Happy New Year!

The Chronicles of Travelling Sisters—Bangalore

This post is first in the series of many posts that will follow. My sister and I always dreamed about going to different places, exploring cities, and meeting family and friends we know of. Initially, it was all talk, talk, and talk. Finally, one day, we did pack our bags and began our journey, a series I will call, ‘The Chronicles of Travelling Sisters.’

Our first destination was Bangalore. Located in our dear home state, Karnataka, we booked our tickets to this city one month prior to our departure. We traveled by KSRTC Airavat Club class and boy, was it a cool ride. It took us 14 hours to reach Bangalore. But, it took us an hour to enter the city itself.

Let me tell you, this city is enormous and well populated. We reached the Majestic circle as it was the final stop. Public transport is pretty decent and within 15 minutes we were in a local bus on route to another part of the city.

One thing I noticed was the many number of colleges and churches. Every place seemed to have a college and a church neatly tucked in. You either had places called as Bannergatta road or Bommanahalli or something like Cox Town or Frazer Town. The difference is striking.

There were parts of Bangalore that immediately reminded me of Pune. But compared to Pune, everything in Bangalore is huge and big. Another thing I noticed was the n number of Cafe Coffee Day outlets. They had CCD lounges out there. Ok. That was something new for me.

Travelling in the city at peak hours is maddening. Since, I experienced it firsthand; it was amazing to notice the amount of time it took to travel from one part of the city to another. Folks here keep a buffer time of one hour when travelling. Lesson learnt: I will not complain about the traffic in Pune.

Food here is fantastic. Christmas night, we went out for dinner with our family friends to a famous steak place. Wow, the flavours were superb! The portions—enormous and the ambience—homey. 

One place that needs mention is the Electronics city, a huge IT hub. I was impressed with the amount of IT companies situated in that part of town. Not to mention the security backup for these companies. There is a long stretch of flyover (about 9 kms and more) that connects Electronics city to Bangalore. You can cut much traffic travelling on that bit of road.

Krispy Kreme: How can I forget this place? Thanks to our dear friends who took us there. This place is famous for doughnuts. I usually don’t use this word, but the doughnuts were ‘awesome’.

Before we wound up, we walked through the famous M.G. Road and drove through Brigade Road. By the time, we reached Majestic circle to board the bus back home; my sister and I were pretty satisfied, though a bit tired.

Next stop, I guess will be Mumbai. That is one place I want to explore. 

Christmas to me means....

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7

Reflections

The year 2013 is practically over and we are already on the threshold of another new year. The past year was interesting in many ways. Some days and months were filled with the usual mundane things of life. And then there were the unusual days that were filled with uncertainty and gloom.

But all in all, a decent year where I know deep down in my heart I can still give thanks to God for His untold blessings. There are a couple of things I would like to list down and look back with gratefulness for the year gone by. Here we go!

Made new friends and enjoyed getting to know them

Made travel plans and even executed them as well

Made peace with the fact that all days will not be the same

Came to terms with the idea that being fit and healthy is a sure gift from God

Came to a humble understanding that all relationships require patience and hard work

Experienced the sweetness of making wise decisions

Doing all things with prayer and total dependence on God


And, finally, each day is a gift from God who is the Giver and Sustainer of my life.

Christmas is here!

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Since we are on the subject of reading, right now I am in a hurry to finish the Hobbit. The second part of the movie is releasing next week and I am hoping, seriously hoping that I will be able to complete the book before I watch the movie.

I am a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and I love his books. Thankfully, I am half-way through the Hobbit, so I guess, I should be done by the end of this weekend. Let’s see.

The movie getting released is, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.’(Click here for a sneak preview)

My Favorite List—Books

I love to read and there are some books that I would to re-read at all times.

A Tale of Two Cities:  I was introduced to this book in high school and how I loved it! I was studying French in school and the French Revolution from this novel added the much zing to the subject.

The Adventures of Oliver Twist: I received this book as a birthday gift. Charles Dickens has been my favorite writer since then. I remember being brought to tears as I read the account of this poor orphan.

Pride and Prejudice: Yeah, a book many folks love to hate. I came across this book in high school. I enjoyed reading this novel and it was the beginning of many Jane Austen series.

Jane Eyre: This book by far all means is my favorite. Dunno why, but I quite like the story and the suspense it contains.

I think, I’ll stop here. What are some of your favorite books?

Thought for the day