Of dolphins, seals, kiwis and Kiwis. 

New Zealand is awesome. Period. It is all the synonyms of ‘stunning’ sewed together in a sentence.

The 10 days I spent there last month passed a little too quickly for me. I like to call it the degustation plate. I could only briefly touch both the north and south island,but now know at least enough to know where I want to spend my time when I go back. (Yes, when, not if…)

Auckland is lovely. Landed there to a gorgeous 27 degrees and had to change out of my boots and woollen dress, the weather forecasts had warned me against. Drove around the city…Viaduct, Mission Bay and Mt Eden. And a lovely dinner to round it off. NZ gave me a very warm welcome.

Next day, inspite of the rain, decided to go up to the Waikatara ranges and do some hikes. I’ve always thought there was something romantic about being in the forests during rains. And being there with a long lost friend made it all the more special. Spent more than an hour sitting by a waterfall talking about life and lost loves, relationships and religion. And everything else in between.

One always yearns for friendships one can savour, ones where you can be away for years and then pick up the threads where you left them. I am lucky and grateful to have more than a few of those… And this rainy afternoon filled with laughter and emotions proved that once again.

From that unknown waterfall, we walked straight onto another planet. Or so, it seemed. KareKare beach was my first black sand one, and I wasn’t prepared for this when I entered it after a walk through dunes and bush for about 20mins

All of a sudden, the grass cleared and I was looking at what Earth might have looked like at the start of the planet. No other human being could be seen as far as we could see, and the dead skeleton of the tree somehow added to the eerie beauty of the place. I must have stood spell bound for minutes, taking in the high cliff, the angry waves, the black sands and the complete isolation. I will not deny, I had goosebumps. 

Next day was quite different. Went to the Sunday market, and walked around nibbling on blueberries and baked treats, tasting manuka honey at every other stall, and looking at local handicrafts. As the rain turned heavier, headed to the car for a quick drive around the city and up to Takapuna and Devenport. Takapuna beach had completely encroached the banks and there was no beach left! Walked around some more, talked some more and ate some more. Including one very delightful stop at the ‘Sweet Chimney.’

With the north island adventure over, headed down south to Christchurch. Living in Australia, I thought I was prepared to see CHCH as an earthquake ridden city. But renting the car and driving into the city, I realised I wasn’t. The CBD is still cordoned off and had to take a detour to get to the motel. Sobering drive. And enough to pique my interest to go see more of it.

After a slight delay in the motel, headed off to see what damage had actually been caused to this lovely garden city. And let me tell you, it was a lot. Several sections of the main city were gutted. Buildings with gaping holes, and wires pulled out by the ferocious tremors were proof enough.

Christchurch was like a beauty scarred. Inspite of how badly her face was hurt, you could see how beautiful she must have been. The river, the old cathedrals, the bridges and the gardens. It hurt just thinking how a few minutes could change that, and a year later, with no one on the roads, made it clearer that unfortunately, she was being abandoned.

To shake off the sober mood, went off to hunt for some local clumsy birds! Being the oldest island to have been been discovered, NZ has been able to maintain its endemic wildlife, before the rats and rabbits took over, meant there still are some birds there that are quite rare and not found anywhere else in the world!

Now, you will notice a similarity in all birds of NZ. They all waddle and personally, I think, they would all make exceptional cartoon characters. True Story! I think the road runner had it easy as they didn't have to compete with a 'Kakapo Show!' 

Having no natural predators, most birds here do not fly. But being quite big birds means they are all quite entertaining and adorable!

It was kinda awesome, as we walked around the Willowbank park looking at all the different bird species we hadn’t seen before, and almost treasure hunted the Kiwis, which were hidden away almost at the end of the trail. As the birds are nocturnal, they are kept in dark cabins and very hard to see. I earned my dinner by spotting one first. Yay me!

Next day was reserved for dolphins in the cold and freezing Akaroa. The hector dolphins are small and live in twos and threes. As I was freezing in my two layers already, did not even contemplate going into the water to swim with them. Also, to be honest, they were kinda boring. I had seen lots of dolphins before and these weren’t any different, except for the fact that they are quite rare.

Almost as if the dolphins heard me and at the Daily All Hands decided to make me take my words back, they sent out the dusky dolphins in for a charm attack. The attack was to take place the next day at Kaikoura. …And wow, did they win! Dusky dolphins live in super pods of 100-300 and are very very frisky and playful! They are a thrill to watch. I got some amazing shots of them, though I was mostly just watching them with my mouth open..

Oh, yes, and retched. It was a bad day to be on the sea, and the entire boat was sea sick. The swells were high, though of course, that didn’t stop the dolphins from having their fun. They sped, glided, and twirled all around us.

So, ok, yes, dear dolphins. Here's a written apology: You win. You are awesome, and I am still smiling as I write this out!

However, being out on the seas in bad weather meant, it was an early night, but not before some really nice food at The Green Dolphin, and a visit to the seal colony we stumbled upon. …And NO, we didn’t keep going back and looking at them, again and again, who says we did? Who says? ....Ahem.

Talking about seals, if looking at them lazing on the beach is awesome, it is awesomer to be kayaking around their colony! In one of my most memorable days of the trip, we went around the seal colony, kayaking over the much calmer waters now, bobbing up and down as the fur seals waddled around, or swam looking for food, or simply lay on their backs, thermoregulating themselves, by sticking their flippers out of the water. … Yes, they do that!

By now, I was falling in love with Kaikoura and thought it was timely to walk her cliffs and beaches to make the bond stronger. There is a lovely hike that goes up to Point Kean from where you can see stunning visages of the ‘sky meets earth’ type. The sun played its part well, by coming out for a bit, and showing us what NZ is all about.

To round off a great day, it was time to go across the country onto the west coast, through the much famed Arthurs Pass. (which apparently, the Maori knew about, but didn’t tell the colonisers until much later! ..Ha! Now that is one of my favourite stories, I have to tell you! )

Talking about stories, here’s one for you. The one where I almost died. 
You see Arthurs Pass is the only pittstop you can take if you are driving across the country. And you see, the village consists of one motel, 2 restaurants and 1 convenience store… All of which close at 8pm. (which BTW, Lonely Planet reports it as 10.30 pm) So, if you arrive at 8.45 pm, it essentially screams, NO FOOD! ..And as you can imagine, after a 4.5 hour drive, that is not good news.

Thankfully, for my rich imagination which always assumes I will go hiking some day, lose my trail, and will have to spend a night in the woods, I always carry nut bars with me. I have often been made fun of what my tiny day pack carries, but mind you, my friends, if I am writing this today, it is because of those very nut bars!

So 2 nut bars, a few swearings and lots of wingeing later, it was time for bed. After impeccably planning that we need to get up at 6.30am, have breakfast at the iconic Arthurs Pass café at 7.30 before heading to the Franz Josef Glacier. Turns out I am not a good learner..coz turns out the café (or anything else for that matter) didn’t open until 8.

Hence, with more swearings and a grumbling tummy, we left the Pass to head off into the Kiwi wilderness again, hoping to find some place which served breakfast soon enough. Or else, it might be time to either knock on some farms, or simply butcher a cow or sheep, which seemed to be plentiful anyway.

Thankfully Hokitika came soon enough. After some food, and making amends with my tummy, it was time to conquer the blue glacier of Franz Josef! It was my first time seeing one, even if it was slightly weird walking through a rain forest to see one. The ice was blue, and it was quite intimidating thinking how old the ice in there must be.
As interesting the whole experience was, (and quite educational for my nerdy self) I have to say it didn’t quite do it for me. It could have just been how touristy the place was, and the way the place is run. I was slightly disappointed at the almost cookie cutter style of tours running in the place. But then, I wouldn’t know how to do it any other way. All in all, interesting but not a very fulfilling day.

Getting to Mt Cook national park which was the next stop in my itinerary took almost a day. Pitt stops at Lake Matheson (which was slightly disappointing..) and Wanaka were necessary to break the journey.

With that said, this was the most gorgeous day scenery wise. High mountains, ultra marine blue and turquoise lakes, rolling hills, wild flowers on the road side, gushing rivers and undulating plains..New Zeland was everything the LOTR promised us. I might have spotted a few horsemen of Rohan racing through the fields. This, exactly, was the dramatic scenery I had come to NZ for. 

Hiking in the Mt Cook National Park and seeing the Tasman Glacier was another highlight! The park is absolutely gorgeous. Its an experience to be had, and I would not be doing justice, no matter what pictures I post, or words I write. It’s a shame I had only a day to spend there, and staying in the park next time I’m there is definitely a good idea. Lake Tekapo, for all its great reviews, missed its mark with me.

Of course, it could have something to do with the 3 bedroom house, and basement with an axe, of a ghost house we stayed in. But that’s a story for another time.

Now, I know I am guilty of an overuse of the words beautiful and lovely in this post. But I had run out of words to define the stunning, jaw dropping loveliness of the country. It is unspoilt, and diversely landscaped. Not to mention the amazing Kiwis. They are extremely gracious hosts and genuinely nice and helpful people. (except when driving, and to Aussies, as it is claimed ;-)) It seems to be the kind of country that just makes everyone happy to be there.

I also happily noticed that the Maori were better intertwined with the Kiwi life. Much much more than the aborigines in Australia. I know my Aussie friends will be uncomfortable with me saying this, but its true. I’ve noticed that from all the streets, cities and ranges that have Maori names to how easily they are a part of the working society.

I only hope Australia can do the same some day.

All in all, I am definitely going back. So much more to see and do. 

For my complete set of pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150550896391682.372008.543981681&type=3

Reading challenge

I love reading.

And that would be an understatement. Let's just say I am a book whore. I love the printed black words, and as long as I can remember, I have been in love with them... Remember hiding my novels between my school books, and reading them late at night, or boiling over quite a few cups of tea, lost in a book, and the tea overflowing onto the stove.

And inspite of this several years old love affair, the sparks aren't even close to dying.
So, I am setting myself a reading challenge. Having picked up this bookmark at the airport bookstore (Yes, I have a Kindle, and yes, I am still fascinated by bookmarks... Something of a romantic old world charm, if you must know.), I've now decided to read at least 10 of these books that apparently are 'Must reads.'

Highly subjective, I find these lists (which miraculously appear all over the net, around Dec 31st) mostly contain a mix of the editor's personal choice and the classics. Anyway, having had already read almost half that list, I am now looking forward to reading 10 (if not more) this year.

For all my curious book worm friends, the list is:

Lord of the Rings series (JRR Tolkien)

1984 (george Orwell)

Pride and prejudice (Jane Austen)

The grapes of wrath (John Steinback)

To kill a mocking bird (Harper Lee)

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

A passage to India (EM Forster)

The Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

Hamlet (Shakespeare)

A bend in the river (VS Naipaul)

The Great Gatsby (Scott Fitzgerald)

Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)

The Bell jar (Sylvia Piath) 

Brave new World (Aldous Huxley)

The Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank)

Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)

The Bible 

the Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) 

Ulysses (James Joyce)

The Quiet American (Graham Greene)

Birdsong (Sebastian Faulke)

Money (Martin Amis)

Harry potter Series (Rowling)

Moby Dick (Herman Melville)

Wing in the Willows (Kenneth Grahams)

His Dark Materials triology (Philip Pullman) 

Anna Kareina ( Leo Tolstoy)

Alice's adventure in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time (Marc Haddon) 

On the road (Jack Karousc)

Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad) 

The way we live now (Anthony Troliope)

The outsider (Albert Camus)

The colour purple (Alice Walker) 

The life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Frankestein (Mary Shelly)

The war of the worlds (HG Well)

Men without Women (Ernest hemingway)

Gullivers Travels (Jonathan Swift)

A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Deloe)

One flew over the cuckoo's nest (Ken Kessey)

Catch 22 (joseph Haller)

The count of Monte Christo (Alexandre Dumas)

Memoirs of a geisha (Arthur Golden)

The Divine comedy (Alighieri Dante)

The picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

Which ones are you gonna polish off?

Shantaram (and others)

You sometimes come across books that make you pause and think, ponder over the bigger questions of life and you find yourself philosophising pain, hurt, joy, love and your very existence. They turn you into an Aristotle. This is the literature that you cherish long after having read them.

I have now added Shantaram to that list. It is profound, without being pretentious. It is clever, without being serious and it is so engaging that I read it in a week straight (might I mention at this point, its over 900 pages thick.) 

Briefly, it is the story of an Australian fugitive on the run. Landing in Bombay after breaking jail, he refuses to leave the city. He's falls in love with the country and soon surrenders to India and its varied charms. From living in the slums, and playing the local doctor, to working for the mafia, he does it all. 

But the book is as much about the story, as it is about the narrator and the characters he writes. The writing is impeccable. Gregory writes beautifully, and that is one of the things that sets this book apart. Gregory takes you on a journey, and you are soon at his mercy riding the roller coaster of his own emotions. His words have the power to make you laugh and cry. They wrench your heart and soar it high, as you join Lin baba in his adventures. 

I've always thought, a great writer is always a great observer of life. And Gregrory proves this better than anybody else I have read. He observes, he thinks and he expresses. He had me hooked from the first sentence " It took me a long time, and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured." … Not once, but several times I found myself pausing and re reading sentences. The book is dog eared beyond repair. 

Also as a brilliant story teller, he tells an engaging tale. The book is fast paced and characters enter and leave the plot with perfect timing. Humour is timely and mostly dry. Characterization is meaty and complete. 

All in all, a brilliant book. A great read suitable for all tastes. It has it all - Drugs, Bollywood, mafia, murders, poverty, love and betrayal - a true 'masala' book as we would say in India! 

Shantaram also happened to be the third good book I read in a row! Recommend all of them. 

As an aside, and ironically all of these were recommendations from friends! So, while I am on book reviews, might be worth mentioning the others. 

- Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams (and Mark Cawardine): Much like Hitchhikers Guide, Adams injects humour into this book as he travels through the world looking for endangered species. Its a fascinating account of some of the most interesting creatures around the world. Telling his experiences through his deadpanned British humour glasses, Adams points out human frailties. This, for example, "The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong, is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along."

Its an easy read and has some interesting facts that I didn't know. 

Apparently, this was also turned into a BBC series, which I didn't know about, but guess what I am looking to watch now! 

- World War Z by Max Brooks: Nothing you expect it to be! Yes, its zombie fiction, and yes it talks about the apocalyptic world. But the similarities with other 'zombie' books ends there. The visceral gore is missing, for one. WWZ is written as a series of interviews with survivors done by the UN, after the war against zombies is over. There is no central character, but as the interviewees come from a range of cultural and geographic backgrounds, Brooks has had the opportunity to also raise several political issues. The stories of survival by themselves are interesting and entertaining. The idea of WWZ marking the end of a world as we are aware of, is the central theme. 

Again, and easy and interesting read. 

Here's to more reading in 2012! 

2011 in perspective

31st december always finds me reflective. Its not something I plan, but somehow always seems to happen. and its rarely about the past year and what it has brought to me, but always about how I have reacted to those events. How I have changed and grown. 

Which is also why I do not plan. I not like resolutions and goals. And I do not want to have a 365 day challenge. It's not for me. I do not want to be doing things, because I have committed to it. I want to do things because I am enjoying it. And so, while most people think about what they want to be *doing* in the coming year, I think about what I want to *be* in the coming year. 

I have always been a very private person. For all the 29 years of my life. I had one philosophy. I am strong, and I can bear it all, but in a childish naive way. I dreamt dreams I knew would not materialise, taking pleasure in the mere act of dreaming them. I took risks with my heart, knowing it would give me nothing but misery. However, somehow, even when I was close to someone, I never managed to give myself up completely, even though I accepted them and ebbed and flowed with their emotions. My mantra was, "Accept me in your life, and share your troubles, your joys with me. But do not ask me to do the same." It worked well with most people. Everyone thought I was strong and courageous. Almost emotionally unconquerable…A few however, wanted to know the real me. And that scared me. To this date, I do not know why.  

Sometime in 2010, I watched a researcher talk about vulnerability. It talked about how unless we opened ourselves up to hurt, we couldn't live fully. It spoke to me directly. I knew of the concept, and I was already doing that. But I didn't go the entire way, I took others into my life, but never gave myself up. And so I decided that 2010 would be about feeling more intensely. About fighting my natural instinct to give my heart to people and projects. It was a hard time, but I learned. Slowly, consciously at first, and a little more naturally later. 

And so, when 2011 came around it was but obvious that I would take the next step. Not just allow myself to feel intensely, but also express how I feel. This is was the major challenge. I had always felt intensely, but my emotions were often masked by an unreadable face. Someone once had told me, "Your face is always so serene, but your eyes are a treasure trove of emotions. And yet, they need to learn to be read." I knew it was time to put those emotions into words. 

So I always knew it would be an interesting year. What I didn't know that it would be further complicated by a sudden illness that would drag out the entire year. For about 8 months, doctors diagnosed and treated me, and the rest of the 4 months, I convalesced. What that also meant was that I was on medications. Medications that wrecked my emotional stability and had the power to turn me within an hour from a happy content person, to a raging mass, to a teary eyed, blubbering mess. For all of you who have known me long enough, you'd know how calm and collected I generally am. And that is not a facade. I truly believe in the 'This too shall pass,' and that's helps get me past most ups and downs in life. My own sister must have seen me angry about 3 times in my life. But things changed fast and now I needed every ounce of my self determination to fight the emotional demons that were trying to wreck havoc. 

It was tempting, very tempting, to crawl back into my shell. To not tell anyone how I felt. The excuse I used was they loved me and it would worry them. Whilst that was true in part, I knew I was also going back to my usual self defence. Shut down. And so I had to dig deep. I tried to express to the people closest to me, with as much equanimity as I could garner, exactly what I was going through. As I lay, night after night, for weeks, feeling the cloud of depression envelope me, or the cycle of obsession completely take over my mind, I kept reminding myself, This is a phase. this too shall pass. I remember clearly, at one point of time, being able to almost disconnect myself from my thoughts, and was able to tell myself, this is not you. You can fight it.

It's not been an easy fight. And while i'm almost there, it isn't over yet. But I was lucky enough to be surrounded by folks who supported me. My friends' complete unchallenged understanding went a long way in maintaining my sanity on some days. So, thank you, all of you, for all those conversations, all the advice, and more importantly, the spoken and unspoken 'I am here if you ever need me.' Thank you guys, you'll are amazing!  

This blog post is nothing if not a culmination of that. Laying my heart bare. Being vulnerable… And showing it. 

2012 for me is unchartered territory. And I plan to deal with it, by surrendering. 

Here's to 2012.  

Weekend o' craft!

Last weekend saw me being all crafty! I stitched myself a laptop sleeve! Yes, I do random things like that. You see, I was the proud owner of a new MacAir, which I was loving (Yes, all you cynics out there, Googlers have the utmost respect for Apple products and we don’t have a company policy banning us from using them) Anyway, I had decided it needed a new home and while browsing Etsy, in a moment of madness, thought to myself, "Now why exactly can you not do this yourself?" And that evening found me at Lincraft picking fabrics, and as they say, the rest is history. 

Now a few friends have asked me how I actually made it, after they saw the final product. However, sadly, I have absolutely no pics of the WIP. So I am going to try and explain as best I can. And the (ugly) sketches might help. 

Think the most important thing is to have an idea of what you want. I knew my computer already had an awesome (and totally unprofessional!) cookie monster decal, so I was torn between continuing that theme or getting a more professional theme. Ultimately figured out, as the sleeve has two sides, might as well keep it neat with a small motif on one and boring and professional on the other. Bingo! 

So, with that in mind, spent about an hour in the shop picking up exactly what I wanted.

Here’s what my shopping basket contained:

Outer fabric

Lining fabric

Fusible interfacing (or plain interfacing) 

Ususal sewing stuff

Embellishments (your choice)

Again, begin by knowing what you think the ‘skeleton’ of it will look like. Trust me, it helps tremendously knowing what you are working towards.

1. I began by cutting out the 2 exactly same pieces of interfacing and lining fabric about ¾” larger on all sides of the Air.  Depending on how snug you want it, of course..I knew the Air is slim enough to not really need much space and I was looking at a real snug fit. Leave a half inch for the seam, and adjust accordingly. 

2. Next I fused together the interfacing and the lining...But before that can I take a second to rave over the concept of fusible interfacing! Pure brilliance! Here's how it works - All you do is place the lining fabric on the interfacing, and then run a hot iron on it, and voila! You have now one piece of fabric, soft on one side, smooth on the other, just waiting to protect your laptop! #win No sewing required!

Just make sure tho that you place the inner side of the lining fabric against the fusible side (it is the one with the tiny glue spots). Running the iron 10 secs over each area on the interfacing will ensure the glue melts and stick to the lining. Repeat on both pieces of interfacing.

3.   I next took out my rusting sewing machine and sewed the outer fabric (with the inner side facing the interface) to the lined interfacing. At this stage you should be able to see the outer fabric folded across the edge of the interfacing. Like this

And this on the other

5.  Next, I added a pocket to the back of my sleeve. Optional step. Just figured it might be nice to have a pocket to place a notebook in when I go for a client meeting etc. 

Its simply about cutting the right size, sewing the edges on all 4 sides (to avoid the edges fraying), and then stitching that to the outer side of the outer fabric.

6.  You're almost there! Now, place the two outer sides of the outer fabric together (So the lining fabric faces you on both the pieces) and sew it on three sides.  Leave the side open that had the extra seam going over the top.

 And finally, just turn the sleeve inside out!

There you go! Now you have the basic sleeve ready! Snug enough, you should be able to place the kindle, phone or tablet in it. If you want added protection (or looking to make it a little more stylish) you can add the flaps and buttons. The flaps were a single piece of cloth I cut out hexagonal ends of and stitched it on the edges. Make a slit and button hole it (if you haven’t done embroidery before or don’t know what the hell I am talking about, I’d recommend you cheat a little – stitch the button on top, and use a snap button on the bottom J)

Embellish as you wish! I like freehand sketching, so I had picked up some fabric paint. Helped me with the motifs (You go roadrunner! Run run! Away from the Wile-y coyote...!). Also found some lace lying around the house that I used on the borders across the front and the flaps. Helped add definition....And I was one happy customer of the product I made!

Oh almost forgot! There is a secret pocket on the inside. Just a sewed on a piece of fabric that I can drop my phone in or some cash if I am going for a quick client visit from office.

Have to admit, I completed this in a weekend. But that is literally all I did that weekend (other than swim a little...)  From the buying of the fabric to the painting, it was painstakingly slow, esp when you compare it to the number of powerpoint decks you can create in that much time (Yes, I did actually make that comparison in my head)..but *so* much more satisfying. I know I have uncovered a hidden interest in this handicraft and I hope to be able to pursue it. 


If nothing else, it makes me happy

Singapore and Hong Kong - what *really* happened

So here's what *really* happened –

Yes there was a conference, and yes there was work. (And no, I cannot tell you all the cool things we discussed at the conference. Though I *will* tell you that our Japan Sales team can dance! Hell yeah, can they?!)

Well here's most of what happened.

On reaching Singapore, I was half dead. Having eaten on the plane, I went straight to bed. And whilst I am a lightweight anyway when it comes to late nights. (I am also the annoying bubbly in the mornings kind. Go ahead, judge me.) I do however, remember my friend mentioning she was hungry, … then saying something else... and somewhere between that and that, I passed out on her. God bless my understanding friends. We are still friends.

Woke up to a raining Singapore. And as a Twitter friend would put it, I was #stuckinsingapore without an umbrella. Was decided to make it the obligatory shopping day.

Now heres the thing: I am a girl who loathes, abhors and detests shopping . Here’s another thing: I was hanging out with two girls who love it. ..and here’s the most important thing of all: Singapore’s national sport is shopping.

2:1. Battle lost. So, ended up going to the mall. Also, I was promised good food, and here’s a lesson I learnt early in my life: Follow your belly. Now don’t you think eating at a Singapore mall is easy. No. Here’s how it generally goes.

You walk into a food court and are instantly assaulted by the sights and sounds and smells of yummy food. It transfixes you. You stand there thinking, I want that..and that and that too..Ooooh, what *is* that? ...Your local friends are happily oblivious to this and they give you the liberty of “choice.”! – Extremely dangerous when it comes to 1) food and 2) Librans. There was no escape for me.

Thankfully they choose a stall for me. You think that’d make my life easier, wouldn’t you? Not really. We walk to this Malay food stall and there’s this lady standing on the counter waiting for me to order. She's looking straight at me, and in her hand is holding a plate, ready for my order. Of course, the crowd is milling around me while I stand there looking at all the curries through the glass pane, and then, her face. And the curries ..and her face.

Again, my friend to the rescue. You choose a set of non veg and veg curries and she puts it all on that plate with the rice and serves with ‘chutneys’. ..oh and add an extra 50c for additional curries. I beam. This is gonna be divine. …until I see the choices. Long story short, manage to choose a few and head to the table my other friend had to grab and reserve, while we spent time dilly dallying my food menu as is it was my last meal on earth. If by now you are confused by the mentions of ‘the friend’ and ‘the other friend,’ lets just call them Indy and Ono for convenience sake.

Spent some more time visiting the hawker centers, the hawker centers and the hawker centers. Not just to eat the yummy food and enjoy the chaotic orderliness, but also wash down the fruit juices! Nobody does fruit juices like Asia. (And, sorry, no, Boost and NZ Natural don’t count.) These are *Real* fresh fruit juices. Must have guzzled liters of sugar cane, dragon fruit and mango shakes and juices.

Also went to the Asian Civilisation Museum, in China Town. Great place to study the interesting (albeit short) history of the city. Founded by Sir Raffles, it turned into this magnet for labourers from all over the region. Ended up with a great mix of Asian migrants. Had an enormous opportunity for the creation of a culturally vibrant city. Unfortunately, its converted itself into this drab, characterless city. (Of course, you are free to disagree with me.) But I do strongly feel that Singapore is a wasted opportunity. I reckon food has managed to stave off this globalisation machine that has chewed off everything else that was antique or culturally significant, only because it was another cog in this great tourist trap. ... So *that's* my problem with this city. A wasted opportunity.[Chinatown - as colourful, lively, interesting, touristy and fun as the ones in SF, Sydney, NY, Japan, Melbourne.....]

Rant over. Other interesting highlights of the trip.

Universal studios. Enough said. You do not want to hear stories of how silly, childish, excited, and fearful we were, in turn. Protip though: Do the Egyptian mummy ride. And the Jurrasic park. And Madagascar. ..Hell do them all! And if you do the Futuristic, turning 360, up down and sideways ride, let me know. I would like to gift you a some anti nausea tablets.

The Lion King: Am.azing musical. Technically gorgeous. Its not easy to convert a movie into theater. At the start of the performance I thought to myself, oh how will they do the wildebeest tramped scene, or the Mufasa’s ghost dream scene? Suffice to say, they exceeded my expectations. Used a clever combination of 2D, puppetry and light and shadow. Was fun and totally worth it. And Marina Bay sands is not such a bad venue either J

[With my lovely partner in crime. ]

Rampang: Found myself face to face one evening with this delightful mound (make that mountain) of ice shavings, drenched in fruit sherbets, and topped with swirls of mango puree and condensed milk. Heaven on a saucer. Protip 2: Singapore's best food is in tiny stalls. Chilli crab is great, but there's more to Singapore.

Overall I had lotsa fun, spent an amazing time with friends, ate half the nations’s food supply, and then headed for a quick visit to the nearby Hong Kong.

Hong Kong on the other hand is very Asian. My hotel was located in a rather residential area of the city. So after dropping our bags, ended up looking for food. And straight off the high from my Singapore food adventure, I was ready to give more Asian authentic food a try. Walked into this really really local looking place. No tourists around. Not in that café, not in the street outside. We walk in, feeling smug at how quickly we will have a great local experience. The lady at the counter doesn’t speak English and we smile to ourselves. She places us on a table with three other people and we smile broader. Feelin good! Man, *this* is the real HK! This is how locals eat!

And then she sends out a girl who speaks English. Sigh. And she brings with her an English menu. Sigh. She's seen through us. (Not much you can do with a 5'8" Irish and a 5'6" Indian girl anyway.) However, not to be outdone, my friend points to the guy beside her and says, I want what hes eating. I order too. They then place tea in plastic glasses in front of us and chopsticks. My friend sips the tea, and then both of us look in surprise as the people on our table dip their chopsticks into the glass. Heres how our conversation goes:

Me: Ahem..Did you just drink soap water?

She: No...I don’t think so. Didn’t taste like that.

See why I love her? Trust her to never get nonplussed. That’s why she’s a great travel partner.

After that lunch, HK was pretty much a blur. Among other things, I managed to get myself to the Lantau Island to see the endangered Chinese white dolphins. Visited the ‘Peak’ as it is (cryptically) called, to catch the sunset and gaze at the entire city. Took the star ferry across to the shopping district. Visited the night markets which, all in all was good fun.

But guess the highlight of my trip was the Lantau island. It’s a gorgeous island that the train takes about 20 mins to get to. Was running on a tight schedule, so jumped on the local, and rickety, bus as soon as I arrived and spent my time taking in the lush green hills dotted with the coulourful monasteries. Nobody still believes me when I say I caught a glimpse of King Kong emerge from them mountains! True Story!

The island has this old fishing village called Tai O that is built on stilts. It’s a nice little touristy thing to do. But obviously, my heart was with the dolphins. So after drinking some fresh apple juice and eating peanut butter pancakes on a stilt balcony, overlooking the fishing river, I jumped on a fast boat with 2 other American and 1 British couple. Keeping to the stereotypes, the American girls shrieked at every sighting of a part dolphin fin and the British guy commented on how stupid that was. Guess there is no stereotyping without smoke ;)

[Venice of the east]

Anyway I digress. The dolphins are pretty cool. They are very elusive and move very fast. And they are *White.* but because of their transparent skin, sometimes appear pink. And the pink, is adorable! I was pretty pumped, to be honest, to see them.

My 2 days in this city was now over. And truth be told, I had a great time in HK. I don’t think I am in love with it, but will say, it has piqued my interest enough to want to visit it again. I like to call it a ‘Stumble upon’ city (that phrase might or might not have been stolen from somewhere else. Ahem.) The best parts of the city are tucked into alleyways and if you keep to the malls and TST, you will not see the real HK, with all its efficiency, ease and culture.

You need to dip your chopsticks into the tea.

More photos :

Hong Kong http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150207776996682.311692.543981681&l=04f5b99d65

Singapore: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150207757841682.311691.543981681&l=55991d96a1

Food Inc. - Where does your food come?

This has to be, by far, the best and the worst movie I have ever watched. I have watched it twice, and will watch again. It made me angry, and sad. More angry than sad.

It starts with a simple question. Do you know where your food is coming from? Enough to make you stop and think.

I grew up in a small town in India. In a valley, underneath the mountains, beside a river. If my plate had the major food groups on it, I knew I was eating healthy. I still follow the same principle. Carbs, proteins, vitamins. Apparently, if I was in living in America and ate the same things, I might still not necessarily be eating healthy.

Food inc, as a brilliant piece of investigative journalism, raises the veil behind food in America (and technologically advanced countries?) What you see, is not what you get, is it’s gist. It effectively brings out the monopoly of the mega giants in the food industry. As fast food becomes the new religion, and Mc Donalds and KFCs the new Mecca, they don’t just control what they feed you, but also how all of that food is produced. In America, MD is the largest purchaser of ground beef, potatoes, tomatoes, and even apples. For instance, 4 beef packers control more than 80% of the meat packing industry in America. Who do you they owe their allegiance to?

We like our chicken breasts. So what does Tyson do? It raises chickens to double their sizes, in half the time. What does it mean for the chickens though? They are so heavy that they can barely walk. Some die of internal complications. Doesn’t help that these chicken farms factories dark tunnel ventilated houses. There is no natural light or air. Farmers have no autonomy and are often controlled by these corporates.

Forget the chicken, the story is the same for beef and pork. Bred and killed in their own manure. And we wonder why the E Coli breakout occurred? The largest slaughterhouse in America, and the world, is in N. Carolina. It slaughters 2000 hogs an hour. That’s 34 a minute…. Let that sink in. 34 hogs slaughtered every 60 seconds. Do you want me to guess what that means in terms of animal cruelty. (I should probably mention at this point, there are parts of the movie that is not for the animal lovers. I couldn’t close my eyes, but my jaws dropped and I wished I could. Enough evidence to set any animal rights organization into furore. Surprisingly, that hasn’t happened yet.... Can only guess why.)

And it just isn’t the animals who are exploited and abused. Think of the workers in these industries. The assembly line mentality was first introduced by Mc Donalds to reduce costs. Treat humans like machines. Teach them to do one task, and one task alone to obtain maximum efficiency. Of course, it then doesn’t qualify as ‘skilled labour’ and you can get away with low wages. Do not forget it was Mc Donalds again, in the States that argued in the Congress to allow the use of 16-17 year olds in their restaurants at a cheaper wage. Pay them a $1.28/hour instead of the generous $1.60. (And if you haven’t read it yet, highly recommend ‘Fast Food Nation’ by Eric Schosser. Wait, make that *highly* recommend. )

And then there is corn. Genetically modified corn is the base for over 90% of the products in the super markets. You will find high fructose corn syrup in everything from ketchup to peanut butter. Salad dressing to diapers. And batteries too. It’s a cheap crop and the ‘waste’ can be fed to cattle. More corn in our bodies.

The problem is multi layered. It just isn’t that fast food companies are lowering prices to feed the consumers bad calories. Not just that chips are subsidized, but not carrots. It isn’t just that the food regulatory bodies are headed by people who are powerful in the Congress. Or that when systemic failures occur (like the E Coli breakout) not much is done to actually fix the system. Rather a quick fix is derived – drenching all meat with ammonia. Because it kills all bacteria.

It simply is a powerful industry, run by a few honchos, who are averse to relinquishing control.

And yes, the solution is simple. Buy organic. Buy at farmers markets. If you can afford it, pay a little more. The ‘Meal deals’ come at a price. Buy fair trade.

A lot of my American friends dislike paying more for food here in Australia. I hope you know now.