Reason to Smile :)

Reason to Smile: The first long weekend of 2015 and people have their plans. Treks, tours, camping, shopping, some dining outlets to check out and what not ! ;) I am glad I didn't opt for any for a change :P I, instead went out for a lavish lunch with family at Oriental Residency, Khar. By the time I had just finished hogging, I was called to welcome my very dear friend from Singapore ! Chinmay Koshatwar - your surprises can be really nasty :P Had I been on any trek outing, I would have missed out on all the fun we had over the weekend ! ;) Chinmay, Me and Pooja (She is no more Meow, now she has a new Quack ;)) are always fun to be with. We roamed the mall, abruptly decided to go to Marine Drive, literally chilled out there and again hogged on to Bade Miyanz for dinner ! ;) Sunday morning music class always sets the tone for a perfect day :) Disha had inquired about some Veerdas pyjama fest that was making the buzz in Mumbai. Well, it is India's largest comedy festival t...

Reason to Smile: A Nasik Range trek from Shikhar Vedh did not excite me much after my last trek at Uttarakhand really. Not because of the difference in zones, but because of the difference now in my stamina. I had realised in UK itself that treks are now getting difficult for me :P It was Krupa and Vikas, my trek friends who insisted I join them. I did it just for a shot. I was confident I will anyways not be able to complete all four, but even if I could make it for two I would feel glad was my option at heart. To my surprise I could almost complete two and half out of the three forts - Rajdher, Koldher, Indrai Trek in the Nasik Region. We dropped out Chadawad due to lack of time. We instead checked out a beautiful palace called the Ahilyabai Holkar Mahal at Nasik :) We first attempted to climb Koldher which is a two hour ascend that includes about 50% traverse and then followed by the rock carved steps that lead you to the base of the fort wall, vertically flat enough which ...

Reason to Smile: It was indeed a great way to celebrate new years at UK :P Yeah, I meant Uttarakhand - a trek that started end of December 2014 and invited the new years with some great experiences, friends and fun :) I have not really bothered to look back on time and thanked many who deserved nor bothered to think of anyone who made it disappointing in 2014. This time around, I just enjoyed the trek, chilled at minus 7 degrees, and came back rejuvinated for 2015 :) I surely caught up on some hangover of the trek to get over the last weekend. Gathering pics, sitting at home doing nothing but resting and spending time with family made me realize I can get and feel 'old' too :P But yes, I have figured out some 'extra' love for music and have been thinking to join some course on it from the past 2 yrs. This time I am glad I have taken some step towards it and here's a toast to some beginning. Lets see how far it goes ! :P However, if its not outing or trekkin...

Reason to Smile:  What can be more exciting and thrilling when you know that you are going to spend the new years night at one of the most amazing places in the world :P Yes, my new year plans were as exciting and thrilling as if a parent may feel for its new born. For me, it was a trek to Kuari Pass at Uttarakhand ! :) The mere thought of the cold weather at 'UK' gave me chills and floored out the feet of my ground. The real feel of it gave me shivering and lots of woolen and winter jackets to move on :) I had a flight to Delhi to meet 30 mates at Haridwar. From Delhi Sumeet, Sarika and me took a bus to Haridwar. The step at Delhi gave me a feel of the starters of the cold menu I had to be served on ;) - weather updates from the whats app group helped to some extent to prepare myself :P The drive from Haridwar to Joshimath (start point of our trek) was about 12 hours drive. Pictures, good food and cold hands on the way were giving me a feel of the real winters I tend ...

Reason to Smile: Its always a reason to smile when someone else in the entire family is getting married and we have to be a part of it :) My mother feels most excited when such wedding invitation cards drops in at our place. Not because she gets to meet people for the greetings but so that she feels there will be 'one fine day' where she will be on the host side and the wedding bells will ring at our doorstep too !! ;) God alone knows what have they stored in these mother's hearts for such BELLS for their kids ;) Am sure if not all, most of us go through these 'excitement' every now and then from their beloved MOMs ! :) So as it looks like, I was dragged to one such family function - Oh, should I call a wedding reception ?!?! All I feel bored about these functions is that one has to 'dress up' appropriately :-/ Eh ! I for sure feel I am not the right person who understands style or fashion or any such 'girly' stuff at all. :P What a task...

Reason to Smile: Aashish ji, one of my favorite co-trekker's birthday was on Friday and I had to be there to celebrate this occasion. Mayur, my favorite personal photographer (apart from Arpita) invited me for this one. We met, clicked endless profile pictures and hogged on some fine dining at Chowpaty ! ;) :P :D Early Saturday morning and I am off to Bhandardhara Camping with my mates - Tattva Adventures. Bhandardhara is a one of the popular holiday village destinations and is a blend of natural beauty, waterfalls, mountains, tranquility, greenery, invigorating air and pristine ambiance. The Bhandardara Lake is the major attraction situated in the western ghatsb and is about 185 kms from Mumbai. Our bus starts at 9 am from Dadar and we decide to take a halt half way at around 11am. It was a normal break for about 10 mins. I wish I dint take it lightly. I very well observe my mates chatting away, having their tea, some having something to eat.  While I only saw thi...

Reason to Smile: Its a weekend time and one has to understand that not all plans succeed. I was about to join a trek and I had to cancel for another reason to smile ;) My cousin was getting engaged and the family function sometimes takes priority over such treks :P I love it when I have to take out 'time' to buy or work on 'time'. Dint get it? I have always been a 'watch' lover (wrist watch I mean ofcourse) and for me its not just any. It has to be BIG ;) Yeah, I like the big dial watches that can look pretty attractive when you wear it and show off ! ;) Nah, I don't buy anything for show off though :P. I just like it that way. So, it was time I watch out on all the watches that weren't really functioning. They say its not good if a watch stops functioning. Its not good if your time doesn't work. Surely, it was it was high time I paid attention to the time that wasn't running at all. Time had stopped. Literally. In short, I took all my ...