Day 2: Pune
Dinner last night was complimentary. Getting my full does of northern indian food although i can't imagine eating the same stuff for the next 2 weeks!
Breakfast was alright - the service is excellent! The waiters are eagerly waiting to attend to any request. At the buffet, you don't even need to get up. Just tell them what you want, and they'll serve you!
Went out to a "mall". Me being a mall-rat was hugely disapointed! Malls here are just 2 levels of shops. And are made out of a lot of non-local shops. Was meaning to pick up some nice kurta's but didn't see any. Children even made it into the store and tried to stalk Jen for some money. Didn't come up to me though - maybe i didnt look foreign?Hahahaha....
Managed to stop by the local grocery shop Dorabjee's. It's packed to the brim but i managed to get some Pringles and a packet of instant masala tea...
Came back to the hotel coz the hustle and bustle of the street was just too much for us to handle.
Let's see if we do something fun for dinner...
Visit India 2010: Journey to Pune
Woke up at 6am today. Took a cab with Jen to KLIA for our flight at 9:35am.
Indian Airlines ain't nice at all! It took us 3+hours to reach Chennai airport.
Chennai airport ain't nice at all! Ate some lunch and waited for many hours to board our connecting flight to Pune. We took the Kingfisher airlines - 5 star was good! Flight to Pune was 1.5 hours. Pune airport is much cleaner and spacey compared to Chennai. The hotel staff was already there with our transport to the hotel. Our drive back to the hotel was an experience. There are practically no traffic regulations here except one: HONK! honk at EVERYTHING on the road. The hotel was pretty near the airport. It's right next to the main road and next to a mall. My room is huge! and its very comfortable. I can still hear the honking though :)
One for October
How i love October :)
This year, the birthday was celebrated without a single trace of alcohol :)
For the record, TGIF food is just so not nice!
I'm starting to slack off. Have not started my christmas shopping list!
On a more gastronomic note, i have started to cook more often at home now.
Who knew, what with that teeny kitchen and limited cooking utensils.
Just got myself a new recipe book for cooking chicken.
Key words when looking for recipe books: FAST & EASY
A funeral...
Today i attended the funeral of a good friend's mom.
I have a huge phobia when it comes to funerals.
The only funeral i've ever had to attend until today was my uncle's. I was shaking all over my body and overwhelmed by the whole thing. I was crying my eyes out. Just the thought of peeking inside the coffin freaked me out. I had many sleepless nights after that.....
That happened 8 years ago. Today, it came to the point at mass, where everyone walks past the coffin to pay their last respects. I hesitated. My good girl friend was standing behind me, and she said "don't freak out". That calmed me down a little knowing she's behind me.
I just looked up at the altar and told myself, there's nothing to be afraid of. I looked into the coffin, said goodbye, and moved on to wish my dear friend my condolences. I was alright...i came through. I guess i've grown since my uncle's funeral, and i have come to terms that sooner or later, i will just have to deal with these kinds of things :)
One thing that i have always believed in, and it was the same message that the priest gave during his homily. Make ammends
TODAY, don't wait for tomorrow, or next week. Life is short, and you should not regret the last thing you ever said or felt about a person dear to you.
Peace out....
What's in a name.....
My entire life i've always gotten myself into this very TYPICAL scenario:
While doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that requires my name, these words haunt me....."FULL NAME PLEASE"
What the!!!!Hellloooooooooooooo....you think i don't know what "full name" means?
You think i don't know MY OWN FULL NAME!!!!!
Good gracious!!!
This morning, i called up the hospital to make an appointment for one of those Exec Health Screenings (my oh-so-generous company has given us a 1k claimable amount to go for it).
Admin Lady: Ms or Madam?
Moi: Ms
Admin Lady: Full name
Moi: insert full name here
Admin Lady: FULL NAME pls
Moi: THAT IS MY FULL NAME!!!!!
And after that, Admin Lady was very nice to me....hmph!
Make me so geram!
Oh well...a lot of times i've been asked: How come no chinese name?
Well...with or without one...i am me! :)
p/s: Filing out forms is a breeze for me :p
Finally something to write about....
This is probably the longest time that i haven't written :)
Since my last post, i have not made any attempts on carbonara sauce but i've become an expert at tomato sauce!
And since my last post, i have travelled to another continent and back.....
Here are some of the highlights of my trip.
Dubai:Dubai airport has got to be one of the biggest i have ever seen. It is one big gigantic mall!
Vienna:
Its summer but i had my jacket with me everywhere. When the wind blows, it can get chilly.
Vienna has the best coffee ever! Iced coffee rocks even more!!!
The food is just awesome. Bread and meat. Lots and lots of meat.
No one ever eats fastfood me thinks - read on to see why...
Our ramly burger stalls are replaced by wurstelstands. They sell all sorts of sausages and meats that you grab to eat on the go. DELICIOUS!
.jpg)
Places i visited: Schonbrunn Palace, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Zentralfriedhof, St Stephan’s Cathedral, Hofburg Palace, Rathaus, the Danube, Vienna University, Naschmarket
Puchberg:
Schnitzel is good. Of course i got home cooked schnitzel and goulash thanks so very much to the Sticklers. I cant even begin to describe how tasty it all is. This quiet town has the most beautiful surroundings of hills and mountains and clear blue skies.
.JPG)
Zell-Am-See:
We took a cablecar right up to 3000 over meters to reach the peak of the mountain and play in snow! It was snow paradise!
.JPG)
Salzburg:One of my favourite places. Visited the mirabell gardens which was the closest to any "sound of music"-ness that i could get :) The brewery was also where i had one of the bestest tasting beer!
.jpg)
Places i visited: Hohensalzburg fortress, Salzburger Dom Cathedral, Getreidegasse & Mozarts Geburtshaus, Mirabell Gardens, Salzach River
Prague:
Prague oh prague....maybe i didnt visit at the right season? Or that i missed the Charles Bridge at night? I didnt really "feel" prague as it was meant to. Might consider going back - nothing to loose, the beer is cheap and plenty!
.JPG)
Places i visited: Old town square, Astronomical clock, Church of Lady Before Tyn, The Powder Tower, Church of Our Lady Victorious, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle
Bratislava:
A quiet and beautiful little place which you can visit in a few hours. Lovely food as well. A visit to the castle would've been great but it was under reconstruction.
.JPG)
Places i visited: St.Martin's Cathedral, Michaels gate, Old town hall, Maximilian Fountain, Curious statues of bratislava.
All in all,
BEER is cheap and good, just how we like it.
Mr.T had to try his KFC in prague - 2 pieces of chicken, guess how much? RM18.
You need ketchup? Throw in another few Czech cents.
Tsk tsk....why pay so much for american fastfood when you have lovely sausage stands at every single street you walk on?
The wedding was beautiful. The garden and food was something i would hope to have in Msia - unfortunately, we would be all drenched in our clothes by the time the ceremony is over! :p
Congrats to my friends - the new Cooks! and Thank you for everything - this will be a trip I will always cherish!
Experimenting Pasta
Made tomata based pasta sauce today.
Only had a couple of sausages and button mushrooms so i chucked those in.
Turned out pretty tasty!
Next on the list: Carbonara...yummy...
On a different note, i can now proudly say, i have a picture of the Twin Towers :)
Bird Nest
A birdy has decided to make its nest on top of a wall fan in the porch of my house.
I hope it survives.....
Couldnt take clearer pictures, or i would've scared the poor birdy away.
