tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79118126549891626942024-03-18T17:32:40.737+05:30Cha na coffee? চা না কফি?cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-72730577861897994692018-11-29T21:51:00.000+05:302018-11-29T21:51:10.625+05:30Father in law...Final Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
FIL has passed away. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer before the Durga Puja holidays and we then pursued another opinion before we made our final decision. Fast forward to yesterday (Wednesday)...SIL was called over to the hospital at 730am because he had some respiratory distress, so they had put him on some oxygen and he had stabilized.<br />
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Around 530pm the hospital had again called and said that he had again deteriorated and that we should come over. DH rushed over, but by the time he had made it over FIL had already passed away. We spent the next 6 hours getting his body released before we headed to the crematorium for the final good-byes.<br />
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We had many good friends who had come over to help us without us asking and we are forever grateful for that. It is very sad that we had to say good-bye, but at least he is no longer suffering. We are now watching over MIL and making sure that she is okay and going day by day.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-68656829184953595692018-11-29T21:44:00.000+05:302018-11-29T21:45:29.048+05:30Father in Law...Day 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, Sunday night into Monday morning I took my shift watching FIL until 6am again. The poor guy was so restless...he kept fidgeting and calling out for us to help him. However, he wasn't responsive and if we spoke to him he didn't understand. We managed to keep him at home despite great problems. He was screaming at 5am at the top of his lungs because we wouldn't let him lay down since we were cleaning his bed.<br />
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Now he was also trying to talk to us, but he was making no sense and the sentences he was saying were garbled. We waited until 12pm on Monday and we took him to the nearest hospital and had him admitted. I went to see him on Tuesday evening and he was sleeping peacefully and we headed home.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-57328418002294961702018-11-25T03:28:00.000+05:302018-11-25T03:28:22.913+05:30330am Ramblings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm sitting here taking my shift with FIL so that SIL and MIL can sleep. It's nearly 330am and we feel that we can't leave him alone after he fell yesterday morning while trying to go to the bathroom. I'm filled with plenty of emotion as I sit here keeping an eye on him from the front table. I know that one day soon when I look down at his room it will be empty, but sooner than I ever expected. It's a surreal thing to be watching someone that you loved going down this path.<br />
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The worst part is that we can't do anything for him...all we can do is take care of him the best that we can. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I know that we will manage until we decide what will be the best for him overall.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-89267741981851820202018-11-24T22:23:00.000+05:302018-11-24T22:23:04.467+05:30Days with my Father in Law - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The last few months have been a bit chaotic and we've not shared the news with everyone, but my FIL only has a short time left. I'm not going to go into the diagnosis, but the deterioration is scary and happening fast. I'm hoping that I can remember the good days as he has them, which are few and far in between these days, so that's why I'm blogging about them.<br />
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On my birthday, November 12th, everyone had forgotten, which was expected in between all of the tests and whatnot that FIL was undergoing. DH had told my MIL it was my birthday and so she had called me up and wished me. FIL found out it was my birthday and decided he was going to give me his traditional "pats" on the head as wishes, but this time it was harder than normal. Anyways, that's something I want to remember.<br />
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Let's fast forward to today, when it took me, my SIL and DH to get FIL to take his medications and have some biscuits and tea. He had fallen early in the morning while trying to get up to go to the bathroom and woke up with bruises. He had complained that his head was hurting so they took him to the ER and it turns out he only has a mild hematoma, so nothing to worry about.<br />
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Later in the evening I was making tea for everyone and I asked FIL if he wanted some as he was exhausted. He said yes, so I made it for him and when it was cooled off a bit I brought it in the room. SIL was helping him up and she was like, ok, no more, tea isn't that important. My FIL said "no, cha is important!", so he got up and drank half of his tea.<br />
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We (MIL, SIL, DH and I) were talking in front of their room and we burst out laughing. From his room FIL asked me why I was laughing and I replied back to him, what am I not supposed to laugh today? He then said, no! of course you can laugh. This elicited another round of laughter from all of us.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-35921323525520669052016-06-09T17:07:00.000+05:302016-06-09T17:07:12.181+05:30Darjeeling...Our 6 1/2 Year Delayed Honeymooon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in December DH and I had traveled to Darjeeling after he had finished up some work in Siliguri. We spent 5 days there and we walked around a lot of places. We also stayed in an awesome hotel called <a href="http://revolver.in/darjeeling/">Revolver</a>, which is a Beatles themed place, that a good friend of ours had recommended. We stayed in the George and Ringo rooms and the best part, in some people's mind, but not mine, is the fact that you can order some traditional Naga thali's for dinner. We tried that the first night we were there and I could barely eat because the overwhelming smell of fermented fish paste and everything else had me wrinkling up my nose.<br />
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The first day we mostly just wandered around the main part of the city, including searching for Kunga, which is an amazing Tibetan restaurant. The amazing part, which we realized after we arrived, is that it is straight down the road from our hotel. However, it took us at least 20 minutes of walking around to find it. Here were had the most amazingly moist, beef steamed momos and some thenthuk. We visited here every single day to enjoy the goodness, mostly the soups after a long day in the cold.<br />
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We also ventured out one morning early to head over to Keventer's to enjoy the porky goodness. We also visited the zoo, made some new friends while on the Ropeway, visited the Botanical Gardens, which wasn't in bloom and much more. We had walked all the way from our hotel to the zoo, which took at least 1 hour and we were so exhausted at the end of the day. We also went to Glenary's and had some good tea, snacks and just time to hang out.<br />
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However, the best part of the trip was the fact that we enjoyed hanging out at the local bar named Joey's. The first night we only had a few drinks and then went back to the hotel and the owner, the late Puran, had told us about a short-cut to get to the hotel. The next day as we had spotted him walking down the road while leaving on our adventures he had recognized us and asked us how we managed. We said fine, but sadly in February it was announced that Puran had passed away and the pub is now run by his wife.<br />
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On our last day here, we had decided that we would get up at 5am and go see the sunrise. We didn't, however, head over to Tiger Hill, which is where most people would go. We had found this amazing viewing area on the road just before the Governor's House and we went up there. Amazingly, I was standing there looking out over the valley and saw a glimpse of Kanchenjunga (the 3rd largest peak in the world) through the fog.<br />
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The view while the sun was rising over the mountain was spectacular and not something that I would have missed for the world. After this we had gone to Keventer's again for breakfast before picking up a few last minute gifts for our friends and headed back to the hotel before getting in the car and returning back for our train.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-63160799428586685332016-06-01T21:09:00.000+05:302016-06-01T21:09:00.787+05:30Absence...does it make the heart grow fonder?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I always forget that I have this blog...that and nothing really interesting happens to us. We did go to Darjeeling in December, which I'll have to write about at a later date. However, right now I'm extremely busy with life since we haven't had a cook for like 2+ years now. I'll be back soon!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-14342370969521399022015-05-20T07:34:00.002+05:302015-05-20T07:34:30.148+05:30Good-bye's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Now, the goodbye wasn't all that hard, we had arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. However, we weren't allowed in the airport so we had to say our good-byes outside. I gave B and J a hug and told them it was great to see them and in B's case so nice to finally meet her after hearing so much about her, she's my other mother. :)<br />
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Well, DH had also hugged them and Mom, but I was the last and she kept hugging me repeatedly with each one getting longer and longer. She had then started to cry and I just kept smiling, or trying to at least. However, the more she cried the more I teared up and the dams had almost broke loose, but then I had decided that I didn't want her to see me crying. DH had pulled me to his side and we stood there together smiling so that Mom could see us like that. Mom was crying so hard that even the security guard had asked what was wrong with her. DH had simply told him nothing was wrong, just that she was seeing off her daughter.<br />
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I was so tired, emotionally, physically and mentally it was all I could do to jump on the volvo and come home. Here I was talking with some friends about it and broke down for all of 2 minutes because crying wasn't going to help. I missed her more than I did before she came to visit. However, thankfully it won't be another 7 years before we see each other again because she's already planning her next trip and she hopes to bring all of my siblings along. God, heaven help me if that happens because it'll be chaos!!!!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-84467008837155702232015-05-20T07:29:00.002+05:302015-05-20T07:35:59.461+05:30Boycotting the Indian Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My family and I had planned to go to the Indian Museum, which I thought would be something they would enjoy. Having gotten in on an Indian ticket before and adverse to paying the foreigner price since I live here, I had asked the guy at the desk for 3 foreigner tickets and 1 Indian. However, he wouldn't give them to me and had asked a security guard, who had then taken me to talk to the Education officer, who goes by the name of Sayan Bhattacharya. He refused to let me in on an Indian ticket because, get this, <b>BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE AN INDIAN PASSPORT</b>. Despite all of my paperwork that I carry with me (marriage certificate, resident permit, DH's passport) I still was being refused the Indian ticket. I had tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen. Therefore I had told my family that I wasn't going to go, but they could go if they wanted.<br /><br />However, they decided to stay with me because it wasn't the Rs 150 that was the big deal, I would have paid that, but it was the fact that I a <b>*RESIDENT*</b> of the city for 6 years couldn't get in on an Indian ticket. This essentially means that the government just wants to make money out of me because they think I make USD, which isn't the case since I don't even work! Anyways, I told this to DH and we are planning on filing a RTI (right to information) to figure out exactly where we stand on this.</span></div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-17550523986018271342015-05-20T07:24:00.000+05:302015-05-20T07:24:04.851+05:30End of the Visit and Hyderabad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well...the family left on the 25th and thank goodness I had some recuperation time before I was required to do anything else. We had 2 more days, which was nice because we were able to spend more time together. We had mostly just hung out and Mom had taken us out for lunch to Tangra (me, DH and J, while B stayed back at the hotel). We had introduced them to misti doi (sweetened yogurt) the night they returned and their first question was why we hadn't given it to them before?!? They fell in love with it and needless to say J requested one more round before leaving, plus a recipe.<br />
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Well...we had met up early on the 25th since they had to be to the airport that night and they wanted to visit the Mother House. We arrived 2 minutes late since they close at 12, so we didn't get to see the museum or anything, but we did see her tomb. I silently sat on a bench while they did their thing because I don't see her in the same way, but that's something else all together.<br />
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Right before this my friends had been messaging me on WhatsApp asking if we were alright because of the earthquake tremors. We were like, wait? what? earthquake tremors? Well, needless to say we didn't feel any of them. We had decided we would go to Indian Museum and we grabbed a taxi and went, however, when I tried to get in with an Indian ticket I wasn't allowed (but that will be it's own blog post). We decided to boycott the museum since I live here and was against paying the foreigner fee to get in. So we had waited for the rain to go down a bit and went to Park Street and had some cold drinks.<br />
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We had then grabbed the metro and went to meet DH at the Indian Coffee House for lunch. We had lunch and DH and I drank some coffee and then headed back to the hotel. It was raining, so we wanted to get there early. We had to take 2 taxis to the airport, so DH had gone with J, who talked the whole time I'm told. So we get to the airport and see them off. (I'll write more about the good-bye in a few minutes)<br />
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They had then landed in Hyderabad where they got a taxi and went to their hotel. They had arranged for this same taxi driver to pick them up in the morning and take them around the city, but he had wanted Rs 2,500. Eventually they had bargained him down to Rs 2,200 and I had to spend the night comparing prices and finally told them just to take the taxi. They went around the city and had been mobbed by the people at the various locations wanting to talk to them and take photos. I've never had that happen and would hate it, but DH says it's probably because of the crowd we hang out with, which is primarily Indians and large muscular ones at that...</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-85923935046243237512015-05-20T07:15:00.000+05:302015-05-20T07:15:06.545+05:30Family's Visit to Varanasi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, the family had traveled to Varanasi on an AC train from Howrah. They had arrived and were swamped by autos that wanted to take them to their hotel. However, because J wasn't feeling good they had just taken whatever one they could get and got to the hotel. Once they were there J had stayed in the room and slept because he wasn't feeling well, while my mom and B had gone out. They went to the Ganges River and took a boat ride. Well...the boat wallah's knew they were foreigners and despite being told how much they should pay (around Rs 300 for both) they had ended up getting scammed. They had paid Rs 400 EACH for a 2 hour ride. Well, at least they were happy and enjoyed it. They had also been scammed into giving Rs 300 for the cremation wood. They were also told that they would have to pay for the guide, but they staunchly refused.<br />
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Well...they had finished their experience by shopping around and Mom found a tapestry that she wanted to buy for B's daughter, L (since that is what she wanted from India), but the store keeper wanted Rs 850 for it. My mom said, no the most I'll give is Rs 500, and the shop keeper counter offered her with Rs 750, but she stuck to her price and walked out. However, the guy called her back and said, ok, 500. That was probably still too much, but mom was extremely proud that she could bargain for herself.<br />
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The next day J was feeling much better so they all ventured out to the Ganges again, where to nobody's surprise the boat wallah was waiting for them again. However, J told the guy to get lost and that they didn't need him, which he promptly did. They again went out on the river and saw the cremations and once again the people asked them for money for the cremation wood. J being J, he had decided to give only Rs 100, well...the people keeping telling him "not enough, not enough, give more!" He flatly refused and went on their merry way.<br />
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They were supposed to have gone to Lucknow during this time away, but because the train they had booked back to Kolkata was regularly late they decided to forgo it. They instead decided to come back on the 24th instead of the 25th and they had luckily found some AC tickets on the return. However, they had realized that the train would take them over 24 hours to return and ended up booking plane tickets instead. Talk about driving me crazy!!!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-32515814420186912012015-04-19T23:44:00.003+05:302015-04-19T23:44:55.807+05:30Days 2-4 of Family Visit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The 16th morning DH had wanted to take our visiting family out to show them Kolkata and that include some of our favorite food joints. We started this by heading over to Tiretti Bazaar to get the Chinese breakfast and we ended up having a steamed pork bun, some steamed chicken momos and friend pork ones. They were really good and then we headed over to another stall for some fish ball soup and then over to the small store that is owned by the same lady as last time. There we had purchased some prawn chips and meifoon, while DH and 2 of the family had tried the candied plums, which they had declared to be excellent.<br />
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After that we had hopped on a tram (which was something they were all keen on doing) and headed over to Dharamtala to our favorite <a href="http://www.bongcookbook.com/2013/10/hing-er-kochuri-and-alur-tarkari.html">hing kochuri</a> restaurant called Mohan Bhandar. Here my Mom, DH and everyone else chowed down on their delicious combination of potato curry, kochuri's and the lanka on the side. We also had some lassi, singara and tea. After this we had headed back to the hotel using the metro because we had tickets to a hindi film, which everyone had pretty much slept through. However, before returning we had introduced them to the amazing filter coffee from Banana Leaf. After the movie we had planned to go to lunch at the Ballygunge branch of Kasturi, but they only had some daal with peas, shukto, alu posto and fish. We walked over to 6 Ballygunge Place, which had ended up being closed before finally landing up at Oasis on Park Street.<br />
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Here we indulged in some more Indian food, which had included some daal, chicken bharta, raita and vegetable malai kofta. This was washed down with some pickle and beer for DH and I and some garlic and cheese naan to fill in the holes. Next, we had gone over to Au Bon Pain or something like that for some coffee and then to Quest Mall. However, to get there we had jumped in some auto's that head to Park Circus so that we could freak my mom out some more (she hates the traffic!). When we were finished at the mall we all jumped on a bus headed to the hotel.<br />
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Well, on this bus my mom had a pretty typical bus experience, including a lady shoving her boobs into her personal space and someone asking her to hold her bags. My mom simply gave that lady a blank stare because she had no idea what she was saying. We ended up at the hotel and just hung out for some time.<br />
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The next day we were invited to a friends for lunch, but her mother had gotten ill so instead she invited us out for lunch. We had gone over to New Market and sat down for coffee at Raj's Spanish Cafe. Here Raj had teased my family and educated them (before I could get to it) about ignoring the hawkers in the market. When P showed up we headed over to New Market where we wanted to get some things for the family back home. Mom looked at some scarves, while B and J looked for a wall hanging for their daughter and sister back at home.<br />
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Once our shopping was complete we had plans to meet up with DH, so while we were waiting we had sat down at Blue Sky Cafe and had some fresh lime soda. We had then headed over to the Free School Street branch of Kasturi and stuffed ourselves full of good Bengali food. We had rice, daal, jackfruit with prawns, spinach, potato and eggplant vegetable, fish paturi (or steamed bhetki in a banana leaf with a mustard sauce) and much more.<br />
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We then headed over to Park Street Cemetery where P had begged to get us in for 5 minutes, where we all wandered around the area and enjoyed the time. We had then headed for coffee, again, before going to Gariahat to look for sheets and other necessities. We didn't find them and then we ended up going back to the hotel.<br />
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The next day was the elections, which was the 18th and also the last full day that they were going to be here. I had gone over around 11am, armed with my pajamas since I was planning on staying overnight. We hung out at the hotel and made plans with DH for the 2 families to meet. We had gone over to Mocambo where we met up with my MIL, FIL and SIL and had a good lunch. Most of the family (4 out of 8) had ordered some sort of the fish steak.<br />
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After, we had gone for coffee and then got MIL, FIL and SIL into a taxi headed for home, while we headed over to Gariahat to see what we could find in the way of sheets and a gift for my mom (which is from the family). However, mostly everything was still closed and we luckily found some sheets for Rs 150, which they plan on using at home as well. We were heading back to the hotel and DH had put us into an auto and the driver had probably thought that he had 4 foreigners in his vehicle. Well, I had said something in Bengali and he was so shocked he kept looking at me and almost ran into a bike. Most definitely the most hardcore reaction to my bangla skills so far.<br />
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We got back to the hotel and DH stayed for a bit before going back home leaving me behind with the family. We tried to sleep early, but I was getting hungry so J and I had gone out to pick up some Swarma salad and he ended up having some phucka and papri chaat as well. We went back and just hung out before falling asleep.<br />
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In the morning we had woken up early because they had to be to the train station and we didn't want the breakfast from the hotel. Mom and I had walked to Lake Market to pick up some fresh bananas and oranges for their train journey in the afternoon and some other crackers. We had gone back over to Banana Leaf for breakfast and there DH met us. He had flagged us down 2 taxi's and off to Howrah we went.<br />
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However, the heat was unbearable in the main terminal and my brother, J, had started to feel ill. We sat down on the ground while we waited for the train to arrive and when it did we promptly hopped on. we got them situated and in their proper seats, with DH also asking the younger man to change seats with mom because she was older.<br />
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The train took off at the right time and then DH and I went over to our normal pub for some snacks and beer to help us cool down and relax before coming home for some naps. They return back to Kolkata on the 25th morning and we'll spend some more time seeing the sites before taking them back to the airport in the evening.<br />
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So far I've been having fun, but am simply exhausted from running around in this intense heat!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-85282630401946091752015-04-15T21:58:00.000+05:302015-04-15T21:58:23.413+05:30Day 1 of Family Visit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well...today was day 1 of the family visiting. Initially the flight was scheduled to come in around 10am, but had been changed. So, I arrived at the airport today and picked them up before taking them to the guesthouse. Once there everyone freshened up and we went to get lunch at one of our favorite places. We had ordered rumali roti, paneer butter masala, chicken bharta and some navratana korma. They kept saying "this is soooooo good" lol<br />
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Then we wandered around before purchasing tickets to go to the movies tomorrow, which was the one thing that my brother had asked to do. We have plans to get up early, I mean at 5am to go to the Chinese Breakfast and all that before the movie. I am simply exhausted, but watching my mom's face all day was fun and hilarious.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-1181369219897264582015-03-24T02:13:00.001+05:302015-03-24T02:13:03.699+05:30Family and other news...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sorry I've been away for so long...but some good news! I have family visiting next month. It's kinda stressful because my mom is coming and she's never traveled internationally before, except to Mexico for a day and to Canada, which according to Americans don't count!!!<br />
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Thankfully she is traveling with a friend and her son, whom are both seasoned and experienced travelers. This means I should have more stories for you sometime next month about their experiences and mine. I'm currently looking at some of the fun things (also, cheap) to do in the city...so if there are any ideas let me know! So far I want to take them to New Market, Tiretti Bazaar for some good Chinese food, a friend has invited us over for lunch...so ideas please!<br />
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We still don't have a cook...so DH and I are still doing the cooking for us, which means lunch is maggi quite often and sandwiches, but that's ok. Also, I managed to cook some tok daal or sour mango daal for us the other night, which came out really good considering it was my first attempt ever. I can also make a mean egg curry, which DH loves.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-82555652291547006052014-11-22T00:25:00.001+05:302014-11-22T00:25:06.096+05:30My apologies...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm sorry I've been absent from the blog for so long, but the last few months have been pretty chaotic! First we came back from our week long trip to the Dooars, or the jungle and then jumped right back into life head first. That meant DH was back to work and I was doing whatever I normally do, which includes the shopping and whatnot for the household.<br />
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Also, for the last 6-9 months (I'm not really sure how long now...) our normal cook has been out of work because of severe illness with her kidneys. Well, that meant for the first few months that DH and SIL were doing the majority of the cooking for everyone and I was doing the shopping. All fine and dandy, and then the cook comes back for around a month.<br />
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After she comes back she again has a relapse and it was then that she told MIL that the doctor had originally told her not to work for at least 6 months. Well, now, she's not. We've gone through around 3 cooks in less than 1 month and all of them were horrible. DH preferred to cook for himself and the same with SIL and we paid the cook her monthly salary for just making rice and maybe one vegetable dish! Insane!<br />
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Now...we are back to having no cook and everyone is fending for themselves. It's crazy, but it's life. I hope to blog more often and I have to remember to do so! Everyone keep emailing me and telling me you're missing me if I'm gone for too long.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-62408590413098748152014-04-21T01:03:00.002+05:302014-04-21T01:03:29.647+05:30PNPC Bengali Style Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm starting a new series called PNPC Bengali Style (PNPC means poro ninda, poro charcha, or roughly translates to Gossiping and Bitching about others) for the odd random things I hear around town.<br />
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The other day I was swimming and this random lady (RL) comes up to me and this is how the conversation went.<br />
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RL : Are you Indian?<br />
Me : No, I'm American.<br />
RL : Where are you from in the US?<br />
Me : New York<br />
RL : What do you do here?<br />
Me : I'm married to a Bengali.<br />
RL : What's his name?<br />
Me : Told her DH's name<br />
RL : Really? I am a Sengupta too! We're in the same caste.<br />
Me : (thinking in my head) Lady...I don't really care about caste...you're mad!<br />
<br />
Seriously?! It's a good thing I didn't let on that I speak bangla too! I came home and told this to DH and he just about busted up laughing and had a huge ole grin stuck on his face for some time!<br />
<br />
Swimming is going good, I'm sore and that's a good thing, as it tells me I'm pushing myself instead of just letting myself "get by" with the bare minimum effort.</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-13493840843834153502014-04-02T21:57:00.000+05:302014-04-02T21:57:23.142+05:30Swimming adventures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, in an effort to get some exercise (and within the standards that are allowed by my knees) I decided to start swimming. I wanted to this last year, but then I was informed that all of the swimming "clubs" had stopped taking applications. This year I made extra sure to get my application in on time. The club I chose was Anderson, or ILSS, since some of our goods friends are members there.<br />
<br />
I got the application on the 10th (cost 60 rupees / $1) and had to hand it in on the 18th. I had to give 2 passport photos and have a doctor "sign" my medical release. This meant I went to the club's doctor and paid him 25 rupees (50 cents) and he just signed the paper. I handed it in and paid my Rs 2000 ($33.39) and was given a receipt and told to come back on the 18th for my ID card.<br />
<br />
At this point, I also had to purchase a suit from them since they require that all suits have the 'ILSS' logo or else they won't be allowed in the pool. Plus a retarded looking shower cap with ties...yeah, I'm sure we all look pretty sexy.<br />
<br />
The pool is divided into 2 sections (length wise) and separated by some sprinklers that shoot up, so that the kids that are learning to swim don't get run over. Otherwise the other half of the pool is up for grabs and most people swim laps.<br />
<br />
So, I've learned (after 2 days of swimming) that is going to be easier on me if I start to just wear my suit to the pool and change after, since there is always a rush for the bathroom for showers and changing. I also learned the 1st day that I should get out a few minutes early in order to have the bathroom free so I don't have to wait in line to change into dry clothes.<br />
<br />
Anyways, back to today. I'm sitting on the bench waiting patiently for my turn to change. Next to me is this older lady who all of a sudden takes off her salwar bottoms. I'm thinking okay, she's just getting ready to go to the bathroom to change. Then I realize you can see her panties and I'm like grossed out. So...next thing I know she's draping her upper body with her dupatta and then all of a sudden the suit is going up the legs and the kurta is coming off. Thankfully she's still covered with her dupatta, and bam! She's changed. Mind you the room is full of small girls...no boys, but still? Come on lady!<br />
<br />
Then across the room I see this other lady pulling off her pants. Fine, her kurta covers her butt and all so no wardrobe malfunctions. Then I saw her holding up her pants and carefully pulling her panties out of the pants. Yuck!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-4603568989176366232014-01-12T13:28:00.001+05:302014-01-12T13:28:15.692+05:30<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, DH and I just came back from a lovely week in the Dooars (jungles of West Bengal)along with some friends. I'll post about the trip in a day or so, seeing as we are still recovering from the attack of allergies and congestion that converged upon us when we arrived back in polluted Kolkata! :)</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-5760339418247956442013-11-06T22:17:00.000+05:302014-05-12T20:01:13.204+05:30Tung Nam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
DH and I have been eating out at a lot more new (and out of the way) places these days. This time it was to a place we've seen photos and heard about the food, but never been to before. It's called Tung Nam, and its located in Tiretti Bazaar, or Old China Town. It's just off the Central Metro station and to the Tiretti Bazaar side. Once you come out, just cross the statue of a man on a horse, and go straight down the road where the cars are coming in and you'll spot this little joint. The only thing is, it closes between 3 and 6pm. Don't be discouraged by the lack of decoration, the food is amazing! It is also very cheap. For 3 bowls of wonton soup you will pay around Rs 280, seeing as they are Rs 90 a bowl.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TmOGWe7m0Ou7bfbTTjWPUa87TiKro2m0LQ63o5xCOitUa6tR9COiZhDnJ4G0uy44ejhFrVXxxDTRNV1ioTY5N7C2cPQBpzAtzU6Ect3xYEzGVHD_9jOjFATjXYlsCUNeX1tYVmTSspPi/s1600/20131017_183727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TmOGWe7m0Ou7bfbTTjWPUa87TiKro2m0LQ63o5xCOitUa6tR9COiZhDnJ4G0uy44ejhFrVXxxDTRNV1ioTY5N7C2cPQBpzAtzU6Ect3xYEzGVHD_9jOjFATjXYlsCUNeX1tYVmTSspPi/s320/20131017_183727.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite, won ton soup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoocJ4ix5G4H90m-LP178RAbCW9lDrivxrrsaq_p_UHwQjahGpeQajtHYX5NI2yKftTVhOqGWuoFyzUbnktvgC_8jgyt_02urzbdr-rgcZAUJ_TIg4vhcHRy8QMqw0_rOBk6Lx-G-GDFCR/s1600/20131017_185552_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoocJ4ix5G4H90m-LP178RAbCW9lDrivxrrsaq_p_UHwQjahGpeQajtHYX5NI2yKftTVhOqGWuoFyzUbnktvgC_8jgyt_02urzbdr-rgcZAUJ_TIg4vhcHRy8QMqw0_rOBk6Lx-G-GDFCR/s320/20131017_185552_LLS.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is all that you will see.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SuXnJohdO83rV28IHZp6UaRNCVR52CAjeBli2HGSdZ-5VNtjAPKr6q6MvME7pEmNTPQVOnBqsqb47oFvCMB08U7LbSl_k7tqFwoZ-xb8X9dbx6zTYnIUcIGPpecvPEXHdMfc0XvWMCc9/s1600/20131017_183507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SuXnJohdO83rV28IHZp6UaRNCVR52CAjeBli2HGSdZ-5VNtjAPKr6q6MvME7pEmNTPQVOnBqsqb47oFvCMB08U7LbSl_k7tqFwoZ-xb8X9dbx6zTYnIUcIGPpecvPEXHdMfc0XvWMCc9/s320/20131017_183507.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is their amazing wonton soup. I love this stuff. This is a meal in itself. Add a bit of soy sauce,<br />
their chili vinegar sauce and some chili sauce and it's amazing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3WP6_Il20wW5sETor9hNi8uDF7qKSeAvIcy8AkjITwMD_oGQn1ZlEiUvV-q2DJAsW-EOQYCGr1dXc86vx1KrGGOSG9izA_Vz0LjMG5x_bTpWefBSLvsNP6TiwKP8Tr5SrEfJPeEt5nUR/s1600/20131020_213822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV3WP6_Il20wW5sETor9hNi8uDF7qKSeAvIcy8AkjITwMD_oGQn1ZlEiUvV-q2DJAsW-EOQYCGr1dXc86vx1KrGGOSG9izA_Vz0LjMG5x_bTpWefBSLvsNP6TiwKP8Tr5SrEfJPeEt5nUR/s320/20131020_213822.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steamed pork rice!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjwERB58JNXkVi5SMxZLCpcwE6_7or9R3ojisLWdthj6x27sinIY9NbQljSr4zwdohTCdsn09-JP73y2US0BrmUv130IgTLMMvr6Rik7gGDjyt2AX1M3oOtDHkvmXwOhfbvDFfMvfOgf7/s1600/20131031_192253(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjwERB58JNXkVi5SMxZLCpcwE6_7or9R3ojisLWdthj6x27sinIY9NbQljSr4zwdohTCdsn09-JP73y2US0BrmUv130IgTLMMvr6Rik7gGDjyt2AX1M3oOtDHkvmXwOhfbvDFfMvfOgf7/s320/20131031_192253(2).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steamed Noodles, I didn't try this, so I don't know how it is,<br />
but looks a little bland to me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9K2bOSlQLXJw_Wl_QhiZBOk3llAaZ1mTWsQO7GNBOwbo7aV0FvnRGLiRrJ55k1hjXotB7luEui1vFmiJQIxf9VycfF319i6Dv157Spi4q8u4Jk9tde9tIJyVDYonPLZao9ifcl3KagA08/s1600/20131031_192626_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9K2bOSlQLXJw_Wl_QhiZBOk3llAaZ1mTWsQO7GNBOwbo7aV0FvnRGLiRrJ55k1hjXotB7luEui1vFmiJQIxf9VycfF319i6Dv157Spi4q8u4Jk9tde9tIJyVDYonPLZao9ifcl3KagA08/s320/20131031_192626_LLS.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pork Hamie, this was had with the noodles (for DH and a friend) and the<br />
Pork itself was good, and I can imagine it went well with the steamed noodles.</td></tr>
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cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-62062563655560251202013-11-05T22:56:00.001+05:302013-11-05T22:56:56.285+05:30Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today DH and I decided to go out for lunch. We didn't want any meat because there is both mutton and chicken cooked at home and we would eat that for dinner. So, we decided to go for something veg, or some other meat. We also wanted to try a new place. So we landed up at Hotel Raj Homely Restaurant today. This is located at <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">10/2, Manohar Pukur Rd, Kalighat, Kolkata. Incidentally, this is a Southern Indian restaurant!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Today we had some pizza, as another friend posted about it <a href="http://presentedbyp.blogspot.in/2013/10/eat-out-hotel-homely-raj-hazra-kolkata.html">here</a>. We went and sat in the AC section and soon had decided what we wanted. Here are photos of our food. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzT3j9RloZI1mzqE6LnWIMVmam6nXTN7XwuBldULMJArwgklPtS2Z3Y67pSIWS7F9FZ2ZOZF1ZYjmhN2ZXR_KwRw_U2bAQQXVKD5WqdXGzdKMGk_ntUqCSkZqaJsIABpMQNgRElz_Vu4f/s1600/1424507_10151830861034442_1779740268_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzT3j9RloZI1mzqE6LnWIMVmam6nXTN7XwuBldULMJArwgklPtS2Z3Y67pSIWS7F9FZ2ZOZF1ZYjmhN2ZXR_KwRw_U2bAQQXVKD5WqdXGzdKMGk_ntUqCSkZqaJsIABpMQNgRElz_Vu4f/s320/1424507_10151830861034442_1779740268_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC4-TBSHxWdjogMZR4uMNPrCIEiDwCs3R7Dak7al9kKpr7P-R4LIynaRinyXRJKNzXZHSc41yLQmBz20hGqZRVXypRPOupCDoayssQhJda0PMA09pOL8Y-jMQ-B9q44lcE03JZI_JJT7o/s1600/1390693_10151830860819442_831936746_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC4-TBSHxWdjogMZR4uMNPrCIEiDwCs3R7Dak7al9kKpr7P-R4LIynaRinyXRJKNzXZHSc41yLQmBz20hGqZRVXypRPOupCDoayssQhJda0PMA09pOL8Y-jMQ-B9q44lcE03JZI_JJT7o/s320/1390693_10151830860819442_831936746_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papdi Chat Rs 52</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdZ-i5nkYl8ES-rkT7tB5LhgyC0D5vyMnjU9tnik0XHWQTcl6KuZZUeudklbDn9IRH654-NxSH4c8xGoYDgpBd6saVyzKhLPoEEX3X0e2i7Y0RXtXeDG9RKSszaAZKY8ZaduJI1rcEDLK/s1600/1459772_10151830860729442_148519069_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdZ-i5nkYl8ES-rkT7tB5LhgyC0D5vyMnjU9tnik0XHWQTcl6KuZZUeudklbDn9IRH654-NxSH4c8xGoYDgpBd6saVyzKhLPoEEX3X0e2i7Y0RXtXeDG9RKSszaAZKY8ZaduJI1rcEDLK/s320/1459772_10151830860729442_148519069_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ordered the Al Fungi pizza (Rs 152) and added Fresh Tomatoes (Rs 15 extra) and Black Olives (Rs 60 extra)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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I loved the pizza. I'm definitely going to go back and get it again!</div>
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cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-1330548430017200862013-10-27T12:48:00.001+05:302013-10-27T12:48:18.978+05:30Fares<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh, for those of you who take auto's around Kolkata be aware that the fares are going up.<br />
<br />
The new fares (I've experienced recently) are :<br />
<br />
Gariahat to Ruby (or vice versa) is now Rs 10, but if you get down on the Bijon Setu (at the train station) it's only Rs 8, and to Fern Road is Rs 9. This raise is from Rs 7...so a bit steep. I still remember when it would cost me Rs 5 to get to Gariahat.<br />
<br />
Also, now from Ruby to Jadavpur Thana it's Rs 10 from Rs 9.<br />
<br />
Also, for taxi's the fare has gone up (quite some time back though...) and the calculation is quite complicated. The formula is Amount on Meter multiplied by 2.4 and then you add Rs 1. So if the meter says Rs 24, the formula is 24 x 2.4 = Rs 57.6 + Rs 1 = 57.6, so rounded up it's Rs 58. Complicated I know...<br />
<br />
Ah, and a few times I've taken taxi's that have their meters recalibrated. Meaning, the meter will read Rs 25 when they turn it on and then you just pay what is shown at the end of the trip. It's kinda trippy, I've only taken these 2 times (both times with DH, thank god, because I didn't know about the recalibration thingy) and I'm always thinking "The taxi driver needs to reset his meter" until I remember and then I'm like what an idiot! LOL</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-87200541004394713492013-10-27T12:41:00.001+05:302013-10-27T12:41:45.046+05:30Sowwy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Okay, yeah I really really suck at this whole blog writing thing...I really should write more, I know. The problem is I keep thinking I need to blog about this, but then I totally forget. I need to start writing down my ideas.<br />
<br />
Nothing new is going on...just with the weather going from warm and humid to rainy and cold I've been stuck with a cold pretty much non-stop for the last few weeks. Not. Cool!</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-44624325629490920842013-08-09T03:41:00.000+05:302013-08-09T03:41:28.932+05:30They Love Me Here...I think?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Okay, you know you go to some places way too often when these sorts of things happen. </div>
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I love Banana Leaf, a small south indian food joint, within walking distance from Rashbehari metro (towards Gariahat). When I go I normally order 1 or 2 plates of rasam idli, depending on how hungry I am, and if I want some filter coffee. This is how it normally goes when I walk in after I sit down.</div>
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The waiter normally hands me a menu, and I look at him, and tell him I don't need it. If it's one of my normal waiters they just ask me "rasam idli?" and I smile and nod. They even know to give me extra rasam instead of the coconut chutney. They give good, fast service. :-)</div>
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<br /></div>
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The other place that DH and I go to a lot is Oly Pub, on Park Street. Now here, see we go a lot. Here we get amazing service. So here are the ways you know we go there too often</div>
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1 - we order a plate of chicken sandwiches, which is 3 sandwiches cut diagonally, normally served on one big plate. Well, one of our waiters will give 2 small plates with 3 pieces on each. This must mean he pays attention to how we share our food...or he just splits them up evenly. </div>
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2 - I, well both of us can really but it's easier for me, can bypass the entire line (especially on the busy weekends) and normally get a table instantly or after a short wait. Normally this only works if we find a waiter who serves us or we go upstairs and into the back.</div>
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3 - The door guy (we normally give him Rs 10-20 when we leave) will tell either me or DH (whoever comes later if we come separately) where the other is sitting. Awesome! This means I don't have to search everywhere for DH.</div>
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4 - We also give the guy who cleans the tables, gives ice, and whatnot Rs 20 when we leave. We do this for a reason. If he sees us come in and knows there is going to be an empty table he will tell others that the table is not empty and give it to me. Also, I know he will watch out for me if I'm waiting for others.</div>
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5 - We normally don't have to tell them our drink order. They normally bring us Old Monk and pour us our standard large pegs. This happens unless we specify we want beer. Then they bring it.</div>
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6 - Sometimes we sit downstairs, and some guys get rowdy we go upstairs. When we tell them what happens they sort of get irritated.</div>
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7 - They aren't intimidated by my Bengali and just talk to me, :-)</div>
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I love Oly! Those are the 2 places we go to a lot...so we get good service :-)</div>
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cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-19257780040115570592013-04-29T22:42:00.001+05:302013-04-29T22:42:48.248+05:30Trolling at a friend's wedding<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Saturday night, DH, P and I went to a friend's wedding. We didn't plan to stay long seeing as how we were already late. We meant to pick up DH around 8, but managed to pick him up around 830pm...so off we went.</div>
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We went said hello to the bride and groom, and then decided to eat. There was a plethora of foods...biriyani, jeera rice, daal makhani, naan, and lots of other things to eat. My problem with wedding food is that it's normally pure bengali food and it's hard to eat my fill. So, thinking I'd enjoy it, I took some jeera rice (the flavour was a bit overwhelming for me...) and some butter masala paneer. Then I spied some chicken florentine (YES! Some continental food =D)</div>
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Well...I went to the counter where they were serving the chicken and they gave me a bit. I asked for more, they said "This is chicken, non-veg" to which I replied "Aaro din" (give me more) and they again replied "But it's chicken." Slightly frustrated at this point I said, "Jaani, aami porte pari, Chicken Florentine lekha achhe" (I know, I can read. It's written Chicken Florentine.)<br /><br />Then we had more food and left...I ended up coming home and having a maggi at 1am. :-)<br /></div>
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Yep, highlight of my night was trolling at a wedding =D</div>
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cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-79433705681164743962013-04-19T00:10:00.002+05:302013-04-19T00:10:47.680+05:30Love - Hate Relationship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I now have a love hate relationship with the restaurant Momo I Am! While the food is good...I ate there both Sunday and Tuesday, I now have my very first stomach infection from eating out in India.<br />
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I've eaten phucka, and all sorts of other foods at restaurants that are more run-down looking. And this happens at one of my favorite places.<br />
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Here's to getting tests done and feeling better soon. :-)</div>
cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7911812654989162694.post-60525804953298798152013-04-08T17:31:00.002+05:302013-04-08T17:32:31.900+05:30Raj's Spanish Cafe, 7 Sudder Street<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I heard about this place, called Raj's Spanish Cafe, a long while back from a friend. I had been wanting to go and one day DH wanted to go and we looked up the directions, but then decided he would eat something at home, so we never went.<br />
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Then one day I went out with my friend, P, to New Market to buy a few things and we ended up here. The first time I didn't take any photos, but the food was amazing. I ordered a Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni (Rs 125 or $2.29), while P ordered the Pollo (chicken) platter (for Rs 150 or $2.75). The cannelloni weren't the best. It was a square of about 4-5 inches by 3-4 inches. There was hardly any ricotta cheese, it basically was a bit mixed in with the spinach and blocking the ends, and there wasn't enough sauce. Hardly worth the 125 rupees I paid. P got her chicken, it was 2 long thin strips of chicken, with a small salad on the side (lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, capsicum) and a good amount of french fries. I can't remember what coffee drink she had, but she loved it, while I ordered a iced tea. The ice tea was made with a tea bag (Twinnings Breakfast tea) and was quite sour (even for me...) and after I added 2 small packages of sugar it was palatable. Since I was still hungry I also ordered the mediteranean salad (Rs 80 or $1.47) which was AMAZING. It was this big plate of lettuce, with capsicum, tomato, carrot, black olives and a dollop of feta cheese on top. They had some oil and vinegar on the side and I poured that stuff on like there was no tomorrow! Loved it! The customer service is pretty good...Also I think here you can get internet for like Rs 25 ($0.46) an hour (seeing as some lady told the guy at the register 2 hours and gave him a Rs 50 note.)<br />
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Now, I went with a friend on Saturday and ordered a bowl of hot and sour soup (Rs 40 or $0.73) and the mediteranean salad, and a iced tea (this time made with twinnings lemon tea) while my friend, A, ordered the chicken salad (Rs 120 or $2.20) and the tuna sandwich (Rs 70 or $1.28), which was basically just 3 slices of wheat bread with a slight layer of tuna on it.<br />
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The soup was ok, it was a from a Knorr's package, I saw them pouring it in the pot, but it came with 2 slices of bread, slightly soft and hard, so perfect! The salad came, and I noticed they gave me a bigger dollop of feta cheese today, so that made me super happy! A got his salad and was happy (he'd never had so much of lettuce before!) and also some iced mocha cafe (Rs 70, or $1.28) which he said was pretty good. All in all, I was happy and it only cost me Rs 425 ($7.79).<br />
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Here are some photos :<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAk6Xp04bt2w2BTfFrbmCn6AZhPEYkPas6kbLqz1NQ0z03VvOVT5El6cwONj7K9Cgdtuz8h4liSiMZChnyzPIweMN-6Pd8et3ayZfhGBq39JK-5snOKSdtCV-0vesYMun4vyjVethKMYaK/s1600/DSCN2933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAk6Xp04bt2w2BTfFrbmCn6AZhPEYkPas6kbLqz1NQ0z03VvOVT5El6cwONj7K9Cgdtuz8h4liSiMZChnyzPIweMN-6Pd8et3ayZfhGBq39JK-5snOKSdtCV-0vesYMun4vyjVethKMYaK/s320/DSCN2933.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hot and sour soup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYUrNmm7HlHURud2fkPQR6IOSkegQ9mqgkCf9uH8bHWMKQLryuFlGoawul_TPDhqjpSIhSbQhEEwkaKNEGu21ggAnShShCynFxX87ASn8trkituUoXbp68SA3XZ3PdQqXYO7BKgrRVghS/s1600/DSCN2934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYUrNmm7HlHURud2fkPQR6IOSkegQ9mqgkCf9uH8bHWMKQLryuFlGoawul_TPDhqjpSIhSbQhEEwkaKNEGu21ggAnShShCynFxX87ASn8trkituUoXbp68SA3XZ3PdQqXYO7BKgrRVghS/s320/DSCN2934.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mediteranean salad</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFalSHZe5bWE29TLUhXBF5UAvgXx3qNUiga-7AJew58qjxKluVyBuiyz_2Updz0ulnPut9_XBXZkAntTM4H0krlxWzuczQ-2e4STsxj431VI21wqQvr6gJeKoTfN1q5FPyg5i0GUQDfWD/s1600/DSCN2935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFalSHZe5bWE29TLUhXBF5UAvgXx3qNUiga-7AJew58qjxKluVyBuiyz_2Updz0ulnPut9_XBXZkAntTM4H0krlxWzuczQ-2e4STsxj431VI21wqQvr6gJeKoTfN1q5FPyg5i0GUQDfWD/s320/DSCN2935.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chicken salad</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3JOhRf3jO9d2FPei4cLNXgXp0bbHfl9r_y7K6A0cfby9cbKtWqdyLaMXP0QPR3xHN2wfDxB5vfZ5DcnTukLXYfFUuwUUA1fFCG6ereJ87HT-sEqfKP4-WebHpdhZi5dUwQsDbVlNrc43/s1600/DSCN2930-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge3JOhRf3jO9d2FPei4cLNXgXp0bbHfl9r_y7K6A0cfby9cbKtWqdyLaMXP0QPR3xHN2wfDxB5vfZ5DcnTukLXYfFUuwUUA1fFCG6ereJ87HT-sEqfKP4-WebHpdhZi5dUwQsDbVlNrc43/s320/DSCN2930-1.JPG" width="161" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My iced tea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZrKD_fACIojGSOakRcsnjrD9qubz_hTM9ICgFmzN-gntypaKCPeNwiEPJ3y3pNGtXTJKYAwXxFOqQtlVzsLGaGtl1ZIxZ63gU3FAqzqa0m00xruIiY48IWAUBhscpxdI5n9SFXeTXvQ4/s1600/DSCN2932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZrKD_fACIojGSOakRcsnjrD9qubz_hTM9ICgFmzN-gntypaKCPeNwiEPJ3y3pNGtXTJKYAwXxFOqQtlVzsLGaGtl1ZIxZ63gU3FAqzqa0m00xruIiY48IWAUBhscpxdI5n9SFXeTXvQ4/s320/DSCN2932.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A's Iced Mocha Cafe</td></tr>
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cnchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129213191169855291noreply@blogger.com3