Frankthoughts

With every passing year, one thinks of all the activities that they could / should have done to improve their overall fitness. I am no different, and with each passing year, as the inches around my waist grow, so does the intent to lose them! I am a National Cadet Corps 'C' certificate holder, so this would not be the first time that I would be pushing my physical limits. Those times though, seem almost like a lifetime back.  "Pushing myself physically" was hence one of the reasons I agreed to go on my first-ever high altitude trek with my brother in law. Snow dunes en route to the pass Since both of us were new to trekking, we decided to go on an organized trek, and after some research we decided on Rupin Pass with India Hikes . Once again the moderate to difficult level as indicated by the organizers was an important deciding factor. Let me put on record that while I was very excited, I was also very scared of the prior physical training required - being ...

"Let's go on a trek to the Himalayas!" , who knew these innocent words of my brother in law in April 2014 would land us in one of the most beautiful places on earth and give us some of the most memorable experiences of our lives a year later! Last month (May 22, 2015), he and I embarked on our first high-altitude trek in the Himalayas to Rupin Pass  - 15250ft above sea level, 60+ Kms over 8 days. It was a very well organized trek by India Hikes , one of the oldest trekking companies in India. While a detailed post on our experiences is due, I thought a list (to add to the many I see on my Facebook timeline) of things to remember / do as a first-time trekker might be useful. These are based on our experiences and learning, and is by no means a conclusive guide. The Climb up to the Upper Waterfall 1.  Physical Training before is an absolute must: Treks are physically demanding on the body which means you need to keep yourself in reasonably good shape before yo...

After spending a little over 4 months in this city, I think it is time for a comparative post like the one I did for Melbourne . So here goes… The first thing that almost everyone said when I mentioned that I was moving to Gurgaon, was, “Oh gosh! Why? It is not safe! You will definitely come running back!” The supporters of the city were few and far between. These are people who have read the news reports; visited the city sporadically, or visited ‘Gurgawa’ which is the older rustic part of the city. For sake of convenience, I will refer to the newly developed part, which is where I live and work. To anyone who first visits this city, it does indeed look like a swanky, fast-paced symbol of 21st century India. As you drive by the glitzy glass offices that house some of the biggest organizations in the world, you imagine yourself working and / or doing some business here. The metro line running overhead is reassurance that you are in a city with public transport of internationa...

I bet we all have been in a situation when we have had to give directions to someone in a city that is new to us, where, the landmarks, roads, distances are unfamiliar. I was caught in one where all of the above was applicable with a slightly different twist...the names are pronounced slightly differently!  Well, here I was in Gurgaon trying to explain my location to a real estate agent (to meet)...who spoke broken English and that too with a 'unique' accent.  Let me further explain the 'unique' bit. In this side of the world, every English word is pronounced pretty much how it is spelt, so 'Bouquet' is 'Bou-ket'; 'Buffet' is 'Buf-fet'; 'Pepper' is 'Pee-per'; 'Pint' is 'Pin-t'...I hope you are getting the flow! My office is in a building called Orchid Center...so I first give the postal address, then the directions based on my limited knowledge of the city. After about 5 minutes of explanations and g...

I opened my blog page today...after a gap of over 3 years! Reading through the posts, I reminisced about the various incidents or occasions that prompted me to write what I did. All one of them had some memory attached to it.  As I write this post, I am thinking...what is prompting me to write this one? Is it because I have seen so much change in the last couple of years that maybe worth sharing? Is it because I feel the competitive urge to move up in the Orble blog rankings by continuing to post? Is it just because I am bored and lonely, since I am away from friends and family in a new city? Or Is it because I just want to rant? Well, whatever it may be...I think I should continue! Over the last 3 years since I last posted, my world has indeed changed a lot. I have...moved 2 jobs; 2 more nephews and 2 more nieces who call me 'uncle'; visited interesting places across the world; changed houses 4 times; danced at some unique and fun weddings of friends and family; and h...

It has been a while since I noted down my frank thoughts here…459 days to be precise! That is a long time I know…what I don’t know is, why it took me so long to get back to writing this. Well what matters is that I am back…and I hope it is for good! A lot has happened while I was away…relating to me as well as in the world around me. It is perhaps these that have egged me on to pen it all down. The senseless terror attacks in Mumbai…the Indian cricket team beating the Australian team hollow in their tour of India…my recent holiday to north-east India…the birth of my niece…the election of Obama as the future president of the United States…the completion of my studies in Australia…and my return to Mumbai are just a few of the things I need to express my frank thoughts on. I could start off with any topic…but I think I need a little more time to ponder on where to start. I must confess that I don’t write regularly and hence getting back in to the flow might take a while. So patience ...

Since I have been here (in Melbourne) long enough - two months, I thought I am experienced enough to do a city to city comparison, of Mumbai and Melbourne. Please do not take this as expert analysis, or as insights to base your travel plans to these cities on, but, as a personal comparison as I see it. Having lived in both cities, there are things I like and dislike about them and the comparisons made are on the aspects that affect my personal life. Having said that, here goes! The first thing that any person coming from the Asian subcontinent will notice in Melbourne is the silence on the roads. Drivers here do not blow their vehicle horns unless absolutely necessary! Unlike the Asian subcontinent, where honking is almost customary, here, one “toots” only if they are really disgusted with the way the other person is driving. This is quite awesome because the roads are rather quiet and there are very few or almost no cases of road rage. On the Mumbai roads you sometimes cannot hear ...