This one is dedicated to dh notwithstanding his unease at being mentioned in my blog.
Teri says Say what and talks of trashing her box without the recycle option. And Ellen was the one who showed me how dependent and attached I was to my box- to the extent of being paranoid about it. But hey, boxed in or sparring about my box, dh matters.
Go figure!
May 31, 2006
May 27, 2006
Aus-some II
Cairns will always be a very special place for me- I do know how I've been going ad nauseum about the Ballooning and Snorkelling are but few of the attractions of that delightful little place. No wonder that as many as 4 flights from Japan land there everyday and that there are so many Japanese tourists that all tour guides have a Japanese interpreter buddy.
I was so sorely disappointed at not being able to do ballooning at Sydney (Hunter Valley actually) that I earned myself the tag of 'gubbaare waali'. So my ballooning trip was fixed up even before I reached Cairns. It started very early at 4 am- needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink the night before! After a long and winding trip into the hills surrounding Cairns, reached Mareeba through some lush bush and coffee country in a country not known for its coffee. I was way too excited to be asking any questions yet the pilot thoughtfully answered them all. Being in a hot air balloon with all those Japanese tourists was a bit strange. They went about excitedly, yet politely, clicking pictures of each other when there was so much to see and experience all around. Hey, whats with pictures, does one look any different up in the air?
And after that perfect ride and a yum hearty breakfast, I joined the rest of the family at the pier for the trip to the Great Barrier Reef! I still pinch myself and find that I horripulate when I remember that day I went up in the sky in a balloon and peered deep into clear corally waters immediately after one another! A double shot of adrenaline in a dose I hadn't ever had. We went through some rough waters till we reached Green Island with dh, dd and ds feeling awfully green but past that post, the seas smoothed, they went up to the upper deck and all were fine by the time we reached the Norman reef . And that's where we snorkelled and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. The fish were so colourful and exotic that it seemed were we in a fantasy underwater park. Apart from their colours, the fish were also tremendously friendly swimming with us between us. And no, we weren't in any theme park- it WAS the Great Barrier Reef!!!
The next day at Cairns was very wet! But the little place charmed us anyway to go across and explore- its Dome, the Crocodile, Rainforest and Mangrove Cruise through the backwaters, it was all exciting. Even if the sight of all those crocs lolling around or feeding voraciously at the pink chickens was quite offensive, but it was quite exciting! With plenty of binocs on board and a friendly crew who pointed out the birds, as well as let the kids have a hand at the wheel, it was fun for all.
Gold Coast was the touristy theme-park place and we were lucky to be at a beautiful property on the Surfers Paradise esplanade. It was right above Hard Rock Cafe and apart from the great location (bang above a subterranean Woolworths for all those lil groceries and round the corner from Hungry Jacks- which kept us in French Fries and Veggie Burgers). It afforded a wonderful view of the vast beautiful beach. But what was truly amazing is that in the midst of that concrete jungle, there was always birdsong heard above all other sounds.
The trips to the theme parks were all they are made out to be and more. What was particularly endearing was the lack of the hype which characterizes such (or actually more famous) parks in the US. The parks were much kinder and the people running them seemed more friendly (if that is possible) than those in the US.
Australia was the perfect holiday the family had -maybe something to do with the perfect place it was, maybe due to the friendly people, or was it our friends who made it so, or could there have been something in that contract dd had drawn up for us???
We did leave some things behind - for instance that much loved blue Taylormade cap of dh which I misplaced, obviously we left bits of ourselves there too. Hope to go back there some day and reclaim those parts.
And hey, I haven't still done my parasailing yet, have I?
I was so sorely disappointed at not being able to do ballooning at Sydney (Hunter Valley actually) that I earned myself the tag of 'gubbaare waali'. So my ballooning trip was fixed up even before I reached Cairns. It started very early at 4 am- needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink the night before! After a long and winding trip into the hills surrounding Cairns, reached Mareeba through some lush bush and coffee country in a country not known for its coffee. I was way too excited to be asking any questions yet the pilot thoughtfully answered them all. Being in a hot air balloon with all those Japanese tourists was a bit strange. They went about excitedly, yet politely, clicking pictures of each other when there was so much to see and experience all around. Hey, whats with pictures, does one look any different up in the air?
And after that perfect ride and a yum hearty breakfast, I joined the rest of the family at the pier for the trip to the Great Barrier Reef! I still pinch myself and find that I horripulate when I remember that day I went up in the sky in a balloon and peered deep into clear corally waters immediately after one another! A double shot of adrenaline in a dose I hadn't ever had. We went through some rough waters till we reached Green Island with dh, dd and ds feeling awfully green but past that post, the seas smoothed, they went up to the upper deck and all were fine by the time we reached the Norman reef . And that's where we snorkelled and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. The fish were so colourful and exotic that it seemed were we in a fantasy underwater park. Apart from their colours, the fish were also tremendously friendly swimming with us between us. And no, we weren't in any theme park- it WAS the Great Barrier Reef!!!
The next day at Cairns was very wet! But the little place charmed us anyway to go across and explore- its Dome, the Crocodile, Rainforest and Mangrove Cruise through the backwaters, it was all exciting. Even if the sight of all those crocs lolling around or feeding voraciously at the pink chickens was quite offensive, but it was quite exciting! With plenty of binocs on board and a friendly crew who pointed out the birds, as well as let the kids have a hand at the wheel, it was fun for all.
Gold Coast was the touristy theme-park place and we were lucky to be at a beautiful property on the Surfers Paradise esplanade. It was right above Hard Rock Cafe and apart from the great location (bang above a subterranean Woolworths for all those lil groceries and round the corner from Hungry Jacks- which kept us in French Fries and Veggie Burgers). It afforded a wonderful view of the vast beautiful beach. But what was truly amazing is that in the midst of that concrete jungle, there was always birdsong heard above all other sounds.
The trips to the theme parks were all they are made out to be and more. What was particularly endearing was the lack of the hype which characterizes such (or actually more famous) parks in the US. The parks were much kinder and the people running them seemed more friendly (if that is possible) than those in the US.
Australia was the perfect holiday the family had -maybe something to do with the perfect place it was, maybe due to the friendly people, or was it our friends who made it so, or could there have been something in that contract dd had drawn up for us???
We did leave some things behind - for instance that much loved blue Taylormade cap of dh which I misplaced, obviously we left bits of ourselves there too. Hope to go back there some day and reclaim those parts.
And hey, I haven't still done my parasailing yet, have I?
May 26, 2006
Aus-some I
(A week since we are home and I haven't updated the blog! Been caught up in our life with a bang, with dh being awfully busy and now travelling to Delhi and kids just being the way they are. But no more ex-cue zs- here goes...)
Ah the awesome Australian holiday- it was too perfect to be true! But then thats what dreams are made of- family, some friends, the most awe- inspiring natural environs, some friendly natives and ummm, thats it!
It started off with dd taking charge and drawing up a contract to be signed by the whole family- the behaviour code for each family member- Dad was supposed to stay cool and away from his work, me was not to embarass the family by my laughing or giggling, dd herself promised she'd be Ms Congeniality and ds was not to kiss anyone's (especially Mom's/dd's/ other girls') hair with those 'sicky sounds'! Well we all signed as said but ...
We visited Sydney, Cairns and the Gold Coast town of Surfers Paradise and it was truly a Rainforest and Reef holiday!
Sydney was especially fun as we were guided in our dear friends who took time off from work to shepherd us through the sights in and around Sydney. That way there was plenty of time to travel at leisure at our highly relaxed and kid-friendly pace, soak in the sights AND catch up on all those years' news as we were meeting after about 16 years! And yes, I must admit, I spent a lot of time peering at various sinks just to test out all my learning of the Coriolis force, as this was my first time in the Southern hemisphere!
Bondi beach was really to die for- The beach front was inviting and as the weather was rather nippy, the beach was practically empty too. No sunning bodies to step around. The only nuisance were the loud pesky gulls. The waters were cold and there was a sharp breeze but thankfully, the sun shone through in that typically Australian majestic way. Bathing in the water was out of the question, especially as we were at the begining of our holiday and were slated to go on to other, warmer beaches. We took a long walk to the rockiest part of the beach and had fun exploring all the tiny and intersting marine life in the rocks. How I wish we could have done the longer walks too! We did also meet some divers who had emerged from after 70 minutes under water!
We were truly sejuiced and Bondi was the best possible start to our beach holiday. We rounded the day off with a trip to the local Koala park where we saw Cassowaries, Kangaroos, Wallaroos, Wallabies, koala bears, Lorikeets, Parakeets, Cockatoos, a solitary splendid Dingo, penguins, and of course, the Kookobara himself! Momentarily (?) forgetting my promise not to laugh like a hyena gone terribly wrong, I cackled hideously that I was finally in the presence of the Kooko bird! 'Laugh Kookobara laugh Kookobara' brought back too many memories- from the music teacher at nursery school- Mrs. Carvahlo, to other points in life when one wasn't happy at all and yet schooled oneself to laugh and appear gay. After seeing all these fantastic creatures, little wonder that ds asked whether we would be going to Dinosaur Park the next day!!!
The trip to Hunter Valley vineyars was long and filled with lots of fun. Went to Tyrell's and had a fun picnic lunch as we were a very hungry bunch and all the food was just too little! Believe it or not, we actually came upon an imposing baobab tree on the estate- making me go all mushy about the Little Prince and dear friend Rafiki. After fortifying ourselves thus and admiring all there was to see and sip, we all trooped after dh who found a convenient and extremely family friendly golf course. Dd was the caddy and ds was the 'ball picker' while Hari and I followed. As a concession to us, dh restricted his 'game' to four holes. A great game - golf!
The Blue Mountains, on the next day, they were really out of this world- the Scenic way with its Skyway and Railway was truly impressive, and the walkway was really the top joy. The sweet water of the Marrangaroo spring had us rushing back for numerous sips. The miners' relics were so well grown over by the rainforest, that it seemed part of the forest ecology and not a mere secondary forest. The old gum trees were verily hoary and awe-inspiring. The all pervasive bush was reined in by the older influences of the myth of the Three Sisters who loomed large and provided the most impressive backdrop for the primal forest. We all ran down to the bottom of the first of the three sisters and huffed and puffed our way up! While Rachna and dd were exploring other views and look-out points and dh and ds were at Echo-point, I just shut down all my senses to imbibe the atmosphere and dream the Muggadah dreaming.
And that brought us to the end of our Sydney stay. It was delightful in a zillion ways that I haven't written about here- largely due to the warmth and love we got from Rachna, Hari, Tara, Ela, Tapas and briefly- Jeevan and Ushmi too! We also met with some other friends and friends of friends- yes, very friendly! Ds did not, quite expectedly, keep his promise of eating things other than potato, and every evening I was making the daily spud for his comfort. And yes, we also had the reassurance of the AMUL- the Taste of India, wherever we went, courtesy the well-stocked local Indian store!
Ah the awesome Australian holiday- it was too perfect to be true! But then thats what dreams are made of- family, some friends, the most awe- inspiring natural environs, some friendly natives and ummm, thats it!
It started off with dd taking charge and drawing up a contract to be signed by the whole family- the behaviour code for each family member- Dad was supposed to stay cool and away from his work, me was not to embarass the family by my laughing or giggling, dd herself promised she'd be Ms Congeniality and ds was not to kiss anyone's (especially Mom's/dd's/ other girls') hair with those 'sicky sounds'! Well we all signed as said but ...
We visited Sydney, Cairns and the Gold Coast town of Surfers Paradise and it was truly a Rainforest and Reef holiday!
Sydney was especially fun as we were guided in our dear friends who took time off from work to shepherd us through the sights in and around Sydney. That way there was plenty of time to travel at leisure at our highly relaxed and kid-friendly pace, soak in the sights AND catch up on all those years' news as we were meeting after about 16 years! And yes, I must admit, I spent a lot of time peering at various sinks just to test out all my learning of the Coriolis force, as this was my first time in the Southern hemisphere!
Bondi beach was really to die for- The beach front was inviting and as the weather was rather nippy, the beach was practically empty too. No sunning bodies to step around. The only nuisance were the loud pesky gulls. The waters were cold and there was a sharp breeze but thankfully, the sun shone through in that typically Australian majestic way. Bathing in the water was out of the question, especially as we were at the begining of our holiday and were slated to go on to other, warmer beaches. We took a long walk to the rockiest part of the beach and had fun exploring all the tiny and intersting marine life in the rocks. How I wish we could have done the longer walks too! We did also meet some divers who had emerged from after 70 minutes under water!
We were truly sejuiced and Bondi was the best possible start to our beach holiday. We rounded the day off with a trip to the local Koala park where we saw Cassowaries, Kangaroos, Wallaroos, Wallabies, koala bears, Lorikeets, Parakeets, Cockatoos, a solitary splendid Dingo, penguins, and of course, the Kookobara himself! Momentarily (?) forgetting my promise not to laugh like a hyena gone terribly wrong, I cackled hideously that I was finally in the presence of the Kooko bird! 'Laugh Kookobara laugh Kookobara' brought back too many memories- from the music teacher at nursery school- Mrs. Carvahlo, to other points in life when one wasn't happy at all and yet schooled oneself to laugh and appear gay. After seeing all these fantastic creatures, little wonder that ds asked whether we would be going to Dinosaur Park the next day!!!
The trip to Hunter Valley vineyars was long and filled with lots of fun. Went to Tyrell's and had a fun picnic lunch as we were a very hungry bunch and all the food was just too little! Believe it or not, we actually came upon an imposing baobab tree on the estate- making me go all mushy about the Little Prince and dear friend Rafiki. After fortifying ourselves thus and admiring all there was to see and sip, we all trooped after dh who found a convenient and extremely family friendly golf course. Dd was the caddy and ds was the 'ball picker' while Hari and I followed. As a concession to us, dh restricted his 'game' to four holes. A great game - golf!
The Blue Mountains, on the next day, they were really out of this world- the Scenic way with its Skyway and Railway was truly impressive, and the walkway was really the top joy. The sweet water of the Marrangaroo spring had us rushing back for numerous sips. The miners' relics were so well grown over by the rainforest, that it seemed part of the forest ecology and not a mere secondary forest. The old gum trees were verily hoary and awe-inspiring. The all pervasive bush was reined in by the older influences of the myth of the Three Sisters who loomed large and provided the most impressive backdrop for the primal forest. We all ran down to the bottom of the first of the three sisters and huffed and puffed our way up! While Rachna and dd were exploring other views and look-out points and dh and ds were at Echo-point, I just shut down all my senses to imbibe the atmosphere and dream the Muggadah dreaming.
And that brought us to the end of our Sydney stay. It was delightful in a zillion ways that I haven't written about here- largely due to the warmth and love we got from Rachna, Hari, Tara, Ela, Tapas and briefly- Jeevan and Ushmi too! We also met with some other friends and friends of friends- yes, very friendly! Ds did not, quite expectedly, keep his promise of eating things other than potato, and every evening I was making the daily spud for his comfort. And yes, we also had the reassurance of the AMUL- the Taste of India, wherever we went, courtesy the well-stocked local Indian store!
May 10, 2006
At Home
Its been wonderful to be coming home to Australia.
Home, even though it is the first time we are visiting the place. Home because of the tremendous warmth and love we have received here. Sydney has been most hospitable and warm- giving us one sunny warm day after another, even as winter creeps up on this continent.
Warm and lovely because of meeting all the beautiful friends here- Hari, Rachna, Ela and Tapas and their kids. Each one of us singly and severally are being delighted in their company. Meeting and bonding after so many years, there is much to catch up on- much to discover and learn anew. And yet, old friends! A friend who has been reading my blog and was waiting with her daughter to discuss John Abraham with me(!). Hmm, maybe I may yet get to see Dhoom before I leave Australia.
The kids are having a blast reading old books and new, trying out new things, making new friends, learning the piano(!) We seem to be discovering ourselves anew. Bonding with the kids in the warmth and the love-filled ambience provided by our friends.
Done all the usual touristy must-dos of Sydney but in the company of these friends, it wasn't the typical touristy things- it was each of those places with all the associations and warm memories that the places evoke for them.
Home is where friends are!
May 09, 2006
Shocking behaviour
I am always capable of shocking my self and the others around me- but yesterday was a bit too much!
All day, I went around getting a not so mild buzz from all that I touched. After a point, my fingers were tingling so painfully that not all the rubbing helped. And my kids were pleading with me, 'mama, please don't touch'. Not only was I getting shocks from all manner of textile, mettalic and other surfaces, but was also giving huge shocks each time I touched the kids. Maybe 'twas the static from the long flight to Australia, but thank God, I am able to use all my fingers today.
Heres hoping that I get less shocking!
Heres hoping that I get less shocking!
May 05, 2006
Tweedle to
When I met these two, I was much more rash and brash than I am today.
Yes, we did bond immediately and that bond did carry us through for all these years. Anyone I want or need to, I can reach out to these friends and talk on the phone wherever in the world they may be, as if they be sitting right next to me and as if we have still been meeting everyday. As with most relationships, we did become quite a habit for each other and the growing gaps in time before we met or spoke with each other, was irrelevant because we were assured of being there for each other, weren't we? Which is when we started taking each other for granted. I was totally unaware of anything going wrong. Perceptive dd asked me one day why my friend Uncle J had stopped coming by. 'O, he must be busy sweetheart', I said and forgot about it. Yes, I should have made a call, reached out, but didn't. A month later, another friend casually asked me when I'd spoken to J last. Hmm, been a while, I said. That day I did ring up though. And was totally blown away by what I heard. It seems that I had, in a totally insensitive fashion, hurt my friend with some idiotic words! And without any malafides too!
'Hey, whats the matter, you don't expect me to say the right things all the time do you? And what are friends for, if we had to watch all we say to them?' I did the silly thing of trying to trivialise the hurt I'd caused. Which did its bit to drive the wedge deeper.
Well slowly it was out- friends tried to intervene- much amateur counselling was done. I was given the mandatory advice on how to learn to be sensitive to the feelings of others. Have learnt some protocol, but is it easy for me to learn these lessons?
I tweedle on.
Yes, we did bond immediately and that bond did carry us through for all these years. Anyone I want or need to, I can reach out to these friends and talk on the phone wherever in the world they may be, as if they be sitting right next to me and as if we have still been meeting everyday. As with most relationships, we did become quite a habit for each other and the growing gaps in time before we met or spoke with each other, was irrelevant because we were assured of being there for each other, weren't we? Which is when we started taking each other for granted. I was totally unaware of anything going wrong. Perceptive dd asked me one day why my friend Uncle J had stopped coming by. 'O, he must be busy sweetheart', I said and forgot about it. Yes, I should have made a call, reached out, but didn't. A month later, another friend casually asked me when I'd spoken to J last. Hmm, been a while, I said. That day I did ring up though. And was totally blown away by what I heard. It seems that I had, in a totally insensitive fashion, hurt my friend with some idiotic words! And without any malafides too!
'Hey, whats the matter, you don't expect me to say the right things all the time do you? And what are friends for, if we had to watch all we say to them?' I did the silly thing of trying to trivialise the hurt I'd caused. Which did its bit to drive the wedge deeper.
Well slowly it was out- friends tried to intervene- much amateur counselling was done. I was given the mandatory advice on how to learn to be sensitive to the feelings of others. Have learnt some protocol, but is it easy for me to learn these lessons?
I tweedle on.
May 03, 2006
Big shots
Ellen had me thinking- as she usually does! :-)
This matter may not perhaps be so relevant to this Mater, given that my 'babies' are 11 and 7. But am very disturbed by this stuff and do need to vent - not merely to 'ventilate' views but at a more essential level to right the blood gas levels (as we ventilator-baby parents often joke!).
In India we have had much initial distrust of vaccinations, spearheaded by various prominent leaders such as C. Rajagopalachari, the vaccination policy has travelled far before reaching where it is. His concern was largely directed at the BCG vaccine for TB, given that its efficacy was not proven at the time of its large-scale adoption in the national vaccination policy. It is among the first vaccinations given to all babies who have access to any medical care in India. It is accepted that BCG prevents only childhood forms of TB like disseminated and miliary TB, but has no role in preventing TB in adults especially cavitary forms. But this is even more disturbing. As is the link between TB vaccine studies and research and the PL480. And this link is an article detailing the continuing lack of self sufficiency in the production of the vaccines, including OPV.
Given that dd received all her shots (both those included in the Universal Immunisation Programme and many others which were even more expensively priced) , and that ds received nearly most of the UIP ones, the unease is perhaps, a bit late in the day, but, nevertheless, persists.
This matter may not perhaps be so relevant to this Mater, given that my 'babies' are 11 and 7. But am very disturbed by this stuff and do need to vent - not merely to 'ventilate' views but at a more essential level to right the blood gas levels (as we ventilator-baby parents often joke!).
In India we have had much initial distrust of vaccinations, spearheaded by various prominent leaders such as C. Rajagopalachari, the vaccination policy has travelled far before reaching where it is. His concern was largely directed at the BCG vaccine for TB, given that its efficacy was not proven at the time of its large-scale adoption in the national vaccination policy. It is among the first vaccinations given to all babies who have access to any medical care in India. It is accepted that BCG prevents only childhood forms of TB like disseminated and miliary TB, but has no role in preventing TB in adults especially cavitary forms. But this is even more disturbing. As is the link between TB vaccine studies and research and the PL480. And this link is an article detailing the continuing lack of self sufficiency in the production of the vaccines, including OPV.
Given that dd received all her shots (both those included in the Universal Immunisation Programme and many others which were even more expensively priced) , and that ds received nearly most of the UIP ones, the unease is perhaps, a bit late in the day, but, nevertheless, persists.
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