The best birthday present I could have asked for landed up at my doorstep last Sunday night. I open the door to find Ms.Schmetterling standing there with one big suitcase. After recovering from the surprise, we quickly made plans to go to the mall the next day. I really cannot ask for a better shopping partner. There is this vibe you have to share to really enjoy the whole experience. I've tried in vain to feel the same vibe with other people, but I can REALLY shop with only a few! (Amma, you're included) The best buy was Shre's, a cheek stain by Tarte. Check out her blog for more info! My best buy was a pair of jeans. I have always had a huge problem buying jeans from India, especially Levis. They're made for size 2 women who have the same waist and butt size. Oh, and I love my white summer dress as well. The fact that it was on sale makes it even more attractive. Cant wait to wear it at Ann Arbor this summer!
We were off to Washington DC the next day. We walked and walked and did more walking. With my bad foot.(Do you hear this Shregs?) We did the touristy thing.Walked around the mall area, saw the Capitol building,the Washington monument, looked at all the
Smithsonian Museums. Thats what we did..Looked and then walked right past them.The next day we drove to Phily- Thats Philadelphia but I call it Phily to sound waaay cooler than I actually am- The day after that was spent at Baltimore. Walked around the Inner Harbour and took this boat ride. That boat ride was quite interesting I must say. A loud gay german guy got on board and started showing everyone his purchases and how much 'fun' shopping is. And then started talking in German to shregs. I almost died laughing. The only word I think I understood was ich. It was time for the flight back all too soon. Over all, a super fun birthday week. What are best friends for if they cant make the homesickness go away and sit with you in Class 722 for Copyright and Digital Law?
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Hyderabad Highs
After a month long hiatus,here I am again! :D I dint realize its been a month since I blogged.That was also because I was in Hyderabad for the last 10 days having a blast. Since I am leaving and all that, I decided to go to my grandparents place,meet cousins.I figured since I wasn't really doing anything here,I might as well go and do nothing there.Oh, and there was a wedding happening too! But I was truly in for a (pleasant) surprise. There was lots to do in hyd! I literally shopped till i dropped. The city is filled with malls and places to eat. The best part is,everyone seemed to be shopping and eating. What a change from the hyderabad I knew. Or maybe I dint really get to see the place since we would go there only for a wedding and my cousin sis,(who's just a year younger than me )and I wouldn't be allowed to stay out too late. Now that we're both working and "all growed up" we could do whatever we wanted. We had something to do everyday. One mall a day and a couple of shopping bags was like mandatory! The best part is, 10 minutes from their place is this HUGE row of factory outlets.From levis,to pepe,dockers and nike reebok and adidas. Need i say more?? *grin*
A typical day would be..wake up late,by the time we're all ready, its lunch time. eat. or go out to the various lunches organized in each aunt's place. shop.get home. go out for dinner.During the wedding time the lunch and dinner will be preceded by a function.In all this, my grandmother has a boutique.She does salwar kameez and saree business.So we would ooh and aah over the nice stuff she brought back from jaipur and when customers look at them. I seriously have the 'funest' grandma who brings back the most coolest stuff.I picked out this lovely toe ring which she brought back.The grandfather wasn't too happy about me wearing a toe ring since I am unmarried,but hello,its a fun thing and I'm wearing it only on one foot. He still dint seem to be convinced. Oh and we had this new flavor of Breezer called 'Jamaican Passion'. was yummy. Is it possible to sign some kind of a petition for them to start allowing Bacardi to market Breezer in Chennai? Grr. This is SO not fair. We have it in Bangalore and Hyderabad, Chennai really feels left out. Cant u see that??? H-M-P-H!!
I'm back in Chennai now. I need to learn to make all the types of Dal. Learn to IDENTIFY them first is more like it. I get so confused with the English,Hindi,Tamil and Telugu names! There are like some million varieties, multiply them into 4, and what do expect? One hell of a confused drama queen.
More updates on the dal et al later.ta!
A typical day would be..wake up late,by the time we're all ready, its lunch time. eat. or go out to the various lunches organized in each aunt's place. shop.get home. go out for dinner.During the wedding time the lunch and dinner will be preceded by a function.In all this, my grandmother has a boutique.She does salwar kameez and saree business.So we would ooh and aah over the nice stuff she brought back from jaipur and when customers look at them. I seriously have the 'funest' grandma who brings back the most coolest stuff.I picked out this lovely toe ring which she brought back.The grandfather wasn't too happy about me wearing a toe ring since I am unmarried,but hello,its a fun thing and I'm wearing it only on one foot. He still dint seem to be convinced. Oh and we had this new flavor of Breezer called 'Jamaican Passion'. was yummy. Is it possible to sign some kind of a petition for them to start allowing Bacardi to market Breezer in Chennai? Grr. This is SO not fair. We have it in Bangalore and Hyderabad, Chennai really feels left out. Cant u see that??? H-M-P-H!!
I'm back in Chennai now. I need to learn to make all the types of Dal. Learn to IDENTIFY them first is more like it. I get so confused with the English,Hindi,Tamil and Telugu names! There are like some million varieties, multiply them into 4, and what do expect? One hell of a confused drama queen.
More updates on the dal et al later.ta!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
dilli billi
This post has been long overdue,I havent had time to even breathe from the moment I got back from Delhi.Did u hear that right??yeah.I spent an absolutely amazing time at the capital,at shreya's place.Her mom's technically,since madame has made Michigan her home since last year.I was so excited about the trip since I havent travelled anywhere above Mumbai,which is considered 'North India' for us chennai-ites!After much planning and packing,I was ready to face Dilli.
We did all the nice girly and touristy things.Shopping was super fun especially at Janpath market. There was so much cute stuff we dint know where to look first.The sad thing was I couldnt really buy too much since they were too skimpy to wear in chennai."but where will I wear this in Madraaaaas???" was my constant lament. But hopefully,if all goes well, I'll be out of here soon...that pretty much explains it all.(Nana,if you are reading this close your eyes.:-D).Dads.sigh.
Day 2 was a visit to the mall and we watched Chak De.What a cliche.Watching an almost patriotic movie on Independence day.We all actually stood for the national anthem before they started playing the film.It was awesome!The nicest part of the movie was SRK(big surprise there.he's the KING).He played his age and there was no faltoo romance or some hot actress just for the scenery! or any lame songs.10 points for that.
The next day we graced Agra with our presence.We headed out to Fatehpur Sikhri first to visit Akbar's palace/fort.En route,we got stuck in a 'traffic jam' involving 4 autos,2 carts,a couple of scooters and our car.Very rustic.
The Fort was lovely.Although I was piqued by the fact that Akbar built this huge gateway like thing,Bulandh Darwaza, when his son was born.And honoured that wife with the biggest part of the palace and all.
The Taj was our next destination.We were practically fried by the time we reached there. But the beauty was truly worth the wait.The symmetry was absolutely the best.And to think they did all that with just a piece of string and a ball for a pendulum! Well,to be brutally honest,the roads leading to the Taj and the entire place wasnt maintained too well.Being one of the wonders of the world,why doesnt the government put a little more effort to make the place a tad more presentable at least?? We have visitors from all over the world coming to visit.Do we really want to project India this way?? Apart from blaming the government,Every Indian must want to do a little something to for the country. Even a small gesture like not littering.And of course, a sense of basic hygiene for the surroundings.
One thing that struck me was the number of kids hanging around the place.In Agra,and all the way to the Sikri village.Playing,running around,and many at work with their parents.Weren't they supposed to be in school?It wasnt summer holidays either.All schools re-open in june.We caught sight of a few so-and-so memorial schools here an there.Tired looking nondescript buildings tucked in the middle of nowhere.
This made me think that for all the Big companies,be it outsourcing,malls,clubs,culture,and everything we take for granted,this is what the real India is.Not the handful of cities we are familar with.None of those kids would even have a chance to use a computer,the basic of most things today.That made me sad.To know that as a country we have such a long way to go.And a better education is only one of them.We have other things to think about.Such as the attitude of the people and other social metamorphosis that will only take time.A long,long time.
How this post started from my happy trip to the socio-economic state of India,i dont know.But yeah, food for thought?!
btw. Shre and I got lovely Mehendi on our hands half way to our elbows at dilli haat.Although I wonder if it was real un-adultrated henna,since it dint smell to strong,and it faded away fully within 5 days time.hmmm. But I enjoyed having someone put the mehendi for me,being the puttee,instead of the putter!! :D (license baby.poetic license)
We did all the nice girly and touristy things.Shopping was super fun especially at Janpath market. There was so much cute stuff we dint know where to look first.The sad thing was I couldnt really buy too much since they were too skimpy to wear in chennai."but where will I wear this in Madraaaaas???" was my constant lament. But hopefully,if all goes well, I'll be out of here soon...that pretty much explains it all.(Nana,if you are reading this close your eyes.:-D).Dads.sigh.
Day 2 was a visit to the mall and we watched Chak De.What a cliche.Watching an almost patriotic movie on Independence day.We all actually stood for the national anthem before they started playing the film.It was awesome!The nicest part of the movie was SRK(big surprise there.he's the KING).He played his age and there was no faltoo romance or some hot actress just for the scenery! or any lame songs.10 points for that.
The next day we graced Agra with our presence.We headed out to Fatehpur Sikhri first to visit Akbar's palace/fort.En route,we got stuck in a 'traffic jam' involving 4 autos,2 carts,a couple of scooters and our car.Very rustic.
The Fort was lovely.Although I was piqued by the fact that Akbar built this huge gateway like thing,Bulandh Darwaza, when his son was born.And honoured that wife with the biggest part of the palace and all.
The Taj was our next destination.We were practically fried by the time we reached there. But the beauty was truly worth the wait.The symmetry was absolutely the best.And to think they did all that with just a piece of string and a ball for a pendulum! Well,to be brutally honest,the roads leading to the Taj and the entire place wasnt maintained too well.Being one of the wonders of the world,why doesnt the government put a little more effort to make the place a tad more presentable at least?? We have visitors from all over the world coming to visit.Do we really want to project India this way?? Apart from blaming the government,Every Indian must want to do a little something to for the country. Even a small gesture like not littering.And of course, a sense of basic hygiene for the surroundings.
One thing that struck me was the number of kids hanging around the place.In Agra,and all the way to the Sikri village.Playing,running around,and many at work with their parents.Weren't they supposed to be in school?It wasnt summer holidays either.All schools re-open in june.We caught sight of a few so-and-so memorial schools here an there.Tired looking nondescript buildings tucked in the middle of nowhere.
This made me think that for all the Big companies,be it outsourcing,malls,clubs,culture,and everything we take for granted,this is what the real India is.Not the handful of cities we are familar with.None of those kids would even have a chance to use a computer,the basic of most things today.That made me sad.To know that as a country we have such a long way to go.And a better education is only one of them.We have other things to think about.Such as the attitude of the people and other social metamorphosis that will only take time.A long,long time.
How this post started from my happy trip to the socio-economic state of India,i dont know.But yeah, food for thought?!
btw. Shre and I got lovely Mehendi on our hands half way to our elbows at dilli haat.Although I wonder if it was real un-adultrated henna,since it dint smell to strong,and it faded away fully within 5 days time.hmmm. But I enjoyed having someone put the mehendi for me,being the puttee,instead of the putter!! :D (license baby.poetic license)
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