The GLORIOUS month of April!

....which has three LONG weekends (Read - holidays on 3 Fridays out of 4) with the coming Friday and Tuesday off. What did I do? Went on a weekend trip of course! (Don't cha know me by now?!)

Destination of choice: Manori. Quaint little island just 5 minutes off Malad, best accessed by Ferry. You can also drive down if you wish, via Bhayander which would leave you twiddling your thumbs in a car ride well over 2 hours with the knowledge that you could've ferried it across in 4 minutes FLAT.

We were 18 of us all geared up with our camera's, cards, alcohol and chakna supplies! For me, this qualifies of another weekend of firsts. Away from the aegis of my all-too-protective mother, I partook of the delights of my first ever Gola. Kala Khatta flavored. There is photographic evidence too, with a strategically placed police van in the background. I also bought Keri (Raw Mango) off a guy with a rickety handcart, who cut and sliced the delightful fruit with a knife that looked like it had never felt the coolth of water, and masala which imbibed in it the combination of salt, red chilli powder and some unidentifiable other powder, which I suspect, is sand.

Needless to say, my mother expressed her disdain at aforesaid activities. HAH. So much for that. =) Next stop, roadside Pani Puri. If I muster up the courage i.e. Not eating off the streets and hygienic surroundings have marred my childhood i tell'ya. I discovered many other unfamiliar terms and apparently extremely commonly devoured items like Tadi - Coconut resembling fruit (?) of which alcoholic derivatives can be extracted. My ignorance of such names was appropriately by ALL 18 of the gang.

Assuming I spend the next 5 lines going into various narratives about how hot it was and how Im a shad darker (again), ill pretend that you know, get my drift et all, and move on with my weekend. Another first was the spending the night in a Dormitory. Its anyone's guess how many good nights were exchanged and how long it took before everyone agreed on how many ac's should be left on, and finally hushed up.

The poor DJ, hired for the night on account of the presence of 3 other large groups of people occupying the resort, began his revelry a good hour and a half before anyone joined in. We all indulged in the coolth of the ac and stepped out only when some breeze was bestowed upon us.
Dance was danced, alcohol was had, dinner was very nearly forgotten, and much making merry happened.

The best part of the entire trip was indisputably the midnight walk on the beach. Secluded, dimly lit with only the outlines of ourselves discernible... we all sat, silently for some time. Being one with the winds and the moonlight, hearing ourselves breathe the pleasure of which the undercurrents of fast pace and vehicular buzz doesn't allow us. A was there. We sat, in a circle I made with my finger in an imaginary impermeable world, where for that moment, there existed just two people. 'I can just fall asleep here' He said, when he just scooted over and placed his head on my lap. I obviously, replied to that oh-so-cute moment by running my sand filled hand through his hair. Someday we will be, Together you and me...

Apparently it was TOO COLD :D Thanks Gautam and AB for being such sports on seeing this picture the next day!

Also, the picture of the sea above clicked by Dhwani.

You MUST go to Dome. Because..

Ladies and Gentlemen, the view from my left.
And then the view from my right...


Any further questions?

Holla!

I went Here for the weekend! Its a direction (Towards Gujarat) Ive never driven down in before, and was mucho excited! Somehow, all previous weekend get-aways meant driving in the Pune/Mahableshwar/Matheran/Lonavla/Khandala directions with the lone exception of Durshet which was covered on the way back from Nashik one day.

First the Logistics for anyone who wants to go. 2 days max, in a good resort since there isn't much to do in town. (Except drink like its free, cause it almost is). Hence a good resort is a requirement in case of wanting to spend time indoors, (Swimming pool contributing to a fraction of activities). Its a 3-4 hour drive from Mumbai, with a few decent stops on the way. There's a Kamat for breakfast/snacks along the way which is the only restaurant I would recommend since the rest looked like halts for truck drivers.

Stock up on the booze on the way home for drinking friends and relatives, since Daman is almost like one giant Duty free shop. The Beaches are a slight disappointment, this being my first experience with black sand. Devka beach is pebbled which means not only does it look cluttered (an aside from the usual smooth as butter sandy beaches) but also, there are no activities here.

Jhampore beach is slightly better off, (picture below) with some interesting photography stunts with my new camera! I'm going to try not gloating there, but the Sony DSCT 77 is a seriously bad ass camera. And I mean this in the nicest sense of the term.

I did Horse riding on the beach! Rode this Beautifully Tall and sturdy horse named 'Chetak'. It was the first time I got onto a horse since the tenth standard when my last year of training was. (Serendipity trained in riding for 4 years whilst Dad was in the Navy. If it interest you, the fee was 25 Rs per month for alternate day, 6.oo a.m. in the morning classes for defence kids and 625 per month for civilians lol!! )

I started tentatively with the horse owner (or his little son was more like it) holding the reins alongside, but soon after asked him to let go and broke into a light trot. It was exhilarating, that tiny little pick of speed with the reins in my hand and while we didn't gallop or even canter (since the Horse is not riding trained - only drag along trained) the feeling of being on a horse, saddled up with the reins in my hand was enough to feel a rush. He bucked a few times as the trainer hit him (which I got very angry with) but he wouldn't respond to my gentle prods with my ankles, which made me feel really sad. Having said that, by the time I got off, I was rejuvenated and excited that I could get onto a horse with confidence and not feel as though its something I Haven't done in such a long time!

The resort had a small pond-like pool. (What is with these tiny pools anyway?!) The Naval pool was 10 lanes, Olympic sized and has me spoilt for life. Anything smaller and I feel like I'm swimming in a bathtub or something. It was fun for small races with the boys though. Needless to say, I won (all!) and it does wonder for ones ego. Specially when one is the only girl participating against the boys and one wins. This obviously means the Boys get the privilege of hearing this from me very often. :D

Also, FUSEBALL happened! At Mirasol . Oh, and I also played Frisbee for the first time! It took a couple of very (very very) badly placed throws to get the action right. In fact my first throw was so bad, I was made to throw in the direction of someone standing near the sea, and it STILL (bloody hell) Boomeranged its way dangerously close to disgruntled Uncle. But then, got the hang of it. Cant wait till next time! :)

Ok, In addition to Maldives, Durshet/Kolhad Rafting if your planning a trip to Daman and need info, ask!

On other developing news items, Something transpired over the course of last night and this morning and 6 followers have dropped off my blog. This, for some reason looks to be a conspiracy to me with a lot more bloggers having followers withdraw their everencouragingloveandsupport. Thats just mean no? Is there tum ting wong? :D

I just realized, I got these, from Imps mom. Hence without further ado, Thanks Imps mom. :)

I pass them on to Sunshine, Hitch, Piper, Snow, Kiran, Parul, Abhishek and Aditya Take a bow guys!

Hitch - This guy is fun. He's almost always the first to comment on most of the people he reads. how he does it is beyond me.

Piper and Snow - are recent nameless, faceless blogger friends who I have no idea why, But I really identify with! Most of their posts have me n absolute agreement! and I feel as though I almost know them!

Kiran - Is an outstanding, Inspiring woman. Met her at Indiahelps and I love her stories with the extremely adorable Krishh, who I have to say, will break a lot of hearts when grown up :)

Parul's ranting about the loss of a follower too! :) I absolutely love her slightly sarcastic, easily funny way of putting things. :D

Aditya is also a faceless blogger whose blog I first commented on since he wrote something about Regal Barista - a stone's throw from my house!

Abhishek - Look at this as stimulus to blogging again, Since thats at least one avenue to 'feel in touch'. And the Poems HAVE to make a reappearance now!

Sunshine - Your the only anonymous blogger Ive added to my F/B account or even given my real name to. Think we've been the longest blog-buddies for my blog. :)

Sunny side up

Must accredit the picture to my cousin who clicked this at Juhu beach...

We turn one year old today. This blog was born out of a long initial inertia to having someplace to take my thoughts. The Nomad, and I decided its high time so we set deadlines, and promised each other we wouldnt miss. And Serendipity was born. Why Serendipity? Why All that Jazz? She loves the word, hates the movie. Its got the right amount of enigma, can be understood with a romantic connotation if one wished, among other reasons. And thats what life's about isnt it? A little bit of heartache, a lot more fun, highest highs and low lows and all that jazz.

So heres to another year of being creepily moody, hormonal, brownie loving, incurably romantic, nostalgic and embarassingly crazy.

That place

*sigh*

Maldives Baby!

The view from the resort room.
Having walked down to the beach... 15 steps from the resort room and complete privacy. Thing is, Maldives is made up of close to 1,190 islands out of which about 200 are inhabited. Each island is actually a RESORT and freakshly expensive. Hnece the only people you wll find here are tourists and the resort management. NO locals, NO horrible men staring you down, nothing.


The coffee shop at Giravaru island where we stayed for a night. If your going to Maldives, and plan to stay at a resort, (if your not planning to go to a resort and stay, then dont go) be prepared to shell out anything between 500$ - 750$ per head per night. Laguna, Bandos
are among the few you ought to head to if you have that kind of a budget.

The View from the hotel room at Male - Hotel Relax Inn. The small island to the extreme right is actually an oil depot, and the tiny island next to it, is a jail!

Some little facts about Maldives -

• Male, is the smallest capital city in the world. It has a total length of about 7 kms and you can walk from one end to the other.
• It is a strictly Islamic country and all local women wear Muslim scarves on their head.
• You cant get a drop of alcohol on the island of Male due to strict Islamic policy. Many efforts by the men on the trip to 'do setting' led to nothing. How to beat this is to go to Hulhule, the airport island and hang out at the bar there. (Male doesnt serve alcohol but mostly all the islands in and around do)
• IT IS EXPENSIVE.
• Snorkeling and the Whale submarine are a MUST.

I am now close to 3 shades darker than i was when i left Mumbai, with no complaints. Being the water freak that i am, lets just say that the Indian ocean i saw on this trip has left me dizzy with its sheer beauty and wanting more. Anyone planning a trip there soon, ask me about the do's and dont's. Cos believe me there are quite a few.

Errr... OK

Understood? Do not pluck flowers, plastics, or throw rabit in the sea.

Cloudy dreamy Aksa

Cloudy overcast skies, and the raging tide. In the next half an hour, where i was standing as i clicked this photograph was not visibe any more.

Moonwalking on the pier

Welcome to where time stands still

No one leaves and no one will

Moon is full, never seems to change

Just labeled mentally deranged

Dream the same thing every night

I see our freedom in my sight

No locked doors, no windows barred

No things to make my brain seem scarred

- Metallica (Sanitarium)

Can't get enough!

"Get out of the way" she said. "Your shadow's ruining a perfect picture". He jogged away, her voice drowned by the sound of the sea.

And his shadows in there. :)

Incred!ble !ndia

Some random pictures i took en route Nashik. I'm in love with everythign around me... of course the sea is my first love... but one look at the pictures below, im convinced.

India is a beautiful country - there's no debate there. its just there to explore. I know people who've travelled to a zillion countries abroad, but not a place outside Mumbai in India. and i say to myself and them - we have everythign you could want right here! Not that im averse to the idea of going place, no im a big proponent of new places people and things. I just think as an Indian i ought to know the beauty and magnificence of my own country, so i have a benchmark for the others!

I am a certified photo-at-every-opportunity-taker, and a I-love-my-country-and-im-gonna-try-capturing-its-essence-in-photos-wherever-i-go". Not that im equipped with fancy cameras this is good ol camera phone at work. Little mercies :)

I've grown up by the sea... and its always been special to me. When asked in slam books and other truth and dare / random questions - "would you rather live by the mountains or the sea" pat would come the answer "the sea" without a doubt, without a blink of the eye. It was never in doubt.

But here it is - that game god plays. Falling in love with him means maybe having to leave this behind... and move. To the mountains no less. To that unthinkable option in the question, to the thought never considered. But I've fallen anyway.

I have enough memories of waves and tides and the sand and the sound of the waves in my head to last me a long time. What he gives me among other things - solace, contentment and unconditional support were something the sea did until now. But im a happy woman, I got more than i deserved.

Hopefully he feels the same way. And reads this post and says "Well move by the sea someday" :)

Once a dreamer, always a dreamer!

Love affair # 2

I am clearly obsessed by the sea. To be fair, ive lived by the sea since i was 7. ive had breathtaking views from my windows and balconies. Watched the ships light up on Navy day, watched them dock through the rains, watched the mangroves slowly recede.

What have i not done on Marine drive other than the usual sit, talk, walk, run. Ive laughed and cried and sat with someone and sat alone, fought and made up, held hands and let go.. done assignments and studied, spent 4 hours bunking lectures in the blazing sun.

So what is it about this place? The sea is a good hint :) other than that, i think for me, its the way i could always fall back on it. it was never too far from home, never too far from my thoughts, always offered me solace, put things into perspective, make smal things feel big and big things feel bigger...

ah. i forgot - fed pigeons at 6.00 in the morning. (yes, there was a time when i could wake up that early), bicycled all the way to chowpatty and had chaai from shady looking bhaiyya who brings it on his cycle.

Ill always want to have this .. to live by the sea.. and have my chaai leaning over my balcony.. cos thats what the sea makes you do... it makes you this dreamer.. this person who is content with herself and her thoughts and the gentle lapping of the waves..