Goa 2013

The travel lust was beginning to settle in again, I was tired, restless and cranky, and so, before It could consume me, I took a break from the twists and turns of everyday life and landed in Goa for a short vacation.

It wasn't the first time I was going to be in Goa, but it was the first time when I had 3 days in Goa to be explored at my own leisure. I had no set itinerary, no list of places except a few diners which I wanted to explore, but nothing else.

I decided to stay on Baga beach, my hotel Ronil Beach resort, was just 5 mins walk away from the beach and also right in the center of all the happening places around, since I was travelling alone and India is probably the most unsafe place for women travelers on their own, I decided to play safe and stick to exploring areas in and around me. For 3 days I stole myself away from work, from the knick knacks of daily life and let Goa seduce me with it beauty, peace and quiet (of course Baga is not the place where u will find peace, but I went exploring and found quieter places). It was a mixed bag of experiences, sometimes thrilling and great fun, filled with discoveries and interactions, sometimes filled with loneliness and longing for company.

I met random people, An artist, who gave me a lot of tips on painting, A hotelier, with whom I discussed about local goan cuisine, beach shacks etc etc, A Scottish psychotherapist at a bar, who had been living and working in Goa since a couple of years, An old couple in their mid-nineties, having an evening walk together, on the beach and heard their story. Explored beaches (Baga, calungate, the noisier one's and  Bardez, Ashwem, the quiet and peaceful one's), Clicked pictures, chucked caution in the air and did para-sailing and water skiing, played with the sand, watched sunset, partied late and danced, explored diners, discovered some good local dishes, had my spectacles blow away from the top of my head by a strong sea breeze !!! ( and then stumbled around the streets of Goa, nearly blind for a one whole day and had a few hilarious incidents ) or just sat in my room doing nothing except relaxing.

But I had my break and was happy to have one. Though at the end of it I was wishing, I had been a little less prudent and cautious and a bit more adventurous. I wish I had stepped farther out of my comfort zone than I did, but then to most people whom I met in my trip, the fact that I was a girl, having a vacation on my own seemed an adventurous ( and to some strange, after all who the hell vacations alone in Goa!!!, well I did) undertaking in the first place.

Up in the air

Baga beach, in morning

Dodol, a local goan sweet dish made from jaggery, molasses and coconut milk.

A dream left abandoned

A dream in making

A dream come true.
what more can one seek from life,
than
to be able to find love
such as this.
To have lived, loved and aged together.
To have dreamed and seen those dreams come true
and
in the twilight of life
still
have one another.
What other treasures can one seek
except
to love and be loved
what greater treasure can life bestow
on one
than
Love such as this.

May we all be as blessed as them.

foot prints in the sands of time

Ashwem Beach

Sunset

Just another Day

Just another day of my life, started with the end of night duties and began with my precious two days of off. Sometime during the course of the day I just decided to spend it at my own leisure, laid back, enjoying without keeping track of loosing time, without worrying about the countless chores that I should and could fit in the day before it's gone.

I decided to not loose the experience, that a day in my life could be, to the worry of chasing the the hours, minutes and seconds that filled the day. I decided to not let the joy of experiencing of being in a moment, be consumed by ceaseless worrying about the moment that would be or had been.

I decided to be, To be in the moment.

And so I did not make the mental list of things to be done, topics to be read, people to be met, plans to be made, instead I decided to do just whatever I wanted to do with my day.

The first thing I did was, to open the book I'd tried reading during the night shift (without making any progress because of hectic duty), the book was The time keeper by Mitch Albom, few pages down, the fatigue of 48 hrs of work lulled me into a dreamless and peaceful sleep. Again I broke the rules and slept off without bothering to set an alarm, woke up at my leisure, had a bath, ate and then got back to reading my book while enjoying whatever was left of the daylight, took a break in between and went cycling and got back to reading it. Finished the book late in evening, got a disappointing news and handled it with calm and composure. Decided to check on my mails, found an important article related to work, finished reading it, had a light conversation with a friend on phone, began reading my second book of the day, a biography ' Life has no full stops. ' Walked out and realized that it was a beautiful, clear star studded night, which could not be wasted without star gazing, so went for a walk with the twinkling star and soft cool breeze for company. Got back, to the book and decided to interrupt reading to write this post.

This is how I spent another day of my life, while I was walking tonight I was musing about something that I had read in the book (The timekeeper) today,

' Man alone measures time.
  Man alone chimes the hour.
  And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
  A fear of time running out.'

True, I live in the fear of not having done enough with the time that I have been given. and then another line that I had read in the book popped up in my mind,

" Why did u measure the days and nights?
   To know.

Why do I ask questions? why do I struggle to know? I remember asking myself asking this earlier in the day and my answer had been, To understand. To understand myself better, to use that understanding to bring about a change in me, change the things that are not so right in me, so that the change would help me do the best with the time that I have. And I was reminded of the line beneath, that I had read in the same book,

"Understanding is more important than knowing"

And then, I remembered, marking these lines -

" You marked the minutes." the old man said. " But did u use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted? "

These words reminded me again of something that I have a knack of forgetting and have to keep reminding myself again and again - Be grateful for what u have, cherish it, the things, the comforts, the family and the people whom u just take for granted and above all, use what life has given to you, to give back to it, if not as much as u have been given, at least a little, and u will have done enough, with what u had been given.

And I found my Zen again.

Chandni Chowk - foodwalk

My world revolves around travel, food and love. Travel, requires a lot of brain raking and hard work and the only easy thing about love is learning how to spell it, so for a lazy being like me, food is the easiest to get and so out of the three food it is that I indulge myself most in.

Since, I can't cook even half as decently as would impress the taste buds of the food lover in me, I go around searching for great food cooked by people who are blessed with the beautiful gift of cooking. And mercifully these people (with their amazing food) can be found anywhere and everywhere, in our own house like our mothers (sometimes fathers), grand mothers, aunts, neighbors, just around the corner as the street food options or farther (and expensive) in restaurants, fine diners and farther (and more expensive) the featured and starred chef diners and farther in every little village, town in any country.

Of course I could save myself all this effort (at times disaster) of going in search of food, reading about it, sampling it (that is when u come to know about the success or the disaster that the undertaking was) and learn to cook myself (I do try), but like I said, I am lazy and also because it makes these good natured people who cook (this is something I have noticed, that all good cooks are good natured) very happy, when people eat their food and love it. And so I go about eating their food, paying for it not just with money but also with my compliments and sharing the joy that their food gave me with others by recommending them to people I know and off late by blogging about it.

My quest for food has taken me often to the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. This part of Delhi, also called as old delhi, a maze of countless narrow, congested lanes, with it's countless big and small shops, warehouses is the biggest whole sale market in India, name it and you will find it here. But this place also happens to be a treasure trove of food, heritage and culture, it hides in it deep lanes and dark corners many little eateries (if u know where to find them) that are institutions and will leave u licking your fingers and wanting for more. Being somebody who has lived in Delhi, I visit Chandni Chowk often, and now with the ease of connectivity with two metro stations, Chawri bazar and Chandni Chowk in it's heart, I can visit it and enjoy it's tasteful food to my heart's content.

If u are planning to visit Chandni Chowk to experience it's food delights, u can make for yourself an itinerary by referring to these websites and blogs : http://www.delhitourism.gov.in/delhitourism/eating_out/purani_delhi_food.jsp (a comprehensive guide by Delhi Tourism), http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/ for suggestions and directions, this blogpost of @Finelychopped http://www.finelychopped.net/2012/09/the-mystique-of-dilli-6.html . I have found these websites and blogs very informative and helpful.

The list of shops and food that one can find in Chandni Chowk is endless, and I have not yet compiled a list of all the places that I have visited or eaten at. But the few that I have and would recommend are -

Paranthewali gali - Parantha are a type of stuffed Indian bread made of wheat dough, fried in ghee or oil and served with pickles and chutneys. They are made in all Indian homes, but the reason why one would want to travel all the way to Chandni chowk is 'cuz these shops (now only 3 left out of 60) offer paranthas fried in Ghee and range from the regular aloo, paneer to Bitter Gourd, lemon, khurchan. I have tried paneer, aloo, lemon, bitter gourd and mixed veg at Pandit gaya prasad shiv charan paranthewale and loved them. To confess I have shunned eating bitter gourd, but I dared to try the parantha and it was mouth watering, so was the lemon one (made from dried lemon powder) especially when eaten with the Pumpkin chutney. (To reach walk out of Chandni Chowk metro station and either hire a Rikhsaw or ask someone for directions to paranthe wali gali, it's a narrow lane on the left when u are walking from redfort towards sitaram bazar)

Daulat ki chaat - a sweet dish made out of pure whipped cream, It's just as amazing to taste as it is to look. U will find this at many small mobile stalls across Chandni Chowk. It's one of the best whipped creams that I have tasted, neither too sweet, nor too heavy and yet fresh and it melts away in mouth before u have had the fill of it.

Kulfi - It's a milk based ice-cream, served with or without falooda, and is available in many flavors across India, but Chandni Chowk of course offers u some unique variations of it own. There are many kulfi shops offering u a delightful piece of this dessert, but for an experience do visit Siya Ramnannumal kulfiwale (near Ajmeri gate) or Shri dhoolichand naresh gupta kulfiwale in Sitaram bazar. I suggest u try their orange kulfi, pomegranate sorbet and mixed fruit kulfi.
                              But the real gem, is the kulfi served by the elusive road side Kulfi baba, who if and when found is found somewhere along the chawari bazar lane during afternoon. There are no fancy ingredients or flavors that his kulfi has to boast about, just milk, sugar and saffron, and yet it will make you fall in love with kulfi all over again, I guess what makes his kulfi special is the subtlety with which these basic ingredients have been blended and the love with which he serves them with. At the age of 80 baba is alive with his stories and his love for kulfi.

The kulfi frozen within orange pulp.

Kulfi baba with his kulfi @ Rs 10 which can give any 5 star chef a run for their money

Add caption

Nankhatai - I have a special corner for these cookies sans all the fuss and fancy techniques that modern cookie baking comes with, because these were the first cookies I remember falling in love with. There is nothing special about flour, butter and sugar mixed together baked over coals and yet there is, the subtle fusion of flavors, the beauty of this dish lies in it's sheer simplicity. This is how I guess cookies came into being and it's a joy to bite in one of these freshly baked golden brown Nankhatais wait for them to melt away in mouth. I used to think they had become extinct and so it was joy to find them being baked here and there across Chandni Chowk. I hope that they never become extinct.

Nankhatai

Chaat - Another thing that Chandni chowk is famous for, and though I cannot recommend any particular shops, because they are all equally great with their own concoctions, I do recommend that as u go about exploring, do try the gol gappa, papdi chaat, aloo chat etc from different shops that u can find.

Ashok chaat bhandar, is a shop I often eat at (because of it's convenient location, right at the turn while getting out of chawri bazar metro station, and can recommend their gol gappe, papdi chaat and kalmi ke vade ki chaat ( a must try), as u will walk down the lane, about 100 paces down u will find a small shop serving aloo chat and kulle ki chaat (they hollow fruits and vegetable and fill them with spicy bengal gram).
Chole kulche is another dish that u can't miss while exploring food in chandni chowk, I enjoyed it at the road side stall right opposite Ashok chaat bhandar. Another thing not to be missed is the Kanji vada.

Ghantewala - right at the entrance of paranthewali gali has now become a sort of chandni chowk food legend, though I am not sure if the flavor is a legend too, but I do recommend their pista samosa, kalakand and sohan halwa as worth a try.

The list doesn't end here, but my patience to continue writing this post has (and I am sure so has the patience of the reader, if any who has managed to read this far). I'll leave u to savor these dishes for now, and save the rest for another blog post. Bon appetit!

Travelogue Phuket 2012 - Exploring 3

I can barely recall being in this moment, yet it was one of the most striking moments of the entire trip for me, along with the moment when we canoed into the limestone caves, and Still, but for this photograph (the credit of which goes to Jacob) I would scarcely be able to recall it.

Strange, as it may sound, this happens to me pretty often, I seem to have the haziest recollection of the moments, which have been the most beautiful, joyous, awesome and defining moments of my life. (does it happen to you as well?)

I remember being in this moment, drinking in this view with all my senses, breathing in, the peace, feeling the caress of the wind, listening to the sound of the waves, the touch of sand on my bare feet, mesmerized with the enormity and vastness of the spectacle that lay before me. I remember trying to inhale and exhale each breath as slowly as I could, as if by doing so I could slow time and hold it within my every breath, to make those precious moments last as long as I could, as if anyone can hold time and yet I tried.

I remember having the camera around my neck, and wanting to capture that moment, to freeze it forever and yet not making a move or clicking a single picture. I remember feeling delighted with the silence surrounding me, and not wanting to hear a sound, just in case the spell would break. I remember just wanting to remain, remain in that moment, to breathe it, to feel it, to live it for as long as I could. In that moment I remember experiencing stillness, the stillness that comes with knowing that u belong within the moment u are in, that u are where u were meant to be, the stillness that comes when the consciousness becomes one with the unconscious, the stillness that comes when man and nature seamlessly blend together, when the mind and the soul find peace.
                                       I guess, I so wanted to live in that moment (and in all those other moments which were as beautiful as this), that a part of me was just left behind in that moment, the part of my consciousness that I can barely remember, is alive, alive in that moment which I lived so fully, that it was left behind in the sands of time and there it shall remain, frozen forever, like the view remains frozen in these photographs.

I may never be able to recollect those moment as vividly as I had experience them, but I will find these bits of myself again, someday in some other place when I experience again that stillness within. Maybe that is the reason why I travel, to find another place, to find another moment, to experience the stillness, to find again the bits of me, I left behind, to become whole again and to leave behind another bit of me, to find it again in the endless river of time.

James Bond Island

Panyee Island, The sea gypsy island, nice view but u easily can skip visiting it.

The caves

I remember my heart whispering silently as we cruised past those mighty mountains, countless trees and the vast ocean -

                    Let me be.
                    Let me remain.
                    as a grain of sand,
                    a drop of water
                    a tree, a bird, a fish
                    a silent stone, a cloud
                    as the wind that blows.
                    As an insignificant nothing,
                    but let me remain, with you
                    I belong to you.
                    And
                    I remember stillness speak-
                    to me you belong,
                    as who u are now,
                    and forever shall,
                    as whoever u will be,
                    whenever u will be.
                    U are my longing
                    My longing for myself,
                    I live through u,
                    I live in you.



P.S - These pictures are of Phang Nga Bay and the islands and the limestone caves that we visited. I don't have any decent pictures of the caves or for that matter the bay or the islands, as I was too awestruck with spectacular view to be able to do any decent photography. If u are travelling to Phuket, do visit this beautiful bay, and make sure that u book the trip directly through the company, rather than tour operators. I have not mentioned the limestone caves we explored in the canoes, probably because I do not have enough words to describe the feeling of awe that the experience left me with and I doubt I ever will find those words, it just needs to be experienced.

Randomness

Some nights

 are just meant
to stand quietly in open, feeling the cold touch of wind on your naked skin while listening to the sound of wind, those are the nights

 when the wind is singing and u can hear, life silently whispering its blessings to you. 

It's one of those nights

 which heal and rejuvenate

 all that is bruised, tired and broken within. 

It's one of those nights

 when all u need to do is

 quit fighting, 

close your eyes,

 take a deep breath in

And

let life work it's magic within.

It is one of those night when u can ask for blessings and know that they will be granted. I asked for peace, for guidance, for love, to find myself in his arms, to have his hands holding mine, for a dream to work on and make it come true, for joy and the means to share and spread that joy.

Travelogue Phuket 2012 - Exploring -2

Vacations are about stepping out of a door, locking it and throwing away the key till u want to open the door and walk back in again.

The thing about them is, given that, you manage to take a break from the regular routine and forget completely all of those worries and questions from everyday mundane life, that the poor mind goes through to sort out some problem or the other that is plaguing it, you end up finding for yourself the leisure of musing.

Musing! Ah!! and you must be wondering what the heck, because the whole point of taking a vacation is to get away from all the overdrive thinking we do everyday.

That is my point, vacations give u the leisure to muse randomly when u wish to and not at all if u don't wish to. And that is precisely the reason that these random musings, when they rarely do happen, even if they don't leave u with any solutions, they at least leave u with a clearer perspective of your problems. Quite sometimes I have found in these ramblings, conclusions that have given poor mind a break(even if it last for a few moments or days) from that crazy tug of war of finding solutions and this feeling is nothing short of bliss.

This vacation gave me quite a few moments of such peaceful ramblings as I went exploring.

We checked out The weekend market, that takes place in Phuket Town every weekend, it's an extensive market offering a huge variety of goods ranging from clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, tech stuff, local handicrafts and street food. In short a shopper's heaven. It's such a pity I am no longer a shopaholic, because If I had been I would have got lost in those tiny lanes, explored them in and out and emerged hours later loaded with bags and bags of my loot. The food smelled yummy too, we tried a few kebabs and pickles which were great. I am sure we would have discovered a few more interesting things hiding within some corner there but because we were short of time we did not linger around for long.
(Tip - to get the best deals, u have to haggle and the best way to do it, is to bring the price down to half of what was quoted and then bargain)

@ The weekend market

After the weekend market, we went to explore Patong. Now that I think of it, had it not been for Jacob, I doubt if I would have ever gone there, because it definitely was not on my exploring list and I need to thank him for that experience. It was a Saturday, and the place was in it's full element, not that it would have been less vibrant, noisy, crowded or happening if it had been any other day, because I doubt if Patong ever sleeps at night.

It's an experience, at night, Patong is. Not to be missed. Unforgettable and yet forgettable. Colorful, lit, bright, noisy, alive, thronged by scores and scores of people, lined by countless pubs, diners, bars, strip clubs, go - go bars. It hits u in full force and seduces the unsuspecting traveler within you with it's charm.

I remember telling Jacob, as I stepped on it's main street, Bangla road, that this is my kind of place, I could party here endlessly, get lost and not be found. We walked down the main street, crossed over and went to the huge street food market along the beach, checked each and every stall (all the while depriving poor Jacob of a decent dinner to sample the street food, of which in the end I sampled only a little ), checked out the fine-diners across the street food markets, caught a glimpse of a beach side concert, released a sky lantern, sat on the beach, saw fireworks (also saw a man pee right on the beach !!!!!! really!!!), explored more and sometime during this, the spell that Patong had weaved over me broke and the illusion got over. I had seen through the beautiful mask of Patong, into the layers within. It wasn't hideous, but it wasn't beautiful either and it certainly wasn't charming or a place I could remain lost into. I don't think I will ever fall under the spell of Patong again. I may go back there, I may spend a night sitting and drinking in one of those roadside bars, dance at one of those discs and enjoy myself, but I won't ever be deluded by it.

Patong - lit and vibrant

The Banana Crepe - yummmm

One of the countless many bars

letting go

Fireworks

I believe it's charm lies in the bubble of illusion it creates and offers to you as an escape from reality, u walk dazed in that illusion while it lasts, but the moment the bubble breaks, u can only but recollect it as a haze. Maybe I have not experienced life enough to understand, what kind of entertainment do people find in those go-go bars, baton bars in the alleys or what companionship can they get by watching belly dancers or what solace can loneliness find by sleeping with a sex worker or how noise and crowd can substitute for music and the spirit of fun. But, having experienced it, all I can say is that Patong, at night, with all it's glory is nothing but a fantasy, but still a fantasy worth experiencing once.

But I still have some beautiful memories from that night and oddly enough, none of them are of those colorful, bright noisy streets and places I went to. I remember the delicious, mouth watering, melt in mouth crisp Banana crepes ( a thai street food special and I can't thank Jacob enough for introducing me to them, I can still taste them melting in my mouth) and the crispiness of the spring rolls I had had at one of the stalls. I remember releasing my sky lantern and watching it hover in the air, feeling scared as it wavered a bit and threatened to crash and feeling delightful when it ultimately rose and went far away into the sky. I remember saying a silent prayer in that moment, for dreams, mine, of the dear friend next to me and of all those countless people who dare to dream, that they may rise, come true and shine like this lantern and light up the lives of people they reach

But the most clear memory that I have of that night is of sitting quietly next to Jacob on the sand, removed far away from the noise and glamour of Patong (which was just a few paces away), staring far into the darkness and listening to the waves wash on the beach, the sound of the sea, lighted by the darkness of the night, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

I sat there contemplating the uncertainties of life and the realization that even with all these uncertainties, one could still find peace, and that peace cannot come by trying to escape from reality into the make believe, rather that peace can be found in the night, the wind, the sound of waves, the stars shining above, the sun rising, the flowers, the singing birds, the sound of laughter or even in silence, the moment when we close our eyes, tune off the pointless clutter and surrender ourselves into the arms of nature. Because peace comes from within us, it comes when we are at peace with our own self and till then no matter how far and how long we may wander, we shall still not find what we seek.

For a moment then I had found peace, though I have lost it again now and I shall wander on in search of it, I know now that it's not as elusive as it seems, thanks to the musings at leisure.

Travelogue Phuket 2012 - Exploring - 1

I did not have any Itinerary for the trip, just a list of things to do, places to explore, flavors to try thanks to extensive reading that I had done by going through, wikitravel, phuket.com, trip advisor and lonely planet.

On my list to explore were - Phuket Botanical and Butterfly garden, Phang Nga Bay, Weekend Market in Phuket Town, Promthep Cape, Kata and Karon Beaches.

We were staying in Chalong, the other advantage apart from getting value for money accommodation of being there was, that it lies in the center of all the places I had on my exploring list, some a little walk away, some a long walk away and some a taxi away.

The first place we explored was - The Botanical Garden at Phuket, quite an extensive place, divided into many sub gardens - fern, herbs, rain forest, flowers, cactus, bamboo etc, nicely maintained and labelled (though they could do with having a few guides to give information around) and for some unfathomable reason they were playing Christmas carols all over the park, which was amusing for a while, but got on our nerves after a while. But all in all it was a lovely visit and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to explore it. 

Orchid Garden

Bamboo Garden

Flower Garden

From the botanical garden, we hitched a lift (it's quite safe to do so in Thailand in my experience, of course it does cost u 50-300 Bhats depending on the distance) and went on an impromptu visit to Chalong Bay, a nice and happening place cluttered with lots of eateries and Bars. Spent a lovely evening dining by a beach side restaurant called Kaneang (I'd read about it in quite a few recos) - a beautiful place, lovely ambience with good food ( esp seafood, which thanks to my anaphylaxis I can't have). We also managed to book a boat tour to Phang Nga bay from a local tour operator (I suggest that it's better to book directly with the tour companies, as these operators tend to change tours at the last moment)

Kaneang @ The Pier

The next day we went to see a real time Muay Thai fight in a local stadium (1000 Bhats for the tickets, I suggest get egular tickets instead of the VIP one's) and it was fun, watching techniques we were practicing, speculating. Each match begins with a dancing ritual to impress the Gods ( and we got to learn the ritual the very next day in the session). One of the matches lasted for just 10 seconds, one punch from the Australian boxer and match over (I'm sure he earned a nasty reputation) another one had this chap who could hardly find time from setting his knickers right and ended up getting a bloody injury and loosing the match. 

The Pre fight dance ritual

he lost the match to the pants

The most interesting part of the match evening was of course the discussion about the lineage of tomato - whether it was a fruit or a vegetable that started between us and the couple from the camp who were accompanying us!! and we are still clueless from where it started, but we now know that tomato is a fruit and  that French are a scary lot.

That night we also discovered, a lovely bar we had in our neighborhood, located around a tree, an open air place with a round stone slab, on which u can leave behind a message with ink markers (of course I lost all my sleep as played with the markers) with a yummy meal (as Jacob put it, who thinks bars can serve good meals, well this one did). 

This is the beauty of travel - Impromptu moments - a peaceful evening by the sea listening to the waves, the wind, crazy and funny conversations, a lovely night by a bar with music of 90's  and so many more - moments that linger in some corner of your memories and come back to you some other time, making you smile at the times gone by.  

P.S - account of exploring shall continue in the next post.