There are times when God laughs & says, ‘Oh ! you have a plan for tomorrow’?  Yr 2013 has been like that for us, a year of settling down for God's plans. And I feel bad and sad that I have been so involved in managing contingencies that I didn't even spend time to post here.

Everything we expected or planned since 2013 beginning, went  haywire including simple things like travel We were supposed to visit Kashmir this march but just a day before that too got cancelled. Series of events post Afsal Guru’s hanging led to blasts, firings, killing of an innocent civilian and finally the curfew .

Nonetheless we had to take a break in May before my son would get into the school grind so irrespective of the quality of life episodes we decided to GO  (the time to rack brains over destinations and itinerary)

Egypt was an attractive option but didn’t want another cancellation due to the political upheaval . And given the only requirement my son and hubby had was water play,we froze on Mauritius & Dubai travel deal at the end.

We were not a very cheery party at the thought of traveling to Dubai .We always assumed Dubai could be done anytime during the transit ,given that it is so near & is like a second home to Indian workers.And definitely it wasn't a travel destination in our minds. William Dalryple’s 'In Xanadu' ,the book in my hand during the same time, also gave a strangely hilarious description of Arabs, a lot of it coinciding with the image I always had in my mind.

But of course, now that I’ve seen Arab ke tel aur Dubai ke malls ka kamaal,I know why Dubai is one of the most traveled destinations in the world.

God always gives something to everyone …… we Indians got water & greenery on land and they got Oil in sand. We got population,they believe in cooperation. The result…. Emirati cooperation has made Dubai a fine symbol of luxurious living amidst the desert and a dream for many, especially ‘Pakistanis’. Our guide was so fascinated by Emirati people and their lifestyle that his every sentence started with them and ended with them in a very weird ‘trying to be an English’ accent,  ‘amirati people’.

He kept showing us what Oil can do and kept praising the rulers. The most wonderful statement of his was , 'look out side ,every country has crime but Dubai has zero crime rate.’ I thought, ‘of course ’   ;-) !!

First half of the day, we wandered around Dubai museum, markets & skyscrapers exposing ourselves to the full glare of desert sun for the first time .My son moaning about the heat every now and then amidst of ‘wows’ and ‘one snap please’ by the other tourists. My son slept before he could see the Jumeriah mosque, the houses there, palaces of the 1^st wife, 2^nd wife and the 3^rd wife of the ruler or have a look at Al burj where the most expensive cocktail of the world is served. Emirati people !! he missed all ...

 Evening was our turn to experience Dhow cruise.The intent and the experience were total opposites. The choice of typical Hindi movie loud songs played on the cruise boat led us to sink into a state of exhausted helpless gloom .At the end of it we only wanted to go back and sleep peacefully,so we did.

Next day,we decided to get to dubai mall on our own and shop. It was big for the time we had plus  my little one running  marathons across the human caravan trotting around the mall ,made it almost impossible to even have a look at the things we wanted . So we came out buying unnecessary things ....:-(

What I distinctly remember about Dubai is the desert safari and the dance shows including belly dancing. That was unique & I truly appreciate the dancers there even the Arab men who go round n round n round.

Safari on land cruiser was a combination of pleasant and unpleasant. Twice our Vehicle almost was on the verge of toppling over the dunes. In fact half an hr hard labor was spent shoveling away at the sand, trying to help another vehicle which had got stuck , along with other Arab drivers .

More comforting was to ride on our own in bikes and jeeps.

Anyway,after the oil and sand experience it was time for nature and water.

Mauritius was as beautiful as unexpected. Too much of clear blue water & god painted skies  ,too much lying in beach, too many baths ,too much wine and too much  pasta, almost everyday because the hotel didn't have Indian veg options .And when requested for gulab jamun and gajar halwa, the chef said,’ ya ya Indian food  so you want ‘leddoos’’.

Other than the food and Indian honeymooners who made us feel old and out of place, everything was nice.

That reminds me , ‘Is there any rule for Indian women to wear all kinds of ‘never ever tired before’ clothes and look  uncomfortable on their honeymoon in Mauritius?

However , blood red off shoulder mini frock with a flowery bow during winters and rains in Mauritius can make some honeymooners too ideal for sightseeing and we really didn't mind that .

Besides, under water sea walk was an unusual experience for us. Couldn't do lot other activities for the rough sea at Sands resort where we stayed. But we did north island and south island tour .Visit to Isle Aux cerfs reminded me of island hopping tour at Langkawi though.

By the end of four days well spent in Mauritius ,  a whole new series of responsibilities loomed….getting home, getting up early ,kid’s school ,job search, office, shifting to our new place in 3 months etc etc .4^th June we had got back and am posting this now.... just before my next break around Christmas  :-)
Ciao!

East Calling....!!

Ya… I am bong too!! …though it doesn’t  mean ‘ machhi khabo ‘ and ‘from Kolkata ‘.

Have always found it difficult to explain my bong blood to people, given that am not that fluent in Bengali also. Neverthelesss  last December we decided to go homewards exploring our eastern connections starting with Kolkata.

One place where the local ads caught my attention …on radio, in cinema hall, the hoardings, the small posters around. Unbelievably most ads are about diseases and hospitals unlike in namma  Bengaluru  where every time you hear  a  jingle or see an ad …in 80% cases they are about  the so called dream homes. Is there any connection  between the energy of the city  and the ads…I wonder !!

The divide is so obvious in Kolkata. The new town on one hand and the houses with pukhurs (ponds-bud for bacteria and viruses to flourish), on the other. I don’t intend to be cynical but Kolkata needs thorough cleaning  from roads to systems. How can they still make people wait for 45 min- 1 hrs to get a pre paid taxi. Get a computer for God’s sake instead of using old receipt book with carbon.

I know I know, Kolkata should instead be used as a synonym for art and culture but treasure should be treasured, really.The fact also remains that I still do like Kolkata, blame it on my blood.This was my only third visit. Food has always been great here especially the street food.

Hmmm besides eateries, we did go to Victoria memorial, Dakkhineshwar temple, Alipore Zoo  etc etc

Victoria Memorial- Kolkata

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Next on the list was Darjeeling, the hill station with lot of associations from British to ‘Barfi'.

Darjeeling- view from our hotel

Early morning, come to the window of your room and see the magnificence of the Himalayan range, kanchenjonga, Wow!! One advantage that Sinclairs has eventhough the uphill walk to reach Sinclairs does kill everytime one wants to reach the hotel  after a long tiring day.

Sudeep with Darjeeling tea in his hands near the tea gardens

Darjeeling tea, fresh vegetables & fruits by the roadside, kids in all kinds of colorful school uniforms and the mall road which is where the spirit of the hillstation resides. Walk anytime to the mall is fun .Cafes, book shops& artifacts !! In fact, the strongest recall I’m having right now is of Nathmull’s tea boutique.The tea sets on sale are gorgeous,wish had bought one of those .

A Monastery in Darjeeling

Shanti stupa in Darjeeling

Incidentally, unique to Darjeeling is its Himalayan mountaineering institute museum & Zoo which has the himalayan variety. I really did spend a lot of time trying to perfect my photography skills in front of  the red panda there,  it was just not ready to poseL  However this little fellow was curious enough to see a creature like me.

At Darjeeling zoo

After 2 days at  Darjeeling we left for our expedition to Sikkim with a stop over at Teesta for a thrilling river water rafting experience. 

Teesta and Rangeet

And ya, best part is you do can take your children along.

River water rafting at Teesta

Baiguney, Pelling, Gangtok & Nathula pass. Lots to see in Sikkim . Houses with flowers, trucks with eyes, traffic jams and hardworking people with simple hearts .

The stuck truck with eyes in Gangtok

Travel is ofcourse not that easy here & it is comparatively expensive too. Winters, the sun sets by 4- 4.30 when even a 20 km travel takes more than an hour due to the difficult terrains.

When we reached Baiguney, it was late afternoon and we hardly had time left for sightseeing. No one wanted to go out but I still decided to visit Chardham of Sikkim and that too alone with the driver. As soon as I sat in car our driver, Moses said, ‘madam you seem very scared ’. 

Ofcourse, I was .I had just landed in a new place and had met him hardly 30 min back. I could only smile for my determination and the risk taking appetite. The journey was 2 hrs upwards and as soon as I reached chardham, it became almost dark.

Chardham- Sikkim

I returned back at 7pm .My husband was right, Sikkim is very safe eventhough we had continued to call each other every 15 min during my entire trip. Accidently I also discovered that the driver had fanatic love for music more than anything but least interest in geography as Bangalore was part of Kanyakumari for him, until I explained . Not his problem, it is the disconnect.

Pelling is near Baiguney, so Mr. Moses also drove us to the oldest monastery in Sikkim, Pemayangtse & Kechuberi lake, the so called wishing lake in Pelling. 'Pemayangtse monastry' was built by monks of pure Tibetan origin. 

From outside- A wall ,Pemayangtse Monastry

Prayer flags, the bells…and weird structures made of stones, different ways to accessing God.

Prayer bells

Prayer flags

2 days of tasty food and complete relaxation by the rangeet riverside at Club Mahindra, Baiguney observing lights here and there on huge mountains that surrounded us, was truly majestic.

Thereafter we headed for Gangtok following Teesta river. Only thing possible on the first day was Rumtek monastery in ‘ traffic jam’ prone Gangtok. Evening  we spent at Gangtok’s MG Road ,best place to buy all feng shui stuff.

Gangtok- MG Road

Next day it was turn to visit Nathula pass. 

On the way to Nathula

I can proudly say now that I feel completely fine even at 14000 ft above sea level. 

Nathula Pass

Every travel has to bring some unique story no… infact no one makes them, they just choose you to be part of them .And this time it is about 6 hrs traffic jam on the way back to NJP station from Gangtok, which we faced on our last day. Now that we are over that experience, am just thinking… what all things we pray for no…  ‘to be able to catch train, to be able to find some roadside loo, some water to drink’, I mean God has so many important things to attend to.

Anyways we finally did learn to pee safely on mountain road where every inch of it was covered with vehicle, take water from a small waterfall nearby, use loo at a petrol bunk  just before NJP and finally pay Rs 5000 extra to get tickets in another train the next morning when hundreds of passengers stood there stranded who also had missed their trains. Many thanks to Mr and Mrs Gosh, parents of our neighbor Mr Joydeep who entertained us even at 12am midnight at there house at NJP. 

Indian culture jindabad and bong culture double jindabad… we got all kinds of 'rosogollas' and 'bhajas' even at our midnight dinner :-)

Finally Momota didi’s 'Duronto' brought us back to Bangalore after a fortnight long trip... ...SAFELY!! 

Jai Momota didi  & Jai Bangla. !!