It’s a working day for me today. The girls were playing in the morning, when Daddy was at the wet market and Jelly was doing house work.

45mins into my conference call, I heard crying downstairs, Zaria first, followed by Zara. Then Zara came up and she sobbed while she told me, “Mummy, I pushed Zaria and she fell down, her mouth got blood.”. I thought, maybe Zaria’s lip was cut; as I was hosting the meeting, I had to get someone to replace me, before I could go check on Zaria. While I was trying to do that, Jelly came and told me, “Mum, Zaria’s teeth came off.”

Oh shit!

I quickly updated my colleague on the emergency, and checked on Zaria. One of her upper teeth has been pushed into the gums, just a tiny bit still ‘exposed’, with blood dripping down her chin. Zaria didn’t cry, but just said, “Jiejie pushed me, got so much blood you know.”.

My heart almost stopped seeing the bloody gums. And imagine my rage towards Zara. I was scolding her while comforting Zaria, and even gave her a few smacks on the buttocks. I told her police may want to investigate the case, she better had her bags packed because she might need to stay in the police station for investigation. (I’m bad, I know. Really really mean. To think back now, it doesn’t help with me aggravating the situation.)

After I found someone to be my back up, I went downstairs to get ready to bring Zaria to a nearby dentist. Zara had already taken a bag downstairs and a few pieces of her clothing. I felt sorry for her but I was still angry so I didn’t comfort her.

Daddy got back just in time to go to the dentist together.

At the dentist, I was shaking when the dentist checked on Zaria. As I was sighing a lot and kept uttering “Aiyo..” The dentist told me to have Daddy hold Zaria instead while she carried out the procedure. She said my anxiety may affect Zaria. This was what she did, first, rubbed some gel to numb Zaria’s gum, then she put local anesthetic, and then she pulled the tooth out to its original position and use a thread to tie it around the tooth and other teeth to hold its position, and hope the cells around her gum will grow and grip the tooth back. It may or may not be successful, and Zaria may have a slow growth in her 2nd set of tooth, due to the impact.

Zara and I were peeping from the outside; When I saw the big syringe taken out to inject the local anesthetic on Zaria’s gum, I almost cried. Zara was still sobbing, feeling afraid and sorry.

Zaria was a tough cookie. She didn’t cry and was very cooperative. The dentist was quite good too, she gave Zaria a pair of sunglasses, spoke calmly to her, and when she had to inject the anesthetic, or pull the tooth out, she used her other hand to cover Zaria’s eyes, so she can’t really see what was being done to her.

After everything was done, Zara said, “Luckily the dentist fixed the tooth, I don’t have to go to the police station now.” o.O”

I just hope the tooth is really fixed, and Zara will learn from the lesson of not being too rough to Zaria.

I have to clarify that my company is not rich, and normally we travel with a tight budget, but this round, we had 4 Americans travelling together (all first time to India), and so for their sake, a better hotel was chosen.

This is the continuation of the trip.

♥The Roads, Buildings and Traffic♥
Roads in Bangalore are dusty, narrow and bumpy. Drivers are constantly pressing on their honks, and 2 lane roads turned into 6 lanes because no body stick to their lanes, and all cars just squeezed into whatever space there’s available on the road, causing traffic congestion every where.

Just a few km away from the hotel, we saw little shacks at the road side, made from 4 sheets of planks and a zinc roof. Children were playing topless, while their mothers cooked from a stove outside of the house. These houses were built just next to the main roads. A skidded car could have knocked down the make shift stove or even the house. (Compared to this rv camping seems like a luxury.)

At traffic lights or a busy junctions, there’ll be beggers trying to get money from the people in the cars, and sometimes, we saw vendors trying to sell things like phone chargers, stationary from car to car.

On the street : Buildings in Bangalore; I understand in Bangalore, only the rider on the motorbike needs to wear helmet, but the pillion riders are not required; a shop providing kiddy rides which can be rented for parties.

There are lots of street vendors selling all kinds of things from coconut, roasted nuts, drinks, yogurt, cucumber slices and even rice.

We saw some signs with witty phrases for users of the road.

Motor rickshaw waiting for customers and one of a main shopping street, Brigade Road, in Bangalore.

♥My Little Adventures♥
The first day to work, I was in the car with a colleague who is also in India for the 1st time. 10 mins into the journey, the driver turned the car into a tiny lane, and stopped in front of a shaby looking building (as the car was arranged by the office, we didn’t think the driver had any bad intentions). We asked each other, “Is this the office?” The driver got down and with a big grin, told us apologatically, “Sorry sir, sorry mum, the wheels punctured. Give me 5 mins.” And then off he went like an expert and got the tyre changed in 5 minutes, as though this is his daily routine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Wednesday and my first visit to the yoga class, I went through the gym and took the lift there to get to the pool side where the lesson was conducted. A hotel employee was with me in the crammed lift. I realised it took forever for the lift to climb 1 floor so I asked him what happened. He took a look at the penal and exclaimed, “Oh shit! Lift stuck!”. Oh great! My first time using this lift and I got stuck!

He immediately rang the emergency alarm, talked into the intercom. “Lift stuck. Guest with me.” To kill time, he made small talks, “Sometimes this happened.” “Very hot right? No aircon here.” (oh yes! it was like a sauna). A moment later, we heard some people outside telling us to wait and probably working on the problem. 5 minutes later, the door of the lift opened, and we were back at the gym.

The over-zealous staff pressed the 1st floor button before I could get out, and the door was closed again; and guess what? It went dead again! The same routine happened, the guy pressed the emergency alarm to ask for help, then people shuffling outside, and 5 minutes later, the lift moved and the door opened with us on the gym level again. This time, I immediately dashed out and used the stairs before the staff did anything.

See, this is a 6~7 star hotel, and the ‘sometime this happened’ just annoyed me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ . ~~~~~~~~~~~~

On one of the evening, a colleague brought me shopping. She’s hired a small car, and in the car was her friend and her friend’s daugther, the driver, and the 2 of us. The aircon in the car wasn’t working very well, and the taffic was really bad on that day. The winding and bumpy road, and the driver’s constantly stepping on the break didn’t help. After about 30mins we were still on the road in the hot car, the smell from our sweating bodies started to fill the car up, and I felt sick. When we arrived at the shopping street, I felt everything was spinning, and I had to tell my colleague I wasn’t well. It was after I threw up in the toilet and a hot chicken soup later, that I felt better. India’s traffic is just not for me.

♥Security♥
After last year’s bombing of 2 top hotels in Mumbai, the security in hotels, office buildings and shopping malls have tightened. All cars before driving into hotels or office premises will have to be scanned by security. They checked your booth, and under the car to see if there’s any hidden explosive. And to enter a building, you will need to submit your bags for checking or x-rayed.

In this shopping mall next to the office, the guards were checking bags at the main entrance, but I saw some people entered from the side entrance without going through a check. o.O” I wonder what’s the point if it’s not consistant.

This guard was very unhappy I took a shot of her searching through my bag. What the heck, I’m a tourist and I just acted blur.

♥Sight Seeing and Shopping♥
I have a full day on Saturday as my flight was night time, so I went exploring with 2 English ladies I met from yoga class.

We did a little sight seeing. More of the driving through the tourist spots like the town hall.

And a stop at Lalbagh Garden, where we were conned INR350 each for a guided tour.

The driver also brought us to 2 silk shops where we were able to buy silk and cotton Kurtas and pasmina shawls at a very good price.

We also made a trip to the supposedly shopping street Brigade Road, and it was a dissapointment, so dusty and dirty and the shops there were not interesting.

What I love best is the various curry pastes, bryani rice mix, premix roti flour, soup packs that I bought back home. They all had terrible packaging but I’d tried 2 of them and they were exceptionally good (MSG free and very tasty).

I have to say, besides its horrible traffic and dusty roads, I rather like India, the food, the people, the shopping. I was careful not to drink anything with ice, bottle water was always opened in my presence, and even with teeth brushing, I used mineral water, so I have no stomach problem.

I think since I have a multi entry visa for a year, I probably may go for a trip there on my own.

5th April 2009
Back from Bangalore and after a nap (only caught like 2hrs of sleep on the plane), went to Malacca to visit my besty and her 8 month old daughter, Maya, who are back from New York for a holiday.

Look at Maya, I’m so envious of those big eyes!

I so like her skin tone. That’s the thing about mix marriages, you produce beautiful babies.

It’s no kidding trying to take photos of 3 kids together.

Hmmph.. I give up.

Normally, I would stay a night there, but this round, due to heavy work commitments, I had to leave the same day after dinner. Will try to catch them again before they leave for New York.

12th April 2009
Zara requested for some cheese puffs and sausage rolls, so I bought some ready made pastry and made some for the girls.

Girls were guarding the oven waiting for their Puffies (That’s what Zara calls them, and Zaria followed).

Girls having fresh from the oven Puffies for dinner, and they were very happy.

For the adults, I tried my hands on mushroom soup. I was quite happy with the result. Daddy said it tasted like the ones you get from the restaurant minus the MSG.

And main course for us adult was tuna pie and salad (Jelly did the weaving of the pastry and she’s quite good at that).

18th & 19th April 2009
2 trips to Ikea, and many hours of work later, we managed to put up 4 of the girls’ poster size photos up on the wall. Another 4 more to go. *phew*

Zaria was very happy this morning, kept saying, “Look at that. My photo(s).” “How many mei-mei’s photos there?”

Zara’s crying phase is over and she hardly ever cries when she’s angry or upset. She may sulk, or go to a quiet corner, just to show us she’s upset, or, she will use word power.

Once I was upset with the girls for not cooperating to get into their respective car seats when we were done with shopping, I shouted at them. “GET INTO THE CAR NOW!!!”

Zara who was being playful, and wriggling about was stunt for a moment, but obediently climbed up to her car seat. After a while, she made the “Hmph!” sounds a few times, audible enough for me. When I didn’t respond to that, she said angrily, “Just now you want to tear down the ceiling?? Your voice is (was) so irritating you know?” o.O”

As for Zaria, I don’t know where she learnt it, but everytime when she’s angry with someone who tells her not do something, she’ll say “I don’t want you!” or “I don’t like you any more.” and lately, “I don’t want to friend you already.” o.O”

Of course, her trump card (or she thinks) is to cry! Loud wailing accompanied with big drops of tears. For someone who speaks softly most of the time, her crying is extremely loud! o.O”

My very first trip to India took place from 31st March to 4th April, to the city of Bangalore. It was for a short work trip. I have heard a lot about India from Daddy’s work trips, so I had some expectation set.

Upon arriving at the airport late on Monday night, the office driver (seems this is the most popular mode of transport in Bangalore, where offices hired cars with driver to ferry staff around) greeted me with my name card held up. I was addressed as “Mum” or “Madam” from then on.

♥The Hotel – Leela Palace♥

I was put up in The Leela Palace. Upon identifying me at the reception, the staff walked me up to the room, and briefed me the facilities available in the hotel. This is the first time I have my check in done in the room in a hotel; after signing a form, and giving the staff my credit card details, she gave me a tour of the room showing me where things are. The room is big, luxurious and comfortable, the kind fit for a royalty (and I think the kind of hotel ‘Princess’ Zara would love).

I managed to further explore the facilities the following day. All corridors have high ceilings; there is a huge and beautiful garden, a nice pool (never tried it), and a luxurious spa.

Everywhere is decorated with fresh flowers. I love the way they put fresh flower petals and/or floating candles in dishes every where in the hotel.

The service there is impeccable. I had the concierge helped me carry my bags to the room (if I didn’t want to go straight back to the room when I got back); buffet breakfast came with service (fruit juice, freshly made Dosai, prathas or eggs sent to your table); Ice tea and light juice is served in the gym.

What’s more? It has a daily Yoga session held at the pool side from 6am to 7:15am. The instructor is a small bony man who flexes his body effortlessly. I dragged myself out of bed every morning to attend. A great feat for someone who normally wakes up after 7:30am daily. It sure charged me up for the rest of the day.

♥The Food♥

If you love Indian food, you have to love food in Bangalore. When our Indian food tastes very much like curry powder mixed with water, the Indian food in Bangalore is so refine. The bread or roti, dhal, savoury yogurt, curry, vege patties, cottage cheese (paneer), they are all so delicious. It’s so easy to be a vegetarian there because of the variety of vegetarian dishes. However they are all quite fattening because of the ghee used in cooking.

Breakfast was included in the hotel, and the food there was good, especially the coriander chutney. I had it with anything and everything.

Lunch was catered and we had it in the office. Love the bryani and yogurt.

I never knew Indians could make soup so delicious. Dhal with mint, chicken soup, tomato soup, yums!

A meal like that in Leela, costs me INR1220 (~RM100).

Non-Indian restaurants normally served multi cuisine dishes. I had Indian food in Japan, so I must have Japanese in India too right? Not really very nice. Ravioli and toasted brie was yummy.

The best meal was at Sahib Sindh Sultan Restaurant at Forum mall (supposedly a fine dining restaurant), where the chef offered to pose for the camera. Lunch for 3, came up to INR2073 (~RM180)

After a meal, you’ll be brought a finger bowl with a piece of lime to clean your hands; and then you are offered some of spices (beetle nut, fennel seeds, cloves, cardamom) to help with digestion, some of these spices are sprayed with a layer of silver or wrapped in silver and some sprayed with chocolate or sugar. I tried the Paan (beetle nut wrapped with leave) as well, and boy, it was horrible. It’s like eating grass with cheap lotion. I had to spit it out!

Now, aren’t all these photos nice? I was chauffered daily to work, hotel->office, office->hotel. If you blind folded me on the journey, this would be all that I see.

There are more photos to come which will show you what it’s like on the street.

Zaria’s favourite phrase now is “Why not?”

Zara : Zaria, don’t colour on jiejie’s book.
Zaria : “Why not?”

While I’m working,
Zaria : Mummy, I want to sit on your lap.
Me : No, mummy is working.
Zaria : “Why not?”

Daddy : This is your last chocolate already, you cannot have any more.
Zaria : “Why not?”

o.O”

Zaria was digging out books from the shelf in the study, and have those books strewn all over the floor. Before she went down stairs (and out of the room), I told her, “Zaria, you took the books out and scattered them on the floor, you must clean up before you go downstairs.
“I’m not jiejie, ok.” She replied while walking out of the room.

o.O”
(and it’s the case in the house, Zara will clean and tidy up but Zaria always ‘designate’ to Jelly or just refused by saying “I cannot.”).

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Yesterday, just out of the blue, Zara said, “Mum, I don’t like my name you know. Why do you call me Zara?”
Me : *a bit surprised* “Zara is a beautiful name, why don’t you like it?”
Zara : “I want a name with feelings.”
o.O” Can some one please tell me what is a name with feelings?
Me : “What do you mean a name with feelings? What kind of names would you like to be called”
Zara : “How about Shanika?”
o.O” Where did she get that name from? Anybody knows if any princesses in Disney or Barbie show which is called Shanika?

Do you realise that in Malaysia when a hotel room costs you less than RM400, chances are the hotel will be pretty horrid?

During the school holidays, we decided to bring the girls to Cherating for a holidays. We booked 2 nights stay in Holiday Villa for RM270/night (from the net), Holiday Villa you know, should be ok right?

The rooms were decent and it’s challet style, but the pool is another story.

When we brought the girls to the pool, I noticed that the water was brownish, thinking it was maybe sand from the sea, I didn’t stop the girls when they jumped into the pool, gulping down some of the water in their excitement. When I got into the water to join them, then only I realised it was filth and not sand. My skin has this slimy coat, on top of that, I can smell poops and urine. People were swimming fully clothed, and their kids were in diapers and all. Ewwwwwww.

I suspect that’s how the girls got sick.

We checked out the 2nd day (even though we booked for 2 nights), and moved to Legend Hotels next door, for an additional RM100 per night. The pools were nicer and cleaner, but the rooms were pretty basic with a leaking toilet and smelly pillows. RM370 and still you get crap?

For the girls, they were not as fussy as us in terms of cleanliness, so they had fun. Two things though, Zara was asking us when we’re going home, and Zaria was requesting us to go back to the hotel with rafters (which is Holiday Villa).

For the duration we were there, we spent most of the time in the hotel, but we did try to explore the fishing villages around and event went to Chukai for brunch.

Girls at Holiday Villa Cherating

Girls at the beach in Legends Hotels – Both were fascinated by the cheap bubbles we bought them; They were playing ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ with the waves; Zaria spent most of the time at the shallow steps at the baby pool, refusing to go any where deeper where her feet couldn’t touch the ground.

Chance upon this extremely crowded coffee shop in Chukai called Hai Peng.

On our way back, popped by a village stall to have kuih still baked using wood fire

Another stop at a fishing market, where the girls have some keropok lekor (not the crunchy), and we had some satai ikan (some otak-otak style) snack.