Adios Bangkok

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Bangkok Pics

Dear Bangkok - Khob khun khrab, swasdee khrab (thank you so very much)... adios friends (good bye friends)... we'll direly miss you all through our lifetime.. you gave us a reason to enjoy each moment spent in this beautiful land of smiles. We can happily spend yet another life cherishing memories of this pleasant dream.. May god bless you all with lots and lots of more happiness in time to come and accept our hearty thanks for all the love and affection you showered on us all these days.

Our stay at Bangkok has been nothing less than an ideal dream.. a lifetime full of smiles.. a smooth highway journey (that too on thai highways or a thai massage!). We made more friends in these three years than we made in our lifetime so far. We're highly impressed with the thai people, their culture and their zeal to keep it intact. We salute this country and its people. What's more interesting to see is that not only the localites but even the foreigners get drenched with their loving attribute.. as it's rightly said - smile is infectious. We met people of tens of nationalities there and even they also showcased their behavioural atrributes at par with thais.

Generally there's not much difference the way Indians and Thais lead their lives on day-to-day basis but it's worth listing down few points that clearly gives this beautiful country an edge over others. It amazing to see the folks smiling all day long, tidy streets with almost no littering, folks strictly punctual and truly professionals, country-first attitude, honesty a religion, respect for foreigners, respect for woman, caring for human emotions and their belief in celebrating life are few attributes that makes every expatriate speechless in this divine country.

We love our country and we're proud Indians. Undoubtedly, nobody can matchup with our stamina for survival struggle, our analytical capabilities, our adaptability and there're many areas where we're far ahead than any other. We've one of the biggest youth workforce and we're one of the biggest markets in the world. We're capable taking the centerstage and changing the world economy at our will. Having said that we still feel we've a lot to llearn from thais, especially from cultural, behavioural and integrity perspective. As a country we may want to set a goal to matchup Thais in next five years.

Love,

Hema-Oshin-Naveen

Oshin's 6th Spring

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Oshin's 6th Birthday pics

Happy birthday Oshin! We wish you with loads of blessings on your sixth birthday.. May god bless you with endless smiles all through your life darling!

Being our lone child, Oshin's birthday holds a special meaning for us as parents and always brings a xing in our life.. along

comes the reason for lot of fun and frolic.. and comes the time of real celebrations. This year Oshin witnesses her sixth spring of her life and third in the land of smiles. May god bless her with thousands of smiles.

We arranged a small birthday party at McDonalds at Chong Nonsi, Bangkok with all our closed friends at Oakwood on the eve of her birthday, Saturday 23 January. It was an outstanding get-together for the kids and their parents and we had some real fun out there. Some interesting games session for kids and chit-chat among the parents was followed by a quick snacks party. Cake cutting ceremony was the next which has became memorable with that interesting push and pull among the kids, to grab the best part of that delicious tesse bear topping on the top of that magnificent yellow cake in '6' shape. Special birthday candle from Sukhy are among other highlights that marked the evening which glows up with an interesting hustle-bustle surprised the guests. Food was good and so was the cake after that as dessert which all of us enjoyed a lot. Kids were happy winning prizes and receiving those nice goody bags at the end.

Oshin and both of us missed our friends Kesavan and Sireesh who were planning to surprise Oshin with their presence on this occasion which couldn't happend due to some unavoidable reasons. Sireesh compensated for his absence in the form of yet another belated birthday party and a precious gift. Hema and me compensated for Kesavan's absence in the form of long telecon sessions with him and a gift of Nintendo DS which once Kesavan planned for her. Oshin got quite a sizeable and costly gifts this time round and she hardly sees anything left out in her wishlist. All close friends of ours started planning the gifts for this birthday well in advance to ensure unique and

meaningful gifts.

We wish Oshin all the very best on this auspicious and important day. A loving, caring, obedient, diligent, intelligent and beautiful kid like Oshins deserves all these blessings, especially from her lucky parents. Hema and me are proud to be her parents.

Hema-Naveen

Keshav's Tulip Festival experience

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Trip to Australia picture gallery

Today's beatiful morning of September the 13th - officially start of spring and a wonderful day out here in Melbourne. Took a day out for a trip to Tesselaar Tulip Festival, to see baronial flowers "Variety the Spice of life" nice caption. Life's better when you get out and do something different to enjoy its variety-broaden your horizons,embrace life in all its infinite diversity . Enjoyed looking at huge array of Spring flowers in all colours and shapes. i can say this flowers are wonders of spring and its breath taking experience which made my day looking at the flowers when breeze touches them i feel they say hi and hello to me . Infact i took the pictures with great passion , when i ask them to say cheese they smiled with the help of gentle breeze. Nice opportunity to be with small little flowers which made my day . My quest in search in meaning of this flowers started now and here we go the first one i found in proflowers.com . Quiet interesting and good . Meanings of Tulips : The is one of the world's most easily recognized and loved flowers. The meanings of tulips coupled with the immediately identifiable shape of their colorful blooms make them a comfortable flower choice. They are not too elegant, too romantic, too big, too small, or too bright; the tulip is always just right. They are like a favorite pair of jeans or your mom's fresh-baked cookies in that the meanings of tulips express genuine coziness and comfort in all of the right ways.

The tulip originated over ten decades ago in Persia and Turkey, where it played a significant role in the art and culture of the time. Most likely commenting on the Turkish tradition of wearing tulips in one's turban, Europeans mistakenly gave tulips their name, which comes from the Persian word meaning turban. As Europeans began admiring tulips, the flower's popularity spread quickly, particularly in the Netherlands where a phenomenon dubbed tulip mania set in at one point during the 17th century. Tulips became so highly-prized that prices were sent soaring and markets crashing. Tulips are now grown throughout the world, but people still identify cultivated varieties as "Dutch tulips." The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love. Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Red tulips are most strongly associated with true love, while purple symbolizes royalty. The meaning of yellow tulips has evolved somewhat, from once representing hopeless love to now being a common expression for cheerful thoughts and sunshine. White tulips are used to claim worthiness or to send a message of forgiveness. Variegated tulips, once among the most popular varieties due to their striking color patterns, represent beautiful eyes. With all of the sentiments and meanings of tulips, it's not surprising that their popularity continues to endure. The wide range of colors and varieties available allows them to be used for many occasions. In addition to being a favorite for cut flower arrangements, tulips can also be given as a potted plant. The growing and caring for of tulip bulb gardens and plants is a rewarding pastime for many flower lovers. As one of the world's most beloved flowers, a gift of tulips is a sure delight, enchanting in its beauty and simplicity.So see you all Tulips next year at Keuenhoff Tulip festival one of my favourite destination of the world. http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html.

May this spring and tulips bring in the finest moments out of our life this year . Thanks to many who made this happen . Good luck Tulips! "I wandered lonely as a cloud.. that floats on high o'er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils" - William Wordsworth. I might be the happiest person if Wordsworth mentioned tulips instead of daffodils.. Infact all the flowers are soothing but I prefer nice little tulips cuz its just right and perfect...

cheers!
Keshav

Trip to Australia

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Trip to Australia

Coooool... it was really cool both ways! Trip was real cool and so was the temperature. This is hard core winter season in Australia and we were able to grab those cool moments which are only possible during these winters speicially skiing in snow-cladded mountains while snowing is on, watching penguines returning from the freezing sea on their way back to their sand-dune burrows at dusk, enjoying the sea cruise in nearly freezing wheather.
Melbourne city in southern state of Victoria was the destination when we boarded Thai airways flight TG981. Suddenly mercury drops to single digit when to got out of the Tullamarine airport. I could smell the same fresh air that I used to get in Washington state of US - Victoria can also be regarded as evergreen state just like Washington. City was not really full of sky-skippers just like any third city but many things were there couldn't be found everywhere. Legacy tram system for an example, lush greenary almost everywhere and highways smooth like butter. Australia is called the land of immigrants - Indians, chinese and thai folks can be seen anywhere and everywhere. Main city is not very big but is colorful and vibrant. Public transportation a plus here - main city is conveniently approachable from all the adjoining suburbs. Vast lush green pastures with cattle grassing lesuirely on both side of the highway is a common scene as soon as you come out few miles out of the city. Snow mountains are very approachable and can be visited in a single day trip - Mount Buller was the one which we visited and it was a memorable trip. A cruise trip to Sorrento followed by a long drive along the great ocean road is something incredible - Twelve Apostles was the destination for us on this long drive. Watching penguins coming out of sea after day long fishing is one more attraction during this time of the year and Philip Island is the place. Quite a few zoo, parks, aquariums and museums are there in the city and tourist transportation at the city centre is absolutely free with tourist information centre pretty much accessible.

In a nutshell this was a worthwhile vacation closer to nature. It was a healty treat for our lungs and a good exposure to australian lifestle. We should say this trip was gifted as we never planned for it. There's a good saying that few things should be treasured quitely in our hearts and never thank those people and circumstances who realize those moments as it reduces their importance. This trip was just the right example of how volatile people and circumstances are and leaves behind few sweet and unforgettable memories for long long time to come.


I'll come back with yet another episode of my travel diary soon.
Keep smiling!

Naveen

10 Glorious Years of Togetherness

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We Three pics

It’s time to celebrate for all of us as Hema and I’ve achieved a big milestone today - completed 10 years of togetherness… witnessed 3650 days in a row with each other… 5 years with and 5 years without Oshin. Isn’t it sounds great?

This occasion gives us an excellent opportunity to pen down those remarkable and memorable milestones on the way and cherish the emotions associated with each of them. It’s time to recall all those sweet and sour memories and recollect all the good learning out of them and treasure them for times to come. In a nutshell these ten years were wonderful in many ways and taught us many lessons in a very sort span of time and that too in the very early stages of our marital stature. It taught us so many lessons that we were deprived of till now and makes us fully equipped to face such wild winds with greater vigor if similar situations arise in times to come. Though this time slipped off like fist-full sand (as we claim now!) but life was never a super-highway drive during those initial years as we faced quite a few rough patches on the way as we drove towards last few years of this debut-ton when life took an excellent turn and filled lot of colors in our life and gave a happy end to this great milestone – a glorious decade of togetherness.

Before marriage life was bit lonely and dull for me when I first came to Delhi in 1996 and this was one of the reasons why I didn’t opposed much when my parents insisted for my early marriage. I had nothing to loose when I came to Delhi and applied my sincere efforts to find my right place. Initial few years were bit tough but I eventually learnt to pace up with the surroundings. I always feel that the frequency with which the newer responsibilities entered my life that time was bit faster than what I could manage and marriage was one of them.

Hema and I tied up the knot on June, 11th 1998 as per typical Kumauni tradition in Pithoragarh - our beautiful home town - in the lap of majestic Himalayas. (More details and picture gallery can be found here). Soon after the marriage Hema joined me in Delhi, after completing her bachelors, where I was pursuing my masters along with a job as a programmer. Salary was not that good and soon came the recession time which brought scarcity of jobs and huge salary cuts. Hema’s excellent housekeeper skills came very handy during that time and we gracefully managed to survive those tough days. This period tells exactly what a typical career and life struggle means for a common young lad coming all the way from a small town and settling down in a metro without much financial and social (rather psychological) support. I’m very lucky that I got a partner life Hema who not only adapted to the odds very quickly but also supported me the best possible way to shape up my career and our future.

Time started changing drastically with the birth of our auspicious daughter Oshin - incarnation of goddess Lakshmi for us. Oshin was born on January 24th 2003 and I joined a big MNC in the same month well before her birth. We were still living in a small accommodation in Delhi which couldn’t meet our expectation from any angle but was a good buck-saver for us. We have a long series of unforgettable sweet and sour memories associated with that filthy setup which would take appreciable time to narrate (some other time folks!). Some more turmoil came in between due to which we faced big financial losses but things started getting smoother as we bought a house and shifted there on Oshin’s very first birthday. This new house proved lucky for us and we made progress in leaps and bounds in a very short span of time and planned to move to Hyderabad after getting an awesome job offer from Microsoft in July 2004. We literally entered heaven with this relocation and life showed a completely different picture to us (this time a beautiful one at last!). We really enjoyed each and every moment passed in this beautiful city of Hyderabad. We spent nearly two years there before I left Microsoft and joined IBM in early 2006 and flew to Bangkok in September on an international assignment. The kind of life we have been spending in Bangkok for last couple of years is again memorable and would require yet another volume to summarize this wonderful time (always next time folks!).

All this seems so simple and fast as we rewind through those sweet and sour times now but it took a span of ten long years when we think of some of the atrocities of those cruel times. On the other hand it also means ten quick years lived with lot of love and devotion with an understanding and smart partner like Hema. This journey would never have been so smooth and safe, with the kind of nature I possess and the circumstances we went through at times, without her tremendous patience and dedication who not only accepted those bad times without any fuss but also never allowed them to mount over our everyday life. Even after being a younger sibling in her family of riches she holds amazing capabilities to single-handedly manage her family though all kind of odds. I give her full credit for what we are and where we’re today and she comes out to be an anonymous winner of this adventurous journey.

Love,

Naveen

Ko-Samet Trip

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Ko-Samet Trip Photo Gallery









Weather was awesome with little drizzling in the morning when we took off for this amazing Rayong-Ko Samet trip on Saturday 12th April'08. We were two families with three kids including Oshin. Plan was to roam around Rayong province on Saturday and to visit Ko-Samet Island on Sunday. It was not a coincidence that we encountered water splashing incidents on the way as Thailand celebrates their 'Holi'-like beautiful festival of Songkran this week which added lot of fun and frolic to this outing. Songkran is Thai new year celebration which lasts for three days.

Vijay was driving the car, specially availed for this trip to make it more convenient while travelling with so many kids, and he was quite comfortable driving and locating places in this area as this place is also his work location which he visits quite often. Kids were very happy and excited and so were we two couples. Drive was not very tiring as the highways are smooth like butter here in Thailand.

On our way towards Rayong our first destination was 'Tiger Zoo Sriracha' beside the highway few kilometers before reaching Rayong city. Sriracha Tiger Zoo is amazing with tens of huge and healthy tigers and crockodiles within your close proximity. Shooting the tigers (obviously with my cam!) just behind a glass window and feeding the cubs with a milk bottle while holding them on our lap was amazing. Pig mother feeding tiger cubs along with it's own piglets, monks and tigers playing with each other in open, pig dog and tiger playing together, lady hanging tens of deadly scorpions on her abdomin, tens of crocks taking sun-bath, pig race, photo session while holding cubs and crocks, elephant show, crock show, tiger show are some of the other major attractions of this zoo.

Before sun could touch the adjoining sea horizon we reached 'Kantary Bay Sriracha', a premium resort in the town and our night halt destination. We had a good late lunch-cum-dinner at 6 O'clock after we got fresh after an eventful day. Something very interesting happened after we came back from our strawl at the beach and when we were about to call it a day. Ultimately we had to shift to an another nearby hotel, Hotel Botanica, in a jiffy and it was nearly midnight when we actually slipped into our beds.

Hotel Botanica is worth a mention here. It's a moderate sized hotel which has been completely turned into an open botanical lab full of vaious species of plants, trees and other unique shapes and structures. We checked out next day afternoon as we headed todards Ko-Samet island. Water splashing was in full swing when we came out on the main road. We ensured that all the window panes of the car were fully up and doors were locked before facing the Songkran crowd on the roads while going towards the nearest sea shore - Banpae Pier - to visit the island.

Clock struck 2 when we landed in Ko-Samet island, at Nuanthip Pier. We grabbed some drinks and eatables before taking a cab for 'Haad Sai Kaeo' beach - a beautiful white sand beach in this island. Again we met with lot of enthusiasts pouring water from both the sides while our journey, in a open cab, towards Haad Sai Kaeo.

Beach 'Haad Sai Kaeo' is simply amazing with a beautiful giant statue of a mermaid couple at the very entrance of the beach. Clean white sand beach and clean blue waters with hundreds of folks trying different kinds of activities ranging from kids and their parents engaged in making sand castles to enthusiasts trying para-gliding, speed boats and banana rides. Our whole afternoon at the beach was fully fun-filled and we tried almost all the fun activities available out there.

We had to leave as the clock arms became vertical as it was the last ferry trip towards Rayong from there. We wished if we could have stayed overnight there as it's always memorable to sleep on the beach enjoying camp fire at night and enjoy the morning sunrise.

Ko-Samet trip was yet another joyful and adventurous trip to a beach which will be in our memories for long long time to come. I'll come back with yet another episode of my travel to an another destination. See you till then and take good care of yourselves...

Naveen

Oshin turns 5

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Oshin's 5th BirthDay pics

It's a big celebration time as Oshin completed five springs this January the 24th 2008. I being a mother hardly believe that she has grown so fast. Time really flies and it seems as if she were born just yesterday.

If I look back at these five years spent with Oshin they felt no different than a quick sleep full of sweet dreams. Oshin has been our dream child and we've shared immense love and affection that's expected from any other ideal kid. She's so understanding on all matters and cares a lot for her family 'n friends and specially for me. I'd like to highlight here that she'd immediately pitch in and take my side in case her dad is at disagreement with us on something which could turn into an argument session. She would made him realised that he's at fault and would put a stop to any such unnecessary blame-games.

Her love and affection towards small kids is yet another interesting aspect of her behavioural characteristics. She's very possisive towards the kids and won't leave any stone unturned to cuddle them. It leaves us undertermined when it comes to call we three as our complete family after looking at her fondness for tiny tots.

She was no different during her initial years also and was a very calm and cool kid unlike other typical kids, except those initial couple of months which were very much forgettable. I really find myself fortunate while comparing Oshin with other kids that I see around me. First girl child in the family is regarded as Godess as per hindu mythology and Oshin literally realized this statement. We enjoyed all sort of prosperity and good luck since the day she entered our life. We feel really blessed being the parents of a kid like Oshin and also at the same time we've been enjoying seeing Oshin growing leaps and bounds.

I'm pretty sure that any mother would feel herself lucky to have a child like her and cherish the moments spent with her. I congratulate her on her fifth birthday and wish her all the luck for years to come.

Hema

Celebration being in Bangkok

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Life is pretty cool in Bangkok. In fact every day is a celebration and we are enjoying every bit of it. Though we don't celebrate each and every indian festival but also never missed any of our festival here as wer have a big indian community here in Oakwood and we gather to celebrate all major indian festival traditionally.

Join us here for Desi get-togethers

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Memorable Khao Yai Trip

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Khao Yai Trip Photo Gallery










Yet another amazing group outing in Thailand was our overnight tour to Khao Yai. This tour was undoubetly the best tour for us in this country. It was also not a package tour and also all the catering services were taken care by all of us only. It was a two-day adventurous tour which started on the saturday morning and we were back our hotel well in time on sunday evening.

It was September the 29th of 2007, a very beautiful morning just like any other dawn this green capital of the kingdom of Thailand. We were all 12 in number and all set to leave before we could get up on any other weekend day. It was a Saturday and we made sure that we could get an extra rest day after this trip full of activities. Enjoying our road travel of two and half hours - nicely utilized with singing, dancing, boozing and eating - we made sure that not a single moment was left unturned. We took couple of breaks on the way and grabbed cup of coffees 'n cans of beers and announced our presence at the resort (which we booked) by 11.

...

We finally bid goodbye to Khao Yai at 5 O'clock. While coming back we had a blast of dance inside the van. We also stopped on the way for coffee break and reached Oakwood before 8 O'clock.

Any feedback folks?
Naveen

Tour de Hua Hin Beach

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Tour de Hua Hin pics









Tour to Hua Hin beaches was wonderful and shall be in our memories for a long long time to come. It was special in many ways. It was the first team outing for all the India-IBMers here in Bangkok. Secondly we didn't book any package tour and it was completely self planned and with self catering and camping services. It was a one day fun-filled tightly stuffed tour which started as early as 7 O'clock in the morning and we were back to bed at Oakwood well before the clock joined the arms at the midnight.

It was July the 28th of 2007, a very beautiful morning just like any other dawn this green capital of the kingdom of Thailand. We were all 12 in number and all set to leave before we could get up on any other weekend day. It was a Saturday and we made sure that we could get an extra rest day after this trip full of activities.

Enjoying our road travel of two and half hours - nicely utilized with singing, dancing, boozing and eating - we made sure that not a single moment was left unturned. We took couple of breaks on the way and grabbed cup of coffees 'n cans of beers and announced our presence on the beaches of Hua Hin before our watches told 11.

There was a scream of sheer joy when everybody got the glimpses of the sea from inside the van. Jumping out of the cab and getting our feets wet was the priority at that moment. Oshin was with her bag 'n baggage which included her beach gear having all sort of spades, buckets, and the whole lot of equipment to build the sand-castle. We spent nearly an hour before we left to search for a shelter to start our Bar-b-que.

We drove to a nearby place which was also on the beach, in fact more beautiful and lonely then the earlier one, was perfect choice for all of us to setup our bar-b-que and start preparation for the group-feast. It was great fun to work collectively for the preparation of this lunch along with lite humourous conversation. We also took a quick strawl at the beach in while our peers were buzy preparing meals for us. Few other didn't missed the chance to grabb couple of beer, encashing these intoxicating moments completely.

After the meals were over and we were also little exhausted, we planned to drive little further and do some more photography. After sitting on stones wetting our feets in a group at the beach for a while, chatting, singing, shooting, we finally bid goodbye to Hua Hin at 5 O'clock.

While coming back we made a halt at Sofitel on the way and enjoyed cup of coffee after having a strawl on the wife soft sand inside. Now finally it was time to make a move for Bangkok as it was already 8. After this hardly anything happened before we were informed that we've reached our beloved hotel-Oakwood. We had lot of leftover food which was regarded as dinner that evening at our suite and before we could wish good nigh to each other it was a new day and 2 AM in the morning.

Now what you say folks? Wasn't it fantastic?

Naveen