The Unfinished Trip.

 #travelsmartwithskyscanner being organised by SkyScanner  is one hell of an Indiblogger event. I have spent the last 2 days going through albums of my travel vacations with friends and family. And trust me, I feel like I have revisited all these places during this short span of time. I could feel the chill I felt when I walked off the Gondola at  Gulmarg, the utter not-a-care in the world attitude of biking on Goa beaches with the waves gently crashing against the tyres, the  hurriedness of my Rishikesh trip, the fatigue of Vaishno Devi trek and the absolute bliss of a crackling bonfire at Patnitop.All this from just revisiting photographic memories. And then I stumbled across my Trip to the North East.

 More specifically, Sikkim.

A little Background before I dive into this blog post. I was admitted into a college in Sikkim, packed my bags and left for the North-East to be a resident - not a traveler. With my first glimpse of the rainforest on the meandering roads from New Jalpaiguri to Gangtok, I was hooked. Such beauty, yet untouched by man. The mighty Brahmaputra prancing along the road. I was mesmerised. I thought to myself, “I am going to be here for the next 4 years. Plenty of time for exploring this place” Gosh I have never been more wrong. Got admitted to DCE  a few days later and came back by to Delhi by the next flight available. Exploration plans all chucked right out the window. Ever since then, there has been a running joke in my family that one day I will go back to get the stuff I had forgotten while leaving in a hurry. Me and my dad (who had accompanied me on this trip by the way) have made many plans to visit the North East ever since. 2014 seems like the year we might get the travelling actually done. Who knows, we may walk over to Beijing as well. No harm dreaming, right folks?

But the catch is it’s too far away. Sikkim, I meant.  And that makes the journey too long by train and too expensive by air for those of us languishing in middle class  . But hope is at hand. This time I am going to #travelsmartwithskyscanner. With a little planning and a lot of help from the very smart SkyScanner app on my phone, I can manage the trip well within my budgetary and time constraints.How? Well, I have been browsing the “Skyscanner” website for the months and dates for cheapest air fare. I am going to make a reservation months in advance (way to show commitment) which makes it a lot more budget friendly. It saves me money and makes planning for the trip a lot more relaxed affair.Though I might have to skip my walking over into China aspect of the trip (Chuckles).
But jokes aside , the plan is to "Plan Ahead". 

Now comes the second most costly aspect of a vacation. Hotel Stay. I have realised that hotels (which account for 20-30% of Vacation expenditure) can be cut down with one easy step. Pre-meditate and Negotiate. So here I am looking for Hotel listings on this site and making calls to hotels now for booking deals months away. 

Now that I know the tentative months I can get a bargain deal in, I am going to decide the exact timing of my trip. How? Blind guessing? No ways. Why go all this way if you had to blind guess eventually.I will look for two things. Weather and special events.  I have been googling  incessantly (yes, a lot of free time at my hand) and realised that monsoon months and winters are kind of a no-go time to the north-east. That would mean no trip September onwards. So here’s a tip to travel smart “Research your vacation spot”. You wouldn't want to be caught in a torrid downpour on your visit until you are visiting cherapunjee(which used to be wettest region of earth). 

Second thing will be to inquire about events organised by the state tourism departments,this can be done easily on the internet by emails or checking out advertisements on travel forums. I have been in  situations where I arrive one day too late for a spectacular cultural event for tourists or am scheduled to leave one day too early. This one day could have made the difference between a good trip and an unforgettable trip. Another thing I noticed about travelling in the north-east is that the more you can research about your probable destinations, the easier it will be for you to deal with unforeseeable phenomenon like road disturbances due to landslides etc.

I am looking out for friends in the North - East too. People I know who can plan their home trips back with me. Apart from the convenience of company and somebody who is a native, it also allows for a better understanding of their culture and society.This way I wont just look at the mountains but also understand the songs that echo in them.

So by following these tiny steps I am going to travel smart. I am gonna plan. Sit down and #travelsmartwithskyscanner. Because the beauty of living in the moment comes from the security of knowing that the worst has been accounted for. It’s not me who’s saying this. Somebody said it long ago.All I care for is my quest to revel in the beauty of the north-east,sneak into Sikkim again & Complete that unfinished trip. 

:)

For us, from them.

Link to profile of featured story : http://milaap.org/fund/manimegalai-and-group/1997?&referrer_id=9350

Latrines. Toilet.Basic sanitation. Or As we like to call it, in the civilized way “Washroom”. A basic amenity of life awarded to all in this modern world. Or so I had thought.  For it does not take a lot to make one. A small enclosure, some basic plumbing and voila, a basic latrine is ready. No longer will the women of your household have to defecate in the open at the price of public shame and insecurity. No longer will they be and other members of the house be exposed to diseases due to the unsanitary conditions.NO longer will anybody have to make long arduous treks into the wild.  Seems just the right thing to do? Right?

Yes it does. But what do you do when the money you earn is barely sufficient to feed you .What do you do when the choice is between necessities like food-clothing and a basic amenity like sanitation. In these conditions sanitation becomes a luxury. And it is this story that I have brought to you. Story of Manimegalai, Amirdham, Amudha, Chellam, and Alamelu. 5 women who have taken it upon themselves to bring water supply and sanitation closer to their home.

A brief introduction from the milaap webpage “Manimegalai, Amirdham, Amudha, Chellam, and Alamelu live in the rural area of Musiri in the Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu. They are agricultural laborers who work hard to supplement the incomes their husbands bring in, and to provide a decent future for their children. The area they live in has a water supply located about 1000 meters from their homes, and the closest public latrine is 500 meters away. As a result, clean and fresh water is scarce, and they have to depend on the surrounding shrubbery or the darkness at night for privacy to relieve themselves in unhygienic conditions. Consequently, they are subject to illnesses multiple times a year, and the monthly medical bills eat into their meager savings. They seek a loan of Rs.30,000, payable over 18 months, to build a toilet for Manimegalai’s family, and to install water connections for the rest of the group’s homes. This loan will allow their families access to the dignity and basic necessity of sanitation and water in their homes.”

I have taken up this project not only because I believe basic sanitation is a basic amenity everybody should be provided. But also because, I believe we could complete this project that isRaise enough fund for these women to have a toilet that would give them respect, security, and  health. A lot of things from simple toilet.
How can it happen? The reach of my blog is 1000 odd people. Over 200 of them women. If we can donate 500 each, We will complete this loan. We will help make a tangible difference in the lives of these women. I am making it personal, I am making it about what YOU can do. You, right there, reading this blog. It would be just a missed dinner outing to you, but would mean the world to these women. For women everywhere, from us for them.

To donate go on to this page : http://milaap.org/fund/manimegalai-and-group/1997?&referrer_id=9350

Donate.Share. Like MIlaap. Do the best you can and then a little more.

From us, for them.

Trip to Dehradun

Hello folks. I'm back with a traveling post this time. I was just flipping through my photos and suddenly I remembered my younger cousin sisters who live in Dehradun. I know this post is bit late but as it is said "It's better to be late than never". Just after my birthday I happened to visit Dehradun in December 2012. I travelled all alone for the first time. Yes, ALL ALONE! ;)

I have been to Dehradun twice before but this trip was a memorable one for me as I could explore the city well and in the mean time I had spend my NEW YEAR up there in the hills with my little cousins! I caught my train from Delhi and imagine my situation that my seat was not confirmed and on the top of it travelling alone. Moreover, a generous handsome man gave his seat to me. I couldn't thank him enough. I made friends too en route. Reached at night around 9.30pm and was picked up by my relatives there. It was too cold, I remember I wore 2 jackets and 3 pairs of socks (I'm not kidding!) and was still FREEZING!!


DAY 1 : Anyways the next day, all refreshed up. I visited the famous SAI TEMPLE with my cousins. It was so divine believe me, I was all calm and relaxed.

The Main Hall

 

The Palki

The Wishing Tree

After that it started raining heavily so we had no choice just to stay indoors as it was winters. We started clicking indoors itself. It was fun being with my lil cousins. We were meeting almost after a year so there was lot to chit chat and all that girly stuff. OK let me share few pics of my cousins with you all.

The youngest of all

Sibling Love

P.S. : No photo is edited! You could guess by looking at our faces how cold it was!

DAY 2 : The next day weather was amazing so we thought to go a bit far off temple which was BUDDHA TEMPLE in Clement Town. It was bit far off from my place where I was staying. This was one kind of temple I would have never imagined. It was awestruck by its beauty. I loved visiting this one. If you ever go Dehradun please don't miss it for sure. It's a must see temple!

The highest statue of Buddha

The ground floor area

For the shutterbugs!

The view from the top floor. It was just amazing!

Sibling love

We are family

The entrance

Monastery

The wishing roller

 I thoroughly enjoyed going there. It has such a beautiful lawn just outside the temple.

The beautiful lawns

If you miss this beauty, your trip is incomplete to Dehradun for sure. Almost whole day was spent here as I had other relatives and friends to catch up with. Amazing day it was, all thanks to this masterpeice.



DAY 3 & 4 : This day was booked by the relatives for lunch and dinners. Now it was the New Year Night and also the birthday of the sister. What a co-incidence no ? It was double celebration for us New Year and birthday! And it was my first New Year there. Have lot of pics to share but would share sometime soon.

Surprised her with the cake!

The celebrations went on full night. We all didn't get the time to sleep. Next morning too we all partied hard like crazies all friends, relatives, neighbors, it was so much fun I tell you. At night we went to Pizza Hut and ended my celebrations there!

You can easily see how tired we all were!

After all these 4 days of grand masti, it was time for me to come to Delhi. Had my train early morning at 5 in these winters. I could just catch up the train at the neck of time! It was fun. How rapidly these 4 days went away. I still miss every moment of them. Late night talks, new year celebrations, my little cousins cooking for me, blah, blah everything! I miss them so much. Hope to celebrate my New Year this time too with them in the hills.

Signing off for now. Thank you for your patience! xoxox

Best regards,

PRESERVED

We wanted to bury the lie
Like tulips on cold spring days
it thrived well enough in the light
to make a new appearance

Took all the letters we found and
 put them in a jar 
with boiling sea water 
The salt sealed the writing but
made it less distinct!

On receiving a Liebster Blog Award

What is a Liebster Blog Award? 

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. This award is the “favorite blog award” then.

Who Nominated Me ?

I was nominated by my fellow blogger and a dear friend Medha Kapoor. I really enjoy reading her posts and I am honored that she thought of my blog.

What are the Rules ? 

The rules… Start off by writing 11 random facts about yourself and then answer 11 questions which were left for you by your nominator. Then you can nominate up to 11 blogs and leave 11 questions for them to answer in return.Isn't it so interesting !?!

 

 So I will start off with 11 facts About Me…

1. I hope to write a book someday.
   
   2.  I have to start each morning with a cup of coffee or I just don’t feel right (it’s an addiction, I know!) 
   
   3. I hate waiting.
   
   4.  I am a literature student.
   
   5. I am the most pampered child of my family. (I love it!)
   
   6. I am a sucker for small joys of life. 
   
   7. Reading books gives me inspiration to write more and more.
   
   8.  I love to chase my dreams.
   
   9. I am a confused soul sometimes.
   
   10. I hate watching movies. (Yes that's the truth!)
   
   11. I love my hair.
   
    
   11 Questions from Medha :
   
   
   What's your favorite color?
   Without any doubt I love the color Red. It makes me feel confident!
   
   What's your favorite cuisine?
   Anything Italian. 
   
   What are you most afraid of?
   Snakes. 
   
   How religious/spiritual are you?
   I am a religious person. Pray two times a day so now guess how religious I am ;) 
   
   Are you a feminist?
   I am an individualistic and therefore not a feminist.
   
   What are your views on same sex marriages? 
   Should be legalized everywhere. 
   
   What is your favorite odor?
   Love sandalwood.
   
   What music do you listen to when you're alone?
   When I'm alone, I listen to rock music and sometimes dance too. LOL
   
   What do you like to do on your birthday?
   I'm very much crazy for my birthday. I love the 12am calls till late midnight. And this day always has been surprising for me. Something new always happens and my family and friends make it so special. I spend half of the day with my friends and rest with my family. It's kind of reunion for me filled with amazing surprises.
     
   What is your favorite genre when it comes to reading?
   I love reading mystery, humor and fantasy genres. Difficult to choose favourite among them.
   
   What is your favorite genre when it comes to blogging?
   I really enjoy reading all blogs – such a wealth of information out there. Everyone has their own views. I love them all!
   
   
   Here are my nominees :
    
   Jyoti Mehta
   Priyanka Banerjee
   Ankit Minglani
   Surbhi Mehra
   Prerna Priyam
   Abhinav Mathur
   Priya Arora
   Jasmine Bhatia 
   Yukti Sehgal 
   
   
   And now the questions I want to ask them:
   
   
   Q1. Who is your favorite author?
   Q2. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
   Q3. What inspires you to write?
   Q4. What book are you reading at the moment ?
   Q5. Your favourite movie in recent past which doesn’t go out of your mind?
   Q6. Do you believe in life after death? If yes, what would you like to reborn as?
   Q7. What is the primary focus of your blog?
   Q8. What music do you listen to when you write, if any?
   Q9.  Favourite place to read?
   Q10. Do you have special plans for this year 2013?
   Q11. Three things you want to do before you die ? 
   
   
   Congrats to the nominees, accept the award and forward it to the ones who deserve it.
   
   
   
   

DUNKIN' DONUTS

                                  

    Place      : N 6, Connaught Place, New Delhi 
    Timings  :  8 AM to 12 Midnight

I am sure by reading the title DUNKIN' DONUTS, you must be mouth-watering their yummy Donuts, Sandwiches and not to forget their brewed coffee. It's my first food review ever! Before I review just a glimpse of the company :

"We're committed to offering a wide selection of foods and beverages so you can enjoy what's right for you."

Celebrate your New Year with the Amazing Giveaway

Hello fellow bloggers,

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. I have been missing from the social sites and now back with a bang.
Let's all celebrate the New Year with the amazing Giveaway which I came across from the Corallista . She is celebrating her Second Anniversary and the Giveaway is International. So what are you waiting for. Just follow the simple steps and who knows you might be the winner.
 

First Prize

BH Cosmetics 120 eye shadow palette, MAC lipstick (shade of winner’s choice), MAC Blush (shade of winner’s choice), Lakme Absolute Ultimate Kohl and Kerastase Elixir Ultime (my HG Hair serum!).

                               

Second Prize

Rimmel London Lipstick (Shade Cutting Edge), Rimmel London nail polish (Shade – 500 Disco Ball), The Body Shop Satsuma Cube (contains shower gel, body lotion and Bath Lily) and Nivea Repair and Beauty Lip balm.

                              

And if you are on twitter as well, you are going to drool yourself with the amazing TWITTER EXCLUSIVE PRIZE that's the amazing SONY P TABLET.

 

All the best girls. You are just few steps away. Hurry up enter the giveaway here :

Corallista 2 Year Anniversary International Giveaway!

Lost In Your World Of Love

The first time I saw you, you invaded my heart.
Your eyes made me lost in you!
Your essence made to forget me the essence of rose,
Your charming voice made me addicted to you !
When you are not around, it feels like
Sun has no light, moon is black.
When you are around, it feels,
Time has ultra supersonic speed.
One hour is like a minute!

Your smile makes me fall in your love with you even more.
When we behave like strangers,
It feels like I am getting crushed by a road-roller.
When you touch, I feel like I am in heaven.

Your feather soft touch makes me feel like I am holding a flower,
Getting addicted to girl, you making me addicted to you! 

You are my drug .. and it feels too good to get addicted to you!
You are the air I breathe, you are the life that I live.
You are my whole world ..
You are the music on which my heart beats.
You are my heart's soul.
Me without you is lifeless!
You were in my destiny that is why we met by chance.
Never leave me girl as I am lifeless without you.
You are like a fire burning in my mind.
You are my everything that I have always wanted in my life!
 I keep thinking about you 24*7.
 I love you sugar-beer, I love u too much baby ♥ ♥

P.S. : This was sent to me by someone, so thought to share it with you all! Love the simplicity of the language.

Pampered by Panteen & Indiblogger!

"Pantene & IndiBlogger bring you an afternoon of fun, relaxation and blogging!
Let your hair down and kick your feet up at the Pantene Nature Fusion IndiBlogger meet. Come over and celebrate the fusion of Nature & Science with us. Trust us, you wouldn’t want to miss this one. "



Pantene organised a blogger meet in association with IndiBlogger on 14th October at ITC Sheraton. I was confused whether to attend the meet or not as I just had one day off from my office. And after attending the meet, I was happy that I went. It was one of the best blogger meets I’ve attended until date, and the very first Indiblogger one.

                                             ITC Sheraton (Pic Courtesy: Google Images)


I was gobsmacked as I entered the ITC Sheraton . As I entered the lobby, the first thing that stucked my mind was the amazing interiors full of fragrance of flowers and then was guided by the soft spoken staff of the hotel.

                                                The Lobby (Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

 As usual I was lost in my own world and full of excitement, I entered the Ballroom and realised I was not so late, but there were few women already present there. I registered myself and got a paper with number '37' which was my number for my hair spa. It was a pleasant surprise (thank you team for this wonderful surprise). Believe me since we all bloggers entered, the whole meet was full of surprises. I could not stop myself gazing at the graffiti wall filled with the spray paints.

                                                  Graffiti Wall (Pic Courtesy: Priti Singh)

As we settled down, the meet started with one of the surprising activity (told you the whole meet was full of surprises), there was a balloon under our chairs and toothpicks on the table. We had to save our balloon and prick others balloon. It was so much fun I tell you. My balloon got pricked in the starting itself but I got the prize for pricking most of the balloons. It was very much interesting!

                                Women in action during the game (Pic Courtesy: Priti Singh)

                                             My gift which I won during the balloon game

As soon as we finished this game, we were divided in to a team of 8 members and had to wrap one of the member as MUMMY. We just had 5mins. to wrap them. Our team's Mummy was wrapped bit shabbily but my tweet saved Atula (the Mummy) from being eliminated.

                                               That's Me, Atula (the mummy) and Eshna

Blogger introductions was something I was looking forward to. Getting to know other women and the stuff they write about was the best part. Right from women who wrote on life, relationships, cookery, traveling to women who wrote on technology, game designing, mom blogs and even art! It was so delightful knowing my fellow bloggers! It was such a pleasure meeting all of them Eshna, Medha, Vandana, Kiran, Priya, Priti, Anukriti, Anisha and it goes on. Special thanks to Priti for the wonderful pics you had send. Appreciate your efforts.

                         That's Eshna, Priya, Me and Medha (L-R) (Pic Courtesy: Priti Singh)

                                         Me with Eshna and Priti (Pic Courtesy: Priti Singh)

And then it was our turn to have our lunch. Trust me the food was so yummilicious and tempting. 

                                         The tempting food (Pic Courtesy: Priti Singh)


Just after our lunch a short talk was followed by Lais Koelle explaining the fusion of nature and science. It was again followed by a surprise. A box was kept under the table which had a shampoo and a conditioner. There was a Ques & Ans session with her in which she gave remedies for hairfall, dandruff, breakage, etc. And Pantene is for oily hairs hairs too. So all you girls who have oily hairs like me, get ready for using the best oil free shampoo ever with a fusion of nature and science. 

                       

                                                   Lais Koelle (love her hairs!)



And then comes next Yashodhara Lal, the author of ‘Just Married, Please Excuse'. She motivated us to write as much as we can by taking out time from our busy lives. And she has a contest going on for all the inspiring writers to get published by sharing your story.

                                              Yashodhara Lal during the talk session

Now after the talk sessions, we had last but not the least Flower Arranging Competition with a unique element which was provided in the bag given to us. Unfortunately, I had to leave this in the middle as it was my turn for the hairspa (for which I was early waiting :p). I didn't want to leave this wonderful competition but it's ok as I could not compromise with my hairs :p. 

Don't have words to tell you about my hair spa. Aaaaah, simply amazing! And extremely relaxing! Was pampered so well. A blow-dry and styling followed.  The shampoo had such an amazing fragrance and was absolutely wonderful! Made my hair super smooth and super silky! You know that feeling when you touch your hair and you feel like doing it over and over and over again? That’s what I’m talking about! THANK YOU Pantene for such wonderful hairs. And really at first instance I could not believe that they were my hairs.



By the time my hair spa got over, I just came to know about our team flower arrangement. Here it is, have a look :

                                                             Bouquet with No.8

And here comes the end of the blogger meet. But no, we had a surprise here too!! We were given gift hampers from Pantene and a shirt from IndiBlogger with their slogan on it .

                                                   The wonderful hamper by Pantene!

                                                            Shirt by IndiBlogger!

                                                      That's me near the tweet section ;)

This was one event I’ll never be able to forget! A Sunday well-spent, after ages! Thanks IndiBlogger & Pantene for their hard efforts for organising such a successful meet.
This blogger meet also gave me the chance to bond with my fellow bloggers. Eagerly waiting for the next meet to happen now. Thank you again for the meet and awestruck surprises.



Here are few pics which my friend Priti took it while departing!

                                                           With my fellow bloggers!

                                                Me and Medha posing for the shutterbugs!