Coffee and conversations !

http://www.zevenworld.com/…/running-is-a-coping-mechanism-f…

Singapore - walkers paradise !

Almost everyone visits Singapore as a part of their first experience outside Indian borders. And why not, it’s safe, clean, organised, and we get Indian food. I have visited Singapore many times in the past but this year’s summer holiday in Singapore with my kids turned out to be different. Sure we did the usual touristy things – Sentosa, Universal Studios, Gardens by the Bay etc but what I loved most, was exploring the city on foot.

Since Singapore is easy to get around thanks to the extremely efficient and well organised public transport system, we travelled everyday by train, bus and foot. Taxis were used but limited to airport to hotel transfer, and the places not easily accessible by the MTR. I always believe the best way to explore a city is on foot. We happened to be staying at Bugis – a wonderful cosmopolitan area within Singapore. A confluence of Muslim and Hindu culture, Mosques, Temples and Churches co-exist peacefully. A stone’s throw from the vibrant, Arab Street, we walked down to the lively cafes in the evening for a casual dinner and beer after a long day at the usual tourist places. I find street side cafes quaint and we loved sitting out in the open, with the warm summer breeze, live music and chilled beer for company. Either side of the street were lined with Turkish, Lebanese, Mediterranean, Indian cuisines, French Café’s serving pastry’s and coffee each playing their own kind of music ! Truly my kind of heaven.

Another area, we loved exploring on foot, was the Esplanade. A walk in the light rain, down the charming Anderson bridge, we came across the 100^th store of Starbucks ! Customary visit was ofcourse not to be missed – one of the best starbucks in Singapore – location wise. With huge windows overlooking the Singapore River, one can spend an hour or two or three, with the company of good books and awesome coffee! The majestic Fullerton Hotel in the background, me and my kids, walked down towards Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Along the way, we came across beautiful bronze statues depicting the history of Singapore, from the land of traders to the Finance capital of the world.

My favorite picutre  !!!! 

At the 100th Store of Starbucks !

Look for these as you walk along the Esplanade !

My personal favorite – was the statue of the little boys jumping into the river. It depicts the innocence of childhood, the simple pleasure of life !  While we walked and strolled, looking for a place to lunch, we reached Boat Quay .. lined with cuisines for everyone from every part of the world, we settled for Italian. A cute place called Vespetta – with a bright red Vespa scooter welcoming us at the door, we settled down to eat authentic Italian thin crust Pizza, Peroni beer served by a cute Italian owner !!! Heaven ! On another day, we walked down from the Merlion to this amazing food court, called Lau-Pa-Sat !

Since we stayed a Bugis, we walked down to Bugis night market, for all the knick-knacks and souvenir shopping. It’s much better to keep your shopping limited to the night market, you get everything you need without paying a bomb ! We also walked down Orchard road, which I personally have never enjoyed. It’s too stuffy for my liking. I showed the kids the street and we settled down on one of the steps leading to a mall, eating yummy ice cream sandwiched in a wafer …. At 1SGD per person it was just the best and what a huge variety of flavours to choose from.

We spent 6 days in Singapore doing everything necessary and finding new alleys and roads, eating joints and shopping places. We went one evening to East Coast Park – a lovely place to go with kids; with swings, beaches and you can even hire bicycles for an hour or so. Tip – carry a valid ID proof like your passport to hire a bicycle. I wasn’t carrying mine so we couldn’t rent them ! We in fact took the bus from Bedok to East Coast Park which was just so easy !

Travel Tip – Singapore is really easy to move around in local transport like the Bus and MRT. The MRT connects every nook and corner of Singapore. Buy the Ezeelink card – with this you can travel on the metro and the bus with ease. We saved a lot of money by travelling in the MTR. It’s even cheaper if you travel in the off-peak hours. We usually set out at 9:30 when off peak rates started and reached almost everywhere in less than 1SGD. In fact, on our return, we went to Changi airport from Bugis by the MRT. We reached in 20 mins flat without any hassles. Ezeelink cards are available at most MTR stations, at the Airport and at most Seven-Eleven stores. You can top them up and even get them refunded on your return at Changi!

So the next time you are Singapore, try something different. Walk around and soak in the culture, history and liveliness of the city ! Trust me, you will want to go back again !

Happy travelling !

An afternoon of meeting Champions !!!

I have often read that the great champions have had humble beginnings, which carries on forward as they become they best at their sport. Wednesday - 19 April 2017, a bright and sunny afternoon in New Delhi at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium was an evening which proved this.

A chance post on Facebook, led to me inbox Roland Garros and express an interest to meet Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Having spent most of the early 1990’s watching and admiring Steffi Graf, I was well aware of how competitive and tough an opponent Arantxa was for Steffi. I have sat through cliff hanger finals of the French Open and Wimbledon between these two. The chance for the kids and me to meet a champion like Arantxa was not to be missed.

We got the call and the time and day was intimated. Now my kids have no clue about Arantxa – they know Federer, Rafa and Djokovic. But I gave them a download and sure enough were excited to meet Arantxa. On the drive down they even brushed up their Spanish to impress her 😊 .  As we entered the DLTA, figuring out where we had to go, we bumped into guess who !!!- Dipa Karmakar. Yes, the champion who brought laurels to India by being the first Indian to compete in Gymsastics and attempting the death defying Produnova. We were stunned to see and meet her. She is so petite and pretty. She was walking out, with no airs of a champion, like you and me, smiling and acknowledging who ever recognised her. With my kids and me whispering ‘is that Dipa Karmakar?” she simply turned around, flashed a million dollar smile and said, ÿes I am Dipa” .. Our next question “can we take a selfie ??” 

Selfie taken… and we talked to the tennis courts.

It was delightful to meet Arantxa – grounded and humble, social and amiable, like a true champion! The kids said hello in Spanish to her, Ola ! and soon we were across the net with her. The kids really enjoyed their attempts to rally. With some of the more talented kids, I saw flashes of the Sanchez we saw playing against Steffi Graf. After that was the customary photograph and autograph session with her. She spoke with me like we have known each other for years and I had to stop myself from asking if she had Steffi Graf’s number !!!!!

The kids were thrilled, I was overjoyed and it made me feel great that I have a sporting gene in me …which is getting passed on to the kids ! They came back happy and content and went for their tennis class – If I have managed to get them interested in tennis as sport even if for a recreation, it has been a mission achieved for me !

Hauz Khas Village - old wine in a new bottle

Hauz Khas Village – a village which has become one of the hot-spots of South Delhi. A village which retains its ethnic village charm, co-existing with pubs, loud music, drugs and hyper active hormones. I have recently started liking my visits to HKV ( as it’s known ). I have a few favourite places to hang out on a nice, sunny winter afternoon to relax and catch up. I have visited HKV with friends and with my children and each time the experience has been different.  Everyone who comes to Delhi, or is from Delhi will visit HKV, and here are a few tips I have learnt along my visits there

• Soak in the character - it’s a quaint experience to walk down the alleyways and narrow lanes. I, for one, am fascinated by haveli’s, well’s, and narrow paths leading somewhere unknown. Take time to soak in the character of the place, read the tombstones and find your own paths.

• Reach early to enjoy the  village –Reaching early also helps you get parking easily, which as anyone who has been to HKV, can vouch for is a nightmare on weekends from late lunch time onward. Avoid the weekend nights – while we all have our moments of madness, where we want to be the wild party animals, Hauz Khas Village loses its charm for me in the night. An absolute nightmare to park, crowded lanes, waiting to be seated and a nightmare to exit, I would avoid it in the nights. Of course, it would be make for pleasant early summer evenings, though the traffic would be enough to put me off.

• Take the kids – my kids enjoyed walking though the village, and exploring the ruins. However, avoid taking the kids on Valentine’s day or the day before Valentine’s day. The village is known for couples high on hormones and drugs and it was a little tough to explain certain things to the kids.

• Food and drinks aplenty – all the known joints have a branch at the village. Food and alcohol is reasonable to suit all pockets. My personal favourites – Social Chhat ( terrace) for winter afternoon’s – overlooking the reservoir, complete with cots, it’s the perfect place for the winter afternoon with friends or family. Yes, it’s a kid friendly place too. Nirula’s ice cream parlour is right next to it – perfect for that hot chocolate fudge. And of course, Starbucks – make it a take away, walk down to the ruins and enjoy your cuppa in peace … not bad, I say !!!!!!

So go ahead, go down and enjoy a bit of the Old Delhi charm in the heart of South Delhi.

Destination – Egypt

Every student of history always finds studying about the Egyptian civilisation very interesting. The land of Pharos, mummies and pyramids held us all in a trance during lectures in college. Just imagine the excitement I must have felt when I actually had a chance of visit the Pyramids. The Suez Canal is an important canal for vessels, connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and drastically reducing distances and time taken by ships to cross over. The canal length is around 193 kms and usually takes between 11- 16 hours to transit. The vessels move in a single-line convoy with a halt at the Bitter Lake to continue onwards. The northbound – southbound convoys are meticulously planned and work with clockwork precision.

Though not as exciting as transiting the Bosphorous, the Suez Canal is a marvel in itself. It’s  a slow transit, with dessert and barracks lining up the view on either side . An interesting aspect of the transit, was the setting up of souvenir sellers on board our ships. These guys board the ship almost around the same time the pilot comes on board and before you knew it, the dining/ tv deck became a little Egyptian bazaar. They would be there the entire time of transit on board and our little alleyway or if we allocated them a designated area, became lined with papyrus paintings, jewellery boxes, couches, plates with Tutankhamun and Cleopatra all over. Over time, I started looking forward to these guys on board, as it provided a change in atmosphere on board and a chance for me to pick up knick knacks for the people back home.

A highlight of one particular trip to the Suez was a chance to get off at the Bitter Lake while we had an overnight halt to continue our convoy. The captain managed to arrange a boat for a few of us and I managed to get a day to visit the Pyramids and Cairo. It was like I was living the dream of every history student in my class. Visiting the pyramids is like visiting the Holy Grail of history.  All my lessons flashed  in front of me. It was quite a long drive to Giza and then out in the distance, there they were.. giant, majestic and a perfect example of symmetry in monuments… the great Pyramid of Giza also known as the Pyramid of Khufu. The enormity of size doesn’t really hit you until you are up and close to them. Huge is not even a word to describe it. There are two other, slightly smaller Pyramids – Khafre and Menkaure. Of course, over time and with extensive plundering by robbers during the ancient and medieval times, a lot may have changed in the external façade and internal loot but nonetheless that it did not stop me from being awe-struck. For a few minutes, we simply walked around the structures, me for once not saying much other than Wow ! Then the guide asked us, do you want to go inside ? Did we ever ? Yess… lets go … !!! So we climbed up a bit through the rubble and entered a long and narrow passage. It was exciting beyond words. We started walking down the passage, full length first, slowly slouching a bit, then a little more, then a little more, then all fours crawling down and finally almost flat. The passage seemed to get narrower, darker, scarier, definitely the air was less, and then ….. we are into the burial chamber of the King Khufru. For that moment, I felt what an archaeologist must have felt to discover that tomb. A tiny granite sarcophagus was all that lay in front of us with a candle for light .. how that candle burned beats me to this day, since I had a tough time breathing with the limited oxygen available.

We saw the sarcophagus with the mummy inside … it was like going back into the beginning of time. We spent about 5 minutes there and crawled our way out of the tunnel. History aside, what a relief to breathe freely. Next stop was the Sphinx. Face of a man and body of a lion, it’s almost as if the Sphinx stands guard of the Great Pyramid. A few customary photos with Sphinx and we were on our way. A quick stop to an itr-factory – aroma scents and then through the hustle and bustle of Cairo city to the pier on get on board a cruise down the Nile with a belly dancer. Could that day get any better ?  We missed out visiting the museum at Cairo where the remains of Tutankhamun are preserved due to the Cairo traffic and the boys were so kicked about watching the belly dancer !!! The cruise was nice and of course, the belly dancer was better given the loud cat calls, whistles and cheers she got !! She obliged the 5 boys ( overgrown men ) I was with – danced and jiggled with them and happily clicked photographs with them.

With the warm breeze of the Nile on our face, we ended a very long day in Cairo with every minute being worth it. We got back on board and a few hours later, set sail with the convoy on our way to Ukraine. I only wish I had more time to visit Luxor - the Valley of Kings and Aswan.. that would have truly completed my historical journey around Egypt. But that remains pending for another time.

A country is known by its history and Egypt is no less. They take pride in the Pharos, queen Cleopatra, the pyramids and the sphinx.  Visiting this place, reminded me how much I wanted to be an archaeologist and made me fall in love with my favourite subject again.

Hyderabad calling ...travelling for the love of running

Recently, someone mentioned on the social networking platform if I was running out of ideas to write about. It’s not easy to be constantly writing about something, no matter how much I may like it. A day has multiple variations and priorities, almost like being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.In the midst of juggling between home - work balance, the running season is about to kick start in Delhi/NCR. One corner of the white board on my office desk is lined up with the list of events I have registered for. The one coming up in two weeks, is the Airtel Hyderabad Half Marathon on the 27-28 August weekend.

The Airtel Hyderabad Half Marathon holds a special memory for me. It was where I completed my first Half Marathon in 2014. I had never been to Hyderabad but the adventurous side of me took over and I booked my flights, stay and off I went. From whatever little I saw of Hyderabad, it seemed a lovely city. Sometimes, travelling for a run, is similar to travelling for a business meeting. One reaches a day before, usually to go to the expo to collect the bib, mingle around if you know people and then rest up for the run the next day. Sightseeing or gorging on local cuisines is not quite on the agenda. 

In 2014, I was new to running and I went and simply collected my bib. I knew Arun Bhardwaj was doing 24 hours on the treadmill there, so I made sure that I went up and met him. Till before the Mashobra run in June 2014, I didn't know who Arun Bhardwaj was. It was there that we were introduced and I got to know a little more about him and his phenomenal achivements.Till today, I am eternally grateful to Arun, for walking and talking the gruelling last 7-10 kms of the killer Mashobra trail with me. We trudged along slowly, talking about life, running and the universe interspersed with stretches for the knee which refused to walk with me. We kept it touch and it was natural to go meet him. 

Hyderabad 2014 was a good run; I felt good the whole way of those 21.097 kms. It is called the toughest city Marathon and there is no doubt why. The flyovers are long and long and still longer and with no shade throughout the way coupled with the killing humidity, it's not an easy run to do. I walked-ran-walked-ran and finished the run. The race takes you along the arteries of Hyderabad and the atmosphere is simply fantastic. The crowd is cheery, loud and everything is wonderfully organized. 

Coach Ravinder Singh once mentioned in a post that it's easy to do the 21kms of a half; it's the .097 which is the toughest and I couldn't agree more. With every reserve I finished the Hyderabad HM and what a delight it was to see Arun at the finish line. The high five at the finish with him and the medal, are moments to treasure for a lifetime.

I am walking and running at least 4 - 5 kms a day with the usual stretches. With the humidity peaking, energy levels are down with excessive sweating. I am also enjoying the feel of the Ascis. It has been money well spent. My feet don't feel fatigued and even throughout the walk it's quite a nice feeling in them. 

Runners are a crazy lot. We travel far and wide, over and across to take part in a run. Running and travelling become so integrated for us that sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two. But then, what better vacation for me than to pack my bags, wear my sneakers and put on my headphones and catch up on reading while on the move. It’s like the genie giving me all my wishes together. 

Hyderabad is calling once again.... I am hoping it's a good run with some sightseeing or local biryani mixed in this time.  

Istanbul- one of my favourite cities in the world

Every time I heard Istanbul, I had varied images going through my mind. I imagined it like this magical place on earth with Aladin flying over with his magic carpet. I imagined it as a bridge between Asia and Europe separated only by the lovely Bosphorous. I imagined it as a busy market place, a melting pot of cultures, cuisines, of cobbled pathways leading to pottery makers, carpet weavers and more history than I could possible fathom. Istanbul is all this and so much more. As a student of history, Istanbul always came up. It was known was Byzantium when it was founded and then came to be known as Constantinople during the Roman and Ottoman empire. Istanbul has always enjoyed a prominent place in the history, geography and economics of the world due to it’s strategic location. It is divided by the straits of Bosphorous, which is the only sea route between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea  and I have been lucky to do this passage 6 times while sailing.

My love affair with Istanbul began in 2004 on my first time on board. Always fond of ocean passages and geography, I keenly observed the passage planning to a particular port and this was no less. Our first transit was at 04:00 a.m. Woken up from slumber, I staggered along the deck to take in the views. And my goodness, I was speechless. It was the most beautiful city I had seen at the break of dawn.. with lights, cafes, laughter, music and just the enormity of looking on the left, thinking wow, that’s Europe and looking on the right and thinking, wow that’s Asia. The passage lasted an hour and so and I sat riveted absorbing everything I could see and beyond.

The transit on the way back was just as breath-taking – this is time in the lovely afternoon sun with clear blue skies and the slight nip in the air. The black sea actually looks black and it’s very depressing to see the view… the slow sailing from the Black to the blue of the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean was like witnessing a painter at work. The flow of colours shifted from dark and intense, almost melancholic black to blending of black and blue and finally a brilliant shade of blue, full of life  and vibrancy.Spotting dolphins jumping out and racing along with our ship only added to my adventures.

I visited a small port called Bandirma – a transit between Istanbul and Izmir. I like to enjoy a city on foot, walking through the streets and getting lost, only to find a new way. Bandirma gave me all this. Off the gangway, I was into the city. The biggest pain then was the currency with the Lira being in millions and billions it was quite a headache for me. But I managed. And I walked, and walked, and walked. Through cobbled alleyways I actually found carpet weavers, bazaar lined with spices, hand painted Turkish tea cups and plates and realised that most cities with bazaars are like Delhi – bargain and bargain some more. I made friends with some port officials who actually introduced me to Turkish Red Tea – which is a strong and potent dose of tea and actually red in colour, much like the expresso shot of coffee. Izmir was a short distance away but as anyone who has sailed on gas carriers knows, port stay time is very less and turnarounds are fast ..commercial pressures !! So Izmir was left for another day.

I managed to get a days’ time at Istanbul and I made full use of it. I visited the Blue Mosque – called so because of the hand painted blue tiles on the interior walls of the Mosque. It is one of the few Mosques with six minarets and is bathed in beautiful natural light streaming in through stained glass windows. Next stop was the Topkapi Palace – and what a palace. Words cannot do justice. Its seeped in history and culture and every step and every wall gave me the goose bumps. Perhaps the Imperial Treasury room was a favourite with spoils from wars and gifts – diamonds, emeralds, gold and rubies ..

A visit to Istanbul would have been incomplete without a visit to the Grand Bazaar – with it being everything I saw in the movies in which Istanbul and it's bazaar's lined with shops and merchants were shown, it was the perfect icing to the good visit. Shops, shops and more shops with everything being the flavour of Turkey and the melting pot of a cross cultural city coming to the fore. It was like a scene right out of one the Humphrey Bogart classics for me. Their love for blue came forth in paintings done on plates, saucers, glasses, tea cups and even hair clips for women.

The Asian side of Istanbul is a full load of history, monuments, local bazaars, spice markets and is like going back into time. The Western side, is Europe as we know it – with the latest designer brands,coffee shops and the high life. There is a quaint charm and nostalgia when you walk down the Asian side; there is a spring the step and a sense of being with the times when on the European side.  A sail down the Bosporus one can take in all the wonders including the most amazing water front houses ,rather mansions, I have ever seen. 

I have been up and awake every transit of the Bosphorous we did and every time the feeling was like falling in love all over again. 

Istanbul isn't just any city that you visit. Istanbul is a love story that never ends.