Snow white......!! (Washington DC, USA, Jan/Feb 2010)

A 3-week long official trip to Washington DC and California was in any case not a very exciting proposition for me because I was not getting to see any new place, which essentially meant no new masala for this blog (imagine – travelling around 15000 km and not getting to see even a new single place!! L). The driving factors that kept my excitement level high were two: a) meeting new people as I was going to the HQ of my new workplace for the first time, and (b) meeting up friends in DC and New York/New Jersey area.

The first two weeks in DC were great – all the way from the airport to the hotel, we could see snow piled on road side (remnants of a snow storm that came in December 2009)….how was I to know that I was see more snow on this trip than I have seen in my whole life! On the weekend before I was to fly out to California, all my plans to shop were ‘snowed-in’ – but it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life – waking up to snowfall (thanks to this lovely friend who made sure that I got up when it started snowing J). I had seen snow earlier- but never experienced a snow fall – it is so difficult to describe how it feels when the snow falls on you – light, fluffy like a feather touching you!! A poet has rightly described it as: “The snowfall is so silent, so slow, bit by bit, with delicacy it settles down on the earth and covers over the fields. ………………………….. Snow, delicate snow, that falls with such lightness on the head, on the feelings, come and cover over the sadness that lies always in my reason” (Miguel de Unamuno, translated by Robert Bly).

But how was I to know that this snow which had me captivated that day will become a bone of contention after four days when one of the worst snow storms would hit DC and disrupt life all over the mid-Atlantic region (for more details, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35237043/ns/weather/).I can only thank God that we were stuck on the other coast (in beautiful San Francisco) as the airport in DC was closed (we had to come back to DC and then fly out to India – …..hey - did you just ask why???. Well – that’s another story – one which cannot be made public on this blog!). Spending hours every day on the phone trying to re-book air tickets (every day the flight would be cancelled and we will start the process of getting connected to some BPO in India/Philippines or the likes to get us on the next flight. It wasn’t as easy as it may seem now – it meant being on the phone for atleast one hour before you could talk to an agent (my conclusion as that customer service in India is better!) – only to be told that no seats are available!.....Finally, we did manage to reach DC and leave for India via NY ……wait- picture abhi baak hai – the flight had a technical snag delaying us for about 4 hours at NY airport – a few more hours and we would have been stuck in NY for 2-3 days as the storm hit NY that night and all flights in and out of NY were cancelled!.......But “mera bharat mahaan” (I was on Air India) – and when they could n to correct the fault through the computer – they did it manually!!

This post has not given you details of what to see in DC – for that I need to dig into my notes of 2007 – and I will do it soon!!...

Watch this pace for “must do” in SFO – coming sooooon!!

Bangkok..............

Though it was my second visit to the city, I realized that I actually not really experienced it the first time. I guess the reason was that when I went there earlier it was my first ever ‘trip abroad’ (with the exception of Nepal)! On top of that we were to ld to be extremely careful of our belongings and not to venture out alone etc etc.- so really didn’t ‘see’ the city then. But this time it was different – with the experience of having travelled across Europe and USA, and several times alone, the confidence level was much higher.

The Grand Palace is undoubtedly one of most beautiful pieces of architecture that I have ever seen – the lobbies depict the story of the ‘Ramayana’ through wall to wall intricate and colorful paintings. Within the palace complex are several impressive buildings including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), which contains the small, very famous and greatly revered Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century. While most websites give these details, what they don’t mention is that there is a strict dress code to be followed to visit the Palace (arms and legs to be fully covered, and closed footwear- though at times the guards do not bother about the footwear. You can also get wrap around skirts at the main entrance in case you are not appropriately dressed). Also, a must-not-miss is the ‘coconut water’ served chill at the restaurant near the exit.
Close by (15 minutes walk minimum) is the Reclining Budha- this highly impressive gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high, and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana.

The Suan Lum Night market is a beautiful place – it has hundreds and hundreds of shops selling traditional Thai handicrafts, clothes, bags etc – it opens only at 8 pm and is a very lively place. It has a huge food court and if you are lucky, you can a nice musical performance on the huge stage at the food court. I guess it’s a shoppers’ paradise for those who know what they want to buy and have the ’eye’ to see where that thing is - for someone like me who gets lost when there too many options - it wasn’t of much use.

Be aware of people (who you may stop to ask about directions) who will try to tell you that the temple/palace is closed as the King is visiting or something else – THEY ARE LIARS!!! They just want to take you somewhere else and charge you 3-4 times of the money you would otherwise spend. Also, the metered taxi is not always the trusted option- they can take you round and round the city- and you cannot even have a conversation with them as “they don’t understand English” (as per their convenience). The Jewellery/Gems factory (where most tour operators will surely take you) is something that most ‘Tuk-tuks’ and ‘taxis’ would want to take you to – coz they get coupons for gas refill in their vehicles!

And before I forget, the dinner cruise on the river is a lovely experience.

All and all – it’s a nice city, though I wish it was more tourist friendly.

Glasshouse on the Ganges…..–where Ganges is clean - the way it should be everywhere

A weekend break – away from the city – a must for those who love nature. We took the Dehradun Shatabdi from Delhi and got off at Haridwar, from where Glasshouse is a 2 hour drive. We reached the property by lunch time- though the drive was tough- specially some patches as the road had been completely destroyed by rains and landslides.

We stayed at a lovely place called the Glasshouse on the Ganges (A Neemrana property). The place came highly recommended from friends who went there about 2 years back. The property lives upto its name- its made mainly of glass and is situated bang on the Ganges. Most of the rooms have a view of the river and the mountains and is something completely different from the places I have been to so far. But the property can definitely do something to its maintenance levels …..the carromboard in the common room is in shambles. However, we spent all our time on the river beach – so it was ok!!

The river beach of the property is small but perfect (good things come in small packages after all!). it is so much better than a sea beach as the water is not salty. The weather was perfect and thank god it did not rain while we were there – so we could maximize the time we spent on the beach.

We also went to the Rishikesh town and had lunch at the famous restaurant – “Chotiwala”. It was nothing exceptional as it has kind of lost its old charm over the years and even the menu now includes pastas and pizzas (catering to the huge tourist inflow from the west). I remember going there as a child and really enjoying the traditional Indian food minus the shahi paneer and dal makhni .

But , overall, a lovely trip – we plan to skip Rishikesh next time and just spend all our time at the Glasshouse…just when we are ready for our next “complete break to unwind”!

Ramgarh, Uttarakhand……………the beauty of doing nothing!!!

After debating between beach and hills…the hills won and we finally decided to go on a short holiday to this place called Ramgarh in Uttarakhand. Easily accessible by road and train (we took the overnight Ranikhet Express to Kathgodam, from where it is only a 2 hour drive).

We got exactly what we wanted – a quiet, serene and peaceful destination, where at times, we could hear our own breath. We stayed at the Neemrana Ramgarh Bunglows – a ‘non-hotel’ hotel. The cottages are beautifully located and each cottage has its own charm. We stayed at the Cliff House and the view from there is truly exquisite. The jam and juice factory run by Neemrana Hotels at their property itself is worth a visit – you can taste the stuff before you buy it and in any case if happen to be staying there or have breakfast there, the jams and juices will be served to you! The staff is very nice and hospitable; however, the property can do with better maintenance especially of the flower beds it has.

It’s a perfect place for people who want to completely unwind and forget the hustle bustle of city life…..time stops in Ramgarh! There is nothing to do except walk, eat, sleep, read, look at the mountains and enjoy the cool breeze. The weather was perfect and we were lucky that it did not rain while we were there – though I think that it would have become even more beautiful if it did.

One of best things about Ramgarh is that there are hardly any monkeys where the cottages are - which means that you can enjoy your meals out in the open…and you can leave your things anywhere in the property without the fear of not being able to find them again!

Any description of Ramgarh would be incomplete without the mention of the ‘Cedar Lodge’. It is located much above the Neemrana Bunglows and offers a great view of the valley and the mountains – and we were told it is the best after snowfall d you can see all the snow capped mountains from there. The food is lovely …and so are the dogs (Tiger and Rocky)!

On our way back, we went to Naukuchiya Taal and got our boat ‘driver’ to stop at the Lake Resort for tea.

It not being peak season and weekdays, we avoided the Delhi crowd completely and we were almost the only ones wherever we went.

A beautiful holiday, a short holiday…. A PERFECT HOLIDAY!

Bandhavgarh National Park

An overdose of travel to several European and American cities in 2007, made us think of going on a different kind of a holiday than the usual. The search for that perfect holiday finally led us to deciding upon going to a Tiger Reserve. We finally selected Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh as the destination – for several reasons: one - the density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is one of the highest known in India, and two – it required the least travel by road and is well connected by the rail network.

Bandhavgarh National Park consists of a core area of 105 sq km and a buffer area of approximately 400 sq km of topography varies between steep ridges, undulating, forest and open meadows. Bandhavgarh National Park is known for the Royal Bengal Tigers. Bandhavgarh National Park was the former hunting preserve of the Maharaja of Rewa and at present is a famous natural hub for White Tigers. The terrain is broken, with rocky hill ranges, running roughly east west, interspersed with grassy swamps and forested valleys.

We took the safaris on all the days – both morning and evening (it was strange to get up at 5 am on a holiday – but lot of fun- especially with the packed breakfast and tea that our hotel used to pack for us). We did manage to see the TIGERS and also some other animals - elephants, deers, wild boars, sambars, jackals and several exotic birds. It was a different experience- waiting in the jeeps trying to listen to alarm calls of animals like monkeys and barking deer and then a wild goose chase across the jungle looking for the TIGER!!! The most beautiful sight of all was a four year old baby elephant trying to play with his 80 year old grandmother -ignoring his mother completely. But, his mother was keeping an eye on him and the moment he started playing with us – she made such noises that he ran away (dum daba ke!!!).

A must not miss on the trip to Bandhavgarh is the Bandhavgarh Fort. As this path is frequented by tigers, it is full of very clear tiger pug marks. The view, from the Fort, of the surrounding area of Bandhavgarh National Park is breathtakingly beautiful (and will probably compensate for not being able to see the tiger during the safari). There is an old temple where a pujari still lives and there are the ruins of the royal treasury, a school and the palace of the royal family.

Donate..but what?

This post has nothing to do with travel or animals or books....but its something very close to my heart, so I thought of using this platform to share it with all of you.

Organ shortages are a global problem, but Asia lags behind much of the rest of the world. The organ donation rate from dead bodies in India is estimated to be a minuscule 0.05 per million people (although India has among the world's highest number of deaths from road accidents). Hong Kong's organ donation rate is less than 5 per million, while it's 25 per million in the United States.

It is estimated that every year 3 million people in India suffer from End Stage Renal disease; only 2,500 are lucky to receive a transplant. The dearth in supply of organs can be matched with the demand, if cadaver organ donation is encouraged and supported by the government and promoted by the medical fraternity. So far, Cadaver Organ Donations accounts for only 0.25 percent of transplants done every year.

Most people in India are not aware that they can donate their organs and can ensure that several people can live a healthy and happy life because of this donation of theirs. It does not cost anything and it is the best donation anyone can make. Most Hindus spent their life going to temples to make sure that they have a good life after death. What they don’t know is that they can make sure that lives of several others can be made wonderful if they decide to donate their organs after death. If there is a God, then I am sure he will ensure that people who donate organs have “good life after death” in heaven J.

As a child, I was always keen to donate my eyes after death. Over the years I have realized that its not only the eyes that matter, all organs if donated can save lives and bring happiness to so may people – its the best donation one can ever make. Who knows, the person who gets life because of you may fulfill all your dreams that you yourself could not!

All you need to do this is to talk to your next kin and family and fill up the donation card (available in most hospitals) and carry it with you always. It is also beneficial to put your wish of organ donation in word and sign and get it counter signed by two witnesses.

Make sure that you family supports you in this as they are the ones who will execute this for you. Give your family a reason to smile even when you are gone – by knowing that you are there somewhere in this world thinking about them.

Its that time of the year!!!

This post is not about a weekend get away or a longer holiday (Well, I could have written about my recent visit to Jammu city – but since it was an official trip, ‘professionalism’ demands that I do not write about it on my ‘personal’ blog!!). This post revolves around a recent ‘trip’ to Delhi (from Gurgaon) for a wedding of a friend. The ‘trip’ took some 3 hours each side to cover a distance of 60 kms!!!!!! The news is that some 22000 people in Delhi decided to get married on the same day and around the same time . Thank God that there were 4 of us in the car (and I must mention here that the friend driving the car was very patient and saved us from becoming patients of impatience). What is interesting is the fun we had during the JOURNEY – the discussions varied from recession to shopping/travel, equality vs. equal opportunity, traffic on Delhi roads specially during ‘wedding season’ and the possible solutions to reduce it. We thought of some innovative solutions (though we also concluded that probably China has already used some of them – to control population!!) for this:
1. Welcome back the Quota System: Every year, the local administration should release a quote for number of marriages that can take place on a particular day and those desiring to get married should register with the administration. Yes, there will be administrative issues and corruption and touts that will emerge because of this- but then we as Indians are used to all this- right??!
2. Time of Day Charges: Separate quota and charges of marriages during different times – peak and off peak – attached with it could be special discounts for off peak weddings……ye ye ye!!!
3. Postpone the hungama: The wedding ceremony becomes a private family affair and the big blast celebrations come later (during the off peak season)

So, which of the above you think will work in saaddi dilli???
Before I forget, almost all the cars on the road had decked up people and even brides and grooms waiting in the traffic!!

Coming back to the wedding, we finally reached the venue and it was beautiful – the groom also got caught in the traffic so we did manage to see the jai mala ceremony. Wishing the lovely newly weds a beautiful life together (this post is especially for them!).