Malaysia Road Trip- Epidose 2

Life is getting funner day by day, and I am obliged to blog ever so often so that I may share my joy with the rest of the world... though the feeling that most of you are probably experiencing right now, hearing our exploits, could be more aptly described as misery!!! (c'mon guys admit it, you are jealous. It happens la, "Life's unfair, deal with it"). Okay okay, enough with it.

What's struck me the last few days is the irony of life and the brilliance of its unpredictability. Being an Indian, cricket runs in my arteries... or is it capillaries, or wait... isn't it veins, oh screw it, let's just say blood shall we, I have never gone to a stadium to watch a match, and on the other hand, if there's one sport whose world following and economic power, baffles me its F1, and on the third front, during our last visit to Malaysia, while we were leaving Kuala Lampur, we kept looking back at the Petronas Towers thinking, "Pata nahin abhi kab mauka milega, vaapis dekhne ka". It's hardly been 3 weeks now, we're going back to Malaysia again on a road trip and to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix. Awesome right? Fine, so if green stands for envy, you must right now be preparing your own food.. you know, green..uhh. photosynthesis. Yeah, really bad joke, but lite.

Last time, we were driving out of Malacca, on our way to Kuala Lampur. There wasn't a lot of getting lost this time, as the roads were pretty much our guide. One thing that strikes you in Malaysia, is the scale of things. Everything is just 10-15 times bigger than in Singapore. The housing areas, the forested areas, the cities and even the hills. The speed limit was 90kmph, and everyone, in every lane, obediently stayed above it. When you keep moving for so long at such speeds, your frame of reference gets altered. So when you do eventually get down, you half expect every bus, to whizz past you.

The thing about a road trip to a foreign country is that, when you arrive, you spend hours and days trying to get to know the roads, and just when you get the hang of it, it's time to leave, and the point is lost.

But I can tell you this for sure, there's no joy, like driving around in circles in a foreign country, where no two passers-by seem to agree on the right road to take to a landmark(Petronas Towers) that can be seen from everywhere, where no turn is right(as in wrong, for those of you who are slow and didn't get the intended pun), where you get so hopelessly lost-you start to get what that guy meant by, "It's the journey, not the destination" with a digicam having full battery and a carton full of pringles!! We did eventually find the place, and predictably, it was a street that we had passed half a dozen times.

About the Petronas Towers and KL tower, we went, we got lost, we reached, we climbed(or rather were 'lift'ed), we clicked.. boy did we click, we got dazzled, mystified and amazed, we lazed around(it was raining), we ate, we went to the loo, we got tired, we clicked some more, got lost some more, and finally reached our accommodation.

Later into the night, we walked along Petaling Street, Little India and Chinatown Street, all within walking distance of each other and our acco. At night, we went to the Beach Club Cafe and we ....this part of the post has been censored for the continuance of innocencen of our younger viewers ..... it was awesome, you just had to be there.

And there ends day2.

PS: There is no PS.

A Farewell to remember..

It's been a busy week, with formal tea parties, informal farewells, naughty write-ups, free dinners, PS - 2 stuff, project work and make-ups. Now I have several times, expressed my love for my department. Not the work and stuff... that's always secondary. The people and the fun times. And recently my juniors gave me even more reason to be proud. Now we have all seen and experienced farewells, but none like this one.

In case you have the time, do come over to Bhag new wing, Ram upper front wing, and Ashok pi wing, and look at our invite. Invites are made to be different, but this one stood out like an oasis in a desert. This was just a sign of things to come.

The next day, we psentisemites were asked to be ready by 8am... :) No need to smile, we weren't late, actually we were an hour early(keeping in view psentisemites' rule of arrival 2 hours behind schedule). We weren't told where we were going, outside campus was a 20 seater bus ready to take us to... Surajgarh. A piece of advice, do in your BITSian life visit it once. Awesome place. Its a former fort, that's been renovated into a resort.

Once we arrived, we were given red carpet treatment... literally. And with each of us being accompanied up the stairs, by lovely young ladies on eitherside, we felt nothing short of royalty. After a brief trip through the palace cum fort cum resort, filled with wierdly posed pics, singing, some really really weird games :) and otherwise generally running around, we spent time at the pool.

If I ever have to list out some of the best times I have had here (and I have had many) this would definitely be in the top three. It was really fun, there weren't any tensions, worries, phone calls, arguments..anything of that sort. Just a bunch of really good friends, having fun. The water brought out the best in us, the child within. We could have been mistaken for little children who have just found a new game to play.

The food was brilliant... I mean seriously GOD LEVEL, a customised preparation for us exteemed psentisemites with handpicked dishes.. the hands that did the picking i.e. our juniors did a fantastic job of it.

After hours of lazing around, we sat down for a session. Recounting all the great times we had, all the laughs, the work... (I wasn't involved here much :) ), the great times, the trips (ohh.. the trips), the politics :) , the fights, the arguments... in hindsight they all bring a smile to my face. I have no regrets for the things that I did, but just for a few for those that I didn't. We felt like learned gurus, sharing our knowledge for the benefit of posterity.

Thus ended a day that I will never ever forget. Despite all that has happenned, we... I speak for all of us psentisemites, love you all. And no matter, how much you screw up, we will always be there for you. Thanks again for a wonderful farewell.

Ever drowned in a rollercoaster??

I almost forgot about the Travelogue, until Chhotu reminded me the other day. I apologize for the inconvenience, and without delay let me continue.

So we were in Haridwar last time, after which the cars went straight to Rishikesh. Meandering terrain, oily food and sensitive tummies made the trip not so worthy of remembrance. Once we reached there, we took some time to inquire about rafting. After a lot of bargaining, we finally settled for the 26 km rafting, with night stay at their camp, with dinner, breakfast and lunch, all for Rs.1250 per head. I guess it was all more than worth it.

Now the problem with trips involving so much travelling are Nature's calls. Nature has such uncany timing, that its almost like a test, a punishment for our sins. Nature must be saying, "Hmm, so it was you who threw that biscuit wrapper ehh?? Take this!!" And no amount of medicinal, mental and gastromic precautions can prepare you for Nature's missed calls. Ignore them and you're in for it. Fortunately we had just been to Haridwar and all our sins were washed away, and the ones we commited after that weren't so bad. So the network was down mostly, but when the call did come through, there was always a place of worship nearby. :)

A long bumpy ride later, we were there. While the guy was giving us instructions, we were all joking around, he told us what to do in case this happenned or that. We listened half-heartedly. 'He's just telling us as a formality, like when a doctor tells you how much can go wrong in a procedure. It's definitely not gonna happen'. How very wrong we were then!!

After the initial few paces, when I was demoted due to my bad paddling(I have no qualms it, though I still feel he was a !@#$%). Good Afternoon, Rollercoaster, topsy turvy.. these aren't names of cocktails we had, but some rapids that we encountered. Rapids are classified into classes depending on how much you regret having gotten into the raft in the first place.

My raft toppled over the rollercoaster. Though most of you who've been to Rishkesh and didn't topple, will probably be giggling and ridiculing us, it was a brilliant experience. If you ask me, agar tu gira nahin, to tune asli mazaa nahin liya. And this isn't sour grapes, I am being very honest.

We were trapped under the raft and were only midway into the rapid. So when I did somehow get away from the raft to breathe all I got was half a mouthful. All my senses were heightened enormously. And my stomach was filled with Gangajal(guess the ones one my raft I needed cleansing from the inside too). In an attempt to save my life I grappled for anything I could latch onto. I think I got someones index finger, Think God, it didn't come off. Else there would be bigger problems. Finally when we got to the end of the rapid, I had a paddle in my right hand with someone on the other end and the index finger was replaced by a palm to my left. Though it was scary, when I close my eyes and relive that experience, in retrospect I wouldn't have changed it one bit.

The !@#$% then came to out rescue, and he seemed very less of a !@#$% then. :). Some had to be saved by the other raft. There were a few more rapids, but this time with our heightened sense of self, we were paddling better and no incidents followed. We did go overboard to float around, and jumped off an 18 foot cliff(weightlessness is thrilling), but those seem secondary now.

When we weren't paddling for our lives, we took time to take in God's creation at its very best.
Blinking as be an insult to all that we witnessed. No wonder sanyasis of yore came to these places, never to leave. The serenity and calm is endearing.

Much more to come. But later.

Eventful trip home

After the terrific surprise to my parents, the homemade delicacies, burning down of demons, a trip to BITS-Goa campus and other stuff, I believe I should continue posting on the eventful trip. We last saw me leaving for Delhi to catch a flight home. So I continue from thereon.

We all awoke at around 7am, well just me, everyone else was awake and staring at me. I had a brilliant sleep at the back of the Tavera, my favourite place to sleep, unless there's too much luggage. I awoke to the beauty that is Delhi, not to say that the city is very beautiful, just the other-side-greener-grass theory. The vibrancy of the place cheers me up, everybody is in a hurry. Pilani is always sleepy, or rather in Pilani I always am. Delhi is nice, and our hangout is C'not. What did we do there so early.. buffet breakfast @ Nirula's. Those who've been there, done that are probably licking ther lips and feeling their wallets. Those who haven't can talk to the former, and feel the envy.

Now the driver was in a weird sort of hurry, a hurry that defied most bounds of logic. Since most of us have been through a hurried group being driven by an even more hurried driver, I will go straight through to the airport. I'm sure I looked like a terrorist there, with a weird haircut, unbrushed, unshaven and unbathed for a week and 4 days respectively(c'mon guys, 'twas OASIS). Having arrived 2 hours early I went about everything coolly. As I was punching in my cabin luggage in the overhead compartment, I heard a voice calling out my name. Looking back I saw Meenakshi Raman ma'm and her daughter Priya smiling. What a coincidence, huh? Now you know how difficult it is to have a conversation when the plane is about to take-off, so I just smiled back, Hello'd and got to my seat.

The plane was not overly booked. It was filled with many foreigners. Foreigners..leaving for Goa. Hmmm I wonder why? :)

I don't like moving about the plane much, I was tired, and there was a couple aheard of me, doing what couples do( making giggling noises and ignoring everybody else) so I just went to sleep.

I woke only to brilliant night lights below. I love to look down from the window and revel at man's creation. The streetlights, headlights and all the other lights glimmer and glitter like a diamond neclace. It's like the sky is both above and below you, but it's the one below that captivates you, because its so alive. So many colours, some moving curiously, some strong and extra-bright, some twinkling childishly, and some just standing and waiting. The sight makes you forget all else and just take in the view.

Once we landed, I met them at the luggage conveyor belt, and told them in detail about the vagaries of my trip. I best thing about doing something unorthodox and unnatural as the look on people's face when you tell them what you've done. It's very satisfying, and gives up a very false athough realistic sense of achievement. Damn cool.

Now of course, they asked about my whereabouts. And of course, I told that I had to catch a couple of buses to home, and of course, they invited me to come along to be dropped at the nearer bus stop. So basically as it turns out, K E Raman, sir, picks me up from the airport, and later invites me to the campus for a get together, held as celebration of BITS-Goa's winning of OASIS championship. very nice turn of events, what say?

Again it doesn't end here, there's half a post worth of material, so I'll make a short post later. Abhi sona hai. bbye..