Preparation for 2 night holiday with 2 year old

 Options

Goa:

Srivardhan:

give me this in a way to publish in a blog

Here’s a ready-to-publish blog post featuring a family-friendly, two-day itinerary for Srivardhan Beach, designed for two families traveling with a toddler[1][2][3][4].

***

## 2-Day Family Itinerary for Srivardhan Beach

Planning a family getaway to Srivardhan Beach in Maharashtra? Here’s a relaxed, travel-tested 2-day itinerary perfect for two families including little ones. Srivardhan is known for its serene shores, gentle waves, and comfortable family accommodations—a wonderful spot to unwind and explore!

***

### Day 1: Welcomed by Waves

**Morning:**  

Arrive early and check in at a family resort or homestay—top picks include Gulmohar Family Resort and Aapli Wadi Homestay, both celebrated for their spacious rooms and proximity to the beach[3]. Start your day with a hearty breakfast, sampling local favorites like poha, sabudana khichdi, or idli.

**Mid-Morning:**  

Stroll down to Srivardhan Beach, a long stretch of golden sand ideal for safe swimming and sandcastle building. Toddlers can play on the shore or shallow waters with supervision, while adults and older kids join in beach sports or a friendly volleyball match[2].

**Lunch:**  

Enjoy fresh seafood or simple vegetarian plates at beach shacks. Many homestays are happy to prepare customized toddler meals[3].

**Afternoon:**  

Pay a peaceful visit to the nearby Lord Shiva Temple, a stroller-friendly site with quiet gardens[4]. Head back for nap time, letting the kids rest.

**Evening:**  

Return to the beach for sunset—horse and camel rides are popular here, and local carts sell coconut water and ice cream for a sweet treat[2]. Finish the day with dinner at your accommodation or a family restaurant serving the region’s delicacies.

***

### Day 2: Explore Nature & Nearby Beaches

**Morning:**  

Ease into the day with another stroll on Srivardhan Beach, shell collecting, and playful beach games. After breakfast, take a short drive to Aravi Beach or Diveagar Beach. These scenic shores promise a peaceful atmosphere—perfect for families who prefer lounging by the water or engaging in gentle boat rides with kids[1][5].

**Lunch:**  

Choose a seaside eatery at Diveagar for delicious, family-friendly fare.

**Afternoon:**  

Walk through the local market for souvenirs and snacks. If your toddler needs some indoor excitement, Srivardhan now offers soft play centers for safe, shaded play[6].

**Evening:**  

Gather everyone for a finishing picnic at Srivardhan Beach and let the little ones enjoy their last round of sand play. Relish an early dinner before winding down and preparing for tomorrow’s journey home.

***

### Where to Stay: Recommendations

| Resort / Hotel                | Proximity to Beach | Kids’ Facilities | Food Options   |

|-------------------------------|--------------------|------------------|---------------|

| Gulmohar Family Resort [3] | Walking distance   | Play area        | Local cuisine |

| Aapli Wadi Homestay [3]    | Very close         | Spacious rooms   | Homely meals  |

| Oceanside Beach Resort [3] | On the beach       | Compact, clean   | Helpful staff |

***

### Tips for Traveling with a Toddler

- Pack hats, sunscreen, water, and snacks.

- Request early meal service from your hotel/homestay.

- Plan for afternoon naps to avoid the midday sun.

- Supervise kids during beach and horse/camel rides at all times[2][4].

Srivardhan Beach combines gentle adventure and restful leisure, perfect for families seeking a worry-free escape. Create memories, unwind by the shore, and let the kids discover the magic of the Konkan coast!

---

Citations:

[1] Bookmark this Fun Packed Shrivardhan Beach Itinerary for ... https://www.localsamosa.com/guides/shrivardhan-beach-8687413

[2] Shrivardhan Beach - Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g1162202-d8682502-Reviews-Shrivardhan_Beach-Shrivardhan_Raigad_District_Maharashtra.html

[3] THE 5 BEST Family Bed and Breakfast in Shrivardhan 2025 https://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsList-Shrivardhan-Family-Bed-And-Breakfast-zfp34280784.html

[4] THE BEST Things to Do in Shrivardhan with Kids (2025) https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g1162202-Activities-zft11306-Shrivardhan_Raigad_District_Maharashtra.html

[5] Top Things To Do In Shrivardhan For Adventure Seekers https://tripxl.com/blog/things-to-do-in-shrivardhan/

[6] Top Kids Indoor Soft Play Centres in Shrivardhan https://www.justdial.com/Shrivardhan/Kids-Indoor-Soft-Play-Centres-in-Shrivardhan/nct-10931159

Saar Accha tha...(Lesson was good)

Disclaimer: I saw this series on MX Player which actually is produced by TVF and you can find it by name "Flames". I am creating this post to share a message in last episode of that series. I am in no way putting any ownership of that clip if I get chance to show just that by hosting it somewhere or if TVF can provide that as clip. That video is owned by TVF.

After a really long time I am writing a new blog post. If you see, last one was in 2009 and irony is that last post was about Swine flu and now a days I am virtually locked down at home due to Corona Virus.

Now about this post - I was watching this series "Flames" in MX Player. About 4 friends who met in a coaching class, got closed, some young romance, feeling etc.. good feeling and interesting to watch :), but this is not about series but about a lesson in last episode of this series which I really really liked and so thought, it is worth sharing with more people, even if you don't want to watch this series. If you have time and interested in such series, it is a good one too.

To give a context if it helps before watching video (or snippet) I want to share, mother of one boy forbidden him to go to coaching class as she caught his lie that he is having an affair with a girl and hiding stuff. Obviously like any parent, she felt it is her duty to be strict and stop boy from taking a wrong path as he may not be able to think things thru and might spoil his life by not focusing on right stuff like study. Nothing wrong in that.

Just then, coaching class teacher informed her about some question papers which can help in study and mother went to coaching to collect it. Teacher tried to help mother understand relationship of parent-child and that is the message I really liked. Teacher told a story which first angered the mother, as it is human that when someone tries to show what you might have done wrong and person goes defensive justifying that it was right move at that time. Probably mother was genuinely caring about her son so she went back and then teacher also told about boy, that once when he failed a test and he was afraid to go home.

"HOME" where everyone should feel safe and it is a place where everyone look to go to find peace, strength and sometime people avoid going there? Why that happens?

Now, spoiled enough, so you better watch it yourself on this link from TVF Flames Season 2 Episode 05

You can watch specific timing for this message - From 18:15 till 26:10.

I hope this message feels right to you also and helps in our life, especially parents to do a better job by supporting their children, not controlling their children.

Swine Flu - Home remedies

While this flu is increasing and sometime people are panicing due to its daily casualities, there are few things which one can start doing at home to avoid impact. And not only this, you will have a long term effect to increase your immunity which will help you getting ill from other diseases as well.

1. Tulsi (Basil in english) increases immunity. You can eat few leaves everyday, better in morning and wash it before eating. It works great for throat and lung problems which are main organs, first affected by cold.

2. A stick of Giloi (approx 12 inch long) can be blied with Tulsi for 15-20 minutes. Add black pepper and sendha rock or black salt, or Misri according to taste. Drink this while still warm. Giloi powder is also available under Hamdard company brand.

3. Take two pods of raw garlic in the morning. To be swallowed daily with lukewarm water. Garlic too strengthens immunity like the earlier measures mentioned.

4. Drink lukewarm milk mixed with one spoon turmeric every night.

5. Drink two spoon of Aloe Vera gel with water every morning.

6. Daily excercise for 30 min. Include some of Prayanam yoga postures to it.

7. Have citrus fruits, particularly Vitamin C rich Amla.

Swine Flu- Prevention and latest news

Punehas become biggest city hit by swine flu in India. As of now already 8 people are consumed by this virus while counter is still not stopped. This is a sensitive topic where prevention could mean saving a life as well. I got this from one of my friend and it seems like useful, though it bears no authentication but info here makes sense - http://www.multilinesolutions.com/swinefluindia/index.htm. Some other ongoing news and links are available at site - http://www.in.com/swineflu/?gclid=CPKXnL7fmJwCFSUSswodFGsvfA. And if you are interested in history of this flu, you can read wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza.

Main care which one can take is -
1. Keep clean - regularly wash hands. Cover your mouth when sneezing. Use disinfectants to clear your work area and home, if possible two times a day.
2. Avoid crowd - Railway station, bus station, malls, market are few places you should avoid. Only go there if it is urgent and use mask when going. As this is a hot topic, people get together to discuss latest news. Please avoid it as it is another mean to spread it more.
3. Be healthy - Eat properly cooked and healthy food. avoid junk for some time. Do regular excercise. If you are not regular, your 30 min daily could increase your immunity which can save your life.
H1N1 Testing Procedure at the Hospital
1. First you will have to meet the Doctor informing him/her that you have come for H1N1 test.
2. After that you will have to register at the OPD of the Hospital
3. The Hospital guards will be your best friend while you are at the facility and will guide you through the registration and Lab Procedures
4. Typically the doctor will ask you to get a chest X Ray and Blood test done
5. When you go for the X Ray center make sure that you breathe in when the X Ray is performed, the technician may forget to tell you this and your X Ray may not be of any use and you will have to wait for another day.
6. Get your Chest X Ray done before 1:30 pm as the X Ray center closes after that
7. The Blood collection and testing center is adjacent to the OPD and you may have to go there and give your blood sample. Do not forget to ask the Technician the time when you can collect the report.
8. After you have given your blood sample and got you chest X Ray done, the doctor will advise you to go and wait in the Swine Flu Isolation Ward.
9. In the mean time if you are hungry, you are free to go and have food.
10. After you go back to the Swine Flu Isolation Ward, a Intern will take the details mentioned in the ‘Information that you need to keep handy’ from you, he/she will check your BP, Heart Beat, Weight and other relevant medical details.
11. In case your Blood report has not come to the Isolation Ward and the ward is under staffed, you will have to go and collect your report from the Lab, make sure you reach the Lab before 4 pm.
12. Around 3:30 pm the Doctor will come to the Isolation ward and check your reports and will examine you for the Flu Symptoms
13. In case you have some of the Flu Symptoms you will be given a mask immediately and your swab sample will be sent to National Institute for Communicable Diseases, New Delhi or the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
14. Depending on the severity of your symptoms you may be allowed to go home or you may be isolated at the Quarantine facility
15. If your tests are normal you will be allowed to go home and you can heave a sigh of relief that you did not contact the Virus.


As I am living in pune, below are map location of hospitals which you should check-in in case of infection -

Naidu Hospital Pune













NIV, Pune










I hope it will soon be over and everone will be safe again. Amen.

T20 World Cup 2009 Stats

After IPL, it’s T20 World Cup ‘09. Time to move on 

Total 12 teams India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland and Netherland will participate in 2009 twenty20 cup.
The ICC has also announced top two ranked teams in each group and given them a number 1 and 2 respectively. They will retain this number irrespective of whether they finish first or second in the group.
For example if Bangladesh top ranked Group A and India finished second in the same group; India will still remain as A1 and Bangladesh will remain as A2 in Super Eights stages. If Ireland knockout Bangladesh in Group A then Ireland will become A2.

Here are the four group’s scenarios:
Group A – India (A1), Bangladesh (A2) and Ireland
Group B – Pakistan (B1), England (B2) and Netherlands
Group C – Australia (C1), Sri Lanka (C2) and West Indies
Group D – New Zealand (D1), South Africa (D2) and Scotland
Super Eight Groups
Group E –A1, B2, C1 and D2
Group F – A2, B1, C2, and D1

Note
Zimbabwe: the team which has been playing International cricket for quite some time and although their test & ODI performance were not upto the mark - they had beaten Australia in the inaugural twenty20 world cup in south africa.. yet - they have opted out of this 2nd T20 World Cup. Reason : Zimbabwe cricket doesn't think UK Government will issue visas for their team members! strange but true..

Based on the performance in the first twenty20 World Cup - India have been awarded the easiest group along side Bangladesh and Ireland in this second Twenty20 world cup to be played in England in the month of June 2009.

12 teams are broken into group of 3 in first stage out of which - 2 teams will qualify for the second round where each team plays 3 more matches before qualifying for the semi-finals. .

World Cup twenty-twenty20 fixtures have a strange pattern where each qualifying team will play two teams which qualified at number 2 in their group whereas 1 match with winner of third group.. .

similarly - the team which qualifies 2nd in a group gets to play 2 matches against group winners & 1 match versus 2nd team of a group.

A 27 match tournament whose matches will be starting mainly at 2 different timings (5pm & 1.30pm according to UK timing) and to be played at only 3 stadiums across England.

Note that the final match will be played 2 hours earlier than usual night matches and Nottingham is the ground which is also known as Trent Bridge which is one of 3 venues in England hosting this cricket tournament.

India are the defending champions.

Warm-up games
1st June = Ireland vs Netherlands, Australia vs Bangladesh, India vs New Zealand and Pakistan vs South Africa
2nd June = Bangaldesh vs Sri Lanka, Ireland vs West Indies, England vs Scotland and Australia vs New Zealand
3rd June = Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Netherland vs Scotland, England vs West Indies and India vs Pakistan


Twenty20 World Cup 2009 : Match schedule and start timings
Dates Versus Venue Start Time
05 June England vs Netherlands Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
06 June New Zealand vs Scotland The Oval 10am UK, 2.30pm India
06 June Australia vs West Indies The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
06 June India vs Bangladesh Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
07 June South Africa vs Scotland The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
07 June England vs Pakistan The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
08 June Ireland vs Bangladesh Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
08 June Australia vs Sri Lanka Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
09 June Pakistan vs Netherlands Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
09 June New Zealand vs South Africa Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
10 June Sri Lanka vs West Indies Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
10 June India vs Ireland Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
11 June Group A2 vs Group D1 Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
11 June Group B2 vs Group D2 Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
12 June Group B1 vs Group C2 Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
12 June Group A1 vs Group C1 Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
13 June Group C1 vs Group D2 The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
13 June Group B1 vs Group D1 The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
14 June Group A2 vs Group C2 Lords 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
14 June Group A1 vs Group B2 Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
15 June Group B2 vs Group C1 The Oval 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
15 June Group B1 vs Group A2 The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
16 June Group D1 vs Group C2 Trent Bridge 1.30pm UK, 6pm India
16 June Group D2 vs Group C2 Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
18 June 1st Semi-final Trent Bridge 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
19 June 2nd Semi-final The Oval 5.30pm UK, 10pm India
21 June The Grand Final Lords 5.30pm UK, 10pm India


Groups:

Group A = India, Bangladesh, Ireland
Group B = England, Pakistan, Netherlands
Group C = Australia, Srilanka, West Indies
Group D = New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland

Leaving the city

It is Saturday night. Restaurant was full of people, ordering food/drink, chatting with friends, a bunch of guys were eyeing every girl entering the restaurant with a dream to get close. He was also sipping his drink, sitting alone on a chair at a corner table.

He was approached by a lady. She asked “Hi! Are you alone? Can I sit here? I am just waiting for a friend and there is no free place here.”

He spoke “That’s fine. Please have a seat.” Inside he was just cursing himself that he should have told her not to and he want to be alone in the crowd. But, that was he, could not say much in his whole life when a lot could have been said.

“I am Smita.”

“What?” He was not expecting any conversation.

“I said, my name is Smita. And you are?”

What the heck you care? “I am James”

“James Bond?” She giggled “Sorry, I was just kidding. Are you also waiting for someone?”

“No”

“You look sad. Anything you want to talk”

Now why does she want to get personal? “No”

“Ok. By the way I am Smita. You remember? 10,Lok Sagar Colony?

Now it struck to him like a thunder bolt. She was living two houses away on same street of his house, when he was 14. He secretly had a crush on her but could never tell. He suspected that she was also attracted to him but could never dare due to society.

He still used to dream that if he will meet her now, he will approach her and will not do the same mistake of hiding his feelings for her. May be she will accept and he will get the reason to live life with happiness.

“I.. I was just happen to see you here.” There was hesitation in her voice, but he was a little drunk to notice. “I have a date.”

Last sentence was enough to bring his senses in control. A date was enough to hint that you are engaged. He felt like his dream shattering to pieces. “Nice to meet you Smita. Long time.”

“Where are you living? I will come with my parents to visit sometime. They will be happy to know.”

“I just changed my job. I am leaving city tomorrow. Sorry to disappoint you.”

She was disappointed.

Next day, He resigned from his job as it was too much for him to stay in city anymore. He had just gone through a divorce after his 3 month marriage. After marriage he tried to forget about his first love and decided that his wife was only one love in his life. It soon turned out to be bitter truth as she could not stand his emotions toward parents and his house. She asked for a divorce. He is living away from parents now to hide his feelings but now today he found that living in city itself is painful. At least he had a dream before.

She also took an offer of job which was waiting for her and went away from city. It was difficult to live in city anymore for her also. She had heard about James that he didn’t have a good marriage life and his wife divorced him. It just lasted 3 months. Though sad time, she was just hoping that she could give a support to him because she loved him secretly. She wanted to talk to her parents that she want to marry James and could send her parents for proposal if she knew where he is living now.

It broke her heart that he is leaving city now and might never meet her. She might need to settle with someone else as pressure was increasing from parents to get her married.

Sometime it is just luck or your fate that you can get everything but don’t get it.

Holi in SA

We celebrated our holi in Johannesburg SA. Though we were not sure if it was good, it was a working day and being in a society you cannot make much noise... cannot jump around, splash water and so so..but...it turned out to be a full fun..

checkout slide show below and you will get a good idea what I am talking about.



or else you can click here to directly see pictures you like.

Holi Aai re Aai re.. Aai re

Holi (also called Holaka or Phagwa) is an annual festival celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna (early March). It celebrates spring, commemorates various events in Hindu mythology and is time of disregarding social norms and indulging in general merrymaking.
Holi is a festival of colour, masti and obviously we cannot skip various sweet and namkeen dishes.Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring.
Holi Purnima is also celebrated as the birthday of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (A.D. 1486-1533), mostly in Bengal, and also in the coastal city of Puri, Orissa, and the holy cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Holi-Day 1
The day of the full moon (Holi Purnima) is the first day of Holi. A platter ('thali') is arranged with colored powders, and colored water is placed in a small brass pot ('lota'). The eldest male member of the family begins the festivities by sprinkling colors on each member of the family, and the youngsters follow.
Holi-Day 2
On the second day of the festival called 'Puno', images of Holika are burnt in keeping with the legend of Prahlad and his devotion to lord Vishnu. In rural India, the evening is celebrated by lighting huge bonfires as part of the community celebration when people gather near the fire to fill the air with folk songs and dances. Mothers often carry their babies five times in a clockwise direction around the fire, so that her children are blessed by Agni, the god of fire.

Holi-Day 3
The most boisterous and the final day of the festival is called 'Parva', when children, youth, men and women visit each other's homes and colored powders called 'aabir' and 'gulal' are thrown into the air and smeared on each other's faces and bodies. 'Pichkaris' and water balloons are filled with colors and spurted onto people - while young people pay their respects to elders by sprinkling some colors on their feet, some powder is also smeared on the faces of the deities, especially Krishna and Radha.

"Don't Mind, It's Holi!"
During Holi, practices, which at other times could be offensive, are allowed. Squirting colored water on passers-by, dunking friends in mud pool amidst teasing and laughter, getting intoxicated on bhaang and reveling with companions is perfectly acceptable. In fact, on the days of Holi, you can get away with almost anything by saying, "Don't mind, it's Holi!" (Hindi = Bura na mano, Holi hai.)







History - There are many sayings about this festival -
I-
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.)
Prahlad accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered every year at Holi.

II-
An alternative account of the basis of the holiday is associated with a legend involving Lord Shiva, one of the major Hindu gods. Shiva is known for his meditative nature and his many hours spent in solitude and deep meditation. Madana, the God of love, decided to test his resolve and appeared to Shiva in the form of a beautiful nymph. But Shiva recognized Madana and became very angry. In a fit of rage he shot fire out of his third eye and reduced her to ashes. This is sometimes given as the basis of Holi's bonfire.
It is often believed that it was on this day that Lord Shiva opened his third eye and incinerated Kamadeva, the god of love, to death. So, many people worship Kamadeva on Holi-day, with the simple offering of a mixture of mango blossoms and sandalwood paste.

IV-
Holi is also celebrated in memory of the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha. The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply colour on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. In the legends of Krishna as a youth he is depicted playing all sorts of pranks with the gopis or cowgirls. One prank was to throw colored powder all over them. So at Holi, images of Krishna and his consort Radha are often carried through the streets. Holi is celebrated with eclat in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna.

V-
It was also on this day that an ogress called Dhundhi, who was troubling the children in the kingdom of Prthu was chased away by the shouts and pranks of village youngsters. Although this female monster had secured several boons that made her almost invincible, shouts, abuses and pranks of boys was a chink in the armor for Dhundi, owing to a curse from Lord Shiva.

Courtesy - (http://hinduism.about.com/ and http://www.religionfacts.com/)

Vote Earth - Your light Switch is your vote

I came to know about this movement in my company through their corporate newsletter. I really appreciate Nedbank on its part to regularly contribute to a greener earth and saving environment. Some time before they started an initiative in which

Earth Hour - Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.
In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.
VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

You can pledge by signing up in this movement on this site - http://www.earthhour.org
Watch below video on earth hour -

Nanhua Temple and Carnival city

Few weeks earlier we went to Nan Hua Temple and on the way we covered Carnival city as well. Trip to Nan Hua Temple was not random and it was on a special occasion, It was Chinese New year on next day and being a weekend, it was being celebrated in Nan Hua temple. For us it was a double purpose - participating in celebration with Chinese people for their new year occasion and getting some peace in a Buddhism environment (not that we were restless and in need of some peace, but it is always good :)).

5 of us, Sudhish, Chandan, Sumit, Shashi and myself, were really amazed by magnificent view of temple. I have put slide show at end of this post which you can view at your leisure time, but few of view i would like to share directly without any disruption. I will take you from gate till some Chinese traditional moments we enjoyed there.

When we reached at temple, we were 100% impressed by first scene we saw - its Gate.It is an ideal representation of Chinese culture and though I have not seen Forbidden city in real, I think it will look like something similar.

From Chinese Temple - SA

Next it was the entrance to main temple which is equally marvelous.

From Chinese Temple - SA

Slide Show for Nan Hua Temple


Slide Show for Carnival City

Watched 3 movies in a day in theater - Hurray

this sunday I watched 3 movies one after other in a single day. It was a fun 8 hour from 12:00 noon till night 8:00 PM:). I liked it and it ended with -
I like to move it, move it.
You like to move it, move it.
you like to move it, move it....we like to move it...

Yes it was Madagascar 2 - Escape 2 Afreica :)....

1 More month for Xdrive Data

Though it is an offtrack post for this blog, I wanted to help people to not loose their data.

I was using Xdrive for years and suddenly it gave me a heart attack that it is closing down. I was not using AOL email much and they have sent mail only on their network, so I came to know about it late. Now it is only few days left for downloading my data and it was not sufficient.

Here is the solution for it. Go to https://www.elephantdrive.com/online_backup/xdrive_elephantdrive_migration.aspx. You can provide your Xdrive user details and your email. They will transfer your data to ElephantDrive and you will get free 1 month trail activated. Download your data in that month as per your time convenience.

Their service is also good, in competitive price to Xdrive, so if you want to continue with them, you will have option to do so after one month. They will notify you on email for purchasing online storage.

Good thing - if your data is less than 1 GB, you can enjoy their free 1 GB storage feature. you won't have to pay anything.. so it is a win win :).

I hope this will give you some peace of mind. Please leave comment to let me know you experience with this and if there are more solutions for Xdrive closing issue.

Very Happy New Year, Bye Bye 2008

First of all, A Very Happy New Year to You. Thanks for visiting my site. I wish this New Year will bring you new opportunities and pleasure in life.

Everyone will have some plan to celebrate this occasion, either by going out, partying, or sitting quite with family or alone. There will surely be few who will just sleep, but let’s count them out when we are in jolly mood of enjoying every moment of reducing minutes and seconds of this year (see below - I have rest the counter for 2010, so keep coming back whenever you want to check time left:)) -

I hope you have plan to run for New Year Party, have a wonderful time with your family and friends together, joining you in this party.

Forget that you are aging to be old, instead look forward toward another year when you can achieve a lot more in your life. Dance , to this thought as it is just the start of your good time and you have everything to control it.

In last, have a blast, drink to your another wonderful year. Look to sky for your limit and may your success glow like fireworks and bring light for you and your loved ones.

Fantastic illusions on the web..

I cam across few beautiful and fantastic illusions... see these just give smile to my face.

Don't try many at a single time as it might make you dizzy.

1. Spansih Castle - it is a black & white picture but you could see sky in its natural color...

I will add more as I keep finding..

If you have found another, do leave a comment to let me know.. I would put good ones inside the post itself with your name.

My Cape town Planning

Planning a trip is not an easy task. Though many people enjoy the spontaneity of these trips, it sometimes turns into a spoiler if things keep going wrong one after other. It is very important that you have some sort of idea about where you are going, what all places you want to cover, where you are going to stay and approximate time you have in hand for these.

I had taken the responsibility of planning whole trip and though it was taking out much of random nature of our trip, it ended well with good satisfaction to each one that everyone enjoyed it without stressing ourselves or missing anything major. Below details will tell you how I went on to plan this trip and what all information I collected. You can also take this as a base plan and modify it as per your convenience. I don’t take any credit for maps, or pictures given in this plan as most of time I have taken it from other website while planning and I am sorry that I don’t have any reference to those website now while writing this post. Please let me know if anyone has any objection on using any picture in this post and if a valid point is raised, I would change/remove that particular item.

My planning to Cape Town was in same line as mentioned above. Our group was focused on 3 things –
1. Bungee jumping is a must, so we need to go to Knysna for it.
2. We need to cover major attractions of Cape Town.
3. We don’t want it to be hectic so it should be enough free time in evening for rest.

So I started with our route plan. It was only bungee jumping first and accommodation in Cape Town was confirmed for all 4days, so I skipped Knysna initially. Thanks to Anand that he booked a place for one night in Knysna, which gave us chance to cover it. Now our plan was to go to Knysna and halt there for one night. Start early morning and reach Cape Town around check-in time (10:00 AM). Route maps are easily available in Google Maps or other websites for this, so I am not giving any reference for it. From Knysna, it was Garden route which was important and so we made sure that while going to Cape Town, we would take this route. While returning, as we would have covered all of points, we were planned to take N1 which is fastest route back to Jo’berg.

Bungee Jumping: Now with main travel plan done, I was focused on every day planning within city. For first day, it was Knysna. On searching I found that it is beaches we could cover and Bungee jumping was main point to go. We had one pamphlet for it and also they have website (http://www.faceadrenalin.com/bloukransbridge.asp) where one could get exact location and other details. This place has been recognised as world’s highest commercial bungee jump (216 m) so it is natural to get inspired and take a shot on this jump. Place gets crowded so give at least 2-3 hours to complete it and in holiday seasons, you might want to book in advance if you don’t want to waste the day. It costs 620 R for one person to do bungee jump. It is perfectly safe and they don’t have any accident history so it gives them a very good record to conduct it.

Beaches are quite easy to reach. Brenton beach is good for walk and surfing. You can even go inside just for fun as well. Same is Buffalo beach. There are some other beaches which are rocky (no or less sand) in nature and if you have kids, you could skip those as you need to descend down on high rocks to go to water level. But once you are down, you can sit and relax in peace as long as you want.
Cape Town: One needs to start at least by 5:00 AM to reach at a good time in Cape Town and not waste the day. It gives you ample time to stop and absorb the beauty of Garden route also. There is no rest place, but you can stop your car at a good place on side and finish your breakfast, if you have arrangement. It is quite nice to eat while watching the view. In Cape Town you can check-in and get fresh. By 12:00 PM you would be ready to start your plan to cover points.

Map for Cape Town

Table Mountain: I would suggest keeping Table Mountain first on list. It is afternoon and you don’t know if weather will be suitable for it or not next day. So if it is a sunny day, go straight for Table Mountain. Give at least 4 hours to cover it and if you are not tired, take longest route in Table Mountain and spend the whole rest of day on top. You will get a good experience of hiking and trekking. On coming back, you can sit in Waterfront and relax while taking your dinner. If you are planning to do some speed boating or sailing, you can book it in Waterfront. These are available on time also if it is not holiday season. Take cable car for going up and it can be quite time consuming and hectic to go on walk all the way up.
First Car up – 08h00
Last Car up – 18h00
Last Car down – 19h00
The Cable car departs every 10-15 min and can carry 65 persons at one time.


Robben Island: Next priority should be for Robben Island. It should be booked in advance as it gets a long queue if you want to do it right there and may be you will not get it as there are limited trips available per day. It takes about 4 hour for this also to go and come back while you can spend more also as there is no restriction on which cruise you will take to return, as long as you are able to catch last one. Book a trip of around 2:00 PM while taking almost the last cruise to return. It might give you chance to see sunset while you are in sea which is a spectacular view. Ticket counter and boarding happens from building behind clock Tower in Waterfront.

Waterfront Roads

StellenBosch: As it would be in afternoon, you can either go to beaches for spending morning time, or like us, go to wine land StellenBosch. There are many wine yard available who let you visit wine farms and facility where they make wines. Spier is famous for its wine and they have Cheetah and Eagle breeding place as well. But they don’t conduct wine yard tour so it is not the place for it. You can cover Spier for food, wine tasting and encounter with Cheetah and Eagle. Then go to another wine yard to get a tour. Asara conduct tour but if booked in advance. Reach there early morning so that you get back to Waterfront in time to catch your cruise. It takes about 1.5 hour to comeback if traffic is light.

Wine Yards in Stellenbosch

Above two items will cover our whole day and you can go and sit in some club to spend night. If you have time left in afternoon, there are many malls available near waterfront and you can cover those.

Penguin Encounter: On 3rd day you can make a trip from far side of Cape Town, covering Boulder’s beach first. You will get to see Penguins on a point before this beach. As you are near to Boulder’s beach, keep looking for Penguin sign board and it will take you to right place. Try to go early morning as it would be quite and you could go down the boundary to reach near Penguins. If it is crowded, it is actually not allowed to cross that boundary.
If you like, spend time on beach or else after sometime, proceed for Cape Point. You will get other beaches later where you can relax.

Cape Point: Cape point is spread in a big area and if you want to cover many of those, you will need at least 4-5 hours for it. Cover few points where you can see Whale and proceed directly for Cape of Good Hope. Take train to go up, it is thrilling to see how it climbs so steep ramp. Wind is strong on top so keep some jacket and make firm steps while climbing stairs. Later you can go to Cape Point where you can do hiking on nearby rocky mountain. Waves are strong here and it makes a nice snap when taking photos with water splashing behind you.

Chapman’s Peak Drive: Go to Waterfront side of Cape Town through Chapman’s peak drive. It is a scenic drive with few view points. You will love driving on this road. It also cut down on your time as it would take about 2 hours if you are not taking this route. Keep 1 hour for this drive as you want to enjoy it and not just cover it.

Hout Bay/Clifton beach: You can spend your time on these beaches whichever you like. If you have started early, you will reach here much in time to take bath and enjoy sea waves along with babes. You can park on side of road and capture an area on beach to spend time.

Tow Oceans Aquarium: I personally didn’t cover it as it was told not much different than in other places. If you have not gone in any big aquarium, this is a nice place to visit. You will get a good experience of walking inside sea while watching difference fishes.

Direction for Two Ocean Aquarium

This would cover our 3rd day. On 4th day, you can relax on beach or cover any other place which you like to visit again.

Please let me know if this plan was useful for you or you have any suggestions to make it more time efficient and better coverage.
You can read about my Trip to Cape Town here, day wise -
Day1 - Starting to Cape Town
Day2 - Jumping Down the Bridge
Day3 - Table Mountain in Cape Town
Day4 - Robben Island and Wine Yards
Day5 - Penguin Encounter

CT Trip Day 5 - Penguin Encounter and Back to Jo'berg

After this, I will publish a post on how we planned this trip and informatino we collected. I hope that would be useful to other traveller and they won't need to face a lot of trouble for their planning.

The last day of Cape Town trip was not that much happening as it was cloudy from morning and it kept raining almost till afternoon. Anyway we had left beaches, Cape Point for this day and had to give it a shot to cover it even if it rains. We started on drizzling rain while going from mid city and covering other side of Cape Town. Once we were on the road along the sea, it made the whole scene exciting. A rail road was paved in between road and sea and it was surprising that how could a train run on it if sea level rises. Anyway it was interesting to see and imaging how it could feel travelling on a train when it is running on that rail.

Our first stoppage was Penguin point. It is actually builders’ beach but you could occasionally see penguins roaming around.We were lucky that in this weather not much of crowd was there and so Penguins were playing freely without any worry. We gave them some. Sorry for it, but we just couldn’t control our excitement and while trying to take some snaps with them, we drove few of them away. Once we realized we made a distance and enjoyed watching them from distance. Not sure if they were angry or habitual of human sight, but none of them showed any interest in us. And I was thinking that ‘Happy Feet’ could be visualized in real life as well.:(

Once we were able to absorb that we have really seen some penguins out of zoo in real environment and it is not a film, we turned to reach Cape Point. We paid entrance fee and started struggling to find right way to reach a good view point. First point was Whale watching point where we were hoping and may be any whale could pop up if we were lucky. We could cover Whale watching point, it started raining. We then skipped rest of wandering and headed straight for highest point, Cape of Good Hope. By the time we reached there, it was raining heavily. We could not even go outside the car to enter the building where we can catch train to go up. After sometime when it slowed, I was the first to run inside building. It was also for purpose that I need to buy tickets for all of us. Train rail was very steep and we thanked ourselves to take a decision for going by train. Not sure if anyone could try climbing that much steep ramp in this rainy season. But hey what a scene, someone was taking a suv up that climb. It was looking so risky…

We boarded the train and captured on whole side of train to our group. It was giving a good view while going up, almost like the Cable Car we took in Table Mountain. We reached up and it was very windy in there. Bhushan tried to take photograph with few of us on the side wall of stairs, but wind force was so strong that we could not stay on that wall. It was safer to be on stairs. We reached on top of light house from where we could see sea till the end of earthJ. There was one pole with different flags indicating direction and distance to few of world’s famous places. Almost everyone was taking photo while pointing a related or familiar place. We also took our turn and most of us pointed for Delhi flag. I am sure nobody has an actual idea if that flag was pointing toward right direction or not, but who was thinking about that then..

Due to clouds we could not see much far and tried hard looking for a place where we can differentiate between Indian and Atlantic Ocean water. It was recently I came to know that it was not the actual point where these two Oceans meet. That much to the rumour spread in this world.

We returned just to find out that power has gone and so train won’t go back down. Everyone was waiting for power to be up so that they can go down. Ultimately, staff arranged a car to take people down in multiple turns. Now we were just remembering the scene we saw while we were boarding the train. Are we going on that slippery path in a car? no way, but then what else… ok. We prayed and sat inside car. I should say that lady who was driving that car was very expert. She smoothly brought us down and we were safely back in no time. We celebrated our return with chips and coffee.

We covered one more point which was told to be a dangerous place for ships. It is a place where ships need to turn around big rocks to go on shores across that point. Many ships crashed during turn while hitting hidden rocks under water. Waves were quite high and forceful here. We had a good time clicking photos while sitting on rocks with waves splashing behind us.

This was the last proper activity of that day as it started raining, though slowly, again. We came out of cape point area with everyone hungry as it is already afternoon. We stopped at one McDonald joint and took burgers. Unfortunately the famous drive was closed due to landslide and so we took diversion to cross the way and reach back to waterfront. We were thinking that we would be able to catch some good sights on beaches though it was cloudy and not much hope was there. It happened so and only few playful surfers were having fun in sea. We came back to our place and started our plan for going back to Johannesburg. There was no point in staying whole night. If we leave early, we can take rest at back home with enough time to relax for next day office.

Few of us wanted to stay one more day so that if lucky they can see some babes on beaches. But when we checked weather it was a storm prediction with almost no chance for sun on next day. So it was decided that we would go back.

On our return journey, as soon as we were out of Cape Town, it started raining heavily. Anand, as usual, was on driving seat with me on navigation and rest all on back seats, sleepingJ. It was quite difficult to drive in that heavy rain with very less visibility. Trucks were also on highway which was making it more difficult as their tires splash a lot of water making road almost hidden. Anand took us on a adventurous ride, though only I was awake to witness it and we managed an average of 140 Km/hour in that situation. It was dangerous but thrilling. I won’t advise anyone to attempt it and would be sorry if anyone gets inspired by reading my story. Anand was a very experienced driver with full knowledge of what he was doing and so we could manage it. Nobody should try it just for having fun when don’t have a good idea of what he is doing.

We were back by afternoon with our fast friend Sudhish at our complex Chianti, arranging food for us. We are very thankful to him as it gave us a good chance to relax for more time and less hassle. We missed him in Cape Town as he had already visited it, but now he was giving company to us in ending our trip, though not a perfect one but quite successful. This is one of journey which I will never forget in my life.

Please give your comments on how you like my journey. Also share your experience if you visited Cape Town and it happened with you. I would like to know your story as well.