Does love exist??

I was reading this post by a friend, and he had written about his skepticism about love. 

There are a number of people I have come across who feel that love does not exist outside of romantic novels and movies. 

However, I for one, belong to another genre........I believe that love exists.........not just between a man and a woman, but between every relation that we share in life......

Doesn't a mother love her son or a father adore his daughter? 

Doesn't a sister dote on her brother or a nephew admire his aunt??

There is love all around us.............we just need to see it......rather, we need to want to see it.

There is this notion that you'll fall in love when you come across Mr. or Ms. Perfect......but the fact of the matter is that you'll fall in love when you come across YOUR Mr. or Ms. Perfect!

Wondering what I mean by that?

Your Mr. or Ms. Perfect is that one person, who might not be perfect to the rest of the world....to the world they might be flawed, with a whole lot of imperfections, but to you they are ideal!

They are the ones who complete you - the ones who are your strength when you feel weak, the ones who hold you up when you're about to fall, the ones who'll make you smile when tears threaten to flood yours eyes, the ones who'll give you a hug when you need it the most.........

They are the ones who are perfect for you!!

And once you find that one person...........there is no way you won't fall in love!!

If you are wondering why I can say all this with so much confidence, well..........that's because I am experiencing all this!!

I found my Mr. Perfect and am living with true love!! 

As promised, here are some more glimpses from my trip to Thailand.......


Given that I am a self professed foodie, I have to say that food was a major disappointment. The hotel we stayed at, had a really meagre buffet breakfast, but I think that this might have been due to the fact that the previous places we had stayed at, had incredible spreads! Whether it was Singapore or Malaysia or HK or Dubai.....all these places took special care of the idiom " breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"     

The city tour was another disappointment - they took us to only two place - one to see the incredible reclining Buddha and then to the completely commercial gem factory (where undoubtedly, the tour guide has a cut!!) But we did end up buying a few pieces - one for me and two for mom; and even though I hate to admit it, they were pretty reasonably priced and come with their own guarantee. 

The tour guides also want you to spend as much as possible in their shops and markets, which is perhaps why after the Reclining Buddha and the Gem Factory, they drop you off at the shopping mall of your choice.   

Since we had done our own bit of reserach work, we decided to go to MBK Mall, and decided to walk it out, from the point where the driver dropped us. The one thing we found incredibly interesting was, whereheber there was a metro line, just a level below that, there was something called a 'skywalk', whihc was simply an elevated walkway. Away from the sun - and very little chances of you taking a wrong turn....what else could you ask for??


But I have to say, some of the better shopping in Thailand is the street side version of it - I found some cute bags, really nice chappals and pretty souvenirs! And I have to admit.........this was my first trip abroad, where I did such little shopping!


We did spend a day in Pattaya as well, but unfortunately, Ma fell a little ill, because of which we had to forgo our day at Coral Island. Pattaya is not much different than Bangkok, except that it's seaside.....it's filled with similar sights - old men walking around with Thai girls, young enough to be their grand-daughters!!


All in all, Thailand was a slight disappointment, but I think a part of it was mainly because we went to fantastic Hongkong first! 

The Land of the White Elephant

Wasn't that how Thailand was once referred to as....The land of the white elephant? However, I didn't get to see any "white elephants" on my trip there. Actually, I didn't get to see any elephants!!

Entry into Thailand was reasonably smooth. (At Hongkong, we had to wait for about 2 hours, for immigration to give us clearance!). Although, the gentlemen sitting at the immigration counter at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok, did look at us in a slightly odd manner........they were looking at everyone as if they were aliens. And I have to say, that the people in HK are way politer!!

Anyway, once we got out of all the formalities, we were greeted by a nice guy, who made sure that we were safely deposited in our taxi and sent off to our hotel. 

However, it was the way to the hotel, that had all 3 of us (my mom, dad and yours truly) squirming in out seats. The route that our cab driver was taking seemed to us, was the entry into the biggest 'red light' area in the city. It was only later that we discovered, a little bit to our discomfort, that the whole of Thailand looks something like that, come evening. 

But, I have to say, not one person tried to harass us. The people in Thailand are nice and do try to help  you out if possible. There is no denying that language is an issue, no matter, which part of South East Asia you go to, and it wasn't much different here either. 

Some more about Thailand.....coming up in my next blog!!

Black....white....and shades of grey.....

In My Name Is Khan, Rizwan's mother teaches him the lesson that there are two kinds of people in this world - good people who do good things and bad people who do bad things.

But is it really easy to segregate people like that? I have always believed that there are no clearly 'white' or 'black' people, but that there are people with plenty of shades of grey.

Imagine a scenario, where a genuinely nice person commits one wrong deed - does this mean that he is wrong? Or if a terrorist, who has the blood of thousands on his hands, saves the life of one man - is it enough to pardon him of all his crimes?

I like to think of myself as a person who has never intentionally hurt anyone...but there might be times, when I have hurt others. Which category does this put me into - black or white?

Which is why I said that we exist in shades of grey. Most of us are good people, but there might be times, when our passions or desire to succeed or the vision of happiness makes us do things, we wouldn't generally do. 

Perhaps, this is why, it is important to look at people in their totality, rather than judging them on the basis of any singular act.  

   

MNIK

A few years back, there was a message doing the rounds. It said:

Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.

It was something that truly disturbed me, because I have quite a few Muslim friends and I could see them cringe when they heard things like this. 

My Name is Khan addresses the same issue. When Rizwan Khan leaves on his journey, all he wishes to tell the President of USA is that: My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist! 

Just because a few people belonging to a certain religion have done a few wrong deeds, does not merit the classification of the entire lot as wrong. In doing so, it is we who stand wrong....simply because Hitler persecuted the Jews, does not mean that all Germans supported his deeds, hence making them Nazis??

Like I said earlier, I have quite a few friends who are Muslims, and over the years, I have come to know them as warm, generous and loving individuals. They too feel hurt when innocent people are hurt and they too feel pain of others, the way they do. 

I think it's high time, we started giving up our prejudices and began looking at people as individuals - judging them by the deeds they do and not by what people of their religion might do.......

My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist..

Ok.....so I just got back from watching perhaps one of the most controversy ridden movies of this year.....which is pretty early, given that the year has only started. 

I have been a huge SRK fan, since the time I was a kid....so there will be quite a few blogs about this movie!!

And, yes! I did like the movie!!

Save Stripey!!

I was out of India for a few days, which meant that I was away from Indian television as well. So, quite obviously, as soon as I got home, I had to switch on the "idiot box"! 

The very first thing I saw was this advertisement about a little tiger cub. Initially, I thought that it was some trailer for another one of those Discovery/Nat Geo shows. Anyway, the adorable cub, didn't allow me to switch channels, and hence I was introduced to Stripey. 

The next day I logged onto Facebook and all I could see was about "Stripey"....I knew I had to sign up as well. I have never been the loud animal conservationist types, but I have always nurtured a love for animals (except species reptilia that is!!) And seeing that adorable furry tiger cub, made me realize that this was a cause I had to associate my name with. 

The tiger is the national animal of India.....this we have been taught since we were in school. Then why is it that almost nothing is being done to protect that very animal? Why is that there are only some 1400 of them left? Figures show that there were 3,508 tigers in India, in the year1997; but in a little over a decade that number has fallen by a staggering 60% to a mere 1,411!

There has obviously been gross neglect on the part of the government authorities as well as individuals. While we claim to be educated individuals, our true education is quite questionable. It is high time that we became aware of what is going on around us and perhaps, step in to do something. No matter how big or small your contribution, it is one nonetheless. 

The one small and immediate step you could take is by talking a little bit more about the Save Our Tigers initiative. Inform others, after you have read up about the topic yourself. And if you really want to play your part in saving our national animal, visit this site and register yourself; because every single 'roar' counts. 

http://saveourtigers.com/

The Happiest Place in the World

The Happiest Place in the World - isn't that how the Disneylands of the world are publicized? A place where you enter the world of tomorrow, yesterday, adventure and fantasy; leaving behind the present?? I guess whoever thought of the tagline was right!!

I got a chance to witness the magic and fantastical land of Walt Disney's imagination, when I set foot inside the Hongkong Disneyland.

Smaller as compared to its' American cousins, this place offers the same magic nevertheless! You enter through Main street USA, where you are welcomed by what America must have looked like in the early 1800s.

                 (This is the entrance of the HK Disneyland....and this is also the entrance to Main Street USA!)

Walk in and you will walk into a whole new world - truly a world where you forget about every single worry, and unleash the child within you! Atleast I did!! It was after a long time, that I was excited about a short train ride...one that takes you around the park. The ride is also a good way to decide where you want to head next!

As you walk through the guarded gates of Snow White's castle, you really do feel like that you are entering a world of fantasy and fairly tales. It is all that you had ever imagined when you read the stories of Cinderella and Rapunzel....perhaps a little bit more!

I mean where else can you see your dad, trying to play Prince Arthur? My dad was more than willing to pose for the camera, while holding the proverbial "sword-in-the-rock"!

                                          
Or see both your parents smile happily standing inside a make belief Astronaut's Suit? Don't believe me?? Looks at this picture then!

(Yup! My parents are all set to take a trip to Saturn!!)

Disneyland is perhaps the only place where you could do so much, in one single day.....you could witness your favorite movie in a live performance:

                    

Get your photos clicked with your favorite cartoon characters:

  

or save an alien planet from falling down!!

One trip to the Hongkong Disneyland has given me memories to last a lifetime...........unfortunately it has also given me the bug............now I want to see the American versions of this theme park as well!!

My Sojourns

So, now I have the stamp of another two countries on my passport.....Hongkong and Thailand. Both countries with incredible charm, a dash of exoticism and sights and sounds, which will remain with you forever!

Our first stop was Hongkong, which is easily one of the most stunning cities I have seen in my life - and that is something to say, because I have seen my fair share of cities. This is perhaps one of the most well managed and systematic places in the world. No where else have I seen so much methodism in the daily routine. The moment you step out of the plane, you can see how much emphasis is laid on the systems and rules.

Although, things didn't start out very smoothly for us - we were held by immigrations for almost 2 hours for a random check - things were wonderful post that slight glitch. Courtesy the wonderful staff of PNB HK, our stay was everything we could have asked for, if not a little bit more. I guess a huge thank you goes out to Joel uncle, Acharya uncle and Kazmi uncle as well as their families, who made us feel right at home!

(That's me in the corner, followed by my dad, Joel uncle, Acharya uncle and Alam Kazmi. Kazmi uncle was busy playing photographer!)

The typical touristy city tour took us to places like the "Avenue of Stars", which is HK's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

(Martial Arts legend Jackie Chan was the first to have his hand-print at the Avenue of Stars)

The next stop is the gem factory and showroom, where the martial arts legend - Jackie Chan is a partner. A nice place to buy knick knacks of the slightly expensive kind! The tour will also take you to the Aberdeen fisherman's village, which is actually now the place for the rich and famous.....you should see some of the luxury yachts that are anchored here....and on the other side are the quaint houseboats, where the "fishermen" reside!

(This is how the actual fishermen live!)

(And this is how the other half lives!!)

The last stop is Victoria Peak...actually the mid point of the peak. If you want to get to the absolute top (which I seriously recommend you do), you need to take a tram ride. The tram ride itself is incredible, because the angle of ascent is almost 50*+.

But I have to admit that HK is an incredibly expensive place; which meant that shopping here was out of the question for me! :( I got to know that like other places you have to pay for water, but did you know that you also had to pay for sewage?? This is an incredible to place live in, if you have a pay package that can take care of all your needs. If not, this might not be the happiest place for you to be in!