Commuting like locals in Foreign lands ----Singapore

My family loves to commute like locals while travelling. To get the feel of the local life there we do extensive research about food, local markets, local transport etc. When we went to Singapore, our research gave us many options to commute in the city. The various options and their links are as under

1. Taxi : Most comfortable but costly option. Taxis can be hailed from taxi stands or bus stands and/ or booked through a call. Various taxi operators are there. Taxis can be found as per our need. The various taxi options can be found here. The fare is charged as per meter. More information about rates and routes is provided here. But this option is more like a tourist option, where we start from our hotel and reach to our destination and vice versa. No interaction with local people.

2. Bus : Bus service is frequent and cheaper. There are various options of operators. Children discount and family ticket options are available. The full details can be found here.

3. MRT services : MRT network is cheapest and best. Stations are situated at every tourist destination. The stations are big with information kiosks and security and have lots of shops for food and shopping. Route Charts are provided near ticket machines for each line. Various passes are available online. And the whole system is very 'user friendly'. We chose to use this means of commute and enjoyed a lot. The routes, fares and other details are here. The route planner is available at every hotel and online.

4. Walking : Off course the best way to explore the locale. Nearby locations can be covered on foot. This gives opportunity to explore the shops, restaurants and get the feel of the life there. As Singapore is a small city, we can explore many areas on foot. Though various walks are arranged by tour operators too.

5. Shuttle Service : Shuttle services for various tourist destinations are available from some specific spots and sometimes packages are also available for that. These can be found online while planning the trip.

If found this information useful, please leave a comment. and for more such informations subscribe to my blog.

DIL TO BACHCHA HAI JI

perfume की जोरदार सुगंद्ध kitchen तक आ रही थी
'इतना perfume??? क्या बात है, कुछ खास है क्या?'
सोचकर बेडरूम की तरफ़ भागी...
ये क्या ...tight low waist jeans जिसमें से red undie दिख रही थी
tight T-shirt, colourful बेल्ट, बालों में gel, trendy shoes..
जिसमें से तोंद उमर का भेद खोल रही सी झाँक रही थी...
'धीरे से पूछा, कुछ है क्या? आज ऐसे तैयार हुए हो?'
"क्यों, तैयार होने में बुराई है क्या? मैं तो college में भी ऐसे ही तैयार होता था " वो बोले
अरे भले इंसान, उस बात को 15 साल से ऊपर हो गए हैं..., मैंने सोचा
'क्यों office में कोई नई लड़की join हुई है?' मैंने पूछा
'नई लड़की से मुझे क्या? मैं काम करने जाता हूँ, लड़कियां देखने नहीँ, मेरे पास इन सब के लिए time नहीं है' ....वो गुर्राए
'जैसे वो सब तो तुम्हें देखने के लिए मरी जा रही हैं'...गर्रगर्रगर्रगर्रगर्र मैं भी मन में गुर्राई, फिर बोली,' वो तो है'
वो खुद को mirror में निहार रहे थे, इतने में दरवाजे की घंटी बजी..टिंगटोंग
दरवाजा खोला, पेपर वाला आदमी था , 'साहब को बुलाईये' वो बोला 
ये आये, तो बोला ' uncle मिलने को बोला था ' "हाँ" ये बोले .......

उसके जाने के बाद कहते हैं, 'खुद uncle है और मुझे uncle बोलता है, मैं uncle दिखता हूँ'
'अभी तो कॉलेज में था , अब uncle हो गया , विश्वास नहीं होता, young लड़के ऐसे बात करते हैं जैसे मैं कोई बड़ा senior citizen हूँ , मैं बुड्ढा थोड़े ही हूँ ' ये दुखी से बोले
'नहीं मेरे hero तुम बुड्ढे नहीं हुए पर अब college में नहीं रहे, अब सिर्फ समझ में नहीं, हर चीज़ में maturity की उम्मीद की जाती है, दुखी ना हो , लेकिन उमर की चांदी नज़र आ रही है, अब तुम्हे लड़कियां नहीं सिर्फ मैं ही देखूंगी' मैंने सोचा
इन्हें प्यार से देखा और मुस्कुरा कर कहा ,'अच्छे लग रहे हो आज तो बड़ी तारीफें मिलेंगी '
जब शाम घर लौटे तो बोले,' किसीने कुछ भी नहीं कहा, तुम तो कह रही थी बड़ी comments मिलेंगी, किसी ने देखा भी नहीं '
'मेरे प्यारे अब आदत डाल लो, तुम ही देखोगे और कोई न देखेगी, गुज़रा ज़माना नहीं आने वाला, उन दिनों को याद कर के आहें भर लो मैं कुछ न कहूँगी, जानती हूँ चालीस साल पर भी तुम्हारा, "दिल तो बच्चा है जी"......

God in the era of Internet

Please forgive if this has hurt someone's sentiments. This is just some simple light hearted humour...........So read it as that please.....

Yesterday afternoon God was yawning and thinking," what to do now? World is on AUTOPILOT..

Pakistan going on supporting terrorists, India still trying "peace talk", whoever is the president, America is interfering in every affair of the world, somewhere in the world people are still fighting for separate country or state ..
People are still very 'fenku', they are not bothered about others and still interested in their own life..              Children have become smarter, they don't behave silly as their parents used to do..they are born intelligent..they don't need to be taught any worldly wisdom, they know all, they can befool their parents easily..

When these humans used to live in caves and on trees, I was so busy in changing their lives, now everything has become still...
What to do and whom to ask...."
Suddenly He got an idea, He took His laptop and typed in google..."what needs to be changed in humans' life now" and pressed search button
          There came the reply.....stress, stress and stress....
oh! He thought,' I never thought about this because I have given enough brain to humans to solve their own problems but .....
if all this is not working, where is the solution then?????'
           suddenly Narad Muni came Narayan Narayan...'.prabhu why are you so stressed?' 

Am I, but I was searching for the cure of stress for humans, how can I become stressed ?asked God.
             Prabhu, now there are only two things left on Earth, boredom and stress, Narad said. Is it , but then why am 'I' feeling them, asked God.
Because Internet has taken over all of your work and now most of the humans know Yoga, they have cultivated 'hobbies', they have good and relaxing music, they have access to every worldly joy now, which was difficult for earlier humans....
every information is available to them on net and now they have started networking......... they are learning to be stressfree................
But for you Prabhu...all the devatas are surfing net and trying to learn the new things human has developed..so you are alone and stressed Prabhu ...Narayan Narayan

Eagle (Hindi)

Copied from wall of a Friend, Long post but worth read 

बाज लगभग 70 वर्ष जीता है,
परन्तु अपने जीवन के 40वें वर्ष में आते आते उसे एक महत्वपूर्ण निर्णय लेना पड़ता है।

उस अवस्था में उसके शरीर के तीन प्रमुख अंग निष्प्रभावी होने लगते हैं-

1. पंजे लम्बे और लचीले हो जाते है व
शिकार पर पकड़ बनाने में अक्षम होने लगते हैं।

2. चोंच आगे की ओर मुड़ जाती है और भोजन निकालने में व्यवधान उत्पन्न करने लगती है।

3. पंख भारी हो जाते हैं, और सीने से चिपकने के कारण पूरे खुल नहीं पाते हैं, उड़ानें सीमित कर देते हैं।

भोजन ढूँढ़ना, भोजन पकड़ना
और भोजन खाना....
तीनों प्रक्रियायें अपनी धार खोने लगती हैं।

उसके पास तीन ही विकल्प बचते हैं,
या तो देह त्याग दे,
या अपनी प्रवृत्ति छोड़ गिद्ध की तरह त्यक्त भोजन पर निर्वाह करे...
या फिर
स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करे,
आकाश के निर्द्वन्द्व एकाधिपति के रूप में।

जहाँ पहले दो विकल्प सरल और त्वरित हैं,
वहीं तीसरा अत्यन्त पीड़ादायी और लम्बा।

बाज पीड़ा चुनता है
और स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करता है।

वह किसी ऊँचे पहाड़ पर जाता है,
एकान्त में अपना घोंसला बनाता है,
और तब प्रारम्भ करता है पूरी प्रक्रिया।

सबसे पहले वह अपनी चोंच चट्टान पर मार मार कर तोड़ देता है..!
अपनी चोंच तोड़ने से अधिक पीड़ादायक कुछ भी नहीं पक्षीराज के
लिये।
तब वह प्रतीक्षा करता है
चोंच के पुनः उग आने की।

उसके बाद वह अपने पंजे भी उसी प्रकार तोड़ देता है और प्रतीक्षा करता है पंजों के पुनः उग आने की।
नये चोंच और पंजे आने के बाद
वह अपने भारी पंखों को एक एक कर नोंच कर निकालता है और प्रतीक्षा करता पंखों के पुनः उग आने की।

150 दिन की पीड़ा और प्रतीक्षा...
और तब उसे मिलती है वही भव्य और ऊँची उड़ान, पहले जैसी नयी।

इस पुनर्स्थापना के बाद वह 30 साल और जीता है,
ऊर्जा, सम्मान और गरिमा के साथ।

प्रकृति हमें सिखाने बैठी है-
पंजे पकड़ के प्रतीक हैं,
चोंच सक्रियता की और
पंख कल्पना को स्थापित करते हैं।

इच्छा परिस्थितियों पर नियन्त्रण बनाये रखने की,
सक्रियता स्वयं के अस्तित्व की गरिमा बनाये रखने की,
कल्पना जीवन में कुछ नयापन बनाये रखने की।

इच्छा, सक्रियता और कल्पना...
तीनों के तीनों निर्बल पड़ने लगते हैं.. हममें भी चालीस तक आते आते।

हमारा व्यक्तित्व ही ढीला पड़ने लगता है,
अर्धजीवन में ही जीवन
समाप्तप्राय सा लगने लगता है,
उत्साह, आकांक्षा, ऊर्जा....
अधोगामी हो जाते हैं।

हमारे पास भी कई विकल्प होते हैं-
कुछ सरल और त्वरित.!
कुछ पीड़ादायी...!!

हमें भी अपने जीवन के विवशता भरे
अतिलचीलेपन को त्याग कर नियन्त्रण दिखाना होगा-
बाज के पंजों की तरह।

हमें भी आलस्य उत्पन्न करने वाली वक्र मानसिकता को त्याग कर ऊर्जस्वित सक्रियता दिखानी होगी-
"बाज की चोंच की तरह।"

हमें भी भूतकाल में जकड़े अस्तित्व के
भारीपन को त्याग कर कल्पना की उन्मुक्त उड़ाने भरनी होंगी-
"बाज के पंखों की तरह।"

150 दिन न सही, तो एक माह ही बिताया जाये, स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने में।
जो शरीर और मन से चिपका हुआ है, उसे तोड़ने और नोंचने में पीड़ा तो होगी ही,
बाज तब उड़ानें भरने को तैयार होंगे,
इस बार उड़ानें
और ऊँची होंगी,
अनुभवी होंगी,
अनन्तगामी होंगी....!

Day #30 of Happiness - 7 May 2016

Days for our long awaited trip are nearing.
My mornings start with planning and evenings end with mental marking of work pending.


Days are filled with excitement and dread....not something we regret but something we are looking forward to


Except my lists and my huge pile of our belongings, nothing crosses my mind..


The end to this challenge sums up in


“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

Day #28 of Happiness - 5 May 2016

As the alarm went off ... I jumped from bed


Today is my parents Wedding Anniversary...I had set a reminder for that too as sometimes in running around and finishing my day to day chores I forget about the important date.


But today I remembered and wanted to finish making breakfast and tiffin for husband a little earlier so that both of us could talk to my parents. I was ready on time but hubby dear was in a hurry due to a meeting scheduled early today and we couldn't call my parents together. I decided to finish my other chores and call them after wards.


When free from all work I called Ma and wished her for both of them as Pappa can't hear phone clearly ( age....)... We talked for some time and laughed a lot...then happy and contented I carried on my day as usual.


Dear mom and dad…
You have no idea about
How happy I feel today
As I see you both together
I join my hands and pray
May no sorrow touch you
May no pain come near
May your life be a breeze
Full of happiness and cheer
Happy anniversary

Day #20 of Happiness - 27 April 2016

Day started early today.....
Room was filled with soft light early in the morning and I woke up to the sound of chirping birds...
Prepared breakfast and lunch..... Sonny boy wanted to have Rajma Chawal (Red beans spicy curry and steamed Basmati Rice)
Husband left for office after breakfast and son for swimming...
I sent my choice of best pics through Whatsapp to admin and my Friend of our Facebook group for declaring prizes...
Moment of happiness came when after swimming and his summer class, my son returned a little agitated but instead of crying or whining like a kid, in very controlled way he described his dislike for the class, I called his teacher and she promised to make the class interesting from the very next day.
I am noticing these small changes in my little prince and it's amazing
All this is bringing immense pleasure to me, he has reached the age when his mental and emotional growth would be much visible

courtesy google

Day #19 of Happiness - 26 April 2016

Today I was excited because I was mentor of an activity in one of my facebook group...


I knew I had to finish my household work faster than usual, so that I can be available to comment to the posts in the activity..


But one of my friends arrived as soon as I finished my work...
we talked a lot and after she left I glued to my phone to check the posts...


Post was about the place where I had grown up, went to school and college..... my childhood, adolescence were spent here, first and purest of friendships had prospered there


I relished each post..... day was filled with nostalgic moments


We were talking about IDPL. IDPL that's the name of company situated in Uttarakhand between the towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh. The company was declared a sick unit and its beautiful township is abandoned by the employees of the company.


This place is beautiful. We can see Shivalik mountain range on three sides. River Ganga flows through Rishikesh and Haridwar. Rajaji National Park and nearby forests spread green sheet over the plains.


Township had so many facilities. It gave us a life like that of a Metro city but well protected too.


This is just an outline of the life there. But the mention of that life today gave immense happiness to me.


There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.       -----Elizabeth  

Day #16 of Happiness - 23 April 2016

Today was holiday for me ....Schools closed after exams and hubby had off too...
As is the routine for Saturdays, we had our ginger mint leaves tea sitting near bed room window.
My parents had left yesterday only and we were feeling lost after spending time with them.
Though my sonny boy was trying to look happy for his vacations had started...
All day went by lazying around...watching TV and napping in the afternoon.

courtesy google

Day #13 to 15 of Happiness - 20 to 22 April 2016

On 20th, Day began early ....


Like a grown up,  responsible boy, my son went to school for his last exam, though I knew how hard it must have been for him because his maternal grandparents were there in the house and he had to go ...


Hubs went to office..


I hurriedly finished my tasks and brought my son back after exams...
He was so happy. I had to pick one of my friend's daughter too from school... They both had ice cream to celebrate their vacations ...
My son said this is his CID ---Children's Independence Day
So ..... days passed in chatting with mum about their tour and some gossiping ..


Son played with his Nana Nani (Maternal Grandparents) and hubby entertained his in laws


Days passed fast and once again we were bidding farewell to them on 22nd  afternoon

courtesy google

Day #12 of Happiness - 19 April 2016

Sleep left me before my alarm took off!!!!!!


Husband had gone for morning evening official tour to Hyderabad....


I finished my work fast (because my parents were returning from their Japan tour)... made breakfast and waited for my parents to arrive...


I was certain they will reach till 10:30 AM....but they didn't arrive on time and I waited.....
I finished one more task and still waited..
But...they didn't come, Mumbai traffic, airport maintenance work ....


My sonny boy was losing patience....when could not wait any more he went down to play with his friends..


When I heard the sound of lift I opened the door and here they were ... I was meeting them after almost one year


They talked about their tour, we had lunch and my sonny boy was ecstatic....
.......but alas both of my parents were so tired they slept and slept and slept


But now my sonny boy waited patiently..he so wanted their attention but went to play with friends in the evening and then after dinner, slept early to wake up early next morning for his last exam


I waited for my husband, when he came, we talked about our day and I called off my day


Today I was happy seeing my son so patient, otherwise in our olden days there would have been earthquake in the house till now... His patience brought Happiness to me because he is learning the most valuable virtue in life called PATIENCE

Patience attracts Happiness, it brings near that which is far      ------Swahili Proverb                

 

Day #11 of Happiness - 18 April 2016

Monday ..... blues, browns and all other dull colors
As alarm went in the morning, I tried but eyes were not opening... I forced my eyelids and they popped open after a considerable effort on my part...


Being Mother, I am not allowed this luxury of sleeping till late...After fulfilling my motherly and wifely duties...
Son went for his exam and husband went for office after breakfast and tiffin


I had to race again for finishing my household work, before picking Son up from school after exams...


When I picked him up and asked about his exams .... he said "it was good, I did all correct"


I said, "I know you do all correct, its only that mam is not able to understand :)))


When came home, he immediately told me , " I know tomorrow is holiday but I will finish my studies today only because tomorrow Nana Nani (Maternal Grandparents) are coming and I want to play with them."


I said , " Shona they will be tired after their trip to Japan, let them rest tomorrow. You have one exam left and they will be gone in 3 days, when will you get time to play?"


My sweet little child said, " I will just ask them, I will let them rest and will not force them to play with me. If they want then only I will play"


Awwww........ So sweet of him, he was so eager to play with them but he understood his responsibility and  started his studies for his next exam on 20th.


And he studied so well till the evening in anticipation of probable happiness of tomorrow...
and I was happy enjoying this spectacle...
As if he knew

If Happiness is anticipation with certainty, we were happy. ------------Toni Morrison

Day #10 of Happiness - 17 April 2016

That day of the week again............
Our bedroom clock was running slow, battery was gone and I was feeling very sleepy to bend my back and pick up my cell to check the time!!!!!
Yes !!! I have started keeping my cell on the floor beside my bed....away from me and not at the same level as me :)))

Well!!! day started as every Sunday with me preparing tea alongside preparation for brunch (Breakfast + Lunch)  but ...voila .... hubby dear woke early and came to my aid... I am greedy for the tea/ coffee made by him.... and there he was .... he fulfilled my wish and prepared a very tasty tea and we enjoyed it with the views of hillock from my window

Enjoyed Sunday with tasty brunch, snacks in the evening and cold coffee (again made by husband) and healthy dinner of kebabs and fruit salad... Day was tasty culinary treat.... and what followed was sweet, sour, tangy, spicy Happiness

Good Food is the foundation of Happiness ---- Auguste Escoffer

Day #9 of Happiness - 16 April 2016

Saturday again............For me it was not TGIF (Thank God Its Friday) this week but TGIS (Thank God Its Saturday), because husband had to go to office..


After he left for office, I had to go for some grocery shopping and then I remembered, I had to go to one of the Bank to strike off one work from 'to do list' of my pending work!!!!


I was feeling so lazy after preparing my 'to do list' that I was taking lot of time completing every work.

         

I think that I have the habit of doing work perfectly, which takes a lot of time

In bank, cash deposit machine was not working and after 2 days' holidays it was crowded too....I had to spend one hour there. After that I finished my grocery shopping, bought some fruits and went home.


I struck off one item from my 'to do list' and was happy that one work was completed unintentionally. After completing my routine household work and helping my son a little in his studies.
Loaded with satisfaction of finishing one work, I settled to finish my remaining filing work. And finished most of it, that brought a lot happiness and boosted my morale to finish my other work happily.....




 

courtesy google

Day #8 of Happiness - 15 April 2016

Day began with reading newspapers of whole week. I had those piled up under my centre table in the Hall, because I could not finish reading them in the whole week. ............ohh yes!!! I read old news papers too....

When I was on the reading spree, my son took advantage and instead of studying for his exams, he went down to play.... :)))

After hearty lunch of kali dal and chawal (Indian spiced Red lentil soup and rice), which my son and me enjoy a lot, we settled for reading our books.

I remembered our school days, when me and my brother used to eat this lunch after giving our exams.

We have a ritual for Friday afternoons of taking nap together on our couch, which my son enjoys a lot. And when I saw him happy and content, I got my happiness too.

These small small children have soooo big big happiness in soooo soooo small things.

"Be Happy for no Reason like a Child, If you are Happy for a reason, you're in trouble, because that reason can be taken from you."       ---------Deepak Chopra   

Day #7 of Happiness - 14 April 2016

Couldn't write my happiness diary yesterday but believe me, no single day passes when we don't have a moment of that ultimate happiness. Leaving that there only passing on to today.


My day started as usual. It was Ambedkar Jayanti ( Birth Anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar), Schools were closed and due to holiday, husband was going late to his office.


We had long chit chat over breakfast. After husband went for office, before starting my routine household work, I helped my son in his studies.


Day passed as usual. I again finished some of the pending filing work. In the evening, I went to nearby market and after walking nearly 3 kms ( walking app was ON in my phone), I was able to find that shop which I was searching for a long time. Nearby someone had died and people were preparing for cremation. Huge crowd had gathered to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti (in Maharashtra, it is celebrated in grand manner). Lot of police was there, I got a little scared. But all pain was worth it when I got what I wanted in that shop, and I reached home to celebrate my finding. Though I am not a big shopping fan, but sometimes I enjoy it a lot.

I purchased my reason for happiness.

Money doesn't bring happiness. I know, that's why I just went shopping to get rid of it all.

Day #5 of Happiness - 12 April 2016

My alarm rang at the ususal time in the morning... but today too I was free from making tiffin as my husband was on Day two of his tour
So while waiting for my son to wake up.....my mind started wandering towards work
I made a list of pending work... some things like kitchen cleaning, ironing of some clothes and checking bank accounts for IT Return work, filing and rearranging all the files, could be done today
So I statrted my race against time to complete this extra work along with my routine work and helping son in his studies for his ongoing exams
All day was busy and somehow I could steal an evening walk.........
At the end of the day I was sooo soooooo satisfied
After sending son to sleep, I sat in front of the TV and waited for my husband to return from his tour...
Day came to end very fast :) but I was happy and satisfied 

Human Happiness and Human Satisfaction must Ultimately come from within Oneself                        ------Dalai Lama

Day #4 of Happiness - 11 April 2016

Monday that too relaxed ??? a bliss in itself
Yes that was it... Son had exam and husband went for two days of official tour...
In the morning, after getting him ready, dropped son to school, did my routine household work and picked him up from school after exams

No tiffin ... just Dal Chawal ( Rice and lentils) for lunch

and our one meal, when husband is on tour is MAGGI (instant noodles), which we had yesterday night ...

When son studied on his own (reason to be happy for me ... )a big smile emoticon....I, on the other hand, had a lazy afternoon... read a book, took some nap and talked to my friend, while taking walk in the evening
The happiness of doing nothing.........

courtesy google

Day #3 of Happiness - 10 April 2016

Ahhh Sunday........... the most awaited day of the week

We watched movie 'Ki & Ka'... a good one

I liked the railway themed house decor in the movie a lot...
And when reflecting on it I found that .........though my husband brings the much needed finance to our household ......he is quite like that Ka in the movie....
Though I manage my house, his finances, our child's studies.....much like Ka, he cooks yummiest breakfast whenever he feels like............ and me and my son relish it a lot:))))
So this movie made my day.............
And half an hour walk with husband dear brought the much needed movement in weekend lazy body

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved"             ---------George Sand

Day #2 of Happiness - 9 April 2016

Today having weekend, whole day brings happiness.

I made a light comfort food of my version of Curd Rice in lunch, which my whole family enjoys a lot. I enjoy it because I need to spend so little time in kitchen ;)

And in afternoon snack time I made Chocolate Mug Cake, which hubby dear relished a lot and in dinner Hara Bhara Kabab ( spinach, peas, capsicum green kababs), which was my son's demand.

So today I enjoyed my Annapoorna (Deity of food in Indian Mythology) avatar a lot.

The satiated smiling faces of my dear ones brought immense happiness to me!!!!

 

" Happiness is a choice, Choose it everyday"

Day #1 of Happiness - 8 April 2016

Today as we all know Navratri (an Indian festival) has started. Its Hindu (One of the major religion of India) New Year and in Maharashtra, people are celebrating Gudi Padwa. 

In Mumbai traffic is low due to Schools/ colleges and many offices being closed.

So my husband dear decided to start late for office and both of us had morning tea at the window, chit chatting about anything and everything. Both of us enjoy these moments a lot. Though my whole schedule got disturbed, but it made my day :)

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness"

                    ----Charles Spurgeon 

Our First Experience of Staying in a Home Stay (Malaysia)

When travelling, we always want to squeeze in the local experience with our sight seeing. Sight seeing gives the knowledge of history or architecture of that particular place.

To taste the local flavour we try to eat local, try to commute by local transport available, try to shop in local market or if not shopping then just wander in local market and foremost try to live with local people, if possible in their OWN HOUSE.

When I was quite young, my parents had taken us to Kashmir (India). There we had stayed in HOUSEBOAT with a Kashmiri family. Me and my brother had grown very fond of the children in that household. We had eaten their food and shared their room. I used to follow the elder daughter of that family wherever she went, whether its for washing utensils and clothes or cooking food or  spreading clothes on the clothes line. That was so many years ago. Sharing houseboats with their owners in Kashmir has been a great attraction for many years in India but home stay culture in other parts of the nation has started sprouting very recently.

When we planned our first foreign trip to Malaysia and Singapore, we tried to find a suitable Home stay.

In Mulu, Sarawak is an island of Malaysia, which is known for its natural beauty with Gunung National Park, Various caves, streams, rivers and pinnacles etc. The caves are declared World Heritage sites by UNICEF and some of them are open for tourists. The National Park is in a tropical forest. Tourists move there on boardwalks. Whole experience is unique. A local home stay seemed the best choice to stay there instead of a hotel or resort ( though there were very few of them at that time). We were able to find a decent Home stay. The information for Home stay was available online and in Tripadvisor Mulu Homestay we could find the Home stay we stayed in.

From the Home stay's face book account we got their contact nos. and names of owners. I called them and did the booking and inquired about the amenities and rates.

On reaching there, when stepped out of the small aerodrome, we found that a jeep was waiting for us. All the Home stays owners share the jeeps and collect guests from airport at the time of incoming flights and drop them to their respective destinations.

Owner's wife was a beautiful lady, who inquired about our country and talked a lot about Indian film stars and songs and singers. Though she didn't understand the meaning, she sang Bollywood songs on karaoke and she was fan of Shahrukh Khan.

There were UK, Malaysia, Japan, Spain and US nationals staying there. The Home stay was a Malaysian home with extra rooms for guests and a hall, serving the purpose of dormitory. Rooms were basic, neat and airy. Owners had three cute cats too.   

We got a big room with six beds and an open cupboard with plenty of shelves to hold our luggage.

The owners offered us the trips to the caves in lesser price than the National Park authorities and helped in our planning.

We were allowed to use their drinking water, if we wished. Early morning all the guests were served continental and local breakfast, cooked in the owner's kitchen, at the breakfast table together. We enjoyed the yummy food a lot for whole of our stay and interacted with other occupants too. It was a beautiful experience having breakfast with so many people of various nationalities and sharing our experiences and talking about our countries.

We took bath after our each adventure there and washed and left our clothes to dry on their clothing lines, which that wonderful lady collected at the time of rains in our absence.

When we returned from our excursions, we were also offered food by the house lady, though it was not included in our package and therefore we refused to take.

We had local food in a local restaurant. In Mulu, street lights were not there, so we used to return to the Home stay in torch light in the night after our lavish dinner in the local restaurant, with sounds of insects and giant lizards and dogs's barking, which was a little creepy but at the same time added to our adventure. The giant Lizards also make sound like a dog.

Air was so clean and population so scarce. We saw their local school, hospital and my son became friends with owner's children and cats.

We just loved the experience. Talked a lot with the host and shared so much information with them.

This experience has made us greedy. Now we are looking forward to many more such home stay experiences:))))

If you have any unique experiences of staying in home stays please share in comments. I would love to learn more and utilise the information in our future journeys.

Links to similar posts:
1. Planning Malaysia Singapore Tour

Planning Malaysia Singapore tour

Two years back we had been to Malaysia and Singapore. People travel and go places, what we did, I just want to share.

 

In other parts of world, people take sabbaticals or go to same place again and again, don't plan too much for the trip or just embark but in our part of the world, we take limited leaves from jobs or schools, we plan a lot, we take packaged tours or we just go to touch the place or after retirement from job; to see the whole place without giving it a good thought at all.

 

We are not much adventure kind of people and we are more interested in SHOPPING...though the scenario is changing sharply.. young generation has started thinking like true TRAVELLERS, they are more adventurous too......

 

Here is the thinking that went into my preparations for the trip

 

1. The place to go - First thought was off course 'where to go'. We wanted to go nearby, because this was our first family trip abroad. Singapore is nearby and quite kid friendly, so for our son's sake, we zeroed in on it. With it we squeezed in Malaysia too.

 

2. Sight Seeing - After deciding about the place to visit, it was necessary to decide two important factors----- how many days we would need to spend and how much money we would need??

For that I started listing out the places to visit in both the countries. I took major help of Tripadvisor-Malaysia and Tripadvisor-Singapore. I made exhaustive list of whatever seemed interesting and see able in both the countries.

Both being South Asian countries and neighbours, their flora and fauna was got to be similar; animals, birds and insects were same. So I compared the Butterfly Parks, Zoos, Bird Parks, Botanical gardens of the two countries and chose one each from both the countries. Butterfly park and Bird Park in Malaysia (they are competitive and both are nearby to each other thus saving time in commute). Zoo and Gardens in Singapore.

Malaysia has Islands where Sarawak state is a comparatively untouched place with National Parks, World Heritage Sites declared caves and native charm. So decided to spend time there too. In addition to all these, the places unique to these countries were also included.

 

3. Rough Itinerary - I placed the places to visit in Google Maps and found out which places are located nearby and can be visited together. And from Tripadvisor Malaysia Forum and Tripadvisor Singapore Forum, I found out how much time we should give each place to see it leisurely. This way made a rough itinerary.

 

4. Planning of attractions - By searching individual websites of major attractions, I noted down their timings, ticket prices, facilities, things to take and things to remember while visiting them. Information for other attractions I got from the above mentioned Forums and Lonely Planet books.

Letter from Us to You--Three (Parents are your friends)

Our worst nightmare, when our children choose to keep things from us. When they are young and growing, we wish that they don't get wrong information from wrong sources. When they are grown ups, we hope that they know, their parents are always there. They trust us and reach out to us whenever they feel the need. My letter to my growing son.......

You are in that age where kids tease you for telling each and everything to your parents ..
When we discussed this I tried to explain the reason why you still need to share everything with your parents...
You are in growing age... there are many things, you all don't know about

Like I told you ... which programs to watch? Which books to read?? Which type of language to speak??? And much more.. which we can suggest when time comes

To avoid abusive language.. to avoid some people and to avoid some places..You need experience..You lack proper knowledge too

Vast inner Universe

When I was a kid, like many kids, I was also fascinated by the sky...

I used to ask so many questions to my parents and my father was always there to satisfy my curiosity..

He bought many books from Russian Book Fairs about space and astronauts.. and this further raised my curiosity to know what existed beyond the stars.. I used to get restless to a great extent by thinking about the Universe ...My father used to tell that if you are lucky maybe you would know the answer to that question in your life time ...

But now I have accepted the fact that Universe is there and perhaps in my next life or next to next I will be able to get the answers which this mankind is so eager to get...

and for now I just want to know what is there in D and my son's mind???

What is LO's thought process? He has so much to see and understand and there are so many different influences to his mind...

So much has changed .. my thoughts used to wander from one galaxy to another... and now whole universe has shrunk in my household....the thought of that Universe doesn't affect me a lot but what is affecting D and what LO interprets makes me restless..

 

Why the Outer Universe shrank and Inner Universe has occupied all the space?

 

As we grow old, with knowledge and experience, does our horizon expand or contract???

 

I would like the esteemed readers of my blog to discuss this with me...Please feel free to leave a comment

The Valentine's Day

I opened my eyes a bit and stretched to see in the dark.. he was not there...

I was amazed.. he was up so early for the Valentine's Day..though it was a Sunday....

laying in bed I waited for him to call me for our V Day morning walk... but..

..............I heard the doors close... perhaps I had dozed off.. and he went alone

I snatched myself from bed.. and for one hour waited for my Sweetheart .. killing time doing something here and other things there...After an hour, he came with his Sweaty looks and roses in hands.. he gave a tight hug to me and our LO and gave us roses...

At least now we were celebrating V-Day.... I had planned to cook Biryani (he loves it) in lunch ... and thought to have Gouda cheese cubelets with Red Wine.. what a perfect day (and night) that would be..

Yesterday he had brought Cranberry Breezer ... Ohhh he was also excited..