“Yehi sach hai shaayad maine pyaar kiya”

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Aate jaate hanste gaate
Socha tha maine mann mein kai baar
Tum kaun ho batla to do
Kyon karne lagi main tumpe aitbaar

HELLO WORLD!! How have you all been?? I Just got back from my wonderful vacation from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. I have a few pictures to share and lots and lots of recipes :o) In fact most of my pictures will be of food! The food in all three countries was fantastic…but Bhatji and I hands down loved Singapore food and culture. The country is so modern and well maintained that we didn’t miss the US once through our 5 days there. It’s so clean that everyone eats at hawker stalls because they’re cheaper and offer authentic Malay food. Singaporeans rarely go to restaurants unless it is to celebrate something. And eating out at a decent restaurant is ridiculously expensive. Fortunately we had a wonderful driver who showed us all that we needed to see in Singapore and we ate at the most authentic Malay food stalls ever. Bhatji and I were in foodie heaven. Singapore’s night life is hoppin poppin with lots of beautiful people and interesting bars and clubs. Alcohol is expensive in comparison to the US…for example a bottle of the local beer called Tiger beer...is about 10-15 Singaporean dollars = US$ 7-10. But it’s still worth checking out the night life especially in the area called Clark Quay. I recommend Singapore highly as a fun travel spot.
Malaysia was fun as well. Kuala Lumpur is definitely a must see for the majestic PETRONAS towers and Genting highlands. We had heard in Singapore that Malaysia is not as clean as Singapore and to avoid eating at the hawker stalls, so Bhatji and I were a bit weary to trying the local foods at smaller stalls. However we still enjoyed some good food at decent restaurants that weren’t too pricey. And we also checked out the night life since there was a row of restaurants, pubs and clubs right across the street from our hotel. Again all the young Malaysian know how to have a great time and the music was awesome! Malaysia and Singapore has a big South Indian population that are settled there for years so we also indulged in some super authentic south Indian food such as enormous paper dosas and the softest idlis that you can probably only get in Chennai. I know you can get these even in the US but trust me when I say that you cannot compare the tastes at all! The Tamil population there know how to make their dosas :o)
Thailand was the least of our favorites. Probably because it was over populated with horrific traffic and the dirtiest out of the 3 countries and because I was comparing it to Singapore and Malaysia (I know it’s a completely different country with a different culture but I couldn’t help it!) Nevertheless, the people are kind, the country is brimming with culture and the food is amazing. But you can get really great Thai food here in the US as well. The only difference was that there were things on the menus there that I hadn’t seen in the US. I tried a few new things and they were delicious! However the curries are pretty much the same here. The other thing that wasn’t tourist friendly was that everything in Bangkok is a 3 hour drive away. In one day we spent almost 6 hours total in a car, getting to the floating market, river Kwai, elephant trekking and the tiger temple and getting back to the hotel. Also we made the mistake of booking a one day flight to Phuket and back to Bangkok. Phuket is experiencing the monsoon season right now so when we got to the hotel we only got a few hours on the beach before it started pouring rain but Bhatji and I made the most of it and relaxed in our amazing hotel room. And yes we had taken the One Two Go airlines to Phuket the day before the dreadful crash! In fact I believe it was the same plan that had brought us to Bangkok that crashed on its way back to Phuket. Bhatji and I were definitely shaken up a little and we vowed never to take discount flights again…..well at least for right now.
All in our entire trip was marvelous and I am really glad that we took the time to make such an incredible trip before Bhatji begins his busy work life. There is lots more I would like to share but I just wanted to pen some quick thoughts into my blog…just so that people knew that I am alive and back....safe and sound :o) Keep an eye for some pictures that I will posting soon. That’s all for now folks….Happy autumn.