Srilanka

Ayubowan! That's Welcome in Sinhalese :)                                        
I started my new year with a trip to Srilanka and had to post my experience when it is still fresh in my mind.

Srilanka is a very warm and tourist friendly country .We flew by Srilankan Airlines, the  flying time was only 1 hour from Kochi International airport. By the way,  the Bandaranaike International Airport is located in Katunayake , which is near Negombo and there is a 1 hour drive to Colombo. ( I always thought the airport was located in Colombo) . 

The roads are pretty decent and hence the drive is not tiring at all.For moving around we used the Tuk Tuks ( our autorickshaws :)!!) .Unlike our autos, the tuk tuks come in many colors like pink , green, red , purple etc
You have to bargain with the drivers before the journey as they tend to ask for higher charges. You can find Tata Nanos are used as budget taxis in Srilanka ( by the way our Tata nano costs a whopping 10 laks Srilankan rupees !!) . these taxis have meters on them so you can just give them the meter charge.   

The period from November to April is the driest season on the south west coast and up in the hills and this is the best time to see the beach areas and the tea estates and spice gardens.

Food is very similar to Kerala cuisine. Srilankans usually have rice and curry and their curries are usually prepared with coconut milk. Breakfast specialties are Hopper(appams), String hoppers ( Kerala iddiappam), Pittu (similar to Kerala Puttu) etc. These are taken with vegetable or non vegetarian stews.
And about the drinks my husband enjoyed the local Srilankan arrack Old Reserve.And ofcourse tender coconut water for me :),  known as King coconut in Srilanka. One should not forget the famous Srilankan tea which is really good .
We visited Colombo , Hikkaduwa , Galle, Nuwara Eliya , Kandy and Negombo.

Colombo:The largest city in Srilanka and indeed it is ! We had airport taxi pick  up from the hotel Casa Colombo. This is a boutique hotel with only 12 suit rooms. We stayed in Chatham Street Suite. I must say the room is refreshingly different from the other hotels and a different experience. However their food menu is not vast but if you like to eat and try out different cuisines there are plenty of joints and restaurants  nearby the hotel and there is always someone ready to help you in case you have any queries. You must try the local sweet dish Watalappan or Watalappam (something like a coconut custard made of coconut and palm sugar ) . Its really good dessert. We walked along the Galle Face beach in Colombo. You can find many hotels like Taj Samudra , Cinnamon Grand and  Hilton . If you like sea facing locality then you can opt to stay there too . For shopping in Colombo you can find few  malls. But the one I liked the best was ODEL. A visit to Colombo National Museum is fun too !
We had lunch at a restaurant in Cinnamon Grande hotel. The hotel has few good restaurants and they have a beautiful view and ambience.But since we weren't so hungry we had heavy snacks at the Breeze Bar of the hotel. There is also a shopping mall next to the hotel.
We had dinner at the the Gallery Café, is unlike any other restaurant in Sri Lanka,situated within the former office of Sri Lanka's renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa.The ambience is very  good and the menu does not have much local cuisine and has more international choices but I must tell you that their Double Chocolate Cheesecake is to die for !! One of the best cheesecakes we have ever had!
That was Colombo for us .
Next, we headed to Hikkaduwa and Galle with a local freind of my husband's. He was with us throughout which was a great help. We hired a car for the rest of the journey.

Hikkaduwa-Galle: The drive from Colombo to Galle takes about 3 hours and its a very good drive as you can see the beautiful coastal belt here. This drive also shows the effect of Tsunami in these areas. I must say its amazing how the Srilankans recovered from the disaster.Here we stayed at Chaaya Tranz hotel, Hikkaduwa which has an excellent private beach and very good rooms. All rooms are sea facing and the view is good. Beach is fantastic for swimming as well as snorkling. We took the glass boat ride which gives us a view of the corals and fishes underwater. There is a restaurant named Crab inside the hotel which has only crab dishes in the menu , We tried the Srilankan King Crab Curry which was really good !

We visited the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Hatchery in Galle District .This is also a huge tourist attraction. This was founded to protect the Srilankan turtles from extinction. Visitors can see huge tanks filled with new born turtle hatchlings. After being fed, the baby turtles are taken to the sea and released when they are 2-4 days old, usually during the safer hours of darkness. Although October to April is the main laying season, some eggs can be found at Kosgoda throughout the year. Also saw a 71- year old turtle who lost its limb in the tsunami. Its unable to move now! Then we headed to see the Galle Fort , which was first built by the Portuguese later modified by the Dutch during the 17th century. We saw the sunset up from the fort which was beautiful. A walk along the Galle town is good where you can see the wonderful colonial architecture.

Next up the tea estate at Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya: The drive from Galle to Nuwara Eliya was 6 hours. Nuwara Eliya is a mountain station at 1,868 m (6,128 ft) of altitude, in a splendid landscape, hence it is cold up there. Nuwara Eliya was built entirely during the 19th century and its architecture mimics that of an English country town. The drive is hectic as it is hilly area but the view is breath taking.We stayed in the Grand Hotel which has  an excellent architectural structure and is also the former mansion of Sir Edward Barnes who was the Governor of Sri Lanka during 1830-1850. We went up there only to see the tea estates and we visited the Mackbrookes Tea plantation. I feel this place can be avoided unless you are keen on seeing hillstations.

Kandy: The distance from Nuwara Eliya and Kandy is 77 kms. A city in the center of Srilanka, Also known as hill capital of Srilanka. Kandy is famous for the Temple of  Tooth, where Buddhas one tooth is being kept.Its a nice experience to visit. Kandy is also good for shopping. We got only one day in Kandy , We got lucky to visit the National Seminary of Kandy. We satyed at Amaya Hills which is located 7 kms away from city on the hill top which gives us a breath taking view from our room.

Last but not the least, on route to Negombo we visited the Pinnwela Elephant orphanage which is a huge tourist attraction.  The daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. It's amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river, just a few feet in front of you!

We decided to stay in Negombo in a place close to the airport and just took a stroll along the Negombo beach. Well that was Srilanka for us. My final verdict,  a good holiday  and Srilankans hospitality is warm and welcoming!

What a crab can do to us humans???

Today  we had crab masala for lunch in the ship . Crab masala is an Indian receipe that cooks the crab in Indian spices. Its yummy !!!. The point I wanted to make is about the whole process of  of eating the crab. Its pure joy and fun ..Its one dish that no matter how much you try  to eat it in the best way possible you end up getting messy . And that's the fun of eating crabs .It makes group eating fun and enjoyable where everyone is trying bite or lick or chew and even better using both hands to eat  like children :). Any dish on crab is one that anyone can enjoy and eat it like no ones watching ..Its just you and the crab !!! yummy!!!

I am a Malayalee!!

Wow!! It's been more than a year since I have posted something here . Personally it has been a hectic long year for me. Let's get to the post without wasting anymore time :)

I am a Malayalee , I speak Malayalam . I watch Malayalam TV shows and movies too . I was an NRI and I still  can speak Malayalam and can read it too!! Should I be ashamed or be proud ? Of course I am very proud of it .I am proud that I am not ashamed to call myself a malayalee and very proud that I can speak my 'mother tongue'. And there is my point mother tongue ...Why are Malayalees ashamed of speaking their own language?? Forget the NRI's for a moment I find it so weird and funny to find TV anchors and new generation actresses who grew up here in Kerala speaking Manglish or trying to talk Malayalam with an English accent .How is is possible that someone who grew up in Kerala to not able to speak their mother tongue properly ? Let me tell these weirdos how I feel ...

Firstly be proud that you know your mother tongue. Let it be any language Hindi , Malayalam, Tamil etc...I am not saying that one should not master anyother language . Learn as many languages as you can . But is  knowing any language any good if the receiving end don't understand. What good can any language do when your children can't talk to your parents or their grandparents??.Many parents feel proud that that their kids don't know Malayalam and only know English ( beats me!!!)

About the NRI's I feel Malayalees in the US and UK atleast try to impart some cultural knowledge to their kids for the fear that they would be lost in the western culture by having cultural programs and language classes and attempt to speaking mother tongue at home  where as in the Middle east we find kids very detached to the word India itself even though they have more privilege to be closer to home  . Well I also was once like that where I was never fond of visiting my homeland , but here I am writing to you as a proud Malayalee. I have to thank my parents for pushing me to attend Malayalam class in school even though it was optional language and even though at that point in time i hated it I thank them for now I can atleast read it and even enjoy the movies :)!!!

I feel so sorry for some grandparents where they can't talk to their grandchildren only because of language barrier. Can you blame the kids?  Certainly not,as it is the parents duty to pass on what they know to their kids.Why can't they give their kids a privilege to know their own language , a privilige to know their grandparents or why can't they understand the simple fact that the kids will anyways learn to speak read and write English in schools.

We are so eager to learn English but we forgot to learn the basic thing from them the fact that they are so proud of their own mother tongue and respect it!!!
I believe it is our duty to keep our language and roots alive . I mean its great you know English, French Spanish German inspite of being a Malayalee but its perfectly fine to admit you also know Malayalam as it is not a very easy language to master or learn so be proud that you are naturally born to know it :)!!!

P.S. These are my general opinion on the issue and not intended to hurt anyone's feelings .

From Sea .........With love

Its been a while since I have blogged lots have happened while I was away..Got married, went sailing and is now learning to cook (which will be an ongoing process) and now decided to get back to blogging..

Sailing is the last thing on earth I thought I would do and that too in an oil tanker . But here I am married to a shippie and sailed happily ever after. :)

It’s a different life in a ship altogether. I had no clue what I was up against until I experienced it myself. I did know about sea sickness. But on the day I arrived, the ship was tied alongside so obviously it wasn’t moving and I was under the impression I wasn’t going to vomit after all (Yippee !!! ), until the ship started moving and unfortunately the engine had to be stopped due to some technical issues. Oh well I thought they just stopped to make sure everything is all right until I found myself moving in see-saw motion (By the way when ship is moving in see-saw motion its called "rolling" ) and I was not able to stand straight in one place . Then I heard sounds from the drawing room and I found things were falling down (Yes I just watched my husband’s laptop fall and break!!!). At that point I had no clue what to do sitting alone in my bedroom just moving along the flow and then I had this funny feeling in my stomach and the next thing I know is I ran to the wash room and found myself experiencing what is called sea sickness. But for the first time I felt good after throwing up because I felt like I could handle the rolling even though my head felt heavy. The first few lessons I learnt here to keep all things in safe locations so they don’t fall off and break due to irregular movements of the ship due to rough weather and in exceptional cases when they have to stop the ship in the middle of the ocean for engine repairs or bad weather.

About the people working here I would like to quote William Petty “Every seaman is not only a navigator,but a merchant and also a soldier.” I had to quote this beacuse I was thinking to myself how many of us working in a bank or restaurants or schools really know how to put off fire or in that case use a fire extinguisher . Are we really aware of safety standards at our work place or schools or home or do we really care how safe the environment is for our collegaues or freinds . I am sure I never thought about it, because we take it for granted that someone is appointed to take care of the emergency situation like fire,theft, accidents etc. But seamen do not have the luxury to take things for granted so they are trained to protect themselves and the lives of their collegues in times of emergency. They are very disciplined and have a clear idea of what is expected of them. Of course they do know how to have fun and enjoy every moment of the time they take off. The chit chats at the dining table is fun, informative and energetic. They think very fondly about their home and family and take every opportunity to be in touch with them because they miss them and do not take life or family for granted.

Many of my friends and family ask me about my experinces so I thought I would share it on my blog as well. These are most common ones.

I had many friends and relatives ask me about how food was stored in the ship especially when the journey lasts for 15 to 20 days . Well there are definitely huge cold storage rooms for meat, vegetables & fruits and dairy products separately and of course its replenished when the ship arrives at a port accordingly.

Some ask me about the places I visited.. I had the opportuniy to visit some beautiful countries in this journey ..NewZealand ,China, Singapore, Gibraltar, Italy and briefly France.. One of my favourite journey was at the time of crossing the Suez Canal where I could see Egypt from my cabin window. It felt great when I could see houses and people on both sides as against in mid sea where there is only water and nothing else.

I'd like to clarify a commom misconception people have (including me before me being aware of shipping life) as regards a shippie that he gets to visit all countries when the ship arrives in port. But the truth is they have more work when arrive on port. They get busy with inspections done by port, disscharging or taking cargo etc . Yes after they are done with their work and if time permits they go out. And also most shipping companies have zero tolerance on alcohol. If an employee is found to have taken alcohol while on contract is sacked without any notice ( This happens in the company where my husband works). Chances of being caught are high because when a person goes out there is alcohol test done when he comes back to the ship.

Some days were really horrible for me like the time we were crossing Somalia. To add to my worry there was news that the pirates hijacked a ship exactly a week before we were crossing. However priacy precautions and watch is done while crossing that area. Well we crossed it without any problems. Thank god for that !!!

To sum up I had a wonderful experience to be able to sail through the Red Sea and Mediterrianian Sea and many other seas and oceans between New Zeland and Europe , to travel through different time zones every two or three days, to travel through different climatic conditions, or to be in a situation where ship stopped a few days mid sea waiting for Typhoon Parma to clear our path is out of the ordinary experience and understand a life offshore was truly a rich and learning exprience I will cherish all my life. Hats off to seamen because its not every persons cup of tea!!!

See you with more post later...

Listen to this ..

The song is Inconsolable by the Backstreet Boys from the album Unbreakable. Its a beautiful song and I love the lyrics and the soulful voice of Brian and AJ. Enjoy it .

Some random happenings....

Last week has been stressful with work . But the good thing is I am having today off as a result of which I have got the time for this entry.Some random happenings last week.

• Its an amazing feeling that you get when you walk into te shop/store that you frequent and there is this one particular sales person who knows what your regualr purchase items are and you feel comfortable because you know everythings taken care of. Well there is such a shop that I frequent to recharge my cell phone prepaid connection and as usual I walk in give a smile to the sales person and hand over the money and smile and walk out and I know rest is taken care of. But last week I didnt find him and suddenly there was a change in my routine ,this time I had to give instructions as the the person attending to me didnt know me and I asked him where the other person was. Well I heard that he was not keeping well and probably something serious. Boy , that was hard for me to take in beacuse we think some people will always be around and take it for granted . Hope you get back to work soon because your service is needed and appreciated :)....

• I bought two pairs of sandals yesterday and the reason I brought it was to make myself feel good. I didn't realise it until I had brought them home. As I was driving back home I was thinking about a particular episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show which revealed what women do when they are upset or depressed. Some hogged and got fat (and I guess got more depressed because they didn't know how to lose all the fat!) and some shopped till they dropped. And at that point I didn't believe that it was true. Well I wasn't depressed but it wasn't the best day of my life but I must say purchasing the sandals did make me happy. So I guess there is some truth to being unhappy and shopping but I definitely don't want to try the hogging technique to make me happy :)

• Today of course was a great day . I started my day at 6.30 a.m. to watch the Oscars (of course to support Slumdog and mostly AR Rahman and Resul Pookutty ). It was a great feeling when they won. I was extremely happy that AR Rahman performed at the Oscars . Truly deserving win. I was clapping my hands with excitement when AR Rahman's name was called out. Anna Hathway and Penelope Cruz was looking gorgeous and touchy moment when Heath Ledger's family came to receive his award. And of course Kate Winslet's speech kinda reminded me of ShahRukh's acceptance speech in the movie Om Shanti Om :)...

• And if you love to read comics please visit www.gocomics.com . I found my favorite Love is... strip there :)

Back to work tomorrow . Gotta rush ..

What's with the media?

It’s irritating to the mind with the way the Indian media projecting on the "black" word a lot since Obama became President. I mean is color seriously the only issue India is facing. I am thinking why the media is not talking about real issues India needs to address.

Yes America has come a long way of change and it is evident .But as far as India is concerned we talk, talk and talk and no result. Maybe the Indian media should also work towards that. Why is it even relevant to say that black actors and singers and sports people in US will be more famous since Obama became President. Doesn't the Indian media know the best and the most famous people in the entertainment and sports are black and they were famous way before Obama became President to name a few are Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce Knowles, Koby Byrant, Tiger Woods, Stevie Wonder, Halle Berry,Will Smith etc . Americans are focusing on uniting their states whereas I feel Indian media is trying to create rascist feeling among people within India. C’mon a dark actress in Bollywood is the last thought in the minds of real people. So stop bragging about what Americans have achieved and talk about what we can do to help ourselves. Seriously Indians do have real ground issues than color. Talk about caste, poor infrastructure, improving education, criminal politicians.
Why wait for a “slumdog” movie for the media to give attention to issues affecting children in slums in India, why wait for a terrorist attack to bring out the issues of security in India, or why wait for anything at all. I think the media should be proactive than react to things already said and done.

Off topic

• I am enjoying my guitar classes, never thought playing a musical instrument was so difficult, but I guess the pain will be worth it. Looking forward to get my new guitar.

• This is for the ladies; I enjoyed my oil massage today at Lakme. I suggest this to all ladies who love to pamper themselves. Lakme beauty parlor has professionals attending to you and it does make the time and money worth it :)