Dark chocolate sets the mood

Not that the mood is dark!

Yappy Noo Ya folks! And with the new year, I post something that I've never posted before. A review of my stash of dark chocolates I got as gifts.

I start with Green & Black's Organic dark chocolates. It is a UK-based chocolate company, owned by one of two companies formerly known as Kraft Foods. The company produces a range of chocolate bars, ice cream, biscuits and hot chocolate. 

Interestingly, its products are organic and therefore priced at a premium. 

The box i got. Yummy!

 The box included two rows of five different flavours of chocolates: Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts, Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts and Black Currants, Dark Chocolate with 70% Cocoa Solids, Dark Chocolate with Ginger, and Dark Chocolate with 85% Cocoa Solids.
 

 

This was my favourite. For obvious reasons. Two actually: dark chocolate and hazelnuts! 

You can see the black currant and hazelnuts jostling for space. The mini bar had enough ingredients inside to keep you pleasantly occupied for a good...umm...5 minutes?

 

The classic dark chocolates, both 70% and 85%, were perfect. They were reminiscent of the lovely Dove dark chocolates that i was fortunate to have some months ago.

 

  
The ginger one was a surprise. It actually had tiny bits of sweetened ginger bits, which was nice but a bit too sweet for dark chocolate. 

There was a sweet note at the back of the box. Very thoughtful. It said:

Hopefully, my next box will have the cherry bar. The company has an amazing range of chocolates - milk chocolate with Anglesey sea salts (whoa!), dark chocolate with six spices including chillies (oh my god!), and so much more. 

For more chocolate porn, see Green & Black's website.   

SIkkim to host winter carnival this December

Sikkim is the latest region to add carnivals to promote tourism. It is gearing up to host the first winter carnival this December.

So if you still haven't booked your Christmas holiday, this is a good option. The carnival will be celebrated from December 22-24. 

The first winter carnival will promote its ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture, cuisine and organic products. 

Sikkim is also great for adventure sports and witnesses a lot of international tourists from Japan, Europe and England.

It has reportedly spent close to Rs 1 crore to organise this winter carnival. Let's see if it proves to be worth it and not turn out to be another Commonwealth Games.  

Guest post: Christmas lights in London (part II)

So here I am. Another day in London. Working by day and admiring the amazing Christmas decorations by night. It's probably the best time to be in the city.

It is perhaps mandatory to at least walk by Harrods when in London. And there I was too. Walking by.  

Harrods

Harrods

Hyde Park was exactly this. A winter wonderland!

Hyde Park

Coming out of the Holborn tube station, I saw this massive tree decorated with lights. 

Near Holborn tube

On my agenda was also to make a visit to Somerset House overlooking the Thames. Despite the windchill, I enjoyed my time there. There was something very warm about the place and you will see what I mean in the photographs. 

Somerset House

Any visit to Europe would be incomplete without a visit to the Christmas markets. I chose the Southbank Centre Christmas market.

Southbank Centre Christmas market

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The contributor of this article continues to remain anonymous. To read the first part of this post, see here.

Guest post: Christmas lights in London

Tis the season to be jolly. It's when all the lights and the decorations from last year are taken out and put up. 

A lot of people plan their holidays around this and visit destinations that are known for their Christmas lights and decorations on the streets and in the shops. I was lucky enough to have to visit London on work around this time and witness the city's Christmas lights. 

Here are some of this years snapshots of what London looks like this December. And it was pretty as hell!

A London street

Leicester Square

A pretty cafe in Leicester Square

A pretty Christmas tree on Regent Street. The out-of-focus shot is due to...er...windchill 

A cafe in Covent Garden

Covent Garden

A clothing shop on good ol' Linking Road

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The contributor wishes to remain anonymous on grounds of possible defamation by the owner of this blog and much against her wishes. But it must be said that 'he' is an avid hockey and footballer player and a budding photographer. He constantly struggles to maintain his work-weight balance. To pass on useful tips on any of the above, you can write to me and your message shall be delivered.

**Sweet revenge, thou art mine!**  

Treat for adventure lovers by Ashok Dilwali

If you're a mountain lover like myself and are in Delhi during the first week of December unlike myself, then there's a treat awaiting you.

The Himalayan Club aptly based out of the capital will be hosting an illustrated talk by noted photographer Ashok Dilwali titled 'Lens and Passion'.

In a career spanning 42 years and counting, Dilwali has dedicated himself to mountain photography. During this time, he has managed a staggering 300-plus trips to the mountains and many times to the same place.

Each image selected for this talk has a story behind it and is the artist's personal favourite. To know more about Ashok Dilwali, check out his website here.

Date: Saturday, December 7, 2013.
Time: 7pm 
Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road 

Guest post: A Goan quickie during monsoon

My husband and I like to take short holidays throughout the year. So we try not to spend too much on these quick getaways and instead indulging ourselves during our annual vacations.

Goa is one destination we can holiday on pretty much every weekend. It’s such a laidback destination and designed for lazy people like ourselves, relaxing on the beach and sipping cocktails.

Our train travail

We decided to visit Goa after a gap of a few years this July. My husband had been insisting on me experiencing the Konkan Railway route so we decided to take a trainthis time. It was monsoon at its peak; it was raining the day we left till the time we reached Goa.

In our enthusiasm to make most of the four days, we booked an early morning train from Thane, which meant that we pretty much slept all the way. Either way, the train journey turned out to be a horrible experience. Our bogey was full of families along with their non-stop crying machines, which are commonly referred to as toddlers. But who’d have known.

 

Clean and pristine Candolim beach

We got off at Madgaon station and took a cab to our guest house called D’mello’s. Our taxi dropped us off near a small lane because this property is enclosed within a wooded area and the only way to reach it is to take a short walk from the road.

Day 1: At D'mello's 

The property is sprawling and our room had the best view. We were right on Calangute beach; it was literally five steps from the sea. The owner also runs a beach shack but it was shut because of the monsoon.

The room was big and very neat and the balcony offered a remarkable view. After checking in, we went to the beach. It was high tide and empty save for some fishermen and a scattering of tourists. 

View from our room at D'Mello's

We walked to the main Calangute market and bought some essential stuff to get us through the night like late-night munchies, wine, etc. It rained like crazy and were completely drenched by the time we returned to our room, despite an umbrella.

If you're planning to stay here, you need to know a few things. There is no TV (which is okay), no mosquitoes repellents, no electric geyser (they rely on solar ones which is of no use when its cloudy) and no phone in the room. 

Because of the lack of phone in the room, we had to walk all the way to their kitchen to place our food order. And yeah, they don’t have a concept of quick room service. But then again, impatience comes very naturally to us Bombaywallahs. 

We paid Rs 1200 a day for our room. According to the owner, the rate doubles during peak season.

Day 2: South Goa 

This was when the actual fun began. We reached Baywatch Resort is a beautiful 3-star property on Serenabatim beach in South Goa. This too was right on the beach and due to off-season our room (sea-facing) was priced at Rs 2,400 per day. 

The service at the resort is great. But like most beach properties, this one too is far from the main market. Fortunately, the resort has live performances in the evening at their resto-bar.

Baywatch Resort

Most casinos are in North Goa but there's one in South at Zuri White Sands, Goa Resort & Casino. It charges Rs 1,000 per head as cover and includes unlimited food and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). They even give you tokens for roulette. 

But the casino is quite sad in terms of upkeep and the crowd. Most of them looked like serious gamblers. We played a bit of roulette and tried our luck at slot machines - most of them were not even working. But just as I was regretting our decision to come here, I won a jackpot which was 50 times the bet. So we cashed out and left because we knew it wasn't going to get better than this.

Our room at Baywatch Resort

We took our rented Activa (rented at Rs 400 per day) and went to Colva market to do a bit of shopping. We got back in time for another live performance at our hotel.

On our last afternoon in Goa, just before leaving for the station, we lunched at Martin’s Corner for old times’ sake and we couldn't leave without eating here. Although we both are vegetarians. But I've heard their crabs are to die for. 

A live performance at the hotel

And just like that, three days went by in a flash. Thankfully, our return journey on the evening train was better than our onward journey even though we couldn't really see the Konkan route. Sometimes an old woman who keeps to herself is all one needs to enjoy a train journey.

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Chhavi Dang made a dent in the exciting world of journalism with stints at The Economic Times and then CNBC Awaaz where she met her husband. 

She loves her wine and her space. If you wish to invade it or need a top-line PR consultant, you can contact her at chhavi.dang@gmail.com. 

Tourism Ministry creates 'Walking Tours' for tourists

Our tourism department is working its way slowly towards doing away with paper brochures. It recently joined hands with a mapping company start-up to create walking tours for tourists.

This product will be available on the website Wonobo.Com  which will have details regarding route map, famous eateries, monuments and parks of 12 major cities - including Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.   

  

This, it hopes, will make it easy for tourists to walk or drive through the most-visited cities in India by providing tourism-related information at one place.

The site will soon cover 54 cities in the country and will be linked to the Incredible India website. It will be available on mobile phone as well.

Wonobo actually beat Google to launch street view maps for India. It also kind of has a catchy name; names with fewer syllables are easier to remember.

The site is predictably heavy and may need to sort some cosmetic issues. Tech blogger Srinivas Kulkarni has written a detailed review of this site and is quite interesting to read. You can do that here. 

Guest post:The Loshegani sunrise

Loshegani is a dreamy hamlet in Nainital in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. In this paradise stands a spectacular little place called Villa Loshegani at 7,000 feet.

On a clear day, you can actually get a glimpse of the great Himalayan range which is almost 400 kms away. With a telescope, one can actually see the Badrinath and Kedarnath peaks from here.

My friends and I decided to holiday here a few years ago and we had the entire place to ourselves for all the five nights we were there. This included the mountains, the hamlets, its people and the serene winter that came with it. 

We spent hours walking these hills and meeting the locals, who saw us city folks as urbanised aliens. We had a great time walking around on these hills for about six hours with a stray dog for company. He just trailed alongside us as I took my time taking photographs. 

Loshegani Sunrise

The photograph above was taken at 5:30 am with the sun rising slowly behind the mountains and the day breaking dawn.

On one such trails, we met a woman from a village four kms away. She was collecting dry leaves in a sack which had swollen to twice her size by now. She does this everyday and sells them in the local market. 

We also met school kids walking to school six to eight kms away in another village. They'd walk the distance to and fro everyday five days a week!  

That place, the hills and its people had a world of their own and they were happy where they were. They personified true contentment.

Also on our agenda was a three-day music festival called 'Escape' in Naukuchiatal which is three hours south of Loshegani. 

Click here to see more pictures from the Loshegani trip. To check the villa we stayed in and book it for yourself, go here.

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This post was contributed by Bhavesh Bangdiwala, who is a budding photographer and a serious music aficionado. He spends his time travelling around the world collecting LPs of offbeat 'non-mainstream' music and indie bands. 

He likes to listen to the sounds of the world without prejudice. If it catches his ear, it becomes part of his collection. For him, it's all about giving complete attention to the artist and respecting their hard work by paying the small price they ask for to own their art. Get a peak into his world of music by signing up for his newsletter. He can be contacted at bangdiwalas@yahoo.com.

Going for Sachin's last? Hitch a free ride!

'Smaaash'ing news for Tendulkar fans!

As a tribute to the master blaster, travel website Musafir.com will be offering free cab rides to spectators attending Sachin Tendulkar's (much-hyped) farewell test match at Wankhede Stadium.

of course, there's a fair amount of economics involved. As reported earlier, Tendulkar has recently acquired a minority stake in the online travel agent (OTA). Read the story here. Tendulkar will play his 200th test match against West Indies in Mumbai from Nov 14 to Nov 18.

According to reports, Musafir.com will make available 200 TABcabs for fans free of cost during those five days. The rides will be from different junctions of the city to Wankhede Stadium. 

Fans or not, spectators looking to get a free ride will only need to show their match tickets. Still, it remains to be seen whether this will result in chaos or not. Because let's face it, distances in Mumbai are huge.

Having said that, they can be assured of good service from TABcabs. Personally, I much prefer them over Meru. And if you're planning to book one for a ride to the airport on those days, be adequately warned. 

Lonely Planet rates Sikkim as best region to visit in 2014

So now that we have a stamp from LP, we can be rest assured that Sikkim will see a spike in tourist arrivals.

It sure comes in my top 5 list, pretty close to Ladakh. Yeah, it’s that pretty! In fact, I had written a love story based in Sikkim for one of my fiction writing assignments while studying journalism. And even got an ‘A’ for it.

So in keeping with the theme of Google Trends, my next post will be on Sikkim from a guest writer. And I assure you it will be non-fictional. So look out.

According to CNN.com, Sikkim was voted the best region for "showing the way for what could be the future of India's tourism industry."

Kalimpong in Sikkim has a very British charm to it

Top three destinations on the hot-off-the-press Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014 chart is: Brazil, Antarctica (what! really?) and Scotland.

The rationale: Brazil is hosting the World Cup. Antartica because it is the centenary of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, while Scotland's nod is mainly due to it staging the Commonwealth Games in the summer and celebrating the Year of Homecoming for overseas Scottish.

Read CNN's full coverage here.

LP's top 10 regions for 2014

1. Sikkim, India

2. Kimberly

3. Yorkshire

4. Hokuriku, Japan

5. Texas

6. Victoria Falls

7. Mallorca

8. West Coast, New Zealand

9. Hunan, China

10. Ha'apai Tonga

Guest post: Decathlon, a Disneyland for sports fanatics

I was told about Decathlon by a friend, a major sports enthusiast, about a year ago. He had come back completely impressed by the store. But honestly, I had no intention of taking the effort to go all the way to Thane to check it out. 

Besides, I was only into running at that time. For someone like me whose focus is merely to complete one marathon per year, my needs were basic so I really had no desire to invest that much time.

But it seems like it was destined. I graduated (rather lazily) to an Oxfam 100-km trail walk in Lonavala. So now, my needs for a trail walk were anything but basic. 

I needed equipment to help me through this arduous trail. That’s when another friend, who is also into sports, suggested I make a little trip to Decathlon. 

I had heard that this store was massive. But that had not prepared me for what i was about to witness.

Some stuff that I bought

This mega-store is overwhelming! I was simply awestruck and frankly a little lost. Is this in India and that too in Mumbai? It has dedicated lanes for each sport: from cycling and running to hiking, swimming and yoga. It even has a lane for mountaineering!  

The store pampered me with the number of options under every category. So I decided to take some guidance from the Decathlon staff. 

I have shopped across brands but never have I come across staff that is so well-informed about their products. In fact, the most impressive part was that they were sportspeople themselves. They looked the part too. They even had MacBooks that provided information on the inventory. So cool.

I tried my best not to go overboard. But I still managed to shop till I dropped. A fortune. I bought trekking shoes, yoga pants, LED torch, T-shirts, hiking bag and a trekking stick - all for Rs 7,000 in three hours flat. 

But no regrets though. Decathlon is THE destination for sports and my go-to for all my sporting needs. Psst... I hear their sales are awesome and totally worth it!

If you can't afford to travel to Thane, you can find Decathlon resellers in Mumbai for your convenience. Check the list here.

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This post was contributed by my friend Anjali Talreja, who is my go-to for anything regarding Bandra. If you wish to join her on the 100-km Oxfam walking trail or simply need help getting around in Bandra, you can contact her at talreja.anjali@gmail.com. She is a consultant in the financial domain and can also be spotted moonlighting as a financial wizard in academic circles.    

Tendulkar becomes a ‘Musafir’

It’s the journey, not the destination stupid. And from Tendya to Tendulkar, it has been quite an eventful one for Sachin. You can almost hear him go: "Musafir hooon yaaron..."

Sorry, bad joke.

His latest in the string of commercial boasts (after he signed up as a minority stakeholder in Mumbai’s interactive gaming hub SMAAASH!) is the online travel company Musafir.com.  

This Sharjah-based travel portal launched its India operations last week with Sachin again starring as a minority stakeholder (with 7.5% stake) as well as its brand ambassador, which bodes well for the company considering his (fading?) popularity.

Sachin at the launch of Musafir.com

The portal was founded in 2007 by trio Albert Dias, Sachin Gadoya and Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al Thani. It had already been selling tickets on an India website for the last couple of months. 

Musafir.com will not be limited to online operations. It also plans to enter the retail space and plans to add 12 stores in India by next year. It already has 11 offline stores and nine branches across the UAE.

Its India operations will be funded through the UAE-based Universal Travels & Tourism and India-based Viva Holdings, according to Economic Times.

The partnership with Sachin Tendulkar includes a global marketing campaign that includes radio, television and outdoor media in which Tendulkar will be seen showing the travellers ‘a new way to go ghoomne’. Whatever that means.

The good part is that Musafir will NOT be charging any ‘convenience fee’, which is now a standard charge by all online travel companies.

Either way, Sachin is smart enough to know that he should keep his eggs in multiple baskets. Well, more power to Sachin.

Check out Musafir.com as well as its Facebook page.

(Image Courtesy: facebook.com/musafirdotcom)

Book review: 'Aisle Be Damned' by Rishi Piparaiya

Humour, in whatever form, has always been popular with the audience; everyone loves a good laugh. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to create and so the humourist is decidedly walking on thin ice until the applause is heard.   

Writing humour is no different. Barring the classics and few contemporary writers, one can hardly rely on anything else available in the market right now for comic relief.

That is why I was looking forward to reading Rishi Piparaiya's debut novel 'Aisle Be Damned'. Humour, intertwined with travel, can provide a huge scope for comedy.  

I was proved right. And wrong. 

Promoted as a mix of travel notes made by the author with a focus on airports and air travel, 'Aisle Be Damned' is exactly that: travel notes. Which isn't a problem. It has a very promising title and a good start and Piparaiya touches upon ALL aspects of flying - right from checking-in to getting through immigration and everything in between. 

But somewhere in the middle the book begins to read more and more like a collection of jokes and funny (and some not so funny) anecdotes. A little transition in between topics would have been appreciated. A bit smoother than just a lazy "Speaking of..."

Of course, there are some really funny moments. Like when he talks of the elbow-room fights: "A flight is just a subtle battle for elbow space." This is so true and therefore so funny. 

Unfortunately, the aforementioned 'moments' are few and far-between. The funnies that do stumble out from the book are very Dave Barry-esque. Even the layout and photographs with funny captions are reminiscent of Barry's books. Probably a fan too.

As for the flying tips, Piparaiya swings between genuine, practical tips and just plain hyperbolic flying pigs. For someone who has traveled extensively, I was expecting some real tips on flying well. 

Here's a tip of my own: If you're traveling in twos and want to fly comfortably, take the aisle and window seats. Chances of anyone taking the single middle seat are low (if the flight isn't full) and you may end up with all three seats!    

'Aisle Be Damned' might still be a good read while travelling though. And at Rs 250, it won't hurt you too much if you are by any chance disappointed. 

Check this site called Infibeam for more details on the book. It is offering a discount of 20% (Rs 50) on it.

About the writer: 

Rishi Piparaiya has worked in the banking sector and is currently the CMO of Aviva Life Insurance.
This 214-page book was supposedly titled 'How to Book and How to Fly' before he changed it to the final one. He finished the book in five weeks, working late nights and weekends. You can read more about him in an interview he did with afaqs.  
He also has a Facebook page for the book that gives more information on its availability, how to contact him and reviews. 

'Cycling Prohibited' says Kolkata!

What does a socialist state that is struggling with crowd and pollution and relies heavily on the unorganised sector do to ease traffic problems on its roads? Well, ban the bicycles of course!

The city has barred all bicycles, non-motorized rickshaws, carts and cycle vans from 174 of its roads. This is like an extension of the ban that was imposed on about three dozen of its streets in 2008. Authorities say that this move is aimed at easing traffic flow. To this, i want to say 'pshaw!'

This sounds like a perfect example of how a city can devolve. It encourages something that it can very well do without: vehicles. Rather, it discourages something that the the city can really use to sort out some of its major issues like crowd, pollution and most of all more cars on the road than it can handle: cycles and hand-drawn rickshaws.

And has it really considered the effects of this law on the poor who depend on their cycles for their livelihood? The milkman, the waterman, the rickshaw guy?

What does this say about the city's attitude toward its poor? Most of all, what does it really say about the common sense of the government (read Mamata Banerjee) that passes such laws? 

Moreover, small, cycle-drawn carts are essential in a city like Kolkata. If you have visited the city, you will know why. Many trucks (hell, many cars) can’t navigate its narrow, colonial-era lanes.

As against this, other cities like New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune are encouraging more and more people to get on cycles with dedicated bike lanes. But Kolkata doesn't believe in this idea.   

A campaign has been started to convince Commissioner of Police, Traffic Department, Kolkata to lift the ban on cycling on the 38+ major roads. This petition is available here for anyone to sign.

See how Down to Earth covered this story.

Amazing Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata in 2013

Even though I have been to Kolkata innumerable times, I have somehow never managed to be there during the pujo. 

Its a time of chaos (actually chaos starts about a month before that) and celebrations, dressing up and eating well, of pandal-hopping and socialising. 

Posting some images of beautiful pandals this year (in no particular order), courtesy my cousin @VaibhavJain who is in Kolkata as I write this along with my dearest sister-in-law @KritiKundalia.  

a) Singhi Park, South Kolkata
The theme here is 'Rajbari' which is the traditional style of pujo.

From the outside

And inside

b) Shiv Mandir

c) Mudiali Club
The theme for this pandal was 'Lotus'. Know more about this club's annual pujo celebrations here. The inside looks like surreal, like a collection of numerous floating hot air balloons.
 

Mudiali Club inside

The Lotus theme continues

Love the traditional red and green combination. For me, it can't get any more Bengali than this.

d) Falguni Sangha, Gariahat
This pandal looked like a setting of an opera. Beautiful!