The Moonstruck Mystique...

It was dad's (Y's) 70th birthday and he is someone who loves swimming and laid back holidays. Phuket seemed the ideal location as there were direct flights for them from Mumbai and for us from SG. The Thai govt has extended the Visa charges waiver yet again.. this time until Songkran 2020. This has definitely seen an increase in foreign tourists. From what I gathered while in Phuket, the island has seen a marked decrease in the number of tourists every year since 2015. We visited in the latter half of November 2019 and it was a good time of the year to visit. The monsoons had receded and it is supposed to be cooler than half the other months of the year and probably wasn't as crowded as during the year end holidays. I must say some of the beaches are beautiful, the colour of the water is so soothing and it seemed like a lively place. Yet I don't think Phuket would be on my must-visit list. The island, as expected, is overrun by tourism and not much seems authenti...

Joyful reminders of a bygone time... a childhood memory of a wonderful Onam spent in my tharavad.. .. of fragrant flowers and pretty pookalams, of pooja for the mathevar and new pattupavadas, mothers making yummy kalan, olan & avial in the kitchen, offering to stir the warm delicious payasam simmering in the big uruli serving as a pretext of tasting it repeatedly, playing all day, poottu kali (searching for the poottu hidden by one person- an Indian version of hot & cold), onathallu, then devouring the Onasadya and everyone resting in the early afternoon in the pumukham.. one on the small wall by the window in the path of the coolest breeze, another on cheriamma’s lap who’s warm caress on your head would make you drift in and out of sleep, and the rest lay haphazardly on the floor vying for a spot on the easy chair.  The evenings brought in energy with tea & snacks and a second round of ammamma’s signature kaya varuthathu and sharkara upperi, followed by Onapp...

How I’m waiting for February to end...! After reading my trip blog, you’d imagine it was a fun 4 weeks for me this month. In reality, I’ve had a rather difficult time this month with my health. It began with having to endure walking with skin tears next to my wound/site of amputation on my weight bearing area. during the early part of my trip in the first week of February. I powered through with most of my plans because I’ve had an unsaid rule since my childhood. Never say never. The minute I decide to give up on doing what I want to because I’m in pain, I’ll be over. The first time I may give up and decide to take rest indoors for something very painfful or serious. The next time it may be something I can put up with and I may end up feeling why should I when I can avoid it. This will then become a way of life because hey! As an amputee you're never really expecting a time when you’re devoid of problems entirely..  So that’s my golden rule. Don’t let anything stop yo...

We decided to utilize the mid-week Chinese New Year holidays in Singapore and planned a 10-day trip to Central & South Vietnam. The Lunar New Year ("Tet") is also the biggest festival in Vietnam so it is holiday season (Think Christmas-NY in the Western World). Everything from rooms to food to transportation is more expensive, personnel at shops/restaurants/hotels are on leave, airports are busy owing to passengers travelling to be with family. But let this not deter you from paying a visit during Tet. The festive feel compensates for all discomforts I have mentioned above. People seemed very excited and in good spirits as it was New Year. Vietnam offers a hassle-free eVisa (check eligible countries) that can be applied online for USD 25 per head.  Please make sure you only use the following government website https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/ Scam Alert: There are many travel websites almost tricking you into believing they are government websites and offering...