Zai Store!

It was not a grand opening as it should have been. The opening of our newest store had taken way too long...more than a year. We all just wanted to get it done with. Still bits and pieces left to be done...somewhere fixtures are missing and somewhere the walls have to be done.

Thursday, 22nd of Jan, the Sheikh & the Sheikha came with a few of their friends and cut the ribbon and declared the store opened. It's a huge store on 3 levels. Most of the luxurious Brands are here in the store...Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Mathew Williamson, Lanvin, Paul Smith, Zilli, Kiton, Halston, Maria Luisa and many many more.

Now, we wait to see how well the store will do. What I can say is that given the location and the current economic situation, its going to be a real challenge.

Mumbai!

After Goa, flew to Mumbai just for the weekend. It was my second visit to the city. The first was a flying visit just to attend a Dance Show and that was years back...more than 10 years. This time I vowed to see the city!

Flew in to the city, late Saturday evening, 3rd of Jan. Sunday morning, hired a car for the day and told the driver to show me around.

I had to of course visit the famous landmark of Mumbai, "The Gateway of India" which was undergoing massive renovation. The statue of Swami Vivekanand I spied at one corner in the area around the "The Gateway of India". From here motorboats were ferrying people to the Elephanta Caves. Would have loved to go to see the cave carvings but alone in that crowd I was not much up for it and so I skipped.

Nearby The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel looked real majestic. It is indeed an architectural marvel. Indeed very cruel that some bad elements had to blast a corner of it a couple of months back.

The Driver showed me other places of interests like the huge Lord Shivji's temple and Haji Ali another religious place but it was all from the outside that I saw. I couldn't have afforded to wait in the never ending queues! Being a Sunday the place was all the more crowded.

The next stop was to Bombay Chowpatty. A trip to Mumbai would be incomplete if one did not visit this famous beach in Mumbai. This is a beach for eating and not for anything else. The place is popular with all age groups. Food kiosks lines the entire length of the beach!

After Chowpatty, we drove past the mansions where the rich & the famous, the Bollywood Stars lived. The Driver reeled off names and pointed out who lived in it. There was Shahrukh Khan's "mannat", very appropraitely named for the beautiful place that he bought at an exorbitant price I believe. Somewhere along the way there was the place where Salman Khan lived!

Next, went to check a couple of the malls. Saw a whole lot of International Brands which was now available in India. I found a pretty blouse for myself!

Had planned to meet someone I knew...but then did not....could not get away....traffic... Mumbai people seem to be very busy and they seem to hate commuting. A little distance is very far! Came back to the hotel and my friend from Delhi called to join them... but then I was not going to be travelling in the middle of night in a taxi, all alone. I have had a long day touring Mumbai and the next day I was flying back to Delhi!

South Goa Tour!

I was in Goa for the first time and I wanted to see the place! So on the third day of our stay here, I booked myself for a day tour of South Goa by bus. We were staying in Calangute which is in the North of Goa and thanks to my friends all the famous beaches here were covered! So, going to see the other side made sense! None of the others were interested in the tour....all they wanted to do was lie on the beach whole day long just drinking & eating & drinking some more!

Boarded the bus around 9am from Calangute. The drive itself was nice and the beautiful weather helped! We headed to Panaji and stopped for a while at Miramar Beach while we waited for some more passengers to join the tour.

Then off we went to see the South. This was old Goa. The Portuguese were here long long time ago and they built many beautiful churches but the influence of the Indian artisans could be seen in the architecture.

The tour first takes us to Basilica of Bom Jesus which holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier. The body of the Saint is here on display in a silver casket and it is said that the body is as fresh as the day it was buried. The Saint is said to have miraculous powers of healing and so pilgrims come from all over the country.


Then on the other side of the road, we walk down to Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina. This cathedral is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria and is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and also one of the largest churches in Asia. This was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese army over a Muslim army leading to the capture of Goa. It was on the day of the feast of Saint Catherine, hence the cathedral was dedicated to her.


The tour then continues to the famous two temples in the South. First was the temple of Shri Manguesh at Priol. I am told that this is the ancestral village of the famous Mangeshkar Family of India (Lata Mangeshkar, Nightingale of India and her equally accomplished playback singer, Asha Bhosle).


Then onwards to the temple of Shree Shantadurga at Kavale. It is believed that there was a fierce war between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu which sent the world into turmoil. Lord Brahma prayed and asked Goddess Durga to stop the war before the world comes to an end. The Goddess held Lord Shiva on one hand and on the other Lord Vishnu and brought a reconcilation thus bringing peace to the world once again.

After a brief halt along the way for lunch, we proceed too see Ancestral Goa at Loutolim. The tour only had time for us to see an old Portuguese Mansion. Got eductaed on how the Portuguese lived in style back in those days!

Then the last place to see was the Colva Beach. It was really crowded with tourists from all over India. There were less of foreigners here unlike the other beaches that I had visited.

After a full 12 hours of South Goa, the Bus brings us back to where we started. As I walk back to the hotel from the Tour Agency's Office, my friends pick me up on the way. We head for one of the many lovely bar/restaurant, "Cavala". They had a Live Band playing such wonderful music and singing old time favourites! We were at a bar for some time just enjoying the music, the band. Then for dinner we head to "The Fiesta" and I am glad we did. This is a beautiful place and I just felt in love with the place. It's an open air restaurant bulit on different levels with lovely nooks & corners. Very pretty and very well maintained. The food was equally very good!

All in all, a really wonderful day!

Sunset at Anguna Beach, Goa!

....as I walked by the beach...alone...thinking....could not help but capturing the glorious sunset. 1st Jan 2009.

Goa!

At last, I got to visit Goa!

Plans of visiting Goa, not once, not twice but umpteen times never really took off...it remained but as Plans. This time it was just out of the blue decision. Someone had walked away with my suitcase at the Airport when I landed in my home country for a 3 weeks break. I couldn't proceed on my onward journey further up North where my Parents lived till investigation on the missing suitcase got concluded, so I decided to say "Yes" to a friend who was off to Goa for the New Year's! And am I glad that I did? I sure am!

Delhi was biting cold and Goa....perfect weather to be on the beach! That's where we headed as soon as we landed...3pm, 31st Dec 2008 ....even before we checked in to our hotel!

After checking in to our hotel rooms, showered, changed and off we headed once again to the beach. It was simply beautiful. The beach was all lighted up and there were plenty of music from different shacks wafting!

We were here at the beach for a while and about an hour before midnight headed to Nikhil Chinnappa's Party "Submerged". The music was great & Nikhil was good. His wife took turns to play too. The place also had a pool and towels were in ready for those who decided to take the dip & for those who got thrown in by their friends!

It was past 4 am, 1st Jan 2009 when wearily, sleepily we trudged back to our hotel rooms but the streets were still alive with people and various music from all over the place!

Woke up late in the morning....nearly 12 am and off we went to the beach...Anguna Beach. It was a short drive from where we were staying.

We headed straight for "CURLIES" but due to late night there was no staff to serve us and so we had to trudge to the next shack where we parked ourselves and ordered breakfast/lunch. I settled for the local favourite, Goan prawn curry with rice while the others had various omelettes & juices while waiting for "CURLIES" to open up.

"CURLIES" opened late in the afternoon and we shifted our base there. We were there till the sun went down and darkness set in. We ate, drank & we ate some more. For me the coconut water & the tender coconut was really refreshing as I walked down the stretch of the beach...all alone.

When night fell, we headed back....only to head to a bar/restaurant for dinner! It was aptly name "The End". That was the final stop. What a day...the first day of 2009!