June 27, 2010
Delhi is all about the belly. As if yesterday's gastric, gastronomic delights were not enough, we headed to a South Indian brunch spot in Gurgaon. Is called Nayvedhyam. You are greeted by waiters in a lungi and chilled buttermilk. I ordered an upma, rasam vadai and coconut water. The upma was delish. Comes with huge aladdin ka chirag type of samabar containers and a green and red chutney. The rasam vadai was the biggest disappointment ever. The rasam was cold and the vadais coarse and non-crispy.
A quick dash to a nearby mall for last-minute shopping by Sachin and a quicker and madder dash to the airport to see my lad off. His travel was ending as mine was beginning. I don't get to see him for a month now.
Sri and I cantered around CP and Palika Bazar, ate a McChicken meal, took a Metro to Palika Place where my bus to Dharmashala set off from. Sri made sure I was safely deposited in the travel agent's office and after umpteen " Take care..travel safe..dont talk to strangers..call as soon as the bus starts..call as soon as you reach..Is the Bus A/c, check that..Is it a Volvo..Do you have leg space..." , he was off. God, i love old friends. They sort of morph into brother/father/sister/mother figures, that is very cocoonish and warm and fuzzy.
As I sat at the travel agent's office, the owner took it upon himself to entertain me. I was his "Behen" whose honour, dignity and safe passage was now in his able hands.Ladies only seat for me...no, no, no, that was not good enough..he would give his Madrasi (sic) sister an entire row to relax in. The bus was running at half-capacity, it seems. He pointed out a large photo of "parama pujaniya shri shri chandrashekharji" (of ex-Prime Minister fame)and claimed to be his erst-while right hand man. He further claimed that as the ex-PM writhed in pain at his final visit to the hospital, our travel boy was the one who took him to the loo, cleaned after him, changed his underclothes and the rest. As his descriptions went in-depth and graphic, my Mac Meal threatened to pitch forward in a messy projectile.
Finally, it was time for me to get onto the bus and embark on my Sole/Soul travel. The bus was a tiny school-excursion kind of contraption, the seats were velvet covered, leg space was non-existent. But the positives: I was in high spirits, I had an entire row to myself, an MP3 player full of music and a head-full of plans. Bon voyage, I say!!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sole Travel Day 1
26 June 2010
Took a flight out of Bangalore this morning. I am carrying enough stuff to set up a Red Cross camp in Dharmashala. Last-minute stuffing random things in a backpack can do that. Reached Delhi the middle of a heat-wave and melted into the tarmac.
Met Sachin after 3 weeks.He has been travelling through Manali and Vashishth with friends. He looks tanned and gorgeous, and is full of tales of hot water springs and 4-day treks to Kirganga. Glad to note he is not in his usual Mr.Grumpy mode.
Srkanth and Robin have this lovely duplex house in Gurgaon. Smells and looks like a boys' pad and I mean that in the most complimentary way I can. Brought back memories of Symbi and vegging out in a friend's house in Pashan.
We went for a quick lunch and tank up to this drinking hole called Howzzat. Is a microbrewery. Has a cricketing theme, though they were screening the World Cup. The chairs are in the shape of huge human hands. Dont ask me how it goes into the theme, the overall effect is of privacy and luxury. I settled myself into the middle finger and ordered up a wheat beer and crumb fried chicken. Felt like earth mother and Colonel Sanders rolled into one. The crumb fried chicken was decadent, the beer in an impossibly tall mug was surprisingly un-bitter and super refreshing.
Evening time saw us heading out for some more liquid nourishment. Sri took us to Khan market. To the non-Delhiite, that's like a street full of eateries and shops. We went to a place called Chonars (mix of Pecos and Satya Bar). Food in Delhi is stroke-inducingly costly. But since I was not paying, I ordered willy-nilly. A pepper chicken, fish chilly, LIIT, and a vodka and red bull later, I realised I luuurrveeed Delhi.
Do not remember much else about the night. Am told there was a chocolate gelato, not-so-gentle snoring in the backseat of Sri's car and popping of Allegra to keep the sinus allergy at bay.
Took a flight out of Bangalore this morning. I am carrying enough stuff to set up a Red Cross camp in Dharmashala. Last-minute stuffing random things in a backpack can do that. Reached Delhi the middle of a heat-wave and melted into the tarmac.
Met Sachin after 3 weeks.He has been travelling through Manali and Vashishth with friends. He looks tanned and gorgeous, and is full of tales of hot water springs and 4-day treks to Kirganga. Glad to note he is not in his usual Mr.Grumpy mode.
Srkanth and Robin have this lovely duplex house in Gurgaon. Smells and looks like a boys' pad and I mean that in the most complimentary way I can. Brought back memories of Symbi and vegging out in a friend's house in Pashan.
We went for a quick lunch and tank up to this drinking hole called Howzzat. Is a microbrewery. Has a cricketing theme, though they were screening the World Cup. The chairs are in the shape of huge human hands. Dont ask me how it goes into the theme, the overall effect is of privacy and luxury. I settled myself into the middle finger and ordered up a wheat beer and crumb fried chicken. Felt like earth mother and Colonel Sanders rolled into one. The crumb fried chicken was decadent, the beer in an impossibly tall mug was surprisingly un-bitter and super refreshing.
Evening time saw us heading out for some more liquid nourishment. Sri took us to Khan market. To the non-Delhiite, that's like a street full of eateries and shops. We went to a place called Chonars (mix of Pecos and Satya Bar). Food in Delhi is stroke-inducingly costly. But since I was not paying, I ordered willy-nilly. A pepper chicken, fish chilly, LIIT, and a vodka and red bull later, I realised I luuurrveeed Delhi.
Do not remember much else about the night. Am told there was a chocolate gelato, not-so-gentle snoring in the backseat of Sri's car and popping of Allegra to keep the sinus allergy at bay.
Life After 5
I have quit my corporate job.June 5th, 2010. I want to say this again and again, a chant, a mantra, till I finally believe it myself. A 6-month thinking about it, a 3-month talking about it, and a 3-month notice period.I think Rome was built faster than my grand exit from the 9-5. I must say, in some kind of perverse, reverse loyalty binge, I did some of my best work in those last 3 months.
What do I do next? I call it my WTF plan: Wedding, Travel, Fitness.
Wedding: Getting Married on Novemeber 11, 2010. Yay for me and Sachin. The Wedding is in Mysore. I am being cajoled, bullied, threatened, enticed and incited into learning the art of making the perfect chapati. I am almost convinced that I will enjoy the supreme pleasures of marital bliss if and only if my chapatis are light, round and perfectly puffed up...
Travel: The first couple of months I dedicate to travelling..and most of it, travelling alone. Never done that before. So it is off to Dharamkot, then to Manali and Ladakh. Rajat is organising the longest Indian ultra, called The High. Am volunteering as a crewmember there. So Gute Reise to me!!
Fitness: The next big plan is to complete my ACE certifications, do a course in Lifestyle and Weight Management, become a fitness professional, and get paid for talking ad nauseam about diets and exercise regimes...el deliciousooo!
The next 6 months are looking a-promising...time will tell.
What do I do next? I call it my WTF plan: Wedding, Travel, Fitness.
Wedding: Getting Married on Novemeber 11, 2010. Yay for me and Sachin. The Wedding is in Mysore. I am being cajoled, bullied, threatened, enticed and incited into learning the art of making the perfect chapati. I am almost convinced that I will enjoy the supreme pleasures of marital bliss if and only if my chapatis are light, round and perfectly puffed up...
Travel: The first couple of months I dedicate to travelling..and most of it, travelling alone. Never done that before. So it is off to Dharamkot, then to Manali and Ladakh. Rajat is organising the longest Indian ultra, called The High. Am volunteering as a crewmember there. So Gute Reise to me!!
Fitness: The next big plan is to complete my ACE certifications, do a course in Lifestyle and Weight Management, become a fitness professional, and get paid for talking ad nauseam about diets and exercise regimes...el deliciousooo!
The next 6 months are looking a-promising...time will tell.
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