Open mouth

I am told quiet often that I'm a fun person to be around , I crack some silly jokes , speak at lightening speed ( I'm trying to cut on the speed though ) , do not complain when being laughed at ( at least I can make people laugh  :) ) tch tch btw that's a noble cause :D...If someone's new in the group I try and talk in the field they are in and make them feel comfortable and blend in with the others.

On one such occasion which happened to be my cousins Bachelor's party there was a big gathering of young couples , some eligible singles and the groom off course.I knew most of them in the gathering barring a few of the  wives who happened to get married recently. My cousin walked up to me and introduces me to the rest of the group and whispers to me asking me to get the ladies talking to each other.. Well I was more than pleased , all the ladies seemed very nice and since I liked socializing this did not seem a task.

One of the ladies was a dentist and we got talking about dental problems and blah blah blah , the issues how to tackle them with a few jokes  contributed by everyone. Somewhere in between one of the ladies commented about the new fashion where people get their teeth pasted with a diamond and enhance their looks.Frankly I never gave such fashion a thought, but since the topic was being discussed I gave my opinion that  only a useless person would do something like that. And I further went on to tell that these Docs do this only for money and they never tell their clients not to do such things .. Suddenly I see the lady Dentist and a few other smiling away to glory , I stopped and wonder whether I missed something ..

And then in the dark I can see a shining glimmer of a diamond sitting tight on the tooth of our beautiful dentist. I was not sure whether or not I should apologize right away or not ... I just walked out from the surrounding for a couple of minutes not able to control my own laughter .. I finally did apologize :) ... I must add that she did look quiet sweet with the glint on her tooth 

Dreams come true : Angels are required at times

When in school I had a huge big gang of friends , we all used to sit near the basket ball court and have our lunch. We all took pride is being a big group. As we grew up the group split and re-split and split . We finally were 5 good friends and 2 of us became thick friends. And we remain so till date.....touch wood....

Rats from school was a talented young , jovial girl ( lady now :) ) . I was this boisterous , naughty , playful girl. We both gelled like ice cream and chocolate sauce. Rats was a born singer and our singing teacher's pet. I would always want to sing but she would tell me next time all the time. I did not like her a lot , I simply could not understand that when they are some 20 girls in the group if I sang along how can the song go wrong , I could easilyblend in . I could not explain as well back then , but my teacher even though she understood my query never bothered explaining, though I understand why now :).

We got a circular informing that there is an inter state singing competition in our local language Kannada and a group of 10 girls were required. Rats was chosen to hand pick the 10 girls .. Boy did I smile or what , this was my chance and needless to say my only chance to be on a singing platform. I was one of the 9 elite group member chosen to take part in the competition.  We practised for days together and it seemed all perfect atleast I thought so and I think even the rest shared the same opinion. A day before the competition our Language teacher who was in charge of the team came along and instructed us to sing one after the other. I did not think too much about it until I was asked to sing ALL ALONE :( ... I barely sang 10 words and my teacher was screaming who took this girllllllllllllllll :(((((((((((((( .After a good hearing from the teacher for both R and me I was asked just to mime the song and not sing along. No changes in the singers were allowed in the last minute and that's how I today possess a 1st prize for a singing competition at State Level >.. Thanks Rats my dream would have remained a dream

  

PG days

Not sure if I mentioned this before , but if I were to be brought up in Mumbai or got relocated to Mumbai during the beginning of my career then I'm dead sure my profession would have something to do with entertainment , maybe in production. For sure behind the scene , :) before anyone smirks and wondering how can I ever think entertainment industry..I would have been strictly behind the scene.I don't know jack about production , what goes into it etc etc . But I know its something I would have enjoyed...Earlier I used to crib and get annoyed when I see pathetic acting , but when I actually tried doing something myself .. I realized even for terrible acting it takes amazing amount of talent. It's easier said than done , so I learnt to appreciate actors who try and try no matter what people say.

When I was doing my masters in we had our annual cultural event , everyone was super excited and geared up for the events . We had competitions for everyone both for the talented and not so talented. If you have the guts to come up on stage , your already a winner ( this I learnt after the shows got over ) . I took part in almost all the talking competitions and needless to say did reasonably well . My buddy from degree who studied masters along with me and myself were a pair and I must say we were the top team . We had more exposure than the rest and I'm sure if something like that were to be held now we would be in for some rude shock. Anyways we basked in our glory which was good for us. All girls team beating everyone was of great pride specially when you are single in a college filled with boys ( wink wink ) .

The girls in our   class were super enthusiastic , they wanted to dance. Buddy and me were the localities with a better presence than the rest of the girls so we could have our way most of the time. We decided on a song and 2 girls volunteered to choreograph the song ... The did a trial run and it seemed all good , but the fun starts from here. 

What looked like simple steps that anyone can do , seemed the toughest steps from my buddy and me ... We just could not do it .. Obviously we could not admit that we are pathetic dancers and it was tough , we simply said this step is not good. the entire dance changed , all simple boring steps to match us. In simple words it was a disaster.  I could not stop laughing looking at ourselves practice , and then it struck me , if I land up doing this dance and that too right in the front . I was giving up myself for slaughter , a joke for the next semester.  How can I get out of this , if my buddy and me had to get out together they would know . Buddy was still better , I was dismal :(.

As the countdown began , 3 days before the D day I landed up with a terrible back .. Viola!!!!!!!! gals I cannot dance , its a question of my back.. Everyone seemed to buy the story except off course Buddy , she knew something was up but if i did tell her then she would have pulled out too. I thought I shall reveal the truth after the competition.

We traveled on bikes to a place that seemed out of country after riding for hrs to get the costume , it looked just perfect.

On the final day all the participants were ready and pumped up. I was the official photographer , right in the front. The dance started and boy oh boy . It was disaster from minute one , 1 of the participants who had no frontal view decided she had to come in the front because a guy she had a liking for was sitting in the audience . Everyone in the team were shocked but continued , she kept coming in between and showcased her talent . I was right in the front unable to control my laughter , buddy sees me and bursts out laughing missing a few steps . From them on it seemed like a movie scene , one after the other everyone seemed to be doing their own step. No one was in line , everyone just seemed to want get clicked. I think they wanted memories in terms of pictures more than the trophy. Needless to say we were not even rated and we were just happy to have participated. Sorry not we , they. 

I cant post the pic in view of the personal privacy of the ladies mentioned :) But I must say it was one fun joy ride .. Thank you guys I had one of the best heartiest time ever that night. 

Funny Episodes

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has foot in the mouth kind of episodes in their lives , but I definitely think if we take a ratio I sure will tip towards the top end. What is with me and awkward situations I don't know , but I must admit it does bring back a smile when I think of them in retrospect.

Just the other day I realized that maybe I was gaining some weight which was not desirable , so decided to hit the gym very religiously. After an hour and half of cardio and weights hubby and me walked down the stairs and I spotted someone vaguely familiar , I could put a name to the face but I was dead sure I knew the lady. After turning around 3 times to catch a glimpse and re collect her name I finally hear her call my name followed by a Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. She was an acquaintance from college whom I  last interacted with 10 years ago. My mind was racing as to how a pretty girl and trust me she was one of the pretty ones in college , can look like an average regular girl next door . I wish these thoughts just ran in my mind and I was not pushed to talk further. But as the story goes. pushed I was , this friend continued talking and my mind was in another space all together. Finally when I got to speak , I blurtedddddddddd.. How did you get so FAT !!!!! my husband tells me I had the most dead pan look on my face , I did not know where to hide my face . Did I just say what I did , how could I , what got into me ... Was it really me. I wanted to tell Sorry but scared that I might remind her of the blunder I just committed...

With no face to show again and never wanting to meet the lovely girl she is due to my blunder i walked away feeling terrible , to make things worse when I told my husband I was so uncouth , he replied telling but off course you were.I was feeling bad enough and this made it worse. When I narrated the story back home my FIL ( one of the most non controversial , non biased , humble , genuine nice person ever ) pacified me telling its fine people do make mistakes and she might not have felt that bad. I'm sure she felt bad but my FIL made me feel better.

My husband said he will procure a device which triggers off when I meet someone after a long time , to first think and then talk :( , sigh I wish this episode did not really happen to me ...

Turkey Tripssssssssssss 14 days

If there is anything like the 2nd best that is almost at par with the 1st then , THIS IS IT :

I always thought and still believe that Indian food is the Best Cuisine in the world , my taste buds were  pleasantly surprised to know that something equivalent is there is another corner of the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you Food from Turkey , lip smacking , wonderful after taste , heavenly aroma  and enticing presentation. Maybe a slight or more than slight flavor of Indian food taste is what made my mouth water.. This article is not  about the food , but about Turkey as seen from my angle , the food was mentioned  right in the beginning just to make sure I get my point across , the food is simply put DELECTABLE. 

Behind every trip I have a solid reason and this trip is on exception , for readers this is my first travel blog but its definately not my first trip.. Before memory fails I thought I should pen the latest and move backwards least I forget more details of the wonderful trips..

 My cousin bought a voucher from Religare and they had this usual thing of refer someone , no prizes for guessing who the referred person is :) MOI....

The voucher stated that we could get 6 night and 7 days of trip anywhere in the world and blah blah blah ,,, who won't fall for such things , I'm sorry but I was not the smartest to have figured out that this was a possible scam.. So buy we did , valid for a year and with our annual trip pending this seemed just perfect.

I did not waste any time , from day one I was onto the booking people , after following up relentlessly and after I was told from that  9 of our options only 2 were being considered since the rest were all booked ( which by the way was a big lie ) ..to cut the short short I literally threatened to pull them to court if they dont give my booking. Lady luck glanced at us and we were the only ones among the 10's I know of who ever got the voucher redeemed. 

Turkey was the chosen destination , we first planned to hit Antalya which is a lovely quiet city and then hit Istanbul where my husband has booked us at one of the best hotels with the most cozy best and the loveliest view ever.. I'll get to that in a while... I tend to write a lot if your reading this then you have no options but bear with me  :)  if this can be called a style well then its simply my style , this is the shortest I can write :)...

This trip we did on our own , no agent no 3rd party.Extensive google study about what to do and not , got info from a couple who I found on a friends friends facebook page who visited Antalya . etc etc... I found out during one of my research and a few mail thread to the Turkey embassy that if the tourist has a US visa stamped then they would get a visa on arrival which works out cheaper. My brain got ticking , cheaper wowwwwww I can shop more with that extra money ( wicked smile ) ... I convinced my husband its not a good idea to get the visa stamped in Blore , since he has  US visa , I'll just get mine done here and we can get this visa stamped in Turkey when we land...

The day finally arrives ,  I was super excited to go on the trip but felt guilty and sad coz we were leaving our son back. He was just a year and half and we did not want him to come on a trip that might not really excite him..

At the airport we moved a little slower than others , why because Vignesh did not carry a valid visa and the authorities were not clear on the new policy ... I forgot to mention that the policy for US visa holders being eligible for visa on arrival was implemented on 30th June , we traveled in Nov .After a few checks and call they let us in , Hubby  was not necessarily amused . He was darling and kept quiet but I was definitely not calm , outwardly yes but internally I was like I hope we get through no issues at the port of entry... After a nice journey with horrible non veg food we landed in Antalya , huge Airport but Viola !!!! are we the only ones :) somethign was amiss , most people who landed with us were heading towards another wing for change of aircraft. We headed to immigration..

I was the first to go , bingo in a min I was let go to breath the fresh air of Antalya and experience a journey very different from the others. Hubby was next , the man on the other side of the counter flips n flips through the pages , makes someone else check and re-check again and finally asks " Visa Where " ..Hubby tries explaining and we get to know their knowledge of English is very limited ,, damnnnnnnnn...If looks could kill I would not have been writing this :) but hubby stayed calmmmmmmmmm.. We went to another control room , I pulled out all the papers and interactions with the Turkey embassy where they informed that we are eligible for options and that the rule was new..

Apparently we were the first to take advantage of the new rule , now how in the world was I to know that,, plsssss tell me ... No English anywhere , but our dear internet came to our rescue , with some translation tool and a few understandable English conversations they understood what we were telling . After over an hour we got out of the Airport,Visa in tow ... Learning : Don't take risks with new rules , never wise to be penny  pinching specially on a foreign trip.. Specially where language could be a problem...

 We come out and see a few people sparingly but the entire ambiance made me feel good , the air was super clean and ultra fresh , I loved it from Min one and the time spent sweating it out at the airport almost seemed negligible.

Cab was the easiest way to our hotel in Kaleci , its the old town and we got our booking in a place called Karyatit.We reached around Mid afternoon and the weather was pleasant...We look around and see cute little cars called Doblo from Fiat plying as taxis , lots of cars we find on Indian roads were seen moving around... From Tarred roads we suddenly swirl to our left to a cobbled road with Palm trees running through the center of the road .. It seemed like a movie set with shops all over with glamorous ladies walking on the path way and a tram running in between the foot path and the road and off course the scooters which seemed straight out from a 1970's movie.... As we enter Kaleci old market we move through tiny cobbled roads like we see in some English Movies with Building touching each other , ranging from small , medium to big ... Almost every house has been converted to a Stay at home kind of an accommodation , some to hotels and some into just restaurant. I did not count for obvious reason , but there must have been more then 200 such places , with atleast 50 restaurants all in close proximity ...

Mid afternoon we land @ Karyatit and sweet little place , with creepers all over and a very homely English feel , as we walk to our room we meet the lady owner , very pretty looking and very well built ( politically correct I hope ) ... It was quiet cold and our landlady was blowing small smoke rings into the air , quiet forward I thought to myself knowing that they come from a conservative community. Very polite and helpful right from the landlady to the janitor we knew we made a good decision to come here...This accommodation was provided by Religare :) we compulsorily had to take the breakfast package which costed us extra but no complains since we did not want to go out looking for bfast early in the morning.Also we read reviews that if we don't take the breakfast package they landlady is wont  necessarily be nice to us , its is once in a life time trip why bother , its was reasonable so no complains all the way..

We were shown our room , what can I say ,it was cozyyyyyyyyyyyy no doubt but maybe a little too cozy I would think , the room just fit the cot right.. We had space to just fit out bags and then hop to our bed , both of us are on the slim side so we did not bother too much on the space bit but for someone who is a little healthy I can foresee serious problems :)... There was not much to scrutinize around the room and clicking of pictures since it was just small and ultra compact, turn to check the bathroom.I think only a size 0 can get in comfortably and not complain , I was at my thinnest possible phase of post marriage weight and I could not get in straight , I had to move side ways.. Its might be difficult to picture the scenario but it brings a smile back on my face wondering how the Janitor who is at least 100 kilos cleans the room , maybe a long stick or there is someone I have not seen who is reed thin.

We don't waste anytime and after a quick shower get ready and leave for our first venture into Antalya..Im a cat fan and for cat lovers this is paradise , every family has cats and some have in 10's , all big Persian cats and occasional small cats. I have never seen so many cats in my life roaming around with absolutely no fear of human beings. Dogs I spotted very very few. We walked out around 5 in the evening and felt chill breeze swaying across us , felt good , clean fresh air ....We meet a lot of European couples who come down to Turkey during the month of Nov as Turkey is the last country in the west that hits winter ....Sun is precious to most people who come from the colder regions of the world. People could not fathom why we could want to come from India to a place like Turkey because they think India is warm and we would not like warm climate. 30 to 36 is warm for us , 15 to 20 is warm for the westerners ..GK aside we move on , the entire feel was the place was surreal so calm , sea a stones throw away with not an ounce of stick feeling like in India and some other countries I have been too, Trams , 5 inch heeled ultra glamorous beautiful ladies , good looking men with very very thick eye brows . In general a person who gets into details if I'm intrigued for now this should do good :) ... Kaleci is the old city and the most fasinating part of Antalya is that on one side of the road you will find the old city and on the other modern to ultra modern shops and restaurants... Both unique in their own way and the old city had maintained the charm which is very rare these days across the globe. If they thoought about tourism industry maybe we would have saved a few more old historic places with the cities that we live in now ... Moving on..........

We enter the old city with me starting by clicking multiple pictures standing over the small bridge that takes us into the old city with numerous shops selling both old , new n fake items which are almost genuine :) ... I pick up a Nazar Bandook , a Talisman which is very intricately done , after a good bargain I picked up 3 of them only to realize I still did pay almost 1/3rd the price more more most of the shops around , Lesson Learnt : Never pick up things in first shot , scout around and pick it up unless your scared that it might get bought and yes don't bother asking the rate from other shops , learn to be satisfied :)

The Start

God knows the number of times I have wanted to pen this down , a million things and never got down to it... Most people who know me will vouch that I want to do something on my own rather than work for someone else at some point in life. I wanted to start writing when I take  a break from working and realized that it might be  while before I do something like that.. When the memory is going strong why not write. If not anybody ( grrrr grrrrrrrr) , I'll force my children and grandchildren to read :)

I have been travelling from the time I guess I knew the meaning of the word travel , whether its to Gmom's place near Kundapur or in Anna Nagar in Chennai or the travel that took place during a wedding celebration. My folks knew I loved travelling and they made sure that I was  part of any trip organized from school or college. Mama would tell me ,  travel as much as you want now , what if after marriage your husband turns out to be someone who does not enjoy traveling.

One of the first few conversations I had with my husband  was what would I as a wife expect from him besides the usual , loving  , caring , sharing , sensitive etc etc  . Pat came my reply I want to travel the world :) I never once had to think I knew I wanted to travel a lot and thinking of it now I wonder if just to spice things up the corny way :) I should have said some cheesy line like , ''travel the world with you for saath saath janam ''. I was not good at drama way back then , but I think I can earn a buck or 2 for some theatrical acting now :) come on guys after all I have been married for 5 long years .

Just to let you know guys know , I am not trained writer . I just write what comes to my mind , no fancy stuff just the regular what some of you might relate to... Actually I wonder whether everyone at some point experiences situations which you have seen in some movie or heard someone talk about it. A lot of such things keeps happening to me and I wonder is it just me or it does actually happen to everyone. After all I'm sure all movies at least the sensible ones are at some way or the other inspired by some story in real... Added and garnished with some tadka off course..

What will this blog comprise off , good question but I don't have an answer. I would like it to write about all the places I have visited and the stories that some along :) simple enough. Done quiet a bit of travelling already  which is think is pretty good . Will take a while to jot those down besides stories on my travels that keep happening :) ...

Love me or Hate me but you cant ignore me. I always found this amusing , but lets just  say I'd like to play it safe ... Love me and there's no way you can ignore me :)  ..

Preempting a few questions here , who is my inspiration : Kushwant Singh : for the writer in him , he seems to have a story for every thinkable situation in life ...so does that make me inspired by him ??? again good question... its Simple I seem to have stories too, for almost every situation in life :)  and all of them have happened to people in and around me and some to me itself.

But off course only the non sensitive episodes of my life will be showcased with my talented writing skills , jokes apart I think I should hone my skill and get there at least in a decades time .. practice does make man perfect... so many actors and actresses can vouch for me....and mind you unlike the actors I'm unpaid but my drive to excel is more i'd like to think