Shattered Dreams

Well, so much for all the hope and hype. So much for the anticipation. Instead of joy, we now have to deal with heartbreak and heartache and Shattered Dreams.

Do it for Cesc and Theo? Or Wenger? Fans? Meh.

That comedic defending was the pits

There’s nothing else to do but pick ourselves up again. We can’t even afford to feel sorry for ourselves (like Shava said after the Newcastle match). I don’t want to blame any single individual - because we win and lose as a team. Those who got picked last night were good enough to play and good enough to represent Arsenal and their respective country (heck, some even played against Barcelona less than a fortnight ago). So what went wrong? Now let’s analyse what went wrong and take action, let’s pick ourselves up again, cheer up, put our chins up and fight on.

I Still Believe

Training. Living On A Prayer

I had a good feeling about the match yesterday. Yes, I was nervous but I was also confident. Strange considering the aggregate result last season was a 6-3 tennis score. Persuaded by this, I thought it’d end 2-1 in Arsenal’s favour too.

This is Cesc’s programme notes before the game:

‘Barcelona are the best in the world right now, but I think they are also an example of how to be patient. When I was there as a youngster not that long ago, they didn’t win anything for five years. My friends Xavi and Puyol didn’t win anything until they were 26. Nothing. Not even a cup. They always remind me to be patient, it will come. They say, ‘You are only 23 and you have the World Cup, FA Cup. European Championships, Champions League final. So many things. Until 26 we had nothing, we didn’t even know what it was to be in a final’. That’s what they tell me and it’s funny because now they have won everything in football. That shows you how football can change so, so quickly and that patience is the key to everything.’

Matchday programme. Source: KeithTheGooner

I was so excited my body clock woke me up before 3 am. Finally, I got up at 3.55 and turned on the TV. Shortly after, David Villa scored. Dang you.

Finally, Arsenal’s fight back with a dozen minutes to go was rewarded. Those last dozen minutes really encapsulated the defiant and determined side of Arsenal and their desire with goals from RvP and Arshavin completing Arsenal’s recovery. It was a bold move by Wenger when he took a gamble by replacing Song with the Russian meerkat. This win has given Arsenal a second leg to stand on and guess what? We did it with Wenger’s brilliance and without ethical compromise.

Teams walk out
Red and white at The Emirates
Cesc and mate - who is suspended for the next match. Moc moc! Jajajajaja!!!
Sublime goal from our Flying Dutchman

GIF of Wenger and RvP here.

With eight minutes to go, the Russian Meerkat made it 2-1 ;')

AA23 celebrates. Yes, it’s a picture of him ‘shhh-ing’

Team celebrates

GIF of Szczesny here.

Emirates celebrate even before the whistle

Cesc is relieved at the whistle

And Xavi? Take note of Arsenal DNA.

Source: Gunnerblog

For more pictures at Emirates, go here.

ARSENAL-only one team in my heart
ARSENAL WAVE!!:„ ø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤KEEP THE WAVEGOING ¸„ø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤øº LET’S GO ARSENAL!¤¤º°¨¨°º¤øº¤ø „ ¸¸ø¤º°¨„ø¤º°¨ ¨°ºL-E-T-S GO!„ø¤º °¨ ¨°º¤LET' S GO...(tharr be more) ARSENAL!¸ „ ø¤º°¨¨°º¤øºL-E-T-S GO! ¤¤º°¨ ¨°¤øº¤ø„ ¸¸ø¤º°¨ARSENAL WAVE:„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤KEEP THE WAVE GOING ¸„ø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤øº ARSENAL!¤¤º °... ..Keep ......it going!
Arsenal 2 vs Barcelona 1

P.S. We’re not going to get carried away. Yes, Barcelona are more than capable of overturning a 2-1 deficit; after all, they only need a 1-0 win at Nou Camp. But we don’t care. We just want to savour this for a bit. And hey, like Arshavin, I Still Believe.

Maulidur Rasul Weekend

Saturday, 12 February 2011

An early morning start for me as I had an early morning flight. Reached KLIA at 7.35 am and immediately checked in. I was given seat 3E; the downside of this is that by the time we boarded, there was limited space in the overhead cabin. I just about managed to squeeze my bag in.

We landed at Changi about 50 minutes later and I took the MRT to our lodging at Clarke Quay. As I could not check in yet, I left my bag and walked to Orchard Road, stopping here and there to snap pictures.

I met up with an old schoolmate who’s currently in Singers doing her Master and we had lunch together before hitting the stores. I was a good, disciplined girl and didn’t spend at all, well, except for the protective cover and leather case for my iPad at Funan DigitaLife Mall. I had earlier seen some beautiful ones at Prada and lovely ones at Gucci as well but the one I got will do very nicely for now (and at S$50, a bargain considering my boss spent S$135 + S$35 for her leather case and protective cover respectively when she bought them in July).

I have only one cat in my iPad wallpaper album. The other pictures are that of Arsenal and Cesc ;)

It doesn’t come with a case or protective cover either!

We went up and down Orchard Road and then to Scotts Road. When we emerged from DFS Galleria, it was raining lightly so we went to Royal Plaza on Scotts and sat there instead waiting out the rain.

We returned back to Orchard Road and after weaving our way in and out of malls, we finally walked to 313 Somerset to have dinner. Then we took the MRT to Dhoby Ghaut where we waved goodbye and continued on to our respective destinations.

Delia arrived shortly after 9 pm; her flight out of KL was delayed for about 45 minutes.

Let me tell you something about our lodging. It has a mixed dormitory, a quad room, a triple room, a double room (which I booked since last September), a kitchen (but no stove) complete with microwave, toaster, beverages, bread and spread, washing machine, dryer, ironing board... And there’s the small lounge with the TV and sofas. There are two shower cubicles and two toilets so you may be showering with some random stranger at any time.

We had planned to go on a trip the next morning so we were asleep by midnight. Wait, I slept well after 1 am actually as I tried frantically to find a station that showed Arsenal-Wolves match (the hostel had no cable TV!). I wasn’t successful in finding any online stream so had to rely on Twitter and BBC live text (which lagged by 7 minutes!) to find out the score.

Sunday, 13 February 2011

We left at 9 this morning and took the MRT to HarbourFront. We bought Penguin ferry return ticket (as it was the first ferry out when we arrived) to Batam (it cost S$40 plus S$7 in Batam). The boat ride took an hour but the sea was a bit choppy. We spent some time at Batam Mall before taking a cab to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. Finally we had massage at a massage centre. We had enough time to take a cab back to the Ferry Terminal for our 1720 ferry ride back to Singapore. We even had time for some tea at the Ferry Terminal. The sea wasn’t as rough on the way back thankfully.

We walked at Central and spent some time at Clarke Quay before returning to the hostel.

Monday, 15 February 2011

We left at 9 again this morning and took the MRT to HarbourFront from where we boarded a RWS8 bus to Resort World Sentosa. We were visiting the Universal Studios Singapore today and had deliberately chosen to go there today (this was planned back in September). We had bought USS tickets online earlier in January.

I managed to persuade Delia to go on the Revenge of the Mummy ride (a roller coaster ride in the dark!) but after that I went on Enchanted Airways alone. I wasn’t sure if I was game to try Battlestar Galactica ride though (but I wasn’t too disappointed as I did manage to persuade Lin to try one similar nerve-wrecking ride when we visited Universal Studios Florida).

I managed to persuade Delia to go on this (notice anyone here?) We didn’t try this as we were not keen to get wet (!). (Notice anyone here?)

I’m not that brave but I always like to go on roller coasters and rides at theme parks

We spent the whole day at USS and left just before the park closed. We then went to check out the casino (the longer I watched them play, the less I know and the more confused I get). We also checked out the Hard Rock Hotel (not impressed) before trudging back to the bus stop for the bus back to HarbourFront/Vivo City.

And what happened at the Resort World Sentosa, stayed there

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

A lot more people checked in yesterday and there was considerable queue at the bathroom so I woke up at my usual time. Thought of having another lie-in but decided to get up and go for a morning walk instead. Left at 8 and was back by 10.20 am. I walked all the way from the hostel to Marina Bay Sands, detouring here and there along the way and walked all the way back to the hostel, taking a different route than the one I took when I set out. I packed a bottle of water, a map, my camera, hat and handphone and I must have not sealed the water bottle properly for it spilled water...on everything. My handphone was the most affected. I tried to resuscitate it a few times throughout the day and finally managed to switch it on later tonight, alhamdulillah.

I managed to defy the gravity theory yesterday morning

The flight out of Changi departed later than scheduled and we only landed at KLIA at 6.10 pm. I managed to get the 6.30 coach back to KL Sentral where I performed prayers before heading home.

Valentine’s Day

Yup, it’s coming soon

Note: I don’t celebrate non-Muslim celebrations like Valentine’s Day but seeing it’s an ‘instantly recognised’ date, this post will be on love. It’s a different kind of love though...

I saw this on FB and agree/like it whole-heartedly:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ FOR THE LOVE OF FOOTBALL ♥ ♥ ♥ FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME ♥ ♥ ♥ I’VE BEEN TESTED AND FOUND TO HAVE THE AFC VIRUS ♥ ♥ ♥ ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB ♥ ♥ ♥ NO CURE TO IT ♥ ♥ ♥ WILL NEVER BE CURED ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

So Cesc mi querido, (in the lingo of the day) -

P.S. It’s 11 Feb today and 111 days since you left, Mummy. I miss you like crazy ;'( Che la morte ti dia la pace che cercavi (May death provide the peace you sought). Che la morte non sia crudele (Death be not unkind). Requiescat in pace. Al-Fatihah.

Passage Through India: Part IV

Friday, 4 February 2011

We met our local guide, Gopal or Pal as he insisted on being called, this morning and drove to the walled area of the city. Now Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, is also called the Pink City in reference to its distinctly coloured buildings within the walled city which were originally painted this colour to imitate the red sandstone architecture of Mughal cities. The present earthy red colour originates from repainting of the buildings undertaken for a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1876. The buildings looked terracotta instead of pink to me.

We stopped for a brief while at Hawa Mahal (Wind Palace) for some Kodak moments before continuing on to Amber Fort about 11 km away. Pal told us there wasn’t much to see inside the five-storey building (built to enable women to watch festive processions without being observed).

We passed Jal Mahal (Water Palace) along the way to the Amber Fort, so named as it sits in the middle of an artificial lake. Amber Fort is located on a hill and is not named for the yellow fossilised tree resin; instead the fort is named after the town of Amber, in turn named after the Hindu goddess Amba. Unlike Srinagar and Agra, Jaipur was a Hindu city (towns with the suffix –pur had Hindu rulers). You can ride an elephant (for Rp900/person) or a jeep up to the fort or opt to walk up. I preferred to walk up and experience the fort this way and so opted for this (I arrived at the same time as my friends who opted for the jeep). Foreigners pay Rp200 to enter the fort. There are also walls along the surrounding hills not unlike the Great Wall of China.

The main sights within the fort include the Sheesh Mahal, adorned with thousands on thousands of mirror tiles on the walls and ceiling. There are also Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience), Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Sukh Niwas (Hall of Pleasure) and Ladies Apartment where the consorts lived. I just love old buildings and old ruins like this and was very happy to be there.

We had to leave at some point and so left at almost noon. I decided to exercise my legs and walked all the way down the fort and along the Maotha Lake to the carpark. I reached there just as the others alighted from their jeep (OK, I had a head-start).

We drove off to a factory shop selling Jaipur handicrafts (saree materials, scarves, jewellery etc etc) and spent 2.5 hours (yes, you read that right) there. The saree materials didn’t catch my fancy, instead I was drawn to the jewellery store (the best jewellery work in northern India can be found in Jaipur, among other cities). I spent considerable time there admiring the rubies (from India and Myanmar), sapphires (also from India and Myanmar) and finally bought a star sapphire ring (after much bargaining). I bought only one small item and yet it cost me a mighty lot. It looks a bit like the Star of Bombay but only a fraction in carat size of course!

After that, we went to a pottery showroom. Now, Jaipur is famous for its blue pottery. We spent about half an hour here and I left with three plates and some magnets. We headed back to the hotel for our late lunch and prayers.

We left at 3.15 pm and headed to Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (entrance ticket for foreigners costs Rp100). It is the largest of five astronomical observatories and is located very close to the City Palace. The observatory consists of major architectural and instrumental innovations and geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars in their orbits, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes etc. Our guide helped explain some of the devices (I must admit I didn’t quite follow his explanation). We could see the back façade of the Hawa Mahal from the observatory.

After that, we crossed over to the City Palace (foreigners pay Rp300 for ticket). It houses several palatial structures like the Chandra Mahal (or Moon Palace, home to the present Maharaja of Jaipur), Mubarak Mahal or Welcome Palace (previously a guesthouse for foreign dignitaries, now housing a textile museum), Diwan-i-Khas (or Hall of Private Audience housing the two largest silver vessels in the world which are duly mentioned in the Guinness book) and the Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience). There is also a bazaar in the complex but I was more interested in the cannons and old rickshaws.

We finally left the palace grounds and headed back to the hotel. We spent the evening packing and had dinner at 7.30 pm. There was some problem with the hotel lift and we had to use the stairs most times.

Saturday, 5 February 2011

We set off early today, departing Jaipur at 8.05 am for Delhi, another potentially five-hour journey to be endured. We drove through Rajasthan (and mind you, it’s the biggest state in India!) and passed villages, small towns, fields of yellow mustard flowers (they can grow higher than six feet!), and the occasional shepherds with their herds of cattle and gypsies. I was thinking that on this trip alone, I had seen numerous dogs, cows, buffaloes, goats, camels, horses, elephants, birds (including migratory ones from Siberia), pigs (yes, pigs. We saw a lot of them in Jaipur!) and only one cat (I also saw a mouse – or was it rat? I can never tell – in our boathouse room; it squeezed out under the door each time we saw each other).

We finally pulled into Delhi after 2 pm (the traffic was quite heavy seeing it was Saturday afternoon. The Government officers works half-day on Saturdays) and met up with our local guide. We drove past the Parliament, along Rajpath heading towards India Gate (we didn’t stop) and headed for Bahá'í House of Worship. My friends didn’t want to enter so I didn’t either. We left after taking some photos and drove to Qutub Minar, stopping en route at DLF Place Saket for lunch. I performed prayers in the nursery room after trying in futile to find a prayer room. I exited out the wrong door and had to walk around the mall trying to find our vehicle.

We then drove to Qutub Minar but didn’t enter; we just snapped pictures from outside the complex. Built in the early 13th century, Qutub Minar and its monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 72.5-metre high minaret was the tallest skyscraper in the world when built and I was a bit gutted that we weren’t going to explore the grounds.

We were then taken to the nearby Rajasthan Textile Development Corporation, a bazaar selling Rajasthan handicrafts. We were knackered and no longer interested in souvenirs at this point, hey after all, we had spent considerable time in that store in Jaipur just the day before anyway. We left after fifteen minutes.

Our guide then got down at a metro station and our driver drove us to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 6 pm, just as it was getting dark (and our flight was at 11 pm!). I was down to my last few hundred rupees (enough to buy myself dinner) but found the books irresistible and finally bought one novel using my plastic (books there are seriously cheap!!). After dinner, I went to a pub and watched the Newcastle-Arsenal match (and the stupid meltdown. 4-4 WTF?!).

That put me in such a foul mood that I couldn’t sleep all the way through the flight (well, I always have problem sleeping in flights anyway). Damn you, Arsenal. Damn you, Phil Dowd. And damn you to hell, Jackass Bastard, the living breathing scum of the earth. Grrr...!!! Thank God the pretend invincibles lost to the hungry Wolves.

I’m sleepy... *stifles yawn* (Thanks, RvP)

Sunday, 6 February 2011

We landed at 6.40 am, about half an hour ahead of schedule. I performed prayers at the satellite building and by the time I reached the main terminal, got through autogate and reached the carousel, my bag came out. I took the coach back to KL and an Indian New Zealander sat next to me and we chatted throughout the journey. Abah picked me up at Ampang Park LRT station and after cleaning the kitchen (what a mess!), I unpacked. It took me less than ten minutes to unpack – what can I say, I’m a fast un-packer ;)

So that was my CNY trip, how was your break?

Passage Through India: Part III

Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Groundhog Day

We had a considerably late breakfast today at 9.30 am. Left at 11 am for the airport; our flight was at 2.40 pm but Halil told us that we must leave early for the airport and the reason for this became apparent as we neared the airport. It was a crawl to get into the airport compound and we had to get down and bring down all our bags and had them scanned. We also had to undergo a security check. Then we got back into the vehicle (with our bags) and drove to the entrance where we got down. Halil bade us farewell and we thanked him for his time with us.

Another chap helped us at the terminal but we had to wait at least a good quarter of an hour (more I think) before we could enter the terminal. We made our way to the Spice Jet counter (still closed) and waited to check our bags in. In the meantime, we filled up forms (similar to the one we filled up when we arrived) and these forms must be handed over and checked before we could proceed.

Once we got through the security check (yet again), we had to through a door and identify our bags. Bags which are left unidentified by passengers would not be loaded onto the plane. Yes, such a convoluted process that everyone had to go through.

There wasn’t much to do at the airport, just one jewellery store, one pharmacy and a small café. We saw a lot of men in military uniform (they soon boarded Air India to some domestic destination). We performed solat at the prayer area (in the open. There wasn’t any barrier at all) then sat down and waited.

Our flight out was slightly delayed so it was almost 4.30 pm when we landed at Indira Gandhi Airport. After changing money and buying some food, we set off for our 5-hour trip to Agra at exactly 5.30 pm (I happened to glance at my watch then). Delhi must be huge because we were still in Delhi forty minutes later! Our driver, Jenthi (pronounce as Jothi), like any other Indian drivers, was fond of using the horn. Before long, I had a minor headache from the noise.

We reached Agra well after 10 pm and immediately checked in. The room wasn’t much to shout about and the only thing the hotel could boast of was its revolving restaurant and foreign clientele (but then again, it’s Agra so you’d expect a lot of tourists there anyway).

Thursday, 3 February 2011
Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

We left for Taj Mahal this morning. First, we went to Shilpgram to purchase our tickets (foreigners have to pay Rp750; foot covers and a bottle of mineral water were provided together with our ticket) before boarding the shuttle to the East Gate of Taj Mahal. There were a lot of vendors all waiting to harass you into buying their goods and our local guide had advised us to just ignore them as they sold fake products. We had to go through a tight security check before we could enter and of course the queue for female was longer because the guards had to check each and every bag. We finally entered after close to half an hour.

We walked to the Great Gate and immediately were struck with the awesome view of the mausoleum. There is a raised marble water tank at the centre of the garden with four benches surrounding it and a reflecting pool that extends to the tomb. The tomb is of course the central focus of the complex and the main chamber houses the tombs of Shah Jahan and his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. There are four minarets, one at each corner of the tomb, and we were told that the minarets are all leaning due to an earlier earthquake. There are also two similar buildings flanking the tomb, the mosque on the left and the guesthouse on the right as you approach the tomb. There are also other mausoleums for Shah Jahan’s other wives but we didn’t visit those. We spent considerable time at the complex.

After that, we went to a marble showroom. Beautiful marble products (plates, containers, even desk tops) with inlay of precious and semi-precious stones are sold there and are priced according to the amount of semi-precious stones and inlays. So a small piece of plate may cost more than a bigger piece if it contains more stones and more elaborate inlays. We were suitably impressed but left empty-handed (I had bought one marble plate on my first trip).

Our next stop was the 16th century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra or better known as Agra Fort. Foreigners pay Rp300 while the locals pay only a fraction of that for the ticket. The fort is built alongside the Yamuna River and stretches almost 2.5 km. It consists of a wall built in red sandstone and several buildings inside including Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan, who built the Taj, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort where he had a view on the building erected for his deceased wife. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Fort. We could only visit 30% of the Fort though.

We returned to the hotel for lunch and prayers and left at 3 pm for Jaipur, stopping en route at Fatehpur Sikri, also another UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 37 km away from Agra. This city was built in the 16th century by Emperor Akbar and was the capital of the Mughal Empire for about a decade before it was abandoned. We were met by a local guide and took the shuttle to the complex. Entrance costs Rp260 for foreigners. As the complex includes a mosque, we had to take off our shoes before entering the compound. We went to mighty Buland Dharwaza (Great Gate) at the southern side before exploring other parts of the complex; this gate forms a grand entrance/ exit into the city. There is a marble tomb for the saint Shaikh Salim Chishti in the courtyard. I entered it and was surprised to see people praying and touching the tomb; there were also people tying strings at one wall and from another wall, there was some smoke being fanned inside. I left quickly and rejoined the others. The late afternoon sun enhanced the red sandstone of the fort.

We left after a while, took an auto rickshaw back to the carpark, bade farewell to our guide and drove on to Jaipur. Another long journey and we reached Jaipur at 9 pm. We would stay in Jaipur for the next two nights.

To be continued

Passage Through India: Part II

Monday, 31 January 2011

Meadow of Flowers

Somehow we survived the night without frost bites or being frozen to death. And somehow we managed to sleep despite the overwhelming winter cold.

We decided to go to Gulmarg (gul means flower and marg means meadow) today instead of the next day as scheduled. Gulmarg is located 56 km away and is 2,730 m above sea level. The journey took close to two hours as the road conditions were not ideal. Along the way, we passed small villages and farms. There were always men in the village shops and along the road, either gazing blankly at the ground or staring vacantly into space. Most of them wore phiran, a type of Kashmiri poncho.

We stopped at the base of Gulmarg and got down to rent boots (I also rented a fur coat. Boots cost Rp100 while fur coat cost Rp50) before driving up the winding road. We stopped at a restaurant to have lunch and performed prayers first before walking to the gondola (cable car) about one km away and took the gondola up to Kongdori (altitude 3050m). We stopped there for close to an hour. For Rp350, you can get a ski instructor to teach you how to ski and spend time skiing on your own. I wasn’t inclined and was content to just sit and watch. Despite the altitude, it was not much colder as there was no wind and the sun was more intense up there. That explains why people get tanned on ski trips. Also you ought to protect your eyes with sunglasses; the glare from the snow can be blinding and harmful to your eyes.

From Kongdori, you can also enjoy a view of the Himalayas in the far distance (if the day is clear). It seemed almost surreal to view the magnificent peaks.

We took the gondola back down and went back to the parking space near the restaurant where we had lunch. You can rent a sledge and have someone pull you but I was happy to exercise my legs.

We made our journey down to the base, returned the boots and fur coat, drove back to Srinagar and spent the rest of the evening indoors.

Be careful so this doesn’t happen to you!

Well, I didn’t use much of makeup there anyway but you do need to moisturise and drink a lot to keep yourself hydrated as it’s very dry there

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

Somehow I found the previous night not as cold as the night before and remarked so to my mate. I don’t think she agreed with me though.

After breakfast, we left at 10 am and went to the Mughal Heritage Gardens Nishat and Shalimar. Such a pity that it was wintertime as otherwise we could have enjoyed blooming flowers in the gardens. After the gardens, we went to Sara Cottage Industries, a kind of factory shop that specialises in carpets. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets, thank you, although of course Kashmiri carpets are lovely and finely woven. We spent considerable time there and left at 1. Back to the houseboat for prayers and lunch.

We left at 2.45 pm and drove to the Old City. We visited the Jamia Masjid (the largest and one of the oldest in Kashmir), a large building supported by 370 wooden pillars around a courtyard. Then we walked along the city bazaar. I found the Kashmiri architecture interesting and snapped a lot of photos of buildings in the Old City. We also visited Badshah Tomb, a tomb built for the mother of Zain Ul-Abidin who was also the wife of Sultan Sikandar. Our last stop was Masjid Syed Shah Hamdan Sahib (or shrine of Shah-e-Hamdan?).

We returned back but before riding the Shikara back to the boathouse, we walked around the Boulevard Road to find some souvenir shops. Dinner was had at the boathouse and we retired to our rooms after dinner. I stayed up finishing a novel I picked up at the boathouse.

To be continued

Passage Through India: Part I

Saturday, 29 January 2011

12/24 Karol Bagh

An early start to the day. Did the usual household chores then went to visit Mummy. I felt somewhat sad when I left her and continued feeling sad throughout the day. I notice that I always miss her most during trips. Started packing only when I reached home.

Abah sent me to Ampang Park LRT station after 12. I had forgotten how bad Saturday traffic is and we were caught up in the mad jam. I did manage to get the train and coach to KLIA on time thankfully.

The duty-free shops didn’t catch my fancy and after some light snack, I made my way to the boarding gate. Now, this trip was planned back in June last year and since then, we’d been receiving emails notifying the change of departure time from 1930 to 1640. However, despite boarding by 1615 and notices saying that gates would be closed 10 minutes before departure, we took off late because we were waiting for some passengers (who didn’t turn up in the end).

The flight was bumpy at times and I had a noisy seatmate (he kept singing out loud at times and waking me up) but other than that, it was an uneventful flight.

We landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport at close to 8 pm (India is GMT+05:30, i.e., 2.5 hours behind KL). It was past 9 when we finally emerged and searched for our guide. A light fog and a chill were hovering over Delhi but not too cold. The ride to our hotel took about half an hour and check-in was a breeze (we were initially given another hotel but I requested a change after reading the awful reviews on Trip Advisor). I guess we were exhausted because we slept easily that night, well at least I did.

Sunday, 30 January 2011

Woke up after 6 am, showered and performed prayers. Went down for breakfast after 7. The driver came after 8 and took us around Delhi. We passed the Hanuman Mandir (Temple of the Monkey God), Connaught Place (colonial buildings turned to bazaars and offices), Cur Market, some old city gates before arriving at Jama Masjid. This is the largest mosque in India and one of attractions of Delhi. Entry is free but you must pay Rp200 for your camera. You must also take off your shoes before entering the compound (apparently you’re supposed to tip the shoe minder when you go to collect your shoes but we didn’t know this. No wonder he was gesturing at us but we ignored him). Ladies will also be given a robe to tie around themselves. Unlike most mosques, there are no prayer halls except for the long corridor that encircled the compound/court area. We were told that the large court area could accommodate up to 20,000 people. I can’t imagine how they perform prayers with bird droppings on the ground because I don’t think they spread out carpets or prayer mats during prayer times (it would takes miles of carpet to cover the area!). As it was, I was walking gingerly around to avoid the bird poo.

You can also see the Red Fort in the distance from the mosque; we were told that the Fort was closed for a month due to the Republic Day celebrations on 26 January. What a shame as I was looking forward to exploring the Fort.

We left after 30 minutes and went to India Gate passing among others Rajgath, Major Dhyanchand Hockey Stadium and Art Gallery. India Gate is a monument built as a memorial for the Indian soldiers who died in WWI. After that, we drove to the nearby parliament, President Palace and government office buildings.

Our last stop was Padma Arts & Crafts Bazaar located below Safdarjung Flyover. The store gave a good indication of the handicrafts that a visitor can expect to find in India. There were fine furniture, marble products and carvings, silk shawls and jewellery, all arranged beautifully and priced accordingly.

We left empty-handed though and went to the domestic terminal for our flight to our next destination.

The airport was modern and had the usual airport stores. I noticed that books in general cost a lot less in India and couldn’t resist buying one. The airport provides free WiFi but I was told I needed an Indian SIM card to use my iPad (what the ??).

Our flight departed on time and 75 minutes later, we landed at Srinagar Airport. It is a military airport and we were informed that we were not allowed to take any photos in the airport. There was heavy military presence everywhere and foreigners have to fill up a form stating the usual (where you’re staying, purpose of visit, country of origin, passport details etc). We then met up with our guide and he brought us to our vehicle. He introduced himself as Hilal and we set off for the ride into the city. Oh and by the way, we didn’t get any network coverage in Kashmir... I had to rely on BBC News to find out about Arsenal’s FA Cup and EPL scores - and the jaw-dropping transfers of Torres and Carroll (what? Why? If Torres is worth that much, how much is Cesc worth then? Barcelona, take note).

Now, Srinagar is the hub and heart of Kashmir with two major lakes, Dal and Nagin. Our accommodation for the next three nights was in a boathouse at Dal Lake. As Srinagar is located north of India (quite near the border of Pakistan), surrounded by mountains and is 1530 metres above sea level, it was unsurprisingly cold when we were there. Snow on the fields and roadside and the weak winter sun made it seem even colder.

Our room in Shangloo Palace boathouse was very large and there was a gas heater (switched on at certain times of the day for a few hours only - apparently you can die from asphyxiation if the heater is left on for a prolonged time). The living room was similar lovely and cosy with a ‘stove’ to burn wood that helped keep the living room warm. The wealth of Kashmiri art was evident throughout the boathouse from the curtains, sofa covers, bed linen, papier mâché vases, bowls and coasters, and wood carvings.

We had lunch and performed prayers before going on a Shikara boat ride around the lake. It was a fantastic experience; the mountains provided a beautiful backdrop and were mirrored in the water (it would have been a lot better in summer with the lotus flowers in the lake. Oh well...). We passed other boathouses (we were told there are 800 boathouses on the lake) and even went beyond the boathouse area. We also saw some planting plots in the lake - of course it being winter, there wasn't much planting going on. Our only stop was at a papier mâché factory shop and after a brief demo, we were brought to the shop. After that, we returned back to the boathouse for dinner.

I have a high tolerance to cold temperatures but it was freezing cold tonight. I swear the temperature hovered around 0C if not below freezing point. It didn’t help at all that the gas heater was switched off at 9.30 pm and the electric blanket didn’t seem to work (at least not on my side of bed - unless we both gravitate to the centre of the bed where the electric blanket was at its ‘warmest’). We slept under at least three layers of warm heavy blankets and yet I still felt cold, as if death brushed itself against my face.

To be continued

So, did you miss me?