Happy Birthday Ravi

While we were in the US, we missed Ravi's birthday.  We gave him a call from the US which was a big surprise for him and made his day.  So when we got back to Bangalore we celebrated his birthday.  We had over Ravi's brother Jagadish and his cousin Manju.  I cooked Mourgh Moughahni (Butter Chicken).  They all said it was very good so I was pleased with my first attempt of making a Indian dish.  After dinner we had a chocolate cake that Julie made from scratch,  We got Ravi an India cricket jersey for his birthday which he loves and wears all the time.  It was great experience having the Kumar's over for Ravi's birthday. 

USA

I got a very nice surprise from work, and found out I needed to attend some meetings in New York and Chicago right before the 4th of July.  KPMG also "offered" to let Julie come if we flew economy, since 2 economy tickets are cheaper than 1 business class ticket.  Since I'm a nice husband I agreed, and Julie got to come too.  We were so excited when we found out we would get to go home before we originally planned.  We left Bangalore, with a sweet mustache, and were headed to the Big Apple for my first set of meetings.  Aside from my meetings while in NYC, we went to a Mets game andTimes Square (picked up 2 nice flat bills).  Also one night we had a nice date at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain and we both had a huge juicy steak.  First one of American size and quality in a long time.  Might have been the best steak I have ever had, or just felt that way because it had been about 6 months to have a steak that good.  Bangalore has steaks but they don't come close to American Steaks.  After we went to a Comedy Show at Gotham Comedy Club.

After New York we headed to Chicago for my second set of meetings.  In Chicago we went to a White Sox game, sightseeing downtown, and Graham Elliot Bistro, food was amazing there too.  We became big Graham Elliot fans after watching Master Chef in India, one of the few US shows that comes on in India (other shows One Tree Hill, CSI Miami, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother).  I also got a tweet from Graham Elliot which was pretty nice.  In Chicago we went to Nike Town and went Ham. One of the good parts about the work trip was all the excellent dinners Julie and I went to with everyone from work.  We ate at so many good restaurants in both cities.

We got back to the US on July 3 and our parents picked us up, and had Sushi waiting for us upon Julie's request.  When we got home, we were reunited with Riley and Julio.  They were so happy to see us.  The next day we went to Ryan and Mandy's 4th of July BBQ.  Daniel arranged for a limo for our journey to the Northshore.  We spent the next couple of days trying to see as many family and friends as possible for the short amount of time we were home.  It was a short trip home but good to be back in the US, and can't wait to get back in December.

 

Maldives

I turned 29 this year eek!!  George asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him to plan a surprise trip for me.  Little did I know he was planning to put a big check on my bucket list.  June 20 I woke up a little bit older but very excited.  George had packed my suitcase for me (scary) and refused to tell me what type of clothing I should wear to the airport.  I knew it would be someplace cool because George is the king of surprises but I never dreamed of what was around the corner.  We got to the Bangalore Airport and he handed me my ticket.  I looked down and saw the ticket was to the Maldives and screamed.  After waiting at the airport due to an expected "unexpected delay" by Air India (worst airline in the world) we finally made it to Male, the capital of Maldives.  Once in Male we had to take a water taxi to Kuredo Island where we would be staying.  The water taxi was an experience in and of itself.  It was a tiny plane that landed on the water.  The pilots wore shorts and flip flops and one sat on top of the luggage since it was a packed flight.  Flying over the Maldives you could see all the tiny islands with crystal clear blue lagoons stretching across the deep blue ocean.  As we were landing it was absolutely breathtaking.  I was a little scared when it came time to land but it was actually much smoother than normal ground landings.  The only difference was when we touched down on the water, the pilot sitting on the luggage opened the boarding door while the plane was still in motion and stood on the base of the plane.

As we deboarded the plane we were greeted with music and cocktails.  We finished watching the sunset, ate way too much food, and maybe pretended like it was my 21st birthday.  The next couple of days were filled with naps on the pristine beaches, snorkeling, and eating and drinking.  I can't describe how beautiful it was.  I can only say that it didn't seem real and was a great way to spend my 29th birthday!!

1st Visitors

We had our first visitors right after we got back from Singapore and Malaysia - My Parents!!  My Mom was here for 3 weeks and my Dad 2, and they got to see what Bangalore Living is all about.  We also got to see a bunch of cities in India as well.  It was great having them here.  Who's next??

Bangalore

Mysore

Delhi

Agra

Jaipur

Kochi

Singapore and Malaysia

We went on our first backpacking trip together to Singapore and Malaysia (pronounced Ma-Lay-See-Ya to everyone in southeast Asia).  We were off for a 5 day trip with 1 night of sleeping on a plane, 2 nights sleeping on a train, and 2 nights sleeping in a hotels.  We left Bangalore around midnight and arrived in Singapore at 6:0am, changed clothes in the airport bathroom and headed out for the day.  In the early part of the day we walked around an area called Marina Bay and got to see some of the Singapore landmarks, including taking a ride on the Singapore Flyer.  The Singapore Flyer is a ferris wheel type attraction that takes about a 30 minutes loop and gives you a view of the entire city.  After we finished the Singapore Flyer we were treated to a very nice surprise when we went looking for lunch.  Popeyes!  Tasted just like at home, a man was even kind enough to give us his last piece of chicken that he wasn't going to finish after seeing how excited we were.  After our sightseeing it was time for Julie's planned portion of the day - shopping.  Shopping in Singapore is Insane, and Julie says it puts NYC to shame.  Orchard Road is the main shopping area, lined with over 20 massive malls, each about 5 to 10 stories.  To get from mall to mall you have to use the underground street crossings.  After shopping and a nice Japanese dinner, we boarded the overnight train.

It was the first time either one of us took an overnight train.  I slept no problem, but Julie had a little more trouble falling asleep.  We woke up and were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2 hours later than expected, and still have no idea why, and this caused us to miss our first attempt at the Petronas Tower tour.  We got to the hotel an enjoyed our first shower in over 40 hours, and were treated to an excellent brunch.  Our first day in Malaysia, we went to the rain forrest and took a canopy tour atop the treeline.  In the rain forrest they have these really cool trees in which the leaves don't touch.  After the tour, we went to Central Market, Kuala Lumpur's version of the French Market.  The next day, we just relaxed and did some more shopping, and took our Petronas Tower Tour.  The Petronas Towers are the world's largest twin towers, at 88 stories high.  After the tour, we enjoyed some drinks at the hotel bar which had a really great view of the Towers.

We hopped on the return overnight train and were back in Singapore.  We arrived in the morning and went to the world famous Singapore Zoo.  We scooped up a nice lens for our camera in Malaysia (for dirt cheap compared to US) and got some great pics at the Zoo.   At the zoo we had breakfast with the Orangutans,  got to feed Kangaroos and Rhinos, and see feeding of all the Jungle Cats.  That night we went to Marina Bay Sands for dinner, and ate at French chef, Justin Quek's, restaurant - Sky 57.  The food was incredible.  The next day in Singapore we went to Universal Studios Singapore.  My favorite ride was the Mummy, and Julie's was Battlestar Galactica.  Then it is was back to Bangalore.