Only as far as I know™...

Getting up on Day 7 brought a mixed bag of feelings…excitement for the grand finale tour we had planned, the distressing thought of saying adieu post that, being thankful for the journey that was, and the soft outpouring of love for an awaited reunion with our loved ones at the end of our sojourn… an olla podrida of emotions! Speaking of which, we dashed through our breakfast and packing and checking out formalities, so that we could head out for our last walkabout in Hanoi. We had our return flight in the evening so we decided to make the most of the morning and afternoon. Once again, we relied on Grab to get to the Grand grey-granite Ho Chi Mausoleum at Ba Dinh Square straightaway. We landed there on some sort of public holiday (Lunar Calendar) as there was a huge queue and layered security at the entrance itself. We had gone to the square day before in the evening for a walk and it was quite pleasant and sans the tourist crowd, but we couldn’t enter the mausoleum and other are...

“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way …” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Para.1, Line, 1) These contradictions, dichotomies, iniquitousness, unfairness and the travesty of it all…and no, I don’t want to live anywhere but here where I am, in the age where I am. I am under no illusion that the grass is greener anywhere else. There are lot of things I would like to change and experience. However, I am not wistfully dreaming away.   A great loss, a lot of time wasted mulling over things that could be, and finally Vietnam has definitely taught me one thing …LIVE EACH DAY…one day at a time! We all have our dreams, callin...

Saying Adieu to Ha long , a place ‘where the dragon descends’ is quite difficult to spell out here. The place infused me with exceptional amount of positive energy with its beautiful and peaceful vistas. It is not that I haven’t seen beautiful places before but most of them are often marred by some man-made disturbance or the memory of it, except perhaps most of Switzerland. Vietnam was also in the throes of such a tortured past, but the entire community chose to move ahead and build a peaceful home for their present. However, I believe it is unquestionably imperative to remember the past, as those who don’t, are condemned to repeat it. The Vietnamese have also paid tribute to each of their fallen martyrs, as they were re-building their home. One such memorial is Hoa Lo Prison (Maison Centrale). The unnerving stillness of various life-like prison re-constructions can evoke a gamut of emotions subject to our views. The Vietnamese called the place Hoa Lo (Hell’s Hole) and the ...

We made our way back to Hanoi and had planned to spend the day checking out some famous Hanoi old quarter streets known for their wares; Hang Gai [i] (Hemp / Silk Street), and Hang Dau [ii] (Bags and Shoes) in particular. Many of the streets are named after the wares they sell, there is a silver jewellery street, and one that sells only chocolates, one with wooden handmade products like combs, spoons, etc. I forgot the name of the street which sells chocolates but it is on the same street where the famous Bach Ma templ e [iii] is located. Our day was exclusively set for shopping and indulging our taste buds. However, I will pool all our food and drink and shopping recommendations together here.   We started with some street food right besides our homestay [iv] (Hanoi Old Quarter Homestay). We were recommended Bún Dậu Thập Cẩm and but maybe because the rice vermicelli noodle cake was served cold, the sausages and fried tofu were dripping oil and the shrimp paste was qui...

I have been raring to go, my restless feet ready for the next pit-stop in life for as long as I remember.   Thanks to my father who had a transferable job, our family moved every two to three years. And in those days, trains were the only reasonable mode of transport across the country. So, it was four to five days in the train across a minimum of six to seven states in the country. Some of the best childhood memories; the long waits (the longest was 11 hours I think) at the railway stations where my sister came out with her own edition of India’s Got Talent dancing, hopping, singing, running, jumping, and what not, trying to convince our father to buy from every vendor that crossed our paths ( our father would be all game but my mother would be throwing daggers at us with her eyes), the counting of trucks, cars, tractors, while our parents enjoyed rounds of rummy, the endless rounds of snacks, scanning and memorizing every bit of action in Tinkle, Archies Digest, and Enid B...

I'm easy like Sunday morning… [i] After a long time, I could say I was free to do as I pleased on a Sunday morning. No little kid poking me in the eye to get up earlier than I wanted to ( I did miss the little munchkin and my heartbeat) but I could also just lie there staring at the ceiling enjoying my Sunday bliss… I woke up just to smell the fresh air and freedom out in the balcony with my steaming cup of Vietnamese coffee! True, what they say, freedom is also a state of mind …. We can be bound by so many things; self-imposed and otherwise. I believe it is very important to prioritize. I have drifted from one task to another for so long to drown out my inner voice and calling. I literally screwed myself shut inside a bottle and sat on the lid just in case. But moments like this, make one realise, that true freedom is within us. I am well aware that many countries are at war or under totalitarian regimes, or where citizens are heavily monitored and also the fact that...

We keep hearing this term thrown about almost on a daily basis, whether it is a discussion about the future of the entire planet or our countries, our cities or even our colonies. So, what is ‘sustainable development’? Each one of us strives to make our lives better. Most of us run from pillar to post each day to raise the standard of our living. We try to maintain the lifestyle we are used to and make it better. Collectively we wish to have better roads, better transport facilities, 24x7 power and water supply, etc. to improve the quality of our lives. Individually we may have the power and resources to make a difference in our own lives, however, to bring an effective change in the society, we require more than just concerted effort. Good Planning is the essence and foundation of any vision moving towards the realm of reality. It is important to gather all the pieces of puzzle and then put them together, i.e., to collect data pertaining to all spheres of life in an area and t...