30, Single and Overseas

Renewing X Visa in Bangalore

2012-01-13T17:18:00.000+05:30

Hello friends and readers. First of all, apologies for the lack of updated stories on this blog. As some of you may have heard, I’ve been busy getting married (more on that later). I know what’s going through your mind right now – I have no right to this blog title anymore or that I should change it to something like 30s, married in India, but I disagree and you can’t make me change it!

This blog post I hope is more helpful than not to some foreigners residing in Bangalore on X visas. Or if you’re not in that category and can’t relate, maybe you can um, enjoy it anyway. ☺

Nobody told me that it was going to be this painful getting my X visa renewed in Bangalore. If I haven’t convinced you by the end of this post, then maybe I’m just a whiner. But seriously, if you have a choice to renew your visas in your own country, do it! But if you don’t, and want to experience “Amazing Race” Bangalore-style, this is what you have to do (the procedure below is of course, subject to change at any given time). I’ve also included suggestions on how to keep your sanity “normal”.

1. Drop by the FRRO office to pick-up the latest forms and checklist of requirements.
Note: Requirements on the checklist may not be up to date, so make sure to ask if they have any new rules.

2. New Rule (also depend on whether or not your visa has expired). Visit your local police station to get a piece of printed WORD document indicating you have no criminal records. If you go during teatime, the police officer might offer you a little plastic cup of (overly sweetened but delicious) chai.
Bring along: photocopies of your registration paper, passport, spouse’s passport & PAN card and a passport size photo of yourself.

3. Old Rule but New Venue. Visit one of the bigger post offices to get a non-judicial stamp paper (aka e-stamp). Pick up the form from the post office and on the form fill out Party #1 as you, and Party #2 as the FRRO. The stamp paper is worth Rs100 (plus a Rs10 fee) and the whole purpose of this exercise is so your promise to the FRRO to not take any jobs or do any businesses in India while you’re on an X visa is stated on piece of paper. Why and how the postal people are going to enforce this promise of yours, I don’t know.

Post office. Note: According to the postal person, the new way of making an e-stamp is through a website which is only available on weekdays between 9am-2pm but keep in mind it's lunchtime between 1pm-1:30pm, so to avoid standing on a queue that wraps around the block, go at 9am.

4. Photocopy all your documents. If you’re unsure if you should include a certain document, include it anyway. I’m on an X visa because I’m married to an Indian so I had to bring copies of my husband’s passport, his PAN card, my FIL’s PAN card, and the list goes on). Organize your documents in order of the checklist or they’ll make you do it at the Scrutinized Counter (this will make more sense later).

5. Submission of Application.

Step One: Wake up bright and early (because the officers have lunch at exactly 1:30 pm-2 pm and you want to try to get through as many officers as possible before lunchtime). Have a big, healthy (and happy) breakfast. Before you leave home, look over your checklist and docs to make sure you have all your copies (and originals). Bring a bottle of water, a good book to read and your passport.
Step Two: Go to the FRRO and get a token. Wait.
Step Three: When your token number is called, go up to the counter and get your documents checked. You may proceed to the level above. Wait.
Step Four: Wait at close to the Scrutinized Counter (While you’re waiting, feel free to walk up to the scrutinizer officer once in a while and ask when is your number going to be called. I noticed many people jumping queue and the officers were more than willing to scrutinize them first before you, even though their numbers were much higher and should come after you. I’m not suggesting you should jump queue, I’m asking you to remind the officers, who seems to forget, they should be following the numbers as well.) When your token number is called, walk up to the counter with your documents.
Step Five: You can now proceed to the lady sitting under the “IO/ISH” sign so your documents can be checked/scrutinized for the third time.
Step Six: Go over to the Immigration Service Centers (other side of the room from the “IO/ISH” lady) so someone can receive your scrutinized documents and hand you your next assignment.
Step Seven: Go to the nearest bank to get a Demand Draft (DD). Make sure to make the draft in favor of the exact name on the small piece of paper that was handed to you on Step Six. My father-in-law wrote a check to get me the DD, so I’m unsure here if you can pay cash. Make a copy of the DD.
Step Eight: Back to the FRRO. Drop off your DD at Counter 1 and the photocopy of the DD at Counter 2 or 3. Wait (this time, someone will tell you how long your wait will be). When your time is up, your passport with an X Visa extension stamp as well as your Registration Paper should be ready for collection.

Good luck!

The FRRO in Indiranagar

Leaving New York City

2011-05-06T13:22:00.009+05:30

It took me a while but I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that I have moved out of New York City and the United States altogether. It wasn't easy for obvious reasons; I've spent most of my adult life in New York and it is the place where I was most comfortable and energized yet most confused, anxious and restless. It has shaped me into the person I am today. In India, when people ask me where I came from I’d reply “Malaysia” but at the back of my mind I’d say “New York City”.

Sappiness aside, I had three months in the USA to pack up my things and play tourist in my “own” city. Here are some highlights of my last trip to NYC and the rest of USA.

Californian Horse Ranch

“A”’s uncle and his wife own this ranch that's about an hours drive from San Francisco. It was amazing observing these creatures. They were so huge, proud and intelligent. One of them unlatched the door using its massive teeth, so it can come nearer to me for some extra horse-y snacks I had in my palm.

(My first) Camping Trip in the Redwoods

Many, many thanks to Mr. + Mrs. Shadley who graciously drove us to the Redwoods and showed me everything I needed to know about camping - "modern" camping, that is. Needless to say, I was dirty by the end of the weekend, but I had a blast exploring the quiet forest surrounded by nothing but these giant ancient trees. Why would anyone put a hole in a 2400 year old tree?

An Indian Wedding in Kentucky

Congratulations Nisha & Rob!

Roadtrip from the Midwest to the East Coast

Here's the scenery from our drive in Charleston, West Virginia.

Washington, DC

The Washington Monument, standing so very proudly.

Half-day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Jassy

Cheese! She was so excited when "A" and I picked her up from her school, she couldn't stop bouncing. She wore her favorite tutu and the necklace and Indian bangles I gave her. We had a great time learning about mummies, pyramids and Christian art, thanks to Uncle A(l)mit.

September 11, Ten Years Later

Pretty mesmerizing. Brought back memories of what happened on the actual day.

Ice-skating at Wollman Rink, Central Park

This is how excited my sister got when she finally tore herself away from her clingy kids and skated for like five minutes.

Halloween - Kiddy Style

I haven’t been to anywhere else in the world where people celebrated Halloween as seriously as the New Yorkers do.

Thanksgiving Once More

Two full days of cooking with my sister and one of the best dinners we've made together. We were too exhausted to eat during dinner time, but it was worth every achy feet. Possibly my last one in the USA because it’ll be strange to celebrate Thanksgiving in India, no?

My Farewell Party

One of the many in the past few years. This one organized by a very good friend, N.

Saying goodbyes were never easy for me. If I had a choice, I’d give up goodbyes eternally. I recalled being surprisingly calm when I shut the door for the very last time to my little 100-year-old tenement apartment on Mott Street, which I’ve lived independently for more than 3 years.

The living room window which is often blocked by my 18" flatscreen TV. Right outside the window is a tired-looking fire escape, weakly attached to the building walls which has a signboard that says something along the line of “if you get caught standing here, you’ll be fined $5”.

My unforgettable kitchen, dining and bathroom.

When it was time to say goodbye, I recalled it being a bit tough to hug everyone while putting on a fake "I'm alright" smile and holding back sobs. I was told life goes on, and you just have to go with it. I’m looking forward to my new home (it should be ready any day now...) and a new chapter but needless to say, I’ll be missing New York, especially the people in it.

Jules, the latest edition to my family.

A Muslim Wedding in Ooty

2010-12-29T00:00:00.006+05:30

I can safely say that I have attended more Indian weddings than any other types of weddings. If the last Indian wedding I went to in Goa was way too hot, this Indian wedding in Ooty was slightly too cold. Nonetheless, it was beautiful and a lot of fun, despite catching a bad cold. It was a good excuse not to drink shots.

Ooty, where the air is crisp and the skies are (occasionally) blue.

Day 1: The Sangeet

A nicely choreographed Bollywood-style dance by the bride's good friends.

Day 2: The Brunch & The Manjha Ceremony

At brunch.

Bride in a beautiful white saree.

Live band at brunch. This is "A"'s dad singing a Louis Armstrong song.

Manjha ceremony area. Manjha ceremony is when the bride is smeared all over with haldi (turmeric) paste usually provided by the groom's family. I think this is also when the bride gets all the wonderful gifts from him and his family.

Day 3: The Nikah (Wedding Ceremony)

The bride and her entourage.

Traditionally, the women and men are to be seated separately, but we didn't do that at this wedding. The bride has to stay under the veil until her husband unveils her.

Bride taking a peek from under her veil, for a group photo.

And finally, the happy newly weds.

For more photographs on the wedding, click here.

Note: To drive from Bangalore to Ooty, if you leave by 6 a.m, it will take about seven hours. Any later than that, with the bad traffic, your journey, like ours, will be an additional two hours or more. If you are prone to car sickness, like me, you should take a motion sickness pill before the start of your journey. Or if time is not an issue, I highly recommend you stop and spend a night at one of the resorts in Masinagudi (a forest reserve in Tamil Nadu). If you're lucky, you might spot a wild animal or two.

A wild elephant at Masinagudi

Jungle Retreat at Masinagudi. Click here for their website.

Ladakh: Lamayuru

2010-08-15T15:56:00.000+05:30

(Here's another overdue post)

"A"'s parents and brother had gone back to Bangalore and it was only the two of us left on this majestic mountain range. We spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing in Leh except slowly inhaling the insufficient mountain oxygen and reading. On our third day, we decided to go towards the West, to Lamayuru.

Lamayuru is about 125 km from Leh, 8 hours by car. Legend has it that this place was once the bottom of a deep lake but a Buddhist scholar prayed and caused the lake to drain. He then built a monastery here which housed the oldest gompa in Ladakh. Sounds like a fairy tale, but it's not all untrue. This place does look as if a lake has vanished and left a bizarre moonscape of rock formations.

The legend carved in stone.

The vanished lake and moonscape of Lamayuru.

Trekking on the moonscape. It's just as you thought it'd be; the surface under our feet was like semi-solid sand cakes. I was so certain there was going to be a landslide or I would step into quicksand because occasionally, I'd come across a hole in the ground and when I'd peep into it, all I would see was darkness.

Moonscape up close. Looks like a dried-up mixture of powdered sand and mud.

Inside the Lamayuru monastery.

An elderly lady who was hanging out at the monastery busily spinning a prayer wheel.

Sunset at Lamayuru.

Blackbirds chilling out on the top of the ancient gompa.

"A" exploring the moonscape caves. Some of these caves are manmade and are homes to the locals.

A tiny door to a sturdy home.

Doors that lead to no where.

The many colors of the Himalaya.

The scary yet amazing view on our drive.

Apart from trekking, you could also do some stone-carving at the "shop" attached to the monastery's guesthouse. "A" had the great idea of carving our names in Tibetan, on a slab of stone, but that stone remains unfinished to this day and is now collecting dust somewhere in my closet. There were some curious young monks around.

There are not too many choices for accommodation. We stayed at the guesthouse run by the monastery that has basic amenities, hot water and pretty good food. We requested the room that's on the terrace and our view was simply amazing.

"A" doing the moonwalk in front of the moonscape.

Click here for more pictures of Lamayuru.

Ladakh: Home stay in Ang

2010-08-13T15:37:00.002+05:30

While the rest of India is rapidly developing, westernizing and modernizing, Ladakh has managed to preserved its traditional, eco-friendly, and almost ancient way of life. Unfortunately, change is coming quickly to this Himalayan utopia mainly due of tourism and global warming. Yes, I am equally guilty but I tried to do my part and left as little impact as possible.

"A" and I stayed at a home stay in a small village called Ang.

Ang village.

A Buddhist monk walking through the farms in Ang village.

We stayed with Tundup, who fortunately spoke Hindi so "A" (and occasionally I) connected well with him. Here is his traditional mud-brick house and farm. All vegetables and fruits grown here are done organically because that's the only way he knows how to.

A bee (check out its coat!) looking for nectar from this mustard plant at Tundup's farm.

This is the toilet in the house, situated on the 1st floor (or 2nd floor if you are in the USA). There's a hole on the ground in the middle of the room, and the rest of the room is covered in loose soil. Poop collected on the ground floor from the toilet hole is then put back into the farm as fertilizers. Cool, huh?

Tundup's wife was on her way to Nubra Valley (about 2 days away from Ang village) to listen to the Dalai Lama speak. His neighbor came over to help milk the cow, and I helped (or tried to). It wasn't as easy as it looks! Milk from this cow was used in our tea, to make dahi (curd) which was then made into paneer (cottage cheese) and then the paneer was dehydrated and added as an ingredient to thukpas.

In a traditional Ladakhi house, the kitchen is also the living room. This ancient-looking stove is not only used to cook thukpas and momos but also used to provide heat to the room during winter. Dried cow dung, twigs and sticks were used for fire.

Old drinking bowls passed down from Tundup's grandfather.

The only water source comes from the river. Here's a self-made aqueduct that Tundup build to provide water for his farm that also runs through his house for drinking and washing.

For dinner, Tundup picked some fresh vegetables from his farm.

The whole family was involved in the cooking process, including his little grandchild.

Delicious homemade thukpa. Click here for a Ladakhi homemade thukpa recipe.

This here is chang, a Ladakhi homemade alcohol made from barley. Considering how it was brewed at home, and having experienced some home-brewed alcohol myself, I was surprised by how smooth it went down. It has a subtle taste with a bit of a sour aftertaste. We had a choice of adding roasted barley powder into our chang, which I did (the glass on the right). According to Tundup, this concoction used to be fed to little children when they had stomach aches.

And for evening entertainment, play with the family baby. Here is "A" giving an iPhone introduction to Tenzen, Tundup's two year old granddaughter.

Our room is situated right above the lhas, which is a room where farm animals are kept. Electricity is only powered-on to the village between dusk to 11pm, so by 10:30pm, everyone crawled onto their mattresses and waited for the lights to go off.

Click here to learn about Eco Friendly Living in Ladakh.

Click here for more pictures taken at Ang.

Ladakh: Nubra Valley

2010-08-12T12:54:00.009+05:30

Traveling from Leh to Nubra Valley has got to be one of the roughest road trips I've ever taken. Riding on the Toyota Innova that we hired for this trip felt like riding on a rickety train. Roads slips and slides for a couple of hours until you reach Nubra Valley. We want to see you drive through this, Top Gear!

Khardungla is en route to Nubra. At 18,380 ft above sea level, it is the highest motorable road in the world. We were told not to stay here for more than a few minutes or we might start feeling altitude sickness. We, of course, didn't listen. It's hard not to hangout since it's one of the few places in the world where you'd get birds view of the Himalaya. It was simply spectacular.

We met some people who drove all the way from Leh to here and turned back because the roads were flooded from melting mountaintop snow. Traveling in Ladakh is really based on luck.

The road to Hunder, Nubra Valley has the most amazing views but also the most dangerous - definitely not for the fainthearted.

Some didn't make it.

Nubra Valley.

Rolling sand dunes of Hunder, Nubra Valley. This is as far as foreigners can travel and till this day, as close as I have gotten to Pakistan.

Bactrian camels left behind from Silk Route days.

These bactrian camels and the people who run the rides have a pretty good deal going. Every evening at 6 p.m., the camel walas (camel managers?) will feed the camels some atta (wheat dough) as a form of "payment" and then release them back into the forest. We noticed at exactly 6 p.m, the camels would start becoming antsy, which reminded me of office people who were ready to punch-out. The next morning, the camel walas will go into the forest and gather the camels again for "work".

Nubra Valley at almost sunset.

Accommodation

There are no hotels or resorts here, only campsites. We stayed in one that was run by a monastery. These camps were pitched next to this 300 year old palace that used to belong to the Nubra royalties.

Inside the 300 year old ruined palace. These paintings have not been restored.

"A": This is the ultimate sandbox!

Warning: Do not play in the sand if you have electronics (cameras, iPhones, etc) in your pockets because you might destroy them.

Foreigners are only allowed to stay up to seven days. I don't need seven days but if I ever come to Nubra Valley again, I'll definitely plan for more than one.

Random Tips:

1 - Foreigners need an Inner Line Permit, which can only be obtained through a travel agent in Leh.

2 - There are no proper recycling facilities so take your trash (plastic bottles, wrappers, etc) with you when you leave.

3 - Pack appropriately - it's fairly warm down in the valley but the stop at Khardungla can be chilly.

Click here for more pictures of Nubra Valley.

Ladakh: Pangong Lake & Engagement

2010-08-09T14:18:00.010+05:30

My condolences goes out to the family and friends of the recent tragedy in Leh, Nimoo and Choglamsar. Please email me if you would like to make a donation to help.

I’ve stopped using the phrase “the most beautiful place on earth” on my blog because there are just way too many beautiful places out there, but Ladakh is something else. Amazing, spectacular, majestic, unreal, heavenly, the list goes on. This place is like no where else I've been in the world and it has truly changed my life in more ways than one.

I'm still sorting out 3000 photos taken during this trip but here are some photos taken at Pangong (or Pangong Tso), which is a lake in the Himalayas situated at the height of 4,350 m (14,270 ft).

Pangong Tso. See those lines - they are roads without guardrails, very common in India but illegal in the US.

Scenic drive from Leh to Pangong.

Depending on the conditions of the road (most of the time, the conditions are scary) the drive from Leh to Pangong takes about 4.5 hours, via Chang La - the 3rd highest motorable road in the world.

A quick toilet and snow-throwing stop.

40% of the lake is in India and the rest lies in Tibet, now China. To date, this is the nearest I've ever been to China.

The water in the lake is salty and has very little aquatic life. It's strange how these seagulls managed to live up here.

Place where they shot a scene in the annoying Bollywood movie The Three Idiots.

Our camps next to the lake.

Sunrise at the camp.

Buddhist prayer flags. You'll see this almost in every household and hotels in Ladakh.

"A" testing out the water, which he found out was freezing cold!

Sunset at Pangong Lake.

Sunrise at Pangong Lake.

Place where "A" and I got engaged.

And place where I blew my nose from crying out of joy.

My new family.

As much as I’d like to share this trip, apart of me is selfishly wishing that this place would never become a tourist spot. Just promise me if and when you get here, be a responsible traveler and do stuff like avoid using plastic bottles (drink local water), save energy and minimize your impact on areas that you pass through.

Random Tips:

1 - Foreigners need an Inner Line Permit, which can only be obtained through a travel agent in Leh.

2 - The air up here is pretty thin. Most of us had a hard time sleeping because of the lack of oxygen and some of us developed a migraine and some other respiratory issues. Make sure you bring necessary medications and a few cans of oxygens.

3 - Trash left behind are burned. Take your trash (plastic bottles, wrappers, etc) with you when you leave.

For more Pangong pictures, click here.

Yamini's Bharatanatyam Recital

2010-08-04T23:30:00.001+05:30

Yamini is my beloved yoga teacher. I've been learning from her since I landed in India about 2 years ago and I think I'm only as good as I am in my practice today because of her guidance (that should earn my some brownie points!).

Yamini also teaches Bharatanatyam and dances it professionally. Just in case you are unfamiliar, Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating in Tamil Nadu, India. Read more about it here. As much as I want to learn this dance form, I think I'm a little overaged. I heard that most people start at 4 years old.

A couple months ago, I went to one of Yamini's recitals and it was simply beautiful!

Backstage with Yamini

The Performance

Naturally, it is only fair that some yoga asanas have to be incorporated into the recital.

The dance was super awesome! What surprises me about classical Indian dances is despite the techniques and beauty of the dance, it is so under appreciated, even in India. I wish the younger generation would spend less time watching MTV and more time exploring local arts.

Glass Cutting

2010-07-07T14:14:00.003+05:30

If you think my life is all about hobbies, you're not too far off ;-)

My friend Anj told me about Uncle Patel's glass-cutting class and at first, I was apprehensive but when I found out that Tiffany's lamps were made out of cut stained glasses, I signed-up right away.

Mr. Patel run his little "school" on his balcony, which is also where he does gardening. He'll give you a little history on the glass cutting industry but the hands-on teaching is actually done by his assistant, Murli.

Sure I've cut my hands numerous times but according to Mr. Patel, it's baptism and everyone goes through it at least once. Glass cutting is not all you will learn at Mr. Patel's but it is the most important skill. After cutting, the sides of the glass are made blunt with a grinding stone and then covered with thin strips of foil. Finally, soldering is done to stick 'em all together.

Soldering.

Here's Anj happily soldering her window glass with Murli watching attentively.

What did I say about "watching attentively"?

It's no Tiffany's lampshade but it's a lampshade I made, with Murli's help of course.

Glass Cutting Info:
Uncle Patel
Phone: 080-25260035

Bangalore's Day Off

2010-07-05T15:48:00.005+05:30

I woke up to a strange day today. Dadi's (A's grandmother) nurse and our driver were missing, there were no fresh eggs in the kitchen (because the market was closed) and the strangest thing of all was the lack of noise - traffic noise.

I found out soon enough there was a strike today - a fuel price hike strike organized by the BJP (opposition political party, which happens to be quite influential in the city). And apparently, when there is a strike, the whole city, yes, I meant the whole entire city, shuts down.

MG Road at 12:30pm on Monday July 5th, 2010 - NO TRAFFIC!

St. Mark's Road usually bumper-to-bumper in daylight but today, you could actually see the trees!

I thought it was quite amazing that one political party can have so much influence in the whole city. I mean the city must've lost a few billion dollars! "A" said it's really not so much that the people were supporting the strike but more like they are trying to protect themselves and their property from being destroyed by some hoodlums, hence closing down their business for the day saves them more money.

The Collection, UB City - a luxury mall nicely protected by nettings to prevent damage from stone-throwing.

The Collection, UB City.

Another building covered in net.

We had to drive into town to see my orthodontist because I swallowed one of my brace studs. Mama B told us to avoid small roads because apparently people get violent sometimes during strikes like burning tyres and damaging running vehicles.

Violence, I didn't see. What I did see everywhere were people making full use of their day off (and the lack of traffic) playing cricket in the middle of the streets.

Spanish Cookout at Caperberry

2010-05-31T13:35:00.009+05:30

I attended another unlikely-to-happen-in-India-event last weekend - a Spanish cooking class.

Capperberry has always been one of my favorite restaurants in Bangalore so when Mama B asked if we wanted to participate in the cooking class, I signed-up right away! Caperberry head chef, Abhijit Saha must be by now, one of the most famous chefs in Bangalore. He's literally bringing Bangalore's gastronomical scene up to world standards. I think by collaborating with Food Lovers' magazine, and offering cooking classes in the Capperberry kitchen itself, he's luring people like me to come back for more!

The class started at 10 a.m. on a Saturday. Participants were divided into groups of 8 people.

First dish - Vegetable Empanadas

Filling empanadas dough with grilled chopped vegetables.

Everyone had a chance to make their own empanadas.

(sorry, shaky hands make blurry photos) Empanadas served with Romesco which is a dip made of bell peppers, almond, bread and a bunch of other things.

Second dish - Chicken Al Ajillo

This is a super simple dish with only 4 ingredients but taste absolutely delish!

Third dish - Crumb Fried Goat Cheese

Mixing goat cheese ingredients.

Forming cheese patties before dipping into batter and then into the fryer.

Ingredients for spicy tomato sauce.

Crumb fried goat cheese with spicy tomato sauce.

Fourth dish - Minted Lamb Chops with Red Wine

Here's one thing I've learned that would be helpful to you cooks out there. The chef added a big spoonful of mashed papaya into the marinade to tenderize the meat.

One of the bestest lamb chops I've ever eaten!

Fifth dish - Catalonian Style Spinach, Raisin and Pine Nut Filo Triangles

Chef "A" stuffing filo triangles.

The one on the far left is mine!

Filo triangles with alioli, a form of aioli.

Sixth dish - Fried Calamari

Calamari is soaked in milk then dusted with seasoned flour before dipping into the hot fryer for 40 seconds.

A fairly simple dish to make and only perfect when eaten right off the fryer.

The whole class took about four hours but we got to eat everything we made. After the class, Chef Abhijit served us a full meal, some of the dishes served were the same ones we had just learnt. So, you can imagine how stuffed I was by the time I left the restaurant.

Happy Chefs.

Read about what Chef Abhijit served us for lunch on my other blog.

Sunfeast 10K Run

2010-05-30T16:29:00.006+05:30

I was never a runner. Running 20 minutes on a treadmill is like pulling teeth; too painful and I can't wait for it to be over. Last weekend, some way or another "A" convinced me to run the Sunfeast 10K with him. I didn't put up too much of a fight, since after all, if I wasn't running, I'd be waiting around in the stadium for an hour for him to reach the finish line. And besides, I could always walk the 10 kilometers and yes, it would take 2 hours or more, but that's what I "could" do.

For a few weeks, I'd been reading articles in Bangalore Times on how to prepare for the 10K, and of course we hadn't done crap (the last time I ran long distance, specifically 5km was a year ago). So, "A" and I just decided to go for it. The plan was to have a big plate of pasta and sleep early the night before the run. That would've been a good plan but unfortunately, social obligations kicked in and we went out with friends for a spicy andhra meal instead.

Next morning, we woke up at 6:00 a.m, had 2 bananas and drove off to the stadium where the run would begin. While warming up, my stomach started to act up from the andhra food. I paced back and forth and tried to ignore the pain, which was only getting worse by the second. Of all the days I could've forgotten to bring tissues! Under normal circumstances, I would have held it in and waited till I got home to use the toilet, but I know running would only make it worse. I had to go. I found a porta-potty and thankfully, there was a small toilet paper roll in it. It was by no means clean or stench-free but I couldn't care less at that point. Note to self; NO spicy andhra food before any runs next time.

At the Kanteerva Stadium, waiting for our turn to run. There were about ten thousand participants.

While I was running, there were many, many times where I promised myself I could stop and walk for a few minutes at the next corner, but when I reached the next corner, I would see an old auntie or an overweight person running in front of me and I couldn't justify slowing down if they were still running.

Finally it took me 1 hour and 26 minutes to finish, but I did it! I completed a 10K run without stopping!

I caught a bug the day before the run, hence I was as sick and non-functional for a good four days after the run. Good excuse to be bedridden and a great way to recover.

Coorg in the Summer

2010-05-13T22:59:00.011+05:30

It's strange but true. I've been (traveling) in India for so long now that I'm beginning to return to places that I have visited before. I remembered my last Coorg trip being colder, wetter and gloomier. This trip looks more like this:

"A" and I wanted to submerge ourselves in the forests and learn a little bit about organic and eco-farming and Rainforest Retreat seemed perfect. Located up on the hillside, about 15km from Madikeri, Rainforest Retreat is literally surrounded by nothing but trees.

Rainforest Retreat
Click here for website.

You should only stay here if:
a) You (and your friends/family members) are ready to socialize with other guests because you'll be seeing them at every meal (or come on the weekdays to avoid the crowd).
b) You want to be far away from modern civilization and experience living in nature (life is very basic here, no cell phone reception or wifi, so you can leave your iPhones behind).
c) You are ready to go on 2-4 hour jungle treks (bring good walking/trekking shoes).
d) You don't mind bug and leech bites (bring long socks and mosquito repellent).

Our room, apparently one of the nicer ones. I was OK with the room ("A" thought it was too basic) except it was situated next to the dining area, so it was noisy all the time. I won't recommend staying in this room at all, unless you are an early riser and a late sleeper.

The communal dining area that was next to our room.

Our bathroom. Check out the clay hot water container. It was manually heated by burning wood right outside the building.

The tents. If we knew these existed, we would've signed-up to stay here instead. The tents are big enough for two single beds and sit on top of the hill, overlooking this...

Organic plantation of vanilla beans, cardamons, coffees, teas, peppercorns and a lot more.

Here's the pavilion or the "reception" area and the only place in the whole lodge with electrical outlets.

Rainforest organized a few hiking trips in the forest and in and out of some other plantations.

Hiking uphill.

Cows grazing in the paddy fields.

Someone's abandoned tea plantation.

A thousand year old tree.

Tarring the roads.

The town's post office.

Some locals doing laundry by the river.

Some other locals doing nothing by the river.

On our last day, Arun, the lodge manager, gave us a plantation tour and we discovered so much more of what Rainforest Retreat has to offer. He explained the many ways the plantation is recycling waste from animals and plants, which I found to be super interesting.

Here's where they produce methane gas (from cow dung), used in their kitchen stoves to cook our food!

We saw this little caterpillar (looks like a dragon, no?) while hanging outside Arun's room discussing reincarnation. Yes, we were there for a while.

Arun and some nice backpackers whom we played pictionary with on our first night at Rainforest Retreat.

Thanks Arun for being such a wonderful host!

Madikeri Town

Madikeri Fort - this is probably the only touristy thing we did on the whole trip. There is a temple inside that was removed by the British and was replaced by an Anglian Church, which is now converted to a museum.

A door in the fort.

On our way back to Bangalore, we dropped by Bylakuppe, a Tibetan settlement, to visit some fellow Buddhists. Note: "A" is not a Buddhist. Here is some information on Bylakuppe from an older post.

The famous Golden Temple.

We saw many Tibetan monks practicing what "A" called as the sound of "one hand clapping".

After a weekend of "roughing it", we thought we should treat ourselves to a day of luxury. While looking for Bylakuppe, we stumbled upon an enticing billboard that said "Spa on the Kaveri River". Before we knew it, we were checking in to a bungalow at Amanvana Spa and Resort.

Amanvana Spa and Resort

The quality of this place is comparable to what you'd get at a resort in Bali. In fact, with the nicely manicured gardens and the beautifully blossomed frangipani trees, you'd think you were in Bali.

Our private villa.

Our bathroom.

The Kaveri River, literally a step away from the resort.

The funny thing about traveling in India is that you never know what to expect. "A"'s advice: stop having expectations.

More pictures from this trip.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

2010-04-26T16:09:00.003+05:30

There is Indian Idol and then there is Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, which is the Indian equivalent of "do re mi fa so" and is also a television singing competition.

Sid, a TV show/movie producer and "A"'s bff, was helping with the production of the Karnataka finals (the state where Bangalore is located) for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and he invited us over for the shoot. Of course, none of us understood Kannada (the official language of Karnataka), but we thought it would've made an interesting evening anyway.

To convince Sid's bosses and clients that we were not just some random people off the street, "A" and his parents were posing as local musicians and producers and I was to be a popular singer from China, which is funny considering how I have never been to China and the only phrase I know in Mandarin is "woh pu huey jiang hua yu", which translates to "I don't know how to speak Mandarin".

The event was held at one of Bangalore University's halls. Sid gave us a tour of the production room backstage.

Contestants prepping for the contest.

View from backstage

The audience. We were seated on the first row from the stage.

The host started the show off with a song. We later found out she was lip-syncing.

One of the contestants. Check out the four drummers and their drum sets. Pretty elaborate, huh?

The experience: too shockingly loud both from the volume of the music and the random firecracker explosions in front of the stage. Two hours later, after the fifth and final contestant had sung, I thought it would be a good time to leave. On our way out, Sid said that that was only Round 1 out of 5 for each contestant for the night. I think you have to be a fanatic to stick around for that long. I'll leave that to the local Kannadigas to enjoy the show. It was interesting to see the "other side" of Bangalore though.

Hessaraghatta

2010-04-15T16:35:00.004+05:30

It was the weekend and "A" noticed instantly that I was getting ants in my pants. He suggested we take a short trip out of town to a place called Hessaraghatta, which is about 30 Km from Bangalore and is well known for its Indian classical dance village (or school) Nrityagram. Unfortunately, when we got there, the dance school was closed for a few months because the whole company is on tour. Note to self: always call before the start of a road trip.

Just opposite of the school is the Taj Kuteeram, a rustic and charming lodge, once owned by Nrityagram but has now been turned into a high-end hotel by the Taj.

Buildings are surrounded by trees and flowers.

Yoga building - depending on where you stand in this room, you can hear sounds in different tones.

Rooms at the Taj Kuteeram

About 3 km away, across a vast empty field (“A” called this The End of the World), is Our Native Village.

Our Native Village is entirely ecofriendly. The resort generates its own power using solar panels, harvests rainwater and reuses all its waste.

The "natural" pool at Our Native Village - combo of a swimming pool and a pond. The pond part of the pool naturally cleanse and filters the water. No chlorine added.

Rooms at Our Native Village. Paintings on the wall is done by local artists. In fact, everything in this resort is done by a local someone.

Every brick used to build this place is made of the soil that has been dug from the land below it. I think the whole concept of this place is very cool except there is a lack of design in everything, so the place looks a bit bare and a tad hospital-like.

They also offer bullock cart driving lessons, if you are a guest at the hotel.

It would’ve been nice to spend a night at the Taj Kuteeram and then a night at Our Native Village except I didn’t bring my toiletries so went back to Bangalore instead.

IPL Cricket

2010-04-12T13:18:00.004+05:30

You can’t be in India this time of the year without being stuck in conversations about the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket matches. I don’t know a single Indian who isn’t watching it on TV or streaming it live on Youtube. In my latest attempt to fit in, I agreed to get in on the bet with “A” and his friends and put my rupees on the Rajasthani team. I, of course, know nothing about the game or the team and I merely picked them because I loved visiting Rajasthan.

I’ve lived in the US for 10 years and I might have been to maybe six or seven baseball games but have never successfully learned the rules of the game. A month ago, “A” got us IPL tickets and on our drive to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, “A” gave me a 15 minutes crash course on cricket. The stadium, as expected, was too crowded, and so were its surroundings. Walking towards the stadium was an experience by itself. In the midst of the thousands of people who were trying to get into the stadium and the heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic, there were vendors, who would try to sell cricket team shirts, nimboo pani (sweet lime juice), roasted peanuts and face paints.

That was last month.

Last week, a good friend of “A” scored some really good tickets from work. We arrived at the same stadium 30 minutes late but instead of waiting on a long queue to enter, we were escorted to our seats, in the executive lounge, which I found out later costs Rs2500 (US$55) a piece.

View from our seats. We were seated so close to the field, I could almost see the expressions on the cricket players.

Cheerleaders imported from Australia.

We also had access to a buffet table with yummy Indian food beautifully laid out with unlimited amounts of Kingfisher beers, all available to us in the air-conditioned lounge.

Apart from the few drunken rowdy men, the crowd here was pretty tame compared to the noisy mass on the other side of the stadium.

Take a pic with the cheerleaders. Cheese!

Post-match. Hyderabad beat Bangalore by 7 wickets.

We didn't eat much and didn't get invitations to the after party, so we ended up here after the match.

A Sindhi Wedding in Goa

2010-04-05T12:37:00.004+05:30

Since my last Indian wedding post, I must have attended (and been involved in) at least 2 more Indian weddings. This one was a destination wedding, Sindhi-style, most events were held in Goa and then a reception in Bangalore. It was done so grandly, I sometimes felt like I was in a Bollywood film.

Day One: The Pool Party

The bride's family arranged for some performers at the pool party.

Guests enjoying the show.

Day Two: The Mehendi and Sangeet

The bride

An outdoor area where mehendi was done.

"A" won't keep his hands off any musical instruments.

In the evening, a sangeet was held in an open air area on top of a hill. This is the entrance to the party.

A sangeet performance by friends of the bride.

Day Three: The Wedding

Guys were required to wear turbans. The groom's family hired a professional turban-tier.

Friends of the groom in turban and Indian outfits.

Groom on a horse, about to meet his soon-to-be bride.

The band plays while the groom enters in a horse.

Here comes the bride...

The wedding ceremony

Day Four: The Bangalore Reception

I didn't get a chance to take shots of the newlyweds, but here's one with my soon-to-be family.

More photos of the whole wedding

Mantri Square, the Biggest Mall in India

2010-03-29T16:10:00.003+05:30

(Apologies in advance for the ugly-looking-pixelated-camera-phone-quality pictures.)

Earlier this month, the largest mall in India opened but since I haven’t been too in-tuned with Bangalore news lately, I got the big news about the launch of Mantri Square from my bff, Nan, who lives in NYC. So, out of curiosity to see what other imported goods are offered in India (and what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon), we went to the mall.

Professional-looking receptionist at the Information Desk

Taco Bell launched in India a week or so ago. Would you believe the line!

The architecture and layout of the building is modern and nice. There were some interesting ideas carried out in this mall, like the vertical parking, which is a big space saver.

Parking Area

I think it makes a lot of sense but on the downside, traffic becomes a pain when everyone decides to leave. Oh and the lack of parking-area labels may result to a lot of frustrated customer who couldn't find their cars.

The execution of the mall is quite blah and the lack of attention to details is quite obvious.

Is it really that big, like would I consider it a giant mall? Having come from Kuala Lumpur and seen a few massive malls there that are still trying to outdo each other, I would say the Bangalore Mantri Square is pretty modest, but next to the few malls in Bangalore (or India), it definitely deserves the title.

Entrance to the Mantri Square

I am not a fan of malls but I think this is a good start to bringing the city a step forward to um, modernization? Personally, I think it is safer and less stressful shopping here than say Commercial Street or 100 ft Road where you risk stepping into a pothole or getting run over by a motorcycle on the sidewalk.

Bali with "A"

2010-03-22T13:28:00.007+05:30

Bali again? Yes, because “A” wanted a relaxing destination, and exploring the hundreds of Angkor Wat temples, or biking around paddy fields in Laos just wouldn’t do it. But unlike the first trip I took to Bali with IQballs and Mads, where it was about ex-schoolmate bonding and partying, this trip was more of a tranquil and romantic getaway. First stop, Manggis.

Manggis
Manggis is a small region in East Bali about an hour drive from Denpasar Airport. Unlike the touristy South, this region is so rural that most locals are still wearing the Balinese traditional costumes. Women young and old wear kebaya, which to me, is one of the more elegant yet sexy costumes still being worn today. It doesn’t matter how skinny or chubby one is (ok, to be fair, I hardly saw any fat women in Bali) because the kebaya accentuates a woman’s curves without it being too restrictive and difficult to work in the paddy fields or ride sideways on the passenger seat of a motorcycle.

A walking tour in a small Balinese village in East Bali.

Beautiful paddy fields in Tulamben, East Bali.

Village chief preparing coconut water for us.

Alila Manggis
We stayed at lovely Alila Manggis beach resort. It wasn’t much of a beach and the water here is murky and sand black but the resort itself is very peaceful. We (or I) tried to maximize our stay here by signing-up for free activities like an evening yoga session facing the sea, afternoon herbal tea by the pool, cycling to a traditional village and badminton.

Sunset at the resort.

It was a bit overcast but that didn't stopped us from relaxing by the beach.

Having breakfast at the resort.

Diving in Tulamben
There are a tonne of dive sites in Bali but we only had time for two. The first one was a shore dive by Manggis and is nothing to brag about. The second dive was at the Tulamben U.S.A.T Liberty wreck, which according to our dive instructor (and I totally believe) was one of the more popular dive sites and during peak seasons, you won’t be able to dive into the wreck because of how crowded it gets. I think in my limited diving experience, next to Tokong Laut at Perhentian Island, this is the most exciting and most beautiful dive. The instructor took us into the wreck and I instantly thought of the last scene in the movie Titanic. It was unnerving knowing this wreck is 40 years old and at any given time, the eroded poles might collapse. If you decide not to go into the wreck, you could swim up and down the wreck (about 20 meters in height) and admire the stunning reef formations. I don’t own an underwater camera, so I’m borrowing this picture I found on the internet just to give you an idea what it was like down in the wreck.

Ubud Hanging Garden

“A” decided that since we’ve been through much “stress” lately, we should splurge a little and stay a couple of nights at Ubud Hanging Gardens. This is one of those places I normally won’t even dream about staying at because of the ridiculous price, but according to “A” it’s “really not that bad”. Ubud Hanging Gardens is a two hours drive from Manggis and 30 minutes drive from main street Ubud. This resort is built on top of the hill in the midst of the forest and tucked away from the increasingly noisy and busy Ubud town. I would suggest having some of your meals at the resort itself because we both thought the food at both the restaurant and cafe were delicious.

Pork bun served at the cafe.

Our villa

Private infinity pool, attached to the villa.

Private deck

Pool at Ubud Hanging Gardens

Stopover at Seminyak

Instead of spending another US$500 at the Hanging Gardens and waste half of the day away (because we were leaving super early the next morning to go to the airport), we decided to stop over at Seminyak on our last night. I didn't do much research for the hotel and was a little nervous before we arrive here (because "A" can be quite picky...) but Uma Sapna turned out to be super cool. The interiors were modern, simplistic and grey, in fact, the whole place practically spells "A"!

Our villa at Uma Sapna

Pool at Uma Sapna

Click here for more photos taken on this trip.

Click here for more activities at Bali.

Dear Bali,

I just can’t get enough of you. Please stay serene and beautiful and try not too change too fast and I promise to convince “A” to come back to visit as much as we can.

Love always,
Po

Goa Hush-Hush

2010-03-18T19:47:00.006+05:30

I was contemplating for a moment if I should write this post since the places mentioned here are only known to locals and the only reason why we even found out about them was because on their first day, A’s dad bumped into a restaurant owner from Bangalore who frequently visited Goa.

Near Morjim Beach
First off, let me tell you about the place we chose to stay. Siolim House is a charming restored 300-year-old Portuguese villa that is tucked away in the leafy lanes near Morjim beach. The original owner was a governor to Macau and according to Lonely Planet, this place contains more antiques than the British Museum.

Entrance to Siolim House

Siolim House courtyard

Inside Siolim House

Our room

A Goan Greek
This place is a gem! This restaurant is located on a cliff and overlooks the sandy beach and coconut treetops. We didn’t get here in time but A’s parents sat at this table and watched sunset while sipping on freshly squeezed orange juice. We met the bubbly owner who is a Greek lady who has been in living in Goa for 25 years and started off by selling lamb wraps at the Anjuna flea market. After much persuasion from her customers, she opened this restaurant.

Customers dancing to Greek songs

Grilled fish. The food here is a bit more pungent and complex compared to what you would get in Athens or Santorini mainly because the owner came from a Greek island that is located on the west, near Sicily.

Under the Nerul bridge
… you will see a little brick building painted in sea-blue. The people who reside in this building also run a little restaurant called Amigos.

Amigos services on a mural, under the Nerul bridge.

Giant mud crab is one of Amigos' signature dish. We ordered two, this one cooked in garlic butter sauce.

Goan prawn curry with poi (Goan bread)

After lunch, with Auntie Bina’s superb negotiating skills, we went on a boat ride on the river towards the sea.

Fisherman picking sea shells.

On our boat, we saw this private mansion on Aguada hill.

More photos on Goa
Previous stories on Goa

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner

2010-02-22T00:22:00.000+05:30

Yes, yet another overdue post, but little delayed but better late than never.

Every lunar New Year eve, my parents wake up at 7 a.m. and start preparing dinner. You read it right, not breakfast, not lunch but dinner. This special occasion is commonly known in Cantonese as “chuin yuin fan”, which means reunion dinner and is the biggest event that happens in my parent’s home. Every year, there would be too much food for the 4 of them (or 5 of us, if I make it home) but according to mom, leftovers from the reunion dinner is very auspicious because we are bringing in the new year with plenty of good food and also means that we won't starve for the rest of the year. I don't know how true that is but cooking and eating mounts of food has always been great fun to me!

Here is the menu for this year’s reunion dinner.

1. Chow Tung Fun (dad’s specialty)
2. Dung Ku Pau Yu (braised mushroom and abalone)
3. Kai Lan Fa & Scallops (steamed broccoli and scallops)
4. Steam Pomfret
5. Hou See, Pai Kuat, Fatt Choy (braised pork ribs with oysters)
6. Gai Keok (braised chicken feet)
8. She-Chap Tiger Prawns
9. Sweet & Sour Dolly Fish
10. Pak Cham Gai (steam whole chicken)
11. Lap Cheong, Lap Ngap, Nga Ku (Chinese sausage and arrowroots)
12. Lotus Root Soup
13.Curry Chicken
14. Laichi and Longan (for dessert)

The many sauces used.

Lou hei dish

Lou hei!

She-Chap Tiger Prawns

Steamed chicken

Dad's infamous dish: Chow Tung Fun

Lap Cheong, Lap Ngap, Nga Ku (Chinese sausage and arrowroots)

Dad, mom and bro with his employees.

I’d like to share all of these recipes with you but unfortunately, I only had time to pick on dad’s brains for one recipe. This is a simple but delicious dish.

Dung Gu Pau Yu (braised mushroom and abalone) feed 4

1 can of abalone
8 med-size dried shitake mushrooms
A bunch of baby bak choy, slice in two
1 tbls oyster sauce
1 tsp chicken stock
1 tsp corn flour
2 tsp water (to mix into corn flour)

Method
* Soak mushroom in water until soft, about 30 minutes.
* In a small pot, fill pot with water until half-full and bring to a boil.
* Drain water and squeeze the mushrooms to release excess water.
* Cut and discard mushroom stems.
* Add mushrooms into boiling water.
* In the same pot, add chicken stock, oyster sauce and let simmer until about quarter of the liquid is left.
* Add liquid (only liquid!) from canned abalone.
* Let simmer for a couple more minutes to allow mushrooms to soak up all the yummy juice.
* Remove mushroom from pot, and set pot aside because we need the liquid for the sauce.

* On a separate pot, boil water and add some salt and a bit of oil.
* Blanch bak choy until slightly cooked (should be lesser than 30 seconds, do not overcook!)
* Remove abalone from can and slice into thin slices.
* Arrange bak choy, mushroom and sliced abalone on a plate.

Sauce
* Bring liquid from the first pot to a boil.
* Add salt or sugar to taste.
* In high heat, add corn flour and water mixture to thicken sauce.
* Pour sauce over cooked ingredients on plate.
* Serve immediately.

Abalone & Mushrooms

Koh Lipe

2010-02-21T22:42:00.006+05:30

I don’t care how last minute it is but if you suggest a trip to an island, I’m game!

Merv had the week off and Joe K was back in Malaysia for a month so what better way to spend Chinese New Year than to lay on the beach and soak up some UV rays. I thought a trip to Koh Lipe would cost close to nothing since it is literally the island next to Langkawi. An hour on the plane and another hour on the boat should be reasonably inexpensive right? Wrong.

How to get there
To maximize our stay, we took the earliest Air Asia flight out of Kuala Lumpur (LCCT) that got us to Langkawi at 8:30 a.m. After grabbing a bottle of Smirnoff at the airport duty-free store, we hopped into a cab and drove to Telaga Harbor only to find out that the 9:30 a.m. speedboat has been overbooked. We had to wait for the next (and last) boat that was departing at 2:30 p.m.

Goofing around in Langkawi

Roundtrip flight from Kuala Lumpur (LCCT) to Langkawi: RM569.00 (USD $168). Roundtrip speedboat from Telaga Harbor to Koh Lipe: RM 250.00 (USD $74).

Waiting at the Koh Lipe Immigration for our passports

The speedboat took us to the the immigration center at Pattaya Beach where we waited patiently in the heat for our passport. After that, we then hired a long boat for a 3-minute boat ride to our hotel, which was on the other end of the beach about 1km away.

I’m pretty sure there are more economical ways to get to Koh Lipe. I read that you could take a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Had Yai and then a boat to Koh Lipe OR instead of taking a speedboat from Telaga Harbor, I eventually found out that you could hire a normal boat for much less. Also, during low seasons, budget flights from Kuala Lumpur (LCCT) to Langkawi cost as low as RM49 (USD $15).

Where to stay
Another disadvantage about traveling last minute (during high seasons) is that all good hotels are fully booked! Our first choice was Castaway Resort but since there were no rooms left there (or anywhere for that matter), we booked (and paid for – most hotels here asked for full payment upfront) a room at Sanom Resort. It was reasonably pleasant except that even though we were facing the beach, there was a lack of breeze so we had to keep the windows open the whole night and needless to say, we were attacked by seveteen thousand mosquitoes. I’m exaggerating. The room came with a mosquito net and fans but you get my point.

Lunch at Castaway Resort

Our room/hut at Sanom Resort

What to do
I was hesitant to write and share this trip because in my eyes, Koh Lipe is still a gem waiting to be discovered. It’s not as popular as Koh Phi Phi or Phuket but I can tell it will get there very soon. There were rows of resorts along the beach that was housing a few thousand tourists that looked like they needed to apply more sun block lotion. Popular activities include diving, snorkeling, beach massages, reading and lazing around.

Sunset

Post lunch laze

Post-massage laze

More pictures

A Malaysian Chinese Wedding - morning session

2010-02-07T21:07:00.008+05:30

I admit, it’s shameful but I just attended my very first Malaysian Chinese wedding. Since this is totally new to me (as opposed to the my other friends who has attended each other's weddings in the past decade), naturally, next to the bride and groom, I was the most excited and also the most clueless person at the wedding.

Foong, the bride woke up at 4 a.m. to prep for this.

The chee-muis.

As friends of the bride, I was part of the chee-muis or sisterhood. Chee-muis were summoned to be at bride's house by 7 a.m. on the wedding day where the first of two tea ceremony sessions would take place and before the arrival of the groom and his heng-dais or brothers.

45 minutes late but the groom and his heng-dais finally arrived with a lot of honking in 8 cars and a few "goodies".

Goodies include a whole roasted pig.

This is the dai kam che, I guess you could say she pretty much ran the show. Her noisy, high-pitched and high-volume voice gave me a headache but her energy level is impressive!

It's customary for chee-muis to hinder the groom from entering her home by testing his love for his soon-to-be wife. Some obstacles that the chee-muis came up with includes eating a 4-flavored sandwich; flavors include sweet (honey), sour (lemon pulp), spicy (wasabi) and bitter (Nescafe instant coffee powder) each representing experiences in life, washed down with some wasabi tong-yuen (rice balls, more spice for life!) and “lip-passing seaweed”.

Keith, the groom tasting the yummy 4-flavored sandwich. Can you see the wasabi oozing out of the sandwich?

Heng-dais had to help out.

Keith feeding the heng-dais spicy wasabi tong-yuen.

Passing of the seaweed.

The games are followed by some heavy angpow (red packets) negotiation (we’re talking about real money here!) and some sweet public confessions from the groom.

After about an hour of proving his love for her, the chee-muis unlocked the door and the groom saw his wife for the first time and followed by the many, many hours of tea-pouring to the elderly and the ancestors.

Smokeless joss sticks.

Click here for more pictures taken during the morning session.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T02:30:00.002+05:30

I know, at the rate I'm posting, it’d be Christmas but can I just say that it’s tough juggling a couple of start-ups, catching up with people and trying to spend time with my two little terrorists (also known as my nieces) before I leave NYC again.

Having been deprived of a whole year without Thanksgiving food (Thanksgiving in India), the menu this year was I think, the most extravagant it has ever been.

After many weeks of Food Network watching, my sister and I decided to ditch Ina and Martha and went with the New York Magazine Thanksgiving menu. All the recipes were written to feed 8 people and so we doubled the ingredient amount suggested. We had originally planned to cook for 18 people but 6 people flaked and did so just as the Fresh Direct man rings the doorbell with our Thanksgiving grocery delivery. We also added to the menu our all time favorite; green bean casserole.

Our cooking game plan/oven schedule, courtesy of Joe Kon

Ingredients used for Green Bean Casserole

The 20lbs turkey

Temperature of turkey *must* be 155 degrees

Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing

Joe preparing orange ham

The Thanksgiving banquet

Carve away Alf!

I wish I could say I was stuffed but after cooking (and smelling) food for two days, I didn’t have much appetite during dinner. In fact, I was so tired that I didn’t even bother carving the turkey, which to me, is like making the first cut on a perfect birthday cake. My favorite dish of the day is Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes.

To most Americans, Thanksgiving is about gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation. To us, Thanksgiving has always been about getting together to eat. As I grow older, I realize my ability to eat great amounts of food has declined and Thanksgiving is no longer about how much I can eat but about how much fun I have cooking with my posse.

Change of plans

2009-10-30T01:19:00.007+05:30

I’ve been very productive with social events and being a tourist in the United States of America. If you haven’t heard, I’m back in NYC. How does it feel like being back? At first, it felt like I was in a dream, very surreal and wasn’t sure if it was due to jetlag or utter happiness. After about 2 days, it felt as though I’ve never left NYC.

I moved back into my little Chinatown apartment after being away for 15 months. Parts of Chinatown still smells like rotten seafood and the subway stations, despite the fare increase, still have a strong scent of urine. The mayor of Mott Street asked “You still doing computers?” My facialist tried to sell me another facial package; 15 facials for the price of 10, when I still have four more facials left from two years ago. My nieces Big J and Lil’ J are still the cutest little peoples in spite of the recently adopted princess-y attitude. I heart NYC.

A lot of people said I should update my blog name because I just turned 31, I finally came “home” to New York City and in the midst of my adventures in the past year I miraculously found a man (I call him my boyfriend, also-known-as “A”).

It was a tough decision but after much contemplation, I decided to maintain this blog as well as my current immigration status (B1/B2 Visitor Visa). This simply means I am not going to try to get a full-time, 9 to 5 (more like 9 to 9) job that sponsors, be in the mercy of Corporate America and have my ankle chained to the leg of an office desk for the next few years.

What will you do, you ask?

Here’s what I’ve been up to since I got back.

An Oregon Wedding

An NYC Wedding

A Berkeley Wedding

“A” visits NYC

Intrepid Museum

Times Square

Phoenix Concert @ Central Park

Po visits the West Coast (like twice)

The scenic drive in Oregon

Calatrava's Turtle Bay Sundial Bridge, California

San Francisco Bay bridge

And last but not least, www.ifluidmedia.com