Happy Holidays!

Aaah! Its finally Wednesday! Today we are leaving for Columbus, Indiana ... our "hometown" in US. Its been more than three years since I last went there, when V was still there. I have so many memories related to the place which has been fading over the years and I had been waiting for an occasion to go back and refresh them. Lots of our old friends are still there and those not there are also travelling to Columbus. So it's going to be a reunion of sorts.

Me and V have been spending hectic weeks doing X'mas shopping, finding the perfect gifts for our friends while trying to keep them all within our budget :) We have early release from work today, so we will be leaving right after work....that's like a couple of hours from now. Its a long drive of over 10 hours, but V and our friend S will be driving, so I can lounge in the back seat of the car with the control of the iPod in my hands! Buhahaha!

I shall be back on Sunday, so until then wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hope you all have a fun and safe, warm and cosy holiday season!

Haunting San Antonio

During the Thanksgiving weekend, we along with a few friends went for a trip to Texas. We were in Irving, a suburb of Dallas for a few days and had planned to drive to New Orleans, Louisiana from there for a day. However bad weather in New Orleans forced us to change plans and we ended up visiting San Antonio instead.

While in Irving we spent most of the time at our friends place with their kid. Other than that, we visited an ice sculpture exhibition called ICE! and also went for a rodeo show at nearby Fort Worth. Due to time constraints, I was unable to go to a Nepali restaurant there but did manage to have a great lunch at my childhood friend's place. Nepali restaurants are a hard find in US, so I was excited about it. Well, maybe next time.

San Antonio, though a small city, turned out to be very beautiful and well planned. A canal runs through the downtown which is lined with wonderful restaurants and lively pubs. You can walk along the canal, aptly called the River Walk and can even take a guided boat tour. We reached the River-Walk in the evening and spent quite some time walking around, enjoying the view and the people. The great weather also helped. While in Texas, how could we not have an "authentic" Tex-Mex food? Tex-Mex is basically a cuisine from Texas that is highly influenced by Mexican cuisine. After a scrumptious dinner, we went to a pub and spent a good time there.

The next day we went back to the downtown and checked out some tourist attractions like the Alamo where the Battle of Alamo had been fought. I found it very interesting that the battle was fought right where the San Antonio downtown now stands. While we were having our lunch back at the River-Walk, a friend of mine called and when I told him we were in San Antonio, he asked if we had been to the historical haunted site yet! Haunted!! My ears immediately popped up! I did a quick search on my iPhone ;-) and sure enough, there was a haunted place near town where you can experience the "haunting" yourself!

It seems that some time in 1940's and bus of school children were passing through a railway track when all of a sudden the bus stalled right when it was over the tracks and unfortunately an oncoming train hit the bus and six of the kids along with the bus driver died. Now, legend goes that till this date if one takes their vehicle to the railroad crossing and stop right in front of it and put it on neutral, unknown forces move the vehicle until you have safely crossed the tracks to the other side. That happens in spite of the fact that the road just before the tracks is inclined upwards! And to top it all, many people swear that when they spread baby powder over their car's rear bumper and once they were across the tracks when they examined their car, they could see distinct baby palm prints all over the bumper!

After reading about such an interesting place, we had to check it out. So we went to the location and we saw another vehicle in front of us trying the same thing. We stopped our car at a safe distance and watched the vehicle in front of us smoothly crossing the tracks. Of course, from where we stood, we couldn't make out if they drove over the tracks themselves of did little invisible hands actually helped them? We had to find this for ourselves. So we drove towards the tracks (and trust me, the tracks in front of us are at a steep upward inclination), stopped the engine and put in on neutral. Sure enough! We could feel our car smoothly moving towards the tracks, cross the tracks over to the other side! We were flabbergasted! Of course, there has to be some scientific explanation behind all this! We made a quick u-turn and tried it again. And yeah, it happened for the second time too! There were other cars there who were also trying more than once. I even saw some families peering closely at their rear bumpers for tiny hand prints.

It was quite an out-of-body experience for us, but I am sure there must be some valid explanation for this all. Still it was a fun thing to do! Once I got back home, I did more research and found people have posted their experience with videos and pictures and some have even carried out experiments and provided explanations too.

On our way back to Irving from San Antonio, we stopped at Bandera which is supposed to be the cowboy capital of the world. However, we didn't have enough time to spare to explore the town and the ranches there. We did however stop at a saloon where I tried my very first (and second) tequila shot. It was fun!

Air India?? Never again!!

My flight experience have always been, let's say, somewhat unpleasant. This time, my wedding trip to India was no exception.

Initially, our plan was that I'd fly to India a week before V. I, the bride, would require more time for my bridal shopping than V who had anyway done most of his in US itself. I now thank my lucky stars for making us change our plans and travel together. Else, I don’t know how I would have gone through the ordeal by myself.

Who hasn’t heard bad reviews about Air India? Dirty and old planes, unusable restrooms, rude air hostesses and the fellow passengers even worse and the most common of all, flight delays. The only good thing about Air India that we've heard was the extra luggage allowance (which we didn't need), Indian food (which we didn't care for) and cheap prices. Cheap price...yeah, that's what they got us with! With our plan to stay in Paris for a few days on our way back from India, the stop over charges made our flight tickets very expensive. The cheapest fare was offered by Air India and with a brave heart, we booked our flights.

Having reached Newark hours before the scheduled boarding time, we found that our flight was delayed by 3 hrs. No surprise there. Now we worried what if we go somewhere to spend the time and came back only to realize our plane took off on time?? So me made a quick stop at a friends place and returned back to find out our plane had not even arrived!

As we waited at the gate, we could feel one of the Air India staff eyeing us. He soon approached us and without even touching our hand luggage he said we need to check in our carry on since they were too heavy. I was like What the...!! When we pointed out that he hadn’t even lifted our luggage to weigh it, he tried to cover up by saying our carry-ons are too big. I then pointed to a few of our fellow passenger's luggage which were even bigger! We told him we have important papers with us and there is no way we are gonna check them in. He then asked us to put all important things in one bag and check the other in. When we said that we'll be travelling separately (I was travelling to Calcutta from Mumbai) he finally let it go.

In the wee hours of the morning, our plane arrived. As with most Indian flights, even though they call out the passengers to board as per their seats, everyone jumped in to go ahead. It took a while for the staff to get the passengers to somewhat organize. After a while we finally found ourselves inside this gloomy stuffy plane. The seat covers looked centuries old and in the name of entertainment there was this single screen in front of the plane. I didn’t even bother to try on the headphones to check if they worked. Little did we know that our ordeal has not even started!

Everything we heard about Air India was true. The restrooms were dirty and smelly and nothing functioned properly. The food was bad. In fact the desert (sewai kheer) smelled bad and sour. The entertainment was zero. Luckily our weeks of hectic preparation paid off and we slept through most of the flight. During the flight we met a fellow traveler and his trial was worse than ours. He'd flown in to Newark from Michigan on Wednesday, four days ago. But his flight to Mumbai was cancelled and since then he had been trying to get to the next flight. But since all flights until Saturday were overbooked, he had to wait for four days to get into this one!

Our flight had a layover in Paris where we were not required to get off the plane. We reached Paris "on time" and we waited for it to take off again. After an hour wait in the stuffy flight with no AC, they announced that the flight was delayed due to technical difficulties. We were probably stuffed in for another 2 hours or so when they announced that our flight to Mumbai was cancelled!!! They asked all American citizens to get off first for hotel acco while for the rest of us, they'll try to get transit visas. Luckily for me and V, we already had visas for Paris. So we got off along with the American citizens. I am sure the remainder of the passengers had to go through much more than us.

We were probably stuck in the Paris airport for another 3 hours, standing in the long queue, when we were finally allotted a hotel room. The strangest part of it was that there were no Air India staff at the airport; everything was taken care by Air France staff. And to tell you about the behavior of the "American citizen" Indians there...well, that'll be another post! A rumour floated that they had discovered rats in our plane in Newark itself and the plane had been declared unsafe to fly. But since Air India flights had been behind schedule since Wednesday, they took the chance and let it fly but in Paris, they were not allowed to fly further!! It was past 9pm by the time we reached the hotel. We were too tired to even think of touring Paris then. Next day we left for the airport early, hoping to get good seats. Seems like everyone else had the same idea and there was this long queue at the gate, well before the boarding time. The behavior of the people there too... well, that not only shocked me, but disgusted me till end. But again, that’s another story.

On landing at Mumbai, I said a hurried bye to V and went off to catch my connecting flight to Calcutta. The one day delay had already made me miss my appointment at the US Consulate in Calcutta for my visa stamping, but that was the least of my worries. When I finally reached the domestic terminal, I found that I'd have to deal with more rush and crowd. I finally reached the counter only to find that I was waitlisted!! Those **ing Air India people had not bothered to make reservations for my connecting flight. I soon found out all my co passengers taking connecting flights to elsewhere were in the same situation.

Just 15-20 mins before the Calcutta flight took off, we were confirmed. I have to say though, the Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Calcutta was such a relief after that horrid AI flights. And the food was awesome!

During my stay in India, I had to take a few more flights after the wedding too. And yeah, had to face some or the other situation there too. My return flight to Paris and then to US was quite uneventful, thankfully! But this whole ordeal made us vow....AI - never again!

The Maine experience

The Start

We decided to go to Maine for the President's Day weekend. So on Friday after work, we bundled up everyone in two SUVs and off we went for a long 12 hrs drive. By the time we entered Maine, we knew we made the right choice....there was so much snow everywhere! Even in the wee hours in the morning with temperature below 0 degree Fahrenheit, our spirits were soaring high.

Upon our arrival at Rangeley, we finally found the cabin that we had booked after a long search. When we entered the cabin, our excitement level went up. Not only was it better than in pictures it was cosy and clean, kept like a home with the kitchen fully stocked. By then the sun had already risen and we were awarded by the amazing view from the back door....we had a beautiful frozen lake as the back yard!


Day 1

After a good rest of few hours, we headed to the nearby Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort where we headed towards the beginners slope. But the moment we put on the skis, we realized this was going to be way tougher than our last experience. Maybe it was the good quality of the skis, or maybe the skis here were waxed better - maybe because the snow here was natural and not machine blown, or maybe the slope was indeed steeper than in Pennsylvania where we had skied last, but none of us were able to ski here at all! The moment we put on the skis, we were sliding down without any control. Man! That was scary. I finally gave up. The worst part was that there were kids, as young as 3yrs old or even younger, who were zipping and zooming past us!

In the evening we went to a cozy restaurant called The Gingerbread House in a nearby town of Oquossoc. We enjoyed scrumptious food while a couple of deers grazed outside. Back in the cabin we set up a crackling fire in the fireplace and we headed out of the backdoor towards the lake. But the fiendish minds of few of my friends stopped us in a few minutes as they attacked us with snow balls. We were all soon involved in a heavy snow fight until everyone was out of breath.


Day 2

The next day was bright and sunny and much warmer. We headed towards a town called Stratton where we had rented snowmobiles. The guide lead us to a lake nearby which was completely frozen. The snow was soft and fluffy. Initially V drove the snowmobile and it took a little while to get the hang of it. Soon we were zooming across the lake. We were amazed at the size of the lake. On the map the it looks pretty small but when we were there we realized how huge it really was. It felt endless! After a while I wanted to try my hands at it. Having never ridden a bike before, I was initially apprehensive. But soon enough I overcame my anxiety and we were racing against each other. It was so much fun! The ride was fast and bumpy...specially when I was sitting behind V, I could feel the bumpiness of the ride - half the time I was in the air!

Whenever I was sitting behind V, I was taking pictures and videos. We went over big bumps and few times I almost fell down. Many times V scolded me to be careful, put away the camera and to hold on tight. One time as he was scolding me again, a HUGE bump emerged in front of us out of nowhere and we had to fly over it. Later on my friends related how it was almost a perfect stunt from some action flick. As we went over the mound of snow, I felt myself flying in the air and as we came down, instead of landing on the sled, my leg hung out. I felt my leg being dragged and I panicked worried that my leg will go under the wheels. I frantically gestured for V to stop. After examining my leg, we were both relieved to see nothing happened. Having learnt my lesson, I kept away the camera for good and we continued at a much slower space.

Once we got stuck while climbing over a mound of snow. I had to get down so the V can pull out the sled. The snow was deep, it came up till my thighs and a little bit of snow went inside my boots. It was then that I realized that I might have been hurt more than I had thought. Even a slight movement and my ankle hurt. After a while it was time for us to return. By then it was getting dark and we headed back to the cabin where I was pampered by everyone. While some massaged and bandaged my leg, some friends made an awesome feast of fish fry and chicken biryani. Yumm!! We had a nice lazy evening and the next day it was time to head back home. All through the journey I had to lie down. Though by the time we reached home the swelling had reduced, it was still painful to walk, so I had to take the next day off from work. My leg's much better but though its been over 2 weeks since the incident, I am still limping a bit.

Here I am!

Sorry friends, for keeping away for so long. Lets just say that I took a "short" break and hopefully I will be more regular. Thanks for coming back regularly and pushing me on to update. So, here I am! In the last few months of my absence, nothing much has happened - I am still enjoying my life with V and doing the things that I always do. Here are some highlights:

Travel:
I made two major trips, one to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Had a amazing time in both the places, lost quite a fortune in gambling and have made up my mind to revisit Vegas, since there's still so much more to see. I managed to catch the Cirque Du Soleil's "O" which is such an incredible show that I have no words to describe it. I also watched a typical Vegas show-girls show called Jubilee.

My other trip was to Vermont and New Hampshire to catch the fall colors. Both the places are beautiful and we managed to see some picturesque locales during our drive through the country. We are hoping to make another trip there later this winter for a fun ski adventure.

Books:
Since my last update, I have joined my local community library which I infrequently visit. Also, in my office, they have started this "book table" concept where people leave books they don't need at a table and book-hungry people like me can borrow them. This way I have got to read some pretty interesting and not-so-interesting books.

Having heard so much of Ayn Rand, I finally got myself to read We, the Living. I found it to be sad and depressing which was what I had expected. I then ventured on to Atlas Shrugged which I am currently reading. But the book is so huge and slow-paced, I am getting bored to complete it (as it is, I am not much into philosophy). Though not my policy to leave any book/movie unfinished, I think I might have to.

Movies:
As always, I have been watching a lot of movies. The latest one I saw was The Golden Compass this Friday. It is the first of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Found the movie beautifully made and the story interesting, so have decided to read the trilogy before the second part is made.

The worst movie I've seen is no doubt Saawariya. Couldn't have squandered my $10 in a worse way.

Hobbies:
My Wii addiction has died down quite a bit. I had started playing The Legend of Zelda when V was away for almost a month and was I doing pretty good in it. But then I got stuck in finding one clue and its been put away ever since.

V and our friends have found a new way to spend our weekends and my! are we addicted!! A friend introduced us to poker and since then we have spent at least one night every weekend playing poker. We normally start playing after dinner on Friday or Saturday at like 11 o'clock or so and continue till 7 or 8 in the morning. Initially we were a group of 7 and gradually we have introduced the game to more and more friends with the latest addition being last Saturday. We don't play with money though, just with chips. We figured, since we are having so much fun, why play with money?

Etc:
The holiday fever has taken over us too and we've been doing a lot of deal hunting and shopping. We have even put up a Christmas tree in our home. We got an artificial pre-lit tree and decorated it with tree decorations. This is all in preparation for a visit from our dear friends and their darling 3 year old daughter. Decorating the tree was fun and it looks pretty besides our fireplace. Once we have all the gifts wrapped and placed underneath, I'll take a picture and post it here.

Thats it for now. It feels good to be back! Wish you all a very wonderful and happy holidays!

Of diets and witches

The whole of last week I was on the GM diet. I followed it diligently with the hope to shed few of my extra pounds. 5 days into it and to my disappointment, I had lost only about 2 pounds. Now I had done this diet before too, but only for 4 days and that too cheating once in a while and I had lost like 4 pounds then. So I was hoping for better results this time.

Come Friday evening and me and my friend SR left for Stamford to V's place. By the time we reached, all three of us were famished and we decided to meet at a very popular 60's diner style restaurant called Lucky's. V told us about this amazing hot dog you get there. My diet for the 5th day consisted for beef, so I thought, what the heck, why shouldn't I try it. Anyway, my weight didn't show much difference and my interest in the diet was diminishing. So we all dived into the hot dogs. Man! Were they good....seriously the best hot dog I've ever had! Lucky's shot up to My Favorite Restaurant list from my Place I Like to Eat list.

Saturday morning me and V drove to Boston, Massachusetts to meet V's friend who was there for a few weeks. The weather was lovely - sunny, bright and warm. In the eve we went to Boston downtown. Boston downtown is somewhat like NY's financial district, but cleaner and less crowded. Lots of big old time buildings with beautiful architecture. Just as we were thinking of taking a walk to get the feel of the city, it started to rain. Having nothing much to do, we decided to watch a movie. Zodiac was the only movie whose timing suited us and the story interested us. It turned out to be a decently entertaining movie, except that I felt it was a bit too lengthy.

On Sunday we decided to visit the town of Salem which was about 20 mins drive. As many of you might be aware, Salem, MA has always been linked with witches and witchcraft in pop culture. Even Sabrina the teenage witch's cat is named Salem. Ever since I had been to the US, Salem has been in my list of places to visit, so I was quite excited by the prospect of going there.

The reason Salem is synonymous with witchcraft is due to the infamous 1692 Salem Witch Trials where 19 innocent people were accused of being witches and were hanged to death. We went there hoping it to be some kind of a ghost town with freaky stuff. Sadly, it turned out to be an over hyped place. The town itself is beautiful with lovely architecture. Many of the touristy places were closed for the season. However, the Salem Witch Museum was open and we reached there just in time for their rendition of the trails. We bought the tickets and were ushered inside the theatre. The show started eerily enough but we soon realized it was just a bunch of stationary mannequins placed in different sets depicting the 1692 events that lead to the killings with a booming recorded voice over. Once the show was over, expecting more museum stuff, we moved around, but were sorely disappointed to see that they just had a souvenir shop which for some weird reason were selling Rajasthani glass work purses among other equally unrelated things. It was a complete money ripping set up!

After that our interest to see other 'witchy' locations went away and we decided to head back. It made me realize how they say in India, tourists get ripped off their money at the tourists places there. Now I can say we are much better than how its done here. In India people cheat to fill their stomachs, but here its the entire town cheating the tourists. What a sham!

My Haves, Have Nots and Want Tos

Tagged by Juneli! Those who have been tagged for this and have been putting it off due to the sheer volume of it, lemme give you some tip to work it faster:

Open a Google spreadsheet (ok an MS Excel will work as well). Add 3 more sheets so you have one for the entire list, and each for the haves, have nots and want tos. Copy the list to the first sheet. Now simply work your way down the list and cut-paste each item to appropriate sheet. In the end, consolidate them all! So simple!! (additional tip -> I found it more convenient by sorting out the list alphabetically before starting out)

My Haves:
* Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment : more than just a moment.
* Adopted an accent for an entire day : not for an entire day but maybe for a long part of it...and many times too!
* Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love : yeah! Been there too
* Broken someone’s heart : unfortunately yes. Its such a bad feeling when something like this happens and the worst part is that you just cant help it!
* Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about : mostly V's :D
* Climbed a mountain : does hills and hillocks count?
* Dyed your hair : not only regular colors like auburn and red, but even BRIGHT RED, color of the Ferrari team and BLUE
* Eaten shark : yep! Have done it...I believe in Florida :) Yummm! ;)
* Eaten sushi : one of my all time favorites!
* Fallen in love and not had your heart broken : *cross my fingers*
* Gone back to school : just once. I wanna go back again, but I feel shy meeting teachers. Maybe next time will be when I take V to show him my school.
* Gone sky diving : one of the most amazing experience I have ever had!
* Gone to a huge sports game : thrice to the US Grand Prix and once to the US Open (tennis)
* Got flowers for no reason : something like that just makes my day!
* Gotten a tattoo : just temporary ones
* Had a snowball fight : hehe, its FUN!
* Had amazing friends : *touch wood*
* Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment : oh many embarrassing but funny times! But I think I have better control now...or do I ??
* Had to put someone you love into hospice care : my best friend D, I still shudder when I remember that fateful day! Thank God she came out fit and fine
* Had your picture in the newspaper : a local paper back home in Sikkim
* Hugged a tree : i believe when I was a kid while trying to enact the movies
* Kissed in the rain : :)
* Looked up at the night sky through a telescope : and the view is so wonderful!
* Lounged around in bed all day : oh I love doing that, if not all day then at least till late afternoon
* Made cookies from scratch : i enjoy trying out new recipes....sometimes
* Midnight walk on the beach : it was not romantic though, bunch of friends had gone to Diveagar near Pune. V was also there but those days we just knew each other :) Would love to go back there with him
* Parasailed : and paraglided! Parasailed in Florida Keys overlooking the Atlantic Ocean..the view was breath-taking! And paraglided in Manali...it was fun too!
* Performed on stage : did something when I was in the KGs and later did some group thing in college. Am not a stage person for sure!
* Piloted an airplane : a helicopter to be precise. And not exactly piloted, but I did sit in the copilot's seat and wore the helmet and the headphones etc. So I did get a copiloty feeling :)
* Played in the mud : don't all kids do?
* Played in the rain : again, don't all kids do? Now, don't like getting wet in the rain much, in spite of all the romanticism attached with it.
* Rafted the Snake River : well, not in Snake River but have rafted in Ocoee River which was the host for the 1996 Olympics and we actually rafted through the Olympics trail!
* Ridden a horse : as a kid in Darjeeling while going from Chowrasta to Dara Mandir
* Ridden a roller coaster : my favorite in parks and fairs
* Said 'I love you' and meant it : each and every time
* Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking : i enjoy singing in the car more than singing in the shower
* Screamed as loudly as you possibly can : just so that I can hear the echo. Else I am not the screaming kind :)
* Seen a total eclipse : though not directly as we were told that it will spoil our eyes
* Selected one 'important' author who you missed in school, and read : lots
* Shaved your head : my parents had my head shaved when I was a toddler. They still have the picture and I look so funny!
* Skipped all your school reunions : skipped once purposely and skipped the rest just coz I was never there
* Slept under the stars : in Aurangabad, at my friend's home. It was exciting since I had always wanted to do it. Had seen it only in movies
* Spoken more than one language fluently : every desi knows more than one language. Though I am ashamed that I don't know my own mother language Newari :(
* Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise : many times. That's the only way I can be awake during those hours!
* Sung karaoke : at my cousin's home. Its fun! I was actually planning to buy a set for myself
* Taken a road-trip : Me and V's favorite weekend pastime :)
* Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream : more often since meeting V
* Toured ancient sites : my love for travelling has taken me to many places. Though most ancient sites have been in India, I would love to see the ones in Europe and Africa
* Visited more foreign countries than U.S. : well since I am an Indian, Nepal can be considered as a foreign country. And have visited Bhutan too!
* Won first prize in a costume contest : twice. My class had won during our college fest. We had all dressed up once as clowns and the next day as kids

My Have Nots:
* Asked out a stranger : but have been asked out by a stranger :)
* Been a DJ : not a real DJ, but have played music (read as change CDs) during parties ..same as DJ -ing, right?? :D
* Been elected to public office : who wants to?
* Been in a movie : i guess home videos don't count :)
* Been on television news programs as an "expert" : i stay away from anything related to 'public speaking'
* Bought everyone in the bar a drink : nope, never done that. Like I said, I stay away from anything that brings focus on me
* Broken a bone : mine or someone else's? :P Well, I haven't done either
* Built your own PC from parts : am a software engg, not a hardware :)
* Buried one of your parents : that's a bad question! *I am so lucky*
* Caused a car accident : thankfully no
* Changed a baby’s diaper : Does watching from a distance count? :P
* Crashed a party : hehe, never done that either
* Created and named your own constellation of star : not into astronomy
* Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking : not a dancer either
* Danced with a stranger in a foreign country : nope
* Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild : back home, we often hear stories about how entire families get wiped out due to poisonous mushrooms. So I always make it a point to buy from reliable and safe sources.
* Eaten fried green tomatoes : but I have eaten grilled red tomatoes. Shouldn't that count?
* Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol : how about an air gun while trying to burst balloons at fairs?
* Given more than you can afford to charity : i am not that worldly
* Gone without food for 5 days : while in college, under the influence of a friend, I used to keep navaratri fast twice a year for 9 days. However, we were allowed to eat certain things. So i guess it doesn't count.
* Gotten divorced : have been lucky in love :)
* Grown and eaten your own vegetables : but have eaten the ones grown by my parents. :)
* Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced : i sometimes feel it should be fun to have my belly button pierced. :)
* Had a booth at a street fair : not personally, but my class had booths in college fairs
* Had a snake as a pet : one creature that I despise are snakes!
* Had major surgery : no.. phew!
* Had plastic surgery : i love the way I am. Wouldn't mind being slimmer though
* Had two hard drives for your computer : weird question, but no
* Held a tarantula : eew!
* Held someone while they were having a flashback : huh?
* Helped an animal give birth : no!
* Hit a home run : am not much of a sports person leave alone baseball
* In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them : i'm not that great with strangers
* Killed and prepared an animal for eating : have killed (insects and once a lizard) and have prepared (not insects and lizards!!) but never done both to the same thing
* Lost over 100 pounds : i've been trying so hard to lose 5 pounds and you are talking about 100!! Have mercy on me!
* Milked a cow : am scared of animals having the potential to hurt me
* Petted a cockroach : why in the world would I do that??!!
* Petted a stingray : why in the world would I do that either??!!
* Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight : nope! Never played that though I have played Monopoly and Scrabble for that long
* Pretended to be a superhero : that is a guy stuff, making a cloak out of a towel and wearing their underwear on the outside. *rolling my eyes*
* Recorded music : but been with friends who did....it was a fun thing we did in Crossroads in Mumbai.
* Saved someone’s life : nope, even though I have written a post that I saved someone's life today
* Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours : i guess 12-14hrs is the max for me
* Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you : don't do art
* Started a business : not a business person
* Stolen a sign : hmmm....no! Cant think why in the world would I do that!
* Taken a martial arts class : nope
* Taken care of someone who was drunk : thankfully haven't been in such a situation!
* Written your own computer language : am not that geeky! But I do get amazed at the people who have. What brains they must have!!
* Wrote article for a large publication : just for school mags
*Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived : *touch wood*

My Want Tos:
* Backpacked in Europe : well, I'm not a trekker but wouldn't mind if that the way to travel in Europe
* Been inside the Great Pyramid : wow! I would LOVE to be there!
* Been on a cruise ship : hopefully soon :)
* Bet on a winning horse : have never bet on a horse, but wouldn't it be awesome to win!!
* Bought a house : money money money!!
* Bungee jumped : am scared but excited about it at the same time. V says it's scarier than sky diving since you are dangling in mid air.
* Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language : that should be fun! I have actually communicated with people who can't speak, shouldn't that count?
* Eaten kangaroo meat : eating kangaroo meat would mean that I'd be in Australia, so why not? And I enjoy trying out new stuff to eat as long as they are not gross
* Gone rock climbing : to do that I need to be in a fit shape, and if I'm fit, I'm sure I'd enjoy doing it!
* Gone scuba diving : once I get over my fear of water and learn to swim!
* Gone to a drive-in theater : there was one in Columbus, Indiana and we never got a chance to go there. Me and V have been thinking about going to one for quite some time now
* Gone to Thailand : would love to visit the place.
* Gotten drunk on champagne : but I have gotten drunk on beer...once!
* Gotten married : when O when?
* Held a lamb : hmm..never thought about it, but yes, I'd want to!
* Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon : we'll be going to Grand Canyon but not sure if we'll get to hike to the bottom though!
* Raised children : first lemme get married!
* Read The Iliad : should be an interesting read!
* Ridden a gondola in Venice : awww! That's my honeymoon dream :)
* Seen the Northern Lights : after seeing Ricky's post on it, it has been included in my 'to do' list
* Swam with wild dolphins : have seen dolphins and their shows and even petted them! But swimming with them would be something!
* Taken a candlelit bath with someone : hmm!
* Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days : now wouldn't that be something!
* Taken a Ferrari for a test drive : *dreaming*
* Taken a trip in a hot air balloon : missed our chance in Niagara due to windy conditions.
* Touched an iceberg : gosh! would love to go somewhere with ice bergs
* Visited all 7 continents : travel, travel, travel...thats all I wanna do!
* Visited Ireland : and have Irish beer!
* Visited Japan : would love to! I get captivated by their culture and technologies
* Visited Paris : another honeymoon dream!
* Visited the Great Wall of China : will I ever get a chance?
* Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa : Italy's in my 'to visit' list too!
* Watched a lightning storm at sea : judging by the pictures that I have seen, it would be an amazing view
* Watched a meteor shower : but not be showered upon ;)
* Watched wild whales : we are actually thinking of going whale watching this spring/summer!
* Won money on a T.V. game show : would love to get some unexpected cash!

Whom do I tag?? I guess everyone's already tagged. If you aren't, consider yourself tagged and complete the task!

V-Day and V-weekend

After the eventful Sunday mentioned in my previous post, my next weekend was very normal. Even my Valentine's Day was quite normal. Since V is about 160 miles away and V-day fell in the middle of the week, we didn't have much option but to talk on the phone as often as possible. It snowed a lot that day, our highest snowfall of the season. The roads were empty and even my office had a low turnout. When me and my fren SR reached home in the evening, we realised everyone else had cleaned up their parking spot and dumped snow on ours. There was no other spot empty so we had no other choice but to spend a good 2 hrs shovelling the snow! Wat a way to spend Valentine's Day evening. Whatever happened to candlelight dinner and walk in the beach?

V had sent me a bouquet of flowers, which is still nice a fresh besides my bed. I start my day with the view of the fresh beautiful roses that just brighten up my day. I, on the other hand, after much contemplation, decided to give him a nice gourmet chocolate treat. The website showed lovely looking chocolate shells filled with mousse and other yummy treats. Seemed perfect for V. I paid more than the value of the chocolate for delivery on the 14th. When he received the gift, V called me. He was like the gift looks great....but the tone of his voice made me realize that I made a mistake. Even as I had placed the order, I had a strange feeling that something was not right. And guess what, the gift included just the shells, no mousse nor custard to fill the shells! The gift was pointless :( This weekend I have asked V to get along the shells when he comes visiting and we'll make some mousse at home and try it out.

The last weekend was a long weekend for us due to President's Day. We decided to go skiing. Our friend/my flatmate SR had other plans so there was just me, V and one of V's friend. Saturday was spent making rounds of malls looking for a decent deals on ski pants. In the eve, we went to a friend's place in New Jersey to see a very interesting French movie. But that's another post. By the time we returned to Stamford, it was almost 3 am. We had planned to leave early next morning for the ski resort so that we reach by 10 am when the lessons start.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and fresh, in spite of the late night. The resort, Mountain Creek Resort, is located in Vernon, New Jersey which is about 1.5 hrs drive from Stamford. As we walked up to the resort from the parking lot, we got an inkling of what we were getting ourselves into. Just walking up to the resort sapped up almost all our energy! Damn! I so needed to exercise! After getting ourselves registered for the beginners class, we stopped for a quick breakfast. The place was very crowded and we had to stand in long queues to get our skiing gear - ski boots, skis and poles. Me and V's friend had to buy woollen caps since mine was not appropriate for the purpose and V's friend had none. We were patting ourselves for thinking ahead and getting the ski pants from outside. The resort stores were so damn expensive. A simple woolen cap cost me 26 bucks!

By the time we got all our gear, it was past 12 o'clock. We had missed our lesson and so had to wait for the next one which started at 2 pm. We decided to pass the time by starting on our own. We copied others who were taking lessons and learnt how to put on the skis. We started with one ski and soon all three were sliding along a gradient slope in both skis. Woo! It felt great and the experience was so much better than my ice-skating experience.

At around 2 the next lesson started. There were 10 learners in each group. The instructor started with basic techniques and we were soon whizzing downhill (OK it wasn't exactly whizzing...more like whizzing in slow motion :P ) Once or twice I fell down while trying more advanced techniques like turning and shuffling etc. After few practices on gradient slope, the instructor took us to a higher slope. V was ahead of me and he glided down the slope with ease. Next was my turn and I let myself go. It felt awesome! But soon I gained a whole lot of speed and I felt myself go zoom! I could see V at the end of the slope and I was approaching him real fast. I heard him shout to brake. I willed my feet to move so that I can make a V, the technique we had learned for braking. But my feet just didn't move soon enough. I realized I was soon gonna crash on V and another guy standing besides him. To avoid it, I let myself fall down and then I felt a huge thud on my head. I now know what it means to see stars in broad daylight :) I felt my head had split into two. I tried to look around and I didn't see a hint of panic in V's eyes or people nearby. So I realized my head was still in one piece and that I was alright.

The instructor helped me up. My head was still aching, so I decided to give myself a break. The others went up for two more rounds. As I stood waiting my headache went away. It started to snow and everything looked even more beautiful. The lessons we done and we decided we have had enough. We got out the cameras and clicked a few pics. By then we were famished with hunger so had a hearty meal at the cafeteria. On our drive back to Stamford, I felt so tired, I just couldn't keep my eyes open. By the time we reached, not only was my head aching again, but the rest of my body too was hurting here and there.

The next morning I tried to lift myself out of the bed when I felt shooting pain in my neck. I had to hold my head by my hands so as not to strain my neck, as I got out of bed. Now, almost a week later, my neck is still hurting a bit, but the pain is less intense. At least I can lift myself up from my bed or couch without having to hold my head with my hands :)

So that was my first ever skiing experience. The fall hasn't put me off skiing and I'm looking forward to doing it again - the skiing that is, not falling down :)

Virginia Trip - III

This has been long pending.

Busch Gardens is an amusement park. I believe there are two of them in US. I had been to the first one in Tampa, Florida in Dec 2004. That had African theme and V had won a huge cute gorrila (soft toy ofcourse) for me. This one in VA had a European theme. Its smaller than the African one but cuter with different sections setup as different countries of Europe.

After a long wait to get inside the gates (it was crowded), we were so hot that we headed straight for the water rides. From there we moved on to roller coasters. The weather was hot and getting drenched in the rides was what we enjoyed the most. Their biggest roller coaster was quite scary, specially the first plunging drop. However much I tried, I just couldnt keep my eyes open during that drop!

Towards the end of the day, we went towards the games section. Like before, I wanted V to win something. He did win a small dolphin and a big flamingo, but my eyes were in this huge cute monkey (yes, again!). The game to win the monkey was to pass a small hoop through a twisted wire without letting it touch the wire. V tried twice without sucess. Then I thought of giving it a try. I was doing pretty good when just as I was abt to reach the end, it touched the wire and the alarm beeped. V and Dee were excited abt my progress so asked me to try again. By then a little crowd had gathered around me and I could feel a million eyes on me. I fared badly on my second try and was out in no time, maybe coz of the peer pressure :P.

We went around a while, encouraging friends who were winning some stuff or the other. V still seemed impressed with my performance at the wire game and asked me to try again. So we went back to the game stall to try for the third time. And guess what? I won!! I was so happy! For the first time I won something and didnt have V to win for me :). The monkey is huge, I was of course unable to carry it. Its bigger than me! Unfortunately, due to its size, I couldn't take it with me to NJ. Instead my frens took it with them in their car. Next trip to their house, I'll have to get it back :)

The next day we started off early as me and Dee had to catch the bus from D.C. We waited in the bus stop for more than an hour and the bus never showed up! This was not the first that Greyhound had ditched me. V got so mad that he rented a car and me, V and Dee drove to NJ in the car instead. I drove till NJ and after dinner droppping us, V drove to Pitts from there. Poor guy, he reached home at 4 in the morning and had to be at work at 8am!

So that was our Virginia trip. Though we didn't do much, it was nice and relaxing. Next trip? Who knows.. we haven't planned it yet!

Virginia Trip - II

Virginia is a beautiful state, clean and green. The highways are in great condition and driving is a pleasure. Unlike NY where the roads are lined on both the sides with tall buildings and Indiana where roads are lined with miles and miles of plain boring fields...here you will lush green trees....such a soothing view!

Roughly after about 3hrs or so we reached our first destination, the CBBT or the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. As the name suggests, it is a long bridge cum tunnel that extends to about 18 miles. It is considered to be a modern engineering wonder and the view on either side of the bridge is breath taking. About halfway through, the bridge passes through a tiny man made island, where you can stop and park your car. The island also holds a restaurant and a souvenir shop. Its a nice stop to stretch your legs and that we did along with taking many pictures. It seems some chase + crash scene in Mission Impossible III has been shot on the bridge.

At the end of the bridge, we stopped again for a few clicks and then headed back to Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is like any other beach town - small, lively and invitingly relaxing. By then we were famished with hunger. We drove for quite a while and finally found the perfect beach side. It was quite crowded but not too overbearing. We quickly changed to our beachwear and headed out towards the beach with all our beach-ware - chairs, mats, towels et all. Just by the beach there was this lovely posh-looking restaurant Catch 31. My vegetarian friends moved on to find their food while me and my non-vegetarian friends enjoyed delicious Catch 31 sea food.

The rest of the day passed in the beach. While I spent most of the time relaxing and sunbathing, my daring friends were more into playing in the water.

After everyone had their full, we moved towards town, which was just the matter of crossing the beach. We noticed people dressed nicely and soon realised we were about to witness a wedding! They were having a wedding at the beach! The funny thing was, the bride and the bridesmaids were wearing lovely gowns, but were barefooted while the bridegroom and his friends (what do you call them?) were wearing black suits and tux but were wearing slippers! It was indeed a quaint scene!

As a part of the Memorial Day celebrations, the town had organised a rock show. The band playing has flown in from Texas and they were pretty good. We passed the remaining of the evening lazing on the lawn listening to rock songs. Later we once again split into veg-non veg group for dinner. This time we had to walk quite a bit in search for the right place to eat. Our efforts were well paid coz the restaurant/bar that we ended up in served us yummy scrumptious sea food. I was so tired that as soon as I sat in the car, I dozed off. It seems on our way back to the hotel, we were stuck in the traffic for a good 1hr or so. By the time we hit the bed it was almost 2am!

Next The Busch Gardens

Virginia Trip - I

My weekend trip kick started on Friday. We were given an early release from work. My best friend Dee arrived at Port Authority bus terminal from NJ.

I then took her to see places in NYC. We had 4hrs in hand before our train to Washington DC. We went to Times Square, sat for some time in Bryant Park (I remember some scenes of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna was shot here. Any idea when its getting released?). From there I took her to see the Grand Central Terminal and then to the UN. I was basically showing her my daily route to work. By then we were totally exhausted, walking so long that too with the luggage. We came back to the Penn Station from where we boarded the train to DC.

We reached DC at around 1.30am. A couple of our friends had come to pick us up. From there we were to go to one's home in Virginia. The Union Station in DC is amongst the most wonderful stations I have ever seen. Its grand and huge like a big hotels lobby. It has a shopping mall and restaurants. Even though the Grand Central Terminal in NY is also quite grand, I like Union Station better...maybe since it has lesser people comparatively?

As we exited the station, we missed an exit and soon we were lost. Guys as always try hard not to ask for directions, so we kept on going and ended pretty messed up. We soon had to call the wife of one friend to tell us the direction. The guy driving was talking to his wife on the phone figuring out the way to the interstate when a cop saw us and pulled us up. I know in many states it is against the law to use the cell phone while driving, and I guess we were close to the White House area, so there were extra security. Thankfully the cop just gave a warning and waived us the fine of $100.00. He even directed us to the correct way to the interstate.

We had moved not more than 3 blocks when we saw another set of blinking lights behind us. There was however a car between our car and the cop car so we were assured that the cops were not behind us again. All of a sudden, the car behind sped up and tried to overtake us from the right. However unluckily for that guy, the right lane ended, and since our car was on his left side blocking his way, he could not make a dash for it and was forced to make a right turn, where another cop car was waiting for him! Though it was a bit scary for a fraction of a second when I thought he is going to dash into us, we felt good later on thinking that we helped the cops nab a runaway!

By the time we reached home, it was 3am. V and a couple of friends were already on their way from Pittsburgh to Virginia. I slept for a couple of hours. By then they had arrived and after breakfast we all started for our vacation.

Next CBBT and Virginia Beach

Chal Chaiya Chaiya

Last weekend, me and my friends had made plans to get together in Pittsburgh. 8 of them were driving over from Columbus and I would be going there from NY. We had many reasons to get together and celebrate, one friend got a great new job, one's getting married next month, two of them got new cars and one's birthday falls tomorrow. So, come Friday and I went to work with my overnight bag, all set to go. Unfortunately their plan got cancelled as two of them had some office work to be done during the weekend. So I set off after work, feeling bad that my friends won’t be coming, but all the same looking forward to be with V ;-)

Saw The Inside Man on Saturday. It’s a nice movie, worth seeing once. The highlight of the movie was... nope, not the incredible bank robbery scheme, neither was it the power broker role played by Judy Foster nor was it the handsome Clive Owen and no, it wasn't Denzel Washington's performance. It was our very own Bollywood song Chaiya Chaiya!!!! Yes! As the titles started rolling in at the start of the movie, we were taken aback by the song playing in full blast. They played almost the entire song and even during the credits roll in the end. But I really missed Shah Rukh Khan!

I colored my hair. I had it highlighted with red color. I have done this before, once in India and once after I came here. And both the times I had thought I would never do it again since it spoils the hair so! I had to wait almost a year before by bad/faded hair grew out...and after having 'normal' hair for a few months I got bored! Plus, spring is in the air and I wanted some change! The color looked lovely for a few days. I was supposed to wash it less as possible...but I wash my hair every alternate day....cant leave it for one day more else I look like I have poured a bottle of oil on my head! So now, my hair is back to looking normal. Just three days and the color's almost gone!! *sob sob* To think that I even bought salon special shampoo and conditioner for colored hair! Only one person in my office noticed it! How tragic is that!!!

India Trip pics

I was finally able to upload some of the pics from my India trip. Click on the two pics below to view the entire sets (India Trip January 2006 and Nepal Trip January 2006). I hope you enjoy them....dont forget to leave your comments!

Sikkim Pics


Nepal Pics

The last week

My last week in Gangtok is now a blur. The week was crammed with shopping, visits to the tailor, meeting relatives and friends and of course the dentist.

My trip to Calcutta and Kathmandu was so much fun that I had actually forgotten all about my dentist and the impending tasks. So the very next day of my return, I was back at her clinic with a heavy heart. I had to visit her almost everyday for the final touches to my RCT and capping. During the little time that I could squeeze in between the visits, I would go for shopping either with my friend or with my mom. Once we hosted a dinner party and for all close relatives. The next day the same group of people met at one of the relatives house for dinner. The third day the third relative invited the same group for dinner. It was funny coz the only difference between these parties were the venue and the menu.

During this time, I came to know from one of my cousin that she has befriended an old friend of mine. Incidentally, this friend's name also starts with V. We used to be friends since KGs or maybe even before that. We used to stay in the same building and were in the same class till 12th. In fact when we were kids, we used to be best of friends. I still remember that he used to say he'll marry me when we grow up! LOL... After we left school, we had lost contact until now. Through my cousin, I called and spoke to him. It was really good talking to him after all these years. The next day one of my uncle gave me, my brother and cousins a lunch treat. This guy called up at that time and he said he would like to meet me...so I invited him over to the restaurant. When we met, we both were surprised seeing each other. After all it had been 8 yrs since we met. He was so shocked seeing me that he just couldn't get over it. All the time he was constantly telling me how much I have changed and all that....hehe it was fun but embarrassing in front of my uncle and brother.

Soon it was my last day in Sikkim. I went for lunch with two of my closest friends. My poor mom was more busy that me, packing edibles, doing last minute stitches and alterations and packing my bags along with theirs as they too were coming with me to Delhi. The next day with a very heavy heart I bid my brother goodbye. My brother along with a few of his friends had just come up with a magazine and that evening was the launch of the same. I was sorry to miss the function by just a day. He had tried hard to get it pre-poned so that I could also attend, but it didn't work out.

My flight to Delhi was uneventful. After reaching Sikkim House early afternoon, I contacted a friend located in Noida hoping to meet her. Unfortunately both our schedule was such that we couldn't meet. Two of my cousins studying in Delhi came by to meet us. I was meeting one of them after probably 6-7 years. My kid cousin had grown up to be dashing young man and it was fun spending time with them. That evening we went to Sarojini Market, which was pretty close, for some more shopping :)

The next day we went towards Noida for my dad's check-up. I tried once again to meet up with my friend, but again was disappointed. After that we went to Karol Bagh where we did some shopping. In the evening we went back to Sarojini Market for some last minute shopping *grin*. Soon it was time for us to leave for the airport. I hated the airport for not allowing visitors inside. I had to bid my parents goodbye right at the gates. Parting is the most difficult thing ever. I felt wretched for leaving my parents like that...wondering was this all worth? My poor parents were still standing outside in the cold while I was checking in, which took a long time. Finally my check-in was over and I went back to the gate to wave them good bye.

The flight was a bit delayed but I was least bothered as my thoughts were constantly with my parents. We must have flew for and hour or so when they announced that we have to turn back to Delhi as one of the passengers was not feeling well. Once we landed in Delhi, we were stranded in the airport for a good 4hrs waiting for a takeoff slot. I was feeling so wretched that time since I was so close to my parents and yet could not contact them. I was cursing the damn T-Mobile service people for not activating my international roaming in spite of me requesting them. By the time I reached Paris, I had missed my connecting flight. After another long and tiring wait, I was booked in another flight to New York. By the time I reached NY, I was dazed and tired. On landing I came to know that my hand-luggage, which they had asked me to check-in had not yet arrived. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. On my onward journey, I had my hand luggage with me but got my two suitcases only after 4 days. On my return journey, I had my two suitcase, but my cabin luggage was missing!!! Thankfully, it arrived home the very next morning without further delay. My dear landlord and landlady came to the airport to pick me up and I reached home safe and sound.

So that was my entire trip. Writing about this trip took me longer than the trip itself! LOL! I was once again plagued by jet-lag which took me a whole week to get over

Books read during this period...Journey to the Self by Luna Shrestha Thakur and City of Glass by Paul Auster

Cat-man-do!

The flight to Ktm was uneventful. It was fun sitting with my brother making fun of how people in Nepal/Sikkim were more "American" then people in US ;-) Weather in Ktm was pleasant and as soon as we landed, I had this nice and warm feeling of being home. We hired a taxi - looking at which made me think, does this even have an engine? How does a box of tin more around by itself? We were soon "cruising" through the gallis terrifyingly close to other vehicles and pedestrians. Thankfully we made it safely to my mama's house. We received a warm welcome from my nani, mama, mami and cousins and other relatives. I'd met them after about 5yrs and it felt great.

How the week in Ktm went by, is still like a dream. As always, whenever we arrive in Ktm, we were overwhelmed by the no. of visitors and invites for dinners and lunches. Sometimes our schedule is so tight, we have to accommodate and accept invitations for even breakfasts and evening snacks! I had a great time visiting relatives and eating yummy nepali/newari cuisine. Initially, I was apprehensive about the relatives being nosy and asking about when I would get married and all that. Luckily for me, my poor brother was the brunt of all the questions and I was safe behind his misery :)

On the 2nd day of our arrival, we went to a nearby town of Patan. Patan is the oldest and probably the most beautiful cities of Nepal with roads laid with bricks and the town dotted with numerous temples and statues. One of my aunts had an exhibition going on in the famous Patan Museum to showcase her methods/adaptations of the traditional custom of Newari baby massage to the modern European life style. She is a resident of Switzerland and has opened classes there to teach pregnant parents the wonders of baby massage to keep them fit and healthy. Though we all knew about her works and how her methods have become famous there, the exhibition made us realize how our own custom is gradually disappearing in Nepali homes.


Durbar Square in Patan

While we were not visiting relatives, me and my parents were out shopping. My nani is mostly bedridden

and complained a lot of us not staying home. So this time we avoided dinner invitations and made a point to spend atleast evenings at home. I always thought Kathmandu is a heaven for shopping clothes and shoes as most of the stuffs are from Hong Kong. We get similar stuffs in Gangtok too but the choices are limited and prices are high. However, this time I was in for a big disappointment. For one, Ktm has become overtly populated. There were too many people and cars. The choices in clothes too seem to have degraded. I must have scourged so many shops and mall, even went to the brand new Kathmandu Mall during the opening, but had difficulty finding stuffs of my liking. I ended up buying more traditional stuffs like Pashmina shawls and semi-precious stone jewelries/curios. However, I loved shopping in Thamel. Thamel has stuffs which appeal more to "foreign" tourists, but I loved some of the stuffs they had. I went to one shop called "Wild Fibre". They made clothes out of sishnu or nettle. I am not sure if you are aware of Nettle. It is a wild grass found in the Himalayan region. It has its own defense mechanism and is covered with prickly thorns. If you accidentally happen to touch it, it stings like a bee sting. In old times, teachers used to whack naughty kids with sishnu to straighten them up. Some people also cook and eat sishnu like any other saag. So anyway, I was amazed to see clothes made out of it and happily bought a shirt.

While I was there, we got to celebrate Maghe Sankranti. This was the first time I was in Ktm during this festival. Normally on this day we cook (mostly boil) different types of tarul (roots - 9 or more varieties) and eat them. Due to the death of a relative, my mama and family were not celebrating it. So, we were invited to an aunts house to eat tarul. Another custom we follow is the lady of the house puts oil on the head of the other family members - just a drop of mustard oil as aashirwad. I was unaware of this custom as we don't follow it in Sikkim.

Another interesting thing we got to see this time was a procession of a different kind. It seems, on this day, the jyapu people get together and forms procession and goes around visiting temples in Kathmandu. Early in the morning at around 3am, I heard people from our tol or locality playing dholak/maadal waking and calling people. Soon groups of men and women, all wearing their traditional clothes gathered around. When everyone had gathered, they started moving on to the nearest temple which is right there at the chowk. They then move on to the next tol to visit the temple there and so on. They do this the entire day covering more than 300 temples in Kathmandu. And that's not all, they have to visit each temple 3 times.

Makar Sankranti processions

One day before I left for Ktm, me and my parents went to visit Pashupatinath temple. Now, we always make it a point to visit the temple within a few days of our visit, if not the very first day. But this time we just managed to make it on the last day. I love visiting the temple and this time I was pleasantly surprised by the changes in it. The area outside the temple was minus those thali vendors and biggest of all minus the beggars. The place looked so much spacious and clean and even the monkeys seemed much tamed! And we were not allowed to wear slippers! Until the last time I visited, people normally kept their shoes with the thali vendors and they instead gave you plastic slippers which you could wear and go inside the temple compound. This was no longer allowed which, in my opinion was just fine! One funny incident happened there. After the darshan, we approached the man distributing the holi water and when we moved away from him, he asked my dad in hindi bhaisaab kuch di jiye or something of that sort. Now, in many people's opinion, both my parents don't have the typical Nepali look and many think my dad looks like a North Indian. So my dad turned to this guy and asked in newari "and how much do you want?" You should have seen the man's face. Me and my mom were laughing so much. Poor guy was shocked to hear a madisey talk in newari leave alone nepali!

All these days, I had been trying to escape from my parents for a while and go visit Silky Moon. As you all know by now I had gone to visit her. Well, she had given me her phone no. long time ago and it was in my email. I had planned to pen it down from home in Sikkim before I left for Ktm. Unfortunately, my internet was not working and I was unable to visit any internet cafe. Same thing happened in Ktm too. Luckily I knew her workplace and my brother often does business with them so he knew where the place was. So I was hoping that someday I will just be able to get away with my brother and have him drop me there. Twice we managed to "escape" but unluckily were called back home for some or the other reason. My parents knew I wanted to visit this friend of mine, so having no option left, that day on the way back from the temple, I went to visit SM, taking along my parents. Yeah yeah Ricky, I can hear you snickering, but it wasn't so bad :P

I approached her workplace and asked the guard if I can meet Ms...... He asked me who I was, I was tempted to give my name as Colors, but then he looked serious kinds, so I told him I am .... from Sikkim. He called up SM ma'am and asked us to wait in the lounge. As we were browsing around the place, I was excited as ever....will she be surprised to see me, how will we react to each other, will she scold me for not contacting her earlier...all these thoughts were running in my mind, when I suddenly felt someone rush up to me and give me a huge hug. I was taken aback with surprise at such a warm welcome! How the next hour or so went by, is kinda hazy. I was so excited to meet her...this being my first time meeting a blog friend. It was also awkward coz we could only speak generally due to my parents presence. I had so much to ask and tell. I was feeling bad that it had to be like this but at the same time excited abt the whole aspect of meeting her. She remembered my love for momos and fed me with yummy paneer momos. I could feel that she wanted to offer me with her hospitality, had planned loads of stuff to do when we met, but due to my lack of time, I had to disappoint her. So many times she called me badmaash for not having met her earlier or atleast called her :P She truly is as genuine as reflected by her blog and posts. Warm and caring, that's the first thing you will notice about her. Even though we met for a very short time, I could feel very comfortable with her...as if this was not our first meeting, that we have known each other for a long time. Soon it was time for us to leave. She rushed off to somewhere and came back with a gift for me - a book, Journey to the Self by a Nepali author Luna Shrestha Thakur. I was touched by this gesture and we parted with a huge hug once again. As I left the place, I had a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart. Thats the way SM makes you feel by her sincerity and affection.

During the last days of my stay in Ktm, the Maoists had lifted the cease fire and a curfew was declared in the city on my last day from 11pm onwards. That evening, we went to the famous Nanglo restaurant for dinner. As we were walking in front of the restaurant, I saw a well dressed stylish young man and felt he looked familiar. Suddenly it struck me, it was Nima Rumba, Nepal's famous pop sensation! He was walking along with his friend and some young kids were calling his name and teasing him. Funny thing was that I hardly recognize any of the Nepali celebs. The only reason I recognized him was that one of my friend in Gangtok had shown me her picture with him when he had come to Gangtok recently. Due to the curfew, we were carrying just our wallets and had left our camera and cell phones at home. I wonder even if we did have a camera, would we have done anything, since we just looked at him and walked pass him without giving him any bhav. My brush with Nepali celebrity.

The next day we reached the airport well ahead of time. Like many flights that day, our flight to Bhadrapur (nearest Nepali airport from Sikkim) was delayed, but luckily it wasn't cancelled like many other domestic flights. Had that happened, we would have been left in the lurch with the all day curfew starting next day onwards. The aircraft was so tiny, it wasn't even funny. One seat on either side of the aisle and just a flimsy curtain separating the cockpit. The flight was not that scary or maybe I was so engrossed in the view outside that I didn't notice. The view was amazing as you can see Mt Everest and surrounding mountains.

From Bhadrapur, we took a taxi till Kakarbhitta which is the bordering town between Nepal and India. There our driver was waiting for us with the car. After some grocery shopping in Siliguri, we moved on and reached Gangtok in the evening.

Book read during this period...The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble

Next...my last week in India