I have been an ardent nature lover right from childhood. So much was my penchant for blooms and greens that my dad used to say that he would marry me to a guy who owns a flower business firm!! Anyways my love for flora and fauna made botany my favourite subject and earned me 'the botanist' tag in my class. What has a physician got to do with botany?? ;)

the first glimpse of the Rajdari waterfalls...

In our latest trip I got the chance to explore pretty untouched nature. Being near to husband's hometown, he had been there on school picnics. I was surprised and thrilled that Uttar Pradesh has so many hidden gems! It was a wonderful trail through the Chakiyan district.

It was a two hour car ride to the Chandraprabha Wildlife sancturay..the home to the famous Rajdari waterfalls. The entrance fees were a bit steep considering the popularity of the place and its maintenance. Anyways as we drove through the sanctuary, I could smell the wilderness and the sound of the waterfalls became clearer. 

We parked the car near the waterfalls and ventured on foot. Ideally, the perfect time to see any waterfalls is the rainy season. But still we took chance in this dry weather. The amount of water flowing was pretty less as people are used to seeing but it was a glorious sight nonetheless!!
After spending a couple of hours in Rajdari ( exploring and picnicking) , we left for Devdari waterfalls. The  steep stony Vindhya mountain ranges pretty much reminded me of the Grand Canyon ( a tiny version of course). My husband also cajoled me to climb the watchtower to catch a better view; while I wobbled in fear and high heels :D
Our final stop was the Latif shah dam. During the rains one cannot climb above the dam. But right now, we pranced around on it!! There were a group a Peking ducks whom I chased around and finally they were forced to go back into the pond!!

The best part of the trip? The drive through the winding roads of the serene Vindhya ranges. One cannot imagine Uttar Pradesh to be this naturally blessed!

Stunning jungle trails.

picturesque is the only word that comes to my mind....the Chandraprabha river in the background...

a little 'Pyar hua ikraar hua' moment!!

the forest guest house...

An impromptu moment with the love of my life!!

lost in the jungle...

beautiful surroundings at the Latif Shah dam...

both father daughter busy in eating...

quack quack!!

The magnificent drive through the hills...

The Devdari waterfalls...

Basking in the beauty of nature. ...

prancing around on the Latif Shah dam...this would not have been possible during the rainy season!!

Dress: Globus
Scarf: Forever21
Wedges: from malaysia

Its been about one and a half years that I had been to Phuket but the memories are as fresh as if I had come back just yesterday!! The beautiful beaches, amazing Thai food, myriads of shops and the vibrant nightlife. Not to forget that I am not at all fond of the raw and sleazy Thai nightlife and neither is my husband. Its a bit too much for us!!

All the days we were in Phuket. the daytime we used for excursions and at night we used to explore on our own. Every night was a completely different experience. On the last night of our trip, we were pretty tired from the phi phi islands excursion. So we decided to ditch our regular visit to the night spots of the city to explore China town.

There seems to be a China town wherever I visit. And no, I am not grumbling; in fact I love them! The beautiful red buildings and even more colourful temples are such a treat to the eyes! It was February, hence the Chinese new year decorations were in full swing.

We visited a temple ( which was closed as it was so late), had some scary street food and then ventured into the Jungceylon mall. It was like any other regular mall with special new year decorations of course. As its again the time of Chinese new year (not within a month :p) here are some beautiful moments from two years back... This year the new year falls on 19 th February. So cheers to the colourful festivities!

elephant..the quintessential Thai symbol..

The year of the dragon...

The gilttering Jungceylonn mall

Chinese New Year celebrations in full swing!!

the floating market..another Thai speciality..

Chinese temple..

satiating my appetite..so many to choose from!!

Hubby elated after getting Thai massage!!

For starters, don't go by the name of the post :D For those who don't know, medical tourism is where patients go abroad to undergo treatments. In India this has become a raging business lately as here premium medical treatments are offered at relatively economic prices. Especially for African, Central Asian and East European countries ( the countries from where maximum patients hail from). This post has got nothing to do with it. I named it so as it was a small tour because of the hubs' medical commitment.

It was the first Saturday of 2015. It was very cold and it had been raining since morning. The perfect ingredients for depression. I already hate winters; and rains in winters are simply one more nail to the coffin. And when you have a naughty infant, it means you have to wet your hands every fifteen minutes for one reason or the other :D How I wished we escaped to somewhere tropical....where the sun grazed everyone's skin.

Well seems my prayers were partially fulfilled. I had my day off and hubs had already left for the hospital. At around noontime, he called up to say that he had to go to another hospital at Greater Noida to see patients. We Delhiites tend to treat Greater Noida as some another city so its usually a big deal to go there. Anyways he said that he was going alone, so would I like to join him for a small trip to the neighbouring city? I readily nodded though getting dressed and also dressing up a naughty infant is an ordeal..that too in such freezing weather. My bambino usually wears 4 sweaters and pulling them out against her will and again shoving four more...only God knows how I manage ( as of now my mom is doing so as she has been taking care of her during my workdays). Barring every obstacle, I managed to get both of us ready. Hubs was waiting downstairs and then we zoomed off. It took about an hour to reach the ' new city' with rains interrupting our over 100 kmph drive on and off.

It was an absolutely new hospital with mostly under construction. It was spread over a huuugeee area and I really got the feeling of setting my feet on some new land! While hubs was in the OPD for the patients, I explored the area with my daughter. The rains had washed away all the dirt and grime; everything looked fresh and new. Somehow I loved the freezing breeze blow against my face. After that we grabbed a quick lunch at the staff canteen and took some photos. A blogger can't move with pictorial evidence you know.. :D Again it was an hour drive back home. It was the best way a cold gloomy rainy day could have been put into use.

My hate relationship with sneakers continues...God knows when I am going to be able to wear heels again :(

I did not deliberately match my outfit with the sidewalk!!

A farmhouse like feel of the place..

overcast sky and green grass..

The sidewalk was really very cold!!

A non fancy yet hearty lunch...reminded me of my good old college canteen days...

Sweater dress: Promod
pants: Forever21
Coat: zara
Kicks: Reebok
Bag: Shoppers Stop

I am petrified of bikes. I know it may sound very strange to girls as chicks love being a pillion rider!! I feel really unsafe on a motorbike ( not that husband is a bad rider) but I simply avoid it. If you want wind in your face, go for a convertible; what's the need of a bike?

Anyways I have rode for hardly 5 or 6 times till now. Once behind my uncle, once with my cousin and rest with my boyfriend ( now husband). However during this last trip of ours, I did not have much of an option. Our car had broken down and given the festival time, no mechanics were available. So instead of wasting time for the car to get fixed, I gathered up my courage and decided to go for a pillion ride exploring the unexplored suburbs of the city.

We took the National highway 2 ( one of the busiest in India). So you can imagine how tough it was! Every time a truck sped past across us, I would pray!! He he..Anyways once I spotted lush green fields, I asked him to leave the highway and take the dirt road. Unpaved roads offer bumpy rides but they don't have trucks and are hence safer nonetheless.
I had been longing to do a railway track photoshoot since many years. However railway tracks in India are not that easily accessible. And if they are, they are either very unsafe or dirty!!

There is a railway crossing in the outskirts of Varanasi near a canal. Hubby took me there for pictures. Now the twist. That track is the main Howrah Delhi track which connects the Eastern part of India with the rest. So you can imagine how busy it is. There is a train almost every 5 minutes and the gates remain close for almost all the time.Was is worth taking such risk?
The crazy blogger in me refused to give up. I got the chance after such a long time and wanted to utilize it. The gate was closed when we went on the tracks. Eyes were wide open as we could spot a train at any time. Hubby hardly took a couple of shots and then we ran. We watched the train go by after a couple of minutes. After that we saw so many of them. No wonder its one of the busiest railway routes of India!

So much frolicking in the sun stimulated our appetites to a huge extent. There was a small shop near the railway crossing which was about hundred years old. We gorged on deep fried snacks ( my favourite). After that it was time to leave. The sun was its terrible best. It was about 2 in the afternoon and the overhead sun had burnt both of us considerably. But I would say the ride was worth every centimeter of sunburn I had!!

This the first time ever that I got clicked with buffaloes!!

the train and the canal...

blazing sun and cool breeze...

biker chic...

finally a long time wish of mine got fulfilled...posing on a railway track...

This is one of the busiest railway routes of India..the Howrah Delhi route...now you can understand what risk had been taken!!

a busy route promised a picture with a train too!!

two foodies gorging on streetfood.... especially when the menu has samosas, 'laung lata' ( a famous Varanasi sweet) and a vast spread of sweets!! Dress: DKNY Scarf : Forever21 Accessories: Kazo, Forever21, Globus

Once again a very happy new year!! So how has the new year started treating you? Have you made any resolutions or you don't believe in them? I have been making resolutions since I was five but unable to stick to them always! But this year I need to be stern on myself. I desperately need to lose my baby weight and control my anger. I have become pretty short tempered which is very unlikely of me!

  So is it just me or have you been missing the past year too? I have always believed that no matter how glorious the past is we cannot cling to it and have to move forward. The year 2014 had been pretty generous to me ( of course with its share of ups and downs). The biggest event of my life happened that is I became a mother!

The year started with our three years wedding anniversary. We have made it a ritual to go on a vacation but since I was eight months, my obstetrician had forbidden me to travel far. Anyways how could I have slipped into beachwear in my humongous body? :p So no regrets! We settled for Soorajkund Mela and it was pretty fascinating! Soon it was Valentine's day. After that  I got awarded for topping my Yoga course and was felicitated by the secretary of AYUSH. Yayy!!

Then as march came, I became a mother!! Phew! What a joy and relief!
Motherhood could not tone down my penchant for wandering as we had our first trip on my birthday in June. Then there were a couple of more trips later in the year including our first tropical vacation after months! So here's to a glorious 2014!!

Hope 2015 turns out even better!! Here are a few beautiful events of 2014 which I have not shared on the blog earlier....

The year commenced with our third wedding anniversary...

Me getting awarded at the National Yoga week by the secretary of AYUSH Awakening the Kundalini at my Yoga /institute... A cozy moment during Valentine's day... My first outing as a mother...a date with Doraemon. I dressed up after a month of house arrest. Our first getaway after two and a half months of becoming parents on my birthday... Having a blast at my favourite festival Durga Puja. It was even more special as it was my daughter's first one!! Pardon our sweaty faces...it was really hot!!

The first time we spent Diwali in Varanasi. Me standing by the Ganges with the wick lamps...

The year concluded with one of the best trips of my life till date!!