My Thoughts Keyboarded

This is it! It’s just one more day to 2010. I remember sitting with my class mates in a quite coffee shop in Singapore on 31st dec 2008. No big party or fireworks. Just three friends hanging out, talking about each other’s life and everything under the sun err.. actually full moon. We were too engrossed in talking to notice the countdown that slipped away silently. The year turned out to be like a roller coaster. Not just owing to its ups and downs but also to the underline fact that I chose to ride it. Knowing, all those twist and turns would shock and surprise me. Knowing, no matter how bumpy it may seem I would land safely. Knowing, my job is only to let loose, wave hands and enjoy the experience. Let’s be like the child that’s thrown in the air by its mom, smiling, enjoying, and with complete trust that it would be received safely into her hands! Let’s welcome 2010 with belief, conviction and hope. I have customised wish for you all, but there is a twist. I am going to ...

I have gaps; you have gaps let’s fill each other’s gaps -  This is what my brother and I found while searching for inspirational quotes to put in the marriage invite. Needless to say we spend the next ten minutes laughing like mad. My younger brother’s marriage is due in 6 weeks and I have been running around like a scorpion bitten mad monkey. Something that really cheered me up before few days . Never in my life had I imagined to shop 45 sarees, 28 shirts and several children wears, and all at one shot! I am no shopaholic, it’s what we do in Indian marriages (where groom family goes into debt and bride’s goes almost bankrupt). As part of the 3 day ceremony, we are suppose to gift new clothes to our relatives, arrange transportation (if the venue is out of town) and also feed them with DUE RESPECT- All three days! All I want for christmas is you honey, I dont care about whats underneath my christmas tree While the arrangements need to be 100% perfect, the DUE RESPECT has t...

Hello my friend, how are you doing? After 2 long years I am home. This is supposed to be my break time but it’s getting busier than ever. That’s strange because mostly I am the one inventing the work like cleaning, fixing etc. On the very day I reached here I started cleaning the living room (for the records I am not clean freak, I am just jobless). I brought this home 2 years back and never got to live in it. Now that I am here I am doing a facelift (sometimes even surgery) to make it a better place for my family. I am not the nagging-non-residential-Indian who complains about everything. But the noise here is bit annoying. While the road fills my ear drum with hundreds of horns (I bet no country makes best use of it) and roaring vehicles, Home does its part by blaring umpteen TV channels. My Dad is retired and my mom is a home maker. So they have used to watching TV all day long. Worse is when they argue with each other on top of lousy soaps or upbeat Tamil song, which forms an i...

King of skies, a show not to be missed in bird's park There is a general perception that Singapore tourism is over rated. What is in Singapore that’s unique? It’s probably smaller than the city you are living now or countries you have already visited. Many call it the microstate of Asia. It does not have cultural monuments like churches of Europe or temples of India, There are no spectacular natural sceneries like that of Holland or Amazon forests, there are no blue beaches and definitely not much history or artefacts to compete with others. But I bet you cannot show me a country with similar background, attracting millions of visitors each year. A culture that’s melting pot of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arabic communities. A central hub for travel & transportation, 4 national languages, several museums, a budget destination and a perfect example of the quote “It’s not what you got but what you give”. Every brick of Singapore that shines today is result of constant planni...

My mom was so dissapointed since the lion didnot vomit, on that day ;) In the last few days I was so busy shopping, packing and couriering stuff that I forgot the change happening to ME. I have to adapt to different lifestyle, culture and people. You might think it’s not big a deal for someone who lived in India for 28 years and that's my sweet home. But if you have lived a perfect system like Singapore your standards of everything is set and it’s such a pain to revert back to the old ways. Singapore has become my home away from home. In India I would be judged for all my actions, but here I can be myself and still be respected as a person. There are no questions about what time I go home, what I eat/drink and to which deity I bow my head to. When I came here, I realized the only way I could fit in, is be unique and different just like Merlion of Singapore. A photo with Merlion is destined to be framed for the show case. And I bet people won’t ask you where but when it’s take...

Serenity personified You can make out the places someone travelled just by looking at their fridge door, thanks to invention of magnets. If you want to pick up souvenirs for self or for your friends at budget rates, the place to go is china town. You just need an evening to explore this 6th in the countdown attraction. Get down at china town MRT and take the pagoda road exit. Above this exit, stands a beautiful garden bridge from which you can see the architectural beauty of the china town. All through Pagoda road there are 3 for $10 shops selling different souvenirs. You can also buy table top decorative here, beware some shops are exuberantly priced. Once you are at the end of the road, quench yourself with chilled Thailand coconuts. Then take right and you can see the famous Hindu (Mariamman) temple. Keep walking and you would reach Buddha tooth relic temple around the corner. It's the biggest Chinese temple in Singapore (so you can’t miss it) dedicated to Maitreya Buddha....

Last night I was gifted a box Lindt Swiss thins from a friend. It’s a chocolate I would want to safeguard for me in locker. While returning from train station I saw this couple walking along. The dad was carrying a small and cutest baby. Being me, I opened a conversation. The one month old angel’s name is Valarie. Valarie then yawned, a most beautiful one and rubbed her eyes to look at ‘the talking’ me. That was enough for Lindt to find its way from mine to her mom’s hand. The most important things in life are not THINGS. And Giving is more satisfying than receiving. Garden festivel - 08 Let’s start the countdown of the attractions you have been waiting so far. I narrowed it down to 10 places. For anyone who wants to visit Singapore the first website you should be looking at is this . It has got all the information you need for your trip. We have already seen how green Singapore is in this post . One thing my mom liked about Singapore is that there is at least one park, walk-a...