MEINE CORNER IN THE BLOG WORLD!

Sometimes I am amazed. How does India and the people that live there tend to be so left behind...rather seem to be okay with things that aren't okay? I was in India during the Chennai floods that crippled the city , post the December 1 2015 rains. I was lucky to get a rescue boat and leave the apartment complex in Velachery the next day. I moved to Alwarpet as I had family there, apparently a posh area of the city where some shops were open and there wasn't crazy floods as Velachery. I was already planning on how to exit the city in a couple of days as per my itinerary, however I had to find a transportation as airports and train stations were shut down. I understand for most people leaving the city is not an option. The day after on the 3rd of December the rains stopped and we finally got the much needed sunshine which dried up the rain overtime. There was finally a cab that we could take to exit the city that day. Yes, I was lucky in spite of the situation and the whole in...

Day 4 in Maui : Just 1 adventure on the agenda called Road to Hana. Hana is a town in east Maui and though Hana itself is pretty, the roads, bridges and sights that you  experience is what makes the road to Hana a must do! We did fill the tank for our car and pack some lunch and drinks with us as we were told it will be tough to find food and even gas on the way. After a good breakfast we were off to Hana highway. We made about 6 big stops, based on a guide. 1- twin falls : where the trail was adorned with tropical plantation and We walked through a river stream to watch the falls. 2- 70' waterfall: I fail to remember the name, but at one of the bridges, we enjoyed the view and were trying to take in the peace and quiet! 3-Lava Tube right before the Wai'anapanapa State park (this was quite a sight, a volcano site where the lava had erupted about 960 years ago, walking inside the cave was quite an adventure) Amazingly, no bats or other such beings, just golden a...

Day 3 in Maui: we had booked a submarine trip in the morning and a sunset dinner cruise that night! For non- divers and the less daring group, the submarine ride a blessing and a real adventure. There's nothing like being the human tank that goes to visit the sea world. It did feel wonderful to visit 3 reefs, have the more nosey fishes swim right to our windows and stare at what's going on. Also having algae on the tank is a big attraction for them. We didn't have the pleasure of seeing a shark but a huge variety of fishes and eels is very exciting. The lovely ride to and fro the submarine gave us pretty views of the west Maui mountains and the sunlight was very generous. We spent the afternoon in Lahaina district. It felt perfect to walk by the ocean, get lunch, try the maui mango gelato, a spa treatment and shop for souvenirs. After that we were all set for our cruise. The most enjoyable part of the cruise was the views, food and drink . Sadly the ride was cold and ...

Day 2 at Maui : No big plans, it felt more like a trail/ hike day.  There were a few suggestions and we picked Iao valley and Haleakala national park, both located at central Maui. The Iao valley is one of the more famous ones as it had one of the bigger thriving taro plantations. The Ioa valley is very moist in comparison to south Maui, the presence of tropical forest add to the humidity and it's easy to see how the valley would support life with a river stream and various fruits and flowers that easily grow in the fertile soil. The Iao valley has a so called needle point, a hill which is more than 300feet in height and always has a mist on top. Apparently there's always mist up top through out the year. The walk in this valley was very easy and about lunch time, we headed to Haleakala national park. The volcano national park is famous for the sunrise and sunset views from its 10,000 foot height. Also called the house of sun, the drive up isn't that easy. The c...

A dark early morning, raining and cold, off we were to the airport to our long awaited trip to Hawaii. The airport parking lots, shuttles, check in lines  et al were packed as it were thanksgiving holidays. Luckily our flights were on time inspite of the busy season and In fact we landed earlier than scheduled at the Kahului (Maui) airport. The airport was a pleasant surprise with the open ceilings that is rare to find. You walk right out to find the direct view of tropical skyline with warm temperature  and cool breeze welcoming you. It was an exciting moment and perfect time to change to flip flops! We couldn't resist the hawaii shirts at the airport shops. Once we got our rental car, off we were to Wailea, about 17 miles which is located at South Maui. At the Wailea Marriott, the resort was just so exotic with the multi flora , waterfalls and koi ponds,  sound of the ocean and chirping birds - a lovely combination to relax. We had decided to stick to the r...

Its been such a long time since I've made it up to here and truly missed typing away all the thoughts and recaps of events! May It was a busy month with shopping and prep to a much awaited trip home ! I also got invited to a Bachelorette bash (my first ever) and it was loaded with craziness and fun! made new friends and what an experience ! LOL! ;-) June Probably will be the best month of the year! I visited family after 2 long years and being at home and those familiar places are just so refreshing and welcome ! Finally got to see the Chennai beaches, was lucky to re-visit family temples and got to take dh to DXB! We made it to the desert safari, Qds, new malls & resort and the took some patel shots during the trip ! Dad's 60th birthday function and celebrations went well and it was painful to come back here. It was also our 2nd wedding anniversary the same day! (I know, 2 years just flew by). Also, we got bumped upto first class on our flight from SFO and that just add...

In a recent trip to Wisconsin to meet cousins, we made a day's trip to Chicago as well , this city was beautiful. I loved the architecture, lake front, the fresh young feeling of the downtown. We went to the Hancock observatory, Navy Pier,a ride on the Ferris wheel, visited the memorial park that has the Cloud, the Buckingham memorial fountain, lunch at Taste of Chicago,took the architectural boat tour on the chicago river and visited the Devon street. The Devon street had representation of most Asian countries, the Indian grocery there was the closest to the ones back home. they had home made pickles which was the best part! We watched the fireworks by the Navy Pier before leaving that night. Ask anything different and new in architecture, I am guessing you will find them in Chicago - not just tall, there's most shapes out there! Overall Chicago was impressive - fun, modern and vibrant!! Alternative title : Chic Chicago!

Thanks Athena for pushing me to resume blogging! :) Luckily time flew better in the month of May and even early June...Tied up with pursuing a certificate, I was caught up writing assignment, exams and the best part was soon after. I joined hubby to Dallas...The Big D is really impressive in terms of infrastructure , really huge town. I lived in the downtown and hence felt even more tinier amongst the hotel towers, the view from our room was great though! Soon after his conference was done we drove to Stillwater and visited his University. I infact loved the countryside as a getaway and walking around the large campus was good fun! Then a little part of me wished Icould have done school in a similar manner too...Anyways, Stillwater was enjoyable and hubby was all nostalgic. Boomer Lake was a great place to walk around as well. On our last day we headed to Hurricane Harbor water park. We tried almost all rides and I got freaked at the end of the kamikazee ride as I dipped myself and kn...

Big Sur ,Santa Barbara and Solvang were our choices for a 2-day break during Thanksgiving holidays....Beautiful beyond words, you drive along the rocky coastline, the lovely Pacific , roads through mountains- very green adventure this time... We stopped at Carmel and Pfieffer beaches,the popular Rocky and Bixby bridges, many vista points in Big Sur - Freeway1 was just too good! We reached Santa Barbara by evening and by the time we pulled up some energy , it was time for dinner and decided to take a walk by the Stearns Wharf.they have a Flag project there, a sand sculpture had been done, the breeze is very chilly ,but the board walk is great in the day time.State Street is the highlight of the downtown, lit up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, its a pretty sight in the evenings! The following day we visited the Historic museum which is a decent overview of their barbaric forefathers, marine,mammal,plant life besides an astronomy center.We drove to Solvang , known as the Danish capita...

Set between the Redwood Forests of Santa Cruz, lies a mystery spot, where scientific theories of gravity and laws of physics fail to explain, where a permanently tilted home manages to stay on for years together cos of an unknown reason. As you climb up the hill you feel more than gravity pulling you away from the hill, as you enter the home, the force is even more stronger to fight against...its really strange out there! There is a pendulum set inside the house and instead of moving equal directions, you find it swinging more away from the house.You stand straight against the house, but you are tiled - now that can be optical illusion, since you are on a hill and a tilted house...there are points where I appear taller than I am and sometimes shorted than I am. Though we may call it magnetic force of some kind, the guides claim the magnetic compass does not work up there. Mobile phones are dead up there, what seems to be level to the eye, is not really level when you are experimenting....

I have been occupied with something or the other and didnt really get a chance to blog. Since my hubby's bday was coming up at the start of this month, I wanted to complete stitching a kit. I had begun quite lazily on it, but managed to spend hours together every day and complete it on his birthday. I made some brownies too as a gift, but I somehow wasnt too impressed with the results. I imagined the brownies more softer than it turned out, anyways, since there were no complaints, i guess perfection shud be aimed for the next trial. We had amazing dinner for his bday at a new place called "temptations" at downtown famous for indo-chinese fusion, the food was yum and the gobi manchurian was the best I have had in ages...it was just too good! Besides that I am volunteering at ICC, a fun place and a pleasant lady to work with. My new adventure has been the VTA buses great timings n quite close to my points of stop. I once got a free ride since the bus was empty and I guess I...

I am more awake today, I slept so much in the weekend, like i had lost the privilege to sleep! (which is ofcourse nonsense).I have nothing particular to do. I got so mad last week when I wanted to blog about Las Vegas,almost at the end of my post, i lost the whole content! it was so discouraging....anyway coming back to the highlight - yea, we went on a trip to Vegas ,also popularly termed "Sin city" and "Lost wages", i particularly like the latter title.Mornings can be a lot os sight seeing with recreations of populars symbols from all over the world , photographers would probably love it.Some people take it slow in the pool ! It turns into quite a tease in the evening with the long queues at the night clubs and variety of shows.Famous pop artists Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera were in town besides a range of artists in comedy,magic shows strip shows and musicals.This ad i caught on their famous DUECE bus, said even Men love this show! I guess there's a...

Santa Cruz, south to where we live, was our last weekend trip. Famous for "Mystery Spot","17 mile drive" & "Pebble Beach". Santa Cruz is about scenic beauty or maybe I am just finding every place scenic! LOL! Trust me, from where I come from, this place amazes me with the plant life- so called flora, so splendid! As planned we stopped at Mystery spot located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz and if I am not wrong, Redwoods is the name of the forest, where you will find this tourist attraction. The location itself is quite beautiful and the unexpected part was the huge crowd last Saturday, we weren't prepared for that at all. By the time we found a parking spot and checked at the ticket counter, the waiting time was 1hr 45 minutes! it was impossible to really imagine waiting that long and hence we dropped the plan, maybe some other time! I would say book you tickets and choose your timing online to save from the delay. We decided to drive to the Pe...

SanFrancisco was the escapade for last weekend - old, industrial, congested,beautiful and massive construction are features of this city.I was very amused by the roads inside the city,build over hills - steep going up and down , like you are going on roller-coaster ride!! The crooked street on Lombard just kept winding down quite steep surrounded by house s and well-done gardens, its a beauty! And everytime you are around these up n down streets , its a very good excercise! LOL! ;-) Besides driving around the downtown we went to the bay, checked out the bay bridge,walked down to the Aquarium there- quite a good break with the extraordinary colors under the Bay-fishes,sharks,batrays, star fishes, jelly fishes all moving or around and over you was especially fun for the children.There is also "Touch the bay" for those who wud dare to touch the baby sharks,bat rays and even the starfishes! We drove up also to the world famous "GoldenGate bridge", it was very cold thou...

South Lake Tahoe (Nevada) was our adventure trip this Saturday, about a 4 hr drive from where we live. we started early and until halfway i put my driving skills to test! the tuf time was for my hubby, not me...i was just glad at the opportunity!! :-)So i survived till Sacremento( i didnt know it was capital of CA). 2nd half of the drive was mainly on winding roads around the mountains while elevating yourself upto 7000ft! it was amazing as you get a scenic view of mountains n the lake below! awesome!! Once we entered the resort we first got a booking for para sail...I must admit from a distance it did look a bit too wild and so-not-like-me venture...but then the whole idea was to explore and try out new things...so went for it - from the 3 different heights of 400/800/1200ft we chose 800ft! i cudnt believe it myself, but i was in for it. so we walked around the beach area n enquired abt jet skiing while waiting for the parasail call.they made a group of 3 (a mother-daughter, a coupl...