Your vacation starts the moment you land in your country of destination. That's what most travelers believe. When in fact, your vacation actually starts the moment you go to the airport from your house! Okay, maybe the traffic to the airport and the queue at the check-in counter, can cause enough stress to disqualify them as part of your vacation. Let's just then agree that your vacation actually starts the moment you board the airplane! I'll show you why.
Do you see anything in this picture? Look closely before you continue reading.
IMAGINATION AT WORK
My imagination might be on hyper mode again as I'm beginning to see formations in the clouds. Just like when I went to Bangkok, I saw this baby elephant pass us by. A friend actually commented that it looks more like a shrimp! Well, anyway, now that I've checked it again, it does look more like a shrimp. hahaha (^o^)/ But the beauty of imagination is you have full control of it and you can actually make any cloud look like whatever you want it to be.
On my recent trip to India, I saw the cloud above. What do you see? As for my imagination, I saw ... here it comes ... I saw ... a CAMEL! And it's not just any ordinary Camel but one that is actually leading a CARAVAN full of goods to be sold in the market! The moment I saw it, I was in awe and started imagining the SILK ROAD that merchants took to bring their goods for trading from one country to the next.
And that is how I knew that I will love India and that this trip will be fun and exciting! Just like that trip I took in Bangkok a couple of years back.
CATHAY PACIFIC
We were on board the Cathay Pacific plane from Hong Kong to New Delhi with a stopover in Bangkok. You will love the in-flight entertainment available for each passenger and the sliding and non-reclining seats that the airlines provide. Instead of the seats reclining back, upon pressing the recline button, your seats slide to the front. This actually allows you to recline your seat without disturbing the passenger seated behind you. And more importantly, if you're working on your laptop during the long flight, you won't have to worry of the seat suddenly reclining and possibly crushing your monitor. I actually read somewhere that this is a usual occurrence.
Travel Tip: The in-flight entertainment will not only feature Hollywood and English songs but regional movies and songs as well. This would be a good time to know more about the culture of the country you are visiting. On the way home, I was actually able to watch Dabangg (Fearless)! An action-comedy Bollywood movie which was coincidentally recommended by one of our friends in India.
On board the plane, it was also our first time to experience being asked by the cabin crew whether we would want a "Veg" or "Non-Veg" meal! Where have the "Pork, Chicken, or Fish" gone? (^o^)v
With the lack of variety available in the market, it's so hard to be a vegetarian in the Philippines. I would say that India doesn't have the same problems. India would be the country to be in if you want to be a vegetarian. Every restaurant has a vegetarian meal in their menu. And with the hundreds of choices available, you can guarantee to get all nutrients, like protein, needed by your body.
I got the vegetarian meal! I didn't know what I was eating then but it sure tasted good. After our India trip though, I can now confidently identify that the dish on the left is a Paneer (Cottage cheese) with Spinach (or any green leaf) pesto dish while the one on the right is made out of Green Lentils more commonly known as Daal in India. I heard that these are dishes that are commonly prepared in any Indian home. (I will be experimenting on making my own Paneer soon! (^o-)i )
INDIA TEASER
And I'll leave you with these pictures ...
The Taj Mahal in Agra and the Qutb Minar in Delhi. Both taken with an old photography trick of framing your subjects with other surrounding objects to highlight it. Enjoy!
It wasn't just my imagination right? You saw the CAMEL with the CARAVAN as well right?
Coming up next will be my post on what truly makes India incredible! Watch out for it!
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Thanks a lot!!! Love it
ReplyDeletebtw, bird nest (www.geocities.jp/hongkong_bird_nest/index_e.htm) is made up of about 58% soluable proteins...the highest amoung all food and even synetic protein powders
it greatly increase tissue regeneration
mmm, pesto (a concoction of basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese) seems more italian than indian to me. i thought that green thing was spinach chutney and paneer. :)
ReplyDelete@tes hahaha yeah, pesto does sound italian but i think its the preparation style as well (anything pounded I believe).
ReplyDeleteNot sure what it's called so I just called it a Pesto. ^^ hahaha
But you're probably right in calling it a chutney although I'm not sure what that is as well.
chutney's more sliced/chopped than pounded. :) learned home-cooked indian cuisine from my friends from haryana. i made the mistake of comparing chutney to pesto (i always try to point out what peoples have in common, to convey the message 'hey, we're one!) and was promptly 'educated'. 8)
ReplyDeletehahaha ^^ i'm happy for your friends. They've got conviction ;-)
ReplyDeleteSalivating over chutney and paneer already! Might as well try making one this weekend! Thanks tes ^^ Do you have a home-made recipe for Spinach chutney? share! hehehe
@Tes
ReplyDeletemy very reliable friend just PMed me to say that the dish is called Palak Paneer - A Spinach PASTE with Paneer ;-)
PMed or messaged is now a valid word by the way, thanks to social networks like Multiply and FB. ;-)hahaha
lucky you!!! achi judy baka you want to adopt me? hahahahah!
ReplyDeletehahaha ^^
ReplyDeleteHi Jen! I'll tell achi ^^