Been traveling and all that

Its been a very hectic 30 days for me.Started with my vacation to Italia(Ah i miss it already),returned to work preparing everything for a two week tour to India and Germany. A sad news heard just before leaving for India and returning yesterday after having my ears filled with German for the last two.

I had thought I would make a travelogue for my Italian trip but I guess I ain't in the mood anymore. Smells of Bergamo's Old city,Florence sunsets from the Pizzale Michaelangelo,Looking at the entire city of Venice from a church tower across the main island and gaping at the Colloseum in all its majesty and trying to push down the Tower of Pisa ,All the glamour and glitter inside the famous Vatican Museum were among the main highlights.


Moving from one youth hostel to another,meeting new people from different walks of life,partying with complete strangers probably never to meet them again and more makes you wanna travel all your life.




You begin to see what all this wander Lust thing is all about. Nomad for life.Would't that be something. Some one just pay my bills thats all.

Of Skaal,Gom bui,Santé,Na zdrowie,Cheers et al....

Well I'm back...again...I think...mebbe...not so sure anymore???

Just had a 2 week sojourn to Viking territory,Denmark....It was an eclectic mix of around 40 people who were there to "NETWORK"...The Danes,The Chinese,one silent French dude,one fiery Polish gal and us Indians.

And u know what I found??? I could try to be profound and say that the world is really a global village now and that thoughts of young people across the world are the same and all that stuff - but NO....that's pretty obvious(All the guys stamping on each other to impress the girls is ample proof)

I found that....Wait..... hold for it.....hold for it.....hold for it.....We have no Indian word for Cheers(Or at least none that seemed quite like it...I googled it and the best I could come up with is-Aap ki lambi umar ke liye...Yuck)!!! That was pathetic when i was hearing Skaal,Gom bui,Santé,Na zdrowie in full fervour(thats Danish,Chinese,French and Polish for the un initiated in the world of Cheers in different languages)
But do not fret my Indian mates,I didn't give up so easily...When everyone asked me what is the Indian word for Cheers i promptly replied-"We Indians don't waste our time talking when we have drinks in front of us..Its Pour and drink for us"

Denmark can be dead quiet for the average Indian with a population of 6 million(That's just Pune's population)...Nothing happens after 5 in the evening...Still the beautiful landscapes,cute little houses with gardens make it a photographer's paradise...Heck even my pictures look like they belong in a postcard.

I also found quite a few similarities.Beer drinking and cribbing about everything from football to politics is their favorite pastime( We just replace the football with cricket).

Also Danish humor was very similar to our Indian humor.Danes are the masters of sarcastic humor.Sarcasm has been developed into a fine art there. Straight faced and dead serious sarcasm that can tempt anyone into thinking they are being just plain rude...Im sure atleast the Chinese didn't get the joke...Hehehe

Overall it was an interesting 2 weeks there- had lots of bland food,caught an egg at full dive,found im an ENFP,that I need to slow down my English,played a Princess,drank crates of beer and after thousands of Skaals- had loads of fun.
Most importantly though - I can proudly say I Made quite a few good Friends...
Seeya when I seeya mates...Will miss the fun we had together...

Right now though I need to run off for some real spicy Indian food!!!

Sorry was getting over my MBA

Well its been a long while since i updated this blog. Like i said was getting over my MBA. So now I'm officially an Btech, MBA. Lol...sounds pretty sad or cool depending on whatever context.

Haven't been sitting on my ass doing nothing though. No sir. Been traveling for a month. Yeah im sorry this post is gonna sound like a travelogue but i had to write about the one of the most relaxed months of my life.

Started off with the Golden temple. A beautiful sight to sore eyes especially sore after seeing the sights of Amritsar. I always thought it would be a bustling modern town but it looked more like a second class mechanics backyard. So just sat there for a couple of hours watching the Golden temple and listening to the songs of the holy singers while sitting by the lake there.

Went to Jallianwallah Bagh right next door to the Golden Temple. Walked through the path leading to it( Where General Dyer came in from and attacked those poor souls). Felt a certain eeriness while walking through it but when I saw people living on either side of the walls nearby i realised that as with everything else life had moved on in this place. That feeling was confirmed after i saw the wall with the labeled bullet marks(Yes they were labeled).They felt fake to me.Those bullet marks. So if i felt like that i wondered how many others would have felt the same thing.Made me feel real gulity .Nice dedication monument built there though.

Moved on to Dalhousie to escape from the horrible heat. Came to heaven. Hotel room facing the evergreen filled mountain slopes. Chilly weather and nice treks. Best coffee i tasted in a hotel before. Went to mini Switzerland(Khajjiar) and rolled around in a huge plastic ball.Had hawkers coming to me every 10 seconds to sell me a solution to help me reduce weight. Yeah rite. Found nice little waterfall following an instinct.

Went to Mcloed Ganj(Dharmshala) from there. Thought i would stay there for a few hours before moving on to Manali. I was wrong. Stayed there for a week. Exposed to Tibetan culture and detailed history for the first time. Loved the momos and the movies played in the small theatres on Jogibara Road. Had the best pasta from Jimmy's Kitchen( No I'm not being paid by them) and saw a gompa for the first time in my life. Regret not having bought a Tibetan music CD. I missed the music that was playing all the while in the background the moment i left the place. Bought a smoking pipe though.

Moved on to Manali finally. Was the lone Indian in the bus from Dharamshala to Manali. Talk about feeling out of place in your own country.Thought it would be packed with people.Wrong again.Best hotel found again.Lonely planet rocks. Facing the snow clad mountains.There was actual snow there,dear me. Trekked to this amazing waterfall. Felt like it was top of the world and stopped for mashed potatoes at the place down below. Amazing how awesome it felt when i had the first plate and not so much on my second one. Law of diminishing marginal utility poking its ugly head again, on my mashed potatoes this time. Went biking to the mountain pass.Rapeling over the river Beas. Tried my hand at squash and tennis.Played pool and TT. Took pics with a yak.

Himachal is the best place to be during the summers. Stay away from Shimla though and don't try to pack 10 places in 10 days please.

Finally i was reaching home again after more than a year. I'm from Kerala btw. Train chugged along on a bridge. The lovely river shining in the sun and endless coconut trees on both its banks till eyes could see. Forgot the heat. Realised i missed those damn coconut trees and the sloping tiled homes more than i cared to admit. Second thoughts home is good,home is great, I'm back!!!! Kerala rocks at all times.Proud to be a mallu. Damn i never thought i would say that.