Travel Diaries New Zealand - 2 Queens Town

This is the part 2 of New Zealand travel post,  for the uninitiated read the first part here
After Dunedin it was off to queens town through the southern scenic route which is a bit longer but scenic so that decided it for us.

On the way(Dunedin to queens town) its a journey of 8 hrs but the drive is a breeze and there are lots of cafes and farms where you can stop have coffee, buy fruits and freshly made ice cream 

This was taken at clyde dam, which is also a camping site

On the shore of lake Wakatipu in Queens town,its 5 min of walking distance from city center, in the background are Remarkable mountains where LOTR was shot. People of NZ are so lucky they get a chance to live in the midst of such beauty,

 ya I am totally jealous

I did bungee jumping well to be honest its called swing but it did involve jumping off a cliff,

and it was on my bucket list :) the last structure is from where you jump and I did it twice 

This is the city center with an Indian restaurant in the backdrop, I do love different cuisines but after a week of non Indian food,I do feel like having something spicy and familiar but NZ has Indian restaurants in every major city so not a problem.

Queens Town is called the adventure capital of the world and you can do all kinds of sports here, we did only bungee and jet boating, but there are tonnes of other options, trekking, kayaking, canoe, boat cruise etc.... so basically something for everyone.

Will cover Milford Sound in the next post supposedly the most beautiful place in NZ.

Have a great Monday :)

Camera

My camera is refusing to take pictures and it happened right at the moment when I was all ready in a pose after getting a new hair do, sure in the knowledge that I look great :) 
The good thing is, I will probably be able to buy a new camera which I have been wanting to since quite some time.
Any suggestions as to which one I should buy??? I don't know anything about photography except posing of course :)
Also, thanks all for the nice and supportive comments on the last post, Kiran from fitnesolution has written a post about it on her blog which you can read here she has an amazing blog and writes about fitness, spirituality and  fashion, do check it out.


Here is a pic taken on the day of my MBA convocation, my new hair do is similar to the one I am sporting here so I thought I will share this one

This day officially counts as one of the happiest days of my life

Ambitions Vambitions

Sometime back I was having a discussion with someone about my not wanting to work in a corporate job(as I don't like it) and taking time off to figure out what to do with regards to career and in passing he said that "ya it's good cause if women are too ambitious then family gets neglected"  and before anyone gets the wrong idea it was definitely not my husband.

Now there are some things about me that everybody who knows me knows

I am a pakka (strong) feminist, a firm believer in gender equality and I absolutely hate it if if someone tells me that I have to do something cause I am a woman or if anyone tells me I am not ambitious.

Do you have to be a busy executive working a high powered 14 hr job(cribbing about it always) to be ambitious????

I can have an ambition of having a happy healthy life instead of getting into the rat race just to prove something to others.
Secondly my not wanting to work a corporate job has got nothing to do with family being neglected and last but not the least
why do women need to work an easy job for the sake of family??? such a decision should be taken not on the basis of gender but on personal preference and earning capability.

There, I have spoken my mind and feel better already, phew!!

Husband tells me to chill and let people say what they want to say, but sometimes just sometimes these kind of people get on my nerves and I need to vent.

And here is what I wore to the mall, the key word was comfortable 

Cropped my face cause was having an extremely bad hair day

Kerala Diaries 2: Kumarakom

This post will cover  Kumarakom, it’s a small village in Kerala near Kottayam town but quite famus because of the back waters and Vembanad lake.

Kumarakom is 6 hrs from Munnar but the drive is very scenic and I enjoyed it a lot, such clean air that my city bred lungs were shouting out with joy.

Taj Kumarakom

The resort is on the shore of Vembanad Lake and has a lagoon inside it, in which you can do fishing and boating. Did you notice the color of the cottage, most of the houses we saw on the way were such brightly colored ones, seems people prefer such colors.

The Gazebo

Posing at the jetty

A woman from the village lighting diyas(oil lamps made from clay) all around the lagoon

This is what it looked like after diya lighting ceremony

I think this dance form is called mohiniattam

  I liked this background with the bright yellow bungalows 

My new fav shoes

Backwaters, these are small canals that actually serve as a road in the villages and are a major mode of transportation.

There are houses on either side of the canal and all the canals connect to the lake

Vembanad Lake, which is the longest lake in India and one of the largest in India. You can also do over night  or day cruise on the lake which is a very popular option.

Wanted to finish the post on a happy note cause thats how I feel after my trip :):)

p.s in case you have any queries about these two places feel free to ask.

Kerala Diaries 1: Munnar

I am back from my Kerala trip happy and completely refreshed, it was a great trip, we visited Munnar and Kumarakom - the places are beautiful & clean, people are friendly and nice, a win win combination :).

Here are the pics,

No this is not Kerala this is the new airport terminal at Mumbai which is at par with any international terminal 

and I am so proud of it, ye for India.

Airport was all decked up for the Independence Day and I followed the dress code with my orange jacket.

Matupetty Dam in Munnar(on the way to our resort)

One of the numerous scenes you encounter on the drive

The place where we stayed, called Camp Noel a small resort with a 7 star service, we loved our stay here though it is difficult to reach as it is far from town and there is no road. 

We hiked to a near by hill top, it was a 3 hrs hike with a leech attached on my leg but as can be seen from the view totally worth it.

View of the valley

Going for a picnic(tea estates in the background)

Cherry Blossom 

View from our cottage window

Saying bye to Camp Noel

The pictures speak for themselves and hence I rest my case, hope you had a great weekend. Will catch up with all the blogs this week .

Teej Celebrations

Today is Teej, a festival I used to look forward to when I was a kid, reason: it bought me three of my  favorite things of childhood :

 Good food(i am a foodie),

Holiday from school(I hated school with a passion when I was a kid) and 

Girly gifts(these i loved). 

My uncle(mom's brother) used to visit us every teej and he used to bring gifts for my mother and me.

Gifts like clothes, sweets and cosmetics, and toys for me.

 Image source: topnews.in

I was not aware of the significance of teej or why it is celebrated except that Teej meant gifts, food and yeah a swing in our backyard.

Now that I am older and know Mr.Google I know that the festival of Teej commemorates the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati(sorry mom I know you must have told me about it then, yeah I did not listen to anything)

Teej also celebrates rainy season, also called sawan in Hindi.

Legend of Teej
According to Hindu mythology, in the month of Shravan, Goddess Parvati reunited with Lord Shiva after a penance of hundred years. In her 108th birth, Lord Shiva realized her devotion for him and accepted her as his wife. This legend is said to be the basis of Teej celebrations.(source: http://www.teejfestival.org)

Rituals of Teej:

You gotta have rituals or it's no fun

Applying Henna or Mehndi

women keep fast and perform other customs for long and healthy life of their husband and worship goddess parvati

And my favourite part of teej the swings, women get dressed up and swing, sing songs and dance, as a kid I used to love seeing grown up aunties swinging, singing and dancing. Mum used to dress me up and I was allowed to play as long as I wanted, a luxury believe me.

  Image source:tribuneindia.com

In Mumbai Teej is not celebrated but I celebrated it by getting dressed up in my brightest clothes, buying presents for husband and cooking good food.

I am not religious but I feel that you have to keep the culture alive or there would be no festivals left.


And here's I at my brightest and most colorful.
This is an ethnic dress called salwar suit worn with a long scarf called dupatta or chunni, there are various ways of draping it I have tried to cover the most common ones.

salwar suit: custom made(gift from mom)

dupatta: hand made (gift from mom)

bangles: bandra

ear rings: twisted

I love this outfit and lament the fact that I hardly get a chance to wear it.

The dupatta is very heavy and keeps slipping but I do not pin it for the fear of damaging it

The way women wear dupatta in villages by using it to cover their head.

The work is called Phullkari(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phulkari) and these kinds of outfits are commonly worn in Punjab region.

 My gypsy ear rings

 And now am off to Kerala for a week of  fun, so will see you all after next week.