OK...so I'm back to NZ and slowly settling back into life here. I need to write about my india part of the trip and also the day in KL but will do that once I get some time (and will back date it). The cold and the wetness is harder to get used to than I anticipated.
Busy thinking about some potential business ventures through. In the meantime, refresher training at TVNZ has been going great and I go solo in a week and half. I've had 6 early morning shifts and got another couple to go before I get a break and those morning shifts are a killer.
First couple of sessions at the gym were extremely painful and now just getting back into the swing of things. Other than that slowly picking up threads of my life and seeing if I can't start some new ones.
Thats me for now,
Amit
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Thursday, June 09, 2011
1 day in KL
The day in KL is a hazy blur because of the sleepless transition between time zones. Being in a completely new city for the first time is an exciting but scary proposition. So many questions run through your mind and you just have to trust yourself that things will work out for the best.
It was hot but I walked around almost all of central KL and also used every mode of transportation available in the city. Things that stayed with me were the amazing food - no matter where you ate - even at the food courts within the shopping malls. The shopping malls were another story - there are heaps and heaps and heaps of them and that's the place to hang out for everyone. There was no rustic charm to them like in Kota Kinabalu.
KL is not a city with 'things to see' - it is more a place with things to do and unfortunately the day stop wasn't enough and would love to see the city at night. So thats for next time - so that I can get a better feel for the city. And because I was so exhausted from sleeplessness, I didn't take any photos either (+ you are not allowed to take photos in most malls anyway).
Killing time at airport was harder than I thought and ended up walking shitloads. During one of those walks discovered Teh Tarik - a kind of tea preparation, which absolutely won me over. So the 3 memories I do have of KL are the awesome transportation options, the delicious food and teh tarik.
Next time I hope to form some friends in KL before going to visit. After all it feels like there is so much there waiting to be experienced. Now it is onwards to Auckland and the cold.
Amit
It was hot but I walked around almost all of central KL and also used every mode of transportation available in the city. Things that stayed with me were the amazing food - no matter where you ate - even at the food courts within the shopping malls. The shopping malls were another story - there are heaps and heaps and heaps of them and that's the place to hang out for everyone. There was no rustic charm to them like in Kota Kinabalu.
KL is not a city with 'things to see' - it is more a place with things to do and unfortunately the day stop wasn't enough and would love to see the city at night. So thats for next time - so that I can get a better feel for the city. And because I was so exhausted from sleeplessness, I didn't take any photos either (+ you are not allowed to take photos in most malls anyway).
Killing time at airport was harder than I thought and ended up walking shitloads. During one of those walks discovered Teh Tarik - a kind of tea preparation, which absolutely won me over. So the 3 memories I do have of KL are the awesome transportation options, the delicious food and teh tarik.
Next time I hope to form some friends in KL before going to visit. After all it feels like there is so much there waiting to be experienced. Now it is onwards to Auckland and the cold.
Amit
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Abridged month in India
A month in India can be a very long time but at the same time very short. The normal definition of time disappears when you are there. To try and recollect every detail or events would be nigh impossible for me and all I can write about is the experiences that stayed with me.
For starters - my timing of the trip was all wrong. In my head the summers in India were in the months of June/July, so i'd planned my trip for May and boy was I wrong. It was peak summer in Hyderabad when I got there with the temperatures ranging from 42 degrees to 45 degrees. Luckily, Vietnam/Malaysia had acted as an acclimatizing buffer, so it was not such a huge system shock. The good thing with Hyderabad is that it is not humid - so the heat was enjoyable in small bursts.
The personal issues that were kind of hanging over my head for the past 8 months or so got sorted within the first week of me being back home and after that it was just enjoying good home cooked food, meeting family and for the best part doing nothing - oh I did learn how to cook a few dishes from mum. A comment which everyone kept making was that I'd gotten too thin - which I disagree with, but just had to nod and grin, as trying to defend your point of view with elders is usually a pointless exercise in India. The constant visits from relatives and close family friends was always a welcome change from having nothing to do and I enjoyed it a fair bit.
The monotony of not having any friends in Hyderabad was broken by a trip to Delhi where I caught up with old friends from MBA days as well as one of my childhood friends. It was a good trip as I got to spend time with them and their families. On the other hand I wasn't a big fan of the lop-sided urban development and the concrete jungle that Gurgaon had turned into. The trip was very short but next time around I'll probably spend more time there, since I barely saw Delhi - given the massive amounts of commute time that is required to get anywhere without your own transportation; and I didn't even get to go and eat at Karim's - my favorite eating joint in Delhi.
I was spoilt for food in Hyderabad and the best find was a restaurant called 'Ustaad Baane Nawaab' in Tolichowki and their hyderabadi biryani turned out to be amazing and I made a fair few trips to them during the stay there. Hyderabad is definitely a food paradise - just don't expect too many authentic international cuisines though - it is very limited in that sense.
It was great spending some quality time with the family and the highlight of the trip was planning and scheming with Veni to extend my stay by another 4 days. I didn't tell mum and dad about Veni's unexpected plan to visit India and we kept it a hush hush affair since we wanted to give them a surprise. The usual trip to Vijayawada that we take everytime was binned because the extreme temperatures combined with humid heat would've been too much for me, so Gyanender Babbay and Lakshmakka planned their visit to time with Veni's arrival.
My return flight to Auckland was scheduled for 3rd June night while Veni was arriving on 3rd June morning - so I talked to work and extended my leave and got my flight postponed to leave on 7th June night. I spun a far stretched tale about why I needed to be at the airport on 3rd morning by telling my parents that Lance had a 1 days stop over in Hyderabad while returning from a job in France. They bought the story hook, line and sinker - so gyanender babbay and me were at the airport on 3rd morning.
Seeing Nishil for the first time was a pleasant surprise and it was even more surprising when he didn't cry and came into my arms straight away. He did cry a little while later but it was good seeing Veni after a long time. The look of surprise and shock on mum and dad's face when Veni and Nishil showed up at the house instead of Lance was priceless. It is these small moments which give us so much pleasure in life.
The 4 days with the family disappeared without a trace. Spending time with Nishil and Veni was definitely the highlight of this trip and I wished I had more days off to spare. It was definitely harder returning to Auckland this time around because of it - even though it has been a more rounded trip which I really enjoyed and also resolved some internal conflicts for me. There was so much more to this trip but just don't feel like writing it all down here.
The 1 day stop over in KL should be interesting, especially since I've only got about 14 hours odd there in transit. But I'm really excited about trying out some yummy malaysian food while in the city.
Amit
For starters - my timing of the trip was all wrong. In my head the summers in India were in the months of June/July, so i'd planned my trip for May and boy was I wrong. It was peak summer in Hyderabad when I got there with the temperatures ranging from 42 degrees to 45 degrees. Luckily, Vietnam/Malaysia had acted as an acclimatizing buffer, so it was not such a huge system shock. The good thing with Hyderabad is that it is not humid - so the heat was enjoyable in small bursts.
 |
| Mango season!!! |
The monotony of not having any friends in Hyderabad was broken by a trip to Delhi where I caught up with old friends from MBA days as well as one of my childhood friends. It was a good trip as I got to spend time with them and their families. On the other hand I wasn't a big fan of the lop-sided urban development and the concrete jungle that Gurgaon had turned into. The trip was very short but next time around I'll probably spend more time there, since I barely saw Delhi - given the massive amounts of commute time that is required to get anywhere without your own transportation; and I didn't even get to go and eat at Karim's - my favorite eating joint in Delhi.
 |
| Chandan, Vikas and Sapna |
 |
| Jiya, Kanchan Aunty and mom |
 |
| Kingdom of Dreams |
 |
| Arun and Bindiya |
It was great spending some quality time with the family and the highlight of the trip was planning and scheming with Veni to extend my stay by another 4 days. I didn't tell mum and dad about Veni's unexpected plan to visit India and we kept it a hush hush affair since we wanted to give them a surprise. The usual trip to Vijayawada that we take everytime was binned because the extreme temperatures combined with humid heat would've been too much for me, so Gyanender Babbay and Lakshmakka planned their visit to time with Veni's arrival.
My return flight to Auckland was scheduled for 3rd June night while Veni was arriving on 3rd June morning - so I talked to work and extended my leave and got my flight postponed to leave on 7th June night. I spun a far stretched tale about why I needed to be at the airport on 3rd morning by telling my parents that Lance had a 1 days stop over in Hyderabad while returning from a job in France. They bought the story hook, line and sinker - so gyanender babbay and me were at the airport on 3rd morning.
Seeing Nishil for the first time was a pleasant surprise and it was even more surprising when he didn't cry and came into my arms straight away. He did cry a little while later but it was good seeing Veni after a long time. The look of surprise and shock on mum and dad's face when Veni and Nishil showed up at the house instead of Lance was priceless. It is these small moments which give us so much pleasure in life.
 |
| Nishil |
 |
| Curious Nishil |
 |
| Veni and Nishil |
 |
| Nishil wanting to try some noodles even though he can't eat |
 |
| Dad playing with Nishil while Veni looks on |
 |
| Nishil and me |
 |
| Mom cooking some more awesome food |
 |
| Gyanender babbay engrossed in the online world |
The 1 day stop over in KL should be interesting, especially since I've only got about 14 hours odd there in transit. But I'm really excited about trying out some yummy malaysian food while in the city.
Amit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)