Goodbye 2013, Welcome 2014

This year was a year of travel and bonding. My hubby and I visited Tirupathi, Goa and Mysore in India and almost all the major cities of Europe. It was a year of bonding with the family. Every passing year, I learn more about my hubby. He is a wonderful person and the learning never ceases. I celebrated the major festivals in my hometown, Warangal amidst our parents, in-laws and other close family members. The love and warmth from the family spices up the festivals. Oh yes! I forgot to mention about the mouth-watering and delicious dishes that my mother and mother-in-law cook during festivals, which lead to packing up of pounds, which I am yet to lose.

On the external front, this year has been a year of surprises and disappointments. Arvind Kejriwal from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi was indeed a pleasant surprise for me. I was shocked that the Supreme Court upheld section 377 which criminalizes gay sex and is an offence punishable with up to life imprisonment.  Our country has gone back ward by upholding section 377. I feel bad for the LGBT community. They have a long battle to fight, just to exercise their sexual orientation. I am also quite disappointed by the security of women in this country. The judiciary and the police do very less to make the roads safe for women. Well, this is the end of my complaints for this year. I will start afresh next year.

I am hopeful about next year. India goes to elections and the NaMo vs. RaGa political battle gets hotter than ever. Budge any two Indians and they will start on a discussion about who will be the next Prime Minister of our country. I hope that 2014 will bring all of us lot of pleasant surprises and progress on personal, professional and political fronts.

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Image from google images

Go Goa Gone

My hubby and I had a two-day vacation in Goa. Goa is the California of India. It is the land where foreigners come to party and have fun, sun bathe on the white sand beaches, swim and surf in the deep blue sea.

(L to R) Drinks at Arambol Beach, Pretty huts on Mandrem beach, people surfing and doing water sports at Vagator beach

What I loved in Goa were the Mandrem, Vagator and Palolem beaches. All of these were white sand beaches. The fine sand slipped through my fingers when I held it.  The sea was blue and clear, and the touch of water on my skin was refreshing. These beaches were not at all crowded.

At Mandrem Beach. A brown carpet was laid down for us.

View of Vagator Beach from Thalassa Restaurant

At Palolem Beach

I liked concept of hiring a bike or car and going around. My hubby and I did not have to depend on anybody. We roamed around North and South Goa with the aid of GPS on our phones. We drove along the narrow roads lined with green fields on either side. We saw sparkling creeks, surrounded by dense vegetation. We smelled the sea in the air as we approached the beaches.

I loved the food at Thalassa Restaurant and Martin’s corner. The sea food and the cocktails were delicious and were at affordable prices when compared to Bangalore.

                                                  King Prawns at Thalassa Restaurant

Sunset at Aguada jail

What I did not like in Goa was the Calangute Beach. It was completely commercial. I felt breathless in the torrent of humanity at Calangute. I also hated Britto’s restaurant, which is located on Baga Beach. Everybody who goes to Goa visits this restaurant as though it is some kind of ritual but it is not worth it. The place is completely overrated. We ordered mutton chops and it was way too spicy and greasy.

I did not like the non-stop party culture in Goa. It was fun for a couple of hours but after sometime I started feeling bad for the locals. Almost everybody will be on high all the time. Few of the locals were rude; we got shouted at while crossing the road. The guy did not even have patience to slow down. I did not understand why people were in such a great hurry. I also hated the narrow two-way lanes of Goa which made driving a bit of pain.

There were a lot of foreigners in Goa. I realized that beauty of nature along with the booze makes a few foreigners do crazy things.

At Vagator beach, we saw a buffalo enjoying the serenity of the sea. It sat facing the sea, observing the gentle waves. Its dark skin shined in the sun. May be the buffalo wanted to soak up the sunlight in the cold winter. The pesky foreigners did not allow the buffalo to enjoy its beach time. One foreigner tried to place a green cap on the buffalo from an arm’s length whereas the other foreigner got ready to take the picture. I felt bad for the buffaloes in Goa. They have to deal with these troublesome foreigners who disrupt their privacy.

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The City of Love

Paris has several nicknames the city of light, city of love and international capital of style. We went to Paris in August, the time when Parisians go for vacation. Parisians also need a break from all the fun and need to get serious sometimes.

In Paris, the first stop was the Eiffel Tower. Vinay, our tour manager told us that he once got a Gujarati tour group to the Eiffel tower.

They looked at the tower and said, ‘What’s the speciality in this? It is made of junk’.

Yes, the tower is dark grey and plain but it is one of the civil engineering marvels. It stands 320 m tall yet rests very lightly on the ground.  People other than the Gujaratis’ are fascinated by it. An American woman named Erika Eiffel even married the Eiffel Tower. In the night, the tower sparkles and it is one of the most romantic sights in the world. Hundreds of lights on the tower twinkle at random times and steal the glory of the stars.

We went on a Siene river cruise around ten ‘o’ clock in the night. On the cruise we saw, a few antique boats parked along the river. One of the boats had beautiful potted plants and a woman was watering them. Watering the plants on the river looked ironic to me. Just throw the pots in the water then they would have enough water for life.  

We passed beneath the aesthetic bridges. The sculptures on the bridges looked at us with muted silence. A young Chinese kid, about 3-4 years old sat beside us along with his mother. Whenever we passed beneath the bridges; he shouted in his cute loud voice, ‘Helloooo’ and waved his hand. The people on top of the bridges helloed him too. We saw couples huddled together and kissing one another. A kind puppeteer on one of the bridges played his puppets to us in the brief span we went beneath the bridge.

As we passed along the river we saw a piece of the Parisian night life. The youth sat in groups with vodka bottles and other drinks by their side. Guys wore cool hats and scarves. Women wore long gowns, short skirts and coats. We also heard loud music and saw people were dancing. A person of African origin was teaching a white woman how to dance. A dining cruise passed by us. Couples seated across each other got to know one another as they waited for the food. On the banks of River Siene, I saw nothing but love and happiness. Paris indeed comes to life in the night. 

(L to R) A street opposite to National Academy of Music, The Louvre Pyramid, River Siene and L'Hotel national des Invalides

Eiffel Tower and the view from top of the Eiffel Tower

Slum Tourism

I was surprised to read about the slum hotel in South Africa built by Emoya Luxury Hotel & Spa. The hotel is constructed to replicate the slums. It consists of private shacks or Shantys, made with corrugated iron sheets. This hotel is for people who want to experience the slum life but do not want to go to the slums. The slum hotel is the first Shanty Town in the world which has underfloor heating and Wi-fi. It also equips the tourists to heat the water by themselves and use a long drop toilet. If you look inside the shanty it was very much unlike a slum with all the basic amenities so naming the place as a slum hotel is misguiding.

                                            Shanty town constructed by Emoya Luxury Hotel & Spa

                                           
                                                                Inside the Shanty 

I felt it as mockery of the people who have no other option but to live in slums unlike the rich who have the option of choosing the hotel slum life, stay there for a few days and get back to their normal lives. If people really want to experience slum life they should go to the slum areas, stay in their houses as paying guest, eat as they eat, live as they live and then pay them the price which is equivalent to their stay in a five star hotel. In this way the slum tourism is beneficial to both the parties and there is no need to construct new counterfeit slum areas.

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Images  from http://www.emoya.co.za/g5/v1/Emoya%20Hotel%20&%20Spa/Accommodation/Shanty%20Town/shanty-town.html