And Then We Could Go No Further

Memories of a great trip to Sikkim. Will write more some other time :)

Deft Hands & European Pickpockets - Part Two

For first time readers, just scroll down a few posts down and you can get the first part of the story.

For my other readers , Sorry for keeping you long :)

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So, there we were in the middle of the night facing the predicament of spending the night at the Brussels railway station. We were tired after the long journey and badly wanted to sleep. But more importantly, we wanted a warm place. This was a problems as the station had no heating. It was closed yet it was so cold outside that even with your complete winter gear, you felt the chill.
To go out in search of bars, pubs was certainly out of question as we were in no mood for it after such an exhausting journey. We decided to spend our night in the station.

Unlike the Indian railway stations, the Belgian railway stations close at night from around 1 in the night to 4 in the morning and the station is cleared for this duration. This was another added tension.

Thus we waited, sitting on the ultra cold metallic chairs. The station was practically empty, hardly 10 people. A Moroccan guy, some blacks, some Europeans( looked east European ) a Chinese/mongoloid couple and we Indians. The cold was getting to me. I thought, its better to keep awake and warm by walking around the station. So I beckoned my friend ( Rahul ) for a stroll around.

We walked around, checked out the huge railway timetables pasted on the boards, discussed some vague things and lamented on our bad luck.

As we loitered around we saw a few north Africans ( Moroccans perhaps ) sitting in one corner with shabby bags. We looked at them, they looked back. And suddenly one of them started singing Ram Jaane,Ram Jaane ( the song from the SRK movie with the same name ) and asked us if we are from India. We said yes. I was not so enthusiastic about the guy. There was something sinister. Looked like a junkie you often encounter in games. After a little exchange of words, he stood up and came over.I backed off ( Had heard stories of mugging in railway stations ) while my friend was still continuing with them. After a while I turned back to see what was happening. I saw my friend surrounded by two other guys along with the first guy.

Thats all for tonight :D

Mumbai - Things I Liked

Two months at Mumbai do warrant a critical appreciation of all that make Mumbai what it is. Though "they" have changed the name, i still prefer calling it Bombay.
Before I start with the list, the Standard Disclaimer - the views are my own, and are representative of what I observed and felt during my two month stay .

Things I Liked

1. The City Never Sleeps - You can always find people hurring down the road at all times of the day and night.
2. The Ubiquitous Autowallahs - You will find them everywhere, engaging customers in the most matter of fact way, as if it were not a business but a 8 hour regular job. They insist on meters, and unlike other cities are not that eager to con innocent passengers. maybe they are better off otherwise.
3. On Time Local Trains - Yeah, most of the times they are, and the fact that they are on time does indeed make a hell of a lot of difference to the way as Mumbai is.
4. Pleasant Summers - Maybe it was because of me staying very close to the powai and the vihar lakes, but all in all the summer experience was pleasant.
5. BEST buses - Yes, they rock. The build, the drivers, the conductors ... Much underrated among all the public transport systems in mumbai.
6. The Common Man/Woman - There's something about mumbaikars. Its strange, it always seems as if they have sense of good or bad perhaps, some intrinsic knowledge ... some vague things that actually comforts you and convinces you that the struggle they take up everyday ( read life ) has some purpose... its the understanding perhaps... but there is something ...
7. The Uncommon Man/Woman - Oh yeah, the city is full of them. The party hoppers, the filmstars in huge cars, the brokers ... its a melting pot of some sorts
8.Vada Pav - Half the mumbaiya snacks are a pav ( bun ) combination ... pav bhaji, misal pav, usal pav ... and the king of them all the vada pav. Its a divine combo and its gets better as u go into the interiors
9. The Sea - Do I need to say anything???
10. Goan/Mumbai Music & The Party Scene - We had this huge company sponsored party, a dance floor with 500 people . People all dressed up for the occasion. And dressed up like anything. It was an 'eye' opener. Literally.

Mumbai , the Maximum City, is all about people. It has transformed me in some ways. The crucible that brought out the best in some and the worst in some.

Saludos. Mumbai.

~Rossos

Chattisgarh!

Chattisgarh, like Orissa, is largely tribal, densely forested and ultra rich in ores and minerals. It is also home to a large number of relatively unknown( at the national level ) tourist places. Like the following places i visited this january with my family. Chitrakoot and Tirathgarh, both majestic waterfalls . Have a look.