The gaint leap!

On a cold sunday morning, me and sum set off to the Seoul grand park. We had no clue about this place. It was supposedly very huge with lot of entertainment locations including theme parks, lakes, zoo and many more. Now that we had already reached the place late, we had to make the most of our limited time outdoors. It was pretty cold and windy too. Finally we chose to spend our day in the amusement park.
This place was really cool with tulips theme that day. Colorful, bright and lovely. No wonder both our digicams were in fulltime use, without a break. I must mention that the new tripod stand that Sum had bought occupied our special interest. What a thing it is....just gets the snaps close to perfect! We have been really nurturing our passion for photography in a handsome way.
Apart from the click sessions, the other things to watch out for were the scary rides! Sum was a bit apprehensive in the beginning though she paced up her enthusiasm after a couple of rides. Very soon, both of us were enjoying our day to the core. The sad part was food. Being hard-core vegetarians we had to stick to veg burgers the whole day.(Of course, we did hog the veg salad and yummy sesame topped potato pizza like hungry wolves once we got back to our place :D...Mind you! we weren't even talking to each other that time)
Okay, now you must be wondering about this 'giant leap' thing, by now. There was this really big 'Sky-X drop' which could be seen from any corner of the park. We terribly wanted to go for it...but kept postponing it till about 4 in the evening. We really needed that much time to make up our minds to go for it, you know! Oh yeah, because it was more or less like bunjee jumping! We could do it either single or double. You should have seen the way I encouraged Sum for this sky-drop..."Our kids would feel proud one day that their moms were dare-devils! come'on Sum...let's go for it!" :D Ain't I smart?
Finally, we took individual tickets for the drop and moved in for the slots. The guy at the entrance gave us a slot at 7.40 PM to our surprise. it would be dark by then and we wanted to do it while it was bright. Requesting...begging.. didn't work. So, we thought since it's going to be dark, we might as well do it in a double and booked the slot at 7.40. But the shivering began way too early:D....partly because of the to-be-done leap and partly because of the chilling weather.
At about 7.20 we got inside and we were dressed in those special jumping costumes or whatever. With our digicams in hand, we were still searching for people who could shoot the glorious moments! As it was already dark..the head count around had gone low. We still didn't give up. We caught hold of the couple who were just done with the drop before us. We clearly gave them the instructions and in no time we were hanging in air!
I was assigned the task of pulling the tug (my right hand side..beneath my waist) while they say..'1..2..3..GO!' Pulling the tug would release the rope and we would fall down and swing..that was the arrangement. Me and Sum held each other hand in hand and we were slowly moved up. I cannot really define this 'up'. We kept going higher and higher and higher. It was pitch dark below and terribly silent above. We didn't speak to each other either. Tensed about the leap.
A very funny thing happened when the lady shouted '1..2..3..GO!' from below. I tried hard to release the rope and it just wouldn't give in. So, we were hanging around there for about 4-5 seconds:)) The rope got loosened somehow and we did fall.
Oh my God! It was a terrific experience. Though initially it was scary, we were enjoying it in a great deal. I felt like I was flying like a bird high in the air. The whole thing was awesome. After getting down, we got to see our video and the korean couple had done an excellent job! They had made our day:) We had a lifetime memory to cherish and of course, to show our kids too :P
Hey...next time if you happen to speak to either of us, just don't forget that we are 'SKY-X-DROP' certified!

Here's the Video!


In long Shot..

Touch the sky!

How does it feel being a celebrity? Especially when a fan comes over and expresses his/her love for their work! Yeah...I did that.
In the wee hours of a sunday morning, I was waiting at Mumbai domestic airport to catch my next flight to Bangalore which was scheduled at 6.40 AM. It was still about 4 AM. I sat there in the waiting lounge and was carelessly dozing off. Inbetween I would snap up, just to make sure that my cabin bag was safe. A muslim family had sat next to me with two cute kids. They must have had fun looking at me taking a nap in a weird way. Oh god! I was really tired because of my previous flight. Somehow I mustered enough strength to walk up till the rest room to freshen up. I asked the kids' mom to take care of my luggage and I left with my back pack. It was a 5 minute walk to the extreme end of the newly renovated Mumbai Airport. I was already amused of the interiors. Slowly I made my way to the restroom. Brushed my teeth, combed my hair and there I was all fresh!
On my way back, I started gazing at the airport crowd and moved like a snail, trying to while away time. And one face attracted me unusually. She was cute and moreover familiar. Do i know her? Then suddenly as if a bulb flashed in my sleeping head, I realised who she was. I turned around to spot more familiar faces..and there were the remaining three in the baggage screening counter waiting in queue. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Am i dreaming or are they really there? Why is it that nobody is noticing them? The rest of the crowd were normal as usual to my surprise. But I couldn't control my adrenaline rush! There stood the Aasma band with their musical instruments. It was more than an extravagant sight for me to see the stars live in front of me.
My liking for the band dates back to the channel V pop stars show. I used to devotedly follow all the episodes starting from the initial auditions, followed by screening and finally the selection. After which this band was given training in all aspects. The entire thing was being aired on TV. I hadn't missed a single episode. Vasudha, Neeti, Jimmy and Sangeet...the awesome four!
I approached Vasudha first. Wished her and introduced myself. I told her how much i loved their songs. This would have been a normal thing for her. But not for me! Then came Jimmy...beaming a radiant smile. He shook hands with me and I was already flying in air. Slowly, Neeti and Sangeet joined in. I was just so happy to talk to them. You won't believe my hands and feet were shivering in excitement. They were very friendly and I had a great time speaking to them. As usual, expect a camera with me irrespective of any occasion. It's a mandatory gadget for me, whenever I am out. So, we did have a brief photo session. Hurray! What a great way to start my day.
That was it...my excitement didn't come down for a few more days and I was busy spreading it across over to my family and friends!
Listen to my favorite number in my blog played by the Aasma band. My best wishes and good luck to the band. May they reach greater heights just as they call themselves "AASMA".

Bangkok Blues

Incheon is the name of the airport at Seoul. It is about one hour drive from the city. I was all excited as I took the airport limousine to reach Incheon. I have always loved the ambience in Airports, especially Incheon which is huge and convenient and of course for the reason that I get a "go-home" feeling. I quickly moved on to the check in counter and waited there in the queue. This time I had too many transits. Incheon-Hongkong-Bangkok-Bangalore. At least I had thought so, until the lady in the counter told me that my ticket destination is to Chennai. And she had not got any intimation regarding the re-routing to Bangalore (This is supposed to be handled by the travel agency).
Actually the problem had occured because the travel tickets are booked to and fro in the very beginning and given to us. I had traveled to Chennai to take the Bangkok flight due to unavailability of seats in Bangalore-Bangkok flight. So, naturally the return tickets showed Chennai as the final destination. Now..isn't that confusing?
So, the lady in the counter told me that she would check-in my luggage only till Bangkok. And I was asked to sort out the confusion there itself. What else could I do apart from just saying okay! From the airport I called up my colleague to inform him what had happened. He promised to take care of it by getting in touch with the travel agency.
So, back to the excitement mode, I enjoyed my travel. HongKong was a beautiful airport and i had a great time shopping there. After reaching Bangkok airport, I coolly walked on to one of the ladies who was in uniform.

Me: Excuse me..Could you please tell me where I can collect my luggage? I am arriving from Seoul.
The lady: You need to pass the immigration check before you collect your luggage. I hope you have the Visa stamped to enter this country.
Me:(Head reeling) What? I don't have a Visa.
The lady: Oh..that's easy. You just have to fill out this form and get your visa stamped at that counter.
Me:(totally perplexed) This is only a transit for me. I am traveling to India. My next flight is about 2 hrs from now.

Till then, I hadn't even thought that to collect my luggage I have to pass the immigration check (Did I drop my brain back at Seoul???) Immediately, the lady took me to the airlines private office and I explained them my problem. Ok...now what? They checked and rechecked if they had got any fax regarding my re-routing to Bangalore instead of Chennai. But no intimation at all.

Lady in the counter: I'm sorry madam...but this ticket cannot be used to travel to Bangalore. The air fares are different.
Me: Ok...can i travel to Chennai atleast? When is the next flight to Chennai?
Lady in the counter: The next flight is at tomorrow evening.
Me(to myself): What??? What am i going to do till tomorrow evening at Bangkok! And i don't know how to make calls from here...Mummmyyyyyyy (almost in tears)
Me to the lady: Ok...can i just pay the difference amount and travel to Bangalore?
Lady: I'm afraid..that's not possible. You may have to buy a new ticket.
Me: And that costs me?
Lady: 14,000 THB (that's approximately 14K INR). Let me check if there are any vacant seats in the flight.
Me(to myself): My God! Now please let there be some seat in the flight...plz plz plzzzz( praying hard)
Lady(smiling): You are lucky..There is a seat. Please pay the amount in the counter and I'll recheckin your luggage. You don't have to collect it here now.
Me: Are you Sure???

Fortunately, I had my international card and there was some amount in that to buy the ticket( for a change..:D). By the time, all this got over there were just 30 minutes to catch the flight. I ran to the security check and then to the waiting lounge. I was relieved from all this tension only when I got my luggage at Bangalore.
My parents did not have the slightest clue as to what had happened when they received me(Well, i had expected unusually tensed faces..:D) Thanks to my residence phone which had gone dead. My colleague could not convey any information. And a special thanks to the travel desk incharge who was supposed to take care of the fax. She was as cool as ice the other day at office only to tell me "I was on Leave!"

Wallet ballet!

On my birthday, me and my roommates went out in the evening. We went to a restaurant and had pizza. We had a hearty meal and great time gossiping away for a couple of hours. We took a bus back home. We had to change buses inbetween. Just when I was about to get into the second bus, I realised that my wallet was not seen! I remembered that I had the wallet with me when I was in the bus. So, I was sure that it might have slipped out of my jacket in the bus itself.
Time for some tension. We began the search way back to the first bus stop. But all in vain. It was already 9 in the night by then. And i was not ready to give up. I had more important things in my wallet other than some money and bank cards. First thing that struck us was to tell the driver that my wallet was lost in the bus. That itself was a huge task. There were about 12 buses with the same number in that route. We managed to cover 8 buses trying to identify the driver and also telling each one of them that we lost a purse. The biggest problem when it comes to this place is the language. Very few people are well verse with English. Out of all the drivers whom i met, none of them knew english. I had to bring in my drama skills to let them know what had happened. We were three of us. One would stop the bus, the other one would check the bus in the last seat(That was where we were sitting!) and my crazy action would begin in front of the driver. I still remember the puzzled look on the drivers' faces...what a bad actor I must be!
What a sad thing to happen...and that too on my birthday! I was feeling awful and helpless. Finally one of the drivers understood our problem and he gave us his contact number. He asked us to call him up the next day. We walked back home feeling bad about the incident. I was disappointed but couldn't do anything else at that moment. It was almost 11 PM.
One of the roommates couldn't accompany us for the treat and was at home. The moment we reached home, we saw the panic on her face. She said that police had called for me!!! Though she hadn't got the scenario, she managed to convey that my credit cards were with them. Now isn't that surprising???? May be this is what is called LUCK. They had left a contact number and I made a call. Then I realised whom I had called!
A few months back, I had met an indian family at a shopping mall here and had exchanged business cards with them. They had given me their phone number along with other details and also invited me to their home. I had called them a couple of times later on and still had their card in my wallet. Some divine personality had handed over my wallet to the police and the police had called this family to confirm my identity. The next day, one of our korean colleagues accompanied us to the police station and helped us with the formalities there. Oh boy! I got my life back or what:)
I don't know the anonymous character who handed over my wallet to the police. Whoever it is, I am very much grateful to that person and owe a lot to him/her. The presence of such human beings makes the world a better place to live. Isn't it?
So, time and again I proved that I am known for such adventures.

Seasons

Dear Friends,

I am back here at a new spot. If i could explain why I was away for so long, well 'change' would be the word. Sometimes so many things happen in your life that you would just want to lie back and enjoy every moment of it, as if it would never occur again. I bet, it's worth it:)
Am here to update you on the happenings in my little world.
Hope to be more regular from now onwards...:D

Cheers,
Hema