Mango Mania
Posted by Guhan | Filed under thoughts
Its that time of the year again, when one can feast on Mangoes. Its one of the most delicious fruits one can bite into.
Today, my aunt ( periamma) cooked up a great Mango mania dinner with mango rice, mango chutney. The wife whipped up some yummy mango souffle. For more mango recipes and other south indian delicacies, take a look at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go
Posted by Guhan | Filed under travel
Vacation time is here !! Its a great feeling to start a vacation. This time we are off to Turkey, the land of the Ottoman Turks. This was another must see place in my Bucket list and I am really excited that I am finally going there.
This time, more fun traveling because Mom and Sis are joining us. Its a 11 day 10 night trip, covering all the important historic sites and some natural beauty. Our trip itinerary is
11 May 2010 – Arrive Istanbul on Air Arabia flight via Sarjah
12 May 2010 – Byzantine and Ottoman Relics Tour
13 May 2010 – Bosphorus and the tour of the 2 continents. Will see the water way that divides Europe and Asia
14 May 2010 – Off to Izmir to see the houe of Virgin Mary and the Greco-Roman city of Ephesus
15 May 2010 – Pamukkale and Heirapolis tour
16 May 2010 – Off to coastal town of Anatalya
17 May 2010 – Off to Cappadocia and a day to relax
18 May 2010 – Visit the ruins at Devrent and Terra Cotta art work from 3000 BC
19 May 2010 – Natural Rock formations south of Cappadocia
20 May 2010 – Back to Istanbul
21 May 2010 – Leave back to Bangalore on Air Arabia via Sarjah
There are many more historic places we will be seeing, like the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, the grand spice bazars and the famous Topkapi palace. We also plan to visit the Temple of Artemis, one of the older 7 wonders of the world.
I will blog about the places in detail when I get back, or if the computer gets the better of me, will blog from my hotel room :-p
Off we go!
Tee off
Posted by Guhan | Filed under Sport
I got back to hitting in the range after a long gap. Thanks to some high work load and laziness :-)
I really took an interest to Golf about a year back. Today, it was almost like the first time I went to a driving range, but the difference was that some of the coaching tips helped me look less stupid.
Well, it was not all bad. Actually today I hit the ball pretty well. The Wilson 10.5 Fairway driver was good to me today, hit a few mighty blows. I tried some delicate chip shots with the sand wedge as well, they too were pretty good. Overall a happy return to Golf. Will get on to the course before I head off on vacation. The wilson set I got for my last Birthday is really good and I am enjoying it. I think its more than enough for the kind of golf I play. Still in the learning phase and already I am able to hit a 300 yard drive on the fairway :-) Not to get too carried away, such drives come only once or twice in a bucket of balls
The weekend and the monday has been good days for sport. Hit a powerful 98 with 8 6′s and 7 4′s in a 20-20 corporate cricket match. I thought I was middling almost every ball I hit. And this was the first 50 off my new Pume Vandetta 2000. I love this bat, its got an amazing sweet spot. I was initially reluctant to use such a good bat in corporate cricket, where slogging is the way to go and the leather balls are cheap and of bad quality. But I could not wait any longer. The hits were clean and many 6′s were in the ‘V’
I have been wanting to start swimming again. I am searching for some good pools in Bangalore closer to Indiranagar or Koramangala preferably. I love swimming. I think its the best exercise and is one good activity to work up your appetite.
3 cheers to sport :-)
Vacation!
Posted by Guhan | Filed under travel
Its that time of the year when I gear up to go on a vacation. This time, its exotic Turkey that I will be visiting with family. Looking forward to the trip. Last year, I had been to Jordan on work, and managed to sneak a trip to Petra. The grand structure at Petra which makes an appearance in the Indiana Jones movies was a spectacular sight. Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, is enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream. Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf. During this trip I also managed to go to Dead sea, a salt lake bordering Israel and Jordan.The dead sea is the lowest elevation on the Earth’s surface. It is also one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water, with close to 40 % salinity. This makes floating on the dead sea a one of a kind experience. Its like sleeping on a water bed. You just have to ensure you dont dip your head in water, because the salt and minerals can give you an eye burn to remember.
Turkey is one of the must see places I have in my Bucket list :-) and I am really happy I have finally planned a trip there. My mother will be coming along, and its going to be really great because she is an ocean of knowledge. I am sure by now she knows a lot of history about all the places we are going to see in Turkey. So apart from the tour guide, I am going to have a walking talking encyclopedia with me :-)
Its also a much deserved break. Work has been hectic and have been working my ass of for a long time now. Plus some frustrations over the last few months to get over and some happy moments to celebrate. The vacation is coming in good time. Will unwind, forget work, forget routine and hopefully come back refreshed to make some important decisions in career and life in general.
More on where all we are going will come shortly
2 Years
Posted by Guhan | Filed under Events
2 years ago on this day, sporting a wide smile and dressed up in a grand saree, a beautiful lady sat next to me tossing stuff the priest gave us into the holy fire. Our parents stood behind us, almost blessing us every second, and a huge audience in front of us, all set to literally shower us with their blessings. The celebration reached its crescendo at 9:30 am in the morning, every one eagerly waiting for the all important index finger flick by the high priest. And exactly at 9:40 am, the music had more base, it was raining rice and I was working my way up to a complex double knot of a turmeric coated thread!! We were no longer single, we were smiling, we were married !
I know its a cliche, but time sure does fly. 2 years has zipped past, and it stills feels like it was just the day before that we were rushing through the preparations for the wedding. Its been an amazing 2 years, lots of fun memories, the couple getaways, the gifts, the celebrations, decorating our home, the parties, the great food, the little fights, the big gestures, the love notes, caring, being cared for and most important of them all Happy times.
All through our lives, the wedding day is hyped up to be this momentous day in ones life when supposedly every thing begins to change and we are expected to have this great epiphany of all things grown up and mature. In retrospect, I personally dont have any horror stories to share about the wedding contrary to popular belief. It was a fun day, when 24 hours felt more like 10 minutes. Over the 2 years, we got to hear many stories about our wedding day, different perspectives and little incidents around the function. It almost seems that people who attended the wedding had more fun and remember it a lot more than the bride and groom. Which is why I always say, the wedding is for the people attending, the marriage is for the bride and groom.
So today, as we celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, I am happy to have some one who I can call my better half. I have enjoyed this phase of my life, its been different for sure, but in a good way. Its been full of interesting moments, moments that you remember, moments that you cherish, moments that you learn from, moments that you hate, scary moments etc. Having that special someone witness all those moments relevant to you with out judgment or prejudice is what my marriage has meant to me.
Wishing for many more happy moments.
