Paris – Lover’s Paradise

I think that a vacation to Paris and Switzerland are almost on everyone’s wish list. Hence we decided to take up Aakaash’s very small list and head to France and Switzerland. Well the preparations were done, intensive study and plans were made, bookings confirmed and we were set on a jet plane for a vacation of a lifetime, one which we will never ever forget nevertheless not for the right reasons.

So after a tiring 6 hours plus flight we landed in Paris and for the first time we decided to take a metro to our hotel, pulled our luggage and walked a small distance (small according to Aakaash) to the hotel reception only to find that our room was not ready since we reached at 09.30am and the room would have been available only by 2pm. So we decided – what the hell, let’s dump the luggage in the cloak room and see the tallest building in Paris and the most visited monument - “Eiffel Tower”.

 

Upon seeing the Eiffel Tower my smile knew no bound, I was thrilled, excited and pumped up since I was seeing the Eiffel Tower which has been a very prominent background for most of the cliché Hollywood romantic movies and there I was seeing it with my own eyes.

We stood in the line and were lucky to break into a shorter line and get the entry sooner and faster; not knowing that the luck that we were smiling on was soon running out for us. After seeing the beautiful view from the top, we headed to Notre damn and walked around a little, had lunch in Latin quarters and decided to call it a day so that we could be fresh for the next morning’s sight seeing. On our way back I did gorge on the famous chocolate crepe and headed back to our hotel via the metro. 

When we reached our hotel at around 6.30pm, we were told that there were no rooms available and they were moving us to another hotel. Although the location of the hotel was still in our favor, I did act a lil dramatic, got a lil upset and got us complimentary breakfast for the 3 days that we were spending in Paris before leaving for Switzerland. Just when we were ready to leave, we told the hotel staff that we needed to buy formula milk for Aananya before we moved to the new hotel. This is the moment I can never forget in my life when all hell broke loose and the bad luck attached itself to us.

Aakaash couldn’t find his wallet. Now these are the events of the day what you didn’t read…..

1. Since we hadn’t got the room, instead of leaving all the cash in the common luggage room, we had no choice but to carry it. It was for the 1^st time ever that we didn’t check into our room and left our luggage in the cloak room.
2. Aakaash did ask me to keep some money but I thought it was safer with him since my wallet is always in the diaper bag which we keep opening from time to time.
3. When I was buying tickets for Eiffel Tower, Aakaash kept my credit card in his wallet which was the only credit card we had since all his credit cards had been revoked due to his NRI status.
4. So we had no credit cards and $2000 and Euro 500 were all gone along with his international debit card.
5. Although the 3 days stay was paid for but still we couldn’t afford to stay in the hotel because we had no money to eat food hence we had to ask them to cancel our booking.
6. Before our luck ran out we had purchased a 3 day travel pass, so Aakaash just headed straight back to where we had come from, the place I had my chocolate crepe and he last saw his wallet which was stolen probably in the metro from his front jacket pocket which was zipped up.
7. Aakaash was gone for 2 hours and my phone which has always been in a perfect condition decided to choose this day to get switched off again and again cutting my calls and making it impossible for me to talk to anyone. So I was cut off from the world, in a hotel lobby with 2 hungry kids and no money.

I didn’t care that people were looking at me but somehow I just couldn’t stop my tears from rolling and as Aan talks about it till today “Mamma cried like a baby”. Well that was the second time in my life I was crying openly in front of people, the first was my wedding day!

Time was ticking and Aakaash was gone, I settled in one corner of the hotel lobby and as night approached Aan and Aananya got hungry. Unfortunately the corner which I got had a vending machine and somehow to antagonize the situation there were kids who would go “ching ching” after every 10 mins and take out some goodies or candy. Although Aan was kind of aware that we had lost our money, so he pointed towards the smallest candy and said “Mamma can I have that” which made me all the more burst into tears since I didn’t even have 1 Euro to get him that; knowing that he hadn’t eaten anything since morning; for when we ordered lunch he has fallen asleep on the chair.

Finally after filing a complaint at police station and 3 torture-some hours Aakaash came back with his friend Deepak Soni who took us to his house. Deepak had worked with Aakaash in Ericsson India and for us, at that time and situation, was no less than an angel in disguise. Deepak and Kavita were staying in Paris with their 2 sons in a comfortable 2 bed room apartment. They had to move their kids to their room and gave us the kid’s room and Deepak himself slept on the couch. During such adverse times when you see such humble gestures, it really touches your heart and we are so very grateful for the gratification bestowed towards us by them. Deepak also assured us not to worry about money since he thought he could withdraw Euro 500 per day so that means it gave us Euro 1500 for 3 days that we stayed in Paris and after that we were leaving for Switzerland where another friend’s of ours had assured us that we wouldn’t have to worry on the monetary aspect at all. Hence we became a bit relaxed and took a breather for the night.

The view from Deepak’s apartment was amazing. When we went to sleep with our windows open, Aakaash who loves to sleep in pitch dark was interrupted with bright light from the full moon and Eiffel tower which looked so close by as if we could jump and touch it. Those 3 nights in Paris, looking at the beautifully lit Eiffel Tower and the full moon by its side really brought some calm and tranquility for the trauma we had undergone on our arrival.

So the next morning we had Euro 500 in our pocket, we were extra careful and headed straight to Louvre Museum to see the most famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa smile. Later we had our lunch out, wandered a little and had the feel of Paris! When we got home Aakaash and Deepak went to withdraw money since it was the 2^nd day. When they came back, Aakaash had a worried look on his face and I could tell something was not right.

Oh! Didn’t I tell you that bad luck had attached itself to us and was not willing to leave us for a while. So we got to know that Deepak could withdraw only Euro 500 from the ATM once in a week and to withdraw more money he needed to go to the bank which was closed for 3 days. So there we go… back to square one.. insufficient funds and we had to buy tickets for our train from Geneva to Lausanne. So we took out all the coins and money that was left over from the day and started calculating and saw we had just about enough money to take a cab to the airport and then buy tickets from Geneva to Lausanne where our friends Abha and Deepak were. 

So the 3^rd day in Paris was kinda closed hence no sight seeing, few stores open but we couldn’t afford to even buy a Euro 10 toy for kids since we were scared that we might fall back in buying tickets by just that much. Since our 3 days tickets was still valid so we roamed around and then came back to Deepak’s house. The kids did have loads of fun since they had 2 new friends -Aroush and Deepansh to play with all the time and spent the evening thrilled playing in a park near the Eiffel Tower. A special thanks to Deepak and Kavita who made us feel at home and truely helped us at the time of our need. Finally we got ready with crossed fingers to start our journey to Switzerland the next day.

Cairo

We took the 5 hour flight to Cairo and reached in the evening, checked into the Hilton and the view from our room was that of the world’s largest river - Nile. We could see the ships cruising right under our nose. It was an amazing scene.

So we got all pumped up and decided to make the most of the evening and went out for a stroll and then scavenged the Hilton mall which was right across the road. As the journey’s exhaustion started to creep in, we decided to call it a night and hit the bed.

The next day we were fresh and ready to see one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world - Pyramids. It was spectacular to see the Pyramid of Giza -the largest pyramid in the world. My mom really wanted me and Aakaash to dance on Suraj Hau Madham and Teri Ore Teri Ore in front of the pyramids but we let that pass for this time. Seeing the pyramids really makes you wonder and ponder on a lot of things. How magnificent a creature man is and it makes you realise how much time and energy is wasted in doing unfruitful and destructive things. 

Anyway, the experience of seeing the pyramids itself gives a high and to my utmost surprise, we could go inside the pyramid. So we had to bend and walk through the small and dark but perfectly created tunnels to see the chamber where an empty tomb of one of the kings of Egypt lies. It is unbelievable how 4300 years ago with limited resources and no modern technology they could have created such a perfect architecture which has stood to give the testimonial of time. The precision of 52 degree angle from all sides of the pyramid is remarkable; no wonder there are debates till date that the pyramids were built by aliens.

Anyway, after seeing the pyramids, we did some itar (perfume) shopping and were amazed to know that companies like D&G, Paco Rabanne, Polo etc import their concentrated fragrance from here. Later we moved on to buy some papyrus paintings. The seller showed us how the paper is made and the paper is so strong that it can be washed too. We did end up buying a lot of papyrus paintings too and then moved to see the Saqqara Pyramids. One thing I can say for sure that the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are really beautiful; however the other pyramids that we saw in Saqqara were miniatures in front of the Giza pyramid but the scenic view was spectacular and reminded me of scenes from the movie “Mummies”. In Saqqara, on one side of the uphill road you can see beautiful city covered with greenery of palm and coconut trees and on the other side are sand dunes till where your eyes can see. So the scenic beauty made the trip to Saqqara worthwhile. 

On our way back we stopped at a carpet factory. Well for sure we didn’t do any shopping there; for a beautiful handcrafted handkerchief size silk shaded carpet cost more than $200. So we just watched them make beautiful carpet and off we went to see the light and sound show at Giza. It was remarkable to see the dazzling light show on the backdrop of the Sphinx and Pyramids. Different kinds of light including lazer were used to take us back in time to relive the Pharonic civilization. It was indeed an enchanting experience and by the time the show got over, the night had already drawn upon us and we decided to try authentic Egyptian cuisine. 

The next morning, the archaeologist took us to the Museum where I witnessed the mummies for the first time. The museum is huge and if a person spends 1 minute on every artefact there; then you would have to be in the museum for almost 9 months. So you can imagine how huge the place is and definitely we couldn’t see everything but with the help of our guide we saw all the major artefacts and possessions. It was amazing to see the burial chamber of King Tutakhamun and the innermost coffin which is made out of 110 kgs of solid gold. 

We saw the oldest mosque in Egypt called Ahmad Ibn Tulun which is one of the largest mosques in the world. The city of dead was our next stop which is a 5 km long cemetery and few people live there, some who choose to live near their dead ancestors and others are forced due to over crowded city. 

Khan-el-Khalili market is filled with all kinds of souvenir and is a stop for all tourists. We just stalled around for a while and later in the evening we decided to go for Nile dinner cruise. The food was just amazing; I think the best that I had in that trip. To make the experience more memorable there was music, live orchestra, belle dancing and an awesome Tannoura performance by an Egyptian guy.

The next morning we left early for Alexandria. It is said that centuries ago, Alexandria was the largest city in the world. We went to the port where Alexander - The Great set his first step in Egypt. There is a huge fort next to the port too. This fort was reconstructed from the fallen bricks of the Lighthouse. After that we saw the temple built by Cleopatra and the underground library of the medieval times. In that area there was an obelisk made out of one rock and a Sphinx made from pink granite. Then we headed to the catacomb which is one of the 7 wonders of the Middle Ages and were discovered in the 1800s by accident. It is amazing to see how they had constructed the catacombs underground.

The Roman amphitheatre and the remains of Roman-era baths was an interesting site to see. There were quite a few huge artefacts on display that were discovered from the bottom of the sea and have brought back to Egypt. These artefacts were either being taken to other countries by smugglers or were being sent as gifts. Last but not the least location that we saw was the spectacular library made with the help of UNESCO which is the largest library in Africa and Middle East. It is just spectacular to see the amazing architecture. It looks like a mini world of books and people; just magnificent, is all I can say. The last day we kept for shopping, all though didn’t do much but just enjoyed the culture and the beauty of the city. All in all, our entire trip was excellent, lots of site seeing and loads of experience to bring back with.

Unexpected Turn of Events

Sometimes I feel that the way things turn out is all pre decided and I am talking about as small a thing as going for a vacation. Well, I think like all couples, we also have a few destinations chalked out that we would like to cover during our lifetime on Earth. So Egypt was one of the destinations on Aakaash’s list.

One of our close friends were planning to go and we thought it would be great for us to join them. Of course going with friends always adds to the excitement of the trip. So between making our plans and getting the paper work done we get to know that since Aakaash’s contract in Nigeria was terminating, we weren’t allowed to go on a vacation in the last 2 months.

So there went out our plans down the drain. I tried to put up a smile and bid goodbyes to our over excited friends who were leaving for Egypt to visit the beautiful and magnificent pyramids, observe the mummies and enjoy the culture and hospitality of Egyptians and all I was left with was a stupid song running in my head over and over again – “ Walk like an Egyptian”.

Well but it seems like when things have to happen, they just happen. Suddenly our 3 months extension of contract came in and we jumped on to the next plane possible and off we were to Cairo.

Wait a moment........

Do you think it would be that easy for “us” to jump on a plane? Lol...

So we decided on the dates, booked the tickets and the archaeologist guide who would take us around and the only thing left was the visa. We thought visa would take maximum 2-3 days. So for some reason Aakaash decided to wait for the last moment and when he picked up the passports to apply for visa, he discovered that Aan did not have a single empty page on his passport which left us in a frenzy since all the other bookings were done and we were all set to leave, even the packing was 90% complete.

So the 1st thing in the morning that we had to do was get an emergency passport for Aan, by that time we had realised that we didn’t even have any passport size photograph of Aan’s in a white background. So I called his class teacher, informed her that Aan would be late for school and took Aan to the embassy. Out here in Lagos, you would find tons of photographers with white sheets who click instant photographs, however the embassies don’t approve of these photographs since the white back ground is not according to the standards required by the Indian Embassy.

First of all we were not sure that Aan can get an emergency passport since there was no real “Emergency” for his passport. However, while Aakaash and Aan had gone to get the photograph clicked right outside the embassy; Aananya was busy exploring the garden during which one of the employees had attempted to play with her for a while. Volla! He was the second secretary who was to authorise if Aan can get his passport done or not.

You know at times you do the silliest things to ensure that you give your best shot to the opportunity that you are getting. Finally when Aakaash and Aan came back after getting the “not so right” photo, I pushed Aananya into Aakaash’s arms and asked to take her while giving the application. So when Aakaash went in, the guy frowned as to why a 4 year old needs an emergency passport and then looked at Aananya; Aananya melted him with her smile and there we got our approval for the emergency passport – and not for a year as the case generally is but a passport with full 5 years validity.

So you think it was a relief for us, not just yet! We went to give the approved application and the guy at the window said to collect the passport after a week. Hello...it was Friday and we were flying the coming Thursday and next week was out of the question. However, after going back and forth with the authorities finally we were going to get the passport on Monday.

Tuesday’s agenda was to send our passport for the Visa which they said would take minimum 3 days. Again we were sweating since we were to fly on Thursday. So there again we had to pull strings, request, pull, push and finally we had our passports in our hands on Wednesday. Hence after struggling so much, finally we boarded our flight for Cairo..........

Melbourne

Honestly Melbourne was just a touch and go in Aussie Land. We just stayed there for 2 days and mostly what I did there was shop. Melbourne is definitely a shopper’s paradise. We did some sightseeing too by hopping on to their free trams which are somewhat like the hop on hop off buses that you get in Europe.

The most amazing restaurant that we saw in Melbourne was the tram restaurant. It is literally a tram on the roads of Melbourne which has been converted into a restaurant where people are being served. Unfortunately it needed a minimum of a week’s advance booking, so we had to pass off for this trip.

Another very interesting thing that we did in Melbourne was “The Edge”. It is in Eureka Skydeck 88 which is the 50th tallest building in the world with 92 stories. The lift takes you to the 88th floor within 9 sec which means you are travelling at a rate of 32.4km/h. The Edge is on the 88th floor and is a glass cube which is suspended 300 meters higher than the ground and 3 meters out of the building with us inside it. The glass cube is initially opaque but when you are suspended 3 meters out from the building the glass becomes clear with a flip of a switch. It definitely has an awesome view and the experience is breathtaking.

Anyway, before leaving Melbourne, we went to meet up with an old colleague of Aakaash and from there we took our flight back to Delhi, celebrated new years with family and within a couple of days we were back to Nigeria. Thus the much awaited Australia trip was finally over.

Shweta’s Adelaide

So of course I went to Adelaide only to spend some quality time with Shweta. We were picked up from the airport by Manish and I relied on my memory to spot Manish since we were meeting for the 1st time.

When I reached her house, I pressed the bell and then all people could see and hear us scream and hug. I was so excited that finally after planning for 3 years, I was standing at her door step. She took me for her new home tour and I must say she has a gorgeous house.

Adelaide was going to be a relaxed holiday; for I wanted to spend as much time possible with Shweta. She is a sister to me and I was thrilled to be with her after so many years. We chilled out till evening after which we got ready and went to the city. The next morning they took us to the Adelaide Zoo; even though Manish and Shweta had a Christmas party that evening.

Honestly, it’s hard for me to admit.... since I am a Steve Irwin fan that the Zoo that Shweta took us to.... ok... we enjoyed there more than Australia Zoo. It had walk-in enclosures of Kangaroos and Wallabies where for the 1st time I saw albino Kangaroos. The peacock greeted us by opening his feathers several times; giving us different angles for our camera and it was here that we got an opportunity to hug a Koala. (In Australia Zoo they just let us pat. The whole zoo was a treat; we saw various species of birds, ducks, monkeys etc and fed them too. After that we rushed back to the house since Manish and Shweta had guests coming in for the party in a couple of hours. In between we still got a little time for shopping and I picked up the same suitcase set that Shweta had – a pink polka dotted set of 4.

The Christmas party was fun. Aan and Aananya has a great time. Aananya enjoyed pulling out the christmas tree decorations and Aan kept putting them back on the Christmas tree and with all the pampering and Christmas presents from Shweta Massi and Manish  Uncle , they sure did have a rocking time. Shweta and Manish ensured to make us feel so comfortable and at home. “After Party” was even more fun, we all kept awake with her few friends till 4 am in the morning. Once everyone left, Manish went to drop off a friend to the airport and Shweta and I finally got 1 hour to catch up on old times and spend some alone time without any mad rush to attend to.

Next morning or may I say noon, we got up late and exchanged our Christmas presents, got dressed for the beach and volla! saw the most beautiful sea beach surrounded by mountains. Although there was the bright sun but it was so windy that I didn’t dare to venture inside the sea. It was freezing! We quickly wrapped up and headed for some sightseeing, the view was just picturesque. We even saw some beautifully decorated Christmas houses in Lobethal. The small town was just out of a fairy tale. So many people were stopping to see those houses, it was amazing. Finally we retired back home, ate and got ready to pack to head to Melbourne, our last destination in the Aussie land. I was feeling sad since I didn’t know when we would meet again but we were truly touched by Shweta and Manish’s hospitality.

Till we meet again....

Australia Zoo – Brisbane & Gold Coast

Would you believe if I told you that the only reason that I have been planning to go to Australia was to see Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. I know, hard to believe but it’s true.

Brisbane turned out to be a beautiful and a different experience with lot of “firsts” involved. First of all, it was in Brisbane that we hired a car in another country; to begin with the firsts, Aan and Aananya sat alone at the back seat of a car by themselves for the 1st time, sat in a car seat and in a booster seat with seat belts for the 1st time, we all interacted with Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas for the 1st time and the best of all - I drove the car while on a vacation for the 1st time.

Brisbane turned out to be a perfectly planned holiday with some amazing memories that will stay with us forever. The location, the hotel and the view from the room of Brisbane river with so many ships and boats was simply awesome. The moment we checked into Park Regis, we checked the weather forecast for the next 3 days and accordingly made our plans. We decided to stay put in Brisbane for the day since it was raining heavily and did a little bit of shopping there.
 

The next day we drove down to Gold Coast, did some shopping again and enjoyed the beach. I was apprehensive how kids would take to the booster and car seat since they had never been buckled before but to my surprise neither of them cried or insisted to take off the seat belt and Aan was very supportive and kept distracting Aananya when she wanted to get out of her car seat providing her with toys and milk bottle from time to time.

The last day we had kept for Australia Zoo. Man O Man! Was I excited or what? We got ready in the morning and drove to Australia Zoo which was an hour and a half away.

I was so excited to see the Khaki wearing staff and remembered Steve Irwin and so wished if he were alive. Anyway, enjoyed the zoo thoroughly, patted Koalas, interacted with Kangaroos and various other animals and was saved by a second from stepping on a snake that was crossing my path. Aan and Aananya thoroughly enjoyed playing as well as feeding the Kangaroos and running after the ducks. Over all a fun filled day for all of us. The high point – I drove the car on our way back.

The next day I was super thrilled to take the flight to Adelaide since I was meeting my bestest friend after a very long time.

Dil Chahta Hai Sydney

The journey was very comfortable and we reached our first destination – Sydney. Our friend was there at the airport to pick us up. The thrill and excitement kept us up till we reached his place. The moment we reached his house, the soreness of 16 hours of flight suddenly crept on us. No matter how desperately our bodies were pulled to the comfortable bed, our heads helped us to get into the survival mode and get on with quick washing, sterilising of bottles, making Aananya’s and Aan’s milk and of course making the inevitable diaper bag ready.

Finally our friend drove us down to the Blue Mountains. It was almost a 2 hours drive and as much as we endeavoured to stay up or chit chat, we failed miserably - I could see Aakaash’s head tilting from one side to the other totally synchronised with the curves of the road, not to mention suddenly waking up with a startle and cleaning the drool from the corner of the mouth. I have never felt so embarrassed on sleeping like this while someone was driving us around but felt so helpless since sleep deprivation had got the better of us.

Anyway, Sudhanshu and his wife Neha had chalked out a very flexible plan for us so we really didn’t have to do anything there. They were sweet enough to take us everywhere. Blue Mountain was beautiful and literally looks blue, no wonder it is a world heritage area. We enjoyed seeing the 3 sisters (3 rocks together and has a story of its own), enjoyed the beautiful nature walk with a variety of trees and amazing facts about them.

We loved the Katoomba Scenic Railway which is the steepest railway in the world with a descent through a rocky tunnel at a maximum incline of 52 degrees. The Scenic Skyway was another attraction that we enjoyed a lot. Although we had already taken a ride on the Asia’s longest cable car in Genting, Malaysia but this experience proved to be another thriller in itself. The cable car started, we were admiring the beauty of ravines and waterfalls when suddenly with a flip of a switch, the floor became transparent. With a 360 degree view this beautiful glass bottom cable car has the world’s first electro scenic glass floor. It was awesome and freaky at the same time to see this 270 meters drop from the glass bottom floor.

After enjoying the panaromic view we left for Jenolen caves which is a series of limestone caves. However, we didn’t have the time to go inside but managed to see whatever we could from the outsides. I remembered the geography lessons of stalagmite and stalactite. It was beautiful and you could drive through a part of the cave. It is Australia’s largest cave dating back to 340 million years. By the time we reached Sydney, it was late. We gobbled the scrumptious food Neha has prepared and hit the bed right away.

The next day was a day just for drives. We drove to Helensberg, Kiama blow hole, Jamberoo that has breathtaking views and Wooloongong which is the 9th largest city in Australia with hills on one side and sea beach on the other. It was fascinating to see small swimming pools on the beach. Over all, an excellent day yet again. Reached back home, had dinner, made plans to watch horror movie – the guys ditched hence Neha and I enjoyed the movie till the end.

Today was the last day in Sydney; we had an early morning flight the next day. So we chilled out at home till 3pm and then all of us headed to Bondi beach, Sydney Harbour and the Opera house. Later we had fun at the Luna Park across the Opera, to which we got to through a ferry and just like that in 3 days; the stay in Sydney had come to an end. A Special Thanks to Neha and Sudhanshu for making our Sydney trip even more memorable.