Friday, November 27, 2009

Little heart tuggers

Actually it's quite a pain to write long blog entries... So depending on whether the narcissist or lazy self takes over, you see/dun see a blog entry :P Today's a public holiday, so the force is on the narcissist self's side.. but cos there's still a lazy streak in me, I will not be writing separate entries (organised along various themes) on my India trip. Instead, I'd do a chapalang summarised one and try to mask my laziness by calling this entry -- Little heart tuggers. Heh.

If Shruthi didn't insist, we wouldn't have been able to go her fren's wedding. And thanks to her, we had a wonderful 3-day homestay in Bangalore. I also borrowed my kurta (the long dress with slits that many Indian women wear with pants) from her sis. But somehow, I still too look fair in this pic to pass off as an Indian...

The bridal car was erm... interesting. Hmm, i think if my bridal car ever looks like this, I'd rather not get married.

Cafe Turtle at Khan Market. Neat little cafe tucked away in row of 'shophouses'. This is on the 3rd floor while the 2nd floor houses a cool bookshop.

The wedding feast! One of my most enjoyable Indian meals. But I still haven't figured out how to eat unmessily with my hands.

Yummy salad at Le Cafe, New Delhi. Part of our lunch on the last day in Delhi...

I like the reflections I unknowingly captured in this pic.

A leisurely quiet moment together at the love monument..

Cookie Monster at the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur. It's this huge observatory (with various astronomical/astrological instruments) built by one of the kings... The structures remind me of Escher's paintings.

Anokhi cafe in Jaipur! It had the yummiest and cheapest food on the trip... Anokhi is a clothings/fabrics/homeware store started by a British. It's now a popular nationwide chain amongst, I would think, wealthier Indians.

Anokhi had a musuem too ;) In a beautifully restored haveli -- they showcase how blockprinting is done... very labour intensive! We also met this craftsman who was patiently chiselling his woodblock...

A beautiful sunset. Overlooking rest of Jaipur city from Naagarh Fort.

Ganesha is a good friend to have!

Loved the white and black tiles... but had to wait really really long for the endless stream of tourists to clear...

For some weird reason, I was quite a rare sight to behold in Udaipur... and in many other Indian cities as well. So all the school girls took turns to take pictures with me...

Apples in my hotel room - perfect for still-life paintings!

Lovely "palace grounds" at Fateh Garh Palace hotel, Udaipur. The floor was spotless because the cleaning ladies were cleaning the floor all the time...

Where's my food?? Hungry... :(

Touring in a wheelchair on the last day. At Bahai Temple (the Sydney Opera House lookalike), New Delhi. I lifted my own spirits by imagining myself to be the female lead in the Jap drama, Beautiful Life... haha. K lah, far from it... but imagine only mah.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Over the weekend, I restlessly overworked my healing foot... Sneaking out to shopping malls and to watch A Christmas Carol in 3D. Luckily the foot is hardy and isn't too achy yet heh. Today I excitedly signed up to be part of MND's community gardening programme -- some committee is setting up a rooftop community garden and we can apparently grow our own flowers/veges and even herbs, tapping on expertise of NParks staff! Was very excited cos we could potentially have a Jamie Oliver herb garden right at our doorstep! Or our own little secret garden... I mean, should be fun to grow stuff right. And have ppl teach you how to for free. Just that erm, I hope we all dun get so carried away by work and neglect our baby plants after the novelty wears off...