Tag: Travel

Bordertown of San Diego-Best of both the worlds

Being a California resident , we had been to San Diego for vacations many times in the past .

San Diego is a boutique city ,where everything is in moderation as compared to other big cities .Its high rises and sky scrapers ,its malls ,its congestion . It is famed for its numerous beautiful beaches ,crisp clear air and yearlong sunshine and hence a very popular tourist destination

It also shares its border with Mexico ,with the closest big city being Tijuana on Mexican side .On the US side ,San Ysidro is the last post and this time , it was my short term work location ,

San Ysidro is not exactly a sister city of Tijuana but the free flow of residents on both sides of the border seem to make the boundaries invisible .

San Ysidro boasts of being the fourth busiest land border crossing in the world and most of my coworkers lived in Tijuana and crossed the border every day for work . They all have to start really early from home to beat the congestion at the border which might last more than 2 hours at a time but , job opportunity and economic incentive , is worth the effort .Electronic items and branded goods are reliable and cheaper on the US side ,as well.

It is not a one way street and there is a reverse traffic too for medical tourism and other services .Prohibitive medical costs in the US have them flock to Tijuana specially for aesthetic surgeries and medication refills .Most of them have SIMNSA ,Sistemas Medicos Nacionales , a health care plan ,that works for them , on both sides of the border .

Spanish is the default spoken language everywhere in San Ysidro . General ambience is of warmth and even strangers would wish you Buen Provecho ” , meaning enjoy in spanish when they meet you at the diners .

Food trucks with fresh hot delicacies are omnipresent in the parking lots of Grocery stores or gas stations ,with a little sit in area for people to enjoy the food .Most of these trucks are being driven across the border everyday.

The quiet mornings with sea gulls gliding over head ,blinding sun shine ,joggers on the beaches beguiles you .But as the day progresses impromptu traffic jams ,heterogenous traffic of heavy duty vehicles with cyclists or skate boarders or pedestrians could make navigation difficult in the area .Space is always a premium and the same street could have a rail road crossing , a tram station and a high school .Parking spaces are difficult to find and road side parking on both sides is a common site .

.We had our share of wild fires too .Long period of dryness make these areas very fire prone .They were not as impressive or long lasting as LA fires , but the work place had to issue a “possible evacuation “order .Helicopters were doing sorties round the clock and within a couple of weeks fire was under control without any loss of life or property damage .Across the border ,Mexico was experiencing similar fires .

The border town of San Ysidro turned out to be an interesting melting pot where both sides of the border were accepting the best and discarding the worst and getting to keep what’s amiss in their lives .

Hoping to talk to you soon

Twitter -Shruti_agg

WordPress.com-Twohomes.blog

Instagram-Shruti.aggarwal.10

Festival of Colors with Strangers

After a long time , I could be in india ,New Delhi , for the spring festival of Holi . Festivals are jubilant times and the fun element is the most important aspect of it when family and friends try to gather under one roof . Besides , catching up on life events ,we feast ,pray and make beautiful memories

This time , our family decided to spend it at a close by resort ,Mango tree resort, in Western UP .Western UP shares its borders with New Delhi and these bordering states are sharing the population load of the capital .

For Delhi wallas , spending time with nature is a huge attraction and a 3 hour drive is not too much to ask for for .

Noida and Western UP was once considered the “The Wild West “but under the present government ,it has received a miraculous make over . The well connected and maintained highways , flanked by foliage and shrubbery with low density traffic is really a respite from highly congested ,New Delhi . Our 3 hour ride through the Eastern peripheral high way and NH9 was uneventful though the toll tax booths , seem to appear ,a little too early .

This was a new style resort ,where they had converted a Mango orchard into thirty plus cottages with modern amenities ,indoor activity area ,outdoor badminton court, well manicured lawns , tiled walkways along side the mango trees .There was simian presence on those trees ,but mostly they kept to themselves except for chewing away the badminton rackets and shuttle cocks

The pleasant March weather brought every one outside for tea and snacks and gradually the ice was breaking amongst guests .Some guests included us in the tambola game and we had an enjoyable time till the DJ floor and cocktails were announced .Unfortunately rain god decided to play bummers and the evening activity was cut short

Next morning , the air was thick with the exotic fragrance of mango bloom ,stillness was only interrupted by cuckoo calls ,tiled pathways were carpeted by the florets of mango tree .All in all , it was heavenly

Faces were now more familiar in the restaurant for morning breakfast after last evening and every body was wishing each other “Happy Holi” .The morning Holi festivities started with DJ music , dancing ,thandai , kanji ,chat pakodis . Though it was supposed to be Holi only with flower petals but the kids were unstoppable with their water pistols and water balloons Joy and enthusiasm was writ on everyone’s face as they were being smeared with dry color ,gulal

Screenshot

Popularity of these festival packages are gaining traction in India as they help to take away the stress of planning , executing and hosting guests and then each member of the household has an equal share in the fun quotient of the festivities .

Connecting virtually with strangers is the present day norm ,then why not create some magical moments with them and add them to our memory kitty !

Hope to connect with you all soon

Twitter -Shruti_agg

WordPress.com-Twohomes.blog

Instagram-Shruti.aggarwal.10

,

NEW DELHI -KETCHUP :THE ART OF LIVING

Its been almost two decades of work life in the US and I feel sabbaticals are well deserved

Incidentally , they always coincide with the change of jobs and I am still trying to figure out which is more overpowering , the need to take a vacation or the need to change the job .

But nonetheless they have happened on a regular basis .

The historical city of New Delhi , the capital of India , with relics of multiple dynasties ,is my home town .Every nook and corner of the city has a touch of history which makes these sabbaticals worth while

New Delhi ,in its monsoon reincarnation is resplendent with its green patches , cleaner air , cooler temperature and bursting foliage .During monsoons , more people are disconnecting from the virtual world and trying to be closer to mother nature People are seen jogging outdoors , doing yoga classes , participating in laughter groups taking in the aroma of wet soil .

India is the Queen of paradoxes . and one can never escape paradoxes in New Delhi , for that matter in India

On one hand connectivity via metros , express highways , railways is at its peak ,on the other hand. the potholes in the streets , in the rainy season, start resembling celestial craters

The Horticulture department and the municipal corporations are putting their best foot forward in beautifying the city but the reappearing trash block the drainage system flooding the streets and further increasing the legendary traffic woes .The multi crore apartment complex in the posh suburbs of New Delhi are turning sea-front The cleaners are sucked in through open drains and are discovered at another location by the search team .

Never a dull moment

Religion is in air in India and it is contagious and hence a visit to India is never complete without a visit to a religious place .This time I happened to visit a temple in Vrindavan . It is run by a private trust and visitations to the temple is not always easy and sometimes not straight forward with chaos at its best To top it all , we have simian trouble , who would unabashedly snatch your spectacles or other belongings and sometimes injure the devotees

But this does not dampen the unflinching devotion of swathes of people from all walks of life. It further reinforces that religion is still the major driving force and existential in India. Incidentally , India boasts of transporting intellectual property to the rest of the world .

In complete contrast , we have another Shrine ,Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine , on the hilltop in Jammu .a state bordering our friendly neighbor “Pakistan “and hence Jammu airport is a” defense airport ” .Jammu boasts of its own prestigious institutes like IIT and IIM .It is a well visited shrine with millions of yearly foot fall .Its run by an autonomous body with clockwork precision .Earnings of the shrine goes in upkeep ,improving infrastructure and modes of transport .Because of its geographic location , security is a big issue but lapses are rarely found .

These sabbaticals humble you and take you closer to your roots but the mystery of paradoxes in India still remain unsolved, as it was two decades ago .India has definitely started its journey of economic prowess but there are still too many speed bumps on the highway which needs structural changes

Great to connect back with you all

Twitter-shruti_agg

WordPress.com-Twohomes.blog

Instagram-shruti.aggarwal.10

FROM THE HOLY MOUNTAIN -A journey in the shadow of Byzantium-Author William Dalrymple

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs that I am a great history buff and anything related to history , I cannot keep away from it .In  the past ,I have restricted myself to Indian history as  relating to it was easy but the book I am going to share with you today is a travel book with its unique historical back drop .

William Dalrymple , one of my favorite authors is an authentic historian , who I have been following for the last so many years .He is of Scottish descent and has won numerous awards for travel writing and extensively researched history .

Author  has an intimate connection with India and his affection for the country is real .He  has embraced India more than many of us could and  through his eyes we have rediscovered New Delhi and India many times over .

His first published book ”In  Xanadu- A Quest “  is my most favorite , till date and I have a personally signed copy of the book , when I got it autographed from him at a Mini lit fest in New Delhi ,a couple of years back .I am sure, I would share this  book “In Xanadu -A Quest “  in my future blogs ,where he retraces the steps of Marco Polo from Jerusalem to Inner Mongolia in China .It is a travel writing full of interesting incidents and anecdotes  and   is written in a lighter vein and that’s what makes it all the more enjoyable .

In the book “From the Holy Mountain “ we take  both an  inward and outward journey of  the Holy land which was taken by an Orthodox Monk ,John Moschos in 587 AD with one of his young students ,Sophronius .

Author Dalrymple  took us on this journey almost 1500 years later .

John Moschos  later compressed the journey into a book called “Spiritual Meadow” . John Moschos ,in the book ,mentions about his personnel experiences with other monks ,the various miracle stories ,the ecstatic vision and other practices of Eastern monasticism .Interestingly ,Author Dalrymple ,during his journey found that so many of those practices were still prevalent even today , may be in some modified version .

Dalrymple  began his journey in Greece and then via Istanbul in Turkey ,Syria ,Lebanon , Israel  and then concluded in Egypt .The journey included a part of Byzantine empire ,of middle ages ,which was considered eastern Roman empire, under Great King Constantinople ,who in his later life embraced Christianity .

Christianity has been historically a middle eastern religion with its origin in Judaism .In the initial years it was practiced in secrecy as it had conflict with Judaism and early Pagan Roman practices .Then the church meant gathering or community , rather  than a building or structure .Such teachings or  churches were founded by early disciples of Jesus  as they travelled to the various parts of the world .

It became legal to practice Christianity under Emperor Constantinople in Roman Empire  around 313 AD .His vision was to bring the whole Roman Empire together .But the practices of the Christians in the eastern parts  of the Empire were very  different than that of the western counterpart .Orthodox Christianity or the Eastern Christians gave more stress on  physical and mental ascetism .Such practices also mirrored in Sufism , Vendantic mysticism and Buddhist psychology .

Whereas the head of the Western counterpart is Pope , Eastern Christianity is spread out under various religious heads  with individualistic teachings ,in various parts of the World .

As author visited these ancient monasteries, he gave us numerous accounts of  how the orthodox monks competed against each other in physical and mental deprivation for a divine connection .It was interesting to note that such practices overlap among the various religions of those times . As  per author’s comments, rules for practicing religions were  more porous as compared . Even  today , people  in the rural area of the land of  different faiths, during their difficult times , prayed  at the shrines of these orthodox monks and  performed  animal sacrifices .

In ancient days people with money, commissioned important buildings and works of art to give them a societal presence .Similarly ,in   Emperor Constantinople’s time the concept of  Basilica was gradually taking shape and churches were being built , where people would come together and stress on inner transformation rather than outer ritualistic Pagan practices.

Author has a keen eye for architecture as we have  noted in his past books and he describes the monasteries in great details whatever he could as most of them are in states of great dilapidation secondary to antiquity ,violence and no maintenance . But it was amazing to know  that few of those which are still in one piece and functional are practicing the faith exactly what they did 1500 years earlier .

In the book “Spiritual Meadow “ ,John Moschos  described about the practices of miracle healing by the Saints of those times . Author presented many such instances in his usual tongue in cheek fashion where present day monks are preaching about the Saints .

As we travelled with the author through the modern day cities and onto the remote places of worship ,we noted the political turmoil ,unrest and a constant fear of persecution among the  minority residents .Christianity has systematically  been routed out  from its  place of  origin and more  and more people are  moving west wards for a better and secure life .

These areas from time immemorial has been under great strife .Cradle of three great religions of the world ,Christianity ,Islam and Judaism  has always  been  a socio politically disturbed region.   Peace never returned to these areas and this   journey itself   seemed  like  a challenging adventure .

Amongst the many other present days ironies of the Modern World ,The Holy Land ,has not witnessed a lasting peace for the last two centuries  and we really pray for a miracle when the true essence of Humanity and Religion would prevail.

Wishing you all  a happy Easter weekend .