Happy (much belated) Holi!

I just realized that I never posted anything about our Holi celebrations this year. This was the fourth year that I've been in India for the festival, but the first one that I've actually done anything to celebrate. Either work, a visit to the US or simple laziness got in the way.

So this year we decided that we'd participate in the festivities. Our first stop was a family-friendly party at the Defence Colony (where we live) Club. We were joined there by most of the neighbor and people of all ages enjoyed the food, the music and, of course, the colors!


Those festivities wrapped up around 2pm and we made our way to the party of a local socialite who hosts an annual Holi bash that is widely covered on Page 3. It was definitely an awesome party and now I understand why Ani tried to convince he to go every year. There was amazing food (veg only), free-flowing drinks (until they ran out), great music and a rain tent.

I've included a few more photos from the day below and you'll notice how we got messier and messier as the day progressed.



And on a completely unrelated note, the was what the sky looked light when we walked out of the first party. Amazing...

A brief visit Down Under

Let me start by saying that I flew Business Class to Sydney (thanks Accenture!) and the HKG - SYD leg was amazing. The seats had individual walls to give you a lot of privacy and they fully reclined to 180 degrees. Here's a photo to make you jealous.

I arrived in Sydney a day before my training class, so I was able to catch up on some sleep and catch up with Yomi, and old friend and colleague. Actually, Yomi was once my boss when I was still an Analyst many years ago. We've been on parallel paths for the past few years - we both went to foreign countries for a project and ended up falling in love, getting married and transferring offices. Only she's in Sydney and I'm in Delhi. Lucky her.

Sydney welcomed me with a lot of rain, which put a damper on my planned afternoon of sightseeing. But Yomi and her husband, Dave, were rock stars and drove me around past many of the major sites, with stops at the Botanic Gardens and the infamous Bondi Beach. In the evening, we watched a movie at the open air cinema in the gardens and fortunately for us, the rain held off for *most* of the show.

If you look through the clouds and rain, you will see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

Me and Yomi at Bondi Beach. She swears that it is never this empty.

On my second night, I had the chance to taste an Australian favorite: kangaroo. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not order the kangaroo. Instead I went for mussels in a Thai curry sauce - something I love and cannot get in India. But I did have a couple of bites of Dave's kangaroo dish so I could say that I tried it. Verdict: It tasted a lot like beef, but more gamy.

On the last day of class, we finished early and I had the afternoon to myself. Well, sort of. I was free from lunchtime until 4:30pm when I had to facilitate a call with my team back in India. To make the most of my time, I hopped on the Sydney Hop-On Hop-Off bus, but never hopped off. I did the full two hour circuit around Sydney so I could take in the sights and figures out where I wanted to spend my limited time the following day. The only negative point was that I was watching the time for the last hour, crossing my fingers that I would make it make to the hotel in time to run to my room and start the calls. Here are a few photos from my tour, all taken from the inside of the bus!

On my last day in Sydney, I first headed to Paddy's Market to pick up lots of Sydney souvenirs. From there, I walked through Chinatown and over to the Chinese Gardens, which were lovely.

Eventually, I made my way around Darling Harbour and back to the hotel/Accenture office. After a quick fresh-up (it was 100 degrees that day!), I headed back out and to the Sydney Opera House. I decided to take the Essentials Tour, which lasted an hour and lets you view the main theaters, as well as several smaller theaters located below. It also offers amazing views of North Sydney across the harbour.

And what's the best way to relax after all of this sightseeing? Happy Hour at the Opera Bar with Yomi and Dave. Later on we headed over to Wolfie's in the Rocks with a few of their friends, so I could get in my last bite of beef for awhile. Dinner was absolutely wonderful and was capped off with a massive downpour that left us sitting under a harbour-side canopy getting wet.

And so, I leave you with this lovely (but slightly blurry) nighttime shot of the Opera House...until next time.

Bali - Part 2: Ubud and Central Bali

We spent the second half of our time in Bali in Ubud, which is the art and cultural heart of the island. It's also physically located right in the middle of Bali. On the drive to Ubud, we stopped in numerous "villages" to check out the local wares for which they are famous. This included Mas for wood cravings, Celuk for silver, and another whose name I forget for Balinese paintings. First, I must admit that these were not quite the villages I imagined from India, but more like small towns with lots of shops along the main road. Many of the ones we stopped in targeted tourists and I didn't get the feeling they were very "authentic."

But that didn't stop us from shopping. We bought a lot of silver jewelry (for me) and some artwork that we have yet to frame and hang on the walls. People say that prices are really inflated and you should bargain hard. But we they said this, I bet they didn't imagine running into Ani, king of bargaining. Ani is obviously no stranger to bargaining and after each of our purchases, Ani left with a smile and the retailers appeared exhausted.

After our successful purchases, we finally located our small hotel, which was on the outskirts of town. It took a few phone calls and several stops to ask for directions, but we eventually made it to Amori Villa. One of the latest trends in Bali is that foreigners buy houses and convert them into bed and breakfasts. This results in places that can really cater to the tastes and needs of tourist, but it also means that less businesses are locally owned. Fortunately, all businesses must have a local partner, so there's some aspect of sharing in the success.

One regret was that we had a packed schedule and didn't have as much time as we would have liked to enjoy the peacefulness of the surroundings at Amori Villa. Nonetheless, we did enjoy the time we had there among the limited five bedrooms.

One of the highlights of the entire trip was my birthday dinner at Mozaic in Ubud. Thanks to my meticulous planning, I made a reservation two months in advance. And fortunately for us, Mozaic lived up to the hype and we were amazed with an incredible 7-course meal. I must confess that I don't remember everything we dined on, but I remember that the pork belly dish (no surprise there if you know my love of bacon) was my favorite among many tasty dishes. The staff was amazing. The service was impeccable, and they even offered to tweak the set menu around my food allergies. The final result was wonderful. If we'd had more time in Ubud, we probably would have gone back for another visit, and I highly recommend that future Bali travels spend the time and money dining at this restaurant which is the only one in Indonesia to be named one of Les Grandes Tables du Monde.

The following day we ventured out on a half-day bicycle tour around Ubud with Banyan Tree Cycling Tours. We were picked up from our hotel around 7am and whisked up Mt. Kintamini. After about an hour (during which we managed to get in some extra rest), we picked out our bicycled and headed off - fortunately downhill. The bike tour proved to be a great way to see the countryside. As we pedaled along, we stopped in a village home, a village temple and walked through rice fields.

If you think those are ominous clouds in the background, you are right. We soon found ourselves in a middle of a torrential downpour. During the last hour of the tour, we ended up pedaling through lots of mud on our way to the final destination - lunch.

The next day I rallied to take a cooking class at the Ubud institution, Cafe Wayan. The classes are actually held at their sister restaurant, Laka Leke. After arriving a bit late (I live in India afterall), I met my fellow classmates and jumped into preparing several favorite Balinese dishes. We tackled the staple, nasi goreng, as well as Balinese chicken salad, Balinese prawns, chicken curry, and two desserts, black pudding and banana caramel.

I can happily report that the lesson didn't go to waste. The chicken curry has become a regular on our dining room and I've also made nasi goreng and the banana caramel a few times.

Photos of the food: Clockwise from top right: Chicken Curry, Banana Carmel, Balinese Prawns, Nasi Goreng

New Year's Eve was our last night in Bali and we celebrated at Indus, another Ubud institution. The owner of Indus is Janet De Neefe, author of Fragrant Rice and an Australian who has made Bali her home. A note for future Bali travelers: Janet De Neefe also offers cooking classes and market tours, but I read before the trip and heard from others while in Ubud that her classes are less hands on than the one I took with Cafe Wayan.

In any case, here's a photo of us ringing in 2010 at Indus...

...And saying goodbye to Bali (Until our next trip)!

Bali - Part One: Nusa Dua and Southern Bali

I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Bali nearly two months ago...

After spending Christmas in Singapore, we headed off for Bali on December 26th. The flight was easy, less than 3 hours and not enough time to finish watching the movie "Up." I'd read some horror stories about the lines for the Visa-on-Arrival, but we didn't have any problems and were headed to the hotel within minutes.

For the first half of our visit, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua, which is essentially an enclave of 5-star hotels and resorts. The Grand Hyatt at a lovely beach and pool, which we didn't get to use enough, as well as numerous restaurants, a spa and cultural activities. Here are a few photos of the hotel's environs:

While staying on this part of the island, we spent most of our time visiting temples during the day and enjoying amazing restaurants in the evening. On our first full day, we spent several hours at Waterbom water park and made our way to Tanah Lot for sunset. Our driver tried to convince us that we would be too late for sunset, but we told him to go any way. Good thing we did. We joined the evening crowds and enjoyed an amazing sunset over the water.

That night we had a wonderful dinner at Chandi in Seminyak followed by drinks at the ever-popular Ku De Ta.

We spent most of the next day hanging out at the hotel and grabbed lunch at Bali Collection, the shopping center across the street. In the late afternoon, we made our way to Uluwatu for the Kecak and Fire Dance.

We finished off the day with dinner in Jimbaran Bay where the numerous beachside restaurants allow you to select your fresh catch for dinner. This setup seems to be a big hit with most tourists, but to us, it was exactly like dinner on the beach in Goa, but only more expensive.

Back at the hotel, Ani surprised me with midnight birthday dessert and champagne. What a great way to start year #32!