Luckynumber13_Chai

Hanoi is called The city of peace . I would much rather it be called the city of motorbikes. The BBC even did a story about it, with some amazing pictures in the link here:  https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-47908800 . It is easy to get around the city by renting a 2 wheeler and if you have driven in India, you will see familiar traffic sights on the roads. They have no lane discipline or rules. You just need to be smart to drive around without stress. The people of Hanoi are so relaxed and patient. No hustle or bustle. They love to do slow dancing in the middle of the street, in the park or beside the lake (see video below). It is more like a slower form of Zumba and am sure it has its own health benefits. On a Friday night, in the weekend eve, the Old Quarter town around the lake are closed to vehicles and the entire place gets filled with street performances, children driving their little rides around and playing, slow dancers and food stalls and little shops. Its lik...

Conversation between a mom and a child after a day at school goes like this.... M: Did you show the poster to the teachers? C: No, I forgot. M: How can you forget something that we spent a lot of time doing last night? C: Well, i just forgot. M: Do you know- only old people forget things that happened so recently? Are you old? C: No, i m N.E.W M:What? C: I am not Old, I m NEW. M rolls her eyes and chuckles.

Nee Hao (Hello) Singapore So green you are, yet so hot So many people, yet so clean So much plastic around, yet so close to nature So expensive, yet so laid back So may fun events to attend, yet so little marketing Nevertheless, waiting for that day when I give my heart completely to you It has been close to 2 months in a new country and I get asked this question often.  "How different is Singapore when compared to Dubai?" My answer is " I feel like I moved from Heaven to the Earth. Period." I am pinning down a few observations that I have made and experienced during my first couple of months in a country known as the "Red dot" on the world map. A city where Ground Floor is a Myth You know you are in S'pore when you get into the lift,  search for "G" to go to the Ground floor and can't find it. We like to start from 1. A city where the Rule on Escalators is to stand on the left and allow movement on the right...

Ever wondered what Tattoos' mean?   I have seen lovely tattoos' on some people and I am always attracted by those which have a hidden meaning. For me, tattoos have always been "Art that can be admired on others, but never on self" :-)   Reminds me of a tattoo which I saw once and it made me wonder what it meant. The story is set in Armenia. We were on a group tour from Yerevan to see the famous snow-capped Mt Ararat and the first church in the world. We met a couple, who sat beside us in the bus. They lived in York, UK. Maya was from America and John was from England. As the 4 of us were sitting in the last row of the bus, we had the most adventurous journey with the bus speeding over not-so-smooth roads over the Armenian mountains. I happened to notice a tattoo on Maya's arm, which read 'навсегда'. I tried to make sense of what it meant for a few hours and finally gave up and asked her. She said it means "frevor" in Russian. I ...

We did a home trip to India in May this year.  It was two weeks well spent.  Gappu liked it so  much that the night we landed and were getting ready to sleep, she started to weep.When asked what the matter was, she mentioned that she wished to spent 100 days in India. We were wondering what made her say the number 100. However, we couldn't blame her for thinking being pampered at home and playing all day, was way better than waking up at 6 am and going to school. And not to mention, the "army" style routine at home. Summer vacation was approaching and she told us that she wanted to go to India without any hesitation. Being away from mom and dad was the least of her worries. Dropped her in India and she has been having the best time of her life playing with neighbors, traveling in auto-rickshaws, bike and bus. Rain has also brought joy into her life, as she could use her favorite umbrella.  It is close to two months now and we told her to start packing...

The Young & Vibrant city of Zagreb (CROATIA) If you want to lift your spirits sky-high, you have to come to Croatia. This is the one-liner for Croatia's tourism, after they reached the finals and won our hearts in the FIFA World Cup held this year in Russia Let me rewind back a few months, when we actually started thinking of sneaking in a  girls' trip plan, without the boys and the kids in our lives. We did not have a clue whether to be happy or nervous about it. However, we mustered up some courage and convinced our heart to go out there and explore. The first and foremost task was to identify a place that we have not been to. Cut off lovely towns in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and finalized on Dubrovnik, a coastal town in Croatia. Like all times, VFS Dubai helped to arrange a visa to Croatia through a smooth process. But this is the longest I have waited for a Schengen visa. This was because the visa application is sent to the Croatia embassy in ...

                                                                            Learning our native language, despite being in a foreign country, is no easy feat. Our little girl is proving us wrong by learning the alphabets, quickly and efficiently, in a short span of time. We were in awe of her when she read out words from the newspaper, in a language which was completely new to her. Apparently, we had mastered reading the language much later in life. She is currently in India staying with grandparents for the summer vacation.  Why did we decide to send her to India for the holidays? 1. She loves spending vacation with grandparents. All she needs is to be surrounded by people who shower her with love and invest their time to play and grow old with her.  2. Summer in Dubai can be too...