Am back after a much needed vacation... Full of new found energy and a lot of plans and resolutions :-)

I was struck by a lot of things during our vacation, this time around... More so than usual... Maybe exploring places on our own and discovering some hidden treasures along the way had a lot to do with it... Or maybe it was the fact that this was the first trip we have taken wherein we relied on our instincts for pretty much a lot of things...

One of the first things to catch my fancy was the colourful flags . . . Of all hues and colours, they were welcoming delegates to events the city was hosting, advertising certain products or simply fluttering from atop a temple or a building... Reminded me of the days when cities would be decked up to welcome their heroes :-)

I have grown up watching my granny and mom conclude their puja everyday, after praying to the 'tulasi' in our backyard... From the lush and abundant tulasi plants in my childhood, to the tulasi which struggles to survive in a pot today, the tradition has remained... What amazed me during my vacation, was the colourful 'kattes' or enclosures [???] built around lush tulasi plants in front of every house :-) Apart from being colourful, the kattes were multi storeyed too... Figurines of Gods, Godesses and serpents being the main figurines on which the tulasi stands tall . . . Maybe that's the secret behind such lush plants too !!

On our way, at a small crossroad we found 2 petty shops with the name 'Sai Tea Stall' and 'Lakshmi Wine Store' which were sharing a wall !! People sure do know which side their bread is buttered on :D

Fragrance . . . A vastly under rated sense . . . The floral fragrance which greeted us on our arrival went a long long way in soothing my anxieties, and set the mood for the wonderful time we had there . . . I should have asked the helpful handyman about the fragrance they used :( Could have been put to some inventive use ;) Well, maybe the next time . . .

Nature... She looks so different in every city... Driving to the night market on the day of our arrival, the nearly full moon was pale silver in an almost starless patch of sky... Returning just before the witching hour, we looked up at the sky and found the moon shaded a delicate gold, and surrounded by a smoky aura... Beauty !!!

The market !!! The sights, sounds and smells, alongwith the vast variety of wares on display, was a shopper's paradise... I was amazed to find all the sellers speaking in fluent English :o I heard better English being spoken there, than at offices, schools, restaurants et al . . . It was both amazing and heartening to see even old women conversing and haggling over the prices with the tourists [who were predominantly foreigners] in good English...

Another fact that left me all agape with surprize was that there were more temples than churches :D U can find a temple in almost every street . . . Churches though, are mainly clustered in and around certain areas... We found a lot of churches abandoned, in bad shape, derelict, overgrown with weeds . . . U name it, and it was there...

And the temples??? Most of the major temples were being renovated, and I did not find even one that looked abandoned . . . :D

Since we were fending for ourselves, we could afford to drive down small seemingly deserted, cul-de-sacs and found museums and churches lined all along :)

A wonderfully noisy cruise, finding a lovely cafe 'Aunty Maria's', shopping at the markets, finding our way to various places on our 'to - be - seen' list [they have wonderful directions prominently displayed], spotting a peacock on our way to see a fort and finding yet another beautiful but sadly abandoned church before it . . . All these and so many more memories were woven . . .

Sunset at the beach . . . A book in hand . . . A cup of tea . . . My man beside me . . . Each of us relaxing and enjoying nature in our own ways . . . And . . . Silence . . . Of being in perfect harmony . . . Of being totally understanding of the needs of the other . . . . . And what could be more perfect for the last evening of our vacation ? ? ?

Bliss !!!

PS: Thanx for having the energy and josh and enthusiasm for the both of us combined . . . For the first leg of a wonderful vacation.....