DIY-Recycling a glass piece

I found this well shaped glass lying around in my house, interesting shapes are always a delight for any recycler. So I started about by just randomly making a pattern with blue.

Soon I brought in the light blue-dark blue combo, a favourite of mine and one that can easily bring in beauty to anything. Soon as I was going about I added in the dark green-light green combo, and then a line of yellow and red. The end result:

I decided to hang it. So I did a lanyard knot and the bottle hanging knots with the coir threads from the packages.(will do a post on it soon).

And the end product… Tada!!

Add ons you can try:

1. Try the acrylic paint, I had only poster colours, so had to go ahead with those.
2. I am yet to varnish too. Varnishing gives a better finish, look and the craft lasts longer.
3. You can hang in a bulb, for it can also serve as a lamp.

Let me know what you think and share me your crafts.

THOUGHT CARD #20

THOUGHT CARD #19

Lunch from Lunch Pi

As bachelorettes Sindhu (of sindhujp.com) and I often had to spice up our taste buds with outside food. And affordability, packing, quantity and quality make a huge difference.

Lunch Pi offered to give us a taste of their food. Sindhu ordered lasagna and I ordered the Special Veg Thali, we also ordered a chicken kebab.

The thali was absolutely delicious. The items were fried rice, 2 naan and 2 gravies- dal makhani and butter masala, tikka, raitha and a sweet. The quantity is really good, it’s a treat for heavy eaters.

The kebab, though not of my taste, was liked by Sindhu. I am still very choosy on my meat choices.

The packing deserves a special mention. All the items instead of usually being stuffed in a cover, was laid out in a neat cardboard box. Not only is the packing environment friendly, the spoon is recyclable too..which is made of wood.

Kudos LunchPi.

THOUGHT CARD #18

100 things to do in Chennai

This is one old post that has been lying in my drafts for a very very very long time. Atlast, I decided to dust it out.

I have been in Chennai for a long time now. But I was not much of a roamer or explorer.. its not that I dint want to but situations like being stuck in atypical “strict Chennai engineering college” plus financial dependence restricted me.

The past year and half three years I have been working in our Singara Chennai, now that I am financially independent, I visit place here and there. Then I thought why not have a list.. so as I was googling through a lot of sites (reallly a loooot) .. I finally choose a list (link) I came across a Random blog. I found it easy and doable and short. Compared to 1000 things lists for a person who hasn’t roamed much.

So here is my 100. I have edit them to my preferences too. For example.. I don’t find Tibbs Frankie that great that to be on the list. I had added in a few hearing a lot of hype too like the Sandy’s Chocolate Laboratory, That Madras Place… but they utterly disappointed me.

My 100 things to do in Chennai.

1. The Island grounds trade fair!
2. Shopping in PONDY BAZAR is a must experience.
3. A rickshaw ride in the streets of chennai
4. A visit to Theosophical society
5. Eat thalapakatti biryani in Dindugul Thalapakati
6. Visit Birla Planetarium
7. St.Thomas mount church
8. Eat Sandwich Outside Alsa Mall (BALAJI SANDWICH)
9. An early morning Jog on Beach road.
10. Kili Josiyam
11. Haunted House, Valmiki Nagar
12. BROKEN BRIDGE
13. Watch a movie at sathyam cinemas.
14. Chettinad Palace
15. Idly sambar and vadai from Rathna cafe.
16. MAHABALIPURAM
17. Express Avenue
18. Phoenix Market City
19. Watching first day first show of a mass movie.
20. The breadth taking view from thalankuppam pier
21. Elliot’s Beach
22. MARINA BEACH
23. 41 Royal Sandwich stall
24. Visit the Anna Centennary Library
25. Peaceful walk on the roads of IIT MADRAS
26. Spend a day watching Movie / Movie marathon
27. Mudaliyar Kuppam
28. Kovalam Beach
29. Playing volleyball early morning beach
30. Puri Jagannath Temple
31. MGM Dizee World
32. Drinking Panner soda
33. Having ATHO (Burmese food)
34. Vadapalani Murugan Koyil
35. Anna Nagar Tower Park
36. Ranganathan Street
37. Water sport facility on the East Coast Road
38. Amethyst cafe, Royapettah
39. Travel in MTC bus
40. Pulicat lake
41. Ubbalamadugu Falls (Tada Falls)
42. Have Samosas @ The Samosa Factory
43. Eating a crispy molaga in beach
44. Attending TECHOFES @ Anna University
45. Burma Bazzaar
46. Shopping At Spencer Plaza
47. Visit Vandalur zoo
48. Visit Crocodile Bank
49. Italian cuisine @ CUP O’ CAFE
50. Shopping at Chennai City Center
51. Visiting Anna Square
52. Get ADVENTUROUS and SPORTY at OFF ROAD SPORTS
53. Visit Mayajaal
54. Bird Watch @ Vedanthankal Lake Bird Sanctuary
55. Watch a CSK match in Chepauk stadium
56. Trek,Swim and relax at Kone falls
57. Besant nagar church(Annai Velankanni Church)
58. Visit Royapuram Fishing Harbour
59. Koyembedu flower market
60. CATAMARAN RIDE
61. Moore market
62. Visit Connemara library
63. Eating in titanic fastfood @marina
64. Relaxing at semmozhi poonga garden
65. HOTEL SARAVANA BHAVAN
66. Have Biriyani @Amirunnisa Biryani
67. Visit chembarambakkam lake
68. Go to the annual Chennai Book Fair
69. Electronics shopping Ritchie street
70. Photoshoot @ ALAMPARAI FORT
71. Visit Chokhi Dhani
72. Travelling chennai through train
73. Have a unique flavored icecream at AMADORA
74. HALF COOKED GHANA/JIVARA CAKE at Ecstasy
75. Visit Valluvar Kottam
76. New year celebration in marina beach
77. Visit Egmore museum. Especially take pics with T-Rex
78. Cafe Chokolade @ Egmore
79. Have Biryani @Charminar Biryani Centre
80. Sip a drink @ Fruit Shop on Greams Road.
81. Participate in Turtle Walk at Chennai Beach
82. Old Curiosity Shop
83. Listening to RJBalaji
84. Flying kites In Marina Beach. It’s banned as of now.
85. 96 Go-Kart !
86. Bowling @ DownUnder
87. Visiting the Haunted De Monte Colony
88. Alwar Book Stall
89. Attend Madras music season
90. Dinner @ KAILASH PARBAT
91. Visit Cotton street at Pantheon road
92. The Chocolate Room, Velachery. One over hyped place
93. Visit Santhome Church
94. Watch movie @ PRARTHANA BEACH DRIVE-IN THEATRE
95. Visit HigginBothams – Mount Road
96. Ultimate Fun in ECR !!
97. Going to the top of light house
98. Visit Chennai’s ISKON TEMPLE
99. Travelling in “Anna Durai’s auto” !
100. Sandwich from a stall in Nungambakkam High Road and Jaganathan street.

Is there anything you think I should add? Tell me 🙂 

 

Chennai Book Fair 2016

When you don’t have a single click in your mobile, what does it mean? You were too busy gawking! Book fairs I say, its an adventure land altogether.

BAPASI has come back with a bang with a splendid book fair this year!! From famous publishers, to who’s who of book retailers you have them all.

Two more awesome things of the fair:

First, our Chennai Bloggers Club is the official blogging partner!

Second, we have released a book! An anthology on the devastating floods in Chennai. The book ‘After the flood‘ is a collections of the experiences of 20 bloggers of CBC. You can grab your copy in stall 437. To be duly noted is that part of the proceeds of the sale is contributed to flood affected orphanages. The Fair is until the 13th of June. There are over 600 stalls and all of them offer a minimum 10% discount on all books.

As for me, while trying so hard not to buy any book for myself (when you have 30 books already yet to read!), I just had to pick an unabridged Jane Eyre and three story books for my niece. And another three Roald Dahl books for…cough…in the name of my niece.

Books are the best Aint it!! 😀

The Liebster Award and some things about ME!

Its a real pleasure to be nominated for the Liebster Award, and that from two bloggers whom I admire not only for their writing but also for their pleasant personality. Thankyou, the ever smiling Gokoulane Ravi and the inquisitive writer Dhivya Balaji. The two people are one of the few rare ones who cherish life to the fullest, and the ones who often flatter me by their positivity.

So, What is the Liebster Award?
The Liebster Award is an award that exists only on the internet and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011. Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

Liebster Award Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Display the Liebster Award on your blog.
3. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
5. Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers for the Award and have them answer 11 questions.
6. Let the other bloggers know you’ve nominated them.
7. Copy the rules into your post.

Hmmmph… now to the 11 random facts about me

1. I am a big fan (read CRAZY) fan of Bill Watterson.
2. I am a feminist.
3. My mind is always thinking… Always.
4. I have very good intuition.
5. I believe in astrology. As science, cosmology.. it is ever changing.
6. I am Agnostic.
7. I love Chocolates.
8. I am a home buddy.
9. I love adrenaline rush.
10. I love hugs.
11. I am a sapiosexual.

11 questions asked by Gokoulane Ravi

1. Who/What inspires you?

Sane, intelligent, sharp ones. Ones who know what they want and know how to express it or get it. There are various attributes I try to pick up from various people. Bill Watterson is one whom I admire a lot, he has achieved and lives a quiet life. Away from all that celebrity hullabulaah, he allows his work speak for him. Sushmitha Sen, for her parenting skills to her adopted children. I remember reading in Reader’s digest once…she imbibed in her kid that biological children are normal and adopted kids are special. That is not something one would care to do.

1. Why do you blog?

To mostly ramble.

1. Do you have a favorite book – if so, which one?

Not one. But if I have to, there are three: Calvin and Hobbes series of comics, Little Women and Matilda.

1. What do you value most in life?

Love and Affection.

1. What does a normal day in your life look like?

I wake up, have warm lemon water, some protein. Off to office. Evenings would be for any one of my hobbies, planned chores, calls to loved ones, plan for any chores the next day. And off to sleep.

1. What’s your most favourite food?

Currently, Biryani.

1. What’s the most memorable gift which you have ever received?

Gifts can’t pinpoint on one. When friends take extra effort and time to make my day beautiful…That time I get to spend with them on that day is my favourite.   

1. What do you admire most about yourself?

My courage.

1. One favourite track that you like to listen on repeat and never get bored of it?

Currently, Thalli Pogathe.

1. What’s your dream travel destination?

Currently, Ireland and Scotland.

1. What’s your peace spot, the place you like to visit when you are down?

Depends where I am. My Room, riding alone in the night, sometimes even bathroom when I want to think clear.

One thing that you like and dislike about me?

Like: Your maturity. Dislike: none.

11 Questions asked by Dhivya Balaji

1. Why do you blog? And why have you named your blog like you have?

To mostly ramble. And the name? Well, you know how they say a person shouldn’t be angry, feel greed, jealous…basically all negative emotions. Remember how you are taught you are a good human only when you have the positive feelings. Well I think its bullshit. A human ought to have all emotions and just be taught to deal with it in a healthy way, suppression is what is not being Human…hence Wannabe Humane.

1. If you wanted to bring back a dead celebrity, who would it be and why?

Robin Williams. Why because, God, he has some unfinished business back here.

1. What was your favourite subject in school and what would you say to those who may not like it?

History. Find the right teacher, bud.

1. If you could harness the power of one of the five fundamental elements of nature, what would you like to control and how and why?

Wind. Always loved to fly, would love to control it, the Frozen Elsa style.

1. What is your favourite quote about life?

Currently, “Happiness Isn’t Enough, I Demand Euphoria”

1. How many languages do you know to write and is there any you want to learn?

English. Tamil and French on different levels. Mandarin, Japanese. I would want to talk and read than to write, which of course would follow when I master the first two.

1. What superpower do you wish to have, and, yeah, you guessed it – why?

Easy… Fly. Always dreamt of it. swirl upp

1. Do you take personality quizzes online? How far do you believe them? Have any of them been true (accurate)?

Yes. Professional ones have been true.

1. Of all the words you have written, which do you think received the best praise (according to you) and what would it be?

Second standard when I wrote on ‘Lotus’.

1. What is the most memorable gift you have received so far? And what was the occasion?

Answer same as Question 7 from Gokoulane.

1. If you were to fight for one social cause, what would it be?

Human Greed.

Thank you so much Gokoulane and Dhivya! I loved answering these questions, was lovely running through the memory lane.

11 People I would award this:

Bhushavali of http://www.bhushavali.com

Prince Deepu of lunaticlab.wordpress.com

Mahendran of devadhaithozhan.wordpress.com

Clement Williams of http://vada-poche.blogspot.in/

Rajesh of destinationinfinity.org

Deepak of http://deepaknammaarea.blogspot.com/

Gopal of http://satirestall.blogspot.com/

Somu Padbanabhan of woodooz.com

Ram Thilak of http://www.ramthilakceo.com

Minu Marie Mathew of http://minumariemathew.blogspot.com

Charan Teja Ayyala of mydigitaldump.blogspot.com

My 11 Questions to you.

1. Your favourite person? Name one!
2. What is one most favourite piece of your creation?
3. What is one thing you would want to dare yourself to do?
4. Favourite Travel incident.
5. Your first favourite book? Why?
6. Favourite movie? Why?
7. Philosophy of life?
8. How would you react if you came to know that “Smoking weed shows you the real world and that’s why the government is making it illegal and the world what we see isn’t real”
9. Who do you think is the better of the three: Hitler, Polpot, and George W Bush?
10. How do you think people would be like 100 years from now? Not materialistic but behaviour wise.
11. Anything you would like to ask me? Scold me? Compliment me perhaps? 😛

Robin McLaurin Williams

The man who got me hooked to English movies.

The man who showed what a Teacher was supposed to say.

The man who brought a smile even on the saddest of ones.

The man who got a depressed gorilla to hug him.

The man who made people laugh till their stomach hurt, just to see them happy.

The man who was so spontaneous that one camera was never enough.

The man who brought alive the Genie which was otherwise meant to be a boring one.

The man who helped me celebrate my madness.

The man who taught the world that it is awesome to be crazy.

The man who dashed my tiniest of hope that a person of genius with happiness do exist.

The man who brought my life to a stand still by his death.

The man I knew little of, but felt that pinch of guilt over his sudden passing.

The man who was a stranger, yet would forever make me feel if there was anything at all I could have done to stop him from taking that decision.

Dear Robin, I will always love you. I am hoping you are in a better place now and have found your happiness. When I meet you up there i want to see you with that awesome smile on you. Am sure God is hurting his belly laughing. Love you dude..you shall always be a part of me… O Captain…My Captain!

 

Changes I would like to see in Quora

I love Quora…Rather loved Quora… now I visit it only when I have lot of free time to kill. It was once my favourite site to fill my hungry brain. Quora was a knowledge trove, now it has also become an entertainment site, the ones with the most innovative answers and good writing is a winner.

Though it is an amazing crowd-puller site, I suspect its crowd retention capability.

It is so annoying to see things you are not interested in, the ones you would consider trash landup in your wall. The worst part would be, in order just not to miss a few gem Q&As I will have to go through few thrash. No offence, but requirement of people are different, and the requirement itself differs from time to time for the same person and Quora needs to step up to fix their usability…else see a lot of walkouts.

Things they can work on.

Categorization of topics.

Let us say I am interested in the topic of health. It is a huge topic and there are lot of things that it would cover. So eventually what happens is that your wall gets flooded with topics you wouldn’t be interested at all. This can be especially annoying for the members who have been around for long. Say I liked a topic, the topic tends to get populated with sub-topics and as they do the wall gets flooded. This causes me to waste a lot of time in just ignoring topics I am least interested in. Or to continue using I will have to keep unfollowing topics as every day pass by. Would users have the patience to do this? or rather walk out of Quora. What can be done is, when one follows a parent topic, the list of subtopics can be displayed to choose from. And a system to notify of the new sub-topics added to the followed topic, to know what we can expect and an option to unfollow if need be.

Example, I wouldn’t want to follow questions like the one below because I like to read about India.

 

Monitoring of questions on Topics. 

The volunteers are already doing a great job. But a understandable and descriptive one would be more useful. Does a matter of opinion really fall under ‘Fashion and Style’?

 

 

Subjective and Objective answers. 

This is an another huge hindrance. Over the period of time, I see subjective answers becoming more popular than objective ones. I don’t mean objectivity is required in every aspect of topic and the answers provided. But a mere compartmentalization will help. Ofcourse, there is a very thin line between subjectivity and objectivity, but can you say a proven theorem is subjective? Or a question ‘what happen to your hair without shampoo’ as objective?.

Suggestions.

A better algorithm for suggestions. The suggestions are really bad.

I have no idea why the above topic was suggested to me. Is it based on people I follow? Or topics I went through? I am still perplexed.

This post is not meant to be a sham, I love Quora and just want it to be better. A place I can come back to read what I am interested in and not land up spending time in unfollowing topics or filtering through the wall.

Onida Devil

Remember the times when we did not have DTH, not even cable!. Those were times when we dint have choices but what was broadcasted was the best and a no-nonsense, it was the times of our good old Doordarshan. News was news. I still remember watching the shocking death of Mother Teresa and my mom quoting ‘Just a week ago, it was Princess Diana’. Then there were quiz times with our sports quiz master Sumanth C Raman, we would struggle to match his speed, and come Sunday, it was Shakthiman time. During summers in Grandmom place was when we were introduced to the evenings of Oliyam Oliyam, our neighbor aunties and teen akkas used to come over to watch in our grandparents place, we would cringe and run off to play, ‘That is time, let’s share’ Grandma would say.

I remember, one weekend sitting with my family, to watch the usual Saturday 9 PM Hindi movies. We were huddled in front of our TV, all lights off, with pillows mountained high, we sloped on it to rest. That was when I first saw the Devil! My eyes were fixated on it, it lurked around the buildings of a community, and a guy threw his TV out from the balcony. I never understood the ad, but I remember running into watch the ad everytime it played, believing that is how a devil truly looked.

The avatar was donned by 3 different actors over the years.

I remember as I grew up, knowing their tagline, it said Owners pride…we had a Onida…so we assumed we were to be proud. Majorly, I was relieved because our TV wouldn’t be thrown out from the balcony like they featured it in an ad. By the way, i tried my best but I am unable to find the video of the ad, please share with me if you do! Would be grateful.

In 2009, the company decided to drop its devil and soon their tagline too, which was however retrieved partially. Though the Devil had a slow death after a 20 year hiatus, it would remain in the memory of the 80’s and the 90’s kids.

pc:indiatimes.com

My second favorite ad of the devil is the one promoting their speakers. I remember asking my dad if our Onida TV had the KYG Horn, and him nodding that we did, and me…walking away with a smirk smile. This indeed shows how crucial it is to target the kids while making the ads, and how obviously it affects and influences them and thus why we do need censorship.

Another great ad just to promote a lucky draw…who could have done it this well. The actor was also my most favorite of all three other devils.

Going ‘No Theme’

Soon It will be one year of my entry back into blogging. The year 2016 has been tough and February and march were months where I was looking to take up something new, that was when I saw my blogger friends take up the AtoZ Challenge. I decided to take it on.

I had to decide on a theme. But, when you are neither a writer nor a fan of writing long, this challenge can become boring and exhausting. Hence I decided to go ‘No theme’.

It’s not that ‘no theme’ made it easy peasy, it was tough thinking of a topic to write..a topic I can add to and not just write what all voice out. And having your career, personal life, a minor accident and most of all having the conviction to write 26 articles…was..is a bit heavy on the neck.

I still remember deciding to take the challenge only on the 1st of April. I thought I should start writing about Angkor Complex in Cambodia as a starter to my long pending post on the south east asia trip. Little did i know, that it would take me two sleepless nights, losing write up twice and breaking my head to remember, which was what from the thousands of pictures and atlast posting my first travelogue.

Then came B, which i wrote in five minutes, a beautiful conversation with my niece (link).

Keeping myself on the lighter side were C on Christopher Nolan, D on Demeter, E on Euphoria. For F I tried a little humour, a post on a childhood memory, my first of kind writing.. I am quite happy with the outcome.

Followed were G for Game of Thrones, H on Harley Davidsons’, I on Internet, J on Javelin. Back to travel blogs were my posts for K on Khao San Road, M for Malaysia, P for plan on the south Asia trip. My first and closest I came to writing on Love (obviously for L).

I remember while thinking for every alphabet, I would go like this…O for Onida..I could write on the devil with horns? Orangutan..and Jane Goodall? Omr…my engineering college life? Odd Even rule…Kejriwal? Office? Origin..anthropology?. I think of trying to challenge myself with a heavy topic, but mostly I go easy. But, I am definitely not complaining, there is always time to write more.

All the very best to all who have taken up the challenge, may you complete it with vigour and flying colours.

Oh! Special thanks to my friend Kavipriya, for suggesting to write on N for…….’NO THEME’.

Malaysia :4C11D Trip

Malaysia was part of my four country in 11 days trip. The first country was Malaysia.

To read on the ‘4 country in 11 days’ trip plan, click here.

Malaysia
Day 1:
My flatmate and I stayed up all night chatting after finishing up some last minute shopping, I hadn’t packed yet(!) and as I did I was excited, it was my second trip away from my country…how exciting!
I started from Chennai on Friday early morning. Considering Air Asia’s syndrome of forgetting people taller that 5 feet 9″ do exist, I had a crampy flight. And as expected an expensive breakfast.

Still, it din’t stop me from admiring the blue sky adorned with pebbly clouds.

I landed in Malaysia in the afternoon (Malaysia time is 2 and half hour ahead of India). After getting a Malaysian SIM and exploring ways to reach the city, I decided to try their bus.

Awesome organisation: The counters in Airport, where you have various options of transport in a single place.

It takes one and half hour to reach the city center by bus and then a cab transits us to the exact building where we want to go! Which is awesome. I wanted to go to the Imperial Sheraton, so it was another half hour drive.
Scenes while on the way to the city.

I was greeted by my other travel mates who were already in Malaysia, once freshening up we set out to the mall to grab some lunch. The Quill City Mall, right opposite to the Sheraton has a lighted roof, a beautiful sight to admire in the night. It was fun watching people and noticing their buying behavior. A ‘5RM store’ anything you take is for~85Rs was the best find of the day, there were interesting items at a very affordable price. I plan to visit again when I go to Malayasia next.

For lunch I tried a Malaysian fish noodles, I dint like it very much and I managed to eat just the noodles. The day went by as a relaxed and restful day, catching up on some TV, ordering the Malaysian Dominos Pizza(the pineapple pizza tasted quite funny) and KFC. Yes.. I do kinda feel bad for not venturing out much that day.

Day 2:
Batu Caves… ufff climbing those steps.

Atlast got Murugar dharisanam in person after watching the temple in a lot of tamil movies. Murugar was truly humongous.

Knowing the history was truly scintillating, it is amazing how a civilization could migrate and become a majority. Tamizhan da! was my feeling though I am technically not a Tamizhachi. I would recommend anyone who love history to have a read on it.

There is also an interesting educational tour of the caves. Our tour guide was so much fun and very knowledgeable. For people who love to wander into the imagination of evolution, it is a must go!!

For lunch, we headed to Pj area. We were recommmended the Lotus restaurant by the locals. The restaurant looks lile a typical non ac Saravana bhavan, not hifi, fully crowded but the food was sooo yum! We tried their Mutton biriyani, meals and finished our lunch with their watermelon juice, with a full tummy we headed back to my travel-mates’ relatives home to get ready for a wedding reception.

It was beautiful to see the closeness of the families and the cousins. An amazing multi-cultured wedding, where the groom was a Punjabi-Malaysian and the bride a Tamil-Singaporean..Wah!

Day 3:
Heading to Petronas Towers. It was splendid to look at the petronas. There are two levels of elevator and the technology they have to explain the construction is awesome.

You just have to wave your ticket to the camera mounted on top of the TV screen, the QR code gets scanned and soon the building levels and the details starts displaying.

The Skyline bridge was nice to walk through, reminded me of the twin towers.

Taking a break to try the Malaysian dessert!

A scene at the metro station.

It was soon time for us to depart to Vietnam. To go to airport we took the super fast KLIA express. We boarded the mid-evening, one hour flight to Vietnam, the country where we spent the most part of our trip.

Biggest miss of KL Trip: KL Tower and night view of Patronas. Anyway there is always a next time.

On my trip to Angkor, click here.
On my night at the party Street- the Khao San Road, click here.

Soon to follow: On my next destination Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

The Plan: Backpacking through 4 Countries in 11 Days!

In Short 4C11D Trip Part 1

If you had read my author section, you must have noticed I love to travel. My love for travel has been there for a long time. So, as soon as I was independent I decided to save and set off to explore places.

This was one such travel I did last March and sorry about the late post.

The Plan

I was in the company of three other friends. We squared in on the locations based on cost, location of two others (they were already visiting Singapore) and the best route to exit/enter India efficiently and cost effectively.

So, Southeast Asia was the best and the cheapest for travel. We slowly started narrowing down on the countries, letting go of Burma, Indonesia, Singapore, and Laos as we would land up wasting a lot of time in travel alone.

The final Four: Malaysia-Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand.

We decided to enter through Malaysia, as it was the cheapest entry and exit via Bangkok, the next cheapest option. I suggest anyone to do vice-versa; Although, what better than ending the trip partying in Bankgok! ;). The feasible other countries to cover was south Vietnam(not North.because of the time constraint), Cambodia and Thailand.

Malaysia: Kaula Lumpur.
Vietnam: Ho chi Minh(Old name Saigon-Capital City) and Mekong Delta.
Cambodia: Phnom Penh-the Capital City and Siem Reap-the place of Angkor temple complex(Angkor Archaeological Park).
Thailand: Bangkok.

Places missed due to lack of time: Genting Highlands in Malaysia and Pattaya.

On my trip to Malaysia, click here.
On my trip to Angkor, click here.
On my night at the party Street- the Khao San Road, click here.

Soon to follow: On my destinations Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Love

‘One’ said, “Love is true when you give your all, without expecting.”

‘Another’ said, “Love is about give and take.”

‘One’ is the Angel and ‘another’ is the devil. Or are they?

If I referred ‘One’ as an Angel, then ain’t I saying that love is unselfish, and that it is the truest without expectations, and eventually it is right that way? And if I referred ‘Another’ as a Devil, then ain’t I saying that relationships aren’t a two way street?

So let’s say I differ, and call ‘One’ as the devil and ‘Another’ as the Angel.

So by referring ‘Another’ as the ‘Angel’, then ain’t I suggesting that it is okay to keep giving even though you don’t receive any? Or by referring ‘One’ as the ‘Devil’, then ain’t I suggesting to give love only when you know you get it in return?

There are just too many definitions and dilapidated conditions on what love is and how it should be lead. But what really is love? How do you lead one? Again too many do’s and don’ts, relationship advices which are written in hordes.

Should you have expectations or not? Well, let us consider that we do follow the advice of our closed ones, and not have any expectations and enter into the relationship. Then how do the expressive ones and the non-expressive ones close-in? Then where do the ones that ‘get attached and detached easily’ meet the ones that ‘take long to get attached but once they do, can’t detach themselves off’? And What about the ones who have different definitions of best friends? where do they find a common point? Or is it possible to go on without a common point with the most important people of our life? It might, yes, if you are prepared from the beginning, but what about the relationships you already are in? How do you go on with the push and pull in expectations? Is it possible to have the same relationship with a person who considers you in a different level of importance than you do them?

Aren’t these questions for you to find out, rather than the rule books.

Isn’t Love just love, it doesn’t come with a rule book, does it? So why do we go on to create a wall of do’s and don’ts? What worked for one, how can it work for another? People are not meant to feel the same way. And that is how humans are.

Be it with anyone…blood-related or by choice. Isn’t love just a set of emotions you develop for someone.

If we still claim that these do’s and don’ts help us not to get hurt..what does that make us? We are among generations were we are so afraid to get hurt and just can’t handle disappointments. Maybe it is time, we did. 

Must do’s and don’ts in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

When you are just back from a happening place in Thailand, and you come back to see Wikipedia naming it the location of the month… That’s icing on the cake!
Yup that’s right I have been to one of the most happening places in Asia..the Khao San Road.

For newbies, Khao San road is a one kilometre stretch street where you shop, party, eat and drop. The party goes on all night. Whether you are an introvert traveller who likes to just watch people or a party animal, it has something to offer everyone and is a must go. This is a street in central Bangkok where drinking and dancing happens on the street, literally. Plus, a lot more that can’t be said.

What you must do there!

• Randomly join a group and start dancing. The most inviting crowd you can see and what best .. The pubs compete to play the loudest music.

• Try your choice of poison, esp. the local beer from the alcohol carts. I loved how amusing the sign boards were. Guys calling out holding huge placards to buy from their carts and pubs.

I remember, one sign board that put me in splits, it read ‘No bad food, no weak alcohol, no bad service here!’.

• Buy the most nonsensical t-shirts you have see. The tees’ and boxers are the funniest.

• Street food. From eating scorpions to posing to eat a scorpion, you can!

A wide choice of grilled food that can walk, swim and fly, oops..that did.

• Get a Tattoo/henna of your travelled countries, or simply buy flags of countries for your backpack.

• Braid your hair. True hippie style 🙂

* Funky accessories. If you are a fan of bands, rings and neckchains this is your place for everything colourful!

• Laughing Gas from balloons!

I did try this one.. It din’t have any effect on me. But my friend did seem to have, I was told you need to know to smoke to inhale it properly. However I do have my doubts.

• What better after a lot of dancing… drop and get a foot massage.

However there are things you can avoid and not do in khao San Road.

1. Do not buy anything that cost more than 100 Bhat. Being a active tourist area, the hawkers find every opportunity to rip you off.

2. Though many say Khao San as an affordable place, I would beg to differ. The adjacent Ramabuttri street has the most affordable backpacker hostels and they are just amazing with a lot of amenities. Not only that, if you want a peaceful sleep after a long day of hustle, Khao San is not your place. The party goes on the entire night and the noise is pretty much audible in the hotels.

3. Not the place for a quite dinner. Head to the restaurants of the nearby streets, try the yummiest of food and snacks, from amazing varieties.

4. The most important thing, stay safe and get set for more than just cultural shock if you are not used to freaky party scenes.

5. Men, if you are asked on a date by a stranger..dont be fooled, just make sure she is not a prostitute. A flourishing business in Cambodia and Bangkok. I must say…I was shocked how prevalent it was.

To read on the ‘4 country in 11 days’ trip plan, click here.
On my trip to Malaysia, click here.
On my trip to Angkor, click here.

Soon to follow: On my destinations Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Javelin Throw

I was a Javelin Thrower in my school days. My tall figure made my sports teachers think I would be good in it. True to the fact, i was moderately good if not great.

A Javelin is a spear like device that you throw high in the air in a projectile motion, the sharp end pokes the ground, and that distance is measured. The thrower with the maximum distance is deemed as the winner.

A Javelin is essentially thrown while the player running from a distance ejects it into the air. I remember in the initial days when I threw it running it would go in every direction including towards the sky- vertically upward and even behind my back but not forward at all. Ofcourse, my coach went on to teach me to try in different styles, it did work, I did learn and I was better at it. I enjoyed it too. I did win third place in state level.

But what I never understood was the faces the professional players made. Yes ofcourse it would require you to exert all your energy to throw the javelin, but the scary face?

Thaakudaaaaaaaa Perumaaluu

Ayyo kochikikaatangale.

Aaaup....Ayyo Amma... Gappu.

Anyways, Now that I think of it after almost 10 years, I wish I could try it sometime, would be fun.

I do wish to upgrade to spear fishing. I remember while watching these movies where people being marooned, went spear fishing. As a javelin player I used to practice spear fishing on mud, ofcourse when my coach was away.

Let me maybe save that for being marooned.

*Images from heralds, Pinterest and vivelljavelin, respectively.

Funny bones of Internet

Hey Internet,

You are becoming funnier. Gone are the days where you were the strict Maths Teacher and our knowledge treasure trove! No offence, you still are. But you no more can be trusted blindly. I agree it is not your fault, more the demand, more the supply, more the dirt. You have to be verified before accepting, your stakeholders each have their own version, and claim it right. Enter Wikipedia, which demanded proof, but what use? Even it has gone to be a dusty history reference note-not really true but can be used for basic knowledge. The advent of social media, helped millions connect, share and celebrate, but again these urban legends and hoaxes can petrify people.

But few funny blunders are just worth a laugh. Here are few funny ones, poor you.

• When Nolan made the Ghajini movie.
  

 

• When you want to go to Guindy from India!

 

• When the loss due to a rain, cost a state 100 Rupees!!
  

 

• When Rajinikanth spammed his followers on Twitter.
  
  

 

• When Frankie Valli became Frank Sinatra.
  

 

• When Facebook thought there was only one Punjab?

 

• When David Cameroon became the CEO of Google!
  
  

 

• When one wants to do this in a live public conference! Indernet nose eberything bass.
  

But dear Internet, you shall be remembered for you had to go through these.

 

 

My top three Harley Davidsons

Harley Davidson needs no introduction. A legendary motorcycle manufacturer, founded by friends duo in an aim to make a motorable bicycle, going on to survive in the hands of various ownerships and economy scuffles, they continue to ride strong!

Here are my favourite three, the ones I just can’t stop gawking at!

1. CVO Softail Convertible

My favourite cruiser! The ultra awesome customisable bike from in-house CVO, one of the best fuel-injection mechanism…and a stunner!!! An awesome cruiser and touring bike; best of all it’s light weight!

2. VRSCDX Night Rod Special

The non-vintage but the best modern looking bike, my Batman vehicle is what I call it! With an Engine developed with Porsche! One ride, just one is all I ask.

3. 1909 Model

Firsts are always the best. The game changing v-twin, 49.5 cubic inches displacement and seven horsepower, the reason the flagship hit the gold! An icon that forever holds this generation babies(read bikes) to thank for.

What more can a girl ask for ;).

What is your top three??

G for Game of Thrones

My list of Seven Characters I hate the least. Yes, you heard me right, if you are a Game of thrones fan, you would know it isn’t this perfect drama where we like the good guys and hate the bad guys. Good guys are boring to be liked eg. Father Ned Stark and bad guys can be really hated, no arguments there. And there are these characters just being humans, nothing great nothing less about them, we don’t add them in our favourite list but also not in our hated list but we look forward to them.

1. Daenerys Targaryen, queen of the Andals, a favourite character to many but one in my least hated-but likable list, a khaleesi of odds, who can be cruel and at the same time forgiving.
   
   

   Pc:popsugar.com

2. Oberyn Martell, hate his hesitation to take action but commend his foolish bravery to stand up against the mountain.
   

   

   Oh dear Red Viper.. pc:winteriscoming.net

3. Jaime Lanister, the bewitched sister lover, would-have-been Bran Stark killer; But his chemistry with Brienne (of Tarth) and his promise to Catelyn Stark made us forgive him. Can’t wait to know what he has for us in store in season 6, after a low key in the previous season!
   

   

   Pc:thewench-and-thekingslayer.tumblr.com
   

4. Jon Snow, the all-time-stays-mum-annoying guy but just when i thought he was beginning to bowl me over in the fight against the white walkers, he was dead!
   By the way…I do think he is dead…so dead!
   

   

   pc:Independent.co.uk

5. The last spot is tied between Sandor Clegane and Davos Seaworth.
   

   

   What was Clegane trying to do with Arya? I do wish he stayed long.. Evil G.R.R!! Pc:fanpop.com

   
   
   

   Hate his loyalty to Stannis. But love his devotion and love for shireen. Pc:reddit.com

6. Same as above. WordPress wouldn’t allow me to have a ‘5&6’, it resets my 7 as 1.😬

7. Arya Stark. I know this might come as a shocker to many but I have always had mixed liking and annoying dislike for her.
   

   

   Pc:gameofthrones.wikia.com

Who would be on your list??