The Week That Was

Friday: The Boy had an office brunch planned with his team-mates and their families. In the last four years of him being with this Bank, this had never happened. We were all excited and looking forward to this. The over-priced brunch with unlimited food and drinks had only one amusing aspect – the Indian magician. We smiled, we laughed and even wrote him a recommendation in the review page. Just that it wasn’t so much fun; we were only trying to get our money’s worth by enjoying everything that was being served!

Saturday: We went shopping for the upcoming trip. Listen to this: we sold our previous car to a person who was driving a 15-year old car before that. He works with this group that manages stores like Zara and Mango. This guy, through no persuasion of ours, offered us his 35 percent discount card! Decent people that we are, we’ve asked him to come twice in the last 15 months and he has been so generous and kind. I can’t tell you how happy he makes me!!

We also went to my close friend’s new villa. She use to live one floor above mine before I moved a mile away from her. After 4 years, she has now moved at a bigger house which is miles away and it is quite disheartening. The villa is gorgeous but that doesn’t make it easy for me to visit her. Damn these changes.

Sunday: I thought I’d start packing! Ha, who I was kidding! I lazed around on the sofa all day and loved everything about it!

Monday: We went to the close friend’s house again. She sent us emotionally black-mailing messages. Since we just love to meet, I mocked at her message and went any way. It takes more than 30 minutes to reach her place and costs a bomb. Oh, I don’t know when I will stop cribbing about that.

Tuesday: A friend invited me for lunch. I just love it when someone else cooks for me! Being a housewife, you tend to get bored with your own haath ka khaana. It is a respite when someone else makes the effort of inviting you over. Now I have met this girl a lot of times socially and also as couples with our respected spouses. This was the first time we were meeting alone. I opened my heart to her and it felt great. It makes me comfortable to know that the person I am interacting with knows a few things that are very close to my heart and I don’t have to pretend. Ofcourse I don’t open up to every Sally, but once I call someone a friend, she needs to know who I am before I can really talk.

‘Who I am?’ sounds like a celebrity line, doesn’t it?

Wednesday: I thought I’d pack, ha, who I was kidding again! The only smart thing I did was cooked lots of food so that I wouldn’t have to enter the kitchen on Thursday.

The other smart thing I did was that I downloaded a lot of videos for long, boring journeys. Cheap air tickets should give us a to-do list as well; and they should hire me to make that. 

Thursday: I thought it would be a busy day, turns out, not so much. I cleared the kitchen in the first hour of waking up. And packed the suitcase in the second. Oh ya, I am a pro by now!

The rest of the day has been spent in calling home, and counting my blessings. I can’t wait to get on that plane now. Our last long trip was in 2013. Since then our trips have been no more than 9 days. I am looking forward to rolling on the green grass, inhaling the smell of trees, eating desserts, strolling around beautiful cities with nothing on my mind, kissing the Boy out in the open, panicking over getting on a train, irritating the Boy with my plans and then missing things on my itinerary, clicking a thousand pictures, and most of all, making a million memories.

See you on the other side of possibly the best holiday ever. *

*I tend to get overwhelmed by each new destination and somehow feel that it is indeed the best ever. I also keep praying that insanity prevails and my enthusiasm remains the same forever. 

It's September!

It seems I've been away from the blogging world for quite some time now. As they say, life took over and I could not find time to talk about it here.

The last post I wrote was about a dear friend's baby shower. As much fun we had on that particular day, it was in no way compensatory for the trauma that followed. 'A' had a doctor's appointment on the very next day and was asked to go the emergency room. It was her 30th week (most pregnancies last 40-42 weeks), and we were not expecting this.

Since no private hospital here in Bahrain takes a case before 34, she had to be taken to a government hospital. Even though the facilities there are the best in the country, not knowing any doctor in such a critical situation was nightmarish. After keeping her under observation for 2 days, they decided to do a c-section. The babies were born and taken directly to the incubator where they would live for a few weeks till they are ready to face the real world. The mother, initially shocked, worried, emotionally a wreck, is now doing ok and is all set to take care of the babies. Oh, she had twin angels, by the way!

Between the home and the hospital, our lives as close friends got very busy as well. When you live outside your own country, you are hugely dependent on friends for support. While one was constantly in touch with the friend's mother back home so that she can make the perfect food for the new mom, I tried to be the emotional support at the hospital. This government hospital in an Islamic country doesn't allow men to stay over-night in a private ward. For the first time in my life, I stayed in the hospital for over three nights and fared decent!

Now all we want is for the babies to become stronger and come home. In a few months, they would become so adorable and cuddly!

The other thing that is now keeping me busy is another holiday. Oh yes, every one we tell this to goes green with jealousy and cannot understand how we manage to do it all. Well, some people have kids, some people have work, and some people dream to travel the world. Obviously, we are doing the third one and refuse to be judged on that.

We leave this Thursday for a fortnight. This time we would be touring Amsterdam, Brugges, the Black Forest in Germany and Munich for Oktoberfest. This holiday was planned in December last year and a lot of it is from the bucket list. Also, we got a three-year Schenghen visa this year, so be prepared to see a lot of Europe on my site. Frankly, I don't think the whole world compares to this beautiful continent. So even if we go there over and over again, I wouldn't mind it at all!

I've not even completed my last holiday's trip report. Hopefully the memories of the new one wouldn't blur the last. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case ever. Isn't that the reason we travel - to make new memories that last a lifetime?

Prost! (That's 'cheers' in German - the only word I remember so far because it is going to be used a lot during the beer festival!!!)

A Baby Shower for the Sweetest one!

I had heard that you can make best friends only in school/college. However, I would like to tell the world that if you have your heart in the right place, you can and you will find them at every stage of your life.

And so I met A when I got married and moved to Bahrain. Although our personalities are poles apart, we connect at so many other levels and love each other to the core. She understands me extremely well and I try my best to do the same. She's loving, caring and certainly the sweetest person you will ever meet. Special people like her need to be treated in an equally special way and so, we planned a baby shower at my place for her this weekend. Here is a poem from that (Oh, I tend to write poems for my close friends on their special occasions!) and a few pictures:

The bestest girl in the whole world is going to have twins,

Double the love, double the joy and multiply by two grins!

She met the daddy at a wedding some 12 years ago,

Love blossomed, rings were exchanged and now they are the sweetest couple we know.

The excess of 'Luv' in their home needed another angel,

God blessed, sent His favorite two, and added to their stable!

We think these babies will inherit the good looks and definitely be hard workers,

Very lovable, absolutely charming and definitely be high 'performers'!

Lots of love to the mommy and daddy to be - they deserve the very best

And thank them for the babies too, like them we also feel blessed!

Photo Booth!

Wishes in Poetry

Our favourite part of the decoration

It's a Baby Shower!

Wish her and her babies lots of love and good health!

Trip Report - Aiya Napa, Cyprus

There are a lot of people out there who have not heard of Cyprus. I don’t blame them – it is a tiny island, not marketed like Seychelles and comes lower in the ranking from its neighbours - Greece and Turkey. Since I have been to both (Greece and Turkey), I can safely tell you that the beaches in Cyprus are way better.

Obviously a few people will disagree with me since I have not seen ALL beaches in those two countries. But what I can tell you from what I have seen – you will get more value from what you see in Cyprus than what you will see elsewhere.

Crystal, CRYSTAL clear water

We decided to take a short trip to this island this Eid. I had read that July and August are the busiest months in the country and also the best time to visit the beaches. Since our visit to Greece, particularly Mykonos, was in the off-season and hence a total let-down, we thought it was better to go when there are crowds.

Frankly, I had no expectations. We have a couple of friends who have been there and told us it was ‘nice’. No pictures, no details, just nice! This was an indication that they did not really enjoy their holiday but did not want to discourage us either since everyone perceives a place in his or her own way. Anyway, we still went because we wanted to and took a direct flight which was just 3.5 hours and it was the fastest since I was lost in a book (To Kill a Mockingbird – awesome it is.).

Wine, poetry and a book on a plane to a new destination -
Life can be absolutely perfect sometimes!

Before I tell you about our visit, let me tell you a little about the country. Cyprus is around 9000 kilometre square in area. The west is known for Greek Mythology. The east is known for its lovely, sandy beaches. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia which is located in the centre of the country and is also the last divided capital in the world.

By divided I mean that Northern Cyprus was occupied by Turkey in the 1970’s and still is out of bounds for Greek Cypriots. They need a passport to enter the region, just like any other person. It is sort of another country within the same country. While you drive around Cyprus, you can see the divisions. There are a lot of checkpoints throughout the region where there are proper immigration counters. Oh yes, it is complicated and I feel very bad for them. It is hard to take sides without knowing the entire history, but whatever it is,  it is horrible to be divided like this.

Anyway, the main area for tourists are Paphos in the west, Limassol and Troodos mountains in the centre, Larnaca, Aiya Napa and Protaras in the east. We chose Aiya Napa and Protaras for our 7-day trip since I read that these two towns had the best beaches. The weather was in 30’s during the day -  we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!

On day one we just hung around the harbour and the restaurant street in Aiya Napa. It was long and full of people. I was amazed to see how girls and boys just wore beachwear even on the roads! Yes, girls in bikinis and boys in just their swimming shorts. Although it is not rare, but I have not seen any beach destination where clothes were scarce even far away from the beach! It was a treat for the Boy nevertheless and I sulked on having a bigger body than most of the girls!

A walk near the harbour

Day two was a Sunday. I had read that the most famous beach in Aiya Napa was Nissi beach and they have foam parties on that day. So we had breakfast, took another nap, caught a bus and went to Nissi at around 2. Yes, we were lazy. But Cyprus is a lazy destination where you can start late and end late - just ideal for a holiday!

We went to the far west corner of Nissi because I had seen pictures from the party (yes, planning helps! Otherwise we would have been in a dead corner!). The bar was buzzing and there was not a single sun lounger. The Boy wanted to quit and just take a chair. But I was patient and pleaded him to wait. We found our beds in ten minutes.

Now Nissi beach is by far the best beach I have ever been to in my life. I have seen beaches in Goa (India), San Diego (U.S.A), Oludeniz (Turkey), Nice (France) and Mykonos (Greece). All these places had great beaches but always lacked something or the other. Nissi beach had everything – Clean water, shallow sea (you could walk over a 100 meter without having to swim), had the softest sand, an entertaining bar and very friendly but decent crowd. The sea had little or no waves which is exactly how I like it.

From a sun lounger at Nissi Beach

After swimming/walking(!) in the water for 2 hours, we went to the foam party. They had this huge shower from which they were pouring foam. Fifteen minutes of foam was followed by fifteen minutes of water. Everyone was decent enough to let others have a chance under the water. The foam wasn’t even slippery and it was great fun to be in it and watch others when you weren’t directly under it. Oh boy, it was one interesting party! So much so that we went there on Day 6 as well since there was another foam party then!

Foam Party at Nissi Beach Bar

When I say July and August are the busiest in Cyprus I mean it is the peak party season. Since schools and colleges are closed in Europe and U.S.A, a lot of people throng the area to enjoy the summer. Aiya Napa is clearly the capital for late teens and people in their early 20’s. Apart from a gorgeous beach, they have a street dedicated to club goers and bar hoppers. At first that street was intimidating – there was blaring music from each venue trying to out-do the sound from the other. There were hundreds of people on the street and then there were marketers trying to lure you into their establishment. Since we thought this street was clearly not for people like us (30’s is OLD for Aiya Napa!), we just wandered around and did some people watching.

Touristy picture!

The start of a very long stretch of bars, clubs and pubs.

It was another world. I don’t know if I am over-reacting, but I haven’t seen mad clubbing like I saw in Aiya Napa. Friends tell me Ibiza is similar, only for all ages. But if you happen to go to Aiya Napa in July/August, you would see a unique place in this universe. And I wouldn’t go if I had teenage kids – it’s a little scary out there to watch young men and women trying to be grown-ups…

On Day three we went to Makronissos beach - or atleast we thought we did. The thing about doing a trip on your own on public transport is that you can easily get lost. We got off at a bus stop and followed signs to this beach which was stated to be the best in Cyprus. The marketing guys got us and we headed to an isolated beach where they had a bar and a huge party area. Since we had walked over a kilometer in scorching summer heat, we thought of staying there and not finding the real thing. I wish we could because this area was nothing like what I had read online. It was not bad, but it wasn't the best in Cyprus!Well, adventures make us smarter, don't they?

Beautiful Water

When you don't know what else to do - click pictures!

After two days of sun, sand and beer, we thought it was a good idea to step outside of Aiya Napa and see other areas of Cyprus...

Coming up next - Our trip to Larnaca, Troodos, Nicosia and 3-days in Protaras! 

Eid Break

I did not know I liked traveling till I started doing so. As kids we traveled to Nainital and Mussourie and that was it. When I was an adult, I had a fortune of having a cousin getting married in Dubai, so we visited her place. When I was 23, my uncle decided to be brave and take all his nieces for a trip to the Far East. We had fun; I am sure he did NOT!

When we were getting married, the Boy's job was a tad uncertain. He was so worried about everything that we didn't even plan a honeymoon. A wise person told me that no matter what, you must go on a honeymoon. And so, I persuaded the Boy to atleast buy the tickets. Eventually we did manage to go with just our tickets in our hands and still Goa was perfect.

We were in India back then. Within 2 months of our wedding, we moved to Bahrain. This was a whole new experience for me. I was awe-struck with every aspect of a foreign country. Even though I had visited a few before, living in one was a totally new thing. For the first one year while we were discovering each other we ended up discovering the place as well!

Not only that, we went to Qatar and Kuwait in the process. The Boy worked in a consulting firm and his job required him to travel. He made sure he was given an extra ticket for my visit as well! I learnt how to live in hotel apartments and cook on one electric stove.

Our second holiday was to Ladakh. We initially thought of going to Kashmir but they had security concerns that time. And so, just on a whim, we went to Leh. It was a beautiful place but both me and the Boy had health problems there. When they say it is not for everyone, they are not lying.

Another trip to Dubai with free accommodation at the dear cousin’s place was made that year. Since this time I was with the Boy, the trip was more awesome. Very soon he changed his job and our travel map widened. He had more leaves and we had a little extra money to cover foreign locations.

Our first real trip abroad was France and Switzerland. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed that vacation. I think Europe is really God’s favorite child and He has showered all his blessings on that land. I loved Paris and Nice so much that I wish to spend half our old age there!!

We’ve been to Turkey, U.S.A., Austria, Greece, and Bangladesh after that. Every vacation has been like a dream that I wish never ended. The moment I enter a town I fear that time will fly very soon and I will have to go back home. But it is that fear that makes me love every moment of my journey and motivates me to do everything in my power to embark on the next one. Silly how we constantly need motivation to take life that way.

I’ve been reading tales of people who quit their jobs for the love of traveling. I am not sure how anyone can do that because it can really put your entire future in danger. I, too, believe in living life to the fullest but that doesn’t mean we should shun all responsibilities and go on a world tour!

Anyway, the grapes are sour this side. If I did have the money and security, I would spend all my life in different corners of the world! But since we are normal people with normal amount of security and money, we are just taking a small vacation. I’ll see you on the other side of this week when I come back from Cyprus. Wish me happiness!

Punjabi Takkar Dating Diary - Entry #8754

Like I’ve mentioned a few times before, I lived a comfortable life in my parent’s home for the first 26 years of my life. I did my schooling, graduation and then MBA from the city of Nawabs and lived like a princess! I was fortunate enough to be born in a well-to-do family and always had the luxury of a driver or my own car to move around. Life was easy and thankfully, still is.

Even then, my parents always taught me how to value money. I was given a meager pocket money and had to bear all my expenses through it. I was given Rs. 5000 a month to spend on my outings, do any shopping if needed, recharge my cell phone and refuel the car. My college was really far so most of the money was spent on petrol.

There was a time when the Boy had gone for a student exchange program to France for three months. The call rates were really high and had to be borne by me since he had already spent a lot of money in traveling abroad. I remember keeping the windows of my car open just so the vehicle will give a higher mileage and I will be able to buy extra recharge for my cell phone!

I was so afraid of being caught by my family that I was dating this guy that I used to get this recharge from several places. I was afraid that the recharge wala uncle will call my parents and let them know! Oh boy, I was scared of my family knowing!

We always dated at the most discreet of places. There was this restaurant at a remote location where none of my family members, friends or relatives could ever come. The location also suited the Boy because his college bus had a stop near-by and he could easily come there. The chicken biryani was modestly priced at Rs. 70 and made for the most sumptuous meal. We were students and living a cheap life!

I started writing this post because I wanted to tell about one particular incident which involved money. Since my father is a businessman, he hardly ever uses any debit/credit card, whereas the Boy and his family don’t use any cash. One time the Boy had to withdraw some money. The ATM was located right outside his college gate and so we stopped there for a bit. My eyes shone when I saw money coming out of a machine – it was such a new and exciting experience for me! The Boy started laughing and still reminds me of the incident. What’s more, I still have the receipt from my first time ever at the ATM!

I am still a princess though who uses the husband’s credit card and asks him to withdraw money whenever I have the need. I am still careful with money whenever we need to save. I still splurge on priorities and compromise on luxuries if I have to. I am grateful to God that He has given us enough, but I am more grateful that He has taught me to value my privileges.

Checking-in

Blah. That’s what I’ve been feeling since a few days, or should I say, weeks. There is so much happening in my real life that online life has taken a back seat. Now, ofcourse, I am no Salman Khan busy with promotions of loser of a movie called Bajrangi Bhaijaan, nor I am Mr. Modi aiming for 65 before 65 (countries, ofcourse), but I am a lazy housewife with, mind you, plenty to do!

So I fired a temporary housemaid because I felt she hated her job and was giving me an awful lot of stress. Firing is no easy task - I had to mince my words, be as kind as possible, and keep my mouth shut about the fact that she sucked. I didn’t want to do anything to her self-esteem, so I just lied and said I am going on a vacation.

Now this wasn’t a complete lie. I am indeed going for a vacation albeit for a week. There will be sun and sand and a whole lot of other stuff which would keep us happy for seven whole days in Cyprus. It’s an exotic destination. But then what do you do if you have already covered a lot of the famous ones. Ahem! No, no, I am not bragging. We just want to cover like 40 countries before we turn 40 and we have our list ready. Although Cyprus wasn’t a part of it, we made the list after we booked our vacation. So. Anyway. A vacation is a vacation is a vacation. I am EXCITED!!

Every time we go on a holiday we try to shed some weight before boarding that plane. This is just to stay fit and make sure that we eat to our hearts content while we are in a foreign land. These days our schedule runs tight. I do atleast one and a half hours of exercise. Now that needs a lot of rest in between for my amazingly feeble body. So, after finishing the daily chores and doing that workout, I chill the rest of the day! Ha! See I have a very valid excuse!!

And then we’ve been eating yummy salads to shed some more kgs. I’ve started making a delicious chicken salad that I actually crave for in the evenings. Whoever said that diet food was boring didn’t try searching the internet for recipes, and didn’t love his body. If you think you’re being cool by being a foodie, you also need to be health conscious to survive being one. I love food, but I love myself more. I wish people had a similar mantra.

Oh ya, this lecture will get over as soon as we are on the island of Cyprus! But that’s only for a week na, and we are prepared!

I also had a social anxiety disorder lately. After having a couple of glasses of wine, people change apparently. I did too. I became aggressive in my debates which I regretted the next morning. And since I hate confrontations so much, I don’t know how I will ever rectify my behaviour.

I could have had an altercation with a Muslim friend as well on the whole Gay marriage thing. But sanity prevailed and I didn’t say anything. I would rant here ofcourse. That deserves a whole post and post I shall.

Hope I keep reading and writing. I just like to read non-fiction and so I am reading blogs of prostitutes these days. They are very interesting to say the least. Google and hop onto one!

Much love!