2010 Travels - 6

Remember the song from Roja movie ? "ye haseen wadhiyaan..ye khula aasmaan". The same song kept ringing in my ears throughout our trip. Epitome of beauty, out of the world experience etc etc are too mild expressions for what I had seen and cherished at Calgary and Banff!

Of all our trips through the year, this was the most well planned and executed vacation. All credit to S. We managed to see quite a lot of places within 3 days. I made all the bookings way ahead and we were quite excited about the trip.

The day we landed in Calgary, we picked up the rental car and drove into the city. The downtown, Chinatown, a walk along the lake occupied a part of our day. We visited the Telus World of Science Museum which was hosting a special show about Einstein and Darwin. Museums are generally boring but this one was different. A peek into the lives of these famous scientists was definitely interesting. They had displayed the personal notes of these scientists along with a lot of other information. We also watched a movie about Australia continent. The movie was not 3D but more like a planetarium setup with the screen enlarged vertically above our heads and horizontally wide to cover our view completely. It felt as though we were right there in Australia. Loved the unique movie concept.

In the evening we visited the famous Anagha Dutta Temple at Calgary. Though it was not the visiting hour the incharge was kind enough to let us in. Mom and dad were so glad to be visiting Goddess Anagha especially during Navratri.

Later on we headed to the Calgary tower and enjoyed the city view in the dusk. The glass floor was fundoo and it felt scary everytime I stepped on it. What if it breaks?

All of us were dead tired and a little jet lagged but we walked all the way back to the hotel. Moms are moms. She prepared dinner after we reached the room! We had food and hit the sack soon after. We were travelling to Edmonton the next day via Drumheller. Lots of stories on the way. Later...

Oh by the way,I bought this good luck bracelet made of goldstone beads at Calgary. Things seem to have worked well in my favor then onwards and I have been wearing the bracelet ever since! Talk about superstitions :D

Well, for now...
Albert Einstein's Marks sheet


Einstein with Mom n Dad


Calgary Tower


Calgary City View from the tower


The glass floor

2010 Travels - 5

Let's talk about beautiful Ottawa today!

Ottawa, the Capital City of Canada is rich in culture and architecture. The city is a perfect blend of ancient history and modern outlook. The famous Rideau Canal connects the Ottawa city to Kingston city. The Parliament building nested on a hill besides Ottawa river makes an awesome view. We went up the clock tower of Parliament building and enjoyed the exquisite view of the city.

Another seasonal attraction of the place is the tulip festival. Though not as huge as the ones in Keukenhof, Germany, this makes up a considerably good rendezvous with different colored Tulips...

Below are some of the glimpses of the city!

Front view of Parliament Building



Old Church Building



Fairmont Chateau Hotel



Annual Tulip Festival

2010 Travels - 4

CAMPING AT SAUGEEN:

Our friends group here in Toronto go on camping every summer. Consistently since the last 3 years, this camping has been a huge hit with all the folks and nobody would miss it at any cost. Even to the extent that we had 2 pregnant ladies (over 7 months!), 3 senior couples and 3 babies in the group who made it inspite of all inconveniences!

S volunteered to scout for a good location and book the cottage this year. He really struggled a lot to put things together for the gang, the results of which we were yet to see.

With all planning, finally we set out to the camping site on a late Thursday evening. It was already getting darker and no sooner we took a detour from the highway into smaller roads. As we moved along, the roads got narrower and so the human population. We could only see the signboards posted. Pretty soon the road ended and we were on a muddy path. After about a mile, we figured that we had to move further up to reach our cottage. After few deviations, we finally saw the cottage. The cottage looked huge from outside. From inside, it was the most creepiest building I had ever seen. The building was 2 floors with a kitchen (cutlery included), library (??), living room, biggggg dining table, backyard deck and plenty of bedrooms and a huge dorm in the basement. TV, tt table, play toys for kids were other attractions! The rooms were all hidden in all possible corners and it took a good 30 mins to discover the entire cottage. Not bad at all! We thought, for a gang of 35 + kids. The owners had tried to make the interiors as spooky as possible with all ghost, demon books. The cottage was amidst the woods and the only building in the locality for atleast a mile's radius, all for us for 3 days! Sooper :)

The fun began as we ran to choose the beds. Me and S chose to sleep in the dorm, which was cool as we had a boisterous company! It was decided that each family would cook twice in the 3 days, so that everyone gets a chance to cook and to relax, rather than having a single cooking team. It was amusing to watch everyone take part in cooking, not to forget the yummy dishes that turned out!

The guys were hell bent on enhancing the spooky factor...so they set out on a late night trek into the woods. The girls made a plan and sent me along with 2 other girls to go along with them. The purpose was to keep a watch on their activities and bring them back home soon. We girls barged right in middle of the group and wanted them to escort us as they walked along. There were absolutely no lights and the guys were coming up with all weird ideas just to scare us! Ultimately we all ended up having a lot of fun on the trek.

In the mornings, we played a lot of games outside in the ground. We also managed to visit a falls nearby. Boy-oh-boy! The trek down to the falls was so exhilarating. I was surprised to see Mom coming all the way down to the falls! Love her spirit, absolutely.

There is no dearth of lakes in Canada. We went to one of the beaches and chilled. The second day we headed to another lake again but for a different experience, the kayaking and canoeing. I was so excited about the kayaking thing that I got on the boat and asked my friends to push me into the waters. I was stupid enough, not to ask them how to maneuver the kayak to change directions. Hence, I kept moving forward and forward until I was far off from the shore. Now I got really scared and didn't know what to do. I tried turning the kayak slightly, but it would start toppling. Thankfully, one of the guys came to my rescue and taught me the knack. The irony was, he fell off his kayak while going back :)) In no time, I was on myself and did quite a bit of adventure over the water. Later on, picked some canoeing with others too. Had a blast that evening! One of the canoes had actually capsized putting all family in water....but it was only at the shore! :) Dad was so thrilled to kayak and Canoe. He enjoyed it a lot.

Back to the cottage, we had an awesome camp fire. We all sang and danced the night out! There were birthday celebrations too!

On the last day, everyone was so sad that they had to leave the place and head back. The parting ceremony itself took so long because everyone kept hugging :))

That's our group with the cottage behind!

And so the camping was a great success this year.

2010 Travels - 3

Just an hour away from home is the world famous Niagara Falls. I have lost count of the number of times I have visited this place in the last 3 years. But the bewitching beauty of the falls never seizes to amaze you. My in-laws and parents rated Niagara Falls experience as the best during their trip! Especially the boat ride to the horseshoe falls. The boat zooms so close to the falls that we can't even open the eyes due to the heavy showers. The enormity of the falls is simply amazing. The Canadian view is more elaborate as against the USA view. Having seen the falls from both ends, I vote for Canada anyday!

Apart from the boat ride, the journey behind the falls is mind boggling. Thanks to technology. You can take a walk behind the falls and feel the power of the falls up close. I have trouble watching the falls from behind. The turbulence and the harsh sound bothers me somehow. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed it to the core.

The emerald colored waters and the rainbow is a sight to see.



The Niagara city is colorful with fun activities and large casinos. My MIL is an ardent fan of slot machines! We really had fun playing at the Casino :)

THE AFRICAN LION SAFARI

As the website boasts, it's us the visitors caged in the car, while the animals roam around us freely, including lions. The best moment of the drive was when a lion and a cheetah brushed against our car. Thankfully, the monkeys spared us! It was fun to watch the Ostrich beat the window glasses with its beak. I still can't forget the way the Giraffe bent to eat the carrot we offered. I find Giraffes very cute :)And so are elephants! The Elephant show was superb with all the elephants performing various tasks. One of the elephants 'Maggie' painted a T shirt with different colors! There was also this bird show where the parrots spoke words like hello, how do you do! Super fun....

There were peacocks roaming about freely within the premises. One of the peacocks, unfurled it's feathers right in front of our eyes, displaying it's rich beauty. We couldn't ask for more when the peacock did it several times!


The Safari has always been our favorite hang out, our close encounter with wildlife.

2010 Travels - 2

Las Vegas is a man made heaven on Earth. The lavishness and extravaganza of the place appeals to you quickly. There is a sense of celebration and excitement in the air, anytime of the day and year.

We were there for 4 days and we couldn't see the entire strip of just 6 KM! Can you believe that? We only made it to half of the strip. We would probably rent a room on the other side of the strip this time, so that we cover the rest.

The word CASINO brings back n number of memories to me...the ringing slot machines, black jacks, wheels of fortune, poker what not. Gambling being the prime activity, we indulged so much so that I alone had lost $300 at the end of the trip but fun unlimited!

Besides gambling, the spectacular interiors of each casino left me spellbound. Each Casino is unique and stylized beautifully. There's an entire New york city including the Statue of Liberty and Brookyln Bridge. There's also the world's second largest hotel MGM. True to their symbol, they have real lions in there for people to see! There's a pyramid (Luxor) too. It seems the flood light on the tip of the Pyramid is visible from the moon. We stayed at Excalibur which was a castle! Paris paris has mind blowing interiors with sky and buildings. It really feels as if we are in Paris streets. There's a ride up Eiffel tower (yes! There's one Eiffel tower too) from where we can spot "The Bellagio Fountain Show" in the night. The dancing fountains took my heart away :)

Sad that we didn't take any roller coaster rides as it was too chilly and we did miss Grand Canyons.

That's about Vegas and West Coast!

Moving on to East Coast, we visited the Capital City Washington DC in March. On the banks of Potomac River, the city stands in pride with all white government buildings and plenty of museums. Smithsonian Museums - We saw the Hope Diamond, which origins from India. The big blue diamond is one of the largest in the World. We also saw a 3D movie about Ocean bed which was super cool. The art gallery carried paintings and sketches by Pablo Picasso!

The white house looked grand and I believe I saw the US president, Mr. Obama in the fleet of black cars that entered the White House (It could be my illusion though!) It was World Women's Day and there were celebrations at White House. Many privileged women waited at the entrance to meet Mr. Obama. It was a sight to see...

The Capitol Building looks so much like our Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. It was even more elegant in the evening with all the lights.

The Washington Monument stood tall, shaped like an Egyptian obelisk. I am yet to figure out the significance of this monument.

Pittsburg City - We often visit the famous Balaji Temple in Pittsburg. The temple is on top of a hill. It's a bliss to be in the temple and pray the Almighty. Makes a huge impact on me everytime I visit this temple. Divine.

Our travel series continue in Canada from here. The gorgeous Niagara, the fun African Lion Safari, Ottawa City, ultimate camping experience at Saugeen Country, the breathtaking locales at Calgary and many more to follow. Stay tuned!

2010 Travels - 1

2010 has been the year of travels. We were literally on wheels. Especially with both the sets of parents dropping in at Shagun, we couldn't ask for more.

The year started with a bang as I celebrated my birthday amidst thousands of people on streets at Vegas. The best birthday I could ever imagine. Vegas left me spellbound and made it's way right into my favorites list. But of course, so was the entire west coast of USA. Los Angeles, San Fransisco were no less. Amazing places! Even before I boarded my flight back home, I was damn sure that I would be going back there again.

Each city carries it's own unique identity. Let me tell you all about it...

Los Angeles is all about HOLLYWOOD. Every street, shop is named after Hollywood. The moment we walked out of the airport, the tall palm trees caught my eye. They stood on the sides of the roads as if they were welcoming us. They were everywhere! And there stood the HOLLYWOOD sign proudly on Santa Monica mountains, boasting of it's glitz and glamour. We visited the Hollywood studios and Disney Land. Disney Land is every child's dream! If only we had enough time, we would have enjoyed more at these places. We also went to SFMM (Six Flags Magic Mountain), a theme park with high intensity rides. For the first time in my life, I actually got scared in one of the rides 'Dejavu'. One heck of a roller coaster that was!

Hollywood walk of fame has this innumerable number of stars on ground with signatures from Hollywood celebrities. We ran like little kids all over, trying to find our favorite stars and pose for pictures. The Kodak Theatre guided tour was splendid, the place where the Oscars happen every year.

Apart from all this vibrance, the city also has a calmer side to it, i.e., the beaches. We headed to Malibu on one of the days and had fun playing in the Pacific Ocean. Malibu hindu temple was a surprise add on! Fabulous temple that is.

Apparently, "City of Angels" is too mild a name for the bright and beautiful Los Angeles!

As we drove from Los Angeles to San Fransisco, the route was spectacular with hills and nature. The moment we entered San Fransisco, I had already fallen in love with the place. Till date S teases me that I can't list many places in San Fransisco, that made me fall for it. But a strange connection did happen. I had a sense of familiarity with the place. Probably one of the reasons could be that I had grown up watching the golden gate bridge in "Full House", if you know what I mean.



The pacific ocean was too enchanting in deep blue. The ride on crooked street took the cake as we swayed in the car everytime the car took turns. The city itself is on hills and hence, the roads go up and down. The fisherman's wharf was bustling with activity and we missed taking a cruise on Pacific as we were late. Luckily we took the city tour bus and enjoyed the sight of San Fransisco in the dusk. The city skyline looks mesmerizing from the other side of Golden Gate. I still regret not being able to see the bridge in clouds, which I would one day! hmmmm....

Wait for my next when I tell you about Las Vegas and a lot more places!

Train fun

When we moved to Toronto, we used to stay in downtown in a small cozy apartment which was hardly 15 mins away from my office. Later on we shifted to Toronto suburbs.

Now, I take 2 trains to reach office. One is the double decker train that travels above ground and the other one is a subway that travels underneath. Together an hour journey. Of course, the same way back home too. That makes it 2 hrs per day.

Initially, I was petrified by the amount of time spent on travelling to office. But now after about an year, I have got into the groove. And the travel amuses me with a variety of experiences each day. And of course, I sleep through half the journey. I'm so sleep-trained by now, that I open my eyes just before I get down at my station. The other half I entertain myself with a wide variety of things starting from reading newspaper, solving sudoku or chanting vishnusahasranamams.

I have come to realize that this personal 'Me' time is so relaxing for the day, where I don't have to think about my work at office or my chores at home :)

Well, there is a flip side too!

The double decker train travels to downtown only in the mornings and back to suburbs only in the evenings. That limits the travel to only office hrs. I cannot leave early. Also, I got to be on time otherwise the next train is only after 20 mins!

Thankfully, the subways are more frequent (2-4 mins). But, the main problem is with the operations. You never know. They would dump you in the middle of nowhere and say that there are no more trains enroute! Or they would drag you through the route in such a slow pace, that a snail would have reached the destination by then. And then you miss the next train....phew!

My train tales are galore...

The other day me and S were still in the car when we saw the train arriving in the station. The traffic to the station is always at it's peak. Everyone wants to catch the train. S drops me and I run without looking back. There is no easy path to the train. I need to cross a fleet of stairs down and up before I make it. I ran like I was competing in a marathon! The driver had already announced that the doors were closing. In a snap, I jumped into the train and the doors closed right behind me. There was a great sense of accomplishment in me as I had missed my train on several occasions in similar situations. The onlookers had this 'You made it!' expression on their faces! They had completely got my feeling :)

On one such cases, I came running to the station, but the train was gone. It took time for me to realize that the train was on the otherside of the platform :( Sigh! By the time I saw that, the doors were closing.

On the contrary, the day is perfect. I come to the station on time and all. But the train is late :( And especially in winter, it's impossible to stand for a couple of minutes in the biting cold.

And then there are days when I forget my pass. One of my friends taught me to request at the booth that I shall show the pass the next day. I tried the same trick. But the person won't agree. He asked me to pay. Being the smarty that I am, I told him that I had the pass in my purse and I forgot my purse at home. He had no choice but to buy my reason :D

Zillion thanks to S, he gifted me an iPhone recently. I'm already an addict. The journey to office has started to seem shorter. There's so much to do with my iPhone...

And I'm not complaining at all....;)

Phew !!!

No...I did not make any new year resolution to blog regularly! (I know, it's March already) Everytime I make a promise, I've been breaking it. So, I don't intend to make any promises.

As I revamped my blog, I just realised that I enjoy reading blogs rather than writing! The list of blogs that I follow seems to just grow and grow. I've been so busy reading all the blogs that my writing has taken a backseat :) Seriously, all you bloggers out there, you are doing an absolutely amazing job. I love your blogs! Keep up the good work and keep inspiring the lazy blogger in me.

On the contrary, I feel special about myself, as I am the only one of my kind!...I am feeling better now :D