A trip to 'The District' - Capital of the U.S.

'To go or to not go' - that was the question which haunted us in the most important of cold December weekends. Yes, the one right before Christmas. And you can guess what the decision was. Off we went on a fine Saturday morning to Washington D.C, the capital of United States, often referred to as "The District".

We reached the city in the pm and decided to start off with what else?, the White House. After walking along what seemed like a looot of miles and trying to guess which of the white buildings might be White House, we got to our destination at last. White House beamed at us amidst all Secret Service cars parked in the area. Ofcourse, we had not booked a tour months in advance, so had to be happy with seeing it from across a fence. The whole area is full of Government buildings like The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Department of Commerce, American Red Cross and the Department of the Treasury, to name a few.  Each of these buildings look magnificent. And my personal opinion is that some of them actually look better than White House, more white even ;)

One of the benefits of braving the weather at this time of the year was that we got to see the National Christmas Tree placed near the White House. The tree was all decked up and was indeed a pretty sight. There are smaller trees each representing U.S states all around the national tree, and altogether it makes a very bright Christmas Scene.

We set off the next day to Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space museum. To be completely honest,I should say that this was the very first time that I actually fell in love with a museum. Museums to me have always been places with a lot of things that might accumulate dust but never much interest. Boy, wasn't that about to change. This one was a refreshing change. It was amazing with a hanger inside displaying all sorts of planes, helicopters, space shuttles, missiles, transmission equipment and what not! We got to see the space shuttle Discovery(and mind you, this was the real one which went into space, not a model), Enola Gay - the aircraft to bomb Hiroshima in Japan(the atomic bomb - Little Boy), Nemesis - the racing champion and a lot others including the ones used in World War 2. And flights were not all. There were missiles, maneuvering equipment, a model of Pathfinder(yes, the one which went to Mars and we read about in newspapers) and even an air traffic control room where you could listen to real transmissions from Reagan airport. Trust me, a trip to D.C will not be complete unless you dedicate a fair amount of time to this awesome place.

We drove by Washington Memorial(entrances closed after a recent earthquake) and off we went to the U.S. capitol, which until then I would have recognized(wrongly) as White House. The dome looked inviting and as we walked around it, realized that it was indeed an architectural marvel. It was picture time what with tripod setup and everything there. Infact, most of these places were not much crowded, one for Christmas and one for near-freezing temperatures. By then, it was getting dark and we drove around the city for another closeup look at the White House. Ofcourse, we couldn't find any parking spots and had to be happy with driving all around the city(same can't be said for Renjith who was driving then, driving in D.C., the city, can be a real pain!). And before we knew, it was time to come back.

This was another trip where we had fun going to places together and talking and making fun and eating and seeing wonderful monuments. We might not have "covered" a lot of places, but it was definitely worth every minute. It was all about being in good company to enjoy good things. And all we wanted to do was make it last forever. Hoping for many more such trips. Me signing off ;)

The Magnificent Niagara

The fall of 2011, and we decide to visit the mighty Niagara...
It was not a decision taken on impulse. That's a place I have always wanted to visit, right from the day I learned about it from my Social Studies book. And when all conditions seemed to meet, off we went and that too, driving all the way!

As we started early morning and drove along the roads, which was more like a fall foliage drive, we could not but only admire the plethora of colors that nature presented before us. It was a beautiful drive and even more so for me since I did not even budge from the passenger seat :)

With just a pit stop, we reached Niagara a little after noon and rushed to the falls area minutes after we checked in. It was the American falls which welcomed me from a distance  and I had absolutely no idea that the 'Cave of the winds' trip would take me right next to this damsel. As we were given the raincoats, I actually contemplated wearing it, but no sooner than I put one feet out of the small cave, I realized why it was provided in the first place. Icy cold water from the falls were splashing upon us, and Ms beautiful was smiling from above. We could climb up the wooden stairs along the falls letting her soak us up. It was as if she wanted to show off her beauty and with each drop of crystal clear water falling upon us, we couldn't agree more. It was a dream come true for me. All I wanted was to see the Niagara falls, and there I was actually getting showered by her!

It was only early in the evening and we could have moved to any other attractions offered by Niagara, but we were so muck taken aback by the beauty of the falls that we chose to spend our time walking around the American falls. We walked to the Three Sisters Island, and to other points which gave us wonderful views of both American and Horseshoe falls. Once it turned dark, the falls were illuminated and that added to the spectacular sight. Had it been summer, we could have taken the boat ride at the time, but the cool winds blowing against one and the colorful trees made up for that miss. As it turned darker, the only sound was that of the waters and it was as if she was showing off even then trying to scare people ;-)

The icy morning took us to the adventure theatre which showed the story of Niagara - the legend, the myths and the miracles. The video was incredibly shot and the story of Lelawala, the maid of the mist, who lives in the cave of God Hinum kind of struck me.

And wasn't I thrilled when I got to know that the next trip was aboard a boat named 'Maid of the mist' which would take us near the American falls first and then the Horseshoe falls. I should say that this was when I really saw Niagara falls for what it was. I had not realized how mighty she was until we approached horseshoe falls. I took a glimpse and could not but bow to the majestic one. It was a sight which I know for sure will be with me for a lifetime. And know what, the boat actually crosses the US border and into Canada before it turns back. No one can say that they put their foot in Canada, but we were in all in Canadian waters then :)

It was time for a guided tour, we felt, and off we went by the trolley within the Niagara state park. As the driver explained the geography/history/geology in his own witty manner, am sure everyone had their ears glued and eyes moving! It was then that we saw 'the point of no return', the pedestrian bridge to Canada and the small streams which flow into Niagara.

We also made time for the Niagara Discovery Center museum which just didn't capture my interest. People who like geography might like it but then, we most definitely did not. Soon we made our way to the Niagara Aquarium. I really don't want to write that I saw fishes, penguins and seals here though I have already made the point here :)

It was time for us to bid goodbye but not before we took another glimpse of the falls and waved her our goodbyes. And there she was thundering, to be seen and to be felt... The trip had left us soaking wet, not just with the water from the falls but with memories worth a lifetime.

Madison, at its best

When I generally write about any place I have been to, I kind of filter, put in what we have done, describe the place ans just move on. But to write about Madison will not be all that easy. Coz it is to be seen and felt... But I would still like to try...

Madison is a small little town in the state of Wisconsin. This was where we spent 2 days out of the long weekend mentioned in my last post Go Chicago. This is a quaint little town with all the beauty that a typical American neighbourhood has to offer. The city is based around their state Capitol and built all around it. Yes, exactly the way Trichur round is :)

As we were put up near Monona Terrace, there was the very beautiful Lake Monona flowing with an elegance I have rarely seen. And cycling around the lake and the capitol is a very common task for people there making the environment more eco-friendly and making the people, much healthier.

We were indeed happy that we didnt visit the place during winter as the place freezes even before winter seeps into other places. It's generally cool and has an inviting touch to it. As we spent our days stolling around the small city and taking in some of what it had to offer, we realized that this was the first time that we felt American culture at its best.

It's home to University of Wisconsin and the merry student population adds to the picturesque town. At evenings, the university has a lot to offer to the general public and this includes food and music at a park overlooking the lake. Trust me, you couldn't have seen both young and the old looking happier!

Once in a year, the city hosts a food festival 'Taste of Madison' and weren't we lucky to be there at the very time? With Peruvian, Brazilian, Indian, Thai, Italian and all kind of cuisines(complete with desserts), it was not just a street food fest, it was a celebration. And the food was just yummy.

The Dane county farmers market, the Botanical Garden and museums are all listed in the things-to-do wiki for Madison. But once you are actually there, all you gotta do is walk out and enjoy the city for what it is. And you will not eb disappointed for it celebrates all the time, the Celebration of life...

Go Chicago!

To make up for the anniversary trip that hurricane Irene blew away with it and to make the most out of the labor day weekend, we went to this small town near Chicago. The place was beautiful, and displayed American culture at its best with restaurants lined up, awesome Tiramisu, biking around lakes, an university overlooking the lake, jazz and pop music in the evenings(with country food, of course), cool breeze at all times of the day, and a food festival over the weekend to top it all with.

The place had a healing effect to it, which could soothe one. After spending a couple of days in this serene location, we embarked on our journey to Chicagoland. The city does not have the hustle and bustle of New York, but is busy in its own natural manner. There is no rushing, but there still is so much energy and adrenaline. And yes, it is truly beautiful.

As we got into the elevator in the Willis Tower(formerly known as Sears tower), we were eager to see the Skydeck and go out onto the ledge. The first step into the glass floor was slow (I should probably add that a few heart beats could have been missing then :), but soon excitement took a better hold and I stepped out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck, the tallest building in the western hemisphere!

The view from here was breathtaking and on a clear sky day like the day we visited, one can see the four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.

After Skydeck, we took a nice long walk in the city, all the way to Shedd Aquarium. And when I said long, I really did mean loooong. On the way we passed 'Agora'. It's a sculpture of men withour arms and head. Though wiki says that it depicts democracy, we felt that it more suited us, the IT professionals :)

For someone whom the biggest aquarium visited ever was the one at Trissur Pooram Exhibition, Shedd's was indeed a magnificent place. From tiny-weeny fish including the jelly fish to the killer sharks, they are all there. We were indeed thrilled at our first meeting with Penquins, sea lions and dolphins. That was about it. For the rest of the meetings, like the ones with killer sharks, anacondas and the sort I was really happy that there was a glass between us and hoping that I would never see them this close again without this amorphous solid material barricading between us!

It was then time for a cruise in the sprawling lake Michigan. It had taken to drrizzle by then, and the view was spectacular.

As we got off at Navy Pier, we watched a few weekend shows there and took a long stroll around it. The rain dampened the spirits a little bit at this point as all rides were cancelled. That was the only disappointment in the whole trip, I would say.

A trip to Chicago will not be complete without visiting the Millennium Park which is why we decided to make a pit stop there and walked away from Navy Pier. Though we lost our way and ended up walking on the bridge instead of the river walk, we eventually made our way. Thank goodness I was not the one with the map!

The 'cloud gate' was indeed bristling with tourists but we couldn't not resist taking a few pics there before we headed to Buckingham fountain in Grand Park where a music fest was happening.

A beautiful fountain, a cup of coffee and music was all we needed to decide that we should stay just there and wind our trip up without further ado.

And that was precisely what we did.
After spending quite some time there, we started our journey back home, happy that our plans for this trip worked out really well and craving for more...

From Bengaluru, To Amrikaa

Chapter 1 – Bengaluru International Airport Limited

All set to check in. Luggages intact. Those which are not intact have been opened and reshuffled right in front all the astonished onlookers in front of the check-in counter. Immigration counter in sight and we soon reached the front of the queue. ‘We’ here refers to me and SreePriya – both participants of ‘onsite-offshore’ programme. The guy at the counter looks up and asks what he feels is a very obvious question, ‘can you please show me the invitation?’. It’s obviously non-obvious to me and I chose to respond politely, ‘may I know what you need MY wedding invitation for?’. He probably thought in his mind ‘here comes another lousy passenger’, and said ‘not yours, your husband’s’.  This time, the frustration clearly showed up on my face and he proceeded to explain,  ‘did your husband send you an invitation asking you to join him in US?’. I chose not to respond when he asked the same question to Sree. The look on her face was much better than mine for it spoke a thousand words and he immediately shut his mouth up. 

We soon passed all the hurdles, and were all set for boarding.

Chapter 2 – The flight

We boarded into the Air France flight set to Paris, and chose not to look at the good looking flight attendant.  It’s very true that we made that choice ourselves, and this was not a reaction to the fact that he not even threw as much as a glance at us. Guys can be really stupid at times.

After 2 failed attempts to upgrade ourselves to the Premium class, we soon settled into our respective seats, and fell asleep discussing about the CSAT(Customer satisfaction) points for this particular flight. It ought to be in the negatives. And before long, the Captain made a very smooth landing in Paris. 

Chapter 3 – Paris

After frantically searching for Eiffel tower during the landing and having seen only a couple of mobile towers, we realized how beautiful Europe was. Every single field, every vehicle and all trees reminding us of DDLJ and SRK J. We were looking forward to see Charles De Gaulle Airport. As good Samaritans, we waited patiently for the bus to arrive, did not scamper for seats and Sree even made the silver lining by giving away her seat to an elderly person. But the next few hours at CDG did not live up to our expectations. The picture-hungry beasts in us died of starvation! I had to console myself clicking a pic of that of Sree lying down in a make-shift bed of 2 chairs(yes, she fits in!). Soon, I went in search of 3-4 beds lined up(and yes, I don’t fit into 2). After a short nap, we fought a war of Dollars and Euros, and we finally found coffee. It was over coffee and croissants at CDG that this particular master-piece took birth.

Chapter 4 – The flight, yet again

The next flight from Paris to Newark definitely scored better CSATs(Air France, again). I slipped into sleep and pusued my dreams(literally), and Sree browsed though the movies available before falling asleep. By the time, we woke up and got all set, the crew announced landing. Probably the flight was indeed long, but having good company always helps.

Chapter 5 – United States of America

We moved into the immigration counter. One look at us and we were both placed into this huge room which was most definitely not the place to be, as far as we knew. There a girl sobbing and this set off another animated conversation between us – whether we will be bound on a passenger flight back home or will that be by cargo! 

Not sure which of these helped – our innocent looks/never ending conversation now in whispers/complete info about our lineage on their screens – but they soon let us out. We sighed out of relief. But alas no, not so soon. The customs officer decided to check our luggage in the next counter. Hooooray(n uff) we came out clean!

At this point, we had this huge grin pasted onto our faces as we collected our baggage and this further widened on the sight of our wonderful husbands standing at the Arrivals gate. As we ran to them, it was love and hugs and stories and smiles everywhere. To hell with jet lag, there is so much to say…

Weekend getaway - to Kodai

We had an approved leave on Monday and decided to get set n go to Kodai. The journey kicked off on Friday evening from Bangalore by our fav 'Rajahamsa' and I soon drifted off to sleep (no surprises there, I can hear you say!). I woke up to my loving hubby gently calling me and pointing to the huge mountains covered in mist, and I felt our bus spiraling up through the many hairpin bends to this paradise which is 2300 meters above sea level. There were trees on both sides of the road bearing beautiful wild flowers, and there was absolutely no traffic along the way giving us the intuition that this was going to be the relaxing weekend we were looking forward to.



As we reached the bus stand, our cab for the next few days was waiting to pick us up to the resort. Villa Retreat resort was all that they promised in their website - few beautiful rooms, with a valley view and opening up to a even more beautiful lawn from where we could see Cocker's walk.


After refreshing ourselves, we decided to do some exploration on our own. A walk along Cocker's walk(ofcourse eating Cotton candy n boiled peanuts) was the very first thing we did. And the chilling cold weather enhanced our spirits for sure. And then we walked along Kodai town least bothered about anything else in the world. I was really feeling happy that I chose to carry the over-sized sweatshirt which Amazon gifted me. At last, that was put to good use. After lunch and more time at the resort, we walked to the lake (popularly known as Kodai lake), n walked by the lake before renting out a pedal boat. At the end of this, we decided to call it a day and retired to our room.

On Sunday, we decided to visit Berijam Lake - the road less travelled by many who visit Kodai. This needs special permission from the Forest department but most hotels there can take care of the procedural stuff required. As we drove off to Berijam, our driver gave us a tip - carry water n snacks - for there are no shops there. Afterall, who expects shops in the middle of a forest where there are no electricity lines and not even the most feeble of the network coverage from the numerous mobile towers cast their range? However, it turned out to be a trip much more wonderful than we had anticipated. We stopped at various places on our way in the forest which gives a great valley view. We lingered around each point for some time for the mist to clear for a better view. Trust me - walks along those mountains were toooooo good to be true and is definitely a memory worth a lifetime.At the end of our jouney, we saw this beautiful lake sprawling across quite some area with unpolluted water, carefree birds singing, mist rising from a side and mountains guarding it. As we walked towards Berijam lake, we were totally speechless. It had an uncanny scenic beauty and was very peaceful -the best location where one can get in harmony with oneself. And to all my friends who are 'photographoholics', guess this is a place you should add to your 'must-visit' list.


We decided to spend the rest of the day strolling aimlessly across the streets of Kodai and drinking tea from the many tea shops along the road.

Monday evening being when we were bound on our journey back to Bangalore, we decided to spend the day doing some local sight-seeing. Meaning not straying too very far. We visited the usual tourist places like the Guna Caves, Green Valley view point(Suicide point of olden days - not open for suicides anymore with barricades all around ;) , pine forests, a temple, Byrant Park, Moyer point and Fairy falls. Horse riding along the pine forest and a long long walk along it was quite filmy but romantic and we thoroughly enjoyed it :)

As our cabbie dropped us at Kodai lake and said a bye, we decided to cycle around the lake. That's something almost everyone who visits the lake does but I had never had a chance to do in my last trips to the place.I was excited about it and after riding for sometime even raced with hubby dear (if you are interested in the results, I was not bad - I came second :P ) And Oh yeah, and we bought Home made chocolates and marsh mellows like any other chocolate-freaks to carry back with us!

Soon it was time for us to say 'bye' to the land which offered us a relief from the hectic work schedules for 3 days. As we packed our bags, sipped another cup of coffee and boarded the bus (Airavat, this time) - we knew from our hearts that we will come back!

The journey to a small paradise in Indian Ocean - Mauritius

To celebrate the journey from being committed to being married, we planned another journey - to Mauritius. And when we flew after wedding, all we knew was that it was a beautiful place and that we were on our own. We did not have the time to do a lot of research and hence had absolutely no presumptions.

Day 1 - As we arrived at Mauritius, all so sleep-deprived with the 12am check-in, 2 am flight and nearly 6 hours of flight, we very much tired. But the resort(there is no other word - it was just magnificent) was so very inviting with the beach view that we almost forgot about sleep (well, temporarily!). And after a hot shower, we remembered all that we temporarily forgot and slept like logs. We woke up right in time for dinner, and after an African buffet, we walked around the resort and really appreciated it for what it was(in a woken-up mode). The room was lovely with the balcony opening up to the pool, garden and a fragment of the beach. The beach there is formed by coral reefs, and the area is so very clean that we fell in love with the place.
View from lobby:

 This was what I loved the most at the resort (the bridge to heaven, as I called it...):

Day 2 - After an English breakfast, we decided to go through the various options available for us to spend the day, and after a lot of thinking decided to take the submarine ride - which according to the catalog, is available at only 3 places in Indian Ocean. The Blue-safari was indeed breath-taking, where we went 35m down the surface, and saw fishes kissing(I guess that's what they did) against the window-panes and the wreck of an old Japanese ship. The beauty of coral, the white sand and the uninterrupted calmness of the ocean surprised us.

 After the submarine ride, we visited a public beach (which sadly had a French name which if I had to learn would not have given me the time to absorb the beauty surrounding me!). Then followed a walk along the roadside shops(which again were quite few in number and very clean), and visited a mall there - 'Jumbo'.
On the long ride back, we noticed how the driver sped the car carefully and swiftly across the tracks, and followed all traffic regulations(which again is quite a sight for someone living in Bangalore :)
Late evening, we took a long walk along the beach adjacent to our resort, and checked out the view from lobby, the Spa and the sports center.

Day 3:
This day was reserved for city(North Island) tour(that is - a day when we will not get wet), and did not turn out to be all so exciting. We visited the capital town - Port Louis, where there was a beautiful church atop a hill, and a fort close by it. After that we visited Apravasi Ghat, where Indians were brought by British to work on sugarcane fields in unhygienic conditions and very low wages.
After this we went to the Le Caudan Waterfront which is more like a small city by itself with its French buildings and wonderful shops which included Souvenir shops. We also walked around the China Bazar nearby with its many streets reminding us of Commercial street.

The drive back to the resort was wonderful as it was along a road by the side of the sea. I have no idea how an hour swept by and we reached back home - it was a truly beautiful ride.

Day 4:
This was most definitely a great day and off we went to the South Island. We first visited a souvenir-ship factory where they made souvenir ships(I can hear you say that it was obvious, but nevertheless..), and Adamas outlet where diamonds imported from South Africa are cut and polished.
The crated of an extinct volcano was quite nearby and once we reached there - the view was indeed breathtaking. The place was soooo very beautiful that I think we spent a lot of time gazing around and taking pictures. There was also a Siva temple nearby opening to a small river which they call as black Ganges. From the volcanic eruptions had formed Charamel - seven colored earth (I can swear that I counted more than 7 colors though!), and near to the Charamel ground was a beautiful waterfall (between - did I use the word beautiful again?).

We decided to call it a day and embarked on a journey back to the hotel (again along the beach and which indeed helped him as his lens would not have allowed him to take a nap and any journey along boring roads would have been a trauma since it was a drive of nearly 2 hours).
But hey, the most exciting part of the day was yet to come. We took a pedal boat from the beach and chose to ride along our resort, and as we pedalled rigorously we quite crossed our resort, and another, and well, another! But this was a wonderful ride with the current and as we were thinking of going back, a speed boat came to us(which had the boathouse-keeper in it), tied our boat to it and pulled us back to our beach (by them - it was dark, and he decided to give us a ride back since it was nearing the boathouse closing time). Oh man, the ride was wonderful and as he saw we enjoyed it, he took us a little further into the sea on our way back. It was too good and very much like the water sports we were to see in the next day.
And during the course of our dinner, we saw girls taller than me walking as a hoard(well, that captured my attention), and later got to know that Ms Mauritius 2010 was happening at the resort we had picked. Entertainment followed :)

Day 5:
We were all set for water sports, and off we went, straight to the dock from where we can do under-sea-walking. Here, they put a square-glass-helmet around our neck(which makes sure that our face does not get wet and that we get enough Oxygen), and stones around our hip to make us stay under water and experienced divers pull us down and straight to the bottom of the sea. Once we get used to the pressure levels there, we could walk around with fishes sniffing us(do they really, now?), white sand under out feet and corals all around. It was a different and un-worldly experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially the part where the diver pushed a piece of bread to my hand and I felt all the fishes swarming around it. It was just magnificent. After the 45 minutes under-sea-walk, we sped off in a speed boat to see a waterfall in an island. That was (again) a beautiful sight in itself, to go by a waterfall in a boat with water splashing all over you(and knowing that you are no longer in WonderLa but out in the sea!).

After this, we went to an island and went for para-sailing. That was the first time for both of us, and we truly enjoyed the panoramic view from the parachute. In between was a dip in the sea after which we were raised back to the air. This was indisputably the best part of the trip and as were dropped back to the land, we made a perfect landing. After that we explored the island for some time and then decided to call it a day.
(Between - that's us in the pic :)

Day 6:
Not a great start to a day, since it started with a Tetanus Vaccination(I had a small scratch on my leg caused during under-sea-walk and by no idea what but most probably rusted iron from the ladder we used to climb back). Since we had to fly back that evening, we decided to just spend the day in the resort, and did just the same. Walked round the place, said bye to everyone and everything, took a few last-minute pics and hopped in to a cab to the airport.

One of the things we said bye to ( from the beach with its many elements):

Day 7:
You might be wondering why day 6 came to an abrupt end at the airport - well, the trip ended there and on day 7 we were at Bangalore - he, at office, and me shopping for household stuff with my father and aunts. We thought that the chapter called 'honeymoon' in the book named 'life' has come to an end, and as we look at life now we know that it's not true - it never ends!!!

Vandu's Day Out

This was a weekend I had been looking forward to for a long while, though for different reasons. We had planned an outing to Chikmagalur, and I was too very excited. But then coz of internal and external issues within the team, it was just the guys who were going. This decision came in quite late, on Wednesday, and I was left with no time to get tickets to go home. On Thursday, I got to know that my college friends were going to Chennai, and then, that too was late, to get all approvals inplace (well.. being a girl IS hard!). And we decided (me, Lisha n Surya) to go out on Sunday.

It all began on Saturday early morning journey to the fish market, and then looong hours of cooking almost 6 dishes (well, I wanted Lisha to learn the art of cookery, so I was, u know, just guiding her on how to go about stuff :). And after a delicious, lip-smacking lunch (Rice, Curd curry, Fish fry, Fish Curry, Beans, Cauliflower masala, Salad, n Gulab Jamun for dessert), I decided to give myself a good break, and started off reading a book which I recently got my hands on (Witch of Portbello - Paulo Coelho). And in the evening once Surya joined us, we went off to Kammannahalli, and were window-shopping for a long while, and yeah, I did pick up a movie for Achan.After that came the dinner time, and catching up with a lot of news with Surya. Sorry, I don't remember when I drifted off to sleep, but am quite sure that it was well after 12, coz I remember setting my alarm up for the next day.

And today, my day started at 6:30, when the 3 of us got ready for Bannerghatta National Park, with a bag stuffed with food for lunch(we had heard from a good number of people that it's better to carry food, since you don't get much of good solid food there). And well, we started off!

We went to Majestic and then caught a bus to Bannerghatta, and dashed off straight for the Grand Safari(which was a good decision, I think, considering how longer the queue was later in the day). We first passed through herds of deers, and then to Bear Park. If you ask me how a beer looks like now, I would probably say that its verrrry cute like a dog, with a face very similar to a pig. Well, thats how I feel, and if you think that my description is wrong lemme ask you 'have you heard about the freedom of thoughts and expresssion?'


And after that we went along the place where lions are. There were a couple of them playing around ,and that made me think of Alex(Yes, from Madagascar!). Only thing am sad about is the fact that these lions chose the right side of the forest to play along, and we were sitting on the left side of the bus. Boo hoo... :(

And ho! Tiger Park.. Puliiiis, and so many of them. Boy, wasn't I happy? Those big, wilg cats, are, well.. there's no other way to put it, just magnificent. They were so very beautiful, and I actually did not bother to take their photographs, I just wanted that picture to etch into my memory right from my eyes.



After the Safari, we came back to the zoo and walked around watching monkeys, deers, antelopes, peacocks, hippo (like Gloria, agn from Madagascar!), zebra(shall I say Marty? ;), elephants and what not. We had our lunch there at the park, and started our journey back.

Once we reached Majestic though, there was a slight change of plans, We decided to go to ISKCON temple. At ISKCON, there was a long queue to be followed, and a man in white asked us whether we would like to get onto a priority 1 queue(forgive me for talkin like a software engg), where we can go directly and pray. Being brought up in a culture where we were taught to endure hardships to worship, we declined, and stood on the queue for 'aam-aadmi'. Though I felt it was commercialization of I don't know what, I loved the place, for the sheer bauty of it!



And then, it was time for us to come back home, and after dropping Surya at her place(not by Merc, by auto), we both came home. And now after a refreshing hot water bath, and a piping hot cup of tea, I sit to surf, to connect to the world outside not by the smell of soil, but by a giant web called the Internet!!!