Food Fetish

Uptill now i always thought i was hardly adventurous when it came to trying out different cuisines. The easy excuse was being a vegetarian.
But in Hong Kong, although the choices are limited for a vegetarian, i have learnt to try my hand at different cuisines. So here goes the experience.


Itadakimasu - Japan
SUSHI is a packing of fish with rice.As the fish ferments, the rice produced a lactic acid which in turn caused the pickling of the pressed fish. Ofcourse there are vegetarian alternatives to this ancient culinary art. What we had in a Jap restaurant, is an egg sushi and a cucumber sushi.Apparently these days Sushi is customised and vinegar is added to the sushi rice to produce a pleasant flavour of tartness. Along with Sushi one gets a WASABI Sauce. I say simply beware of this. Extremely pungent, this is the Japanese horseraddish. Unmindful of its flavour i simply ate a chopstick full and in a second my nose was hanging free of my face. It took me a full minute to recover.

Bon appetit THAI.
We walked into a Thai restaurant the other day and was simply taken aback by the ambience. It was pleasant, most restaurants in Hong Kong are noisy and cluttery.
We first explained to the proprietor that we were vegetarians. He was eager to please.The first dish that arrived was scrambled eggs with bitter gourd. One mustn't think of this as a weird combination. Its sinfully delicious.
The main course had the THAI GREEN CURRY and steamed rice. Although many of you would have had this in India, what we had was exquisite. The blend of the coconut milk with the vegetables was just perfect. We almost licked the bowl of the curry.
I was simply bowled over by Thai cuisine.

Sihk Faahn - CHINA
This is the what i eat most of the time. There are some specialites in Chinese cuisine too.
I will start with MOON CAKE. This is a special chinese dessert made during the mid-autumn festival.They are round or rectangular shaped pastries.The egg yolk in the center signifies the moon.(Its a full moon day during which the autumn festival is celebrated.)Traditional mooncakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity" or "harmony" as well as the name of the bakery and filling in the moon cake. Imprints of a moon, a woman on the moon, flowers, vines, or a rabbit may surround the characters for additional decoration.
As part of the chinese cuisine we get many rice paste dishes similar to idiappam in india. Except that they have a samosa kind of shape and are filled with sauteed vegetables and spring onion. Delicious.

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East meets West - Welcome to Hong Kong

When i stepped foot in Hong Kong, i dint quite expect to see what i saw.
Yes Hong Kong reminds me so much of Bangalore - Concrete Jungles, mind-blowing traffic, N+1 Shopping malls and an almost oblivious crowd.

When we were on the way to the hotel from the airport in the express we saw a few apartments that would have put Indian Puravankaras and Brigade Groups to shame.


For the first few days everything around me was moving in a fast forward pace. People here walk, eat, work and talk at an amazingly rapid pace. Am not speaking relatively mind it.

We even got lost one day while trying to get out of their metros and a kind lady helped us with a map 45 minutes later since we couldn't stop anyone to ask for directions.

The people here dress similar to the Europeans but the streets are crowded and noisy and makes you feel right at home.


Dal fry and rice in Hong Kong. Yeah you can have it anywhere in the world these days so why not in the dragon country? We found a Kashmir Curry place although i tasted Thai, Japanese and Chinese Cuisine first.

Tommorrow is the Autumn Festival a kind of a family reunion day - Thanksgiving. They have a dragon show and a lantern festival from morning to midnight. This is the Discover Hong Kong 2006 special.

Am all set to party so let the show begin.

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A Great Way To Fly

People who have travelled through Singapore Airlines would definetly agree with me that it is a great way to fly.

The staff are amiable and dont frown on you when you ask for an extra glass of water.
I had some bitter experiences flying Lufthansa and i wasnt cashing on all the free beer mind it!! Just one cup of water.

Anyways, singapore airlines had me enthralled from start to finsh.

They have more leg space in their aircrafts. They even give you a vanity pouch with socks and a tooth kit.

You have menu cards for supper and lunch and the food is good. Its not like dining in Sahibs sindh sultans but what more do you want when your amidst clouds.
They screen some really good movies on air. I managed to watch Break-up and The devil wears Prada on air.

All in all am totally looking forward to flying Singapore Airlines on my way back.

Thumbs up to them!!

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Raindrops on Roses..

What is it about rain that cheers me up?
Being in Bangalore, Rain, is an everyday phenomena. But that doesnt diminish the enthusiasm that raindrops bring.

People always picture a rainy evening with Bajjis or pakodas and a steamy cup of coffee. Imagine a rocking chair and a book to read. That makes the picture complete doesnt it. The smell of the earth, the trees and plants all smiling and clean, people oblivious to the rain and walking around, children jumping into puddles.
It brings joy, a sense of overwhelming joy in my heart.

But not everyday i have the time to stand and stare at these simple yet pleasurable scenaries. Sometimes i rush home in the rain because dinner needs to be done or i dash to my stop otherwise i would miss the shuttle.

Yesterday it rained in Chennai(my hometown). My mom and i had all the time in the world to simply stand and stare. It was then i realised all the money, the hardwork would mean nothing if life isn't filled with simple moments of joy like this. Even if i worked my whole life i wouldn't get the satisfaction if i dont appreciate the beauty in front of my eyes. Maybe life is not so complicated after all, maybe we have complicated it somewhere along the way.

"Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens,
.. these are a few of my favourite things."

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Star Wedding

Tinsel Town Weddings always carry a lot of glamour and a star showdown.
Surya and Jyotika tied the knot on September 11, 2006.

This wedding was happy to most fans of Surya and Jyotika. Their love story was known for many years now.
Happy couples, happy fans and one big happy wedding.

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Who Am I?

I took this personality test to pass time on a monday morning.
The first one with 9 questions had me as JFK

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and the second..

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

It also tries to find your personality match with a movie.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

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Clutters in my mind!!!

I am thinking about...
why the world isn't flat..

I said...
Leave me alone!!

I want to...
be able to disappear when i want too and also get into people's mind to know what they are thinking.

I wish...
we could rewind or fast forward life..

I hear…
noise from inside my mind all the time, constantly..which doesnt make sense.

I wonder...
how and why?

I regret...
that i have something to regret!!

I am...
what i am.

I dance...
to the rain and the songs which can make me to tap a leg!!

I sing...
pretty well ;-))

I cry...
Consider anything, only dont cry.

I am not always...
this beautiful

I make with my hands...
BEEP!!BEEP!!

I write...
to empty the dust collecting in my mind and to throw the anger out. Mostly because i like to write.

I confuse...
hmm...am slightly confused now.

I need...
what you cant give me.PEACE as of now.

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Muted Dreams or Soaring Faith?

Sometimes when am all by myself with no sense of time and space(these moments i truly cherish), i wonder who am i? There is always this sense of identity we want to associate ourselves with. It has nothing to do with being successfull or not, it has something to be able to define yourself with.

Its very abstract, all of us want to be happy(in our own terms).We want to be able to make that connection with ourselves where we can sit in a comfortable silence and not feel lonely. We want ourselves to be able to feel the pride and a happiness that comes from within.

Some childhood memories, some mistakes ride past me when i sit and gaze at those solitude moments. I never knew there would come a day when i would look forward to reading Bharathiyar kavithaigal and be able to say it.

There is a sense of difference in the Generation i see today. We are not scared of what we are. We take full responsiblity of the actions and the repurcussions.We have a certain sense of self-worth. We are not confused but struggling to prove a point.

In one of the coffee conversations with my bestest friends, i reasoned that the cause of constant turmoil for the generation of today is the fact that we do not see eye to eye with our family. Yes, we dont.We have laid our own principles for our lives and it is (alarmingly)different from those of our elders.
We are able to decide between the good and the bad and the right and the wrong.
We are more tolerable and more reasonable. Infact, i have been living with my room mate for two years(harmoniously) which has made me more adapatable and accomodative.
It is very difficult for my parents to understand my goals and sacrifices and it is very strange for me to make them see it.

This is the sense of conflict and somewhere in this whole battle one of us lose.Not always but sometimes. Somehow for me it is difficult to live a life without passion. I have made many mistakes and sacrifices not because life became that much easier but because that was the right thing to do(for me).

I dont see my buddies everyday, infact we are all geographically very far apart, but i know that somewhere within me a piece of them lie and vice versa. We are willing to learn, from our mistakes and from others. I'm beginning to think that we would bring a new dimension to this world. A world where people can live by their own rules. Most of my idealogies about religion and caste shock my parents, but that doesnt change mine.

It always comes as a choice between making your dreams come true by holding faith in what you beleive or savrificing your dreams for a sense of temporary relief.

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Venice

When i told people that i visited Venice, the first question was 'Did u take the gondola ride'? The answer was a NO and an added wait for the prince charming to accompany me. With Venice on the list for the city of love, no point taking a gondola ride alone.

I landed in Venice without a good night's sleep and catching a good hour of it even if it meant stratching myself on the railway platform din't seem very disgusting.
I have to remind you that when ur in abroad, things are almost always spotlessly clean and i took that as an excuse.



The first sight of Venice took me by shock. I stepped outside the train station and bingo there is water. No roads but canals. Now this is truly a water city.
Being built on water, Venice is a romantic place.

But something told me Kerala was better.

I want to write more, but this post has been lying here for long so before it rust and melts i publish :)

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WORLD CUP 2006

ITALY - The proud winners of the FIFA World Cup 2006.
Zinnedin Zidane's fabulous career comes to an almost choking end.

For the good of the game, ITALY has a reason to celebrate.

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ITALY - Rome

Roman Colosseum


The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. It was inaugurated in 80 AD.

The Flavian Roman emperors built the Colosseum of Rome for entertaining their subjects with bloody games where Gladiators fought wild beasts.(Quite similar to Russell Crowe in Gladiator).

There is a cross inside the Colosseum which the Pope visits every friday owing to a popular misconception that hundreds of Christians were killed by lions. The visit of the Pope in itself could be a fabrication.

Rome is filled with places of historical importance and it is important one does the homework before visiting this place or you would'nt be able to appreciate the splendour and wonder of this place.

It is also said that Italians have a spritual breakdown when they leave Rome.
We all know, Rome wasn't built in a day.

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A Time To Remember

When you're in a country hosting the biggest sport of the year, its difficult to ignore the euphoria. Its quite contagious and before u know it, your part of it too.

Germany Vs Argentina was a match that would go down in history as a nerve cracking match. Germany struck thunder and got past to the semi with Argentina wondering what had hit them.

When i reached the Market Plaza where there was a big screen and a maddening crowd chanting deustschland, cries erupted. By the time, i could get a peek at the screen i had realised it was Germany 0: Argentina 1.
After that there was no looking back for Germany.

Ballack and Klose teamed up to make the score equal and they kept it that way all through the extra time.


The match ended in penalty shoot-outs. Not my kind of way of winning game but anyways. When Argentina missed one which was Germany's card to the semi-finals, a whole nation celebrated. Ballack, Klose and Lehman were heroes and there was a thunderous applause in Berlin, we could hear it all the way through Walldorf - an otherwise quiet town.



A moment of victory, a sense of euphoria and a glorious record. Germany beat Argentina. As happy as i was for Germany, they deserved to win, i couldn't beleive Argentina had lost. Many of them were sure that it would be a Brasil Argentina final.
Germans celebrated for the team and Klinsmann was the mastermind.



A few days later, they lost to Italy. But the team had much to be proud of. I would never forget my stay in Germany this time. They made me do a follow-up on soccer and i even knew a few rules of the game. Now its the run up to the finals and all i can say is may the best man win.

World cup, Germany and me were not such a bad combination after all.

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Ice Caves in Austria

Eisriesenwelt Werfen - The world's largest ice cave.
In 1879,Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, pushed 200 metres into the darkness of the caves and officially "discoverd" the Eisriesenwelt. The cross inside the cave almost at the beginning is the mark he made exactly where he discovered the cave.


From 1924, for about 25 years, the only way to reach the caves was on foot. It is a steep uphill climb.Our guide, Sandra, showed us the path which people used to climb on. Thank god for the developments, i definetly wouldn't have made it to the caves. From 1953 it was possible to drive up the Eisriesenweltstraße in a single lane.In 1955 the cable-car provided an alternative to the steepest part of the climb, reducing the time taken from one and a half hours to a matter of minutes.



From the parking area, everbody has to walk for about 20minutes to reach the cable car. After descending the cable car, another 20 minutes of walk brings you to the foot of the cave.



As soon as you step into the cave, a blast of cold air hits you. For a second i thought i would freeze right there. But its only for a second. We are handed with small lamps to light the way through the cave and while climbing the steps.
It is zero to minus one inside the cave and the warm clothes saved us from being frozen inside the cave.


The caves are formed naturally. The snow from the alps melts throuh the creeks and starts collecting inside the caves and the wind blowing shapes them. I also witnessed what i read in school - Stalactites and Stagmatites.
Walking through the caves, climbing the steps was a nerving experience.


Mother Nature is indeed spectacular. The ice caves are a must-see in everyone's list.Walking down the caves, it was difficult to quieten the rush of excitement.
The sights, the caves and the ice are still slide showing in my mind. :)

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Destiantion Belgium PART II

Next in line was the GRAND PLACE.
It is necessary to view the grand place at night. It is breathtaking. The four sides are so massive and towering down on you, all you do is look up in awe and admire the work of the hundreds of sculptors. It is the most beautiful medival squares of Europe.

We visited the Grand place twice. Once around the evening and once close to midnight.
You need to sit down and admire the guildhalls and drink the spectacular sight. It is truly relishing.


DAY TWO
We had breakfast and strolled around to figure out where to buy passes for teh day's tour. While on our way we hit the St.Michaels Cathedral. It around 300 years to bild this incredible Gothic cathedral.
We had to hit our head in our stupidity for not brining our cameras along. Never ever do that.

We further strolled along to visit the Belgium Center for Comic Strip Art. This is dedicated to Herge the creator of Tintin. You will se miniatures of tintin, tom and jerry sold as souveneirs. The museum itself is decorated very innovatively and has information about how cartoons are made from start to finish. Teh sketches, motion pictures and the script. Very interesting place to visit.

We then went Lock, stock and barrel to visit the other sights in Brussels.
Atomium is a wonder to visit.

It was built in 1958 for the International Exhibition. It is a model of nine atoms of an iron molecule magnified 160 billion times. You can climb four of these items with high speed escalators and ofcourse the stairs. The highest atom offers a panoramic view of the city.

Right next to the Atomium is the Mini-Europe.
Here all the important monuments and structures throughout the europe are scaled down and if you cant visit the entire Europe this would a quick finish. While the Eiffel Tower model is a poor representation, the Big ben is scaled down to the minute detail. Definetly worth a stroll.

There ends our trip to Belgium. It was a good time spent with Good company amidst breathtaking sights.

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Destination Belgium

Last weekend i was in Belgium - land of chocolates and beers.
Belgium is situated between Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

I went directly to the capital city - Brussels - administrative capital of the EU.
Many had told us that there was nothing picturesque to visit in brussels but this trip proved them wrong.
Usually, when we go travelling we always have a list of places to visit and then the time-lines and we hop on and off the buses.
This trip was different. We dint have a plan. We knew the important places to visit but we dint know where they were located. In all, we stranded in the streets of Brussels. And to add more excitement, very few people in Belgium can talk English. Merci and Bon Jour the only french i knew wouldn't help either.

We were five in all. Alex a chinese, who was lost in his thoughts but never failed to notice his bretheren. Sumeet the when-in-doubt-ask guy, who always loses his way, we found the secret story though. Billu the man, who needs a top view to find his way or he needs a formula to compute the distance between tha place we are and where the car was parked. Bina with volatile memory and an ever evaporating sense of direction and me - i was the one with all the information which can be credited as useless :)

So we set sail.


From German to Brussels, it takes approximately 4 hr and 30mintes. Traffic is relatively slower on the Belgium bahn. But its a picturesque drive, if u dont doze off. We were drinking in the country side and adoring the cars that zipped past us. With indian music in Germany we were in love with EUROPE.
(If you dont have navigation in your car, map24 would be useful)


The first of the places we saw was the BELLEVUE Museum. There is an entrace fee of about 3 euros and when we went inside, we were wondering why we ever came here. When you dont read your history books properly this museum was a wrong place to be in. I found it totally boring until i saw the old style telephone and a radiophone.
Outside the museum, one can see the entire palace of the king. I wont say anything about the flags. (see previous post). It is a nice cobblestone pathway and the palace looks huge and mammothical. Make up your mind before you step in :)


We decided that we wanted to see the Mannekan Pis. This is a really small statue of a boy pissing. I was shocked to see so many tourists looking at this boy. We even joked that the next time people would come around seeing a dog peeing in the lamppost. Anyways, there is some story behind it all. Apparently the belgians beleive this boy has saved their country from being plundered or ravaged by fire. Its a good luck sign to them. The road signs are really tiny and by the time we got there we all were mighty tired.

If there is one thing that leaves me on a perpetual high, its CHOCOLATES. When i saw the chocolate fountain in one of the shops in Belgium, i even forgot to close my mouth.We tasted some of their handmade chocolates and ummmm.. they were yummy. So i grabbed a few for moi.
(To be Continued...)

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Belgium Vs Germany

While in Belgium do not get worried about why the German flag is flying so high.
It is easy to get confused.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
While we were wandering in Brussels, we stopped at the king's palace and were wondering why the German flag was placed there.
We stopped a lady and asked her if it was a german king. She must have thought that we had sub-zero levels of history knowledge, 'cos she laughed and said - 'Thats the Belgium flag'.
Whoever said, when in doubt ask :(

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Willkommen nach Deutschland

I landed in Germany amidst frenzied football crowd.
I still haven't got sight of Ronaldinho but havent given up yet :D

I stay in Walldorf, a quiet village so to say.
But with Worldcup in Germany, not a single place is sparred.
Yesterday at 12.00 in the night we heard a vroom of cars with flags and fans screaming. France and Korea - 1 -1.

The sun doesnt set here until past ten and its a little weird to retire for the day when its so bright outside. I hear the europeans like this. There are times in winter when the sun never comes out (like in Sweden). So they look forward to the summer. And once summer comes they rent caravans and set out for a vacation to the beaches and the like where there's plenty of sun. How much i take the sun for granted and curse it :D

I have also realized the Germans are pretty good at driving. On the Autobahn, you can drive the fastest in Germany. People change lanes depending on their speed and the speed of the car behind to leave way. Its amazing. Also when you cross the border to a neighbouring country you will know the difference.

Germans are also more organized and meticulous about their lifestyles. There is no commotion and everthing is almost always in order. Being in a foreign land open your eyes to a plethora of things. My first lesson here has been time is precious so dont take it for granted.

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For Business & Pleasure

Worl cup stadium in munich at night
Am off to Deutschland to watch the Worldcup(am an optimist) and do some business.

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SACRIFICE

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

In solitude moments, i think aloud of this one word that alludes me.
We all make sacrifices, some small and some strong.
Some are life altering and some make life easy to go by.

What is it that makes us sacrifice?
Is it easy when it is for people we care about?
And sometimes i wonder, why do we do it?

Some sacrifices are simple and silent that we hardly notice and some are painful and etched in our memory forever.

When a mom sacrifices a meal to feed her children its a silent sacrifice. Nobody awards her for that simple feat. Its the love she gets in return.

When a man dies in enemy lines, the whole nation rewards him. For a life lost and to me war can never be justified.

There will come a time when each one of us will make a sacrifice. Life is never easy.
Sacrifice is a word that symbolises pain, in one form or the other.

Sometimes we fail to notice the little details of life.
When i get to live life only once, sacrificing things near and dear to me would mean rubishing the very cause of it.

Why do we do it then?

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