The Lone Traveler on an Ideal Yatra

“Free as a bird to settle where I will.
What dwelling shall receive me? In what vale
Shall be my harbor? Underneath what grove
Shall I take up my home? And what clear stream

Shall with its murmur lull me into rest?
The earth is all before me.”

Wordsworth may have been delighted to leave the humdrum life of the city and settle down in the meadows that were home to him during his childhood but to escape the everyday grind of our mechanical life I need a vacation. And not just a vacation, I need a dream vacation. I need to feel the sand below my feet, I need the soothing sounds of the waves lapping at the shores, I need to wake up to the chirping of the birds and I need the mouth-watering aroma of food to tempt my dormant taste-buds. And I know the perfect destination where all my wishes can come true. Mauritius! Yes, that’s my dream vacation (of course I’m a Piscean, so I’m going to choose a beach destination)

With prior scheduling using the help of travel planning sites like Yatra and some meticulous comparison of flight prices it is possible to book international flight tickets at reasonable rates and cheaper flight tariffs mean more money for shopping. Yay!

Fortunately for me I can book a ticket with Emirate Airlines from Namma Bengaluru. But you know what I would desire to do? I would like to travel solo. Going on a vacation alone and exploring the world as a solo traveler- just thinking about it makes me feel exhilarated and nervous at the same time. It would be a new experience and I’d be checking off an item from my bucket list. So that decided, all that was left would be to plan my itinerary.

Ideally I would like to spend a lifetime lazing on the beautiful beaches, reading a book and taking moonlight walks in the night, but a little thing called reality creeps into these daydreams of mine. So I have opted to spend maybe 4 days on the islands of Mauritius (keeping in mind my budget constraints). One choice which wouldn’t be compromised for the sake of budget would be my choice of stay at a resort. Mauritius is home to some of the most exotic beach resorts and I would be spoilt for choices. I would want to stay in a room where I can be greeted in the morning with a view of a glorious sunrise. Now that’s some way of waking up, isn’t it?

The day would be spent indulging in various water sports and other water activities. The beaches of Mauritius are so pristine and clean that deep sea diving and snorkeling would be an amazing way to explore the marine life and the coral reefs. I have heard that the underwater sea walk is a unique experience that one must try out in Mauritius. The first day of the vacation would be devoted completely to beaches. The La Cuvette beach in the northern region, The Blue Bay and Belle Mare beach in the South East are perfect picturesque locations. The beaches are not very crowded and my plans to dip in the water for a swim and relax with a book fit in magnificently.

What better way to end the day than a drive in the Mauritian countryside with a wind tousling my hair and a drink in my hand. That is the way to live life, in my opinion.

The next day will be spent exploring the culture and the small, almost hidden, villages. The interesting thing about Mauritius is that the land is inhabited by Hindus, Tamils, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians and all of them peacefully cohabit respecting each other’s religion. In fact there is no “majority religion”, so temples, churches and mosques are all monuments that reside alongside with no violence. Maybe it’s time we took a leaf out of the Mauritian culture and learnt how to mutually respect each other?

This melting pot of land also has a mixed cuisine and the best way to taste the local cuisine is to hit the streets. The street food of Mauritius is a culinary paradise and one gets to taste the intricate flavors that are sure to titillate and fire-up the taste buds. Just yum!

Visiting Mauritius and not getting a spa luxury? That should never happen! So the next day would start with a rejuvenating spa therapy session. After all I’m on a vacation and I’m allowed to splurge a little. Mauritus is not just a beach destination but it also has lots of interesting museums and galleries. The La Vanille Nature Park is another tourist attraction which houses giant tortoises and crocodiles. The mystery of Chamarel, also called Seven Colored Earths because of the different hues of the soil is another must visit place.

The last day of the vacation would be completely devoted to lounging around the beaches and absorbing the mesmerizing scenes of Mauritius. What I wouldn’t give to have my own private piece of this paradise but all good things must come to an end and this vacation too would end. But the glorious memories would still linger in my mind until the next vacation. A new place to explore, a new land to visit and lots of food to eat!

Discovering Far East Cuisine- Singapore The Food Paradise

Traveling and exploring new cities is fun and helps me to escape from the daily stress of routine mundane life. When visiting new countries for the first time I also try to learn about their culture and their tradition and if given an opportunity I love to savor their local cuisines. For a foodie like me, visiting a place where devouring delicacies is a national pastime and food is a national obsession is like attaining Nirvana. Yes, I’m talking about Singapore, the land of Fast East where food is used to promote diversity and global cultural interaction.

Singapore is an ethnic potpourri of the neighboring places that includes India, Malaysia, Chinese and it has reinvented itself as one of SouthEast Asia’s bustling and dynamic cities. While Singapore boasts of 5 star restaurants that dish out multi-cuisine delicacies, the local authentic food can be relished at open air hawker centers that are business areas for street stalls. Amidst these street stalls one can drool over spicy, aromatic food that is influenced from variety of cuisines ranging from Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.

A hawker center in Lavender, Singapore

Although Singapore is widely known for its sea food delicacies, I, being a staunch vegetarian (Ok, I am known to saunter around stalls serving boiled eggs, so staunch is not an appropriate word for me), started searching for local Singaporean vegetarian dishes. And the first dish that I loved is Nasi lemak which is a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and typically eaten for breakfast. Nasi lemak in Malay means oily or fatty rice but it also means rich or creamy in texture because the rice is soaked in coconut cream and then steamed to perfection. The steamed rice is then served on a banana leaf along with various side dishes like boiled egg, hot spicy sauce, cucumber slices, anchovies and peanuts.

Nasi lemak served with anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg, lamb curry, cucumber, and 

traditional chili paste.

In another variation, the rice dish is also served along with fish cake and because of its versatility Nasi lemak can be eaten at any time of the day and not just for breakfast.

Nasi lemak is traditionally sold wrapped in banana leaves

Nasi lemak, served with fish cake, ikan bilis, egg, and buah keluak chicke

Another dish that caught my attention was Rojak which is a traditional fruit and vegetable salad and if you are thinking that a salad is boring, then think again! Because Rojak is an eclectic mix of fritters, boiled vegetables, cucumber, bean sprouts all stirred in a spicy, sweet peanut sauce. Now that’s a perfect combination of heath and taste, isn’t it?

Indian rojak in Singapore

In some SouthEast Asia cultures, Rojak forms an important part of traditional prenatal care and ceremony where a special fruit Rojak, consisting of cucumbers, pineapple, deep fried tofu and bean sprouts are mixed with a dressing of sugar, chili, lime juice and shrimp paste. Another variation of Rojak that interested me was the Rojak Juhi, which contains fried tofu, fried boiled potatoes, cucumber, noodles, lettuce and cabbages with a dressing of peanut sauce, vinegar, chili and fried garlic. Isn’t the description itself mouthwatering?

Fruit Rojak in Singapore.

Now even though I’m a vegetarian there was this dish that I came across which almost made me want to jump over the fence and join my meat eating friends. And that dish was Bak-kut-teh. The name itself is fascinating. Bak-kut-teh is a Chinese soup that literally means “meat bone tea”. The soup is made of pork ribs simmered for hours in a broth of herbs and spices like anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and garlic. The soup is also made more delicious by adding other ingredients like mushrooms, fried tofu and finally it’s garnished with chopped coriander leaves and green onions. The interesting fact about the name of this dish is even though Bak-kut-teh has tea in its title, there is no ingredient of tea mixed during its preparation. The reference to tea is because men used to sip on a strong Chinese tea alongside this soup in order to dissolve the generous amount of fat in the pork consumed. Hmmm... Tea with soup? A strange combination!

Bak kut teh

For a non-vegetarian foodie, Singapore can be a Mecca of sorts because there are so many lip smacking dishes to relish and enjoy. A few of the dishes I’d have tried out had I been a meat-eater are

Hokkien mee which is a dish consisting of egg noodles or rice noodles stir fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid.

Hokkien mee

Mee soto which is a spicy noodle/soup dish made of noodles along with slices of tomato, boiled egg, bean sprouts, peanuts, cabbages and beef or chicken meat. Broth is then poured over this combination to give it more soupy texture.

Mee soto

Nasi goreng which literally means fried rice and is made by mixing stir fried rice with shallot, garlic, tamarind and chili and it’s usually accompanied with egg, chicken or prawns.

Fried Rice in Singapore

I also liked this sweet dish called Cendol, which is a traditional dessert made with ingredients like Coconut milk, jelly noodles made from rice flour, shaved ice and palm sugar. Cendol is also served with Vanilla ice-cream topping which makes the dish more mouth-watering.

Cendol

The amalgamation of Singaporean culture and Western influences has brought out different twists to traditional dishes resulting in new and experimental cuisines with a lingering authentic taste.

Singaporean cuisine is a blend of spicy, saucy, sweet and aromatic flavors and it is guaranteed to titillate all taste buds. No wonder Singapore is heralded as the “food paradise” and Singaporean government even celebrates a day in July as “Singapore Food Festival”. Sigh! Well, we need all 365 days of a year to appreciate the delightful Singaporean cuisine.

Meme created by me

P.S- I've never been to Singapore but all the necessary information were referenced from Wikipedia

All images have been sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_cuisine

http://discover.stayfareast.com/

Family vacations with kids- Teddy Travelogues

Lots of things change in a couple’s life after a child is born, and after Advika came into our lives I have to say that our life has turned topsy-turvy. In a good way though. My husband and I travelled a lot during the initial phase of our marriage and it was usually a spur of the moment trip. Like that weekend when we decided to pack our things and head to Pondicherry. It being a long weekend we had to struggle to get a bus to Pondicherry and fortunately for us we were able to confirm bookings for a day in a resort. Being spontaneous had its own fun during unplanned trips. But after our daughter was born, impromptu trips were out of the question.

Although initially I was a little skeptical about taking Advika along with us on vacations, I confess there were several trips that turned memorable because we had her along with us. For example, when we visited Mysore zoo we did not think we would enjoy the trip, but yet we wanted to go there as it was Advika's first visit to a zoo. She was around a year old and she had just started identifying animals from the pictures in her books. So it was absolute joy to see the amazement in her face when she looked at the giraffe, zebra, deer, tiger and lions. It was one trip that we laughed a lot.

Advika's trip to Chamundi hills in Mysore

The solo traveler 

Honestly she is not a fussy kid but she does not like confined places and gets really cranky when a) she is hungry and b) when she is sleepy but she is not able to nap. But then I guess this is how all kids are. :)

Source- http://www.istockphoto.com/

We have to plan meticulously when we travel with her. I think having a good vacation with your kids all narrows down to planning and able to anticipate what may go wrong. Of course some things are out of our control so don’t fret too much if things don’t go according to your plan. Just flow with the tide and relax and let your kids have fun too.

Source-http://www.istockphoto.com/

We have gone for vacations with my daughter to Mysore, Chikmagalur, Ooty and Goa, which are all places closer to Bangalore. We have travelled along with her in train, bus and car journeys. We always plan our trips such that most of the commuting is done during the night, since she is a sound sleeper and usually sleeps unperturbed. Travelling in an airplane is something that we have never tried with her but there is always the next trip. The important thing to remember is the kid’s comfort.  So here are some tips that come to my mind that could make your vacation with your kids more fun and enjoyable.

When selecting your destination or the places you want to visit, make sure that your kids would enjoy it too. Take them to the zoo or a water park or a water fall or a garden where they have plenty of space to wander about and play. If you want to visit, say, a museum, and you know that your kids may get grumpy and mischievous then leave them with your husband and go alone. :)

Confirm your hotel bookings before leaving. You don’t want to arrive with cranky kids in tow and then learn that your hotel reservations have been cancelled.

Always carry medicines and first aid, keeping in mind the kind of weather of the place you are visiting. Read up about the destination on the internet. Carry medicines for common cold, nausea, stomach upsets, and small injuries. Being prepared is the key here.

Remember to carry little snacks and drinking water wherever you go.  You never know when your kids may feel hungry and you don’t want to run in search for their favorite snack.

Carry board games for older kids or your toddler’s favorite toy. If your kids like to read pack their favorite books. Just something to keep them occupied when there is nothing to do on the vacation.

Get your kid involved in the planning of the vacation. Let him/her help you in packing. Show them photos of the places that you are going to visit on the internet and explain the various activities that you would be doing.

Plan your time such that the kids get ample time to spend in each place you visit. Don’t rush them around and also plan your itinerary so that you get some time to rest indoors too. Remember kids get cranky when they are tired.

If your kid has just begun to walk or is still in the crawling phase then it would be advisable to carry the pram or buggy along. Although it may add to the already overloaded luggage you will be thankful for the pram when you can easily strap the kids in it after they are tired of walking.

If you are visiting a crowded place and there are chances of the kids getting lost in the crowd, a low-cost mobile with the children would come in handy. If the kids do get lost do not panic, request the managers of the place for help.

And finally remember you are on vacation. So relax and do not fret too much about what may go wrong. Let down your hair, laugh a lot and have fun.

Source- http://www.istockphoto.com/

Happy holidays and have a fun vacation with your family.

This post was written for Teddy Travelogues contest hosted by Indiblogger.

My Travel Tales- Day 5 of Write Tribe of Festival of Words

 

 Today's Theme: Travel

This must be the toughest prompt for me in the week long blogging challenge of Write Tribe. Because I’m not a travelling person! In fact I travel so much every day between my home and office that, weekends I just prefer to put up my feet at home and relax with a book or watch a movie. But when my mother was working in a bank, we used to travel often using the LTC (a travel related compensation for bank employees) privileges. I have been to Mumbai, Nasik, Ajanta and Ellora, Ooty. After I got married I realized that my husband liked travelling and discovering new places, so whenever he requested me to travel along with him, I used to agree half-heartedly. We have been to places near to Shimoga (since my husband is from Shimoga), Mysore, Pondicherry, Delhi, Shimla and Manali. 

My Travel Memories

But out of all the places that I have visited, Goa is my favorite place for a vacation. The sandy beaches, the glorious sun, the flowing alcohol, the late night parties, the music, the fun and frolic. Goa is one place where I can easily forget all my worries and truly soak the goodness in. I have been to Goa twice which is extraordinary for me because I travel so less that I avoid visiting the same place more than once.

The first time I visited Goa was with a group of my colleagues and it was also the first time I tried my hand at alcohol. We had booked a Qualis jeep as we were 8 of us, including the driver. We started from Mangalore around 10 PM at night. We were high on beers, supplied so thoughtfully by our male colleagues. I was ignorant of the fact then, that beer created this high, intolerable pressure on one’s bladder after a few bottles. 

So there we were, my other female colleague, Savi and I, in the dark ominous night, with no toilet in sight and with this uncontrollable urge to pee. One of my friends pointed out an extremely large boulder on the side of the road and shrugged his shoulders. I’m not particularly proud of what I did, but I had to do what I did.

There was another incident that comes to my mind which happened during the same trip. 

All my colleagues decided to visit Tito’s which is the famous night club and bar in Goa. It’s popular for its awesome music, large dance floors and the electrifying crowd. A line of cars were parked on either side of the road, for a stretch of 5 kms in front of the pub. There were so many people just outside the pub, some in highly intoxicated state, and I did see a few couple snogging in the faux privacy of their cars. Of course most people were oblivious to this even though the car windows were transparent. I guessed that it was a very common occurrence so I acted casually as if seeing couples in foreplay was an everyday occurrence to me. 

As we got down from our vehicle the guys in our group were having cold feet. One guy said that it was not safe for girls and if there was a fight, then we could be targeted as we were tourists. It sounds ridiculous to my own ears now, but at that time all those alien sights around me had stupefied me. I was like ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Needless to say, it was my first visit to any night club and my heart was racing even before entering the bar. 

A few policemen saw us loitering outside the bar and asked us to show some identification proof. We were horrified. A group of young girls and boys, in an unfamiliar land, nerves taut with anxiety, surrounded by grouchy policemen- that’s not a situation I’d ever want to be in again. Savi, who was a HR professional in our firm, suddenly sprang to action and explained graciously about our visit and showed her corporate badge. The policemen left us alone and we climbed the jeep and took off.

Although I don’t travel much, I have decided to travel to Andaman and Nicobar islands in the next year, 2014, and try out snorkeling and deep-sea exploration. That’s one of “the to-do” things in my bucket list. 

I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words 8th – 14th December 2013. 

A Boat Ride at Madiwala Lake, Bengaluru

Last Saturday, we took Advi(my daughter) and my brother-in-law’s kids boating in Madiwala Lake, Bangalore. It was quite late when our turn arrived and we were sad that it was almost dark. But just as we reached the center of the lake, we realized that the view of city lights shimmering in the dark night looked mesmerizing. 

I was worried that 3 kids with all their jumping might topple the boat, but the man who was issuing the tokens for boat ride assured that the lake was not more than 4 ft deep at the center. He said that even if the boat tips over, one can just walk and reach back!!!

The boat required two people to pedal and a 30 minute ride in a two seater boat costs 50/- where as a ride in a 4 seater boat costs 100/-. The boat rides are available all days of the week but closes around 7 PM. Here are some photos of the city lights captured during our boat ride, clicked using my S3 camera.