I have not posted anything since my mega post on Sunday, been busy with work and stuff. Since that post I have been telling a lot of people about it and asking them to take a look at it. And guess whats!! a friend in the publishing biz even gave me a real nice compliment..WOOHOO!!! :)
I am actually very happy about the post. Yeah, I was having a slow day and did it to kill time but then I did show a lot of patience in doing it and people who know me, know that I am NOT the patient types. And this feels good...it actually feels really good.
Oh, guess what. I will be going on another trip this weekend with folks from work and thats gonna be fun too. Would look to post some more pics and stuff, thats assuming that I can hold the camera and point it in the right direction after all the alcohol consumption that is...
Ahh alcohol consumption, a beautiful subject. Thats another post in the making....
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Day 5 in Kayrala
Hmmmm my last day in Kerala:(
Woke up awfully late, around 10 in the morning and headed back to his place for breakfast. Once I was through with breakfast we planned out the day's activities. He wanted to spend the day out shopping and showing her around the city. I had been instructed by folks at work to get them banana and jackfruit chips and black halwa. So a day in the city it had to be and we went ahead and hired a Qualis and did just that. Lunch, shopping and another trip to the beach was all packed into one day. The last thing we did was to go to the harbour where the fishing boats were coming in with their catch for the day..Not such a smart thing to do because we absolutely stunk of fish just by walking around the harbour. The picture of the fishes was the last one I took in Kerala because my battery ran out as well.
Come 9 PM and it was time to head out to the bus stand to catch my bus back to Blore. Incidentally, I had never travelled in a Volvo so did that as well on this trip. By 6 AM I was back in town, heading home in an auto, reflecting back on the week that was...
Woke up awfully late, around 10 in the morning and headed back to his place for breakfast. Once I was through with breakfast we planned out the day's activities. He wanted to spend the day out shopping and showing her around the city. I had been instructed by folks at work to get them banana and jackfruit chips and black halwa. So a day in the city it had to be and we went ahead and hired a Qualis and did just that. Lunch, shopping and another trip to the beach was all packed into one day. The last thing we did was to go to the harbour where the fishing boats were coming in with their catch for the day..Not such a smart thing to do because we absolutely stunk of fish just by walking around the harbour. The picture of the fishes was the last one I took in Kerala because my battery ran out as well.
Come 9 PM and it was time to head out to the bus stand to catch my bus back to Blore. Incidentally, I had never travelled in a Volvo so did that as well on this trip. By 6 AM I was back in town, heading home in an auto, reflecting back on the week that was...
Day 4 in Kayrala
The Marriage.
The big day was finally here. He got up at 3 AM to go back to the temple for some alone time and he came back smiling. I knew he was ready. He was actually happy that he was going to get married. There was the usual chaos and confusion leading up to the marriage. I hear they do about 40 marriages in Guruvayur, a DAY !!! Now thats possible because each marriage ceremony lasts for about 4 mins....
When our turn came there was pushing and pulling to get all the main people into the crowded mandap. The priest then did his thing. Everyone was scrambling for a better look. There was a band somewhere but I could not see them but essentially the marriage itself was simple and uncomplicated. My friend entered the mandap as a bachelor and a few minutes later stepped out as a husband....Once the ceremony was completed we had the photo sessions and then after a mini reception in the hotel we were staying in, it was time to head back to our rooms and rush back to Calicut for the main reception.
Even though the marriage was complete, the drive back was still very stresssful because we had to be back in time for the start of the reception and I had to drive them back. We did however have time to stop for a bit near this bridge overlooking a river bed and it provided an excellent photo op. Word was the this river slowly dried during the summer months and you can actually see that in the pic. The reception went on without a hitch and by the end of the day we could barely even move. I just remember checking in to a nearby hotel by around 10 in the night (could not obviously stay at his place that night) and then checking out as soon as I hit the bed...
The big day was finally here. He got up at 3 AM to go back to the temple for some alone time and he came back smiling. I knew he was ready. He was actually happy that he was going to get married. There was the usual chaos and confusion leading up to the marriage. I hear they do about 40 marriages in Guruvayur, a DAY !!! Now thats possible because each marriage ceremony lasts for about 4 mins....
When our turn came there was pushing and pulling to get all the main people into the crowded mandap. The priest then did his thing. Everyone was scrambling for a better look. There was a band somewhere but I could not see them but essentially the marriage itself was simple and uncomplicated. My friend entered the mandap as a bachelor and a few minutes later stepped out as a husband....Once the ceremony was completed we had the photo sessions and then after a mini reception in the hotel we were staying in, it was time to head back to our rooms and rush back to Calicut for the main reception.
Even though the marriage was complete, the drive back was still very stresssful because we had to be back in time for the start of the reception and I had to drive them back. We did however have time to stop for a bit near this bridge overlooking a river bed and it provided an excellent photo op. Word was the this river slowly dried during the summer months and you can actually see that in the pic. The reception went on without a hitch and by the end of the day we could barely even move. I just remember checking in to a nearby hotel by around 10 in the night (could not obviously stay at his place that night) and then checking out as soon as I hit the bed...
Day 3 in Kayrala
Day 3 and we are off to Guruvayur for the marriage. Guruvayur was about 110 kms away from Calicut. My friend and I were in the car along with his mom and a cousin and the rest of the marriage party that was coming along, the cousins and aunties and uncles and whoever else were related to him in one way or the other were in the blue bus ahead. We reached Guruvayur by around 5 in the evening and I took the chance to walk around. I have never been to a devotional/religious place like this and they say that Tirupathi is much more crowded!!!!. The line of people on the left seems to just go on and on and never seems to end. I spent about an hour there and barely saw the line move. I am not the types to even go to church on Sundays and I dont understand the kind of devotion one needs to have to actually go through this kind of strain in the maddening heat just for a moment or two with the diety inside. There is nothing wrong with having faith but all this...it just does not make sense to me...
Day 2 in Kayrala
Day 2 was the first day I really got the see the roads in Calicut. Long.Clean.Wide winding roads. The pic below is of NH 17, the road we took the following day when we went to Guruvayur. Driving in Kerala was an absolute pleasure especially for someone who suffered the hell was call roads in Blore. Ahhhh,the sugarcane stand. The best sugarcane juice I had in my life. Pure, unadulterated sugarcane juice with just a bit of lime to add flavor. We must have had atleast 3 stops at that stand that day. Ummm, that would be my friend standing there giving the sugarcane guy the Superman pose. The sugarcane guy was not much impressed however.
Most of the day was spent roaming the city. We checked out S.M road, the equivalent to Commercial St and also the square (I forget the name of the square, will check with my friend and update it later on) I also sampled the the all-famous Kerala liquor, toddy… We didn’t have to go far, just a few fields away from his house we came across a shack where it was served in bottles of all shapes and sizes. This was my first time tasting the stuff and I must say it is an acquired taste. I did finish 2 glasses (about half a bottle) but that’s about all I could manage. My drinking partners however were poor drinkers. They must have had as much as me but by the time we were ready to go they were high as kites. No pics taken at that time, will check on his camera if we took any...
Day 1 in Kayrala
The road to my friends place. First thing I noticed was the sheer greenness of my surroundings. His house is smack dab in the middle of paddy fields and all this is just about 9 or 10 kms away from the heart of Calicut city. The green-ness continues!!!! Love the 2nd picture took it by placing the camera on the parapet wall along the side of the road....
Wow!!!!
The Calicut beach on a Sunday evening. Chock full of people...My friend and I spent more than an hour there talking about the good old days in college and the non sense things we have done when we have been together.
Wow!!!!
The Calicut beach on a Sunday evening. Chock full of people...My friend and I spent more than an hour there talking about the good old days in college and the non sense things we have done when we have been together.
We also ate something called Manga while we were on the beach. Its nothing more than slices of raw mango which is pickled in Vinegar. This makes it exceedingly tangy on the surface but as you bite in to it there is just a bit of sweetness to offset the tanginess. Check out the pic on the right....Pretty dramatic isnt it??? There used to be a bridge constructed here which fell a while back (you can actually see pieces of it in the water) The iron structures left back are testament to the awesome power that nature can unleash when she so desires...
Hi Honey!!!! I'm Home!!!!
Ehhh...not quite. But im back!!! Missed me??? YES!!!!!!!!! Liar...
I came back to the Blore on Friday morning. It was an exhausting but an absolutely awesome week. Tons of things done, new places seen, new memories created...yeah sounds cliched. So what??? My blog!!!! And of course the main event, his marriage, which went off pretty smoothly in the end.
This had been the first time I took 5 days off from work. I have never considered myself to be a workaholic but then this was the first time that I chose to go ahead with a vacation in my 4+ yrs with this organization. Was it time well spent, you ask???
Answer : - Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!.
Agreed, while this was not exactly one of those slow and relaxing vacations but time away from work, with friends and in a new, different place is still a vacation.
Kerala is an amazing place. I have never understood why folks who visit Kerala rave about the place but trust me, now I know. Kerala is a place that im gonna visit again and I already know where - the backwaters...Look out boss, I might just ask for another 5 day vacation before the year is over but thats for another posting, another day.
I thought it would be nice to put up some pics taken on each day of my trip so the next couple of postings are going to be about the trip. Just a warning the pics are rather large thanks to my 6 megapixel cam..I rule!!!!
Roll on Day 1...
I came back to the Blore on Friday morning. It was an exhausting but an absolutely awesome week. Tons of things done, new places seen, new memories created...yeah sounds cliched. So what??? My blog!!!! And of course the main event, his marriage, which went off pretty smoothly in the end.
This had been the first time I took 5 days off from work. I have never considered myself to be a workaholic but then this was the first time that I chose to go ahead with a vacation in my 4+ yrs with this organization. Was it time well spent, you ask???
Answer : - Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!.
Agreed, while this was not exactly one of those slow and relaxing vacations but time away from work, with friends and in a new, different place is still a vacation.
Kerala is an amazing place. I have never understood why folks who visit Kerala rave about the place but trust me, now I know. Kerala is a place that im gonna visit again and I already know where - the backwaters...Look out boss, I might just ask for another 5 day vacation before the year is over but thats for another posting, another day.
I thought it would be nice to put up some pics taken on each day of my trip so the next couple of postings are going to be about the trip. Just a warning the pics are rather large thanks to my 6 megapixel cam..I rule!!!!
Roll on Day 1...
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