Quaint Colloquies

A European Sojourn

2009-05-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

There is “Time of your life” by Greenday playing in the background as I sit and recount my wonderful European sojourn. Such an apt number for this journey me and my friend undertook together.

Here’s a sneak peak:

Number of continents: 1 for me and 2 for my friend(flew from India)

Number of countries: 4

Number of cities: 6

Time: 3 weeks

Budget: 2500 euros per person (including accommodation, travel, food, partying, souvenirs)

Budget exceeded by: 0 euros (not considering some exorbitant shopping which off course was not planned – total exorbitant spend – 254 euros)

Budget left: 31.49 euros :D

Fun: TIME OF OUR LIVES!

I am returning to blogging after a long long long time. But, I promise to make it up to all of you with these memoirs. Watch out this space for the stories on our first stop – PARIS!

Technorati Tags: Europe , Travel , Itinery , Budget

Hiking in the woods!

2008-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting weekend last week. I was enjoying a beautiful evening with barbecue and some new friends on Saturday and to burn all that fat, I accompanied a bunch of people for a hike in the woods of Netherlands.

I had an early Sunday morning and an eventful journey ahead of me. We were to meet at the Driebergen Ziest station to commence our hike. It took me two hours and three trains to reach my first destination. Having said that, I must add that the trains in Holland are incredibly comfortable and fast and very unlike the local trains of Mumbai. I did witness a strange sight in my train from Rotterdam to Utrecht central though. There was a girl with a Mohawk for a hairstyle and if that was not radical enough, she had tricolor hair – blue, shocking pink and black. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of strange visuals for the day!

We were eight of us and a truly international bunch – Danish, Scottish, Indian (yours truly), Dutch, Finnish and New Zealand. We were to walk in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug - an interesting area which has numerous hiking and cycling routes. Armed with maps and apparently a very detailed description, we set out on our beautiful journey. We crossed forests, sands and wide open spaces in our path. We were blessed by great weather during the entire trek. We did have some rain, but this time it felt wonderful. The sound of raindrops falling on the trees was surreal. It felt as if the tall trees were sheltering us against the rain knowing that we were walking underneath them. We did have some strange encounters, like at one point of time, we found ourselves on a queer, rather narrow concrete bridge in the middle of the forest, standing over what looked like a dried up and dirty canal of sorts.

The terrain of our hike was quite diverse. At one moment we will be surrounded by trees and at the next we will suddenly come upon a clearing with sand under our feet and lavender flowers all around. At one such clearing we saw benches strewn around on the sand with placards saying “BAR” or “DANSCIE” on the benches. Just when we thought that this was absolutely crazy, we saw something crazier. A troupe of girls dressed in fancy dress. We wanted to imagine that they were natives of this area – considering many were dressed in animal prints and red Indian clothes. We could not let our imaginations run wild because we realized that we were gatecrashing a student orientation programme. I have never seen an orientation like this in my life.

We were a fun group. Some of us were very imaginative and would think that we were crossing a perilous jungle infested with poisonous mushrooms and green lagoons. What fun! Add to that, we had blueberries, fresh from the shrubs into our mouths – I presume to give us energy! We had an environmentalist amongst us, so many a time, we would stop to look at ants, mushrooms of all kinds and other tiny animal life in the woods.

The berries were not a sustainable source of energy so we had to stop for lunch. We stopped at a small and very dutch town on our way. Very dutch = beautiful homes with large glass windows adorned with plants and knickknacks and no curtains off course. Our lunch was at Lunchen bij de Jonckvrouw. I had a vegetable pie (vegagroente taartje as it was called in the menu) and it was quite something. The portion was huge and the pie was delicious. As we left the eetcafe to resume our hike, we saw another unusual visual. A troupe of bikers, this time, with HUGE Harley Davidson bikes which had equally huge side cars for some reason. Albeit, we were not the only ones in the mood to explore the Netherlands.

The second half of our hike saw us searching for a pyramid. No, the walking had not gone to our heads and we were not imagining that we were in Egypt. Our very detailed description said that there should be a pyramid in our path and we had missed it. So, enterprising as we were, a few of us decided that we will unearth the pyramid of Netherlands. We did find the pyramid and the picture says it all. It was a huge structure in the middle of nowhere and you had to pay to climb it. We decided to pass the climbing and were happy only to discover the pyramid of Netherlands.

We walked from 11 in the morning to about 5:15 in the evening that Sunday and me and one of the ladies from the hike also sprinted briefly to catch our train to Rotterdam. For me, it was a Sunday well spent and I am looking forward to doing something like this again.

For those of you who would want to try the hike, check out this link – http://www.eropuit.nl/uitje/title/UtrechtseHeuvelrugwandeltocht/id/1000037/. The information is in dutch, but then what is google translate for.

So, this time, Happy Hiking people!

Technorati Tags: Netherlands, UtrechtseHeuvelrug, LunchenbijdeJonckvrow , Hiking

I have changed homes!

2008-07-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Strange title to a post – isn’t it! Well, I have been changing homes since the past 7 years, since in the city of Mumbai you will not be allowed to have a lease agreement for more than 11 months, so its quite an insignificant activity for me to make announcements about it on my blog. But what IS significant is that I have been calling the city of Delft and the tiny country of Netherlands my home since the past two months now and THAT deserves an announcement!

I am a small town girl now and things are very different – they will be – I live below sea level! My hometown Delft is a cute little town, which is so small that if I am not lazy enough, I can actually just walk from one end to the other and it will be done within a few hours. It has brick laid streets, beautiful buildings and a lovely town square. The town square is my favourite part of the town. It is lively, there is always something happening there and its good fun! It is in the true sense of the expression – a cute, cosy European town and its nice or leuk! (as the dutch would say!)

So, you can see that I am quite enjoying myself in my new hometown and what makes my heart leap out with joy is that Delft has tons of restaurants serving up cuisines from across the globe. You know where this post is going by now, I am getting back to writing about – the love of my life – you guessed it right – FOOD (Kedar, if you were reading this and thinking it was you – Sorrrry!).

People who have been reading my blog will know that I am a chocolate monster and the first place I am going to write about is a chocolaterie. Since the time I saw the movie Chocolat, I have been dreaming of visiting a shop like the one owned by the protagonist in the movie and wondering if such shops do exist in the world. Well, my dream came true when I visited this shop at Voorstraat. Its temptation galore as you enter this shop with all sorts of chocolates lined up to feast your eyes on. It has a beautiful warmth about it. They sort of specialize in chocolates made from or filled with liquers and their collection does seem unique. Try their dark chocolate bar with nuts and the apple and cinnamon truffles. I can still taste them, so good were they!! They also give you a pretty paper bag to carry your exquisite purchases and you can order online from www.chocolaterie.nl and enroll for a chocolate making workshop! Pretty cool I think!

If all this shopping is making you thirsty then its time to go to De Ruif Eetcafe. Order a glass of white wine and alongwith it what they call He Bolle. He Bolle is typical finger food freshly baked bread – slightly crusty on the outside, topped with sesame seeds and nice and soft on the inside alongwith tapenade (a sort of paste of olives with olive oil and sundried tomatoes or capers - the recipe could vary) and aioli (a sauce of garlic and olive oil). Grab a table outside on the barge if the weather is nice (notice the dutch influence) and you are sure to have a great time.

Dinner time! The options are a charming eaterie in the town centre or a surprise at Kromstraat. Take your pick.

The charming eaterie being referenced to is the Boterhuis. I like it so much that I have already dined there twice. Boterhuis means a butterhouse and it seems like it was one centuries ago and the decor has been kept intact to retain the old world charm. Reserve a table on the lower level and you can enjoy a great meal with the canal by your side. The ambience is minimalistic with wrought iron candle stands adorning the slightly dilapidated walls. The lower level also has a huge wrought iron gate as a reminder of the bygone eras. Their herbed risotto with shallots and mushrooms is an absolute must-have. It is a simple yet delicately flavoured, creamy risotto with just the right level of cheese to suit my palette. Also try the portobello mushroom with goat cheese or the goat cheese strudel. They keep changing menus like most restaurants in Delft so don’t be disappointed if you don’t find these dishes. I am pretty sure whatever else is on their menu is equally great.

The surprise at Kromstraat is De Kurk. Kromstraat is a typical student hangout street and to find such a restaurant there was quite a pleasant surprise. De Kurk looks like any regular bar when you enter. But once inside, what awaits you is a beautiful restaurant inside a glasshouse. So even when its raining you can still get your fill of eating outside. The menu for vegetarians is quite limited. Two starters and one maincourse, but the food is great. The vegetarian salad is simple yet scrumptious. My colleague was nice enough to let me dig in when he had this. The highpoint of the meal for sure is the maincourse, consisting of spinach quiche with a gorgeous, slightly creamy sauce on the side and those amazing potato cakes these dutch make.

Try some of these places and let me know what you think. I shall keep updating you all on my stint in the Netherlands. Until then, as I always say – Happy Eating!

Technorati Tags: Netherlands, Delft, www.boterhuis.nl , www.ruif.nl, www.chocolaterie.nl,

Big Bad Bangkok!

2008-06-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

We had just two days left for our trip and it was time to live it up – literally!. We were booked in the Baiyoke Sky Hotel – which is considered to be among the tallest buildings in Thailand, and we were to stay in the space zone. We were really looking forward to this even when we planned our trip. We arrived at the hotel and were put up in a room on the 72nd floor. When we entered our room, we were exhilarated, we felt that we had arrived in life! The room was BIG, with huge glass windows and the view from the room of the streets below was out of this world. It was equipped with all the modern amenities one could desire. We paid about 72 USD/person/night for this room and we were charged about 8 USD for our taxi from the airport to the hotel.

The hotel in itself is quite an attraction. It is a shopping complex, hence other than evenings, the corridors are quite crowded. There is a rooftop bar overlooking the whole of Bangkok on the 83rd floor and on the 84th floor is the revolving deck with a 360 degree view of Bangkok. Extremely interesting! Although, getting a seat by the window in the bar in the evening can get quite tricky and the live band can be annoying – it was for me , too loud and cheap for my taste. But then there was Bangkok – all glittering and beautiful, and all below me, so I was not complaining at all.

The way to the observation deck has interesting aliens on the stairway along with pictures of the solar system and the music from 2001 a space odyssey completing the experience. My friend particularly became friendly with one of the aliens as can be seen in this picture!

Between the two Baiyokes – Baiyoke star and Baiyoke sky, a market is set up from 4 in the evening till 11 in the night and we picked up quite some interesting stuff from there. By the time we were done, a complimentary foot massage was awaiting us in the hotel. Since we were staying in the most expensive set of rooms, we had loads of freebies attached to our room. We had a complimentary breakfast, a complimentary foot massage, complimentary fruits and welcome drink and what not. The breakfast was one huge eclectic spread of cuisines.

But the best part was the massage. The spa is open till midnight so after shopping for the entire day a massage can be easily scheduled. The massage was absolutely wonderful and although it was free the masseurs did not rush up on things and gave us the most relaxing massage ever.

As the night fell, we realized that our big fat international holiday was ending. The next day, we took a flight back home, with our bags full of shopping and our minds full of memories we will cherish forever!

Technorati Tags: Thailand, Bangkok, Baiyoke , Travel

Phi Phi Galore!

2008-05-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ko Phi Phi Don was the beginning of the more luxurious part of the trip. We bought this trip from the same travel agent who had arranged for our trip to Phang Nga Bay. This time a huge ferry awaited us at Rassada pier. The sun deck was already crowded with people and the atmosphere was quite festive. We were served a complimentary breakfast of coffee and warm croissant and we were cozy already. It was a breezy and comfortable ride.

At Phi Phi, we were greeted by clear, azure waters, white sands and an absolutely cozy atmosphere. Hotel reservations were being offered on the ferry, however, we had booked ours online through “Global Reservations”. We were booked at the PP Casita resort and to tell you the truth, I was very skeptical about this place because we had booked online and did not have much information about the place and had paid the full amount in advance. So, I was really worried that it may not turn out good. But guess what, I was wrong. P P Casita was beautiful, in fact the word that comes to my mind when I think of it is "Delicious"!! Quite an odd word to describe a place to stay! But, PP Casita is done up in such a way that it deserves the description. The place has quaint cottages at a raised level with plants growing all around each cottage. The rooms are beautifully done up in Maroon, lavender and white. They are new, spacious and have an electronic safe and a fridge. The bathroom also boasts of an interesting decor. It almost feels like home. We stayed in the fan bungalow as we were on a budget, but realised that its better to take up an A/C room in phi phi as it gets quite hot inside the room during the day even though it was December. We paid about 20 USD per night per person for our lovely abode.

Phi Phi was certainly the high point during my two week vacation. For people who believe that a day trip from Phuket or Krabi is enough for Phi Phi, think again. Phi Phi is perfect for an idyllic holiday where all you can do is chill, relax, make friends at a bar and walk apart from snorkeling, climbing and diving.

Snorkeling trips can be bought from a number of agencies here, however, I would specially want to recommend Spider Monkey. We bought our snorkeling trip from them. They are essentially a climbing shop and specialize in climbing expeditions around Phi Phi island. They also have their own longtail boat, which can be rented for snorkeling trips. The best part about this shop, however, is the people who run this place - an english girl and her thai boyfriend. Very friendly and honest people who are a delight to talk to. The other interesting bit is that they have some really cool merchandise for sale like T-shirts, trousers etc. and we did end up buying quite some stuff from them.

When in Phi Phi, it is strongly recommended to just chill, relax and take your time. A perfect place to do so while you sip some interesting dessert coffee and watch the world go by is D’s bookshop. D's bookshop is apparently is a chain of bookshops in Asia, however, it was my first run-in with this place in Koh Phi Phi Don. A lovely shop in an idyllic setting with a nice little cafe serving up great coffees and desserts. They rent and sell second hand as well as first hand books. It’s a great place to strike up conversation with a fellow traveler.

Phi Phi is pretty well-known for its nightlife and there is something for everyone here. There are bars on the beach, there are cafes showing movies, shops which are open till 11 in the night. Its one festive place! Looking for something romantic, what better than to walk on the beach with your beloved with a medley of music ranging from ballads, pop and rock and the sound of crashing waves to give you company. Priceless!

We were up for something exciting and ended up spending our Christmas eve at one of the most popular bars in Phi Phi – Carlitos. Even the entrance to this bar is intriguing – it sports a hilarious signboard giving distances to Rekjavik, Mexico etc. – absolutely sets the mood for the traveler in you right away. Carlitos is right on the beach, so much so that as the tide changes, the waves start crashing at your feet and you will have to shift your table behind. It is packed most times and it seems like a global meeting joint as you will be surrounded by people from a number of nationalities at any point of time. Carlitos has a fireshow everyday after 10 pm, however, when we went, there was none, but we were not disappointed as we saw a fireshow done by the restaurant next door and it was simply awesome!

We liked Phi Phi so much that we wanted to extend our stay there, but the next day was Christmas, and everything was booked. We had to leave Phi Phi with a heavy heart.
We were approaching the final leg of our trip and we were going to live it up in style. More in the last post of this series. Keep reading!
Technorati Tags: Thailand, PhiPhi, PPCasita , GlobalReservations , Carlitos , SpiderMonkey , D'sbookshop, Travel

Ahoy Thailand!

2008-05-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy itinerary for Thailand. We were to first spend four days in Phuket, two days at Ko Phi Phi, back for another two days in Phuket and then one night in Bangkok. Phew!, cant believe I actually managed all of that! This time we took a flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok. Siem Reap airport was beautiful. A small and less busy airport compared to many, but aesthetically constructed and peppered with glimpses of south east asian architecture. We took the Bangkok Airways flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok and then an Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Phuket. The damage for the Bangkok Airways flight was 142 USD per person while for Air Asia we paid about 65 USD per person – now you know why we did the treacherous road journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap!

Both were really short flights and in no time we were flying over a beach to land in Phuket. Phuket airport is adjacent to a beach and is a famous airplane spotting destination for many airplane fanatics. I had one with me and airplane spotting was definitely on the cards during this trip. But for now, we needed to check in to our home in Phuket. We had a car waiting for us and we were whisked away to this beautiful city with wide roads, modern construction and lush green countryside. It was quite a drive from the airport to our guesthouse at Karon beach. We were staying at Pineapple Phuket. Pineapple Phuket was a far cry from the homely surroundings of Two Dragons at Siem Reap. It was not actually a bad place, but I would not essentially recommend it to anyone.

Our first spell of four days in Karon was not as good an experience for me as I fell sick the moment we reached there and with a horrible congestion in my chest, and difficulty finding vegetarian food, my holiday was turning into a nightmare of sorts. But things started looking up with our trip to Phang Nga Bay, James Bond Island and Monkey Island. It was the most touristy thing we did but it was completely worth it. We bought the trip from one of the many travel agents at Karon beach and after that we did not need to worry about anything. We had a minibus pick us up from our guesthouse, take us to the pier, there was food served on the boat and all we had to do was have a great time. We went through some really interesting caves in canoes during this trip. And hyped or not, the James Bond Island is definitely worth a visit. It is stunningly beautiful and I have never seen anything like this before.

We also visited an interesting museum of shells and were completely blown away by the arrangements of shells and the sheer variety on display. Again touristic but highly recommended.

Something else that livened things up for me was shopping at the town centre in Phuket. It is a shoppers paradise, particularly for ladies. It has great bargains on everything ranging from clothes to jewelery to bags – and oh what bags!. I bought quite some of them.

Although, food was sort of a problem for me at the Karon beach, we did manage to find some good places. We found this tiny yet charming café at Karon called Enjoy café. Enjoy offers condos as stay arrangements and has a cafe on the ground floor. We went there for breakfast one morning and fell in love with the place. The cafe is clean and the coffee and food fresh. I had viennese coffee for the first time and loved it. The crossiants were fresh and warm and since we were early it was just us. The lady serving us was extremely friendly and we sure had a good time there.

Another interesting place was a restaurant called Trattoria at the Kata beach. It is run by an Italian and hence most of the patronage is Italian there. The ambience is like any other cafe in Phuket and like any other place in Thailand the staff was friendly and the service fast.I had a vegetarian pizza there and it was easily the best pizza I have had ever. All the vegetables had been sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with herbs. Everything was very fresh and delectable. My non-vegetarian friend also enjoyed his pizza as much as I did mine.

On one of these days, we hired a car and went to the Mai Khao beach and the airport beach – Nai Yang for airplane spotting. We clicked quite some pictures of planes of various colours, shapes and sizes and I was most excited on seeing a sea plane which I call the sea-duck based on the popular cartoon series tailspin which I used to watch as a kid. It brought back the child in me watching a sea-duck in real life.

The most beautiful place we visited in Thailand was Ko Phi Phi and to know about that you will have to wait for my next post!

Technorati Tags: Thailand, Phuket, Karon , Kata , Airplanespotting , JamesBondIsland , Travel

Mesmerizing Angkor

2008-05-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

The idea of this vacation was to explore the adventurer and the historian within us. We wanted to experience the thrill, the wonder of being in a 900 year old temple complex which was lost in time and rediscovered by some unknown traveler and remains the biggest jigsaw puzzle of the world. We were in Siem Reap to visit the temples of Angkor and our friend and guide in this sojourn was Joy – our car driver whom we paid 25 USD/day. We decided to begin our historical journey by first paying homage to the most famous of the temple complexes – Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was later modified by various kings to represent a dedication to Buddism as well.

To visit any of the temples around Siem Reap, what you need is a temple pass. We bought a three day temple pass for 40 USD per person. Angkor Wat and the temples are essentially in a forest and now concrete roads have been constructed owing to the tourist attraction these temples have become. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a huge water body called a moat and all the structures in the complex have intricate carvings of apsaras and incidents from hindu mythology. The fact that these temples were later converted to Buddist, is also visible in the statues of Buddha placed amidst a typical hindu mythology incident. On one of the outer walls of this complex, there is an intricate carving describing the war between Pandavas and Kauravas – the battle of Kurukshetra. It’s a beautiful and extremely complex carving.

We also managed to visit Ta Phrom that afternoon. This complex has been almost completely eaten away by the forest. It is almost as if nature was taking its revenge against man. But its beautiful the way it is. One of the spots at this complex has been made famous by Angelina Jolie as a sequence of her movie Tomb Raider was shot here. It’s the place where everyone wants to get a picture clicked and there is actually a queue to get yourself clicked. I managed to anger quite a big group of tourists by posing in front of this landmark without realizing that I was breaking the queue.

The next day, we were up early in the morning to see the sunrise over the towers of Angkor Wat. It’s the most wonderful sunrise I have seen. When we reached, there were hundreds of people already waiting for the sun to rise. It almost felt as if we were all one big global community waiting together with bated breath to watch the oft-seen spectacle of sunrise, however this time over the mesmerizing towers of a centuries old temple. It was spectacular.

During the course of three days we visited the Bayon, Phimeneakas, Preah Khan, and Angkor Thom. We did not hire a guide to these places and hence we were on our own amidst these mysterious temples. We sometimes found a cool spot and just sat there amidst the beautiful carvings of apsaras, Gods, demons, garudas and wondered what this place would be like in its true grandeur. One of my friends carried a book on Angkor with her and at times we played this fun game of finding structures mentioned in the book and felt like discoverers when we finally managed to find it. Archeologists from around the world have worked on solving the jigsaw puzzle of these temple complexes and what can be seen now is the partial solution. The solution is sometimes wrong, we found, as most of these temples are Hindu temples and being Hindus, we realized that the symbols and the structures were slightly mixed up at times.

My favourite temples amongst the ones we visited were Bayon and Ta Phrom. Bayon - an interesting mix of manmade art, history and intrigue and Ta Phrom – nature’s work of art, destructive yet beautiful. The creativity of both man and nature is astounding in these monuments. Although, I managed to get lost in Bayon, the monument with its 200 faces of Lokeswara, staring at you in all directions with the same peaceful expression, will stay fresh in my memory for a lifetime.

I wish to go back to Siem Reap and to Angkor as one visit is not sufficient to take in the glory of these wonders. Some day, I will go back to get in touch with the explorer within me. Till then, it was Thailand calling!

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Angkorwat, Bayon , TaPhrom , Lokeswara , AngelinaJolie , Travel

Beautiful Siem Reap!

2008-02-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

Siem Reap was charming, like a breath of fresh air! We were booked in the “Two Dragons Guesthouse” and one look at the place and we were in love. Two Dragons is a cozy little guesthouse tucked away in a small lane in Siem Reap. It is away from the din and bustle of the old market and the "Pub street" and so one can spend the night in peace and tranquility and wake up to sounds of traditional Khmer music every morning.

The place is run by Gordon Sharpless - an American married to a Thai. Gordon is the author of “www.talesofasia.com” - which is quite easily the most comprehensive guide to Cambodia. Gordon is sort of a walking, talking guide on anything and everything related to Cambodia. An extensively traveled gentleman, his experience was of great help to us and we kept asking for his recommendations on a lot of things.

We had the second biggest room in the guesthouse and it was an absolute delight. We had opted for a fan room and it was a lovely, spacious room with all modern amenities like a fridge, ensuite bathroom with hot shower, a TV and two huge beds which could comfortably accommodate two people on one. We paid 22USD per night for this room. There was a very interesting menu in the room where the first few pages were dedicated to food and the last few pages to hilarious signs which were actually observed at hotels around the world. It is a good testament of the sense of humor of the owner.

Two Dragons has a wonderful café where we spent a lot of time in between our temple visits. The restaurant serves up delicious thai, khmer and European delicacies. The breakfast options are named – Big Dragon breakfast, little dragon breakfast and baby dragon breakfast. Mind you, the Big Dragon is exactly that – BIG. What I liked best was their Hot Chocolate. It was to die for. According to my non-vegetarian friend the Lok Lak - which is a beef preparation is quite nice as well.

We could only spend one evening on the famous pub street in Siem Reap because the temples would tire us a lot. But it was a treat. I simply loved the place. Influences of European culture are quite predominant in the fabric of Siem Reap. Absolutely not to be missed is the Angkor What? bar. The name of this place had intrigued us since the time we were leaving for our trip. So Angkor What? was on our list since the very beginning. And our excitement paid off quite well!Angkor What? is a crazily done up place. Bright colours on the walls and patrons are given markers so the graffitti on the walls is generated by the patrons. The music is popular rock. It’s a great place for people watching and the drinks are economical too – atleast compared to India.

Angkor What? is only a bar, so we had to search for a place to satisfy our rumbling tummies and we found heaven at Red Piano. It is a tastefully done up restaurant which serves up really nice pasta. The restaurant has a special cocktail dedicated to Angelina Jolie and you will find many other influences of Ms Jolie there. The food and the ambience are truly amazing. We took up a table overlooking the street and enjoyed some really nice wine and food there.

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Twodragons, talesofasia.com, Siem Reap, RedPiano , AngkorWhat , AngelinaJolie ,

My Big Fat International Holiday!

2008-02-08T04:09:00.000-08:00

The Crazy Start

It was that time of the year again when my creative juices were failing me and all I needed was a break. This time, however, the break was planned well in advance at the beginning of the year as me and two of my friends were to experience our first international vacation. Us three musketeers set out on a 2 week long trip first to soak in the beautiful temple ruins of Angkor and then to relax at the gorgeous beaches of Thailand and lived to tell our tale. So here goes.

Two of us began our journey from Mumbai International Airport at 11:30 pm on a Thai Airways flight from Mumbai to Bangkok on Dec 14, 2007. Our friend began her journey from the other corner of the world – US of A on a similar Thai Airways flight from LA to Bangkok. Our flights were to reach Bangkok early in the morning with a difference of about one odd hour between the two landings. The Mumbai flight landed on time, but the LA flight just refused to come. Two of us were at the departure terminal of Bangkok airport from 5:30 in the morning till 12:00 in the afternoon after which we were joined by our friend and we continued to stay at the airport till about 3:30 in the afternoon. We finally bid farewell to our “beloved” airport and left on an adventurous journey from Bangkok to Cambodia in a cab. We paid 3000 THB for our journey from Bangkok to Aranyapeth.

The Thailand – Cambodia border on the Thai side is called Aranyapeth while that on the Cambodia side is called Poipet. The Bangkok to Aranyapeth ride was a breeze. We had our guesthouse arrange for a pick-up for us from Poipet to Siem Reap so we had someone waiting for us while we waited patiently for immigration clearance. Not that any of us look liked terrorists, but the immigration officer was somehow fascinated with all our passports and took his own sweet time to clear all of us. As we entered Poipet we were met by a stark change in the countryside, peppered with casinos, glimpses of extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure. It is said that they are trying to develop Poipet as the Las Vegas of the east. If you ask me, they have a long way to go.

We were escorted by our man Friday to our car where we were handed over to our driver. Then the strangest of things started happening. First the driver decided he needed to fill gas. Poipet offered retail options for gas we had never seen before – not even in India. Gas was sold in make-shift shacks and was pumped through hand-made instruments. As if this was not enough to fascinate us, the driver started shaking the car once the gas was filled. We had no clue what was going on and could not help but laugh about all that was happening around us. It was also getting dark and we wanted to leave. We made sure that the driver understood the fact that we were not to stop anywhere now until we reach Siem Reap. Little did we know that there WAS nowhere we could stop before Siem Reap. Thus began an adventurous, hectic and the most treacherous journey I have undertaken in my life. The road from Poipet to Siem Reap was the most back-breaking road I have ever been on. In fact, it was no road at all. Just miles and miles of dusty, uneven roads with massive potholes, mountains of dust acting as speed breakers – landing from one of these felt as if we landed in a deep pit from a mountain.

But come Siem Reap, we were in for a refreshing change. The first thing one my friends exclaimed on arriving in Siem Reap was – “Oh this place has roads!!”. This trip cost us 45 USD and unless you are the adventurous kind, I would not recommend taking this road-trip. For anyone wanting to go from Bangkok to Siem Reap, I suggest take the flight!! But mind you the flight is very expensive – one of the reasons why we decided on the road-trip.

Well, thankfully, the rest of our trip was quite unlike our first day – things had already started to look up as we entered Siem Reap.

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Thailand, Bangkok, roadtrip, Aranyapeth, Poipet

A Rendevous with Taj Mahal

2007-10-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

What happens when you have an enterprising brother studying in IIT Kanpur and you are to visit him with your parents? Well, you visit not only IITK but Agra and Lucknow which happen to be close by. And that’s exactly what I did from Sept 30^th to Oct 2^nd, 2007. I know I am a month late in describing my adventures, but hey, don’t blame me, blame my rather hectic work schedule and MBA applications. So, get set for a trip seeped in history and architecture as I take you through my tour of the exquisite Taj Mahal.

Me and my parents started from Mumbai at 4:30 pm. We took the Agra Lashkar express which starts from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – erstwhile Kurla terminus at 4:25 and reaches Agra at 12:45 the next day. An enjoyable and quite a relaxed journey this was. We arrived at Agra Cantt station slightly later than the scheduled time but we were in no hurry. We haggled for the rickshaw fare and managed to get a rickshaw to take us to our hotel in 60 rupees. As a rule of thumb, in Agra, all rickshaws charge 10 rupees per person and the minimum is 30 rupees, whatever the distance – atleast this is what we experienced. We were staying at Howard Park Plaza - a four star hotel at about 900 rupees per person. We had booked through travelguru and I think we had a great deal for the hotel. There are many cheaper options available in Agra, but since I was traveling with my parents, we decided on a more comfortable one. My brother was to join us from Kanpur at about 3 in the afternoon in Agra but his train was delayed and he managed to reach Agra only by 6 in the evening. As soon as he landed, he was immediately whisked away for a walk to Taj Mahal. We were running against time as the last tickets are sold till 6:30 pm and the place closes down at 7:00 pm.

It was twilight by the time we reached. The entrance of this monument was so magnificient that we were completely blown away. We walked slowly with great anticipation and what met our eyes was the most majestic, beautiful and overwhelming sight we had ever seen. We were looking at Taj Mahal. We could not take our eyes off the monument despite huge crowds thronging the area. It was turning dark and we had to decide if we would want to go inside the monument today or wait until tomorrow. Me and my mom could not wait and dragged both the men inside the monument. As you approach the main structure, the monument grows on you, almost intoxicating you with its splendor. Intricate carvings, Persian writings, beautiful creepers, I wish I could describe this place in words.

We were so enchanted by the beauty of Taj Mahal that the visual stayed with us all night. We got up early next morning to sink into the beauty of this wonder to our hearts content. We reached Taj Mahal at 7 in the morning and I could not stop clicking pictures. We took pictures of Taj Mahal from various angles. We sat in the huge courtyard for quite sometime and admired the beauty of this monument which gleamed in the soft sunlight. It was 8:30 when we finally left as our tummies were rumbling for breakfast. Breakfast was complimentary and we stuffed ourselves to the brim.

We were to visit Fatehpur Sikri and Agra fort that day. We hired an A/C indica car at 900 rupees to take us to Fatehpur and back. The car had to be parked at the outskirts of Fatehpur and we had the options of either a Tonga or a CNG bus. We opted for the royal Tonga experience. We had hired a guide here for 250 rupees who showed us around Fatehpur. Fatehpur is a red sandstone complex with the only white structure being Salim Chisti’s dargah. The complex houses a mosque, a school and a dargah, all of which are functional till date. The structure was beautiful with the most interesting aspect being the intricacy of the jaalis at Salim Chisti's dargah. We took some fun pictures there with the family as our guide entertained us with the history behind each structure.

We head back to Agra to gorge on thalis at a restaurant called “ONLY” which interestingly offered both veg and non-veg in the same thali. It was decent, simple fare. We were to relieve our car there, however we had a kind soul as our driver - Manek and he agreed to take us to Agra Fort and to Sadar Bazaar for another 200 rupees. Agra Fort is this huge edifice made of red sandstone with beautiful structures of red sandstone and marble housed inside. We visited Jehangir’s bath tub – quite literally, which was put in full public view. We ditched the guide here and roamed about on our own. The fort is a huge complex and mind you it can get tiring as there are lots of structures to be seen inside. Each better than the other. It also has some wonderful gardens which have been maintained very well. You can see Taj Mahal from everywhere in this fort.

Having had our fill of history and mogul architecture, we hit the local market called Sadar Bazaar. Interestingly, all the four of us bought shoes from this market. The market is like any town market with branded and non-branded shops but the narrow alleys have some great options for street shopping of flip-flops, sandals and heeled shoes for the ladies. There are two such alleys in the beginning of the market, the second one does not have as many stalls as the first, but the shoes available in the second one were fantastic. This is what I bought for myself and I have never seen such shoes anywhere in Mumbai. I think they are ultra cool.

With our feet getting weary, we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel. We had our train at 11:30 in the night for Kanpur. Our good driver dropped us back at the hotel and agreed to pick us up, take us for dinner and drop us to Agra Cantt station for an extra 150 rupees.Manek, bless his soul, hope he gets everything he desires in life as he made our journey so very comfortable and enjoyable!!

Technorati Tags: TajMahal, Agra, IITK, Shoes

Ratatouille anyone!!

2007-08-31T04:49:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of viewing this utterly delectable movie, which completely blew me away with its simplicity and obviously its food. The fantastic combination of a rat, who, has the gift of sensing flavors and a gawky garbage boy, who, has been a loser all his life is endearing, hilarious and delicious.

The movie inspired me so much that I actually googled for the recipe of ratatouille online and may think of making it someday for my unsuspecting friends. Ratatouille is a peasant dish made with a combination of zucchinis, tomatoes, eggplants and green and red peppers flavored with onions and garlic. Apparently, an American chef was hired as a consultant for this movie and he gave a new twist to the way ratatouille is made and that’s how it was shown in the movie. The most charming scene of this movie was the time when the food critic Anton Ego tastes the ratatouille made by Remy and dreams of his mom. The scene, although hilarious, makes us realize how all of us humans think alike. For any individual in any part of the world, mom-made food is the benchmark for comparing any tastes.

The director has been very careful in making every food scene look scrumptious and yummy enough to tickle your senses. Whether it’s the scene where Remy tries to cook mushroom, cheese and a twig of rosemary on a chimney or when he tries to correct the disastrous soup made by Linguini. The scenes featuring the explosion of flavors experienced by Remy when he first eats a piece of cheese and strawberry together almost made me taste a strawberry cheesecake in my mouth.

French cuisine is amongst the few western cuisines, which has some great vegetarian options. We do not have enough options for French cuisine in Mumbai, actually none that I know of, but I do believe, that this movie should generate interest of many a food enthusiasts in experiencing what seems to be an assortment of culinary delights.

A must watch for all foodies like me. Do not miss this movie for anything in this world!!

Technorati Tags: Ratatouille, Remy, Linguini, French cuisine

Food & Nature

2007-06-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Its pouring outside my window. The much awaited monsoon just arrived in Mumbai and brought with it the intoxicating smell of the earth and the tastes of the various foods associated with it.

Foods are magical, combine them with the right atmosphere and they can lift any gloomy spirit.

The scorching summer, the fresh monsoon and the pleasant winter - food plays a significant role in defining the character of these moods of nature.

Gorge on the innumerable mango preparations in summer. Cut mangoes, aamras, Mango icecream, fresh mangoes with vanilla icecream, mango mousse, mango barfi – you name it and we have it. Another favourite is lime juice or nimbu paani as we call it. Ice cold nimbu paani can drive away all fatigue and give you much needed respite from heat.

Come monsoon, and with it comes the roasted corn or bhutta as it is popularly known, cutting chai – half cup of tea and onion pakoras or kanda bhajjis as they are locally known as.

Bhutta, chai, kanda bhajji – now, don’t you just want to dig into these right now?? The chai vendor outside my lane is doing brisk business these days, even in the evenings. One bhutta vendor has already set up shop in the area and by next week, I am bound to see atleast two more in the same vicinity.

I just enjoyed a juicy bhutta, while nicely getting wet in the soft drizzle.

Nothing can beat the joy of having a piping hot, tender bhutta roasted on a traditional coal sigri and top it with rain!!

And what do I say about kanda bhajji!! Mouth watering kanda bhajji combined with rain can be the best snack ever. For chai lovers, wash it down with a cup of hot tea and aren’t you in heaven already??.

So what are you doing reading this, rush to the nearest shop and have your fill. While you do that, I will continue enjoying nature at its very best.

Thanks for stopping by!

Technorati Tags: Rain, Monsoon, Roasted Corn, Kanda Bhajji

A Hole in Your Pocket

2007-04-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

For the finale – the Dinner, my recommendations range from a live tandoori counter to dining only on different kinds of kebabs.

In Mumbai, the options to try out are Peshawari at Grand Maratha Sheraton. Masaledar Mughlai cuisine awaits you here. The place has a live tandoor counter where you can see the chefs cooking up your favourite tandoori. The paneer kulchas are mind numbing and apparently the grilled pomfret is to die for.

If this is too spicy for you, head to Frangipani at Oberoi in Mumbai. The fresh pizzas, made right in front of your eyes are simply irresistable. It has a great selection of salads for the calorie conscious and an equally interesting buffet spread. Although you will be completely full by the time you finish your meal, the strategically placed desserts can get better of any saint.

In Goa, Goa Marriot it is once again. It’s a dinner buffet which has one of my favourite dishes everyday - Hummus and Pita bread. The hummus is perfect and is ideal for a basic, light meal. A made-to-order pasta counter will serve up delicacies as you like it. There is a special everyday which is written on the board at the entrance. I ate there for three consecutive days and had nothing to complain about.

Park Plaza in Gurgaon has a restaurant called “ The Kebab Factory”. A unique concept, it consists of a meal of succulent kebabs of varied meats and vegetables. The server will come over and keep serving you the different varieties while explaining what the dish is all about. Check out the place for an interesting dining experience.

The in-room dining at Park Plaza is also quite a good fare. You call the room service and the chef will readily make something for you or alter a dish on the menu the way you like it. The chef will personally check on you after you are through with your meal to enquire about the food. Quite an experience I must say.

Another place on my recommendation list came as a sort of a pleasant surprise for me. I had the opportunity to stay at the Hotel Country Inn & Suites at Haridwar. A newly opened hotel by the Radisson group, considering the industrial activity in and around this holy place. The continental food served up by this place is quite something. Satisfy your pasta urges only at this hotel when in Haridwar.

So what are you waiting for, try out these places and let me know what you think. Meanwhile, I shall try some more gastronomic delights and post my experiences for you.

Happy Eating!!

Technorati Tags: dinner, Grand Maratha Sheraton, Oberoi, Park Plaza

A Hole in Your Pocket

2007-04-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

My recommendations for the second meal of the day – the Lunch, begin with the Konkan cafe at Taj President Cuffe Parade in Mumbai.

Try the haryali vegetable with hot appams or for the non-vegetarians, manglorean chicken with appams is quite a delight. The ambience, the décor and the food – all contribute to an amazing gourmet experience.

Another place to indulge your taste buds is the lunch buffet at the newly opened, Grand Central Sheraton. Amazing spread and equally exciting food. A live pasta counter, interesting north Indian cuisine without just the regular paneer dish in red gravy and sometimes a good fusion of the Indian and continental cuisines makes this a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Don’t miss sampling the desserts in this buffet. I was stunned by the variety of desserts on offer.

The Goa Marriot buffet again takes the cake for an appetizing and enjoyable elitist luncheon in Goa. The chefs here cook up a different recipe for mushroom starters everyday for lunch. I have never seen so many different flavours for a mushroom starter ever. I simply freaked out on that one. The spread isn’t essentially extensive, but the food, the view and Goa make it a meal to remember.

Fill up your rumbling tummies and watch this space for the exciting finale of this series!!!

Technorati Tags: lunch, Taj President, Grand Central Sheraton, Goa Marriot

A Hole in Your Pocket

2007-04-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: The following series of 3 posts is not meant for people with a weak heart or for those who can develop suicidal tendencies on going bankrupt.

The places I am about to recommend are restaurants at five star hotels and can burn a serious hole in your pocket. I have been fortunate enough to experience these places due to a host of reasons, which I am not about to discuss here.

This series will also for the first time recommend places outside of Mumbai.

Lets start with the first and the most important meal of the day – The Breakfast. I personally find this meal much more enjoyable than any other meal of the day.

And one place which comes to my mind whenever I think of a HUGE breakfast is the coffee shop at J W Marriot at Juhu - Mumbai. J W Marriot boasts of an extensive breakfast buffet spanning North Indian, South Indian and Continental cuisines. Apart from the variety of choices on offer, the food is absolutely delicious. Be it Indian or Continental. They sometimes have a live pancake counter with interesting variations other than the regular banana and coconut pancakes. This place also serves up waffles with maple syrup or honey to satisfy your urge for a typical American breakfast.

If you are in Gurgaon and are looking for a healthy breakfast, which tastes as good, try the breakfast buffet at the coffee shop at Park Plaza. The cafe offers the most amazing selection of fruits when it comes to breakfast. And this is not just your regular watermelon, papaya routine. You can dig into seasonal exotic fruits like kiwis, different kinds of melons, strawberries, raspberries and the like here. Though the hotel is in Haryana – North India, it serves up the best tomato chutney with Idli and not to forget an absolute must have - the delectable aloo parathas.

When in Goa, The Goa Marriot is the place to be for your breakfast experience. They serve up fresh milkshakes of seasonal fruits as well as the regular vanilla, chocolate and coffee milkshakes. The spread – although similar to most five stars is excellent when it comes to the flavour. Settled on the banks of Mandovi, with a spectacular view, expect this hotel to crop up in many more of my recommendations.

So folks, savour your breakfast and watch out for my Lunch recommendations!!!!

Technorati Tags: breakfast, JWMarriot, Park Plaza, Goa Marriot

The Goan Holiday - January 20th 2007

2007-02-07T04:24:00.000-08:00

It was our last day in Goa. I woke up with a heavy heart knowing that the trip had almost ended. We had breakfast at Café Del Mar and enjoyed a live entertainment session of a rope walk by a local girl.

We had been to the nearby market the previous night and we thought of exploring that area after breakfast.

After a long lazy stroll and some shopping, we head back to Palolem to catch lunch. We ate at Ciranas camp, which is a beautiful place on the beach. The accommodation is slightly expensive but its amazing. Its not a food place though since the portions are very small.

My friend had to fill up again at a cheaper shack nearby. There was this Gujarati lady who was selling stuff to people at Palolem and had approached us before as well. My friend was fascinated with the henna tattoos and decided to get one done. We found this lady and my Gujarati was put to use. So here we were, all packed and ready to go with my friend getting a tattoo done on the arm.

We picked up our bags and hailed a taxi to go to Margao (pronounced as Madgaon) from where we were to take Konkan Kanya back to Mumbai. It cost us 600 Rs.

Our trip had ended and we were refreshed and ready to take on the world.

We had no connection whatsoever with the world outside of Goa during this entire trip. We read our first newspaper in 8 days at Margao station.

The trip will be treasured and cherished all our lives by both of us.

It was a pleasure living the trip again with you.

Technorati Tags: Ciranas camp, tatoo, gujarati, Margao

The Goan Holiday - January 19th 2007

2007-02-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

We started the day with breakfast at Café Del Mar. Palolem is a different beach in the morning - quiet and peaceful.

We spend sometime in the water and then decided to explore a bit.

There are many beach hut accommodations built on the various hillocks at Palolem. We climbed these various places to catch the view from these heights. It was spectacular.

We also found that there was another very small and rocky beach known as Columb which was separated from Palolem by rocks.

In fact, if we would not have read the sign boards of various accommodations set up there, we would not have realized that this was different from Palolem. This area had a lot of influence of yoga with banners giving details of yoga classes and yoga centres all throughout the stretch.

The accommodation here is expensive because of the height and view it offers thereof.

There are many locals offering boat rides at Palolem. They charge separately for a dolphin trip and a sunset trip and many others. We negotiated with a guy named Umesh and got a boat trip for 250 Rs just for the two of us and we saw dolphins, two beaches – butterfly and honeymoon, a fishing boat collecting its catch for the day for that much. Umesh had not been getting any clients since quite some time and so was happy to get us on board.

Umesh had his two sons with us on the boat. He used to work on a fishing boat in Colaba which used to stay in the seas for days to catch fish. We saw people scrapping clams off the surface of the rocks and Umesh told us that the meat of clams makes a very nice spicy goan dish.

The ride was a memorable one and when we gave money to Umesh, he was sort of overwhelmed. He was a genuine man I felt and prayed that he makes good money for his business.

Once on the shore, it was low tide and I saw some beautiful shells on the wet sand. I collected I don’t know how many of them. It was sunset by then and as the sun disappeared we realized that we were approaching the end of our trip.

We needed to go to an ATM approximately 3 kms from the beach to withdraw money to pay up Café Del Mar the next day. We went to ask Blaise if a transport could be arranged and he was sitting with this Brit guy – Gary who offered us his bike just like that.

We were amazed by his gesture which made things so easy for us. When we came back, Gary and his friend Raffus were chilling with Blaise and they asked us to join them. In no time, we were discussing topics ranging from politics to economics to defense to what not.

Gary had traveled almost all of India on his bike. He now has a house in Palolem and is planning to move to India for good. He had traveled 94 countries and was 35 years old. It was amazing how complete strangers became buddies in Goa.

Technorati Tags: Dolphins, Butterfly, Honeymoon, Brit

The Goan Holiday - January 18th 2007

2007-02-07T03:46:00.000-08:00

Palolem grows on to you gradually. I decided that I should try and see if I can like this place. It is a very beautiful beach I realized and even if you are not doing anything there, you can still enjoy yourself by observing the various moods of the beach.

This is exactly what I did on this day. Our hangout this day was a restaurant on a rock from where one can see the whole of Palolem beach. The restaurant was called Chaska.

We were there since lunch time till sunset. Drinking, eating, chatting, clicking. Having the time of our lives.

As sunset came, Palolem transformed. We came back to reclaim our table at Café Del Mar and play audience for a game of volleyball at dusk.

Every evening all the shack owners transform the beach beds into tables on the beach with candle light.

A live barbeque was set up outside Café Del Mar with the manager Blaise cooking for patrons. Some other beach shack had a fireworks display which lit the night sky.

It was time to say Goodnight to Palolem.

Technorati Tags: Palolem, Chaska, sunset, volleyball

The Goan Holiday - January 17th 2007

2007-02-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

It was time to leave Morjim to go to Palolem.

We had our regular breakfast of scrambled eggs and cold coffee at Camp 69 and settled our bills. There is a huge Smirnoff vodka bottle kept at the reception counter at Camp 69, with Thank You Staff written on it. We put in our contribution for Thanking the Staff in it.

I left Morjim and Camp 69 with a heavy heart and full of wonderful memories.

Thank You Geoffery, Rupesh, Centhil (waiters), Francis (the bike owner) and Ramnik (the car driver) for making my trip so memorable.

Geoffery had arranged for a car for us to go to Palolem. We paid 1700 Rs for this 1 hr 45 mins trip.

It’s a long drive from Morjim to Palolem. Morjim being the extreme North and Palolem extreme South of Goa.

Palolem

Café Del Mar was expecting us. We were shown our home for the next 3 days – a hut with a huge bathroom and slightly small bedroom. But then, how often would you be in your hut if you are in Goa.

We changed and it was time to check out Palolem and its waters. The beach is cove surrounded by rocks and deep forests on three sides. There is an island on one end of the beach called Cancona island and during low tide, one can walk from Palolem to Cancona. We did just that since when we reached it was a low tide.

We found huts built on rocks overlooking Cancona and a signboard which said “Look back, this is the view from my window” These places were supposed to be very expensive because of this view.

I must say, at first sight, I was slightly disappointed with Palolem after Morjim. Since, when we were planning our trip, we thought that North Goa will be the commercialised beach experience while south will be the calm, peaceful one. But it turned out otherwise.

Palolem was crowded and quite contrary to what we had read. The beach was full of beach huts, shacks and people.

We went kayaking and I was really scared at first because I had never been so deep into the sea. Gradually, I started enjoying it and particularly liked the effortless coming back to the shore.

We had lunch at Café Del Mar after all that exercise of oaring. The food was good but again it was nothing special. It was a regular fare.

But then came evening and my opinion about Palolem changed.

We saw the most spectacular sunset ever with the sky and sun playing in a riot of colours. It’s a sight I will never forget.

Café Del Mar is a watering hole for Palolem folks since it has an all night bar. They play popular music and a table overlooking the beach can ensure that you will never know how much time has elapsed.

The place hosts a barbeque almost every night with specials like seafood, beef and chicken barbeques on different nights.

We were at our table from 6 in the evening till 9:30 in the night that night.

Technorati Tags: Palolem, South Goa, Cafe Del Mar, barbecues

The Goan Holiday - January 16th 2007

2007-02-07T03:23:00.000-08:00

This was the last day at Morjim. We decided to dedicate it to our beautiful beach. Again we gave money to a beach shack and hit the water.

This shack was run by a French guy and served French cuisine. The food was delicious and my friend ate a sea food pasta which had stuff which we had never seen before, let alone eaten. The portion however was typically European and hence quite small and the prices were high.

We were starving and so we decided to check if Camp 69 will serve us hungry souls. So we go to the restaurant, call Centhil and ask him if the chef will make something for us specifically. He agreed. I asked him to make me spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and mushrooms.

In no time, I was munching away to glory on my absolutely delicious pasta. Can’t thank the chef enough for this.

By sunset, our cameras were in action again and we captured the beautiful Morjim till light permitted us to do so.

We had seen a shack done up in Arabian style the previous night and we decided to have dinner there that night. Well, it turned out that the shack was only done up well but did not have anything to offer in terms of food.

So we had a drink and moved on. Another Russian shack called Glavfish caught our fantasy and we decided to check it out. This place had a huge screen where some patrons were watching posiedon dubbed in Russian. So when you want to say No in Russian, you say Nyet.
Again the place had nothing much to offer to the poor vegetarian and finally I had to end my day with a hot chocolate and a sandwich at Camp 69.

Technorati Tags: French, Hot Chocolate, Camp 69, Russian

The Goan Holiday - January 15th 2007

2007-02-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

The plan was to go to Old Goa and put our cameras to work. We had decided to leave early since we were in for a long bike ride. But people, we were on a holiday, so the day started late.

For the first time in three days we took a wash in the morning :). Breakfast was scrambled eggs on toast and the worlds best cold coffee. Bandanas on our heads and glares on our eyes, we started our journey to the land of churches, chapels and basilica.

We biked from Morjim, passing through Siolim, clicking pictures of the serene Chapora river from the Siolim bridge. Our first stop was the beautiful Siolim church. We tried to capture the calm of this church in our pictures and could also click the holy sacrament.

Moving on, we reached Calangute and decided to stop for grub. An inviting board of Bob’s Inn made us check out the place and well, we were in luck. The place was done up with all things Goan and the delicious food made our day. Do try the Chicken Cafreal (a typical Goan delicacy) if you stop by. Now, before any of you gasp at my recommending a non-vegetarian dish, I must clarify that I tasted the curry and it was refreshingly different from the usual Punjabi fare that we end up getting. The curry is a base of mint leaves with Goan spices.

Bob is your typical, friendly Goan who loves to tell his stories. He started out as a tour guide, which was his father’s business as well. According to him, he quit because of excessive work load and women falling for him. He then went abroad and worked for restaurants. When he came back to India he started Bob’s Inn.

Such stories are typical of the ethos of a Goan holiday. It was time to move on. We reached Verem from where we took a ferry to Panjim. Panjim to old goa was a breezy ride and before we knew it we were greeted by Basicila of Bom Jesus.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a majestic building with intricately detailed structures both form the outside and the inside. The magnificient altar is completed gilded and extremely detailed.

Your camera will not stop clicking till the time that you click all the structures adorning the walls of the basilica.

From one wonder to another, just across the road, the chapel of Francis Assisi and the Se Cathedral awaited us. The majestic architecture of the chapel and cathedral continued to enthrall us and our cameras.

Someone had a very good vision when constructing these buildings. He/She made sure all the wonderful ones are in the same vicinity at walking distance from each other so that centuries later when tourists like me visit the place, we don’t need to travel a lot.

The compound has many other attractions like the Cajetan church, the chapel of St. Catherine which we decided to skip.

We wanted to go the Chapora fort as well but the back breaking ride made us decide otherwise and we headed straight to Camp 69.

Dinner was to be had at our humble restaurant and when we arrived there, we saw a huge bunch of Europeans celebrating with the owner of the place – Bosco.

A lot of Europeans have been coming to Goa since many years and stay for as long as 6 months. This bunch had many such veterans. I am sure if we had stayed long enough, we would also have been a part of that group.

The music was Bob Marley and the food was aloo palak and rotis and this was followed by a stroll at Morjim beach underneath the starlit sky. Heavenly!!!!

Technorati Tags: Chapora, Bom Jesus, Old Goa, Bob Marley

The Goan Holiday - January 14th 2007

2007-01-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

After a scrumptious breakfast at Camp 69, we hit the beach. The day was to be dedicated to Morjim beach. We gave some money to a beach shack called Golden Eagle and asked them to care of our belongings. That money was to be used to pay for our lunch.

It was time to conquer the sea. I am not a swimmer and was really scared at first of getting into the sea with the waves crashing on my head. But then I slowly got used to it and enjoyed frolicking in the water for quite some time.

We waded through water till we reached the end of the beach and waded back to Golden Eagle because by then our stomachs were screaming with hunger.

Like many shacks on the beach, this one was owned by a Russian, which was obvious when we went through the menu. Each item on the menu had a Russian translation for it. I had Mojito for the first time here and I haven’t had a better one anywhere since.

With our tummies full, we were getting sleepy and what better place to take a nap than the beach beds. So here we were, lying on our beach beds talking, watching the few people on the beach and at peace with ourselves.

The next day was photography day!!!

Technorati Tags: Morjim, Mojito, Goa, beach

The Goan Holiday -January 13th, 07

2007-01-31T23:21:00.000-08:00

What do I do when I have slogged for over a year and need a break desparately? I go away for a week to GOA!!! So from Jan 13th to Jan 20th, yours truly was enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of this wonderful state of India.

We divided our trip in two parts, wherein the first leg was spent in North Goa and the second leg in South Goa. We decided to take the train from Mumbai to Goa and were aboard the Konkan Kanya express at 11:00 in the night from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

As the eventful journey began, we decided to switch off our mobile phones and keep it that way for the rest of the trip. So for a week we did not know or care to know about whether the world other than Goa existed or not.

We arrived at our destination Pernem at about 11:00 in the morning. We were to stay at Morjim and Pernem was the nearest station. Haggling and negotiating forms a major part of a Goan holiday and we were at it since the time we landed in Goa. We haggled with the rickshaw fellow to take us to Morjim who finally agreed on Rs. 250 for the 30 – 45 mins ride.

We finally reached our abode-to-be for the next 4 days – Camp 69.

This is the oldest establishment at Morjim and is a perfect place for a peaceful holiday. It boasts of log cabins with ensuite bathrooms surrounded by palm trees on all sides. We were the only Indian revelers at this place and on the beach as well.

The Morjim beach is just across the road. We checked in, made ourselves comfortable and hogged at the hotel’s restaurant. This place was never dull when it came to food. I have not eaten such food anywhere. I mean, how exciting can an egg biryani get? But the chef managed to create wonders with this simple dish as well.

After filling up our rumbling tummies, we head straight to the beach. We walk and we walk and we walk along the entire stretch of Morjim and Ashwem and amazingly we never felt the distance. It’s a beautiful stretch of white sand and pristine blue waters.

Later that evening we hired a bike from Francis and head to Anjuna for dinner. Dinner was had at Zoories – a beautiful restaurant on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was Saturday and we HAD to go to the famous Saturday night market at Arpora. The market is an interesting sight in itself peppered with stalls selling trinkets, clothes, leather, silver, food and alcohol – all in one huge space. The stalls are leased by Indians and Europeans alike. The Saturday night market can be called a hagglers paradise. The sheer joy of getting something at 50% its cost cannot be explained.

The day ended with a bike ride from Arpora to Morjim through the eerie roads of Goa.
Goodnight Morjim J

Technorati Tags: Morjim, Camp 69, Saturday night market, Arpora

Happy New Year!!

2007-01-02T02:17:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing everyone a Wonderful, Slightly whacky and an Absolutely rocking 2007!!!

Me Mumbai Guide!

2006-12-05T00:31:00.000-08:00

I fulfilled one of my long desired fantasies last weekend – that of being a guide to Mumbai J

I had quite some colleagues (ladies to be precise) in Mumbai for the first time and of course all of them wanted to go around the city, shop, - basically experience Mumbai.

Mumbai offers something for everyone. We do not have historic monuments a plenty which most Delhities can boast about, but we do have some really interesting things that you can do here.

Revel in history with a walk around colaba (churchgate), Victoria Terminus station and the Gateway of India. Experience majestic, heritage structures being put to modern age commercial use. The place is a treat for photographers, sea lovers, people watchers and architects.

There is a café which features in my must see lists - café mondegar. The café heralds the beginning of the colaba causeway. A beer café with an old style jukebox, a must see place even if you don’t drink beer. The place has an airconditioned bar inside – I have never been inside. Sit outside and enjoy an evening of vibrant atmosphere, great music and the clutter and chaos typical to Mumbai.

Pump up your adrenaline with a speed boat ride at H2O near Girgaum Chowpaty. This is right next to Salt water grill and also offers other exhilarating water sports like Jet ski, parasailing etc.

For a more relaxing ride, take the colaba cruise from the Gateway of India. This is a 30 minutes ride in a ferry with locals. Take the ride towards twilight and you will amazed to find how beautiful chaos can be.

For the flea market shopalcoholic, the colaba causeway aka colaba flea market is the best place for a great bargain. Shop for trinkets, artifacts (you even get old world, working gramophones here), woolen stoles, trendy footwear, bags, casual clothes here. A bargaining tip – Start with 50% of the cost informed by the shopkeeper. You never know, you might just get the stuff in that rate. I have bought stuff like that.

For beautiful sterling silver trinkets shop at Curios. This shop is just across Café Mondegar. It is run by a friendly Gujarati Uncle who will give you a discount if asked for.

A huge footwear and trinket market awaits you at Bandra Linking Road. Get the latest footwear for as low as 100 rupees. Don’t expect them to last longer than a couple of months. Look at the brighter side – you can wear new footwear after every three months ;).

Looking for a classier place to shop. Hit the Lower Parel Phoenix Mills or Inorbit Mall at Malad. There is a shop called In Touch in Inorbit Mall. This one sells only bags. You will be amazed by the sheer number of designs on offer. Browse through Bandhej, AND (yes, that’s the name of a shop) and Rhu stores in Phoenix Mills for ethnic clothes in cotton.

If you do not like touristry places try these. Dhobitalao – a huge washing place right outside Marine Lines station, Chor bazaar – you can find any kind of antique here for peanuts (I have never been here till date), Zaveri bazaar – A precious jewelery bazaar where you can find any kind of precious jewellery for less.

This is the way I would enjoy Mumbai. Let me know how would you!

Technorati Tags: Dhobitalao, Colaba, Bandra, VT

A Blue Synagogue

2006-11-30T02:45:00.000-08:00

A lucky visual treat is what I had the chance to experience in the alleys of south mumbai this weekend, have fun!!

Food for thought …

2006-11-14T04:55:00.000-08:00

Lot has been said about the booming economy and particularly the boom in the organized retail sector in India. Malls have been mushrooming at every nook and corner of the smallest of cities in India. Malls are equated to a shopping experience where people not only go to shop but they are the new parks where families go on a weekend to spend time.

This Diwali, I did the opposite. Me and my mom went shopping on the Gujarati New Year’s day to a traditional market - the Natraj Market at Malad station.

The place is dominated by Gujarati traders selling cloth, readymade garments, stuff to decorate your garment and the works. We happened to be the first customers for everyone that day and I was amazed with the warmth that we were showered with in each shop that we visited.

Each shop had a bowl of sweets kept at the entrance. Whether you buy something or not, you are insisted to take some sweet alongwith you as a token of well being. I was pleasantly surprised that these people had kept this tradition alive of offering sweets to anyone who visits your house on the New Years Day, in this hectic and extremely materialistic world.

We ended up purchasing some dresses from a shop and the shopkeeper ended up making an invoice of an amount like Rs. 501. He said, that the one rupee was as a shagun. We readily gave the amount and imagine our surprise when he gives us a full box of sweets as we were his first clients for the New Year. I was particularly taken in by the warmth of this gesture.

I am sure we would not have ever been received with such affection at any mall. Nobody would have really cared if it were the New Year or if we were the first client for the New Year.

These are simple and very tiny gestures which make the fabric of India. It saddens me that we tend to forget the rich culture that we live in, the talents that we have, in blatantly copying the west in our race for becoming the next superpower.

I sincerely hope that somewhere we do not loose this identity which is India. Economy boom or not and it is this identity which makes us different from the rest of the world’s so-called successful economies.

Would be nice to know your opinions on this.

Technorati Tags: Retail, Economy, India, Gujarati New Year

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

2006-11-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

The title of my post must say volumes about what this is about. I am talking about, you guessed it right – Desserts.

The most exquisite of sins, these delicacies manage to tingle the tastebuds of many a calorie conscious people.

I have here the most delectable delicacies you can find in Mumbai.

Are you a chocolate lover? Do you find anything with chocolate irrestible? If your answers to these questions are a big YES, then Chocolate Avalanche was made for you. What is this dish you ask, well, it has chocolate brownies, chocolate icecream, chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce and cocoa balls all put in a big bowl – all for you to gobble. Check out this chocolatier’s paradise at Mocha – Coffee and Conversations and let me know what you think.

If this was too chocolaty for you then go to a place called Theobrama. I went there only last week. Apart from a wonderfully friendly uncle serving you, try their latest pastry which currently has no name and is put on the display as no name. This is a chocolate cake with dried black grapes as little surprises everytime you bite. Try it and let us help the nice uncle there in naming the bombshell.

The opening of Baristas’s has done a lot of good for dessert lovers like me. They have a range of excellent desserts to dig in. From chocolate excess to cold coffees with brownies, these people know their desserts really well.

If chocolate is not your forte, try the fresh fruit cake available at Hypercity. This one comes with loads of exotic fresh fruits like kiwis, blackberries and the regular ones like bananas, apples, grapes, strawberries, oranges with a vanilla base. And the fruits are not just the garnish, you will find them in each scrumptious bite of this heavenly dessert.

For the calorie conscious there is the latest buzzword in desserts – Gelato. Now please, please do not eat at the Gelato Italiano outlets that are opening up everywhere in the city. The gelato is really bad. The reason this dessert finds place in my blog is an outlet called Amore. The gelatos are simply fantastic. These guys have made gelatos from ferraro rochers, dark chocolates, tiramisu, chocolate brownie, the works.

Sin on these and share your experiences with me.

Happy Eating ..ah ah.. Happy Sinning Guyz!!!!!!!

Technorati Tags: Desserts, Mocha, Hypercity, Amore

Mumbai - As I saw it, one weekend

2006-10-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

I am taking a short break from my foodie series. Bought a Digicam recently, had to post my stint at photography. Have fun!!!

Technorati Tags: Mumbai, weekend, Digicam, Photography

Paani – puri anyone…

2006-09-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

The next in series is a special on Paani-puri. The quintessential Mumbai treat. Now let me tell you, not all paani-puri is good. You really need to know the place to go to else you could end up with a bad taste in your mouth literally.

First let’s go to the popular chaat place called Juhu Beach. Juhu beach is very popular for its chaat and paav bhaji. However, my find was a paani-puri waala. The stall is among the many stalls at Juhu. It is called Radhakrishna and the paani-puri is so yummy you just can’t stop eating it unless you are worried about your bowel movements. You need not stand and eat your paani-puri. The puri, aloo and moong masala, meetha paani and teekha paani will be served to you on your table. You decide on the quantities of each ingredient and customize your paani-puri to your liking. Now that’s what I call customization. Enjoy the amazing sea-breeze and the chaos which is so typical of Mumbai.

Another paani-puri place is near Movie Time Cinema in Malad. For people who do not know, there are different types of paani-puris. The options are the mix that I described above or one with what is known as Ragda. Ragda is made of boiled dry peas with potato and spiced with salt and turmeric. The idea is to put hot ragda in the puri and add ice-cold teekha paani and meetha paani. Coming back to Movie Time. This guy stands with his wares outside the theatre and is, well, not very popular and so you will not encounter any queues and can eat as much as you want in peace. Believe me if you like the ragda paani-puri, this guy is the best. I am hoping he still stands there since I have not eaten his paani-puri since the time I left Malad.

Now let’s come back near to Juhu, in 7 bungalows. Please read the previous post to know where 7 bungalows is. The most famous landmark for 7 bungalows is Bon Bon shoe shop. Now coming straight inside the lane next to Bon Bon shoe shop and turning left will take you to another famous landmark known as Kds low price shop. Mind you, this landmark is famous only among 7 bunglowians. I do not know if there is a word like bunglowians, if there is not, I just coined it. Coming back to Kds, actually coming out of Kds is a chaatwaala. He is essentially a very good chaatwaala. Meaning, he makes amazing sev-puri, bhel and Paani – puri. This guy is popular so be ready for waiting a couple of minutes before indulging yourself in some lip-smacking paani – puri. The specialty of this place, well, you need not add meetha paani when eating here since the teekha paani is just rightly spiced.

Try these places and let me know if you liked my recommendations.

Technorati Tags: Paani-puri, Juhu, Movie Time Cinema
, Malad, chaat,

A Foodie’s Guide

2006-09-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hello people, I am back after a long hiatus. The reasons for the hiatus are unimportant since what I am about to write about is way more interesting.

I figured, I love eating more than I knew. And it also helped me figure the reasons for my ever increasing figure.

Anyway, here goes my next installment on places to eat in Mumbai. Since in my last post I wrote about the up-market, elite places serving mainly continental food; I decided to dedicate this post to some economical yet amazing eating places serving particularly Indian food in Mumbai.

First stop, 7 bungalows - Andheri. The place is called Mista Paaji and happens to be mine and my friends’ weekend lunch place. This place is not exactly economical but it features in this post because I have not found any place of a similar stature as Mista Paaji, serving delicious jeera-aloo, daal makhni, curd and hot phulkas for 90 bucks. We are such religious patrons that one weekend when we came later than our scheduled lunch time, the manager actually asked us if we were not intending to come. The manager has a complaint with me and my roommate that we do not try out anything else other than the jeera-aloo platter – which is what the combination described by me is called. But the jeera- aloo platter is so scrumptious that we just don’t think of anything else. Other dishes to try are the aloo paratha, gobi paratha, Punjabi kadhi – chawal, kheema paratha, butter chicken (for the latter two, opinions are based on feedback from my omnivorous friends). The décor is that of a dhaba but it looks way more sophisticated than a dhaba, however, the multi-coloured zari pieces adorning the walls are quite chic. The food is served in metal plates which look like brass and water and masala chaas in large glasses the kinds of those which you get on roadside dhabas.

Now let’s go to Charni Road. If you really want to enjoy this experience, my suggestion will be to board a local train and reach Charni Road. A quaint restaurant awaits your taste buds very close to the station. The place is called “Crystal”. Kheer enthusiasts swear by the kheer you get here. According to patrons of kheer, which I am not, you apparently get world’s best kheer here maybe just next to what your mom might make for you. Again, my criterion of enjoying food has also a lot to do with the ambience. I have no idea how old this place is. But it is among the few places which are not jazzed up and you enter a non-descript place with plastic tables and chairs and ceiling fans on the ground floor while the “so-called” mezzanine floor has table fans to do the honours. The mezzanine floor is slightly difficult for people like Xi Shun to fit in, hence the “so-called mezzanine floor” in the statement before. The owner of the place or so I assume is this old gentleman sitting in a white kurta pajama at the entrance. One of the few places which does not play Kenny Gee and plays old hindi movie songs. And now the best the part – the food. My favourites are baingan bharta with roti or rajma chawal or gobi paratha. Simple, no-fuss, home – like food which is incredibly reasonable. A meal for two which includes 2 veggies, around 7-8 rotis, raita and dessert will cost you some 100 bucks. The place has many patrons in the elitist as well. The place is packed for dinner on weekends with people from all ranks of society. The place serves only vegetarian food and I am not complaining at all.

So, as I always say, Happy Eating!!!

Technorati Tags: Mista Paaji, 7 bungalows, Crystal
, Xi Shun, Charni Road,

Experience the Aeroplane!

2006-06-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

In a stretch of Ghatkopar dotted with slums, very near to the controversial Mithi river, lies a strip which can tantalize any human mind with the sights it has to offer. The area is called Jari Mari. A very non-descript location. A place where one would not think of stopping when one is on his way. This crowded place is the nearest one can get to the runway of Mumbai Airport if one is in Mumbai. A frequent air traveller, I often am on the tarmac and boarding planes every month. But I was completely bowled over by what I saw here.

When you are at the airport to catch a flight, you are on the tarmac for a while and then in the aircraft, and when you land, you are either asleep or trying to fight the congestion in your ear. In such a situation, you do not realise the magnitude of the machine which you board or which is taking you from one destination to the other.

This place offers you the chance of witnessing take offs and landings of many a aircraft. Standing there peeping through the small crevices in the door which separated the road from the runway, I saw how absolutely magnificient and majestic a machine can be. I saw why pilots treat their aircrafts like their girlfriends and cannot stop praising her beauty.

Standing on the footpath, while a Boeing 737 soared over my head at a distance where I felt if I jumped and if I were bit more taller, I could have touched it. I trembled as the beauty glided away above me to land sending a cloud of dust behind it. The entire experience of witnessing this phenomenon which I am a part of very often otherwise was enthralling.

We witnessed many take offs and landings and each time I wanted to experience the aircraft flying overhead. We kept telling ourselves - just one more landing, just one more take off. We desparately waited for a jumbo to land. Unfortunately could not witness that one.

If at all anyone is coming to Mumbai, I recommend this place to be visited. Its an unusual place to visit but one should not miss it for the sheer excitement it provides.

Technorati Tags: JariMari, Ghatkopar, Mithi

Reincarnation of the Soul

2006-06-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ever heard something which makes you feel as if your soul has been cleansed? Something which makes you feel at peace with yourself and the world? Well, that is the effect this piece had on me when I first listened to it.

Click on Calcutta City

Calcutta City

This is what drew me to the beautiful instrument called Sarod. I associate the sound of the Sarod to the gurgling of a stream in the Himalayas. Amazingly calm, soothing like no other sound. I do not know if it’s the instrument or the artist who had this effect on me. The artist is well, synonymous with the Sarod - Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

I had this opportunity to attend a concert of his sons – Amaan & Ayaan Ali recently. The concert was a part of their promotional tour for their first album called Reincarnation. It was a musical treat. The pair played exceptionally well. There were times when we could not see their hands as they seemed blurred since they were playing so fast and we were scared that one of the strings in the instrument would break. An extraordinary performance by the entire team. The concert had a piece each which was dedicated to the dholak, the tabla and the drums. Beautifully orchestrated with compositions having names like Blessing, Lonely Spirit, and of course Reincarnation.

Dressed in jeans & kurtas, the team performed like rockstars towards the climax of each composition, smiling away, almost kinda headbanging. They certainly left the audience breathless with each and every composition. And whats more, they even shared some trivia about the Sarod, saying that unlike other string instruments, Sarod is played with the finger nails and hence they needed to file their nails often in order to play well.

Their album is a fusion of Indian Classical and trance in a way. Both men are quite good looking as well (as can be seen from the pic) and with talent like this I am sure they have a long way to go.

Technorati Tags: Reincarnation, Sarod, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan & Ayaan Ali

I SCREAM for ICECREAM!!!!

2006-05-25T00:41:00.000-07:00

Its quite evident from my previous post that I like eating. So its no surprise that my next post is also on a food item – Icecream!!!.

Its summers and what summers, I haven’t experienced this kind of heat in Mumbai ever in the past 4.5 years of my existence in this city. So, when it comes to food, anything cool is more than welcome. I am not an icecream freak so to say but offlate my intake of icecream has increased manifold. This got me thinking that by eating so much icecream how much extra fat am I asking my poor body to burn. I am among those millions of people who is desperately trying to loose weight and anything leading to a miniscule increase becomes a matter of concern. If not for very long but atleast for a few minutes.

I did my bit of research in order to figure out how guilty I should feel everytime I have a bowl of fresh mangoes with vanilla icecream or a huge scoop of chocolate icecream.

According to wikipedia, icecreams available today can have 0-16% fat.

Most fat in an icecream is from milk fat. A cup of whole milk is supposed to contain approximately 5g of saturated fat – aka Bad Fat. This 5 g constitutes 3.3% of the milk composition.

A gram of fat contains 9 calories while a gram of carbohydrate & protein contain 4 calories each. This goes on to prove that 1 cup milk contains 45 calories from fat. Fair enough.

Now if 118 ml of vanilla icecream i.e. half cup contains approximately 12gms of fat (as per an article on the net) – we are talking about 108 calories only from fat and then it also contains proteins and carbohydrates which contribute to the calorie count. According to an article on the internet, a half cup of vanilla icecream contains 178 calories in all.

And I don’t eat half cup so its definitely going to be much more than 178 for me.

Realisation dawns!!!! Guess this information should help me avoid this delicacy more often!!!

Technorati Tags: Icecream, %Fat , Calories

The way to my heart is……

2006-05-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Through a delectable meal in an amazing restaurant!!!. Let me define what is amazing for me. Amazing is a warm ambience, good music, sufficient choices for a vegetarian and value for money. Basically, an experience in itself. I have been a foodie since childhood and love experimenting with food. This friend of mine – Kedar and me have quite similar choices when it comes to a food experience and also Mumbai as a city has quite a few options to offer to a food enthusiast.

I am typically very fond of continental cuisines and the ambience of the place is very important for me to enjoy the delicacies a place offers. Most times one may find that the food is really good but the experience is marred by the ambience. It could be garish or crowded or noisy and it can ruin my meal.

Of the many places where I have dined the first one that comes to my mind is Don Giovanni. This restaurant is at Juhu opposite Ramada Inn. According to the menu, it serves Italian preparations from the villages of Italy. The menu claims that these preparations may not be found in the most famous restaurants in the cities of Italy. I have never been to Italy but given a chance, I will run to these villages, if what they serve is what you get in the villages of Italy. Its amazing Italian food with an ambience to go along with it. From the road you can see the blazing red Ferrari flag. The entrance claims that children are allowed only if they do not disturb patrons. I really liked that one. Inside, it’s a dimly lit place which offers you maximum privacy even if the restaurant is completely full. Its better to reserve a table and go since the place is full even on weekdays. Its slightly heavy on the pocket but worth every penny spent because the food that is served is not available in any other restaurant claiming to serve Italian food.

As I said before, my weakness is continental food so the other place I would recommend is Vie Lounge. This is further away from Don Giovanni on the same road in Juhu. Now this one is an elite, up-market lounge cum restaurant and can prove quite expensive. They serve Mediterranean cuisine and according to Kedar, the best steak he has ever eaten, and he has eaten quite a few, so I believe him!!!. A very different food experience for sure and the ambience is breathtaking. It overlooks the Juhu beach but is quite far away from the populated beach section. Ask for a table outside and enjoy the cool breeze with the dinner. The best of all is the complimentary bread basket with some amazing butters. These are garlic butter and mushroom butter. I do not know where to get them from, or if they make them themselves but I would not mind going there to eat only that. Its the best thing I have ever eaten. They have some really unusual combinations for cocktails and an extensive range of liquers to choose from as well.

Another good place is Out of the Blue. This is in Bandra between Pali Naka and Carter road. This place has never let me down on its pastas. And the best part, it has a very long list of vegetarian dishes on offer. Most of these exotic places have very limited vegetarian choices and that is where I get into a fix. But Out of the Blue is a safe bet for any vegetarian. Try the pasta in garlic with extra virgin olive oil and it’s a refreshing delight from the regular cheesy versions of pastas available now a days. They also have a very good selection of wines. Though I am not much of an expert on that.

Last but not the least is Café Churchill in Colaba. I am sure most Mumbaiities will be aware of this place. It is a very small café but serves such amazing food that it’s a must go whenever I am in that part of the town. You can expect a waiting even at 7:30 in the evening since the place is very small. The same people have opened up Café Mocambo. I however, like Café Churchill better. Its this small little café tucked away in the colaba flea market. One might miss it if one does not know about it. Try the irish bailey pastry. Its worth sinning with that one!!!

So long and Happy Eating!!!!

Technorati Tags: Mumbai, mushroom butter , Juhu

2 Hours in Matheran

2006-05-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a long weekend in Maharashtra. With three days of holidays and nothing to do I like every other person living in Mumbai decide to go to Matheran. Not that I haven’t been to the place before. But there is something magnetic about Matheran which lures one towards it whenever one thinks of a cool (as in cold) weekend getaway from Mumbai.

So me and a friend of mine decide to do the unthinkable. Now we have always stayed in this hotel called Hotel Rugby and never made a booking prior to our visit. The hotel has been kind enough to give us a room everytime we land up there. For those of you who do not know, the hotel is quite something in itself. If you are not the exploring or walking kinds, you may just chill in this hotel and can pass the weekend gloriously. But then, Hotel Rugby is shut since 2 months now.

We decide to take up this adventure KNOWING the fact that all hotels are packed in Matheran for the long weekend. But the optimistics that we are, we venture on this journey where as my friend rightly put, the journey was more important than the destination.

Matheran is this virgin hill station devoid of anything commercial apart from the hotels. Hence the only mode of transport is your two feet or the horses four feet if you please. If you are going from Mumbai by the good old local train, you can get off at Neral station and then NORMALLY take a ramshackled taxi to Dasturi Naka from where you are on your own or on the horse.

So we land up at Neral station at some 3:00 in the afternoon. NORMALLY, you will find yourself surrounded by people asking if you needed a taxi to go to Matheran. But this was not a NORMAL day at all. To our surprise the station is completely deserted. No taxi fellas escorting you to the taxi stands. We considered this as a bad omen. On further investigation we find out that there is a strike going on of taxi drivers since the government has decided to start a minibus from Neral to Matheran. So one must walk some random kilometers in order to take the bus or the hotel association taxis. We walk & we walk & we walk in the hot sun. We finally reach the so called taxi stand and manage to get to Matheran. Mind you, these taxis were way better than the regular taxis that you get.

The people of Matheran are very hospitable. In the sense that the moment you are out of the taxi, there will be someone to take your luggage and hound you for a hotel till you select one of them and tell them where you want to go. We found our guide in a similar way and then started our hotel hunt. We practically scoured the entire of Matheran for hotels and found some really exorbitant deals. On offer was a dingy room in the attic of a hotel with hardly any space to move for Rs. 9000 for 2 nights. You freaking can get a room in the Taj Lands End in Mumbai for some Rs. 5000 per night if you want. Well, but then that’s the effect of a long weekend in Matheran.

Also we were spoilt by Rugby. The place is heaven. It has these cottage type rooms all of which open into beautiful lawns. The place looks like if it were straight out of a picture book or something. And the food. Oh the food. It is purely vegetarian but excellent. Also they do not have silly prices for long weekends. Atleast we haven’t experienced so far.

Moral of story, we could not find anything satisfactory. After spending 2 hours of hiking and horse riding (as my friend put it) we decide to go back. I must say, I enjoyed every single minute of those 2 hours even if it was really taxing on my body once I was back.

The first day of the long weekend was quite an adventure I must say. But then, what the hell, I am sure there are very few people who might have done this!!!

Technorati Tags: Matheran, Hotel Rugby

TECHNOLOGY ????

2006-04-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

It’s amazing how much technology has crept into our lives. It’s almost like a necessary evil. We cannot think about a life without a mobile phone or working without a computer these days. If we do not have the latest processor in our computer we feel as if we are living in the Stone Age. It amazes me more so because in a country like India, a mobile phone or a computer was very much a luxury less than a decade ago.

What got me thinking was this television show I watched on Europe’s richest people. They showcased this Indian gentleman called Ratan Chaddha who created the empire of Mexx clothing. In the show they were discussing how this man splurges his millions, and one of his splurges like all very rich people was art. Now art per say does not really interest me since I don’t understand most of it and do not quite understand the arty lot. But in this show, they showcased an art form, which I was completely unaware of. It was called interactive art. Whenever I think of art and art mainly in the form of painting, I can conjure up images of an old man with a dirty palate smeared all over with all possible colours, with clothes painted in all those colours as if he himself were a piece of art than the canvas on which he was trying to bring to life something that he had in his head. I could never ever in my wildest of imagination think of an image of a computer geek sitting in front of a computer screen and using his brains to come up with programs in order to make an image do certain things when touched.

I am not an IT geek like many of my friends but I do use substantial amount of technology in my daily life. I am also not scared of technology like many people I know at work but I always thought that no matter what, there would always be some streams of life wherein one will rely on the creativity of his hands to create something. Art being one of them.

Some smarty might come up with you do use your mind and hands when on a computer. I agree that on a computer you are using your hands on the keyboard but there are a fix set of keys that one uses. One cannot move ones fingers in whichever directions one wants because one will end up with a lot of gibberish then. But then I see things like interactive art and I am compelled to think: whatever happened to good old humans and their creativity? Today we call editing an image on adobe photoshop creativity. We call mixing music on high-end softwares creativity.

Whatever happened to the sounds of beautiful instruments played by hundreds of musicians? I wonder what happened to the joy of getting together the best instrumentalist in his own instrument and putting them all together to form one beautiful piece. I sincerely hope that we do not reach a point wherein such instances become extinct.

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