The trip conversations - Part I

So.

Please don't beat around the bush. We are doing this for a purpose.

And what a fine purpose it is, to look back on something so.....

...unbelievable. It really was. Surreal too. In fact I can barely talk about my trip. To anyone.

Then it's good you are starting here. This was, after all, the longest trip we have ever done.

Longest yes. But mostly, F&^%ING unbelievable! Ok I will not use that word again!

Yes but I probably will. So: 25 days (!!!) including flights, 4 countries, and way too many experiences. It already seems like a....blur? A dream? Wait, I already don't like the numbers in that.

The nip in the air in London. The bright sunny skies in Edinburgh. The heat wave in London (yes same trip!!) The breeze in Geneva and Sion. The heat in Italy. Which was forgotten very quickly. The cricket. The tennis. The music. Oh the music...

The languages in London. The accent in Scotland. That wonderfully misty night in Edinburgh. Malt whisky. The Montreux Jazz Festival. A wedding reception in a valley in the Swiss countryside. The bridges in Venice.

The play. The play!!!! Waiting. Meeting friends. Drinking with friends. Eating. Feeling cold. Then feeling hot. Then feeling cold again.

Trying every kind of ale I could in England, and every malt I could in Scotland. Taking night buses and night trams. The sauna-like Tube. Sandwiches. Egg & cress. Nandos peri peri super hot chips. No, crisps.

And what about the piccante sandwich????!!!! That was F*&^ING amazing!

Ha, yes. And what a story behind its making! Then there was the time we got soaked in a storm by the lake in Montreux trying to watch the epic final set between Federer and Roddick with a crowd of mostly Swiss people around us. Insane.

I was frozen by the time we decided to look for cover. but I wouldnt change that.

Actually the storm got so bad the bar counter we were watching it at shut down, so we had no option but to run off for cover. Hmm. I also loved the train rides...

Trams. Buses. Trains. Planes. Vaporettoes. Underground. Cars. Loved them all. I was also just thinking that I got drunk once in every city... except - Milan.

What about FEET??? We walked so so so so much. My feet cried out for some loving, but I Loved all the walking...

Me too. I love the little blister still there on the sole of my left foot. Reminds me of the trip. It's been barely 24 hours since we got back and already its all slipping away.

I hate that, how it slips away so quickly. You come back and suddenly all the trip becomes sand in your hand, slipping away. So we must try to write more about it. Might even resurrect this blog (ha!)

Burp.

I know this is endless but we can do a little more quick reminiscing?

For me my birthday was surreal. It was F&%$ING mindbogglingly unbelievable. There I have used it again.

Yes. I could think of a dozen adjectives for the U2 concert and it still wouldn't be enough. Or adequate. I am so so blessed to have been there. We both are.

I want that to be the last thing we write.
We were blessed. Period.

Indeed we were. Let us go to bed now. Grateful, and hoping to hold on to as much of the beauty as we can :)

Inshallah.

Summer '09

Average temperatures....
London, in June: Max 21C, Min 13C
Edinburgh, in June: Max 16C, Min 8C
Geneva, in July: Max 24C, Min 14C
Milan, in July: Max 30C, Min 19C
Venice, in July: Max 28C, Min 19C

It's time...

... for new beginnings.

an abandoned window

View On Black

Singapore : the area around Ann Siang Hill and Club Street has a fair few bars; this is the exterior of one called 'Raw'. It seems to now be shut down, and looked deserted and neglected.

Ann Siang Hill is a wondeful area near the Chinatown locality in Singapore. Many restored shophouses from early 20th century, today are colourful, inviting, and generally fascinating to walk about.

from flickr

into the distance

with the sea close, gentle contemplation is never too far

A beautiful sunny morning at Bintan, Indonesia.

from flickr

rakhi dearest

So I get this priceless email in my inbox yesterday. Note, I don't use this email ID indiscriminately to sign up around the net etc, to keep it relatively free of spam. yet here this is, and I reproduce for your reading pleasure.

Dear [my universal nick name!],
I am sure you know me!

I have achieved a lot in life and received my share of fame and adulation. But it all seems a bit empty without someone to share it with. I am now looking to find true love... looking to find my life partner.

Our common friends have mentioned that you and I have the possibility of making a great pair. Just like I am passionate about dance, I am told you are passionate about sports. Mixing dance and cricket will be a great combination!

NDTV Imagine is conducting a Swayamvar for me and it will be great if you could apply.

The simplest way to do this is to log onto www.ndtvimagine.com
Look forward to seeing you soon at my Swayamvar

Warm Regards,

Rakhi

My Life by U2

1. Are you a male or female:
Boy/Girl

2. Describe yourself:
I Still Haven't Found What I’m Looking For

3. How do you feel about yourself:
Running To Stand Still

4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend:
The Lost Highway

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation:
All I Want Is You

6. Describe your current location:
City of Blinding Lights

7. Describe where you want to be:
In God’s Country

8. Your best friend is:
Love Rescue Me

9. Your favorite color is:
Bullet The Blue Sky

10. You know that:
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

11. If your life was a television show what would it be called:
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

12. What is life to you:
Beautiful Day

13. What is the best advice you have to give:
Peace On Earth

Sometimes...

...I feel inadequate. And lonely.

twentyfive

The damned 25 things list-meme going around on FB, which i finally ended up writing...
Some people said list 25 random things, some said 25 quirky things. There are probably some of both here:

1. I plan more than I do. I have been planning to write this list for 2months now.
2. I absolutely do not like to read reviews or discuss movies before I have seen them.
3. I could be a loner who likes people.
4. My decision making skills are the stuff of legend.
5. I’m often philosophical, but not quite a philosopher.
6. I once fell asleep at the wheel of the car.
7. I love my life, and I am potentially selfish about it.
8. Journeys make me hungry. I like to eat on trains, at airports, in flights…
9. I like being inquisitive about the world. I don't like that I don't act upon it enough.
10. I didn’t ever have a credit card till two years ago.
11. I love discussions, love to hear the other point of view and then proffer mine.
12. I sometimes get too animated in these discussions, I think it comes across as aggressive to people though I don’t mean it to.
13. I love cricket but am shite at playing it. (except on a console)
14. I don’t think I have any regrets.
15. I probably regret not buying that camera and that hat in Hong Kong when I was an impoverished travel show producer back in 2000.
16. I hate Hate. And the resultant unpleasantness… unless it has the promise, or intent, of resolution.
17. I once blacked out and fell in the bathroom and hit my head.
18. I am grateful for the friends I have. Really. I am not always the best in nursing friendships though.
19. I like cooking. I don't learn enough in it. I experiment, 'toss' things in a lot. I don't know the first thing about baking because we don't have an oven here.
20. I think smokers are people too.
21. The word mediocre appeals to me.
22. I am almost always the last to eat at a party.
23. I suck at small talk.
24. I like suddenly realising- when I am climbing a step, getting out of the lift, in the bus...- that I am in sync with the music I am listening to. It feels good. It feels like a soundtrack. Sometimes, sometimes, I even feel like a movie.
25. I love a cool breeze.

The trip...

I am in love with the desi version of the INXS "Afterglow" song.
It gives me goose bumps. It makes me want to stop breathing. I find myself getting affected by a song like this after a very long time. I have a tendency of getting attached to a song / songs and then I listen to them over and over again. I don’t tire of the melody or the words… creature of habit yes!

Things are slow at work. I shouldn’t complain as I miss this time when it is completely manic.

We got back from India about a week and a half ago. The trip feels like it happened ages back. But that is the thing with holidays isn’t it? You get back into your daily life and immediately feel as though the time off never happened.
I love this song. It is playing on repeat on the youtube link in my explorer window!

The reason for this trip was - TWO weddings!!!! It was INSANE.
A very close friend and A’s rakhi sis were getting married – not to each other may I add! Each day was a blur of sari tying, kurtas being ironed, hair getting done, drinks being poured, much chatter & consumption… and of course lots of laughter.
I LOVED it. The only regret I have is that we didn’t get “sit down / just only” time with either couple, but I guess that couldn’t be helped.

Then there were the lovely few days in Bangalore. Spending time with A’s mum and family was such fun. The spoonfuls of ghee in my rice at every mealtime are now showing… but I DO NOT regret eating like a pig from the time I woke till the time I slept!!! Aren’t holidays meant for that??

The first two days of the trip were spent with my sister and my niece & nephew in Bhopal. The city is the capital of the state and yet has a quiet, small town feel to it. I had a chance to chat with her like I haven’t for years and I loved that… I miss her intensely and don’t get to do this often enough. A was in delhi and didn't come along. He was spending some quality time with his brother and sis-in-law & nephew. Something happened to his knee and he was in excruciating pain for a few days but was thankfully up on his feet for all the main functions!!!

Back to Bhopal - we went sightseeing one of the days. On the agenda was one of the largest mosques in Asia and the “van vihar” or the local zoo. The mosque was nice, though I hated the renovation that had started on one of the towers. The new paint had this pinkish artificial look to it and it was sad how the old weathered stone look was slowly getting lost in the ugly pink…

I personally hate zoos, but this one was an exception by Indian standards at least. (I am typing much faster thanks to the song!!!! Yes it is on repeat number 5 now!!!!) it seemed to have lots of open space. The animals (the ones in the cages!) did not seem too sad… and then I happened to meet some outside (the cages)! There were 3 men who were throwing things at a bear in one of the cages and my sister walked up to them saying – (in hindi) 'How would you like to be on the receiving end of the stones? Maybe you should be locked up and we should throw things at you.' (this is very typical of her by the way!) I was right behind her to support her, in case they got aggressive. (Also, my 9 year old nephew and 6 year niece were with us so I wasn’t too keen to take on something too confrontational!) They seemed a bit taken aback at my sister’s outburst and started to walk off mumbling something offensive. So not to be left behind, I added my two bit – “aise logon ko koi tameez to hai hi nahin” (loosely translated as – people like this have absolutely no concept of what is decent public behaviour.)
And the guys turned around and started advancing towards us saying – “aisi ladkiyon ko kapde pahene ki tameez hai hi nahin hai” (girls like her don’t have the sense of wearing the right clothes.) Aside - I was wearing jeans and a black frock style tshirt. The neck I admit was a bit low, but because I am not well endowed there was no cleavage!!!! Anyway, back to the story - because there were hardly any people around (and the kids with me!) I swallowed my anger, hurried to the car and we drove off.

I could hardly breathe with anger. I HATED myself for this. For walking off and not talking back to those dumbf_ _ _s.

Eve teasing is the biggest reason I DO NOT miss living in India. I have almost forgotten what it’s like to watch your back (front, side etc etc) all the time.

On a lighter note – the trip was absolutely wonderful and I have come back in a funny state of mind.

I miss being with my mother, friends, family, gol gappas, dilli haat momos… I miss it all. I have come back not being able to get back into the groove of my life here in sing. I have come back missing my girl friends intensely. We had one evening together in delhi between all the wedding revelry and it was a blast. I haven’t laughed so much in a long time. I miss that camaraderie. I miss having people around me who know me inside out and I don’t even have to say a word for them to know how I feel.

Sigh.
I am such a bright spark I love myself!
The song is still on repeat in case anyone is interested...