Vacation Notes

Just when life was appearing a never-ending list of chores to be done, every other interaction was driving me up against the wall and to top it all Chennai was experiencing the disorienting heat of agni paksham, we left for a long vacation. RR senior to Brazil and RR junior and myself to Bangalore, then all together to Shimla and Manali. Great vacation it was. This post is a collection of little nuggets on some of the thoughts that crossed my mind during the vacation:

Give the people you care for, a chance to see your better side. Strangers and acquaintances seem to be enjoying that most of the time.

Getting shouted at is something others dislike as much as you do yourself.

With the intent of constructive criticism, it is easy to get sidetracked and end up hurting the subject of criticism. The pitfalls to avoid: patronizing attitude, clever sentence construction, the desire to sound profound and the worst is repeating oneself. People do understand, it is just that when they are upset they don’t nod in agreement.

Bangalore beats Brazil any day. In Bangalore it was grandparents, indulgent mama and only one of the parents, Brazil on the other hand would have been both the parents and no daycare to escape to. If you were a kid which one would you choose?

Reading blogs of cousins you hardly meet or know well can be quite delightful. People seem to tell a lot more when not in person!

You can see the point of view of a child, you just have to try a little harder. Sleeping adequately, eating balanced food, being polite and courteous are not the ultimate aims of a four year old.

Blogging can be quite fun and addictive even if writing is not your forte. Is it because one is able to tell all that one wants to and more without having to witness rolling eyes, a glazed look, a stifled yawn or much worse an attempt to shift the topic?

Each parent should get at least two weeks off from parenting and spousing. Makes them appreciate the noise and notice the affection.

There is nothing as lovely and heart warming as visiting ones favourite aunt and uncle. Catching up, seeing each other’s present life, going for walks in the woods around Shimla, cooking together, the package is absolutely precious. It can’t get better if the kid falls in love with them.

A bus ride from Shimla to Manali lasts longer than people would have you believe. Bus drivers are reasonable people until they get overtaken, while they do realize that death defying stunts are perhaps avoidable but only when they get a flat tyre. The whole journey is very scenic but the last 4 hours of the journey are absolutely breathtaking with river Beas posing for the cameras.

Manali is a delightful place to be in. Within a mile or two around the mall, you can walk into apple orchards and beautiful nature parks, have lunches in cute outdoor cafes looking over the river and in the evenings enjoy the shopping or just the buzz of the mall. You don't have to be a people-watcher to notice that most couples are newly married, the women of himachal are very beautiful and they wear the most well cut patiala salwars. About men … ahem.. I can’t seem to wish away the sight, pointed out by RRS, of a young group of guys in undies with pot bellies hanging out try to take a dip in the river Beas. Unfortunately, the water was too cold and shallow to cover the ghastly sight.

If you like tandoori food do try the roadside offerings, they are way much better than any posh hotel or café has to offer but don’t give in to the craving for chaat as there can be rather serious consequences. It seems that it is the surest way of getting what the medical annals refer to as mountain diarrhea. Every walk thereafter will require a pre-walk and post-walk visit.

A toothache doesn’t know that you are on vacation and don’t have access to a pain killer in the middle of the night. Neither does it know any intensity less than what can numb half your face. To live through the excruciating pain try to convince your mind to focus on counting five breathing in and five breathing out (never knew pre-natal classes will be useful second time round).

A child growing up in Chennai finds it difficult to understand that in some places you don’t need fans, however, you do need some warm clothing all day and thick blankets in the night. Poor mother has to wake up every other hour to bring him back into the covers. Father of course can be trusted up on to contribute significantly by keeping the decibel levels of the snore reasonably high, lest mother may go into deep sleep.

The one person even when out of sight is never out of our kid’s mind is his best friend, NKR.

Let travel agent not talk you into flying MDLR airlines from Kullu to Delhi. They cost the same but are quite unprofessional and unreliable. Their pilots take took long to make it to the airport for a timely start and can pretty much unannounced land a non-stop flight in Chandigarh for god knows what. For people who have connecting flights from Delhi in different airlines it leaves no alternative but to open up their laptops. With those long hours to kill you get to know what is happening all around, it seems quite a lot in Shiney Ahuja's bedroom!

Back in Chennai, even though agni paksham is over it seems the information has not reach up and above. Chennai maybe a hot and humid place but quite certainly it is not the thermal expansion that is causing the change in shape around the abdomen and bums.