Niagra Falls

Like all the tourists entering the USA, Niagara falls was on my to-go list.
And on one of the days when Mr. was practicing for his Driving Test, we decided to take a long route - all the way to one of the most beautiful scenic attractions- Niagara falls. 

The New York side of the falls was about 400 miles from our place, an approx. 7.5 hrs. drive without breaks. Considering the relatively new experience behind the wheels and the difference in driving rules from India, we decided to go easy. We had a good night's sleep the day before, had breakfast and packed sandwiches for lunch. Then picked the rental car around 12 and started on our first long drive trip from Manhattan. We took plenty of breaks and finally reached our hotel in Rochester around 8 PM.


It was a Sunday in September so the weather was fine but the crowd at the falls was crazy!
I realized during the scores of road trips that we have done since, that there will be an overwhelming no. of Desi crowds at tourist places, especially if it is a long weekend or American holiday break. Crazy Number! So, we now avoid these holidays especially with a toddler because the whole experience will just go waste while waiting and finding a good spot without people photo-bombing all around.

Kids definitely don't have that patience!

Anyway, since we had driven all the way, the excitement of the first long trip kept me going through the scorching heat of 2.5 hrs. waiting in line for the tickets and then to the actual starting point of the boats that take you for the round to see the falls from close distance.

At one point, my stamina gave up and I fainted. Well, almost. Husband talked to the security person and requested for us to chip back in the queue once I felt fine. He agreed but there went those 20 mins of our very packed day. As soon as I felt a little better we joined the line and waited for our turn to hop on the boat. Even before that, the view from that small walk to the elevator that takes you down to the fall was so refreshing that there was no sign of fatigue from a long day!

Then came the boat and the journey to one of the greatest natural wonders of the world started. The feel of water on your face from the fall makes it the experience of another world. It felt like I was floating in water clouds. The sound of the falls helps lower the noise (excitement filled) of the crowd around you . You must capture the view and its enormity inside you, not just in the cameras. 

I even saw the first super clear rainbow of my life!

We finished the maid of the mist trail and headed back to the elevator.
Took a few pictures on our way back and covered a few nearby places from the trip adviser list.

It was getting dark and I was getting super hungry for the meal-food. Snacks, though we still had plenty left, couldn't fix my craving for a real meal. So we hit the road and were back to our room in about an hour. As soon as I touched the bed, I realized how tired I was!! There was no energy or excitement left to explore food at that time. We just ordered dinner from the room service menu and called it a day.

अयोध्या

 

 

The honorable Supreme Court of India has now given the verdict on the much awaited Ayodhya Ram JanmBhumi case. And, as believed by millions of Hindus worldwide, the court has declared that the disputed site was indeed a Temple, destructing which another structure was erected and was called Babari Masjid.

This structure was again destroyed in Dec, 1992 in an attempt to reclaim the original Temple site.

Proceeding through the hierarchy of Indian judiciary, the case has been finally given a conclusion after 27 long years of countless hearings and apparent detailed study of history and geography by the personnel involved.

I don't intend to dissect this very sensitive topic/verdict. Although, it does bring lots of emotions and memories back. My heart and eyes can tell.

This topic strikes a personal chord with me as the very first memory that I can recall is the image of my father performing aarti(prayer with diya) wearing crisp white dhoti and later walking in khadau(wooden slippers) on an unpaved road. Another glimpse, I remember, is of a couple of monkeys running close to where we were setting up our bedding for the night and pulling the stop cork from our khaki air-pillow!

Maa tells me this place was Ayodhya, where my parents took me when I was around 2.5 years old!

Today as I turn another year older, I reflect on the happy moments of my life, the places I have visited and the influences that have shaped me as a person.

( I am sure all of us, at least once, have tried to recall the earliest clear memory from our life; haven't you?)

Naturally, one of my most treasured memories is the glimpse of this first travel/pilgrimage experience cum historic site visit.

Now, I am not a very religious person. Ritualistic, even less.

Still, today I lit a Diya not just for its aesthetics but also for the beautiful memories it connects me to.

 🙏🏼

Trip to London - wrap up

Continued from Part 2 ...


We did visit a few places like history museum by ourselves.

Coming back to food, London definitely has enough places to fill your stomach as well as satisfy your Indian taste buds. Here are a couple of interesting décor pieces, I clicked in one of the restaurants.

About architecture, what more can I say that has not been said before? Mmmm... probably nothing. You just 

have to watch it yourself, experience it to get the feeling. Its enriching.

 

Big Ben

 

Buckingham palace

Madame T.

After being utterly disappointed by NYC's Madame Tussaud's, we decided to give it a skip here in London. However, later in the day we did think about visiting it since it was The Original one but then we were too tired to go back.

Once we hit the bed, it took us only minutes to fall asleep. All we had in mind was not to miss our flight back home, next day.

The trip was really exhausting but it was worth every bit of it. 
Totally Enjoyyyed It. :-)

Trip to London - Part 2

The next day started with a lavish English breakfast.

Breakfast is one thing I love the most about travel :) because unlike other meals of the day, you can find decent veg breakfast options almost everywhere. At least I do.

Though I wouldn't call myself a foodie, the absence of quality edible food or delay in its arrival does change my mood/tone. Well, most of the time :).

After a fulfilling breakfast, we were all set to explore London.

We had to plan the agenda for what all to visit and how. Options were - taking a bus tour or do it ourselves. Like I mentioned in Part 1, a few landmarks were within walk-able distance. So, we decided to skip the bus for the first day.

We started the day with watching the famous Horse Guards Parade in the city of Westminster. The last time I had watched a horse with a rider(city police) was in Mysore, one of the better maintained historic cities of India.

This ceremony of changing The Queen's Life Guard is definitely a sight not to miss. Fascinating!

Among the things that were captivating in central London, the boat tour of the river Thames ranks on the higher side. As much as I distance myself from too-much-water .. the night-light and mesmerizing view of the Tower Bridge kept me glued to the side seats of the boat. The front seats were still too much for my water fear/disgust. 
Let's just say I am not a beach person or a ocean/river person for that matter.
A water fountain or waterfall? May be :).

The mid november London was pretty cold. Colder than what we had packed for. We did get an idea of London winter through available means but the weather forecasts cannot give accurate data for more than 8-10 days in advance.

So, we were stuck with feeling cold while still enjoying London winter. To make it worse we also had rain forecasts for next couple of days. 

Had it not been for the weather we would have visited more places on our own. All hail (hell) to London weather we were left with no option but to go for the Bus-Tour now. 

During our bus ride, I realized how much could I relate to those tourists I used to see back in Manhattan/NYC. Tourists probably resent to people who actually live at such picturesque places. (May be not; I somewhat did :P)
I mean, they have to come all the way from their respective homes, around the world, for just a few days of experience and long bills of travel/lodging expenses!

TBC ....

Trip to London - Part 1

Since a few months now, I wanted to be more regular with blogging especially because I happened to have some content to write about and didn't have to force my thoughts into a blog post. I just don't have that thing in me! I cant force myself to sit and write just for the sake of it. The topic should occur to me; the words should drive me.
I realize and I read it everywhere that one needs be more regular in one's blogging world most importantly to improve the blogging skills( I definitely need that :)).But off late I got busy with things, I will update later about, and had to take a back seat. 
Well, I am still going to be around :-).

This one was long due.
I had drafted some of the parts, mostly the key things, during the trip itself. And now, when I found some time to write, this one felt like to be prioritized before I forget the links to give a finishing touch to those drafts. Yeah, I have a very selective memory. I remember certain things/incidents (even after decades) like its carved on the stones but forget most of the others like it was written on a beach sand.

So lets start. The trip was for a week, a short one according to me. To add to that, it was a much colder London than what we thought it would be when we packed for the trip. Anyway, we did enjoy the untimely rain that caused the sudden drop in temperature but then we were not adequately prepared (clothing wise) so we could go out only when the weather allowed so with our lot.

We stayed in Haymarket Hotel in Central London. Ours was a typical British styled, cozy and elegant room. The place was perfect for tourists. Many landmarks were at a walking distance. The architecture of the surroundings dragged me straight to the history books. Each and every building around that area had a class and antique touch to it. What soothed my mind/heart along with my eyes was the fact that it was not made up to picture a theme; the built was all original and brilliant!
There was so much to cover around our hotel area itself that we decided we will wait for the suitable weather for the city tour.

After resting the first day, we started with the Trafalgar Square, which was just a couple of blocks away.
We were on an early morning walk when suddenly a gentleman stopped us to not cross a certain not-drawn boundary. It was then that we realized the camera and crew around - there was some shooting going on. The area was vacated and there were a couple of dressed up actors. Based on their attires and lights' setup, it looked like some period feature shoot to us. It was my first live shoot watching experience.
Although having lived in Manhattan for a couple of years, I did come across many chances when some shooting was scheduled nearby but by the time we used to know of it , the area used to get too crowded to see anything. This one being a very early morning shoot, didn't have much crowd/audience to disturb.
I was so excited to see how things happen that we stayed there for a while . We curiously observed all the takes/retakes, makeup/touch-up, props, director's instructions, camera angles, dialogue recitals etc. The actors certainly have a very creative and fun world :).

We managed to click this picture before we were requested not to take any photos.

We then came back to our room to have breakfast and plan the rest of the things.

to be continued...

Trip to HK - the rest of it

"What time is it? I am hungry  :-| "

"2:20.....  AM !!!"

"Really? How long we've been sleeping? I don't think we'll get anything to eat at this time."

"Lets just have our carry-on snacks and try to sleep back. "

"Yeah."

----------

"Shopping will be the first thing in our to-do list. ok?"

"Do I have an option?" :P

Nope, I am not a shopaholic. Same is the case with my husband. Actually the set up of our Hotel was to set the guests up! It was interconnected to one of the most sought after shopping malls in HK.

However, we ended up doing just window shopping. Well.... most of the time!

We were there for a week. So, I will only do the highlights.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

##  In search of Indian food, we roamed around street markets. We came across small temporarily built shops, roadside set up, bargaining ladies, car stuck in a narrow road :P... almost everything that you will see in any small Indian town.

We even saw two elderly couples, probably retired, playing something like carom in one of the shops during off peak afternoon hours :-).
Well, life isn't all about money and machines!

##  My b'day was one of the highlights of course ;). It was in the middle of the week. Cake, dressing up and then candle light dinner. Yeah, getting outing-ready is actually a task for me. I am one of those ladies, who find face-cream + lip-balm enough for most of their outings. My make up kit opens up only on special occasions. Yeah, call me lazy! I am too much of that to even mind it :P.

A pleasant surprise was the door bell that afternoon. I opened the door and there was this guy(school going type) with a tray. Also, handed me a hand written b'day wishes card from the Manager. 

"Happy birthday Ma'am! This is from the Hotel. Enjoy your special day :-)"

"Hey wait, how did you know it was my birthday? I dont remember mentioning my DoB anywhere."

"We have our special secret ways, Ma'am". He said, smiling at my puzzled face.

"Sure, you do :-). Thanks a lot ."

It must be my passport. Wow, they actually go through those IDs we submit.

##  Next day was Diwali. Our own much cerebrated Hindu festival. This year it was only about having Indian food for a three course dinner.

##  Up next was visiting Tian Tan Buddha. I am not my religious self since quite some time now but Art is still in my list. The statue on the top of the hill and the way to reach there were fascinating enough to go.

We opted for crystal cable car, transparent thoroughly.The hint of acrophobia in me scared the both of us initially. But we held up. The ride was breathtakingly beautiful.

##  We also covered botanical garden which was equally zoological. Among many other species, red Flamingos were worth a click.

##  Next on list was tram to Victoria Peak, the highest point of Hong Kong.
So, this was a 20-25 mins angular tram ride through the city and dropped you at a place, whence you would go to the peak.
For me, that tram ride was an experience of another world. You just shouldn't  miss this thing while in HK. We were so thrilled that we realized afterwards there were no photos clicked from tram. Believe me, its that amazing!!

And, then came the day we left for airport.

Hong Kong is one beautiful place with beautiful people inside out..

Trip to HK - the arrival day

The trip continued to a couple of other destinations, hence a little gap in the next post.

Anyway, I am back now. :)

En route to hotel, we couldn't help notice the highly developed infrastructure of the Vertical City even with those sleepy eyes and heavy eyelids. The balance between men-made and natural beauty was really amazing.

We reached our hotel around 8:30 AM and the receptionist only disappointed us despite all the elegance and smiles she could pour!

" We are really sorry Sir. The guest in the room, booked for you from today, has not checked out yet. I am afraid, you will have to wait."

" How long is it gonna take?" - me and husband unanimously.

" The check out time is before 12:30 PM. So, whenever the guest leaves we will need another 1-2 hours to get the room ready for you.

You can spend the time in our lounge or recreational areas. We will give you a call once the room is ready. Really sorry about the wait, Sir."

" Its all right. Not your fault. Thanks."

"Come on, we all know the check- in/out standard timings. How could the travel agency do such a mistake. They knew the flight arrival time. Should have booked the room from yesterday!!" I blurted out in tired frustration. 

The tone was more like it was Kumar's fault. Well, you cant take a wife out of a lady around her husband!

He ignored or let it go and we started looking for something to eat. A fight well saved. :P

Hotchpotch aside, I cant miss the perks! Those musicians during breakfast, caring staff and a mesmerizing swimming pool area among other things helped us relax while we explored the surroundings.

We finally entered into our room around 2 PM. It was a harbor facing worth-the-wait deluxe room.
We were full from that melodious brunch so just took a much needed shower and slept like babies! :) 


to be continued ..

Trip to HongKong - the dawn

the hottest orange

n' the coolest blue

merging so beautifully 

in the ocean

at the early dawn.

If only I could watch it without that (plane's)window in between!

"Boiled bland eggplant with a thin layer of mildest salsa!" The sight and then the taste of it crashed my little hope of getting some edible food in the 15 hrs long flight. I so trusted that flight attendant when she came with some note and asked for my confirmation -"Ms. Kumar, you have special food request. Vegetarian meal, right?" 

"Yes, please. thank you!" I said imagining how wonderful it would have been had she asked me to pick something from 3-4 veg options. Alas!

No, I am not a foodie. Not at all. However, whatever is served, should have some basic ingredients to start with. For my taste buds, salt is a must. Some veg gravy in mild spices with rice/Roti would do just fine.

Anyway, I started getting the feeling I am away from my home and heading towards some foreign land.

Hong Kong. Geographically not so foreign from my forever home-India but culture & food are so distant. Whereas, culture & food are not so foreign from my current home-New York but located at almost the other end of the Globe.

Officially, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China(straight from Google).

Now, that's some name! :-)

--------


The excitement of the trip kept me awake during most of the journey. The flight entertainment had a decent collection of my-type-of-stuff to help me through it.

From Kora Kagaz to Sabrina and Anamika to Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I had them all :-). 




The plane landed in the morning and we ran to catch a cab/taxi .. wanted to fly to the hotel room and sleep for the whole day!

"Sir, we only take cash, HongKong dollars. No cards in taxis anywhere in the city." The cab guy told my husband. Go to such and such place and withdraw some for yourself, you will need it in the city.

And we thought VISA, the credit card, was All we needed. Well, at least their slogan says so.

We went back, withdrew cash, got into the taxi and heard- "You Indi(यू इन्दी)" in an assertive, humbled, cute voice. Our cab driver was an elderly Chinese.

We smiled - "Yeah, Indi Indeed!" :-)

to be continued ..