Size Doesn’t Matter - Singapore

Some genius has rightly said that if you following the right path and doing the right thing, no matter where you start, the journey to success will be surely scripted. Singapore rightly claims this title. With a city half the size of any metro city in india, has something huge to offer to its residents. My 4 day stay in singapore was an eye opener after having travelled to so many big cities but yet not able to find the vigour and energy that singapore holds. 

Starting from when you land, the immigration, fetching luggage, clearing customs, everything happened with 20 mins. I think it takes more time for Indians to collect their luggage and move out of the airport in Indian domestic airports as compared to an international singapore airport. The transport connection to the city is superb. It takes 20 mins by taxi to reach the downtown. Other available options are MTR and Bus which might take a little longer but 20-25 singapore dollar in a taxi was totally worth it. 

Orchard street is supposively the most busy street and caters to shoppers and business houses and residents. Think of a brand and you will find it around the corner when it comes to shopping. Concorde hotel which is at the starting of Orchard street and is very convenient for a traveller who has come for business or has come for leisure. Hotel Marina Bay Sands is a top attraction in the hospitality industry and is totally worth the popularity. The infinity pool (only for hotel guests), the restaurants at the roof top and an amazing spa is surely something that a traveller to singapore shouldn’t miss. Gardens by the Bay, Casino and the huge shopping mall owned by Marina Bay Sands group is an extraordinary display of the planning with which the property is made. A leisure traveller has no where to go and can easily enjoy 2-3 nights in the Marina area. 

The administration and safety of the people living in singapore is something to learn from. The government is super strict with the rules and regulations and safety of its residents which makes people to even leave the houses open when they step out of the house. It’s popularly known as a FINE city amongst its residents which stands as a pun for the amount of fine the people pay and also the comfort the people get. 

4 days in singapore was totally an eye opener to see the level of economy and the standard of living of the people in the city. Good lifestyle, hard work and good night life is all what any citizen wants from his or her country. The high rise towers and open roof top bars such as 1-altitude makes the city comparable to the top cites of the world. 

Reading the success story about the city will surely be my To Do but what I conclude is that, if administration is strong and active, the size really doesn’t matter. I hope I get to travel back soon to this island country and enjoy the places such as Sentosa and Asia’s best cruise experience. 

Life in a small town!

We often hear how the people from metro cities describe 'small town' and how they are not ready to shift if given an option. I believe shifting is a far fetched though for them, I don't even think they are comfortable when they have to travel. I have had several experiences where my friends asked me about things that I do on weekends and after work. It is amusing for them when they hear the stories, just how amusing it is to me when I hear about Life in Mars. 

Some people are bound by the family situation and others are bound by the financial soundness that they would get in their birth city (which happens to be a b-town) compared to a metro. It is never easy for anyone to take a call of shifting back to a small town after living the life of a big city for substantial number of years. When I say LIFE, I really mean living it to the fullest wherever you are. Staying outside in a big city and living in your own cocoon is not what I call life. Meeting new people, meeting people who come with varied thoughts, meeting people who have different passions in life is what I call living life. 

It is a complete new world for a small town person when he moves to a big city. People go to get education, to seek better opportunities and to become what they aspire. But most of the people who shift are not living but surviving. Even after spending 5-7 years in big cities, they still feel happier when they are in a smaller town where they can adjust easily with the mentality of people. It is strange to see how the country is divided for such people where the only motto is to earn a better salary. My question to such people is, don't you think you are wasting your life by doing this? If you are there then might as well live it to the fullest. Get out of the cocoon and see how amazing people are from different streams. 

Honestly, life in a small town is very tough for a person who has 'lived his life' and has seen the world. But then, there are situations that prevail, which makes a person choose one thing over the other. There is always an age when you start to think about the family, that's when you decide to either pay back by moving back or keep it due for next life by living your life away from your family.

But today I want to answer my friends who seek those questions about life in small town - Weekends hardly hold any meaning, a Saturday night is as good as any other night but yet, I feel happy to return home after work and sleep on my mother's lap and live a life where money of a person is not as important as the soul. I am happy being back home but yes, I will always miss what I have lived. 

Shanghai

Shanghai - a city that offers opportunities to trade, places to raid and amazing wonders that are man-made. A city that truly makes you forget the New Yorks & Californias of the world - you have Times square, you have People's square, and you also have the BUND, a river that divides the city. 

The beauty of Shanghai lies in its fastest infrastructure development in the Pudong area. Its been believed that there was a time when world's 50% of the JCBs were in duty in this region. The city has great network of buses, optimum supply of taxis, best quality metro and the experience of the fastest train in the world. 

When we go into hospitality, it mostly covers most of the top hospitality brands - The Grand Hayatt that has a lounge come restaurant on the 87th floor, The Ritz-Carlton that has Flair lounge on the 57th floor (the highest open air bar cum restaurant, The SWFC 93, that has an amazing dance club on the 93rd floor which is happening on Wednesdays & The Kerry Hotel that is located adjacent to the Shanghai International Expo ground. 

Xintandi at the Bund offers a narrow street with the best restaurants and pubs in the city. Bar Rough located on the famous Cartier building facing the Bund river is undoubtedly the best club of the city with M18 located on the 3rd floor in the same building.

For vegetarians - Element Fresh, The Punjab Grill, Bukhara and Delhi Durbar are the saviours. The currency RMB or YUAN is very reasonably priced at 0.10 as compared to indian rupee. 

The city has immense potential to be strongest country in the world by 2015. I hope to be a frequent visitor to this country and experience the richness of hard work, focus and dedication that the citizens of the country have towards their work.

 

Chance

Sometimes all you need is a second chance because time wasn't ready for the first one. A consistent performer is always the one who brings back glory. It is not always important to be on the top, sometimes life gives you a second chance so that you can prepare yourself to achieve something bigger. 

Standing at the cricket pitch and scoring a six from the first ball sounds magical but no one really evaluates the hard work and practice that goes behind to get that level of confidence. I don't want to relate life with cricket coz life is surely not a game, but it's a stage where you perform and earn credibility, fame, money, people and many such things that make up a complete world. Not everyone performs fair and thus we come across people who take the wrong path to achieve the artificial glory. 

I have gone through failure and I have also felt the happiness of winning but both the feelings taught me lessons that govern my personality and actions. Winning gave me confidence of being the best in a certain thing among certain performers but the failure taught me that there is a bigger world that is outside my cocoon where I have people who are better. 

Getting a second chance is not just a coincidence, it's a signal from the top that there is surely something that was lacking during the first performance. I hope my gest is accomplished with these small little chances that my life keeps offering at every turn and I make a better use of them to be a better person, a better human. 

The Chadar - an experience for life!

Not many know about the Chadar trek that happens in Leh, India during January-February; but people who have heard or experienced it would surely have a lot to share. 

It's one of the most beautiful treks in the world that not only tests u on your fitness but also on your body tolerance level. The trek happens in the peak winters when half of the ladhak is shut and deserted and most of the local people shift to other towns to escape the harsh weather conditions. Someone has rightly said that 'God has painted the universe in many colors - but the most beautiful parts are painted in white'. 

The trek is a 70km walk on snow, ice, sand and stone. The blanket, called the Chadar, that is created by frozen water on the upper crust of zanskar river, which originates in northern region of J&K and merges into Indus, is the the path on which the trekkers walk. The weather conditions are harsh enough to take a toll on your body. Day temperature ranges between -15 to -25 degrees whereas nights go as down as -40: a temperature good enough to extinguish fire, turn vegetables into stone and give frost bites. Even after wearing 4 layers of top and bottom, a man can shiver to death. There are moments when your feet and hands turn num - at that moment, even if they are put in fire, one won't feel any heat. Brushing and bathing are like alien terms while u on trek. 

Hearing all the above, a person might get a feel that 'what's the point in risking so much just for a trek?'. But there is a flip side to it. The beauty, the experience and the adventure is far more satisfying than the harsh conditions. The beauty of the trek lies in the frozen waterfalls, snow leopard paw marks, caves and the cold water that turns into ice within seconds when taken in hand or thrown on someone. When you are on the trek, you feel miserable. But once you are back, you know what you have achieved. A person who has never done ice skating will surely come back as a pro. A person who has never hiked on mountains will experience the most thrilling hiking expeditions during this trek. 

One might feel that going and coming is the same path on the trek, so what's exciting while one is on the backward journey? But one fails to evaluate the dynamic changes that happen on an hourly basis at -25 degrees. It's not necessary that places where u found water while going up will still be soft when u are back and the hard Chadar will remain the same throughout. The transformation of ice and water happens every night. 

There is one more attraction to this trek apart from the beauty it offers. Luckily, the mobile network operators haven't been able to reach these points and thus the entire area is network free. The phones don't work - the only way to connect with people is through satellite phone which is available in a small village which is at the tip of the trek. This reminds you of time when mobile phone was just a concept. A person can easily cut himself away from the world and live the beauty, silence and experience. 

I had the opportunity to live this experience with some wonderful people. Some expert trekkers, some enthusiasts and some nature lovers. I don't think anyone can comprehend the beauty in words that Chadar offers but the little incidents and experiences that you have on the trek are something that can surely be boasted about. 

Jhulle!!

A Dream

Dream is one sweet imagination and creation of instances and thoughts which we see in the pictorial form when we are subconscious (sleeping). One can be a King but one can be prisoned for lifetime in his or her dream. One can go decades back but one can also live in the futuristic world.

Dream can take us anywhere and give us that moment of happiness. Have you ever got a chance to meet someone whom you have lost forever, I have. But on the other hand, it can also show us the most cruel things and make us feel miserable - I have killed someone in my dream. It has that power to make u meet people who no more exist and take you away from people who are sleeping next to you. It has the power to make you meet your ex and it also has the power to make you meet your next. A dream can take you for a world trip and it can also take you to a war land.

For me, it's the seeding of an idea that blossoms when we are in the subconscious state. Sometimes the seeds are infected which gives a nightmare and sometimes the seeds are of a quality that can inspire your real world. People who don't get to dream are the unprivileged set of people who can't enjoy the unreal world.

Dreams can be graphed on a daily basis to evaluate the inclination of a person's thought process. Though it may sound freaky but in real, psychiatrists use these graphs for people who get negative dreams, which can spoil someone's following day.

I wish that I had the power to control my dream so that I could meet not only people who are stationed in different cities and countries but also people who have been a part of my life but now they don't exist in my dream world.

I wish you A Happy Dream ;)

The Sugar Cube

I saw her from far but never went closer,
she was dressed in black and appeared sober.

I could see the smoke and I could see her eyes,
I could see her lips which kept me mesmerized.

I wanted to talk but the opportunities died,
so I went aside and started my poker game with chips and dice.

Every time there came a Queen, I saw her by my side.
I got the signal for the night but couldn't gather the strength to face the sparkling eyes.
So I gave up my try, thinking that few things are just meant to die.

Few days later I see her request,
I went crazy but tried to suppress.

I started my conversation with a random 'Hi',
and waited for the most awaited reply.

The boat started to move and it crossed few tides,
I felt comfortable and kept on with my strides.

We started to chat, we started to fight.
It seemed right so I gave up my pride and asked her for a date one particular night.

Few beers and few cosmos gave me the lift,
and the rest was written to progress with a swift.

Her smile gave me a reason to pull up my heart,
the song and the place added the spark.

She blew my head and she blew my heart,
I felt like diving without any guard.

She gave me a reason to smile back again,
she greased up the space where rust had made its place.

I feel happy to have you Sugar,
You just make my coffee a way more sweeter, a way more smoother.