Oslo, Norway

As promised in my last post, I will take you through each of my travels in 2018, writing about my experiences. My travel to the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in March marked my first international travel in 2018, even though it was just a short 3 day trip. It was meant to be a celebration for my 30th birthday, so as you can imagine, I had mixed feelings! ;)

A bit of reading will tell you about the history of Oslo, one of the biggest and most important cities of Norway. Situated close to the harbor, it is an important trade city and houses many local and international industries. From a traveler's point of view, I found Oslo to be very global, with a good mix of what seemed like natives and expats. English signboards everywhere made it very easy for us to commute and we took the Flytoget from the airport to the city center, a comfortable 20 minute ride. We stayed at the PS: hotell in the city center, which was very well located and offered us a comfortable stay over our short trip. It was a no fuss, no frills accommodation, but came with a wholesome continental breakfast with some local delicacies and a great view of the city.

My husband and I like to see cities on foot, walking through the streets and noticing the details. In the middle of March, this did mean that we saw snow everywhere, even though locals told us that the snow had overstayed. Surprisingly though the strong sunshine made us feel a lot warmer than we did in London.

We picked up the map we got at the hotel and found our way around. The highlight for me was the walk up to and inside the Akershus Festning (Fortress). This 13th century castle has a royal aura to it as it used to be the Royal residence until the late 16th century. The complex also houses government buildings as it continues to be the center of state power in Norway. 

From here, we walked to the harbour area, where the Oslo Opera House sits and watched as young men and women dipped in the waters. This is a popular tradition in Norway, in which people follow up a hot sauna with a cool dip in the ice-cold waters of the fjords. We did not have the courage to try it ourselves, but from far, it did look like something we could have planned for!

Overall, Oslo was a good mix of culture and contemporary for me. Norway is an expensive place, but after London, the pinch wasn't very pronounced. However, if you have traveled to other places in Europe, you will definitely see a big difference. People were friendly and helpful and very 'urban'. I do think that the other cities of Norway would give one a more local experience of the country so that one remains for our trip to see the Northern Lights. :)

Next up is Turkey, which is my absolute favorite place in the world- watch out for it! :)

 

Back with a B?

Let's just say, its been a while!

I took a really long break and much more than just me has changed over these 4 years. For me, I have gone ahead and got myself a shiny new degree (an MBA), relocated from India to the UK, changed my profession by sector and function AND got a new roommate in the form of a husband!

More importantly and much more impactfully, social media has changed and somewhat shifted how people consume content, which has also made me move to other platforms, most notably Instagram.

However (there always is one, right?), I have come to realize that while my photos capture the moods and beauty around me, I do feel the need to pen down or spill out the emotions and stories as I trot around the world. As making videos might take a while, I'm going to resurrect my writing and start with blog-lets. This one is an intro to what will follow over the next few weeks.

Now, for context, my husband is a legit traveller. I like to travel too, for the fun and the experiences, but he's got a goal- all countries by 2022 (he's at number 54!). Of course, as I have a 9 to 5 (let's just say that for now for my wishful thinking continues as 2018 draws to an end *sigh*) job, it is impossible for me to keep up with his goal, but I do get to tag along to some unique destinations and increase my count too (I'm at 35!).

Keeping this in mind, we spend a lot of time planning our holidays, so that they serve dual purposes of enjoyment and check box ticking. This year, I managed to visit 7 new and 5 old countries, partly with him and partly for work. I'll write my next 12 blogs on each of these experiences. It does go without saying that travel is fully therapeutic for both of us and we eat (well mostly- I'll tell you why), sleep and breath the cultures when we are there. That said, in some cases just one or two cities hardly do justice to soaking in a country, so we plan to go back and explore them in a much more holistic way some time soon!

Until my blogs come, do look at my Instagram handle (@thegirlwithsmallfeet) to see some of the experiences. Seriously, I do have very small feet, so just felt like the right name for someone still trying to take very big strides! :)

Adiós (as I'm currently in Spain!),
Priya

Terima kasih Malaysia

I have been wanting to write this for a long time now. I have realized while pictures do the best kind of justice to one's thoughts, it is words that best express feelings. 

So, I have been to Malaysia before this but once I moved here, I realized how different visiting and residing can be. Over my 1 year (well almost) here, I have become so much more independent yet yearned so much more to be dependent.

Kuala Lumpur is a brilliant city for a person living alone. It's vibrant, happening and at the same time a great mix of diversities-  Malaysians form the majority and the Chinese and the Indians follow in close.  My route to office and back included passing through one of the busiest and most famous shopping malls (lucky me!) and I was always surprised to see how much people here enjoy three things- (1) shopping (2) eating and (3) playing candy crush! :p

Diversity defines this city and so do the people of KL. Never once have I seen a grumpy welcome. Never once have I seen a disinterested shopkeeper.  Never once have I seen a person not happy to serve you food. That defines KL. People here are very warm and made me feel at home immediately. I could head out of my house at  3 am and yet not be ogled at by a local Malaysian and that really pleasantly surprised me. The cultural tolerance that people here have is another thing that totally blew me off my feet- so you have women in their baju kuroms (the traditional dress for the Malaysian Muslim women) on one hand and then on the other, women in short skirts and hot pants. And they coexist in a country which is ruled by the King- how is that for unity in diversity! You have big families out in the gardens and the parks on one hand, and on the other you have hookers and lady boys adorning the streets. And they coexist! Again, KL has pleasantly surprised me!

In my initial days here, an 8th generation Malaysian Indian woman said these words to me, "were you allowed to leave India and come here to work?  I thought Indian women are meant only to be seen and not heard!". She left me shocked, even appalled at some level and I quickly said, "you speak of prehistoric times, India has changed a lot." But, as I dawned on a defensive front, I realized how misunderstood my country is and how much responsibility that puts on me as a representative of my people. It was an awakening and I remembered that throughout my stint - that while I am on my own I carry a lot of baggage with me and every action of mine will leave a mark. To begin with, by just standing there I had changed her opinion of the freedom that an urban Indian woman enjoys today.

Living in KL has taught me, like living in any other city of a foreign land would have,  that independence can be enjoyed only when you have company otherwise it turns into loneliness.  So, while I have done a lot here, learnt a lot too, there have been moments when I wanted people around me- people I could talk to and laugh with- when, on my birthday I yearned for company at midnight but then reconciled by thinking that well,  at least I got to celebrate my 25th birthday in another country :)

I am just so happy that KL has been my first international stint- mostly because of the people here; friendly,  warm and genuine is how I would describe them. It will always remain very special in my memories and on a philosophical note, I think I have evolved as a person now :)

To better times and more adventures!  

Terima Kasih▪ Xièxiè ▪ Thank You! KL

A day in London!

The city of dreams, or so they call it!  Day one of my stay in UK was in London. I arrived there at 2.30pm. The driver who picked me up turned out to be chatty fellow. The one question that I asked him got him really talking. I just asked him-"Is London a safe city?"-like any tourist/first-timer would have asked! To this he replied-"Ma'am I thought you have been here before from your friendly demeanor" (excellent English by the way!). I told him it was my first time to UK. After that there was no stopping him. He told me all about the city, what to do and what not to do, about how I should not travel alone and NEVER appear as a tourist to others. According to him, London, with a massive population of 20 million (yes!) is home to people from many many nationalities. If I didn't behave like a tourist (that would be hard with that camera of mine I thought to myself) no one would even realize.


He showed me around those areas of London which are known for their hustle and bustle- Oxford Street, Piccadily Circus, the place with the Victory Statue (I forget the name). It was almost like a conducted tour of the city. He asked me really genuine questions about India and Indians and he seemed to know a lot about us. He asked, apologizing for sounding rude, if it was normal for Indian girls to travel alone to another country? I laughed and told him it would have been rather unusual 15-20 years ago, but now a days, Indian parents have become relatively more liberal (Thank God!) He wanted to know how Indians are so good in the IT industry and why I had not joined the same instead of becoming a Mechanical Engineer (yes it does seem like an interview, and yes I did divulge a lot of details)? They were sensible questions and I did my best to answer them sensibly.




Anyway, once I finally got to the hotel, it was time for the 5 of us to go out and explore the city (read paint the city red!:P ) Two things you notice first about London- one, that there are a lot of people there; two, that a lot of these people are Indians! :) With that homely ambiance we set out! We first went to the Trafalgar Square. There was a celebration of some sort going on. There were a lot of people out on the streets, but we realized only later that most of them were tourists like us. We saw the National Museum but only from the outside. It is a beautiful place, and the skies were clear so the view was excellent too. The chilly winds ruffled my hair, but having got a heads up about the weather there, I had gone prepared.Over coats and jackets filled a major part of my luggage to London. 



A friend, who was more familiar with the city 
showed us around. We went to see the Big Ben,  the Westminster Abbey and the London Eye! They all look gorgeous. They form a very pretty picture adorning the pensive River Thames. We had almost gone up the London Eye but the long queues made us change our minds. After spotting a brawl on the streets and getting chills of cold winds shake us up (this due to the cold not the brawl!) we took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus! This is where you must be on a Saturday night in London, and that's where we were! From troupes of dancers chanting mantras of  "Hare Krishna Hare Rama"  to people dressed in what you would call fancy dress competition costumes, we spotted everyone! Its one of the most lively places I have been to. Other than the huge masses of people thronging the streets, everything there looked rather neat. We grabbed some ice cream (which we realized later, was a bad idea in that cold! ) and explored the area. It had finally started raining as the day came to a close (for us, because we were 4.5 hours behind time).







We had the Buckingham Palace and the famous Tower of London (which is often misquoted as the London Bridge) to explore the next day. The exciting part was that, 22nd April happened to be the day of the London Marathon! Wherever we went we saw people cheering the many marathon runners. The "London bridge" was the most festive place that day. The excitement was contagious, we cheered the runners too :)
After a fine lunch at Zucca, an authentic Italian place, we set out to leave for our next destination in UK- Exeter. We passed the Baker Street station on our way, which was adorned by silhouettes of Sherlock Holmes on the walls. Our train took off from the London Paddington station which strongly reminded me of the train station from "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge" :P


London in one and a half days was hectic! It was more crowded than I had expected but the Marathon, the lively ambiance of the Piccadilly Circus and the Roman and Victorian skylines of the city pretty much made up for it. I knew I would be back here during my return journey, and I saved my shopping plans for then! :)

The Man Who Lived

Inspired to start writing again. I must do it more often. Life is on a roll. So much to do, such little time.

On that note I think of what to jot down. Nothing comes to mind. I think, may be a movie I watched recently, may be a book that I read. Indecisive as always! *Sigh*! Mental note, speak less, observe more, may be then I will have things to pen down.

On a different note, my grandfather passed away recently . The last one of my grand-parents. Its true, one never realizes the importance of someone till he is gone. How I wish he had lived longer.

And its his birthday today! He recently became my friend on facebook. It always amazed me how quickly he would pick up new things. He would innocently write "I like it" on our photos and messages because he probably did not know about the like button. Now, everytime I log on to my page and see him there, a tear trickles down.

The sorrow is much more, because we did not have the slighest clue that he would go like this. A healthy man, all of 83, he enjoyed, every bit of life. He had once asked me to come online at 5PM everyday so that we could chat. And now there is no one. Such is life.

The only consolation is that he is in a better place now. My grandmother left him 10 years ago. They are probably together now, or such is the hope! It's so tough to move on. But, like they say, "Agar apne mann ka ho, toh achcha, agar apne mann ka na ho, toh aur bhi achcha; kyunki woh bhagwaan ke mann ka hota hai" which is to say if you get what you wish for, its good, if you don't then its even better; because it is God's wish.

On this day, I pray with all my heart that he is well, where ever he is. We have with us very fond memories that we will cherish forever.

Love You Nana!

Malaysia- Day 2

Day 2 in the City was the most interesting. Our course was to start at 8.30 and since it was thefirst day, we decided to get there at 8! That was the only day that we reached there so

early :)

We were joined there, by three more trainees, from different Oil companies. We had a short session of introductions and our Coach seemed to be a very experienced man with great knowledge on the subject. Having come from a different background altogether, I had a lot of doubts, most of which I had encountered while working on the project back home. I was looking forward to coming to terms with them.

Training day 1 went fine. We had

a delicious lunch at the hotel, and the best part of it was the dessert. Lined there were at least 4 types of pastries, a number of ice cream flavors to choose from, fit for king souffle and scrumptious fruits. But this indeed wasn't the highlight of the day!

We set out to reach the top of the Menara, KL, and because one can see it from just about any place in KL, we thought it could not be too far. So we started walking, but we realized later on, we were in the wrong direction! We walked along the street from Concorde Hotel, and then were joined by the tea time rainfall which made us wait in the shades, wherever we found any. We walked till we turned into a road,

went a little uphill and entered a gate, which was actually some sort of a wildlife/forest path. We

kept walking up, in the rain, because we did not want the amount we had already walked to go down the drain. There were no people to be seen where we were treading, but finally a man, rigorously jogging down the hill, reaffirmed that we were on the right path.

After a good 45 minutes walk, we reached the top.The elevator took us 278m high in 50 seconds, which was very quick. The atmospheric pressure heavily pressing down on our ears. The top was a great view. The best part of this was that we could see the Petronas from here too, which would not have been possible had we been on the top of the Petronas!

It had been a very tiring journey up to the top of the Menara, but we still managed to pose for the pics. We took a ride back to our hotel, and made plans to hit the top of the Petronas next.

Malaysia- Day 1

I knew I should have started blogging while I was in Kuala Lumpur, but I did not get any time to do so. But now that I am back and at ease, I think I should put down the experiences which I had there.

We started in a group of 5, all set to attend our first ever international course on Reservoir Engineering, and we were not half as excited to attend the course as we were to explore the place and enjoy or getaway from office.

The date will go down in history as the 27th of February, 2011. Thats the day we boarded the flight to KL from Bangalore Airport. The start was not as good as we had thought it would be. We entered the executive lounge, the attendant there, scrutinized our tickets first, to confirm, cause it was a matter of disbelief for him that we were flying in the business class! We assumed it was because we looked younger than the other people who were seated there! :)

We went on in expectation of a great business class experience. But to our disappointment it wasn't. We had stuffed ourselves in the lounge and had no appetite to eat more, but I still tried the most recommended, Malaysian Satay. It was decently cooked but I wasn't sure about the meat that was used, so I did not finish it.

We landed in KL, at 7am, pepped up, awaiting the pick up cars, and only one of them had arrived! So we booked one by ourselves, and reached Sheraton Imperial on Jalan Ismail, (Jalan is road in English), and checked into our rooms. 21st floor was bliss. I could see the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower from my room (in picture above), I would have got anything else too, if I had asked for it, probably one of the millions of Lamborghinis which were all over the roads of KL! :)

The journey was good and I was looking forward to much more. A great Sunday. So while I was waiting to meet up with some of my other friends in KL, Ishan and I set out in the city on foot. The sun wasn't kind to us, the weather there was very

very humid (and I believe it is generally like that in KL). We walked till we reached the Petronas Towers, and it was breath taking. So tall! An expected adrenaline rush.

Our friends joined us for lunch, and then we left for the flee market of KL, China town. We took the Monorail to the market, a smaller version of or own Metro Rail and probably something we expect to have in Bangalore soon. Its a fast ride and connects the important places in KL, and it was the mode of transport we used most frequently during our stay there, or else would just have been stuck in the traffic that KL is characterized by.

China market was jam packed, well I think thats an under statement too! we did not have place to walk two in a row, to save ourselves from rubbing into the others. To my surprise the shopkeepers there (I use shop due to the lack of any other word to describe the little outlets they were selling their stuff at) are very high headed. They understand the importance of demand and supply, and stick to their prices. Bargaining works, only if one talks to them nicely, the moment you sound needy they stop obliging. So I successfully bought a bag, bringing it down from 95 RM to 25 RM. A good purchase. :)

There are rows and rows of fake merchandise all over the place and frantic shoppers juggling between shops to get the best buy. From fake Prada to fake Adidas, you get everything there.

We got home that day, really tired, the humidity was getting onto us. And we slept off early, in anticipation of what would follow the next day, as we started off in our first training session.

Bangalore-My destination in the South

Born in the East, brought up in the West, shifted to the North, and now in the South to stay...That's the tour of India for me..

What more apt a title than the city I am in...

Three months old to me, but much older actually..I haven't really looked around the city yet, but the exploring seems to be going good.

The transition from college to professional life has been smooth, with just few hitches along the way. Having said that, I recall the apprehensions I had as I sat in the first row of the Training Room 2 (I did not volunteer to occupy the first row, that is where my name card was placed), wondering how the first day would go and whether or not I would get along with the people around me.

It all did go fine, courteous people from the work place, were all eager to make us feel as much at ease at possible. My training went on for a little more than 40 days and then the grind at the job. However, it isn't a grind yet. My team mates are excellent, they give me a chance to learn before I can plunge into the real work, which I think is very considerate.

I have met a variety of people around me , ever since I have come here. Most of them are nice, yet different. Having gotten used to my own comfort zone and the type of people around me, I had somehow created a notion of the way people are and the way they behave. That definitely changed, cause even if they are nice, there are so many things about them that I might not like or even approve of. But then life goes on and it teaches you how adaptability plays the most important role when you shift places.

I miss my old life, my old friends, I really do. But then working has its own benefits, like getting up and going to shop whenever one wishes, buying n number of shoes if one may please to, and yes the "one" here is me!

As long as I can make the most of, I am at it. Independence has a whole new meaning. And I enjoy being Queen Imelda/ Jaya (as christened by my colleagues).

Cheers :)

The Night

Little Ada sat on her chair in the corner of her room..the clock ticked 12 and she started hurriedly flipping the pages of her history book...the flipping was in tandem with the revolutions of the recently repaired fan in her room..she looked up at it and heaved a sigh of relief..the torturous days with the noisy fan were finally over...She got back to her book..She liked History and wanted to do really well in the exam she was preparing for..her mother had promised her the pink pair of sandals which she had been eyeing for a long time, if she stood first in her Std 5 exams.

Understanding the importance of getting enough sleep the night before the exam, she closed her book and switched off the lights. As she lay in bed, she recalled what her father always told her.."Ada, you must always revise everything wen you go to sleep. Think about the questions that will come and how you will face them. " She started going through what she had studied in sequence..in her mind..

"When was the First Battle of Panipat fought? Ohh yes! I know this! It was in 1526..yes..OR..was it 1525..NO NO...Ohh GOD! " The liitle girl was vexed..She had studied it so well..how could she have forgotten..After trying for a long time and still being unsure, she leapt out of bed..switched on the light..and ran to her desk..

While she was hurrying through the pages, she heard a THUD behind her back..a loud cracking noise followed and she turned around in shock and fright. What she saw startled her and she almost fainted in shock..the repaired fan had left the hook and landed exactly where her head had been a few seconds ago...Her parents rushed into the room..the noise was loud enough to wake up the entire household...

Her mother hugged her..they were all tormented but nobody could believe what a narrow escape it had been for her..A second here and a second there would have made all the difference in their lives...the bed was now broken in pieces..Ada went to sleep with her parents.. Every time she shut her eyes to sleep, she imagined the fan falling down on her face and got up scared and sweating..her mother pacified her...And explained to her that God's will can never be challenged.

She said her prayers..It was the right time to do so...She thanked god for having saved her..and for the first time in her life..she was happy that her memory had betrayed her...Had it not been for the Battle of Panipat...

The APE..The West!

He laughs because of the laughter track...but we can tell..there was nothing so funny in the joke for him to laugh at all! our conclusion- he doesn't understand most of the things he watches, but he still will...cause its all Angrezi..

Welcome to the world of the average Indian..and I can say that without much hesitance because most around me are just that...the topic on hand is the much talked about Indians aping the west... in every available form too...I see around me young people demeaning the Indian serials that run on our television..they are over the top (OTT is the much followed lingo!)..i agree...because the Bengali households don't have women dressed in the traditional sarees or adorning sindoor the way they show in the serials...but what I don't agree with is how the Indian drama is low society (LS!) and the same stuff shown in The bold and the beautiful not so..evidently they don't wear sarees..but that's because its not their culture...how is the drama any less..

I wonder if it remains only a fashion statement to say that the Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives are so well made as compared to the Indian "jargon"..An average Indian is most likely to relate to what is happening in our desi serials than to what happens in good ol Amrika..but no! serials are for the behenjis and mummies( with no work)..is what i hear most often...The soap and the drama they can handle only if its in English...

I had this discussion with a friend..and we both agreed that Heroes cannot and will not be compared to Shaktiman..there are technical differences between Peter Petrelli flying andShaktiman attempting to...we also agreed that Small Wonder was a league aboveKarishma ka Karishma...the reason being the same...

But what i fail to understand is, how is it that the Indian brain has so suddenly become more connected with the Firangi household drama than the drama in the Indian Parivars..I want to elaborate and say that an Indian mother teaching her duaghter to make Aloo Gobhi in a crossover movie was well accepted in Bend it like Beckham..but is not if shown where it actually happens...

To clarify, neither am I an avid serial watcher...nor am I a fan of the saas- bahu sagas..but im not averse to it...to kill time I do...I see a lot of novelty in the thinking processes of the Indian serial story writers..a lot of it is OTT..but then every serial has a momentum..and point when it grabs the most viewer-ship..i have never been ashamed and I never will be of succumbing to the most common way of entertainment that exists on TV..To add I enjoy all the Sitcoms that come on air...from TBBT to HIMYM to some drama in the Gossip Girl too..I like these much more than any of the Indian stuff too..but then..the serials back home have a set of creativity..maybe not the best...maybe not all...but nothing that I am ashamed of...

And I will never let myself get into the endless and typically degrading race of the West is the Best lot..Because if they have a Rigde Forrester, we have a Mihir Virani ...closer home too...

I wish people would show what they are and not follow the herd..have a mind of their own..not everything that looks good is actually good...not everything that THEY believe to be true is actually true...