chicken skewed in a jack handle…We played some music in the car..sat by the fire and ate and talked ..i didn’t do much of talking………I had friends talking about dimensions of thought..(wouuuu!!!…I know…that was my reaction exactly…) Once the music died off….all we could hear was the buzz of the mosquitoes and bugs and the breeze rustling through the leaves…I was lying with my back on the ground..and gazing at the sky….the moment was enough to get me and keep me high; ofcourse it's another matter that other sources of 'High' were welcome and were available in plenty.Its something so indescribable ,about the 'Nature' experience. - it was a sight to remember and sounds that my eardrums will quite never forgive me for. You just get that picture plastered onto your retina and the essence of that moment rings in your sinews and doesn't leave you for a few days. But I must mention that the music we had that evening was awesome and must thank “the president“for that extremely good music..though I hadn’t heard most of it…it was perfect.the place..the mood….and the music…cannot describe what I ( or anyone there , for that matter) felt like when our presidanto played dream theatre and jim morrison !! The evening started elegantly, and blew us away into unknown oblivion!! We all slept in the open, under the sky- oh!! perfecto!! Didn’t do much on the next day……..i woke up early..took a few pics..which you can check out at…Coorg folder at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreetiTook a shower..must mention about the shower place…there is no room…its just a patch in the green with jute bags and plastic sheets forming a tent kinda thing ..but the sunlight streams in and ur feet is on soft wet mud and cold water falling over u……..quite an experience……All day long just lounged around ….i tried my hand at sawing wood J and was quite good at it………presidanto was trying to meditate all day long with constant snoring……K lo and me were belting besan ladoos and chikkis..for that matter anything edible.A Lo was totally peaced out.Read some calvin&hobbes and laughed our hearts out………climbed the tree(well! It was quite a feat for me.)………had a campfire and slept early…The drive back was quite exciting with a flat tyre,nail biting(or should I say nail-cutting )experiences J

2005-10-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Jaunt Down Kerela and Pondy

So,my latest venture was Waynad,Kerela and Pondicherry.Had been planning for quite some time to head out and the work was killing.So I checked up with my friend about a place in Waynad and took off.Had never been to Kerela and the expectations were high.This was the first time I was travelling alone in India so the jitters were also high.Anyways,took a bus to Tellacherry from Majestic at 9 in the night.The driver must ve been in a huge rush or must have been drunk,in all probability the latter.Coz,the bus just sped like crazy all night long.I couldn’t sleep coz the roads were bad and our man didn’t bother about it much with his foot on the accelerator.Reached Tellacherry at about 6 in the morning.It was all planned,all sorted out.Bus to Tellacheery.Then Tellacherry to Mananthwadi and get down at Periya on the way.But then,my first trip alone,topped with jitters,topped with Malayalam illa,Kannada illa and no freakin’ south Indian language on my tongue.I had the most pleasant surprises of all…..Bus strike madam.Lovely!There was one bus going somewhere and I just hopped in it.It was supposedly going to my destination but with a different route.I slept and woke up after 2.5hrs at some vague bus stop.No buses again so sat in a jeep.Looked quite comfortable.4 people at the back and me and driver in the front.We headed out of the bus stop but stopped at a million places within a stretch of 10 meters.By the end of it ,we had 7 people at the back and 5 in the front.Driver,old guy,another guy and another one.Well,if you are looking for me,I was somewhere sandwiched between the driver and oldie.Now,THAT is something you shouldnt ask me about.Thankfully,Periya was not too far and I got down.
It was raining and smart Preeti took out her umbrella.(I had bought an umbrella specifically for the trip…impressed ,aren’t u?) I had to go to Gurukula Botanical Sanctury and the 3 kilometer walk till there was an amazing rush. I just knew it was going to be one of those walks I would never forget. With all the people,buses,roads left behind…Just walking along the lush green mountains,smelling the freah air in the drizzle was inexplicable.Walked along the mountains,then walked up the mountains,then walked along the tea garden,walked in the slush,walked in the leeches.Finally reached the place.Gurukula is a huge botanical sanctuary where a family and a few friends live.Amazing place and amazing dogs!Was greeted by 6 HUGE dogs charging at me.I’m sure my screams could ve been heard till the road,down the hill.Met the family.Had some food and slept in a small wodden cabin.Woke up to the pitter patter of the rain.Went out,had some food again.Checked out all the species of plants and ferns preserved there.Couldnt go deeper in the forest due to the rains and the leeches.The highly affectionate leeches were sticking to the wound on my toe and it wasn’t the most pleasant of sights to write about.Well,brave me,ignored the leeches and went down to the paddy fields.It was good fun,getting into the knee deep slush,barefoot and digging the earth.All I got was mud in my hands,face and everywhere possible.I splashed some mud by mistake on the farmer next to me but he was sweet enough to smile back.After the paddy session,we headed back to the rooms and I had a grueling undergo with the leeches all over me.After I was rid of em ,I took my time reading a book and having some tea.Helped in cooking the dinner and hogged like a pig.There is no electricity there so we had torches to go to the loos which are quite a distance from the rooms.As if I wasn’t freaked out enough about the leeches,dogs,loo too far that when I enter my room,I am greeted by a lovely HUGE BLACK spider sitting right in the middle of the room.I crept to my bed and kept an eye on the spider for hours;didn’t want it climbing over my bed.Donno when I dozed off.Was woken up in the morning as I had to catch the bus back to Bangalore.Had some lovely coin parathas and curry for breakfast.Got into a ready-to-fall-apart bus and swayed my way till mysore.Got into a much more comfortable bus at mysore and headed to Bangalore.Reached Bangalore at 5 or so.Called up all my friends asking if they would want to join in for my pondy trip.Got tickets for pondy and the same evening I was in a bus to Pondy,all excited about seeing the ashram and the beach at last.Reached pondy the next morning.Went to the ashram area and looked for a place to stay.It was quite difficult as everything was booked due to the long weekend.Got a room,crashed for a while,got fresh and headed out to ashram.Walked around the ashram area,checked out some books,walked around the beach and was quite hungry and tanned.The place was burning.It was almost 35degrees.Anyways,had a nice long lunch and crashed out after that till late evening.Woke up and went again for a walk looking for a place to have good dinner.But then again,all the places were quite full.We had almost lost hopes when one sweet old watchman told us of a new eatery.we headed there and had a huge dinner.Next day we checked out in the morning itself,and went to a chettinad place for lunch.wasnt too impressive.Bought some candles and incense from the ashram store and then headed to a so called boathouse.It was a horrible place and the sun was killing ,so headed back and sat at a restaurant till it was time for our bus.Got into a comfy bus and were in Bangalore by next morning.Nothing much to say about the Pondy city but the ashram area with all the white colonial houses and beautiful roads is quite pretty.Also,I must mention the numerous antique furniture outlets there.Quite interesting.I took an instant liking for a Grandpa's clock and it wasnt too expensive either but then...didnt buy it.Maybe Next time.Was quite a trip.Next destination – Goa (Yipeeeeee!! Tatoosss. Here I come..)

2005-10-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

Goa...Goan...Gone

Why would anyone want to visit Goa, the ultimate beach destination in India, during the middle of the monsoons? I'm sure a lot of people will be asking that when I tell them that Shizuka and I visited there 2 weeks back. But, around these parts, going to Goa at this time of year is one the best kept secrets. There are a number of air and hotel packages, the tourists are gone, and the rains revive the foliage to a lush green.
Last weekend was our first time to Goa. The small state, which lies at the tip of Maharashtra and borders Karnataka, is approximately one hour by plane from Bangalore. So, I took a train from Bangalore as I hadn’t traveled in a train in about 8 years or so.The inexperience evidenced with me not even knowing if my ticket says boarding Chennai or boarding Bangalore.Anyways with a lot of confusion,calls to the agent ,speaking to the TT ,I finally got my berth.Slept through the night and sat by the door all day from 6 in the morning till 4.The train was as usual 3 hours late and my friend had already reached Goa. She had reached at 7 in the morning and I had at least a zillion calls from her. Although this was her 4th time traveling in India,this was the first time she was traveling alone.
I reached the station and quickly took a taxi and reached the hotel at Baga.It was unbelievably rainy in Bangalore, so I was a bit worried that it might be pouring in Goa too. But I arrived in an overcast, but surprisingly bright Goa. It may have been monsoon time, but it already felt like a beach vacation.With minimal knowledge of English,I was quite amazed at the hotel she has found for us.It was an amazing bargain.We had a decent room and the food was also quite nice.

The seas are quite turbulent during the rainy season, nevertheless we had opted to stay at a guesthouse about five minutes from the Baga beach. Our inn abutted the Goan beach, which provided the needed tranquil backdrop. The rains were absolutely beautiful, as long as I didn't have to get caught under them. It rained twice while we were there. Once late at night which was perfect as we were sipping on sake in the balcony and our perch was also perfect for watching the rains, which would start up without warning - like garden sprinklers on a timer - last for 30 seconds to five minutes, then stop. Another time it rained like crazy while we were at the beach. It was awesome with the sun setting, slight drizzle, we took cover in a shack and had some hot and nice masala chai.
Our first evening in Goa was devoted to food and spirits. Went to the beach and then went to calangute for some huge platters of seafood and made the most of the bounty of the sea, with shrimp, lobster, and freshwater fish figuring prominently in our meal. When in Goa, Shizuka and I were determined to check out the local food in its natural setting. However, the monsoons were going to make it a little difficult for us. First of all, many restaurants and beach-side food shacks close during the rainy season. Secondly, the threat of heavy rains discourages fisherman from venturing out to sea, thus leading to pricier fish and more seafood caught in shallow, murkier waters. So, we would have to be resourceful yet choosy. After living in India , one learns to be flexible.

Sunday’s itinerary included going to the beach. We went there right at 9 or so and were there till late evening. Went around a markets for a while and went to titos for dinner and dancing. Came back and crashed.
Monday, we decided to go to Anjuna beach. We took a taxi till there and we were ecstatic when we reached coz there was not a single soul there. We lazed around till late afternoon until our skin started throwing up some danger sirens and we realized we were both badly sunburnt.Took a taxi back to the hotel and hogged on goan fish curry and pork vindaloo’s at the hotel. Evening was walking around the markets again.Didnt shop much. Dinner was beautiful at a shack right at the beach.Gorged on the local lobster,king prawns and typical Goan delicacies like chicken rechado ,xacuti or pork vindaloo and sorpotel.And be warned if you decide to sample teh local brew of cashew @Feni@-its strong aroma and taste is definitely not for the faint of heart(including me). Of course, there are plenty of good excuses to go back, not the least of which is the incredible Goan food.
Our last mission, before we flew out of Goa on Tuesday afternoon, was to return to Calangute market to purchase some Goan Fenny,port wine and bebinca.
Goan food left definite memories on my tastebuds, so I hope I can get back there soon to try out all the other local fare that I might have missed.
Viva Goa!
http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti

2005-05-24T01:01:00.000-07:00

Fishing Bout

Just got back from another Fishing bout. The novelty is starting to wear off a bit, now that I've been on 2 of them in the past 2 months, but something new and different seems to happen on each one. This time it was figuring out a lake/pond/river to fish :-)

It was a friday and I had decided to work from home as I had been working too hard during the week.....waking up at 5:30.reaching office at 6:00.working till 12 midnight.never worked so hard even for my tests in school or college.
Anyways,on friday afternoon I decide to join in some friends who were going fishing.I asked them where we were going and they said "Madivala Lake"...i obviously took it as a joke(Bangaloreans would know why....C',mon..i didnt even know that there was a Madivala lake somewhere and even if there was one,i was so sure there wont be any fishes....)we reach madivala lake and to my surprise..there really is a proper madivala lake with ex-forest rangers suppossedly taking care of it.....they started off with all sorts of rules and regulations about fishing not allowed in the lake...the special permissions required.......But then,the moment my friend Andrew who is english walks in and tells them that he is on a holiday and wants to fish..they all agree..(Yeah right Andrew!...holidaying and fishing in bangalore!! we believe you.)
We decided to go to the other end where there was less weed....drove around the lake some 2-3 times but then gave up as we couldnt find the other damn end of the lake.......
We decided to head to some other lake......
Some valable inputs from Prem and we decided to go to baneghatta national park which again is suppossed to have good lakes for fishing......
i slept off during the drive as usual and woke up to find myself in the middle of a jungle..
we didnt find any lakes in bannerghatta......
so took the road to kanakpura......
found a few lakes but none fit for fishing......
stopped by at one lake which had loads of fishes and pelicans!..can u believe it pelicans in bangalore !!! That too by a lake...!!!
anyways...we waited there but the heat was really bad and no shade whatsoever...so we decided to go to a friend's farm...
We had gone there fishing once before....
we go there....dig for earthworms.......and hit the lake...
sat there for about 4 to 5 hours ....
Everybody else was fishing while i just made a sand castle and took some snaps.....http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti
They were all out there with their fishing rods, working around the science to do their darndest to catch us some nice meals.
Anyway, we didn't catch very many fishes.
Final count: 7. Clearly the hook and line method isn't going to net 200 fish in a 1-day trip. So that's where I'd been on Friday. Final note on the cruise: I developed an addiction to potato chips. Had to drive on without any lunch,so all kinds of snack foods on board, which means lots of munching goes on around the clock, and I settled on the potato chips. On the grocery run I just did an hour ago, I bought myself a huge bag of them. Potato chips sure are fun.

2005-05-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Bandipur Trek,Coorg Honey Valley and Waynad Toddi.

All in all ..it was Awesome and HOT!
Still struggling to get the tan off :)

Shall keep it short and simple.
Before I start with this lemme tell you that I cant write much about the drive to reach any place as was sleeping all throughout ....

The drive to bandipur - Slept
Recahed and trekked.
Trekked with floaters for the first time....not that bad.....
Trekked through 5 kms or so......Had an upfront close and personal experience with a wild elephant mom and a baby elephant(I havent taken any pictures of them as I didnt want to miss any moment of that super cool experience.But the proffesional photograher gang with me were quite daring and have taken quite a few snaps which are at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti)
Sat in the scorching sun for about an hour, waiting for the jungle experts to explore the danger zone and get back....

Drive to coorg Honey valley after the trek - Slept
Had some lovely fish fry on the way..Yum!
The drive to honey valley was awesome.........
Very good place....
Couldnt get any honey though:(
The night was awesome with the stars shining bright and
everybody trying to figure out which star was the north star :) (Does that ring a bell Coorg gang? esp K Lo?)

Next Morning- Drive to Waynad - Slept(obviously)
All in all the target of the mission was to get Toddi....
Reached....
Endless swigs of Toddi...

Drive back to bangalore - Slept again......

Me getting out of bangalore a lot lately.......
Gotta find the bearing and discover the soul sometime.....right?
wouu...sounds too profound but trust me guys....take some time off and get out..........nothing beats it........
This especially goes to all my hard working frens at Infy who are slogging their a** off........

2005-04-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

Bike Expedition

Was all groggy about 2 hours before the show was set to begin. I was going with a college friend of mine...we were running late and had we not rushed we would have been left out.Parked my a** on his bike promptly and I demanded that we reach SOOOOON !!! He had one look at my near-hysterical stance and (wisely) decided to reach the meeting spot ASAP. Reached old madras road.couldnt miss the big gang of royal enfield bikers.Joined them and roll baby roll…..wow………….dont even ask how good it was…..26 bikes thumping on the road……..nothing beats a royal enfield for sure…………was quite a sight…..Well, amid roving eyes and rolling heads we made our way to Horsley hills. The place was not that great but the ride would beat anything anyday…….Awesome fields….coconut trees…..hills……and the breeze hitting your whole body…………I wanted to take the helmet off but that was one of the very strict rules……helmet on at all times…One thing that really struck me was that things were so streamlined and orderly and safe.In the beginning I was feeling a lil uncomfortable with the helmet and the way the bike was moving but then became used to it and was sitting on the bike with a big grin and my arms stretched out, feeling the wind hit my skin…………Reached after 3 hours or so…..took a few breaks on the way…there were already 30-40 madras bulls (Chennai bikers club) there….The place, Horsley hills wasnt too much to write about.. Maybe because I enjoyed the ride way too much..I reached..got the room and crashed as hadn’t been able to catch much sleep the night before….Woke up ..got out of the room…and wow!!! What a sight it was…..some 70 royal Enfields lined up …….By the end of the evening there were about 80 bikes from Chennai and Bangalore…………Must admit all the bikers were very good…They're an extremely talented bunch of guys. Got to know that some of them have around 6 to 7 bikes and few have 10 to 12 bikes….and they keep upgrading the bikes with all sorta gadgets and techniques…. ….was quite interesting…and most of them have the full biking gear ,jackets with spinal cord padding..elbow padding…helmets with phone space and ...this and that..felt like a zany with no knowledge whatsoever about these things….In the evening,the guys set out with cutting cakes for madras bulls(it was a celebration of their third anniversary) and then alcohol and music…Most of them had been in the clubs for more than 2 years….had been on rides to kerela,ladakh,north east and all sorts of places….Heard quite a few interesting stories……Must mention about the seen-never-before, super cool male bonding…….they were all buddies…shaking hands ..yelling abuses..hugging..kicking..drinking..cracking jokes only they could understand… dancing like crazy…….Watching all this was quite entertaining for me thoughNext morning…….woke up. walked around a bit..took a few pics (Biking Expedition Folder at http://photos.yahoo.com/onlyiampreeti)and then time to get on the bike…..was so looking forward to it…The bikes started….synchronously beating up the rhythm…sometimes they kinda drummed alternately, like a contest , and finally it would reached a crescendo when there would be a long empty stretch of road and everybody would change gears and accelerate incredibly fast, Blasted the living hell outta me!!

2005-04-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

JAPAN - HAKONE

Hakone is a beautiful mountain town in theSW of Tokyo. My trip to Hakone was the closet I got to Mt. Fuji while in Japan.I had seen Mt. Fuji umpteen times from the bullet train travelling to and fro from Osaka,Tokyo and Nagoya but this was the day I decided to get up early and get close to Mt. Fuji. Oedo-sen opens at 6:30,I had to wait for gate to open. To Shinjuku (¥170), found Odakyu-sen (at South Gate),I still had time for breakfast, went out Southwest exit to Yoshinoya 吉野家, got 1 納豆定食 (natto ¥340), surprisingly, it was pretty good! Perhaps I had finally gotten used to the taste. (Natto is the acid test to be able to eat anything irrespective of its appearance and smell..the smell of rotten socks and white sticky slimy substance oozing out of the delicacy!)
So far I have been very impressed with the train system here in Japan. Not much time is spent waiting around for trains and the Shinkansens(bullet trains) are plentiful and very fast. Sometimes they can seem too fast since none of my train trips have been over an hour yet. I am enjoying this while it lasts, as I know the transportation in the countries to come will pale in comparison.
Rode 7:30 Romance car to Hakone,arrived at 9:02, switched to Gora tozan densha 強羅登山電車 platform 4, up to Miyanoshita 宮ノ下, out and took a small walk (早川(堂ヶ島)遊歩道) down to the river. Nice and quiet, no one else came down here, strange thing about the traffic on the main street though, nobody would stop to let u cross the street!
Took the next train up to gora 強羅, soooo many people! I saw Onsen Manjuu at the shop right outside the gates and I bought 1 for ¥105, turns out if I had walked outside first, other shops were selling them at ¥105 for 2!! !
Took the Hakone tozan cablecar up to Sounzan 早雲山, nothing to see or do here except for the stamp. There is a slow train that takes you from the bus stop to the tram and cable cars that take you to the top of a small mountain and then on to Lake Ashi. The small mountain had great views of Fuji-san and it also had some volcanic activity. H2S steaming out and smelling up the place. They cook eggs(which come out black) in the steaming pools and sell them.
Hakone ropeway to Owakudani 大涌谷, famous for their ﾞBlack eggs" 黒たまご, it was about 3pm and I was hungry, bought sweet bun, こんにゃく, milk (¥640) and 6 black eggs (¥500). Trust me,these eggs are really black and they are sold on this dormat volcano.There is still lots of sulphur around and therefore you can see the sulphur fumes all over the place and distinct smell of the same.
Rode ropeway gondola down to Togendai 桃源台, then pirate ship to Hakone machi. It was already 5 and I thought a wise decision would be top head back to Tokyo but coming all the way to Hakone and not getting into an Onsen,hot water spring would have been a shame.I went for a quick onsen as I was very tired. Took the tube back to Tokyo and slept all the ay back.Woke up at 9:30, reached my station Myoden.Enjoyed the left over black eggs and crashed.The trip was hectic but the snow clad peaks of Mt Fuji made it all worth it.