Home trip preparations : Mumbai is home, and a trip there gets me excited, much before the travel date ! I had been so looking forward to this vacation for various reasons :
1. It had been long i had taken a break and travelled somewhere.
2. The Delhi heat was really getting on to me, and i very much wanted to experience rains.
3. Home is where the heart is : Visiting parents means getting pampered to the full. In fact, i got so used to getting the ready-made morning coffee and breakfast, that after i came back, it took some time to go back to the kitchen :)
4. Was so looking forward to eat home cooked food and of course, the street food of Mumbai!!! ( I have been having vada pav and pav bhaji cravings since the time we booked tickets for this trip ! )
5. There's something about Mumbai...i feel super energetic there...Have you all visited Mumbai? And is there any specific reason you like or don't like it? Yes, there's a lot to not like in Mumbai too... the traffic jams, the smell of sea/fish, humid climate, slum areas...but for a true Mumbaiite like me, these things doesn't matter. The smell, the sight, everything seems like a part of us...
A Food- trip : Food-oholic as me and hubby are, this time we decided to make our Mumbai- Pune trip a "Food-athon". Since there were no functions or ceremonies to attend this time, we could devote a lot of time at home and exploring some old-new places to eat. They may not be a new-find for a lot of people, but the newness existed for us, as we had never visited them before. We actually had a list planned of "Places to go" to eat !!! A few changes here and there, we followed it to the full. And so were we engrossed in our own trip, that we didn't get time to meet some relatives and friends ( So i want to say sorry to them ), and the next time, we will make it a 'Friends-trip' for sure:)
I actually started preparing for the trip just a day before, as i had my pet sitting bookings till then. I particularly want to mention about this Mango-fanatic cute little angel i pet-sitted for about 31 days!!! He would go crazy seeing mangoes and his jumps were adorable to see :)So he did taste a few of my summer mango recipes- a bit of Mango Kulfi and a spoon of Mango Shrikhand !!! Alvin, as his name is , is one sweetheart and gave us lot of enjoyable moments when he was with us :)
So a hurried visit to the beauty-parlour, removing the bags, packing clothes and goodies, and making chai-masala as ordered by my father ( He loves the chai-masala i make...In case, you haven't seen the recipe, here it is... http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.com/2013/11/homemade-tea-masala-ek-garam-chai-ki.html ) and making sure that everything else is in order - All this happened in almost half a day! We always worry about our fish tanks and plants ( especially since it's summers) when we go out, but some or the other friend always comes to rescue. And this time one of hubby's friend Romi made sure that we have a stress-free vacation by visiting our home every alternate day :) Special thanks to him !
We had time at hand, so we travelled by train. And to be honest, i enjoy travelling by train more than flight...the journey actually gets exciting. There is so much to experience while on a train journey...People haggling with the coolies, the bored expressions while waiting for the train, the food stalls buzzing with customers and especially the kids demanding chips and chocolates, the fight to keep the bags under the berth and so on... Technology at it's best, these days people spend their journey time talking on phone or internet and we see laptops and i pad's being kid's toys. In earlier days, friendships used to happen overnight in trains, and people used to bond over food, sharing tiff-ins and talking about politics. There used to be fun and laughter and sharing jokes over playing cards and singing songs. But nevertheless, i still enjoy the train journey, as it somehow gives a satisfaction of having "travelled".
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Rajdhani is one of the fastest express train in India introduced in 1969. Rajdhani means "capital" in Hindi. According to Google, the first Rajdhani Express left New Delhi station for Howrah station to cover a distance of 1,445 km in 17 hours 20 minutes. Fully air-conditioned train, they give the best facility possible. Though of late, i feel their food-quality has dropped down as compared to earlier. But, the comforts are worthwhile and the staff super friendly :)
.JPG)
So, there we left for our food trip from New Delhi railway station... Wait to read more :))
1. It had been long i had taken a break and travelled somewhere.
2. The Delhi heat was really getting on to me, and i very much wanted to experience rains.
3. Home is where the heart is : Visiting parents means getting pampered to the full. In fact, i got so used to getting the ready-made morning coffee and breakfast, that after i came back, it took some time to go back to the kitchen :)
4. Was so looking forward to eat home cooked food and of course, the street food of Mumbai!!! ( I have been having vada pav and pav bhaji cravings since the time we booked tickets for this trip ! )
5. There's something about Mumbai...i feel super energetic there...Have you all visited Mumbai? And is there any specific reason you like or don't like it? Yes, there's a lot to not like in Mumbai too... the traffic jams, the smell of sea/fish, humid climate, slum areas...but for a true Mumbaiite like me, these things doesn't matter. The smell, the sight, everything seems like a part of us...
A Food- trip : Food-oholic as me and hubby are, this time we decided to make our Mumbai- Pune trip a "Food-athon". Since there were no functions or ceremonies to attend this time, we could devote a lot of time at home and exploring some old-new places to eat. They may not be a new-find for a lot of people, but the newness existed for us, as we had never visited them before. We actually had a list planned of "Places to go" to eat !!! A few changes here and there, we followed it to the full. And so were we engrossed in our own trip, that we didn't get time to meet some relatives and friends ( So i want to say sorry to them ), and the next time, we will make it a 'Friends-trip' for sure:)
I actually started preparing for the trip just a day before, as i had my pet sitting bookings till then. I particularly want to mention about this Mango-fanatic cute little angel i pet-sitted for about 31 days!!! He would go crazy seeing mangoes and his jumps were adorable to see :)So he did taste a few of my summer mango recipes- a bit of Mango Kulfi and a spoon of Mango Shrikhand !!! Alvin, as his name is , is one sweetheart and gave us lot of enjoyable moments when he was with us :)
So a hurried visit to the beauty-parlour, removing the bags, packing clothes and goodies, and making chai-masala as ordered by my father ( He loves the chai-masala i make...In case, you haven't seen the recipe, here it is... http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.com/2013/11/homemade-tea-masala-ek-garam-chai-ki.html ) and making sure that everything else is in order - All this happened in almost half a day! We always worry about our fish tanks and plants ( especially since it's summers) when we go out, but some or the other friend always comes to rescue. And this time one of hubby's friend Romi made sure that we have a stress-free vacation by visiting our home every alternate day :) Special thanks to him !
We had time at hand, so we travelled by train. And to be honest, i enjoy travelling by train more than flight...the journey actually gets exciting. There is so much to experience while on a train journey...People haggling with the coolies, the bored expressions while waiting for the train, the food stalls buzzing with customers and especially the kids demanding chips and chocolates, the fight to keep the bags under the berth and so on... Technology at it's best, these days people spend their journey time talking on phone or internet and we see laptops and i pad's being kid's toys. In earlier days, friendships used to happen overnight in trains, and people used to bond over food, sharing tiff-ins and talking about politics. There used to be fun and laughter and sharing jokes over playing cards and singing songs. But nevertheless, i still enjoy the train journey, as it somehow gives a satisfaction of having "travelled".
Rajdhani is one of the fastest express train in India introduced in 1969. Rajdhani means "capital" in Hindi. According to Google, the first Rajdhani Express left New Delhi station for Howrah station to cover a distance of 1,445 km in 17 hours 20 minutes. Fully air-conditioned train, they give the best facility possible. Though of late, i feel their food-quality has dropped down as compared to earlier. But, the comforts are worthwhile and the staff super friendly :)
So, there we left for our food trip from New Delhi railway station... Wait to read more :))
Love Mumbai street foods... Specially pav n pani poori��Alvin is so cute who reminds me of our dog... N very true missing your fish on long trips... When ever I travel to my native, the first to welcome me is our dog.. Feeling nostalgic ��
ReplyDeleteHey Ree... Absolutely... Mumbai paav has it's own taste...Haven't found it anywhere else... Oh really? You have a pug too? That's awesome ! Yes, their wags and licks are to die for :)
Deleteseems you had a great trip...waiting for the other posts
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely wonderful... Sure, the other posts coming soon... I have so many pics and so much to write... :)))
DeleteHeard about the super heat in Delhi. . . . .and its mid July !!
ReplyDeleteMumbai is a place where you get into the groove automatically. Bonding over sharing tiffins still happens :-)
Yes, It is super hot in Delhi... plus humidity levels have risen up...Delhi always has extreme climates... Hope it rains sometime soon and the temperature comes down!!!
DeleteYes, train journeys are super fun :)
I haven't traveled to Mumbai. There is still so much of the world to see. I did talk with a man from India that was visiting Minneapolis this weekend though.
ReplyDeleteYes Sharon, Absolutely ! Even i feel at times, that there is so much to see, and so much to read that one life seems less :)) Heheh... But yes, You must visit Mumbai... and when you do, i will be your host :)
Delete