A weekend in the Alps - Rocks, mountains and self-discovery?

So for the people who follow me on Instagram, I said I'd write a blog when I was in the Alps with all the adventure stuff that happened. Here is the said blog, but rather than going the regular travel way, I tried adding some stuff that could make you reflect on things or just be a conversation fodder, who knows?
So at the end of May, on one fine, not very summery or springy evening, post dinner with some friends who were going to the Alps that long weekend, one of them randomly suggested in his all too nonchalant attitude, "so you come with us tomorrow?" And mind you, I had no plans, let alone going to the French Alps. I replied, "I'm not packed and you're leaving in the morning", I mean, it was a 6-7 hour drive which they were planning on starting 5 in the morning and it was already 21h the previous evening. I was expecting the others so say,  "Yeah it is very last minute", but everyone replied with, "Yeah, so you have 8 hours and we come pick you up in the morning" in their very nonchalant French way. So, I went back, packed whatever I thought/had would come handy in the mountains and my little weekend of "FIRSTS" in adventure sports began at 6h in the morning.
To avoid misunderstandings, I loved every part of that weekend, minus the early morning wake-up calls and the panic attacks. Mountains are wonderful gifts of nature and the Alps were just breathtaking. They felt like home away from home, and now I've seen two of the major mountain ranges on this planet. I mean, look at this!

So, the itinerary was:

• Thursday, chill and maybe get some climbing practice
• Friday we hike the mountains all the way up to one of the ski slopes they skied last season and
• Saturday go climbing actual rock faces.
• Sunday, recover and drive back

So we started with some climbing practice. There was a climbing wall in the neighborhood of our flat and everyone except me was ready to climb some walls with their climbing gears ready. Me being me, said no. To which I got a, "You'll see, you can do it. We have extra gear and shoes."
Sometimes I wonder if all the things that randomly fit me or are available for me to use in such situations are a nudge from the universe to just get over myself and try things. I am sure it happens to everyone once in a while, where such situations just smack you in the face. Where you think you can get out of doing something due to lack of resources but then somehow everything you need is coincidentally there and you can't get out of it.
So, while I was watching them being monkeys on the wall with their tethers and ropes and chalk bags. I stood up to try one, call it me caving into peer pressure or just wanting to try and see if I could do it. It wasn't my first time on a climbing wall, because when you have sporty friends, they make you do sports. However, it was my first time climbing with gear, and I was terrified but they kept pushing and cheering me on. By the end of the evening, my arms were sore, my knees bruised, I had climbed both walls and braked the climb of people way heavier than myself. Naturally, following this evening everyone said, "You're ready for Saturday". And oh boy, was I not!
Me in my go to fashion kept negating, and all of them kept saying you'll see, it will be fun and you'll climb like you did today.
Come Friday, and they're all prepped in their hiking all terrain shoes, and I'm there in my Pumas. The hike was wonderful, it reminded me of home, hit all the mountain lover points, hard, and was just there in all it's gorgeousness. My lungs were complaining, my knees were tagging along the lungs so I picked up a fallen branch, broke it to a helping stick size and kept walking like I used to do as a kid hiking with my cousins and my father.
As we reached the ski slopes, the snow came upon us, and my tiny nightmare of trying to make my way through the snow in sneakers and a tree branch began. But when you are determined and have had a life full of trying to compete or try and be as equal as your cousins who are all men, most of your friends who are men, in a society which is very patriarchal, your mind screams at you to not give up or cry for help like a damsel in distress, even if you are sometimes.
Hence, I kept following the dry lands and avoiding having to walk on the snow as much as I could, kept declining aid from my friends who, bless them, kept at it even when I was kept refusing and cave only when there was no other option left unless following their footholds in the snow.
The day made me question that I have probably given a lot of unwanted rejection to people who have tried to help me in the past just because of the fact that my mind equates accepting aid to failure, disability, pity and lack of competence. And I might keep doing it because these biases are so hardwired that they're almost second nature to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one with these biases and habits and a lot of people out there have the same dilemmas when it comes to accepting help from people. But weirdly enough don't see it in this light when you're in opposite ends and want to help people instead. Or is it just me?
Then came Saturday and the dread of climbing started building up inside me yet again as I watched the others gear up and set the tether hoops to the tracks they wanted to try. For people who climb or know the coding related to climbing, the rock faces started from 4A and went up to 6C in terms of difficulties and they picked the 4A for me to start which had a change of cliff face, mid climb, overlooking a gorge, hurrah for me! I had, probably the first and a very severe panic attack in the middle of the climb and none of them wanted to break me down the track unless I finished it. Which happened again when I tried a transition climb from 4A to 4B onto 5A if memory serves me right. I got a, "We can stay here all night, it's a flat rock face, perfect for you to sleep" when I was chickening out and asking them to break me down.
I finished all the tracks I started, with a lot of complaining in the beginning, throwing fits and what not, but they kept pushing me. I could hear them saying, "C'mon Vi" or the term that was cooked and I think is staying for good, "You can do it, Warrior Girl".
Eventually, I got over the panic attacks, got over my fear of falling off, even though there was going to be no falling off, I finished the climb nonetheless and in the end, it was easy, and a lot of fun. But just the thought of difficulty and the fact that my mind has always questioned my ability to do something new or something, particularly a female, wasn't heard of doing where I grew up or among the type of people I was surrounded with in my life had kept me from doing or trying so many things. And when I did climb all of the tracks that I started, it was not only empowering but also a somber reality check of all the things I had kept myself from trying or was kept from. Just the fact that I was discovering unorthodox things (for the people and society I grew up with)I, as a woman am capable of doing with people who support or even push me to try was a very painful reminder of how my mind itself had put blocker on my will to expand and discover what more I can do in life.
People go to retreats, meditation camps etc to go on a journey of self discovery, but you don't really need a set up dedicated for this. You can do this anywhere you are, by just trying to break one of those many blockers your brain has on you. Haven't danced before? Go dance, by yourself at home or take a class, doesn't matter. Wondered how it'd be to paint? Get some color and brushes and go at it. Again, by yourself or taking a class. Or do whatever you haven't done but have always wanted to or felt like you could at least try. It doesn't really matter. Self discovery isn't just some divine encounter at a retreat where you are enlightened. You can discover yourself anywhere outside of your comfort zone. Which in experience, is the best way of finding out new things about yourself, your abilities and what you could potentially accomplish if you just gave yourself that benefit of doubt and took that spontaneity route once in a while.
Now, to move away from the heavy and for people who'd like to travel or at least know where I did all this, we went to a town called Flumet in the Rhone Alpes region of South-East France.
We hiked around the Notre-Dame de Bellecombe area which has a pretty good view of the famous Mont Blanc.

To climb, we went to the rock faces at Crest-Voland near Flumet. There are two rock faces, with track details available at the site (difficulty level and map layout of the rock faces) and a beautiful view to climb with. If you want to see some of the climbs, you can check them out on my Instagram highlights. You might even get to see my scared self, climbing one of the tracks.

I'll end with a go travel, make interesting conversations, try new things even with your scared self, it's worth it in the end and don't hold yourself back from every opportunity that comes your way. You'll be fighting the opposition forces, I still do and probably will keep doing it for a long time, but a small win is a win. So keep at it.

Sand, rain and trees - A town called Pilani

If you are an avid reader then words are not strangers to you. If you write, well, then words are your blood, sweat and tears (I realized later on that the song blood, sweat and tears was playing while I started writing this). I sometimes wonder what makes people speechless, or makes them say "I am out of words" except for tragedies or some extremely bizarre events. Is it the moment they're in? The feelings? The memories? The place? The time? The people?

There are so many factors, that when it happens to you, you don't know why it happened. After thinking more about it, I feel like it is the amalgamation of all the things I listed and maybe more. No matter the crap this town had and still has, coming back here is always going make me say "I am home". Walking the streets you frequented 6 days a week for more than decade, after almost a decade, makes you notice things you never realized before. Have the streets always been this small? Were the walls only this high? Weren't these windows bigger before? Where did the parking for bicycles go? Where is the ground that used to sit in the major part of the school yard go? Were there always buildings on that ground? Are there some swings and slides missing or were they taken down or did I miss all the change as it was happening and now it's being smacked in my face?

You graduate, you move. You grow up. You change. The places? We expect them to stay the same when we come back to them. Do they grow? Yes. The only difference between their growth and ours is that we grow up, and they either stay there or grow older. They seem smaller to our new eyes, new perspectives, or they are demolished and built up from scratch rendering you lost by being unrecognizable.

It's then when the realization hits you, that the windows didn't shrink but you're not a 4 year old anymore. The streets didn't shrink, they're just withered and you haven't frequented them in almost a decade. The parking shifted, so did the buildings. Those swings might have been uprooted, but they're also surrounded by rows of concrete now instead of the green and sand. 

What stays the same is the sprinkle of yellow in all the green of the Golden Shower, the scent of the wet sand after the first fall of a long and hot summer day. It's those silent evenings at the backyard of the carved white marble beauty where the birds dance flying around in circles. It's those halogen baked badminton evenings, the light less night sky with just stars and stars to stare at making constellations.

I don't have four walls and a roof to call "home" anymore in this town, but like it is said, Home is not a place you live in, it is a feeling you have. This town has given me a lot, has taken a lot from me and has left me uncountable memories. I'll end with a cliche, "After all this time?" 

Always......

Hiking - The Vertigo Sponsored Stream Crossing Cramping Camp Version

While surrounded by mountains, lush green cedar and fresh blossoms of rhododendron sprinkling a little of pink every now and then in the landscape, going hiking is never far away. So, while I was home this time, despite the murderous blood bath and the body’s self vengeance, I was very glad that my brother graciously dragged me out despite being a girl with his friends, (which I’m pretty sure must be thinking that this is one weird girl) and took me hiking.

Now when people say hiking it’s usually the long fun walks, scenic beauty, cliff selfies and beautiful sunsets with joyful captions accompanying them. This hike was however not exactly one of those very frequently seen posts. But I highly recommend doing this to anyone who goes there or is nearby the area, you won’t regret it and it is so beautiful, quiet and just the nature all around you.

What I was expecting was a simple walk in the mountains and finding a spot near the river to just sit and relax and have a good time. But instead, what was waiting for me there was the realization that vertigo has ruined my capabilities of being able to get myself up and finding my way around rocks and the ups and downs of the path that come in the way while in the wild, and that my fear of flowing water is still as bad as it was before. Growing up around brothers in my extended family and spending almost every summer vacation in school hiking all the time, I’ve always avoided saying things like “pick me up” or “pull me up this rock” or asking for any kind of help even if I’m struggling. If they climbed, so did I, if they slid, I slid, they jumped, I jumped. Well, at least as best as I could. But ever since my brain decided to lose its ability to balance, I’m finding myself making excuses, incapable of doing things which were easy for me and asking for help, which is very frustrating for someone who has never asked for help so frequently ever. And it angers me to see other people doing things that I would normally do, only if my body allowed me to. Instead, I just stand there and envy them for being so carefree and living the moment.

Yeah, they walked that pipe

But bless my brothers for still making me do things as always and helping me without me having to ask for it. It doesn’t help with the fact that I need help, but it makes it easier since I don’t have to ask to be helped. And that’s where I come to the part about how he made me cross a stream since I couldn’t go through the way they hopped and crossed like playing a game of hopscotch or otherwise famously known to us as stapoo.

I had to cross this. It looks shallow, like there is barely any water, it wasn't though

So, when the crossing part came, I stopped, sat on a rock and watched them hop effortlessly and cross over to the other side. My cousin called out saying come along and when I said I’m fine being on this side, he came to me and said, let’s cross it together, while I blankly stared at him thinking about stepping in flowing water. So, we got our shoes and socks off, jeans pulled up as far as they would go and he dragged me despite my constant objection to the water being deep. He kept convincing me that it’s just fine and that he’ll hold my hand and cross it ahead of me to let me know where I can keep my foot next. And hence we started to cross and sure enough, the water rose up to our thighs and I was on the verge of having a panic attack. The folded jeans were wet, the rocks were obviously very slippery and the water was awfully cold, though the sun was still up (but it should be kept in mind that we had to go back and in doing so cross the stream again in the same fashion with no sun to dry us this time). Despite all this, he made me cross it, we had a wonderful time, and it was gorgeous, with lovely weather, solitude, and good company.

After having spent some quality time with nature and interesting conversations, as the sun was setting, we decided to head back as well and hence the panic attack came back of crossing the stream again. With the water still being cold and no sun with dropping temperature and being in wet jeans till your thighs, it’s not a very good combination. To explain the feeling as best as I can, let me just say, you all know the feeling when you put an ice pack on your skin, and then feel the area go numb if you keep it there for too long, right? Well now imagine that happening to both your legs, with the ice pack all over them and it’s not being removed. And add walking downhill and uphill for like 3 kilometers with cold winds and constantly dropping temperature causing frosty weather. Now, if that isn’t living life to the fullest by freezing yourself, then I don’t know what is!

It was so cold

Frost walking = DONE.

The best part of all this except for the famous “bucket list” things getting checked is that the various sounds you hear and appreciate when you’re out in the wild give you an experience that can’t be explained in any way to do justice to the feeling it brings. The gushing water, the whispering leaves, the sunlight playing and dancing through the trees, it is divine. Having lived in varying climates and terrains which includes almost a dessert, mountains and near the sea, the love for those peaks will never be outdone by anything else. The overwhelming feeling their sight brings is always the same but increases every time I see them. The solitude, the tranquility, the gorgeous sights, the cedars and pines, it is pure transcendent beauty.

Here are some links to the videos and photos I took while being out there.

The sounds and scenes

The frosty yet beautiful night

The rhododendrons

If anyone is around the Nainital area, go find this solitude instead of doing the usual boring touristy stuff. Everyone does the usual roaming around, shopping, eating and taking selfies. Try stepping out of the crowd, find a local, or ask around, some people are really nice and they’ll tell you places no tour guide will take you and no seasonal tourist would ever go to. And trust me these are the places to see. Go out, explore, feel the nature, feel the wind, the aroma, the heights and the vast expanses of verdure. 

Happy Hiking. 

Kafka on the Shore and the piano that brings back weird memories of reading it.

With such a long time no see or write, I’m finally coming back with a kind of a book review. So here it goes, I hope it’s not too dreadful.

Every time I have Chopin’s Nocturnes playing, Kafka on the Shore plays in my head in loops. I know I said “it plays in my head” like it is a movie I saw some time back and am just thinking of the scenes. But it is a book, a wonderful book, which at first had me hating it but the line saying that silence is actually something you can hear sold the book to me and I kept reading it. The story builds up around you and is something you can gross your roommate out with saying things like, “a mad man in leather boots and big hats kills cats and preserves their heads and eats their heart while it’s still beating” or “hey, it rained leeches today like it rained fishes a few days back”, if you know what I mean (an inside joke for the weekly fish market and it's "aromas"). But this book has had a profound effect on me in ways that only happened with books of older times. It kept me awake, it kept me reading it till I fell asleep and then wondered why was the light open at 4 in the morning. It gave me nightmares and weird dreams which I couldn’t explain at all. And whenever Chopin plays every time I am listening to music, it just comes up from the deep crevices of my mind in the forefront while working on something else and there I am just sitting and thinking about this weird cat talking man with a bizarre world around him and this un timely or un common bond he develops with a random truck driver who stays with him through everything in his dying moments, no matter how irrational he had to be, he stuck with him and never left his side even though he knew nothing about him. And on the other hand there is Kafka and his delusions which somehow come true. All the things he thought about the cursed life and the thing his father said of defiling his own mother and sister.

This book compels you to try and keep up with so many narratives going on. For a person who is as lazy as I am, if I could stick through it and finish it somehow and appreciate its art then anyone could read it and be enthralled by the world that Murakami creates with all the stories interwoven together in a way where it keeps the reader going even with the feeling that, “this is too much with all the stories so abruptly coming up and ending, leaving us with a mixed feeling within our heads.”

Another personal achievement for me while in the process of reading this book was the deadline I had for finishing this book, which was supposed to be Christmas Day, but with all the house hunting, thanks to the hell I live in, I couldn’t make it and then finally thought that I had to finish this year with this book and not take it unfinished into 2017. So somehow I pulled through all the exhaustion of house hunting, moving in bits and pieces and everything in between, I finished it on the 30^th somehow and felt as if I had nothing left to do. That is something I don’t always feel when I read something, but this book left me feeling with no purpose. So a big thanks to my friends who thought of finally, gifting me a book. I was literally shaking with the surprise visit anyway and then seeing the book had me reaching for support and not fall down (seriously). I also have to thank Shubham for introducing me to Murakami and Kafka on the Shore. For all of you, who aren’t yet exposed to the world of Kafka on the shore, go get it ASAP and float in a virtually bright and colorful world that Murakami paints with his stories. And a very big thanks to Ashish for opening up the world of Chopin’s Nocturnes to me. Happy reading!

Mumbai

Having lived one third of the year in the city, I thought it wouldn't be fair to not write something for it. So here I present, Mumbai as I see it.

Lamps filled with dead carcasses

Roads filled with burning engines

Preoccupied robots filled pavements

Lights laden buildings, shimmering past the other

Rain laden clouds float rumbling

With sunlight peeping through their veil

And stars playing hide and seek

Somewhere in this hustle and cloud covers

Breathes a city, unbound and awake

Bustling lives on rolling wheels

Rushing, pushing through a bodied sea

Western, Central and Harbor lifelines

Colaba to Virar and Versova to Vashi

Carrying the people filled bogies

From stocks to science and posh to slums

A city of dreams and fame

A city of fashion and bling

A city of theater and art

A city of no sleep, a city called Mumbai

The one with the one and a half cake

Have you ever been called a tube light by your friends and not know what made them call you that? Or got them laughing on something you said in all seriousness which you didn’t even see being funny at all in your head? Well hi there, I’m one of you. Let’s all get along.

Graduation makes you lose some people and sometimes it does the opposite as well, that is bring some people closer than they were before you graduated. Sidd is one of those people who weirdly enough stayed more in touch with me than any other person I hung out with in the college days. Both of us being big time foodies, photography lovers and preparing for an international English exam, we end up time passing and having long senseless conversations as anyone can expect from active test takers. You can even see that my Instagram feed is more like a proof that we do nothing but play around with words.

PANDEmonium

panDEMONium

PANDEmic

So one fine day, while talking crap and all other stuff, we ended up talking about my birthday last year and how I had lots of cake at my disposal. 

Yes that is my rare happy face

One thing lead to another and as I was explaining the cake situation I ended up saying, “I had two cakes that day from friends who came over and mom baked me one and a half cake, so I had a lot of cake to eat”. Yes you read that right “one and a half cake”. Now for me it is not funny because it was one and a half cake indeed. Now you would ask how one would bake one and a half cake, well my answer to that is, you bake one full cake and a small little one that is almost half the size of the previous one, giving you one and a half cake. Upon my explanation, he burst out laughing, like I had made the joke of the century. And I was dumb found that, what did I just say? I wasn’t making a joke or anything, but he still ended up laughing like a Christmas tree being lit up.

It turns out, that being a clueless simpleton might just sometimes make you funny weather you know it or not. So to my hopeless, clueless tube light family out there, live in your weirdness and wear it with pride, after all who doesn’t like making other people laugh intentionally or just with something you randomly say about cakes being baked as fractions. 

A lakey heaven in the mountains-Nainital

Nainital. There isn’t a word that describes my feelings for this place. It’s a getaway. It’s a beautiful hill station. It’s a place high up in the mountains with a lake in between. But most importantly, it is home. It is where my grandpa grew up, where my dad grew up and will always be the place I call home. So let’s go exploring.

1.      Hike

This shouldn’t come as a surprise as it’s a hill station and what else would you do if not hike when you’re surrounded by those huge mountains? Every summer in school was spent hiking up the same old trails with my cousins and dad and coming back home to get the best sleep ever. The best part of being a tourist at your hometown is that you can go places where the usual tourists won’t go or come back going halfway. Once while I was home during Christmas, we went for our usual hike, up the highest peak in the town called China Peak or more recently renamed as Naina Peak, we found a tourist coming back down and advising us saying, “Hey guys, it’s really slippery up there with the snow being a few days old.” We replied with even more enthusiasm in our voices saying, “Oh great, there is still snow up there?” And the guy informed us that the entire way was snow covered and it was dangerous to walk. When we told him we were local town people his voice dropped to an embarrassing tone and he replied saying, “Oh great, so you guys will go”. We sure did. And it was horribly slippery like the guy said it would be and I was freakishly scared of slipping off and falling into the wilderness of the mountains, which made me make one of my cousins to walk beside me holding my hand so that I wouldn’t fall off. Even though I call it home, I’d never seen snow in my life before and I was so excited that I forgot my nose and lips were frozen with the cold. But that didn’t stop me from taking selfies.

Here is the view from the top of China Peak, you can see the entire lake in the background

Yep its quiet some elevation training right there with this hike.

Just along China Peak is Camel’s Back, where you can go straight through by walking down the other side of China Peak and then climbing up again. As the name says, you probably would’ve already guessed why it’s named so, well yes, because it looks like a camel’s hump. Another good place to hike in town is Tiffin Top, which is a nice place to go for a picnic with friends and family. Once you reach there you can see the Himalayas so clearly that it’s a complete feat for any photographer out there. I got some great photos that Christmas of the snow covered mountains.

The majestic Himalayas

This one's called Nanda Parbat

This right here is called Trishul

Moving further, if you’ll walk down the other end of Tiffin Top then you’ll end up at another famous spot called Land’s End. Well yes it literally is land’s end. It’s like all of a sudden the land just vanished. From there you can see another lake town called Khurpatal down below. If any of you out there is interested in a Khatchar ride, then that is available as well. Though it stinks of their shit, but if you’re tired then you can get a short ride. When you walk towards town from Land’s End you’ll find Cave Garden. It has six caves named after the animals you’ll find in the wilderness like porcupine, panther and so on where you got to maneuver through the caves like the said animals do in the wilderness. It’s a fun place to go and try on your flexibility.

2.      Thandi Sadak

You love solitude? You love nature? You love walking on old, part stone, and part gravel roads? Well Thandi Sadak’s got you covered. Not only is it traffic free, but its right along the lake with a beautiful view of the city. Nainital is a haven for people who love to walk, and Thandi Sadak is just like a cherry on top of the walking cake in the town. Its one side water and one side lush green. What more could one want while walking? You’ll also find an amusing temple while on the way called Pashan Devi, where the goddess is depicted on a rock showing all her forms. It's called so because the road doesn't get much of sunlight and is colder than it's counter on the other end of the lake. Further by the end of the road you’ll reach the shopping hub of the town called Bhotia Market where you’ll find everything from clothing, backpacks, cosmetics, jewelry, and interior decoration to the famous momos and noodles among other tasty dishes. And if you’re lucky you might find a fair going on at flats, the place that holds the market. It could be clothes and goodies fair or a book fair, but you’ll always find the usual rides that accompany a fair everywhere. Flats also hosts lots of tournaments of various sports like, basketball, cricket and the town’s favorite, football. The town’s ropeway also ends there, so you can catch a ride up to another famous stop called Snow View, which since my school days has developed from being just a pit stop to stare through the tiny telescope there and look at the Himalayas, into a full blown amusement stop with freefall, disco cars, shooting and many more things to do. And if you are interested in water sports, then right at the beginning of the road, there is a spot where people go for swimming and kayaking. And if you’re into golf then while coming up to Thandi Sadak from the bus stand you’ll find a way up to Himalaya Hotel which hosts a 9 holes mini golf and if you make the last hole you get to play the whole course again for free. Its super fun and competitive.

That red building is the temple Pashan Devi and at the far end of the photo is the area called flats

3.      Food

Every place has its own taste and a few things that it’s known for being the local specialty. Well I don’t know if the things I’m going to tell you to try out are going to be the usual food on the top list of things to try out there on the internet, but I am sure you will enjoy them. Beginning with a sugary treat for the people out there with a sweet tooth you’ll find the famous jalebis of the “Loti Wala” in Tallital market a divine indulgence. My home being in the neighborhood of the shop and the family a huge fan of their product, it was always a welcome treat in the household that even the grownups would go themselves and buy or send out one of the kids to do the chore. Yogurt accompanies them usually but if you’d rather have just the sweet taste you can have it straight. Another awesome stop for quick street food is Neeru’s which is in the neighborhood of the Loti Wala. I still remember being fascinated by the quickness of the cook there as he used to make the noodles and my all time favorite, Bun Tikkis, within minutes and pack them up, while I used to stand transfixed just staring at the ease with which he used to finish up the orders. If you don’t shy away from a generous amount of spices in your food then do go and try the food there. It used to be my mid day snack almost every day, and I still never miss a chance to go and grab a bite there whenever I am in town. And while we are still in Tallital market don’t forget to pick up a box of “Chocolate” from Anand Mishthan right down from Neeru’s. And yes you read correct, chocolate it is and that too at an Indian sweet shop. But it’s no ordinary chocolate, and I shall let you give the words to its taste. Its fancier version of sugar balls stuck to it called “Baal Mithai” is also quiet famous but all that sugar hides up the original taste for me.

Here is Bal Mithai

And Chocolate

Now let’s move on to the other side of town called Mallital. Here I have for you momo lovers an awesome place to eat called Sonum. This place is so famous that they have two places where they do business, one down at the flats and one shop right up around the flats area. They also make some awesomely delicious noodles kind of thing called “Thuppa” which you shouldn’t miss out on eating. Next up we have for the tea lovers like me, The Honey Hut. This place serves you with all-you-can-have honey with your tea. So you can admire the city’s beauty all you want while you sip your tea with pure honey bliss.

And finally ending the food journey with another treat for the sweet tooth in you is an awesome place called Sakley’s right next to flats, having orgasmic baked goods on the menu with good music playing in the background.

Sakley's had this tiny little Christmas tree and I had to take a photo of it.

4.      Pahadi food

You must be wondering, she just finished food and now there is another redundant food topic again. Well this is no common food, and if you happen to have a pahadi friend there, do not miss on the opportunity to load up on the stuff our household makes. Not everyone is familiar with the food on this particular menu, which is why I’ll give you some of the absolute must try dishes.

Starting off with Ras Bhaat, we have here a soupy mixture of a few pulses, boiled and the seeds removed to be eaten later on along with rice, and a special spinach dish called “Kapa”. So the full plate would have some rice, kapa (pronounced ka-pa), maybe a veg somewhere there and a bowl of ras. Thanks to pahadi cooks out on the internet I somehow managed to find a few photos for you guys.

Next comes Dubka Bhaat, which is nothing but a pahadi pulse crushed and boiled with nothing but a tempering of a spice called “Jambu”. My personal favorite is the dubka made of a pulse called “Bhat” which has its normal dal that is also made that is popularly called "Bhat ki Chudkani". You can match it up with another pahadi special veg called “Laai”, which is a green vegetable and might taste a little sour to you in the beginning but it is awesome.

This is how Bhat looks like

And to end with desserts we have here a very tasty treat called “Singal-Pue”, which are an obvious presence in a pahadi household on special occasions or if someone new is over at the house. Singal isn't anything different, its made of the same batter, its just that the shape is of a spiral.

5.      Miscellaneous

Since I can’t club these things into a single field I’m just going to spread them out here under miscellaneous. The town was settled by the British during their rule and the English signs are still visible throughout the town in a good way. Starting with the convents all around and famous celebrities having study stints there makes the town even more of a hip place. The most striking schools for me have always been the Birla’s residential school for boys, Birla Vidya Mandir, situated on top of the hill among the wilderness away from the towns hustle and St. Joseph’s College or popularly known among the town folks as SEM. The movie Koi Mil Gaya was shot at SEM for all the school scenes.

This is SEM as seen from Tiffin Top

While talking about the English signs, one cannot forget about the Nainital High Court on the slopes of China/Naina Peak in Mallital. It’s an absolute yes on the places to go list for it’s a must see building for its architecture of the British period and the lush green gardens that are spread in front of it.

Since you are in a town with a lake at such a height, I should not leave the boating extravaganza out of the blog. You’ll find peddle boats and row boats. Whichever you want is your pick and you can enjoy the lake and look at the town from a different view.

If you are into temples then there is a good old temple called Hanuman Garhi at a walking distance from the town.

For the shopping freaks out there Mall Road has got you covered. It’s not just a shopping hub but it’s a great place to walk as well. Lined up with beautiful trees along the way you won’t regret a thing walking down this road. And while shopping, you can never miss buying some candles and aroma oils.

Before ending I’d like to give you an awesome fact about Nainital that is, if you happen to come up the town from Haldwani at night, you’ll find out that the town lights make the shape of OM on the mountains as you progress towards the town, and since you are so high up with an awesomely clean environment the astronomy geeks and night sky lovers are going to have the time of their life. The night sky that you’ll get in town on a clear night is just magnificently breathtaking. Also when I asked in my childhood why it was called Nainital, the answer I got was that when Sati's body was falling all over the place, her eye fell here and that's how we got the Naini lake and the very popular temple called Nanda or Naina Devi from where every Navratra her "Dola" is carried all through the town, and hence the name Nainital. I don't know how solid this story is but who cares when the place is so gorgeous. So go out, and fall in love with this town like so many other people do and make your own memories there. Mine are still fresh of the old ageing house with every nook and cranny full of memories and my grandpa's stories. I am sure you’ll love it there.

A city called Rennes

I am re writing this blog again after having lost everything I wrote when I was halfway through, because I am an idiot who doesn’t know how to save things before you write them, so that when mishaps happen you don’t lose your shit and cry about spilled milk. Anyway, I'm going to try and make it sound as good as the previous draft was and hopefully you all will still like it. So continuing the Europe travel logs, let’s go to another lesser known city called Rennes. Also I didn’t go into full on photography mode while I was in the city, so I might not be able to give you much of a visual treat, but there will be some selfies here and there and a few shots of the city if I find some after digging up my albums. So here we go again.

1.      Walk

I love walking. There are people out there who also dearly love to walk.  As I was making the layout of this blog and the walk thing came up again, I thought that I should write a song about all the walking that I talk about and the chorus could go something like this,

Walk walk walk walk walk walk

You gotta do some walking walking walking

To get some sightseeing seeing seeing

Air air air air air air

Get some of that fresh air air air air air air

Feel that nice wind blowing up your hair

I know it sounds weird, but hey, WALK. Walk that city like you were meant to walk its streets. You never know what you’ll find walking around town. But one thing that  I can be certain of is that graffiti is always going to be one of the top things on that list of things you’ll find while walking around the streets.

2.      Les Champs Libre

If you translate it, you’ll get "The Free Fields". This is a gigantic library with a dedicated section for space science and a planetarium, which is within walking distance of the city’s railway station. So if you are put up in one of the hotels around the station, then make this the first stop of the day. The good news is that there is a bakery shop just down the street from the library that has the softest croissants I’ve ever had and you can shop all you want there. So all you are doing is basically just treating yourself to a sugary bliss and going on a shopping spree after a refreshing time at the library.

3.      Saint Helier

I somehow have a special connection with this church. The few days that I was there in the city, there wasn’t a single day I didn’t go to this church to just sit there all alone in the calming silence for hours thinking nothing but just being there. One afternoon got me walking in on a funeral service that was going on there and got me in a fix. I couldn’t just leave after walking in and my presence felt like an intrusion to their last moments with the departed. Somehow I made myself scarce and sat at the very end of the church seating and heard the members give their eulogies. Though they were all in French, I could feel their somber undertone. By the end of it I was asked to do something that I didn’t understand and didn’t feel like being a part of since I wasn’t family and not being a Catholic had no idea what it was and had a fear of doing something wrong which I didn't want happening. So I had to somehow very respectfully decline and give my condolence to the two men who came up to me. After the ceremony was over and they took the casket away, I sat there for another hour or so just taking in the flowers right in the center and the sunlight coming through the windows. It had a transcending glow that I didn’t find any other day. Maybe it was just my imagination playing with me, but it sure was a beautiful sight to behold. I'll let you be the judge of that.

4.      Chocolate and wine shopping

I don’t need to explain why you should not think and just do this. I’ll even tell you the place you can get some awesome mouth watering Belgian chocolates freshly made and you can get them wrapped as well. While you walk out of the Sainte Anne metro and walk around you’ll find Rue le Bastard with having Nicolas wine store along the way. And moving along the same street you’ll find Rue de l’Hermine by taking a right turn, where you’ll find the good old famous delicious Belgian chocolate makers, Leonidas. They are both within walking distance from each other and you can get some exploring done as well while on the way.

5.      Japanim

For all you manga and anime fans like me, Japanim is an absolute no questions asked stop. And the good news is that it is again within walking distance from Leonidas. It’ll barely take you ten minutes to walk there and then go nuts! I sure did. If anyone were to ask my friend who sadly had to company through my freak out of finding the shop will tell you how I became an eight year old and swooped through the entire shop like a kid on a treasure hunt. Sadly being on a student budget I had to curb my hunger by just feeling the mangas in my hand and looking at the prints on the t-shirts with price tags starting €24. But I sure got some photos where you see my elation showing very clearly and making me look weird. And yes I am a huge Naruto fan among other mangas but they didn't have them all and I didn't want to trouble my friend anymore than I was by taking a photo of everything that they had in the store so Naruto was all that I took a photo of.

6.      L’atelier de L’artiste

For all you wine lovers and who love a rustic and artistic interior, make sure you go to this bar to enjoy a glass of fine red wine with some good company and great vibes inside the place. It’s right next to Sainte Anne metro with not even a 1 minute walk from there. Just walk up the stairs, keep walking straight and you’ll find the place.

Rennes had more for me to explore but with no time left to do the exploring. I hope you people out there find more places to go and things to do than I did in my limited time there. Next time I’ll be back with another travel blog of one of my favorite of places and my hometown, Nainital. Au revoir et bonne soiree.

Exploring Nantes

You’ll find stuff about Paris, Cannes, Nice or even Marseille in a lot of travel blogs but not about the lesser known cities. One such place is the beautiful city called Nantes and like my Paris post here are a few things you can do to explore the city.

1.      Parc de la Chantrerie

Being a nature freak that I am, the number one thing on the list had to be the most beautiful and gigantic park I found wandering around the college campus area one evening. This place is so close to my heart that if someone were to tell me that they have an extra ticket to Nantes and if I’d like to go, my answer would always, no matter the time and the situation, be a huge YES, just because of the possibility of going to this park and lazing around on the wide grass fields, taking long walks through it and then just standing and watching the river flow. I assure you that you won’t regret going there. Pack a picnic and spread out your legs, feel the fresh air take away all the sorrow and the tension of the day. Watch Erdre flow and calm the unrest inside you. Or if you are an observer in silence kind of person, then you’ll have things from the soft rustling of the beautiful green lush around the park, to the animals from cows to horses, the ducks in the river and the people running, exercising, school baseball teams out practicing or a family out enjoying a nice picnic or just a small evening stroll, or the all time favorite, watching the sunset standing by the banks of Erdre. This park has a lot to give and explore, and if you happen to be there during fall, then I am sure you’ll be giving your eyes a colorful treat with all the changing colors of the leaves around you and the underlying coldness in the fall winds will make you smile for sure.

2.      Ride the public transport

I know here I am saying again after asking you to ride around the metro in Paris to ride around the public transport here as well. But trust me, those tram and bus rides will be worth the time invested. If you find joy in finding the small things in life like graffiti on the wall, then you most definitely should ride around the town in the trams and buses. For the graffiti in the photo below is one of my discoveries while riding around the town on Ligne 1 of TAN, or the line 1 of the city’s tramway. If you don’t want to spend the days buying tickets then get a booklet or better yet a 24 hours ticket and roam around hassle free with just one punch and nothing to do for the next 24 hours on either a tram or a bus. If someone comes to check, just show them the punch time and make sure it’s within the 24 hours time slot and you’re good to go.

3.      Walk around town

Walk, walk and walk. Any city needs to be explored with you walking its streets and finding the smallest things you can that fascinates you or something pretty among the chaos of the city that catches your eye, which you can’t find unless you’re on foot and go the corners of the city. I am a people observing person to some extent and I spent an entire evening just walking around the town listening to people talk, though it was all French going around me and I had no clue what they were talking about, but it was nice observing that every household is almost the same no matter where you are. You’ll find dads fixing up the basketball hoops, or washing the cars, the ladies tending to their flowers or sipping tea by the porch, and kids as always just running around and playing their hearts out. It’s the little things that make a house into a home, and no matter if you’re an observer or not, these small things will bring a smile on your face almost as a reflex.

4.      Go to the top of Tour Bretagne

Tour Bretagne is the third tallest building in France outside of Paris located in downtown Nantes. The roof is a popular hub for big parties, but other than that its open for people to visit and check out the view from the top since the tower dominates the city’s skyline and gives a great 360 view of the city be it in the day or the night.

5.      Ile de Nantes

Enclosed by the rivers flowing through the city, Ile de Nantes is always a fun place to be and you’ll always find people there with Les Machines being the center of attraction on the isle. Why you ask? Well because of the giant mechanical elephant they have on display there that moves around the area. Moving along the isle you’ll find the famous neon rings and the happening pubs of the city to enjoy a night out with friends dancing it out on the awesome club music you’ll find there.

6.      Buck Mulligan’s

Want some awesome music not just of the pub’s sound system but live music playing with a rustic Irish look and a sweetheart of an owner with some Irish drinks? Then this is the place to be. Even if you aren’t a fan of drinking but love some bagpipes, guitars and flutes making awesome music around you, then you definitely should go to Buck Mulligan’s. Don’t believe the things I am promising you’ll find there? I got real sweet recordings for you guys from the pub one night with people making awesome music, check it out and then decide for yourself if the vibes are good or not.

     

     7.      LASER TAG

     Why it’s in caps shouldn’t be a wonder. I mean who doesn’t love laser tag? Or being a stupid vengeful kid again? Or being super competitive trying to “laser” the opposite team? People love laser tag, period. And Nantes has just the place for you to “laser” people all you want, either alone or with a huge party. I had my friends over one weekend and we played till our clothes were drenched in sweat and we were out of breath, which was followed by three rounds of air hockey. Basically we went bonkers and played like little kids all afternoon at Zone Laser Games near Ile de Nantes. Have a big gang and nothing to do on the weekend? Go there and laser people up. It’s not a huge place, but you’ll surely have fun and curse a lot when your vest vibrates because someone got you good. Oh and here are some cool names we got while playing (Sniper and Yoshi).

8.      Chateau des ducs de Bretagne and Passage Pommeraye

The castle of Bretagne is a beautiful place for a picnic during a nice fall day and you can end the day there by the light show that happened every night on the walls of the castle. It is a beautiful sight with all the light play and the people walking around the castle. And right outside the castle entrance, you’ll find Princess Anne looking over the castle. The second name there, Passage Pommeraye for me is an architectural landmark of the city. That market is so awesomely constructed that you won’t even realize how many floors you passed through until someone asks you, “hey, any idea which floor we were at and are now?” And that place is so fancy with large stairs and shiny shops all around you. Don’t even think about not going there because you will regret it. You’ll even find the endless mirror positioning along the paths like we did.

            9.      Churches

I love churches. There must be some of you out there who love churches just as much as I do. Well then I have good news for you. There are beautiful churches there and if there is a cemetery fan somewhere out there like me who at times has been called a weird freak for finding solace in a cemetery then you should definitely go to Nantes and visit the churches and find a beautiful cemetery attached to it. I apologize for not remembering the church, I am still feeling so sad about forgetting it but that cemetery was so beautiful that I still remember it as if I were standing there, even some of the graves (I know I sound totally creepy). You’ll find an entire family buried there, a nameless soldier, kids who couldn’t live to see the beauty of life around them and if someone’s been by then you might just find fresh flowers on some graves. Even if you aren’t into praying just go see the beautiful architecture, the stories those old walls and pillars have to say, the whispers of the cracks they bear, the gentle croons of the candles that burn with the hopes of people who light them, or just the calming silence of the church. Sit there, relax, think, or just close your eyes and be there in the moment. No one is going to disturb you, no one will ask you to leave, or ask you to pray. Just sit there with you, yourself and your thoughts or better yet don’t bring any thoughts just be with yourself. For me a church is the second best place after nature to be in solace, and I know some of you will agree with me.

There are probably so many places I am missing here but hey, you guys can go out there explore more and come back here to tell me if you like. It will just add more places to go when I am back in the city. So go out and get exploring, and I hope you make even happier memories than I have of that city.