Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sunday again...

We cooked Palak paneer. Came out well. May be should have out less water in the masala and shallow fry it more.... it was a bit more runny than I like.

Also, a bit more rounded taste would have been good. Some sugar....

But otherwise,  was good and tasted well.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Auto ride

Today after a long time. Looking out like a foreigner and clicking photos all through the road.

I think i should do this once in a while. May be it will connect one more to the real world. With AC cars and tall buildings, this provides a perspective.  

May be some day,  one will notice people also. Real people....

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday

Woke up at 7.30 and slept again. Then breakfast and again sleep.

Then going out, having lunch... back home and sleepy again.

Will watch tv, make khichidi, eat, watch tv some more and sleep.

This schedule I want for everyday of week ending with a 'y' :).

Saturday, July 13, 2013

6 rainy days...

Last week I was in Goa. Enjoying a long break and vacation.  Its been sometime we have taken a holiday. That long I mean.

Driving was out this time as Arjun wanted to travel by plane. It was his birthday celebration so it was the way he wanted it to be.

The idea was to enjoy the rains really. Monsoons in Goa are beautiful and as all of us like the rains, we were all excited. Suhas, Kanchan and Tanu also decided to join.

Fort Aquada was the spot. Beautiful hotel. 40 acres of mountain. Cottages and rooms on it. Mountain is overlooking the sea. On all sides.

A beautiful swimming pool. Infinity pool. I love this concept of infinity pools. Its cool really.

Arjun and I climbed mountains in rains. It was amazing. Played in pool almost 4 hours a day while it rained heavily all over.

Food was fantastic as with all vivanta hotels. Went to Panjim and walked around. Saw the old Portuguese settlement. Beautiful houses. People still live in those. Some houses have been converted to galleries. We picked up some Mario Miranda cartoons. Saw some beautiful cut glass glasses. Each costing 3000 rupees. But boy, they were nice to look at and hold in hand.

Old Goa churches. Once more. Yes. And this time we had a guide. I love the concept of guides also. They are like same song,  different singers :). They all have exactly the same script, just everyone delivers in their own voice. Haha.

But thats like so much of trivia that its worth the 100 rupees they charge. Then you can roam around once your tour is done. It was good.

Tried martini for the first time in my life. Lemon-pepper martini. It was great. And some nice wines. Suhas wanted to start with wines. With little knowledge I had because I have been drinking for 3-4 years, I tried to guide. He enjoyed it so  guess I am a good guide :).

Some cashews, and not cashew fenny (thats for next time) :).

It was an enjoyable one. Goa is always great. Guess going there once a year is a must go. One more in the rainy season is surely on cards.  May be next year or may be year after next.

But surely on cards...

Once you back. Its like a sweet hangover.  You still can feel it and you are happy. That's what holidays are like. That's how holidays should be.

Here's to the holidays.....

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Goa

Goa view. Sun (or the lack of it), sand, swimming pool and sea.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

Murry or Djokovic

Who will win the wimbledon 2013 final?

The Chennai trip

The Chennai trips in my life have their own significance.  First time I visited was to meet a girl who later bacame my wife. Next few times again was to meet the girl really.

Then visited to get married. And later to meet in laws. One late night, I went to Chennai as Arjun was born. A few more times here and there for some reason or other.

There has never been a scenario when I went to Chennai just like that. There was never a reason to.

So last time when we decided to purely go on a trip to stay by the sea and relax, it was a very different experience. The city now was more of a tourist spot for me which was never the case before. And though I always liked Chennai, this time it was different. The sea, the sand and the surf were different. I could judge the place rather than accepting it at face value. Like I judge any other place I visit as a tourist. This helps me decide if I will come back or not.  If I will stay here or eat there. What else is there to do.

And I have to say.  I loved the place. And even the Bay of Bengal. I am more familier with the Arabian sea having spent 11 years in Mumbai. Thats my ocean if I can claim that. But this side of the ocean is as refreshing and great.

So I went exploring the ocean. Arjun and I decided to go for fishing in deep sea. But that didn't work out. Then someone suggested that they have catamaran rides where they take you into the ocean.

So we wore our life jackets and went to look for boat. This was hardly a boat. 4 logs connected with a rope. I am like WTF. But the boatmen were confident so I said fine.

We sat on the floor of the logs and it went to the sea. Water coming in and flowing through the logs. It was unique.  Then 2 km into the sea and he abruptly stopped. I waited to see what's happening. No petrol scenario?

He untied a rope,  gave one end to me and said "jump". I am like what.. where.  He said in the sea. Dont worry sir jump and swim a bit. I will hold the rope on other side.

I looked at the water.  It was green and had visibility of 6 inches. May be not that much also. What if shark comes and attacks.

The boatman said again. Sir dont worry. Jump. He looked at Arjun and said, you also jump. He looked confident. Once again I decided to go with his confidence rather than mine. I took the rope and jumped in the ocean. There was no bottom and I was floating. With rope in one hand. Arjun also jumped and he barely knew swimming then.

We spent around 15 mins in the water. It was great. Not many waves as we were nowhere near the shore but water in ocean is layered. You see something like a boat at a distance and then it's lost as another layer of water comes up and you go down comparatively.

Well. It was a great experience overall.  Next time - deep sea fishing ;).

Saturday, July 06, 2013

Reading

Lately I have been trying out newer techniques as reading on the ipad or phone. And I didnt really enjoy the concept of reading on my phone. And I know its not a whim as I did read one full book on my phone.

I am realizing that I stilll enjoy reading the old fashioned way. A book in hand which you can feel and touch and use as pillow :). Open up the book and smell the pages :).

I used to use the book as a pillow sometimes when I was in college. I used to think that the dense medium does an osmosis into the rarer medium of my brain :).

Anyways. I will still try reading on a tablet though. I think a phone, no matter how large the screen is, is still small compared to a book page. May be a tablet is more apt. Lets see if size matters here :).

Meanwhile, I visited some book stores and picked up some books :).