DocDivaTraveller

If you are new to this blog then let me tell you that our real penchant for exotic exploration started with Philippines. However I hat one regret that we couldn't explore the famous Banau rice terraces. Just like Philippines, Indonesia is an archipelago too and is a major rice producing nation. Often we visualize Bali with lush green rice fields. So before leaving for Bali, I did my share of research as to where to get the best view of rice terraces.

Tegalagang is a place very near to Ubud which has the most vast array of rice fields. Although you would spot them every where on this island ( even the infinity pool at our villa overlooked the rice fields) Tegalagang is where you would find them in the most visually appealing way. You may know already about my obsession with the colour light green so this was probably my fantasy to see lush green fields. But when we reached there we realised that we were not the only crazy ones because it was so crowded. But being said that, it's one of the most memorable experiences of Bali.

While riding across the length and breadth of the island we saw rice fields after every couple of kilometres. But nothing can equate with Tegalagang. First, the area over which this crop is grown in really vast. And secondly it's on a steep slope so it's terrace farming in the literal sense. We walked almost every corner of the fields and did a lot of climbing to get views from every possible angle. I was thrilled and more than satisfied with our excursion!

Points to remember:

There are two times in the year when the paddy fields are lush green. When they are newly sowed, they are too sparse. And when they start riping, they turn golden. Different areas of Bali (depending on the altitude) mature at different times. We visited in the first half of November and found the perfect shade of light green.

There are a couple of old women in between the fields who stop you for donation. That can be quite irritating as they literally force you and prohibit you from going ahead.

There are no entry fees. It's a field! Although someone may charge you for parking.

It is really hot and sunny and humid out there. Make sure you are carrying enough water because the scorching sun will suck you up! Don't forget to wear a hat or carry an umbrella.

Wear comfortable footwear. There is a lot of walking involved that too on slippery and muddy land. Make sure it has good grip.

There are lots of souvenir shops nearby but they charge exorbitant amounts. Make sure to haggle!

All said, it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Top: Only

Skirt: Zara

8/20/2018 No comments

When you are planning for a vacation in Bali, you visualize 3 things (at least according to me) : a pool villa, rice terrace fields and endless temples. While renting a pool villa would cost you an arm and a leg anywhere else in the world, it wouldn't in Bali. But still it is more expensive than the normal hotels. So we decided to split our 5 days stay in two parts: first half in a modest hotel and second half in a private pool villa. All well that ends well right?

To start with I always dreamt of staying in Ubud which is the cultural centre of Bali. While Ubud is the most popular place for foreigners, as they reside for long periods, it's not so for Indians. There are plenty of reasons: it's far from the airport, there is no means of public transport and accommodation is comparatively more expensive than that of Kuta or Denpasar. But I was adamant. So we went on a quest to find a reasonable yet beautiful accomodation in Ubud and thankfully found one.

The White House (like any other lesser known hotels) was tough to locate. Although they sent us a cab to pick us from the airport, we could not make out the exact location as it was late in the night.

The next day my partner hired a scooter for exploring the island and that's when we realised that it didn't correspond exactly with its Google location.

Anyways we had entered the place in the dark but the serene vibes were palpable. The gentle sound of water fountains and the heavenly fragrance of incense sticks created an enchanting aura. Anyways we were too tired to investigate with our tired minds (it was a crazy trip in Australia) and dozed off as soon as we hit the sack.

The next morning our snooze was broken with the melodious chirping of birds. The rippling of water had become louder yet more melodious and traditional Balinese music was playing in the background. I immediately got up and removed the curtains to discover the enchanting view just outside our room.

The infinity pool was just two steps away from the balcony of our room. There were innumerable types of plants and flowers and the fragrance of frangipanis was hypnotising. A couple of guys were carrying a holy plate for the morning rituals. I caught hold of that guy and posed with the plate. Every building was different and was designed traditionally...in the Balinese way. I just frolicked around in the garden and made my husband take uncountable pictures.

After a quick freshening up, we headed for breakfast. That too was served in a beautiful way. Sadly I had to gobble it fast because I wanted to swim and we had a long day of sight seeing planned ahead.

The staff was very sweet too. Although staying in a pool villa (later) was an experience on a different level altogether, we were really happy with this place. Cheap and beautiful...just like we wanted.

Dress: Vero Moda

Sunnies: Prada

8/11/2018 9 comments

A baby is the most important member of the family. A happy baby means a happy family. A night of peaceful sleep is an indispensable part of not only the baby's happiness but the well being of the entire family. So what is the commonest thing that hinders a baby's sleep? Sadly it's nasal congestion. With pollution levels really messing up the environment and humidity reaching an all time high, right now the maximum number of patients I am getting is of common cold leading to blocked nose. I have mothers coming to me and requesting me to give something that would allow their babies to sleep peacefully. I am a mother too, so I can very well relate to these woes.

What are the commonest reasons for nasal congestion in babies?

Common cold: Nasal secretions because of cold eventually dry up forming crusts inside the nose. These crusts block the nasal passages and the baby is unable to breathe through nose. Rhinitis or common cold is the commonest reason.

Excessive dry air: Too much of room heater/radiator usage during winters leads to drying up of the delicate mucosal lining of babies leading to inflammation and blocked nose.

Allergy/ Hay fever: Too much pollutants or pollens in the air can trigger a hypersensitive reaction in the nasal mucosal lining leading to its inflammation and eventually blocking of nose.

Baby is irritable, breathes through mouth and is unable to sleep at night because sleep breaks repeatedly. Infants are unable to take feed properly. Even toddlers are fussy with their eating as they are uncomfortable all the time. Since their nose is blocked, they avoid eating as they have to breathe through their mouth.

So what are the ways to decongest a baby's stuffy nose?

1. Nasal Drops: This is one of the easiest and most effective method. Nasivion Nasal Drops come in two variants: 0.01% for infants and 0.025% for babies. This highly diluted concentration of Oxymetazoline ensures unimpaired breathing by unblocking the nose and is absolutely safe.

2. Saline Solution: This is again one of the safest way to combat rhinitis and these drops are available over the counter. Nasivion saline drops help unblock the kid's nose by moistening the nasal passages.

Hold the dropper at the nasal entry of the child for easy administration.

3. Clean the nose: Hardened crust because of a common cold is a major reason of impaired breathing in a child. Since they are too young to clean it themselves, dab a swab of cotton in warm water and clear the nasal passage.

4. Nasal Bulbs: Kids are too immature to blow their nose themselves. This is when a nasal aspirator comes handy. There are various types: oral suction aspirator, electric aspirator or a bulb syringe. It sucks the mucus out of the baby's nose. However I strongly advice to do it under a doctor's supervision.

5. Vaporize: As I said earlier, too much dryness in the air especially during winters causes rhinitis because of drying up of baby's sensitive nasal mucosa. Placing a cool mist vaporiser or humidifier in the vicinity of the child ensures that the nasal passages are moist enough. Remedies like Nasivion have a special decongestant formula that is suitable for little noses (age group 1-6). If you don't have a humidifier, just placing a wet towel in the room in front of the radiator can also serve the purpose.

Always consult a paediatrician before administering anything in your baby. What are your hacks for a peaceful sleeping baby? Let me know!

8/10/2018 2 comments

If you want to get a real feel of any region, ditch the city and explore the countryside. Yes, high tech cities are all the same whether you are in Sydney, Shanghai, New York or even New Delhi! Skyscrapers, metro trains, honking traffic and busy people. Big malls with the same brands. However as soon as you leave the city, the actual culture gets uncovered. Greek countryside has white houses with blue doors, the Dutch suburbs have dark green wooden houses, the Italian Riviera has worn out colored buildings while the Tuscan area are dotted with huge stone mansions. That is why we allotted more time in exploring the Australian countryside (just Victoria and New South Wales; Oz is a HUGE nation) than the big cities like Melbourne and Sydney.

You may know that it was almost dark when we left the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Park. However we wanted to explore of Dandenong Ranges. There are many cute villages there like Belgrave, Cockatoo, Gembrook Olinda, etc. There are perfect for getting a feel of the original lifestyle there. Usually popular as retirement places for the city dwellers. The village that was closest to our way back to Melbourne was Olinda and we decided to get a peek into that village.

It was late evening during the spring season and hence very cold. I, however was not carrying enough warm clothes (fashion blogger problems). We stopped our car in front of a meadow and within no time, clouds engulfed the whole area. There were pretty wooden houses on the opposite side of the road.

As expected, Olinda is a sleepy little village in the Dandenong. It is famous for its boutiques, cooking spice shops and homeware goods. Everything was closed as it was dark outside and so cold. However that was better because we felt that we owned the entire place! We three hopped around on the roads ( not forgetting to shiver in between :D). The suburbs of Victoria are very sparsely populated...no life can be spotted on the roads barring cattle and the ocassional kangaroos and Tasmanian devils. Hailing from India, it felt very strange. So much space to live but no humans to be seen!

I particularly fell in love with a house that had bushes of daisy blooming. I always remember Meg Ryan when I see daisies ('Aren't daisies the happiest flowers?' from You have got mail) I wish we could have explored more but it was getting annoyingly colder and darker and our stomachs were gnawing. Not to forget we were jet lagged and without sleep for 48 hours and had a long drive back home.

On the way back we stopped at Bubba pizza and filled our gut. It was on the highway with a Coles store (the commonest departmental store in Oz) and a petrol pump. It seemed straight out of a psycho thriller...travellers usually get robbed or something creepy happens in such kind of an environment. Anyways we dropped Soniya at her place in Clayton and then headed straight to Melbourne.

However, we did not call it a day yet. We went to St Kilda Beach first and then retired :D It was 1 30 at night and we were scheduled to wake up at 4 30 AM next day for our Great Ocean Road Trip.

7/31/2018 7 comments

It may be a surprise to many that indoor air can be more polluted than the air outside! Upto five times to be precise! Yes, we think of outdoor pollution only but indoor air can be even more harmful! According to WHO, India has around 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the whole world. And we are not talking about smoke and dust only. Imagine if we are breathing toxins so much outside, what is the indoor situation? Its kind of that we have blindfolded ourselves and have been completely ignoring it.

So what causes indoor air pollution?

Fumes from paints toxic chemicals from furnitures, chemicals emitted from various household chemical agents and lots of other things like carbon monoxide from chimneys, pet danders, floor cleaners, etc etc.

What are the hazards?

Chemicals like formaldehyde and the fumes emitted from cleaning agents are known carcinogens.

while inhaling fomites gives rise to asthma and several other respiratory and allergic disease.

We come back to home thinking that its a retreat from the outside noise, chaos and of course dust and dirt. But as I have stated earlier, this is just a myth as our home is not a healthy retreat if we don't purify it! So how can we combat indoor air pollution?

Indoor plants: It has been proven scientifically that snake plants, aloe vera, spider plants, Peace Lily, Dracaena, Boston Fern, Bamboo Palm are some of the plants that fight chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene, tricholoroethylene, xylene etc.

Oodles of sunlight: Its an age old system of disinfection. Strong sunlight kills the toughest of bacteria, fungi and other microbes and its a time tested practice. Thankfully in India we have sunlight galore and we should exploit it to the best. So every morning remove the curtains and open your doors and windows to let the sun in. What if your home does not receive sunlight? Too sad. Then ocassionally put all your mattresses, upholstered things and pillows out in the sun for disinfection. This may be on the terrace or out in the garden.

Vacuum clean regularly: Sadly we Indians have yet to become accustomed to this cleaning habit. We are used to sweeping and mopping which is ultimately recirculation of dust and fomites inside the home. Every thing in our house like the sofa, carpets, corners, curtains etc need to be vacuum cleaned at least once a week!

Air Purifier: The last and the best method. There are two types of air purifiers in the market: Natural and Electric. Installing electric air purifiers in every room of the house may not be a very lucrative solution but here comes the role of natural purifiers like Vayu 200.

I have always been a fan of natural methods and Breathefresh seems to deliver exactly what we need! From air purifying bags, natural air purifier with anti bacterial essential oils to air purifying plants, their solutions do not involve fancy machinery yet are absolutely effective. Their mission is to improve indoor air, naturally.
I got my hands on Vayu 200 air purifying bag and I plan to get one for every room of our home.
Here is how Vayu 200 can help:

It can be hung in a bedroom/ on the crib/bed for purifying air for those eight hours of life everyday.
It can be hung in bathrooms so that it absorbs extra moisture and prevents growth of moulds.
It can be used in closets for removing unwanted smells and fungi growth.
It can be kept in cabinets where we store cleaning chemicals so that there toxic fumes can be absorbed.
In cars, refrigerators or any other closed places.

How does Vayu 200 work?

It has powerfully activated charcoal fabric as outer covering which absorbs chemicals, moisture and pollutants. It contains eco friendly polyurethane filters that can hold heavy particles. It has a three layer technology that gives 3x power, strength and durabilty.
It has a long shelf life of 2 years.
Once a month, it needs to be put out in the sunlight for recharge.
Absolutely non toxic and safe for children and pets.

Right now I am using Vayu 200 bag for my bedroom and bathroom. What steps have you taken to fight indoor air pollution and keep your loved ones healthy? You can buy Breathefresh Vayu bag from BreatheFresh or you can get it from Amazon as well.

7/27/2018 2 comments

We Delhiites are so much used to breathing polluted air that we have forgotten what fresh environment means. I mean blue skies and green grass have become a thing of the past. Thankfully there are a few beautiful farms just outside the city. Last weekend it was rainy (for a change) and we decided to give us a break from the pollution. We headed to the nearest one from Delhi, around 53 kms from Noida, 20 kms from Gurgaon, Surajgarh Farms and had a blast.

Since we were headed to a place with a rustic flavour, I chose my outfit carefully. I accessorised with my new PreciousYou.in earrings and necklace which had an ethnic feel to it. I fell in love with these Queen Mask Earrings the moment I saw them. I mean how innovative is the design? The quality is pretty good and they are quite heavy. I have always been a fan of statement pieces so it is a no brainer that I bought this Statement Stone Hasli. You can just wear a simple white dress and still stand out with this gorgeous choker. I also got Noor Earrings in pretty pink colour and paired them with a pink dress later. You can see their complete earrings collection here.

What I loved about PreciousYou is that shopping is a breeze. You just create an account, select the products, pay and checkout. My order was processed within a couple of days and I received my order within three days. They came nicely packed in a box; safe from any tampering.

Coming back to the Surajgarh farms, the area is vast and spread over 12 acres. Firstly it is created as a quintessential Rajasthani/ Hariyanvi village. There are rattan cots, lanterns, tractors and 'jugaad gaadis' everywhere. There is provision for zip lining, rope climbing, camel riding, horse riding and a myriad of other activities. There are also folk singers and dancers and puppet shows. You can also go for mud baths and a dip in the swimming pool. And food....the food is delicious!

We reached there at about half past six in the evening and I strongly recommend early arrival to make out the best of this place! After 4 hours of fresh air, full tummy and unlimited fun, we made our way back. Next time I plan to take my parents and in laws too!