My travel encounters in India (Part 3)

As the famous saying goes, “ A picture is worth a thousand words” (~Chinese Proverb) … I thot it is time I include some pictures .. they may not be in best pixels or great in details but they do capture the essentials                                                 Temple Temple Everywhere

 

                                The Balloon Man

My travel encounters in India (Part 2)

Continuing the previous post…

One of the things which has not changed at all is the traffic/driving style… for now I can comment only abt Hyd but I am guessing it hasn't pretty much changed anywhere else in India…There are bikes and autos and buses running everywhere… My first auto ride, I was more about the auto than the driver himself…I was trying to cross the road and tried to follow rules a lil bit but realised soon enuf that I had to take charge and not be afraid … there was a time when I was an expert driving thru such traffic but not I am not so sure as of now .. may b once i start driving my scooty/kinetic, i might feel more in control …

 A weird thing which I noticed about myself is that I am converting the prices of various things back to Dollar  to see how much it would cost me in US and whether it is worth buying it here and lugging it back … I am not sure why I am doing this ..the reason this is significant change to me is bcoz one things which we tended to often when we move newly to US is convert every dollar to rupee to see how expensive it is .. it is considered not good and we are recommended to lose this habit ASAP .. for some reason, I lost it soon enuf and also advised everyone the same .. But now I am not sure what  I am doing by this reverse converting .. Hav  I become a lil too much American and lil less Indian .. I jus hope I find the perfect balance between the two !

On the same not of being somewhere between Indian and American, I seem to have lost the art of bargaining .. The reason I call it art is coz u need to practice it to make it perfect and should also have a knack for it ... I gen go shopping with my mom ... Every shop I visit, i pick and choose what I want ... My mom's approval comes in the form of the "Indian headnod" (refer Outsourced TV show for more details) ...When the times comes for the bill, as soon as the shopkeeper starts telling me the price,  I neatly point him to my mom and say "talk to her, she is the one paying the bill" and thus starts the show of bargaining, where they each haggle until both parties are satisfied !!

My travel encounters in India (Part 1 of the series :D )

Every trip to home (India) is an adventure in itself.. beginning with a big shopping list and even bigger shopping bill ... trying to find the best deals and venturing out to buy things that never made it to ur shopping list in the first place .... trying to fit this enormous shopping into 2 suitcases 50lbs each (23 kgs each for the folks living in the rest of the world outside US :D) .... a 40 hr journey full of anticipation and excitement, crappy leg space and feels-super-long layovers... BUT then again, this is all totally worth it ... to see the happy faces of your loved ones waiting for you at the airport arrival lounge !

Now that I have given an elaborate  intro which is totally not wat I wanted to focus on, lemme finally get to the point which is to write my observations about anything and everything ...TIME to begin

1. A minimum of 1" inch heel sandals is a common place for any girl...I wonder how they are able to walk on the uneven road surfaces +  run around to catch buses/trains ... Personally, I am not able to wear them on a daily basis even when the roads are good

2. Usage of the new Rupee symbol - I really liked the new rupee symbol ... But  I find it really weird when I find it in place of the  very familiar "Rs."  .. .It would take a lil time to get used to but it is a nice change and I am proud that India now has its currency symbol


3. The good old habit of reading newspaper (I mean the non-virtual one) in the morning .... I remember the days when everyone in my family would wait for the morning paper and fight for being first one to read their fav sections (esp on sundays)... I missed that while living in the US where we are so much into the internet and reading news as such.... It was wonderful to hold the paper in my hands lying down on the easy chair, listen to the lil sounds while turning the pages and making a mess of the pages by mixing the page numbers by the time i finished reading them.. plus luckily there was no fight today morning coz there were 2 papers, and with my sis still slping and dad out of town .. it was jus mom and I (and yes, I got up at 5.45 am, a thing which is usually unknown to me - courtesy jet lag) reading a paper each and then being very amiable when the time came for exchange :D

More observations to follow as and when I find time to write about them between my shopping sprees and eating home cooked food and also the not-so-healthy street chaat ! 

Who are the top 3 ?

"In fashion, one day you are in and the next day you are out"  ~ Heidi Klum

You would recognize this famous quote if you are Project Runway follower. I have following this show since Season 4. The show is one of those reality shows which interesting coz of its fashion creations, what the judges think and the little drama here and there ! Some designs are brilliant and some others are out of this world ( I mean literally).. Not to forget Tim Gunn and his most of the time brilliant inputs !!  Anyways coming to the point, I though I would  try predicting who would be the top 3 contestants in this season .. So without any more wait, here I go

1. Mondo - He is very bold and colorful in his designs ...Reminds me of "Fierce" Crisitan from Season 4 in a way ....  Has won 3 challenges straight in a row (as of the last episode) and the judges love him.. He has got a great editorial eye .. he jus need to keep doing the good work ..

2. Gretchen - She has got a good sense of style (very classic and fashion forward) and play with more neutral palette (Well most of the time) .. Jus the opposite of Mondo .. Again she has won 2 challenges, and been in the bottom once (a team challenge which she kinda was the leader for). But I still think she is strong contender

Now the 3rd spot is usually a competition between 2 more people just before the Fashion Week .. I am not able to decide now itself as I would definitely have to see their final collection .. Usually they bring out their best and worst work in this collection ... anyways my choice of the remaining 2 contenders are

3. April - She has a very dark  styling .. .most of her dresses are in black, has a strong edge to it and is very good when she stays true to herself... her only setback is tat she doesn't have enough experience but that again has not mattered as seen in previous seasons


4. Andy -He has a got strong design sense with a lot of Asian influence .. .He is very good in styling and has created some unique dresses ... His biggest weakness is tat he can sometime get too lost in his design and is easily affected by emotions .. He might need to keep his emotions in check to succeed

Now I just have to wait and watch how my predictions turn out to be.