Reaching There

It's tough to be a vegetarian deep inside the provinces of Philippines, far away from the cosmopolitan Metro Manila! I would have been forced to survive on cup noodles for almost thirty hours if not for the new friends I made on the trek. The plan that began with a seventy-five percent chance ended up with me on the top of Mount Cristobal in Philippines.  "You'll have to bring vegetarian food", cautioned Cbass, my host for the trek. I amassed as many cup noodles and snacks I could for the trek. I was hoping someone would bring a burner to boil water for my noodles (I was lucky that Josh had enough gas to "burn down the mountain "- his exact words). When I landed in Philippines I hadn't thought I would take a local bus ride to a province almost three hours away from the Makati City. A bus ride, my first jeepney ride, surviving loud snores, Emperador shots, meeting wonderful people and about four-five hours of trek later I was on the top o...

Makati I am currently on a business trip in Makati City, part of Metro Manila. It is one of the most populous places in Manila and is the financial hub of Philippines. A walk down the Ayala Avenue (called the "Wall Street" of Philippines) is an experience in itself.  A lot of malls, including the one nearest to me - Greenbelt Mall, are located in Makati. A walk around the place and you can see all the major brands trying to find space in this busy city. Starbucks, Citi Bank, McDonald, KFC and various other American companies are huddled up together. Ayala Ave The driving is done the American-way too, on the other side of the road, for those of us who are more comfortable driving on the left side the "wrong" side driving can create a mental havoc. And of course the traffic is crazy! (I drive in India - so doesn't bother me) For a second you might feel you're in some populous city in the US of A! But....there is the Asian side of Manila you can't ...

Life is very short, and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend. The Beatles Nirvana Nomads Ramanagara Trip Pic Sometimes when you meet a person you're head can't stop shaking! Well, you're not going through a fit but the words are just making too much sense to you. Something similar happened with me when I met someone on a trip to Ramanagara (designed by a Bangalore based bunch of travelers called Nirvana Nomads ). More about the trip later, this chain of words is inspired from a small conversation. It was therapeutically helpful for me to discuss about some problems and find out that it is more or less the same with others too!  The gist was life is uncertain and there are too many screwed-up things. Nonetheless, in between this horse-crap flying around there are few candies flying around too. So catch those, you may get hit with some shit. Clean yourself and move on. Eww, maybe that's your reaction to my last line - cand...

A Potpourri of Spiritualism, Religion and Faith A Simple Life Chitrakoot is a small town located in the northern Vindhyas in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A small town bustling with pilgrims crisscrossing through the narrow roads into the various holy places that are scattered all across it. The new Chitrakoot shares it's holy land with the state of Uttar Pradesh as well. For a city dweller like me being in Chitrakoot felt like rewinding the clock about twenty years back, before the modern technology overwhelmed the human beings. I went to Chitrakoot on my father's behest but the next two days were a religious reunion of sorts. If ever there was a competition for "Holy of Holies" in India, the small town of Chitrakoot would win it hands down (it is described as the teerth of all teerths, you can read the history behind this  here ). "Teerth" is a Sanskrit word meaning a holy place next to a water body. And the holy river running through Chitrakoot is M...

I came to South Africa not knowing what to expect. But, surprisingly all my unknown expectations were fulfilled beyond my imagination! I managed to taste and enjoy most of the colors of the Rainbow Nation. Although just a three week visit and riveted around Durban, I managed to get a feel of Suid-Afrika. Durban   Airport   and the Indian Girl King Shaka Airport, Durban, SA I landed in   Durban   on a bright sunny evening in mid-November. Just near the immigration counters was a big poster of a smiling Nelson Mandela; welcoming us with a big smile and the 2010 football world cup trophy clutched tightly in his big hands. I knew I was in   South Africa,  a country I would never had thought of visiting if not for my job. The diversity was quite evident from the people at the counters. I had an African guy, a white guy and a girl of Indian origin wearily looking at the long line of people that had just landed from a flight from   Dubai . I ended up wi...