DocDivaTraveller: May 2014

Continuing with my Lucknow diaries, today I take you through small but significant stops of Lucknow. You can read them here, here and here.We zoomed through the old parts of Lucknow and stopped whichever place attracted our eyes!!

The Chhota Imambara had Shahi Hammam or Royal bath..the place/ bathroom for females of the Royal family. Its so intriguing that even at such ancient times there used to be a bathtub. I never knew what hammam meant. I knew that hammam is a soap brand but it never occurred to me that it would have a meaning till then. Well, hammam means bath!!

WE also found a red building which was an ancient library. On close inspection, it turned out to be a protected site by the archeological survey of India!!

The Ghanta Ghar or the Clock tower has an interesting story behind it. Apparently, the Big Ben of London and this clock tower were built at the same time!! Sadly, this one is not as famous as the Big Ben :(

I tasted some amazing dishes on this day trip...sweet samosa and kachori being my favourite of the lot!!

The most enjoyable part was getting clicked in front of the Roomi Darwaza, darwaza meaning door. Its basically a huge gate through which vehicles pass. My hubby and his friends used to sit at its top during their college days. Well, a very funny thing happened here. Being in the midst of a busy road, we had to wait for a while to let the traffic go. When there were only few passerby, I took my position. Hubby had camera hanging from his neck and it was very apparent that we were tourists. As soon as we took position, at least three cars stopped beside us. The young guys at the wheel asked the same question : what has happened?? Do you need any help??

I being the eternal fool politely told them that we were just taking pictures while hubby shooed them away. Later he scolded me saying that they were just trying to make a pass on me :D he he. We both felt like some dating couple and laughed heartily.

the Roomi Darwaza...my favourite spot of the lot...

the ancient bathtub of the Royal Bath...

the Shahi hammam or Royal Bath at the Chhota Imambara...

an ancient library which turned out to be a heritage site protected by the archeological survey of India

The Ghanta Ghar or Clock Tower which was built during the same time as that of the Big Ben of London...

tall palm trees ala Beverly Hills style...

the stairs of that interesting red building...

the picture does not look very appetizing but believe me...the sweet samosa and the kachoris were out of this world!!

the gate of the Bada Imambara...

5/31/2014 13 comments

I had started my Lucknow diaries here but after two posts, I got lost somewhere!! He he..this is very typical of me..I get bored very easily and need new things constantly to keep me prepped up :D So today as I was flipping through my travelogue, I decided to complete my Lucknow series in a few posts :)

The second day of our trip began with a visit to the most important landmark of Lucknow...Bada Imambada.

Bara Imambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India, built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Lucknow, in 1784. It is also called the Asafi Imambara. Bara means big, and an imambara is a shrine built by Shia Muslims for the purpose of Azadari. Adjacent to the imambara lies the Asfi mosque, which is huge. This complex also houses the famous Labyrinth or Bhool Bhulaiya, where one would definitely get lost, if not with a guide!!

After completing all the paper work in the court ( I needed an affidavit to prove that I am married :D ), we set out to venture into old Lucknow. This being my husband's city during his medical college days, we zoomed around on his friend's bike like a localite. I had some pretty weird as well as amazing experiences while dealing with the people here!!

THis old part of Lucknow is predominantly a Muslim area and I was not dressed appropriately; bare calves you know!! Whenever we would stop for taking photographs, people would stop to see what we were upto!! However the staff of a tiny restaurant were really sweet. I had my life's first sweet samosa ( which was amazing) and a plate of mouth watering kachouri!! Among the other famous delicacy of old Lucknow which I relished was Shahi toast, Meaning ROyal Toast which was a kind of sweet sandwich. It was definitely an overdose of sugar but I was four months pregnant during this trip ( apparent from my wide waistline) and had pathological craving for sweets!! At the end of the day ( a rainy one) what mattered was that I had some really good photographs and wonderful memories!!

Standing back to back...the staff thought that we were some illegally dating couple and tried to shoo us from here!!

the ancient pillars of bada imambada...

the bada imambada under the overcast sky....

the Asfi mosque near the imambada...

stepped well or Baoli...

After Imambara, we went to Residency, which was the erstwhile residence of British governors of British colonised India.


the erstwhile residence of British governors..

fulfilling my fantasy of getting clicked sitting in midst of the road :D

the famous Bhool Bhulaiya or Labyrinth...

house of the Empress of British colonised India...

5/28/2014 12 comments

5/24/2014 9 comments

In my last post, I talked about shopping in China town, how all the designer rip offs were selling like hot cakes. But Malaysia is also an awesome shopping destination!! With an annual shopping festival just like Dubai, you can get every kind of product here. From luxury brands to high street labels, you name it, you would find it here. And the one stop mall for this is the Suria KLCC.

Kuala Lumpur is the home of the Petronas Twin Towers, the highest Twin Towers in the world. I have a fascination with everything large and mighty, I mean things mentioned in the Guinness book of world records. Some of the highest and largest which I have covered till now are : Burj Khalifa...tallest building, The Dubai Mall...largest mall, Akshardham Temple..largest temple campus, Singapore flyer...largest flyer, Dubai Mall Aquarium...largest aquarium, etc etc and here in Malaysia, the Petronas twin towers. Among the record breaking smallest, I have had the privilege to visit Taal Volcano...the smallest volcano here and the tarsier, smallest monkey in the world!!

Coming back to the Twin towers, they are basically the office of malaysian petroleum giant, Petronas. At the back of the office towers is the biggest mall of Malaysia, Suria KLCC. KLCC meaning Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. So a convention centre with loads of greenery and park area to play around and a world class mall. What else does a girl need?? :D

Well this mall will always remain close to my heart as I bought my first Louis Vuitton here!! Among other luxury labels, I also got a Pierre Cardin purse from here!!

After we visited the towers from inside, we invaded the mall for shopping. I made my parents sit at a restaurant while hopped from one showroom to other and shopped till I dropped; literally!!

After I was out of cash, I had to reluctantly go outside to see the gardens of convention centre. It was almost dusk, but it was very beautiful. There was a public pool too where kids were enjoying a dip.

After the high end hopping, we proceeded towards Sentral market, the hub of local handicrafts. I had to borrow money from my parents to buy souvenirs and other delightful knick knacks!! It was a very tiring yet an awesome day!! My first LV...yayy!! :D

The office of the Malaysian oil company, Petronas...

the Twin Towers during dusk...

Steel wonder inside the Twin Towers...

supporting the Twin Towers with my hands :D

I shopped till I dropped!! My first Louis Vuitton and Pierre Cardin bag :D

relaxing my feet after the gruelling shopping spree :D

The local market at night...

After designer labels, its time to go for handicrafts!! At the Sentral market...

5/20/2014 7 comments

Its not an unknown fact that China has the largest population in the world ; only to be followed by India, a close second. And just like Indians, the Chinese have settled all over the world. Their colonies are known as Chinatowns, while the Indian ones are called Little Indias.

These type of places always fascinate me. My first trip to one of the Little Indias was here. Also, I have been to a couple of Chinatowns, the Filipino chinatown during the chinese new year itself!!

Petaling Street is a Chinatown located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is infamous for pirated clothes and accessories along with bootleg DVDs and CDs.It is more active during the night. However, a visit to KL without peeking into Petaling street is incomplete. So somehow, we squeezed this tiny excursion after our last Malaysian breakfast and before our flight back home.

I am not at all a fan of rip offs. But that does not mean I donot like seeing bundles of fake designer stuff piled together. This was exactly what Petaling street was about. Just name a luxury brand, they have got it!! From rolex to Diors to Jimmy Choos, it was raining designers. The most ridiculous part was their pricing!! The costs too depended on which fake brand they were sporting; eg a fake Louis Vuitton was more pricey than a fake Chanel because in reality it was!! While you can shop for anything from gems and incense to toys and t-shirts, the true allure of this night market is in wandering about and enjoying its sights, sounds and energy. Even if you don't spend a penny, (which will be hard!), you are guaranteed to have an amazing experience here.
However what I gained mainly from this small visit was a Chinese Temple called Chan See Shu Yuen temple which dates back to 1906. It was my life's first Chinese temple and I was mesmerised by the riot of colours used!! This trip was worth every minute of hurry that we went through in order to reach airport on time!! :D

the entry of Chan See Shu Yuen temple

love the golden dragons and the plethora of colours!!

fascinating Chinese incense sticks or agarbattis a we call...

colourful dragon...my favourite...

the array of fake designer items!!

I love going through flower shops!!

our ho on hop off bus...

getting into the bus with my shopping bag :)

5/16/2014 17 comments

God could not be everywhere so he created mothers. This is absolutely true :) Anyways, on the ocassion of mothers day, I wish all the wonderful mothers out there from the bottom of my heart!!

My mom has been really close to me after I started growing up. She has always been strict nonetheless pampering too. If there is anyone in this whole world if I am really scared of, its my mom!! Yes, I am still terrified of her!! Once my school principal gave us a way how to judge right or wrong. He said that before doing anything just imagine whether you would be able to do this in front of your mother or not. If not, then thats something definitely not right doing!!

I have sworn by this talisman of my teacher since then. During my initial years, I was closer to dad as he has always been blindly pampering. Moreover, being a single child, I have been the apple of his eyes. However, my mom's strictness was beyond my tolerance level. But over the years, I grew closer to Mom despite being scared of her!!

I had my fair share of trouble and tantrums during my teens which used to drive her crazy. I used to hate her but at the end of the day, it were her shoulders upon which I used to shed my tears .:) After I got married and left my parents' home, I grew closer to both of them.

Every year I usually get something nice and expensive for her. But this year as I could not go out shopping as much as I would have wanted too, I kept it humble...chocolates and lipstick. And I cooked a fancy meal for her. Well, she was just an alibi, we four of us enjoyed the meal!!

Now that I am a mother too, I can very well relate how tough it is!! I have already began to realize how much mom has sacrificed throughout all these years!! Today morning as I wished my Mom, I looked at my daughter with the hope that someday, she would love me the way I have loved my mother!!

P.s My daughter turned two months today!! Time really flies!!