I can see now!

I got my first pair of glasses yesterday!! When I tried them on for Prasad, he politely said that I looked very different. Glasses have never suited me, over the years, I have tried on many pairs for fun but I could never find a pair that suited me. I need them primarily for reading at night or  if I have to read small print. I chose an inexpensive set of frames since I'll hardly be using them but Prasad firmly told me that I need to exchange them for a better pair since I looked too old in the pair I chose. They had a set of deep purple Prada frames which I loved but they were a bit big on my face so I hesitated. Now I have to go back and exchange them for another pair, ugh!!!

By the way, Millennium Optiks in Koramangala near Jyoti Nivas College is the place I went to for my glasses. It has been around for 13+ years and it is smallish store but they  provide personalized care and have a large selection of frames. My mother has tried a few stores  in Bangalore and swears by this one.  And get this, while I was waiting for the glasses to be made, his helper ran out to grab a sandwich and freshly squeezed fruit drink for me, isn't that great service!

Chick flicks and books

It's 1AM in the morning, and I'm completely enthralled by one of  Cecilia Ahern's books and paying a huge price for the lack of sleep the next day. All that for a romance novel, I have a hard time selecting books and I recognized her as the author of  "The Notebook", so thought her books would be an interesting read.  The book was entertaining but at the end of the day, it's a romance novel. I'm no longer 15, hiding romance novels under my bed and reading them into the wee hours of the night.

I had 2 minutes to pick up a book at the library. Someone returned "He's Just Not That Into You" and it was sitting there for me to pick up so I did. I enjoyed the movie. The book on the other hand is a "self-help" book on how to find a man and it strongly encourages you to never chase a man and if he likes you, he'll pursue you and if isn't pursuing you, "He's just not that into you" and you should move on. What an awful book, I can't believe he could write an entire book on that single premise.

I saw "Just Go With It" a few nights ago and I so enjoyed it! There were some over the top hilarious but silly scenes, I could not stop laughing. Adam Sandler either annoys me or entertains me, I liked him in this movie.  Jennifer Aniston acts the same way in every movie but she's not annoying and her comedic timing is pretty decent. The most  interesting bit  is the movie is the Hollywood version of  "Maine Pyar Kyu Kiya", since when did Hollywood start stealing from Bollywood!?!

The next night, I saw, "No Strings Attached". It's not as funny as "Just Go With It" but  Ashton Kutcher is always his charming self and fun to watch. I don't know how the movie did in the box office but it's one of those movies you could watch once.

More reviews coming later.

Why am I being tested?

Prasad is out of town. There was a massive wasp  flying around the house. The kids were petrified.  The wasp settled on the drapes. I grabbed the mosquito bat and stood there for 5 minutes, paralyzed. The kids strongly encouraged me  to make a move already and finally,  I zapped it. I felt bad, what a way to go. Now it's midnight, I get up to go to bed and I see this massive bug on the floor.  It's just laying there. It's big, bad and ugly. I don't think it's a cockroach but it's some scary looking beetle. I look for a tennis ball bottle or something I could use to cover it and let the maid deal with it in the morning but I can't find  anything. So I grab Prasad's slipper and slam it hard over the bug and leave  it there. I hope it's dead and doesn't crawl from under the slipper.  I couldn't use my chappal, I need to wear it tomorrow.

Cricket Shots

I spent a lot of time behind the camera in Coorg. It had been a long time since I took any pictures. Since Rushil was not well the week before and was cooped up at home, he was itching to get out and play cricket.

Expressions

I took numerous pictures of Sindhu playing badminton in Coorg. More than the badminton shots, I captured many different expressions.

Finally - Coorg

Three years ago, our real estate agent raved about Coorg and said we should definitely make a trip there. But we could never fit it in. Prasad made an executive decision to go this past weekend.

We stayed in the Virajpet area of Coorg which is less populated and more serene than the Madikeri area. However at times it was too quiet, we were the only guests at the resort. The staff claimed there were cancellations but I wonder, anyway, I guess it doesn't matter.  Magnolia resorts recommended by a friend is a guest house situated on an 85 acre coffee plantation. In addition to the coffee plants, they had innumerable fruit trees, exotic  flowers, pepper trees and other greenery.  The  plantation style cottages were spacious with high ceilings and decorated tastefully with antiques. The furniture in the cottages, reception and dining area were carefully selected. Antique pillars were integrated seamlessly into the architecture. They had a 4 bedroom villa  exceptionally well decorated meant for large families, I wish they were open when our family was visiting, it would have been the perfect place to have a gathering.  They served North Indian, Coorgi and continental food,  everything was delicious. We especially enjoyed the Coorg style sambar, vegetable stew, and puttu.  The staff was hospitable and friendly.  Rushil was especially pleased because they played cricket with him on a number of occasions. He missed playing so much when he was cooped up at home earlier in the week.  What we didn't like the most were the insects. Surrounded by heavy greenery, all kinds of bizarre bugs crept out of the woodwork at night. Sindhu was especially spooked but I was not far behind. Apparently when it rains, thousands of leeches come out making it difficult to walk on their grounds, I prayed it wouldn't rain during our stay, we did however see one on our toilet the day we arrived.  Fortunately, since there is no standing water, there were hardly any mosquitoes unlike our apartment in Bangalore which is infested with them. They had an activity center with an outdoor badminton court, indoor ping pong table, carrom board, board games and a decent selection of books for children and adults.  Prasad recommended they add a swimming pool (it was hot during the day), a spa and  more guests and it would be perfect.

View from our guesthouse

Cottage

From the guava family  - a bit more sour than the regular sized guavas

Sindhu's favourite spot at the resort

Avocados !! (AKA butter fruit) 

Pepper corns 

Jackfruit

Chickoo

Totapuris

Bright orange flowers on a gulmahar tree

Prasad Jogging

Plantation workers in the morning on their way to work

We were all meant to take a jungle trek on our first day. I thought it would  be a light walk through the plantation but when the guide told me the plan was to trek up to the top of the hill, I bowed out and didn't think it was a good idea for Rushil to go either. Sindhu probably would have enjoyed it but her running shoes were in the car and we couldn't find Vijay, our driver due to poor cell phone coverage.  Prasad went alone with the guide and he said it was quite an intense trek.. The next day we drove to the Dubare camp to feed the elephants and go white water rafting.  To Sindhu's disappointment, there wasn't enough water for rapids so it was more like boating. It was still fun though. We were too late to feed the elephants but we saw some wild and captive elephants on our drive back. I always get very excited when I see elephants, not sure why but I was ready to jump out of the car to take a picture but no one let me.   Later that day, we went to the Golden Temple, a Tibetan monastery where I had the opportunity to yet again  chase the  monks.

At the monastery

Two young monks playing

Monks during prayer time

Can anyone guess what type of bird this is?

The women in Coorg wrap their saris differently, no pleats and the pallu is horizontal in the front, comes over the shoulder and is pinned in the front. Most of the plantation workers were women and they additionally wrapped potato sacks over their saris to keep them from getting dirty.

On our drive back to Bangalore, we were surprised to see a McDonalds and a KFC under construction. The kids were thrilled! Usually the food selection is limited on the road but there was also a clean Indian restaurant next to McD.  If only the bathroom were clean and not smelly :-(

Coorg is checked off the list.