Coffee And Karma

Bangalore August 2015 Bangalore was always on my wishlist, but I never had a chance to visit this place. The moment I got a wedding invitation, I knew I had to go :) The city has a charm with a laid back lifestyle and delicious food. I had the BEST rava idlis in my life here from a street shop (which I can't recall the name now :/). The nariyal chutney they make is something to die for. Although most of my days were spent in a hotel attending a wedding, the best part of the trip was the last day which I intentionally extended for exploring the city. One of the biggest achievement of the day was my trip to Art of Living International Center. I'm not an ardent follower, but the thoughts & beliefs preached by this organization aim at helping you finding inner peace and happiness. Beyond that, I stay away from accepting it as a religion as it destroys the core belief of not binding yourself to a religion, caste, gender or nationality. The trip to the Ashram was a...

After a very long gap, it was time to visit US on a solo trip. It was a 3 weeks trip with 2 weeks in California. The time flew in a blink, but when I look back today, I do have loads of memories to cherish. The long US flight I managed premium economy of Delta/KLM co-share and the long hours of the flight wasn't bad. I also manged to see Amsterdam (airport at least ;)) :) This is how Canada looked from flight  :) San Francisco Food Tour (May 14, 2015 ) This was one memorable tour that I did with my team as an offsite activity. Also, this was only time I had to see SF Google office and the city (once again). We did a food tour with Foodie Adventures . The guy (Chris) was amazing and took us through various food joints which I relished to the core. It was all about trying the best truffles at XoX truffles and hearing the owner's story about how he started this business, to eating at Z&Y restaurant (I cannot forget the taste of peanut flavor of tan-tan noodl...

Portland May 2015 There are places that are never on your wishlist, but just because there is a friend who connects with a part of your life, those places that manage to pull you :) Before Portland, I always saw a busy side of US like New York and California. Portland offered a different laidback city life of US where you can view mountains & greenery from any point. The weather is sometimes damp and makes you want to sleep more & relax. However, me and a group of 3 frends decided to be on the road with a touristy checklist in our hands to cover some of the famous & breath-taking spots in a span of 2.5 days. The views were spectacular and the beaches were pristine. We covered multiple spots like Multonamah Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Lost Lake, Cannon Beach and Astoria Bridge (which connects Washington & Oregon). Overall, the trip was all about visiting my friend's home, and doing a REALLY long road trip (something I always try to run away from in Indian road...

Problems are there in life, but you are bigger than problems. Remember you have enough to survive and you'll always be protected. Phuket, Thailand

If your body is in present, and your mind is in past, it's like driving a car while looking back. You know where you have been but you don't know where you are going and of course, there are chances of bumping into something as well.  Dun Laoghaire, Dublin

When your body argues that there is no justifiable reason to continue... your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic. :) --- "Come on, your medal is waiting..". I could hear some teenagers cheering me up, and I could see the finish line close to the the green ambulance. Beyond that, every detail was hazy.  In spite of my legs wanting me to just stop,  I continued running till I actually realized that I made it. The feeling cannot be described into words. :)  Running pumps adrenaline and endorphins into the blood. When you run with all you have, it feels you're leaving every fear, tension & pain behind with every new step you take. And somehow, your body musters up courage to continue.  ----

This picture amuses so much cos I can actually see myself fitting into that girl in white t-shirt who is figuring out the nuances of aerobics, and is totally out of sync. Early thoughts: Trying to exactly mirror someone's steps (when you're constantly wondering why left first and not right) is a fun experience. Brining the left foot, hand, legs, fingers etc in action. Repeating the same steps on left side which you just did on right, makes you feel this part of the body is not controlled by mind.  Watching yourself dance in the mirror is an awesome feeling :D   Remembering the choreography part sucks!