Juggling too many balls at a time

New Year is round the corner and people are in a mood to party .So are we! Organising parties have always been a challenge for me and couple of other enthusiasts. It’s a great feeling when everything turns out as expected but equally lousy when things go wrong.

Scheduling it a month ahead gives us ample time to put things in order. It all began with a, “Hey! What plans for new year?” and we work our ass off to respond to that query. It’s not that we are compelled to organize but people know where to nudge when it comes to arranging events. This time I had intended to turn a deaf ear to that alluring question, considering the number of activities going on in my life but the fanatic me consented. This puts me in a spot where handling the pressure of moving to my new home and organizing an event will get challenging. Constantly I crib over the fact of never being able to say No to people especially friends even if that means sacrificing my personal commitments. I am talking about an enthusiast who has dug a grave for herself and expects me to join her soon with regards to planning the festivity.

It’s been four months since our interior work began and the task has been moving at a snail’s pace. Thanks to a bunch of lazy carpenters and to my dear architect friend who has no control over them owing to her soft nature. I really cannot blame her as it’s a tough job in view of the fact that her field is male dominated and it really takes a man to control these arrogant masons and carpenters. What had to be completed in 2 months got hauled indefinitely. Nevertheless I am completely gratified with the outcome. Hopefully we should be able to move by the coming weekend provided, the theme walls are done and additional furniture delivered on time. So far the wood work, light fittings and plumbing are done .Couple more furniture were added which included Adi’s bed, study table, chair, bar unit , crockery unit and few other ornamental objects to our existing bloated list. I must be fancying to have bought a mansion as opposed to a three bedroom flat. Hope God can help us draw a line as we could not stop ourselves from buying a few more appliances which includes all that you can think off. “Guilt has seized me completely” would be an understatement.

Getting back to the event organizing part, Co-ordinating is the key to getting it done. This means gluing our ears to the phone. Background work is always dirty especially fixing the caterer, arranging lights and sound, not to mention digging out games for kids, collecting resources for it, assigning people to do it and finally annoying them by constantly reminding them to do it

 Forgot to mention about getting the brat to do homework and study for tests amongst all the other issues. But I love being busy and that’s what keeps me going.

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Singapore Thailand vacation

I have been feeling guilty of neglecting my blog for quite a while now. For the oblivious, we were on a vacation to Singapore and Thailand last month. After a brief stay in US exactly 9 years back, this was my first visit abroad after returning to India for good. It’s been on our cards for a while now, but our plans got adjourned due to various reasons which in itself deserves another post.

Let me begin with Singapore. It was 3 pm on 4th Oct when we landed in Singapore.As we got off the plane , it was drizzling outside and it felt like I landed in Kerala as the weather was warm and humid with a refreshing shower.A promising weather for a lovely vacation. There was a man in his early forties waiting to receive us at the airport . He was part of the plan arranged by our travels. He chauffeured us to our hotel located in Little India street. True to its name, that was the only place in Singapore which was a step behind the other areas in terms of cleanliness :p. You get a feel of being in Chennai as the area is populated with Tamil immigrants. If you don’t want to explore on other cuisines and stick to Indian especially Tamil cuisine, you are in the right place. Incidentally the streets were decorated with Diwali lighting and colors. I din’t miss the festivity of Diwali in India as Little India was even more pepped up with young people preparing for some cultural show in an empty ground.The streets were decorated with garlands, lights, colorful arches and lamps. After a brief refreshment at the hotel, we took a walk along the streets of Little India just to soak in the festive feel.
That night we were taken to the Night safari which is supposed to be the world’s first night time zoo. This zoo can be explored via tram and you get to see 8 geographical zones without much of a huff and puff. The open air zoo is dimly lit and it simulates the animals natural habitat. The visitors need not worry about being attacked by these animals as they are separated by natural barriers. There are cultural shows of which Creatures of the night show is an amazing spectacle being performed by the animals of the zoo. Hats off to the trainers who took years to train these creatures. Well! That was our first shot at Singapore and we were extremely tired and dozing on our way back to the hotel.
The next day after a sumptuous breakfast buffet, a van with 10 other tourists most of ‘em from mumbai were waiting for us to join ‘em. That meant interesting company for a city tour. It din’t take much time to get comfort able in each other’s company and soon we were enjoying places with ‘em. There was this couple in their early fifties who boasted about this being their 16th place abroad and how they loved travelling. The enthusiastic lady’s brag was a sure-fire entertainer. I guess with their kind of profile, I would do the same thing too.Instead of getting into details,I will leave you with some pics of the city.





By noon we headed off to Sentosa Island and guess who kept us company, none other than the boasting couple themselves. However Adi was a saviour as he kept them busy by asking about the places they visited and they were happy to have their fan ‘s undivided attention.
It was only an hour drive to sentosa island from our hotel .There were a series of attractions in this island which included Imbiah lookout, Fort Siloso ,Surrender Chamber wax museum, the Underwater World and Dolphin Show. The most mesmerising of all was the songs of the sea with a live cast, dramatic effects and pyrotechnics. Water jets, flame bursts, lasers and captivating music make this a one-of-a-kind entertainment spectacle that's fun for everyone .This is one performance that you won't want to miss.




An amazing day passed by and it was 9 P.M by the time we reached our hotel. Exhausted, we dived into our freshly made bed .We slept like babies only to find that we were too late for breakfast the next morning. Moreover the car that was supposed to drop us to Jurong bird park was waiting with our most privileged boasting company and hell we could not keep them waiting. Also we were supposed to get back by 12 P.M to catch the flight to Bangkok which was our next destination. However we reached the park on time and it was all worth the rush. It had an amazing collection of birds and I was surprised to watch their shows - Birds n Buddies and Kings of the Skies. Adi had a blast watching these shows.


Birds n Buddies Show

Its amazing to watch the parrot sing in 3 language and watch the macaws fly through hoops.

Kings of the Skies
Volunteers were all afire to participate in the show. The kids couldn't wait to get involved.The falcons fly so close that their wings sometimes brush against you!

Two hours wasn't enough to cover the 2.5 hectare park. But we managed to cover most of it and hoping that we din't miss out on something important. Reluctantly we left the park to catch our flight on time. In short Singapore was a fun treat for Adi and us.

Adventures in Pattaya and Bangkok will be my next post. Until then!

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