travel » blog.abdu.info

Archive for travel

A Nightingale & Random Thoughts

August 30, 2008 at 3:40 am · Filed under musings, travel

trains remind me to blog. dont know why. maybe because i like to travel so much. i’ve not blogged for more than a week and here i am. i set foot into a train and the next thing i think of is to blog previous weeks have been hectic, at work and off it. life goes on as usual entertained by small drives on weekends and pulling legs of people at the office. in this time i’ve started to love mangalore. i love this place now. i gotta start exploring more. places like jog falls, sita camp and others. wanna go trekking. everything!

my dream of getting a bullet will come true soon. i’ve been bullet hunting for more than a month now, hopefully i’ll own one in december then a DSLR camera, and off i go. thats about everything i want from life now. get all that and take off. nice to hear and tough to do i know but i will, some day.

my current project is almost over and i’m gonna be in support and testing for the next 3 months. only thing that i hope is not to have a lot of work to find time for all the crazy things my crazy head is planning. i might leave mangalore soon, but before that i want to do crazy things. make new friends. talking about that, i’ve started doing crazy things already!! i sang in the group song for independence week in office. eat that - world!! ‘desh mere, desh mere, meri jaan hai tuuu’…. i went on stage to sing for the first time and by god, what a song it was!! we got second prize thanks to a nightingale whose voice was soooo sweet. so much so, that our voices were not noticed by the judges and we got second prize

i am on my way to dileep’s brother’s marriage reception in trichur. hope to see everyone there. but i gotta come back to mangalore on sunday too. will post photos of the reception till then, leaving u with snaps of the scenic beauty of mangalore, uriyadi held on sri krishna jayanthi and a cultural fest at our office

Comments (2)

Singapore Trip… Part 2..

October 28, 2007 at 5:38 pm · Filed under memories, musings, travel

Strange situation i’m writing this in.. Will come to that later on.. I had planned on writing the part two of my singapore trip a lot earlier.. But as usual, i dint sit down to write..

Anyone who cares enough to read this boring blog might know that i was planning to go to Malaysia.. To get my Visa extension and to see the new country.. But guess what, only the former happened.. We went to the nearest Malaysian city of Johor Bahru.. Its like, we cross a bridge n we’re in another country.. As simple as that.. But, believe me, there’s nothing to see there.. At Johor Bahru..

We went to a Beach Resort called the Danga Bay.. Even the people working in the nearby shops didnt know english.. (njan vann Malay aayathondu rakshappettu).. The only things that place is good for is shopping and eating out.. Food is so cheap that people from Singapore near the border go there to eat.. We absolutely owned the Pizza Hut at the Kotaraya Plaza that night..
After that long eating session, we walked toward the malaysian immigrations and checked out of the country.. At that moment, i was wondering which country i was in!! Cos i had checked out of Malaysia and didnt get into Singapore..

With that thought, i boarded a bus to the Singapore Check Point n from there, they refused to let me in.. N i was like Wat the?! The little girl sittin at the counter gave me ghastly glance and asked me why i wanted to stay thirty more days in Singapore.. I was supposed to leave singapore before oct 10th at that time, but i said i wanted to spend Hari Raya (Eid) with my brother n family in Singapore.. Then this cute lookin girl asked me to sit in the seat next to her n wait.. Obviously, I didnt mind..

I was sittin there like a VVIP when suddenly a heavy built officer in uniform came near me n said ‘this way!’.. I did not have any idea wat was happening, but soon i was in a room filled with lots of seemingly grumpy old officers.. But in that same room, my bro, sis n ehan were sitting.. N then one of those officers went thru my passport and called me to ask the same thing that silly girl had asked me few minutes before.. I told him the exact answer i had told the girl, only this time, i pointed at my bro n family while saying it.. Must’ve been the smile on Ehan’s face, he gave me an extension straight away.. That too for a month.. Hihi..

After reaching back to Singapore that night, i could hardly feel my hands n feet.. Hihi.. (Over aakkaling ~ Exaggeration).. Slept long that night n the most part of the next day.. On monday i went to the Indian Airlines office to change my return ticket date to the 17th..

Deepak Benny has been in Singapore for quite some days now.. I’ve not been able to meet him cos of all these n nombu.. He joined the Worley Parsons office in Somerset.. Decided to meet him after Eid.. Eid was pretty ordinary.. With no usual friends n things like that.. But the Foodings were extra ordinary.. Spent the evening at the east coast park with lots of malayali families.. I was watchin people skating there, most of the time.. Met a small girl who had sung with ‘kavi’ at singapore.. For those who doesnt know, The last years Idea Star Singer Kavi was my classmate!!

Toward the end of the trip, i had ran out of things to do!! So it was either shopping at mustafa or sitting online.. Bought a lot of stuff.. Including an ipod classic.. But in between all this, i’d not yet seen the famous Singapore Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park.. So the day i finally met Benny.. We decided to go to the zoo..

But i forgot to take the cam that day.. So had to take snaps using my good old mobile.. The zoo at Singapore is the best i’ve seen.. So far that is.. Because in all the zoo’s that i’ve visited till now, the animals never looked happy.. But this place is different.. Most of the animals r not caged.. N those that are, dont seem to mind.. Hehe..

The white tiger was the best thing we saw in there.. A big chunk of muscle and sheer power.. The best way to explore the zoo is to get the free zoo map which has all the details n the feeding times of different animals.. N go to those animals when they are being fed.. Only then do you get to see the animals doing wat they do best..

The whole day in the zoo was very tiring n after that, benny went to his hotel at Clarke Quay.. N i went to mustafa for a final shopping session.. We got back that day n i planned to go to the Bird Park the next day morning..

I’ve seen only very few mornings in Singapore.. Most of my days there started just before noon.. So it was after noon by the time me n bro got to the Jurong Bird Park.. N i loved it from my very first sight.. So many colorful n rare birds moving freely in there..

But my joy was short lived as it began raining heavily.. N we sat there in the balcony of a closed restaurant watchin a group of Flamingos below us.. We lost about 2hrs due to that bloody rain.. So we had to rush through the park to finish seeing every section..

There was a show in the Pools Amphitheatre with two parrots showing off their talking and singing talents.. One of the birds even sang songs in the 4 national laguages of Singapore.. But they had to cut short the show because of the heavy rains..

Then we walked into an Australian Coffee Shop without knowing the great surprise that was in store inside.. A big enclosed area filled with hundreds of extremely colorful birds called the Loris.. They were flying around coming near the visitors and making hell of a lot of noise.. N boy did i love feeding them?!! One of them even jumped onto my shoulder.. I fell in love with the park.. Hihi..

I’ve been spending loads of time finding music n other stuff on the net.. Most of the days at home i’d sit hours on end on Youtube searchin and listening to random songs.. Found a great malayalam ghazal ‘Neeyum Nilavum’ by Shahabaas and fell in love with the song.. Its a great song to check out for hindustani lovers..

N finally the next day, the 16th of october was to be the last day of my Singapore trip.. Was just sittin at home n packing all the stuff most of the time.. Its been more than 45 days here.. N i’ve experienced almost all feelings during this trip.. There have been times i’ve felt ecstatic, desperate, content, numb and also very lonely.. But when it comes down to it, i loved the whole trip.. As the sun sets now, on yet another journey, all i can think of, is my home, n the feeling of home..

Comments (2)

Singapore Trip… Part 1..

October 5, 2007 at 6:33 pm · Filed under memories, specials, travel

i blog less often these days, been wanting to write for really long now.. so finally i’m sitting down today to blog again.. i’ve noticed countless things in life happening all of a sudden.. My second big trip is just one of those things.. And for me, it actually is very BIG.. i’m going abroad for the first time, to Singapore.. To visit the place and also to stay with my brother and family for a few days or maybe more..

after a few weeks of running away from the joining date and the sudden change in life after college, i hope it’ll be a welcome break.. before maybe, going into the fast life lead by most friends working in big companies now.. i always use the word ‘maybe’ when i’m talking about life ahead.. cos there’s still a lot of uncertainty about that.. hehe..

so i started from home on the morning of the 30th of august.. from calicut, i reached chennai at 10 o’clock.. the newly wed film star Narein and his wife were in the same flight.. nan mind aakkiyilla, but eventually talked to them from the chennai airport.. boarded the singapore flight from chennai n landed here at about 8.30 in the night.. my nephew ehan had come to pick me up.. said goodbye to a few fellow passengers and went home.. ehan had grown up a bit more n was very lively..

i had lots of doubts about what it’d feel like in some other country.. on a first note, it felt just like home - mainly because the climate at Singapore is very similar to that of kerala.. but when u start going out and visiting places, the feeling changes a lot, just cos the whole setup here is so advanced and sophisticated here.. believe me, this is an absolutely filthy rich country.. till u get used to it, ur mind keeps asking - “choodu vellathil kulikkamo??” [to those of u who understand wat i mean.. ;)]

singapore is so small that its smaller than calicut.. its just 45 kilometres from one end to the other.. bah!! for a regular guy like me, everything here is a new experience.. all the buses and trains are AC metro trains called MRTs are there connecting important places of singapore.. three routes in all - red line, blue line n the green line.. interlinked at many places and after a few days of travelling, i realized how easy it is to get around Singapore.. so i was out exploring the place the very next day.. went to a nearby park called Bishan Park.. a biiiiiiiig park - some 130 acres!! nice quiet place right in the centre of the busy traffic.. i ended up vaaya nokkaling the many young people who had come to skate..

Merlion is a statue with the head of a lionand the body of a fish and is the icon of Singapore Tourism.. the Merlion near the fullerton hotel is one of the attractions.. but when i went there, i found out what a waste it was.. hihi.. its just a statue spitting water into the singapore river.. the night skyline on the other side of the singapore river looked exotic..

there is this building among them on the other side of the singapore river called the Esplanade.. it looks just like a biig CHAKKA!! jack fruit that is.. haha.. its some theatre sort of thing where arts performances n stuff occur.. also on the other side of the Fullerton Hotel, there are a few statues.. one of them with a few kids trying to jump to the river.. it looks absolutely fantastic.. the place is one of the busiest in Singapore with tourists flock in all the time..

another great place i liked very much is the East Coast Park.. its a very long park parallel to the calm sea.. people go there to ride bicycles along the beach or skate there.. its fun watching small kids skate wish i could skate too.. gotta learn.. hihi.. stayed in the ECP late that day.. food has never been a problem here.. sis in law is an expert cook and i’m eating away to glory.. there is a veg restaurant in the East Coast Park called the Komala Vilas.. de kidakkunnu nan pinnem flat..

took a break the next day.. and after that my cousin from Malaysia arrived.. he finished his MBA there n was gonna go back home the next week.. so he came to see few places.. i was his guide at first and i took him to few places that i had been to few days before.. after seeing the Merlion again.. we went to Sentosa, a small island just off the southern part of Singapore, connected to it by a biig bridge.. the Sentosa has so many attractions and shows inside it.. We went straight to the UnderWater World.. its a whole new world out there.. i’ve always been fascinated by fishes.. n inside it there is a big tunnel with sharks and other massive fishes swimming all around just above us..

We walked outside to the nearby beach.. its called the SILOSO beach.. wanted to stay there a bit longer.. but my cousin had to leave.. so we rushed in for the Dolphin Lagoon show.. i absolutely love dolphins!! they showed few dolphins doing acrobatics.. for a moment, i wanted to be the dolphin instructor there.. we couldnt stay longer.. n rushed back home.. hoping to go to sentosa once more..

the next few days were spent at home mostly.. and with shopping.. cos sis had to study for an exam.. only a few more places left to visit here.. so i’m taking it slow.. doing a bit of web designing.. and looking after ehan.. and a lot of time online.. bits and pieces of shopping going on in between too.. went to Mustafa Center - one of the largest shopping centres in Singapore.. if its something buyable that u are looking for, u’re sure to find it there.. Ramzan started in between.. so again, the going out reduced for except small walks and small shopping trips.. fasting going on strong.. also music.. i was thinking wat all to buy.. ororo aagrahangal!!

so after a few weeks of lazing around, we decided to go to East Coast Park one day to break fast and sit there in the beach.. it was great fun.. sat there on the beach in the breeze till it was night.. and i went to check out a skate shop in the park and ended up buying one!! right now i’ve no idea wat i’m gonna do with it.. gotta learn skating now.. hehe..

and once again it was time to go to Sentosa once more.. and this time, we went for the show called ‘Songs of the Sea’.. believe me, it was by far the best water, laser and what not show i’ve ever seen in my life!! i mean it had everything.. pyrotechnics, water jets, lasers, special computer imaging, fire bursts, captivating music and stunning flame bursts.. some 25 minutes of excitment.. after the show we went to the Siloso beach once again n sat there some time..

as of now, i’ve got an extension of visa till oct 10th.. and am planning to come bak on 9th.. but if i get extension once more, i’ll come only after eid.. around 20th most probably.. i’m going to malaysia tomorrow.. so thought this’d be the best time to blog about the previous days.. i’ve missed a lot of things.. which will come in the coming posts.. i’ve been listening to a lot of music lately and i’ve become a big fan of Yanni and Karunesh.. Yanni’s Nostalgia brings back the memories.. i dont wanna move on…. i dont wanna go to that busy life… hmmm..

Comments (2)

Hyderabad..

September 4, 2007 at 5:14 pm · Filed under photography, travel

August 3rd, 2007.. I got at the Hyderabad airport some time after 7pm.. I was supposed to get there by 6.. But indiGo was delayed.. Liked travelling on a plane.. Was at a window seat and sitting right next to me was a lady from delhi who had come to trivandrum for the admission of his son at the MBT engineering college.. Aman had come to the airtport.. Went to his home near the Shoppers Stop at Begumpet.. Saw two junior Aman’s at home.. Asif and Azher, his two younger brothers.. In a bit, his father arrived too.. An ex-iitian and a civil engineer, he was also a perfectionist.. We sat down to have food and befor sleeping, called up eldo to say we were gonna rape him at his hotel the next day morning..

Day 2.. Woke up some time n off we went.. To hitec city.. Hyderabad’s IT hotspot.. in amans car with Drift King Raju driving.. The part of the Hyderabad towards the HiTec city is very advanced.. U take some of ITs most happening places in India - Bangalore or Mumbai u take out the congestion and the never ending crowd.. Wat u’ll get is Hydereabad.. But too bad that only that part of the place is so advanced and all other places have absolutely no development.. So we got into eldos hotel - the Tara Residency, only to find he had become a fairy!! He was in bed with some guy from Madras who he is supposed to work with, in Mumbai.. His place is just awesome!! Makes u wonder why the company is paying so much money to keep that idiot.. buhahaha.. just kidding..

From eldos place we called up go, sandy n benja n went to their home.. Only to find we were unwelcome cos they said they had to clean up.. So we went to see Deloitte Campus.. Vann Setup.. Its a beautiful building and once u enter it, its like some other world.. At first we entered the cafeteria which looked very lickable.. n later into their training room called the Anaheim.. Wonder wat that means!! N after the short deloitte trip, we had to go back to the city to have food n all.. And we even bought food for the girls to eat n still they dint let us in their home!!.. Eventually they did n we sat there talking and eating their food some time.. n we planned to go to Golconda Fort Light and Sound show later in the Evening n we left them to get ready..

After that me n aman went to eldos hotel n we told them we’d meet up after at 6.. n we went back at 6.. no sign of them.. so we told aman to go early in car n book the tickets for us too.. 6.30, still no sign of them.. finally the idiots go sandy n benja got out at 7 n we rushed to golconda n got in.. Its an old fort in Hyderabad of some old King and the Light and Sound show depicts the history of the fort and hyderabad..

It is a unique show with a soundtrack playing with the voice of Amitabh Bachan narrating the history with various colored lights kept at different parts of the fort bringing the voice and the situation to life.. It is said that a hand clap at a certain point below the dome at the entrance of the fort reverberates and can be heard clearly at the ‘Bala Hisar’ pavilion, the highest point almost a kilometre away. The show was really nice.. Dunno wat word wud describe the place.. It felt scary at places.. N serene at some other places.. After the show we walked around inside the compound.. Dint get a clear picture of all the buildings there beacuse it was at night.. History sleeps there.. took loads of snaps from there.. n started walking out.. We were the last visitors to leave that place than night.. Wonder if anyone else with me there noticed..

From there we decided to go to Pizza Hut to have food.. and off we went in two autos to Kondapur.. The pizza hut was crowded and we decided to check out the Adidas showroom right next to it.. But in the nearby Baskin Robbins, There was Ashwin, Naaru, Vinitha, Devi n Shalini.. So all of us went in there.. N i heard that they got 75K salary just few days before that.. But oru ice cream polum vaangi thannilla.. They left in some time n we sat there eating Ice Creams.. n then Pizza.. n got me thinking about my weight.. so i stopped.. n the girls went home in an auto.. We walked back.. seeing the place.. n the usual chories.. N big stories by Eldo about his new love SAP.. About SAP gods n devils.. After the whole day out.. we went into the hotel n just slept with the TV on..

Day 3.. Aman had booked tickets to the film CASH for the three of us at 10.15.. so after breakfast we had to rush from Tara Residency.. Hyderabad has the Metro Train Service MMTS.. Really really cheap n very fast.. Took a train to some place called necklace road.. The name reminded me of the Pearl Necklace i had to buy.. Once we got to necklace road, we had to rush or else the movie would start.. Then a ‘Maranachengai’ came to the rescue.. One guy actually let me and Aman together on the back of his bike and took us to Prasads imax theatre.. Ulti waste movie.. Just the experience of the iMax.. After the movie we walked around necklace road.. Nice natural place.. With a lake on the side called the Hussain Sagar lake.. Long lake.. Took a few snaps..

From the Necklace Road, we went to eat at a place called eat street.. Its some 10 big restaurants joined into one long place.. With a common eating place right parallel to the lake.. Van view.. Van breeze.. Van atmosphere.. We had planned to go to snow world today.. But it had to be dropped cos others who said was coming, dint come.. Ashwin n all had other plans too.. So we thought it wont happen n walked to the metro train station..

But From there eldo setup things up with his charisma.. Few calls, n whoosh!! He called n in a few minutes few people of deloitte mostly from mumbai said they were gonna come to snow world.. So we went to snow world through the tank bund.. Got there by some 3.30.. Benja n others came too.. We got into snow world in some time.. The place was strange.. In reality it aint snow.. Its something like crushed ice.. An extra big hall with loads of snow like thing on the floor.. Ran around n threw it at others.. Took loadsa photos.. Eldo Played with the Snowman n proved yet again that he is a fairy.. There is this slide from top to bottom.. Did it only once, was busy running around and taking snaps.. Came out of there by six..

Right when we got out, MMV called saying that he is in hyderabad for the 3 day management training of Deloitte.. So we stormed his hotel n talked about Mumbai.. From there we went to eat together.. Some place near the Pizza Hut that we ate yesterday.. Great food there.. Bid farewell to MMV and went off to Tara Residency to sleep in the cosy 15 degree celcius, knowing that from the next day, all the Jobfull morons wil go to work and me n aman would be left out..

The next day Eldo was in a mad rush in the morning to go to office.. So we left him and went to Amans home from the MMTS.. The rest of the days were spend mostly by roaming around and shopping.. Combined with the homely food from Amans home.. We spend that day mostly at home sitting online the rest of the time.. In the evening, eldo called up n said that he was free.. So i went to meet him at the Rajasthani Dhaba at Kothaguda.. Met all of them having dinner.. N had the saltiest curry i’ve ever had.. Go invited us to her place to have the FOODINGS made by her parents who came there the day before.. Kittya chance nammalu vidumo.. Me, eldo, jose, alex and kuriakose went n had the items from there.. After that me n eldo went for shopping.. N bought a truck load of dresses.. and came to tara residency and crashed.. hehe…

The next day was shopping day.. N in between the shopping, i called Ashwin and they asked me to get to Microsoft campus in the afternoon to take a look.. So me and Aman reached their campus located right next to the Indian School of Business and the Extra BIIG Infosys Campus near Hitec City.. Its a different world.. All fun and games for the Microsofties.. They’re lucky they took the Katta Bujis from our class.. If they had taken me, i wud’ve been caught playing on the Pool Table, Foosball or Table Tennis all day.. S pai has started workin out, with his trainer classmate who looks like a Rubiks Cube made of muscle - a guy with more than 6 feet height and about 6 feet width in solid MUSCLE.. Hope he doesnt read this.. heehee..

On Day 6, we set out to charminar.. Its at some distance from Begumpet.. In Amans car, we cruised thru and on the side of the road next to a portion of the Hussain Sagar lake, there was an Old Military Tank.. I thought It would surely make a perfect picture and got down.. N believe me, its worth it..

Finally we reached the Charminar and decided to walk towards it after getting down before the big gate.. The Charminar looks absolutely beautiful against the clear blue sky and we walked around it before getting inside and on the top of it.. The place near the Charminar is densely populated, and consists of a majority muslim community that speaks Urdu.. Took loads of snaps from there.. We had food from a hotel called Shadab near the charminar and started our return to some park that Aman had said earlier..

The park is called NTR gardens made in memory of the Late NTR.. Another beautiful and serene place right in the middle of the busy city.. Loved the place.. Went around the Park in a toy train.. We also went in for a show called haunted house, gave shake hand to the guy who tried to scare us in the dark and came out.. N before getting outta there, a thought stuck me.. Maybe some day after i am dead, people wil make a memorial garden in my name too.. naaaaaaaa… athu venda..

I’ve been writing this entry in parts over a long time and many things have been missed.. But the trip gave a nice feeling.. We were simply freaking..

I came back on the 9th of August.. Its been soo long since i blogged.. It was because i couldnt move on without at least finishing this much about the big trip.. I had fun.. I’m writing this from another country now.. My second big trip.. Times i wonder who i am writing all this for.. Maybe if some day, i’ll take this and read.. or some person reads and remember these times.. I’d be more than happy.. This has been a very long and boring post, thanks a lot for reading this much.. n thanks to A man - Aman for all that man..

Comments (9)

The First Flight..

August 3, 2007 at 11:39 am · Filed under specials, travel

About to board the first flight.. Ciao..

Comments (2)

The Big Trip..

August 3, 2007 at 9:58 am · Filed under chumma, travel

Long since i blogged.. Main reason being inactivity.. Except for sijo’s sisters engagement, nothin else happened.. But now, something’s gonna happen at last.. I ‘m going for a big trip.. Hyderabad is the first stop.. Just got to the ekm airport.. To a life filled with travelling.. Ha Ha Destiny.. Here i come..