Bhutan Trip - Prologue

Land of the Thunder Dragon. I have always been enchanted by this mythical kingdom nestled in the Himalayas, with its penchant for Gross National Happiness, a beautiful King-Queen pair and a promise of bliss. But I never thought that I would visit it one day as it wasn't very high up my travel bucket list.

However, it all changed in a week in April 2018. I was going through a very excruciating emotional week personally, with thoughts of my late parents flooding me and wrecking me inside out. I just wanted to get away somewhere to get my head sorted out. The next day over coffee with my colleagues, the topic of happiness came up and I remarked that Bhutan is the land of happiness. That night, coincidentally, my wife brought up Bhutan as a potential option for the next vacation and Voila! There it was to be..

Frantic booking plans and internet searches got me connected to Yak Holidays, and a package was finalized. Doing further research resulted in me panicking a lot. Yak Holidays was not in Bhutan's approved tour operators' list; so I sent an enquiry to Bhutal Tourism to check on the travel agent. The next day, I got a reply from Yak Holidays and I realized why Bhutan was special! Bhutan Tourism had forwarded my mail to Yak Holidays, who responded with the warmest email I have even seen - Apologizing for the error with the national Tourism website and that they had immediately ensured their agency was listed correctly. While I was a bit contrite, they made no mention about my error of judgement and instead thanked me for highlighting the error. Now I really needed to go there and find out more about the lovely country.

Bali Trip - Day 5 - Relaxing by the ocean

The day turned out to be exactly as expected.  My outside chance of exploring the north west of the Island was soon not to be as the journey was expected to take 12-13 hours and I had a flight to catch tomorrow. So we decided to have a leisurely breakfast, indulge in the famous Balinese Spa and go out to explore the beach.

The beach was a 5 min stroll from the hotel. We had an early afternoon brunch in a restaurant by the beach following which we strolled on to the beach. The beach was lovely and the bright afternoon sun did nothing to dampen 2 hours of fun in the rather shallow beach bordering the Indian ocean. As the evening progressed we could really feel the waves getting larger. We only left reluctantly when our daughter started shivering a bit. In the evening,  we went shopping nearby, but beyond 6pm there are hardly any shops open.  I wish I could inculcate such work life balance.

We gave a coffee shop a try for dinner, and had to struggle hard to get "real" vegetarian food in our plates. Out of mainstream restaurants, people are just as polite and friendly, but may not be aware of any special needs like ours. Looking back at our trip while awaiting dinner, we were content with what we have seen and experienced, and wore a smile on our faces as we left the shop. If there is one thing we would remember best about the trip, it would have to be the majestic Indian Ocean and our trysts with it by Tanah Lot, but my daughter would probably vote for the monkeys of Ubud!


Embarkation was a breeze compared to Immigration, and we whiled away our time at the airport as the airplane was 1 hour late. On arrival in Singapore, we really tore into the dosa on offer at midnight! We were already talking about exploring Yogyakarta and planning for a year-end trip on our way back home :)

Bali Trip - Day 4 - Northern Bali

My wife and I are usually opposites,  but we woke up feeling something common - that we wanted to get the hell out of this hotel and Candidasa in general. We discussed a couple of options during breakfast. When the tour driver came, I checked that with a Rp 100k top up, he was willing to drop us at Legian tonight after the trip. It would have taken Rp 350k to get from Candidasa to Legian on a normal day,  so it was a good deal. I rushed back to the hotel,  booked my previous hotel in Legian (who even offered a Rp 5k discount per night due to repeat business), told the current hoteliers how unsatisfactory the experience was for us and packed our bags. My wife even managed to negotiate a 50% refund on the booking,  which was the sweetener.  We boarded the car feeling light and happy.

With the burden off our chest,  we were looking forward to the trip with the most scenic locations on the cards, including the biggest temple in Bali, a volcanic mountain and a waterfall. It started drizzling and we were silently that it doesn't become more intense. Weather reports had predicted rain on Wed and Thu, so we were concerned.  Although it did become intense, the rain stopped much before our 2 hour journey ended in the scenic Besakih temple.

Besakih Temple is called the Mother temple by the locals and rightly so.  It unfortunately also means that this place is highly commercialized with people creating business opportunities out of nowhere to swindle tourists.  It started out in the ticket,  where they swindled me of Rp 5k more. When I started questioning them, they conveniently started conversing in Bahasa Indonesia.  I waited for a while and realised that I am fighting a losing battle against pros, so I gave up.  But that made me more determined for the rest of the temple tour. Sarong is a pre requisite to enter any Balinese temple.  In all other temples we were provided free sarongs and people couldn't have bothered less if we did not return them.  However here, a whole host of shops charge you for renting sarong. We managed to get the best deal where they check the tickets,  with Rp 5k per sarong. Another novel idea is that they had blocked a 1 km stretch of perfectly driveable road leading to the temple and rent out motorbikes or offer rides from Rp 10k per person. We refused and carried our kid and bags uphill to the temple.

The temple was awe inspiring, set in a picturesque locale with an awesome view of Bali below. We went up the stairs just to find a self styled security guard blocking our way in. He gave some funny reason for us not being able to enter the temple,  although tradition can be "side stepped with a tip of USD 7 per person". Although it was blatantly obvious that he was lying, I went ahead with an offer to avoid any confrontation.  Inside the temple was mind blowing,  with 7 tiers of the temple each at a higher altitude than the previous.  We went all the way just for the experience although it was a bit arduous with the kid and bags.

The view from the top made us feel it was worth parting with the swindle money to get to the highest viewable point in Bali. It started to drizzle again so we hurried down. While coming down we realized that there is a path on the side which is not "guarded" and therefore is free to enter.  We also noticed the local guides, who charge upwards of USD 10, use the side path with their clients. Too late but no regrets. We had the best view in town for a small price!

Onwards from Besakih temple lies Kintamani, a single road township primarily revolving around tourism.  It has a lovely view of Lake Batur and Mt Batur, one of the active volcanoes in Indonesia. Our driver told us that anything that is thrown on the face of the volcano grts burnt within 15 minutes! Not sure how true it is, but it just made looking at the volcano that tweeny bit more exciting. Lake Batur formed a lovely backdrop to the volcano. Having a pretty decent buffet lunch while admiring these two natural beauties made it very memorable. This was my first experience looking at an active volcano close up, so I am pretty sure that this memory will stick with me for a very long time.

A long 2 hour journey from Kintamani to the famous Git Git Waterfall was quite strenuous as the car wound through numerous continuous twists and turns of the mountain roads, making my daughter throw up and both of us almost throw up. A timely suggestion by my wife to get Sprite Lemon from one of the shops helped me avoid one. Git Git waterfall is a 500m trek through mountain stone pathway.  Again, although it's only half a kilometer,  it looked quite long and was definitely more exciting than the uphill walk in Besakih.

The waterfall was majestic. Although people couldn't get too close due to the force of the falling water, the spray hit us almost 20m away. The shops along the way all sold spices which I believe would be home grown.  The irrigation system used for terrace farming on the mountain slopes is another thing that caught my eye and brought a smile remembering my geography lessons.  Bali's diverse landscape has made me rehearse a lot of my geography lessons during this trip.

It was a long 2.5 hour drive back to Legian where we felt like we are back home. I almost fainted at a slight stench that came from the toilet but that immediately disappeared. Maybe it was just my paranoia from our previous accommodation. All this unplanned accommodation changes had drained my cash, so I had to go to my dear neighbourhood money changer again. This time I played ball, hiding a $10 bill in the middle of $20 bills. He almost fell for the trap, but the teller found out. I just had a wry smile and walked out with my money.


I had a small accident when on my way buying dinner, being hit by a reversing car that was purely my mistake. However,  I escaped with a minor cut to one of my fingers. A very exciting day indeed. After a relaxing dinner,  I am just done cataloging my journey so far. No plans so far for the last two days, but we wouldn't mind taking it a bit easier after a busy few days. We still haven't explored the western side of the island, which is dotted with mountains,  but not sure if anything is interesting over there. Something for tomorrow.

Bali Trip - Day 3 - Central and Eastern Bali

After a glorious day yesterday, we were fully excited about the day ahead,  although it was a couple of temples that we had planned to visit. Based on Internet reviews, we had selected Pura Saraswathi in Ubud and Tirtha Empul in Tampaksering.  Tiirta Ganga in Candidasa was dropped as it would have been a
stretch to cover in one day. Ubud is a hilly region, so the drive was beautiful with lovely canyons and twisty narrow roads,  although since they use a mixture of volcanic soil,  the roads are in good condition. Near the monkey forest,  we realised that there is only a hotel called Puri Saraswathi and no temple.

So we de-toured into the Monkey forest,  and glad we did that.  I have never seen so many monkeys before! And they were extremely comfortable with people and even aggressive if we don't give them any food items we carry.  My kid was sooper excited and didn't want to go away at all! One of the local visitor even got his hand bitten trying to defend his infant's milk bottle, but chose to salute the monkey god for his kindness in not taking away the milk. Such is the  faith of these Balinese Hindus in the Muslim majority country.

A one hour drive ahead brought us to Tirtha empul, which was the site where Sage Agasthya was requested to come and bless the parched land and bring water. After 14 days tapas, he tapped the land with his stick and out poured water into this thirsty land. Even now,  Balinese from all over the Island come to this place to bath in the holy water and wash off their sins.  We managed to witness one such prayer.

We then travelled down east to Candidasa, a beach resort on the eastern shores. The 2 hour scenic drive with mountains on one side and sea on the other brought us to the small town of Candidasa where there was an array of beach resorts and villas. We were staying at the Bali Palm resort which came highly recommended from a friends friend. First impressions were good with an apartment in the style of a villa right on the edge of the beach with a full size swimming pool overlooking the Lombok strait. However once inside, it all went pear shaped. It can't get worse than a mosquito infested house with a toilet that stinks and a flush that doesn't err flush!

We went for a walk to get some fresh air and saw a cliffy beach where we sampled the local coconut. We might have been a bit more adventurous with the local food stall if not for the kid. On the way,  one of the local drivers was checking about a trip tomorrow, so we jumped at the opportunity to negotiate a good price for the Northern Bali trip, which was half what the hotel guys were charging. We sampled the customized vegetarian dishes from the restaurant watching the sea do its thing. We fell asleep sooner than on any other day mainly because we were fed up.

Bali Trip - Day 2 - Southern Bali

Today started off just like yesterday ended.  I did not think we will get too much done. Although we had done much of the preparatory work yesterday,  we were slow off the blocks.  After a leisurely breakfast, I enquired about a private transport only to realise to my horror that none were available.  I went outside the
hotel to find some transportation option. Although there was one tour operator right opposite the hotel,  and he tried his best calling up 10 different people,  he confirmed my worst fears that people usually book a day in advance,  so nothing was available.  Distraught,  I was thinking of negotiating a fixed price for a taxi (or teksi in this part of the world), when the receptionist gave me a piece of good news that she had found someone.  Although the quote was in the higher end of the spectrum at 500k for 8 hours, I did not have much of an option to negotiate. While waiting for the SUV to arrive, I decided to avoid a similar fate tomorrow by booking a private tour with the operator next door, which would take us north and then east to our next hotel in Candidasa.

So finally we were off with a seemingly friendly driver at 11.15am, quite late by Bali standards. Our plan for today was to cover Southern Bali, including Uluwatu, Sanur and Tanah Lot. I was surprised at the amount of traffic on a Monday late morning here, but thankfully it dissipated after the airport.  The ride to Uluwatu was a lovely journey in itself,  winding through mountain roads, through a fairly big university and polytechnic,  through the undulating but well maintained roads. One such road literally went down and up like a roller coaster! Thankfully our driver didn't drive like one.  He kept a nice conversation going, be it our shared Hindu culture or differences in food habits,  briefing about the significance of all the good and great about Bali.  I wondered if I will ever be able to describe Chennai or Singapore with such enthusiasm.

At Uluwatu,  we were warned enough and more about the monkeys, but there were hardly any apart at the entrance.  We quickly avoided the self styled temple tour guide who was keen to show us around (and ask for some fat bucks at the end). We had the first glimpse of the roaring and majestic Indian ocean at this southern most tip of the Island. With gusty winds it was difficult holding onto both my kid and the umbrella that the driver kindly lent us. Another point that we realised is that although the sun seems to be belting down and is very bright,  the actual temperature is  lower around 29 degrees.

Next stop was a quick stop on the way to admire the surfer beach of Padang Padang with its dashing waves and decent sized beach by Bali standards, which has mostly cliffs. Our driver was almost tired searching for a vegetarian restaurant on the long drive to Sanur, so we gave him a break by having take away lunch from McDonald's @ Sanur. We went to a nice cosy Batik weaving place and learnt a little about the process of making Batik, although the main reason for going there was shopping.  Dresses for kids were expensive though.

A comparatively short 1 hour drive later, we were in Tanah Lot, a must see location with a beautiful seashore temple and a glorious sunset. This reminded me a lot about Mahabalipuram.  I started noticing facets of the Balinese architecture,  such as the unique construct of the temple gates,  as if someone had sliced a gopuram in half with a big sword. We were literally blown away by the gusty wind and the spray from the ocean. Near the temple,  we were drenched by the ocean waves and were completely elated.

It appeared that you can catch the sunset from almost anywhere, every place offering its own unique view and serenity that can only be experienced, not described in words. We personally preferred the main temple itself, although due to the crowd and the kid, we chose a restaurant at the end with a full 300 degree view of the ocean.  The sunset was glorious,  but we were a bit shortchanged due to the cloudy weather,  making the sun appear to set in the clouds rather than in the ocean. Due to our strategic location, we were one of the first out, and just about made it back to our dinner by the 8 hour limit set by the tour company.

We chose to have dinner at the Gateway of India at Jalan Abhimanyu, a stones throw away from Queens Tandoor. Although the ambience was not that great, resembling a local dhaba,  the quality of food was
comparable and slightly cheaper at about Rp 200k per couple.  Service is where they were way above the more posh Queens, with the staff babysitting most of the time to allow us to have a less rushed dinner. The serving was also rather generous. Better pick for anyone looking for a decent Indian meal. It was only a short walk to the hotel, although it appeared longer with a cranky kid wanting to sleep. I wanted to quickly change some money on the way since I spotted some genuine authorized money changer (PVA authorized). However, that only minimizes the risks of cheating,  as if I wasn't sharp with my maths, I would have got swindled to the tune of Rp 800k (about 100 USD). Do your calculation, be the last to count your money and always use your own calculator. Tips from the Internet that proved very useful indeed.

Bali Trip - Day 1 - Welcome to Bali!

A day of firsts. This is the first time that we are travelling with our kid anywhere apart from India;  the first time we are visiting Indonesia;  the first time that we are crossing over the equator to the southern hemisphere; and to top it all off,  the first time that I have ever planned a trip in 1 day.

The day started off on a wet note, with rain lashing Singapore. My daughter for once wanted to sleep in,  but we had a flight to catch! After waiting for the cab for ages,  we took the bus down to the airport.  The previous flight trips were chaotic, but since my daughter had grown up quite a bit,  she was all excited about the flight. She even managed to find other planes crisscrossing the skies and slept for most of the 2.5 hour journey, while we were overwhelmed by the ease with which we reached Bali.

Bali is supposed to be an island paradise with a lot to do. I did manage to get a packed itinerary for a week within 1 day. Bali's airport is in an equally idyllic setting, right up on the sea shore with waves lashing at the end of the runway. The airport itself is beautifully crafted in rich Balinese tradition,  which made me wonder how many man days would have been required for building the airport.

Once inside the airport though, chaos seemed to reign. For some reason, they dont accept the local currency Rupiah for providing visa on arrival,  so visitors have to shell out USD.  I had asked my wife to stand in the winding queue for the immigration in the meantime and soon I was regretting my decision as I could not locate them in the maddening crowd. Chennai Ranganathan street is the closest I have been to in terms of the crowd. Queues are vaguely defined, and some people seemed to be more equal than others since immigration officials were escorting them with minimum fuss. I was already drawing parallels with India when I again lost my wife and kid in the crowd. After nightmarish scenes, almost 2.5 hours of jostling in the queues, witnessing low level scuffles and finding my better halves,  jeez was I glad to get out of the immigration counter! Luggage and customs were literally another long winded affairs, but experience did help. Taxi system is probably the best feature of the airport and was a seamless affair,  although I was asked to pay the driver once I alight, which rang alarm bells as I was half expecting him to say "sorry no change" and swallow Rp 25 grand!  However,  although the old uncle who drove the taxi did say that, he did ask me to check with the hotel reception whether they had some change,  thankfully saving a bit of money in the process. Bali's streets were rich in heritage and the same as something I would associate with a small town in India.

Hotel Ananta Legian is a decent 4 star hotel in the middle of nowhere,  although supposedly close to the beach (yet to verify). The staff showed us a glimpse of Balinese hospitality,  which was lovely. By the time we settled down, it was way past sunset, so we just went out for dinner.  The hotel restaurant did not have any vege options, so went out. Queens Tandoor in Seminyak seems to be quite well known for Indian food, so we gave it a try.

For a pricey meal of north Indian fare,  we couldn't spend much time to relish the food, given our daughter was about to nod off. The breads were a bit too stiff for our liking, but the service was excellent with typical Balinese captivating smile and hospitality that made the Rp 250k worth it. I can't remember the last time we had such a service. Even if we dont see much of Bali, and going by today's story I wouldn't bet against it, I would at least like to enjoy the Balinese hospitality for a few more days. That was the most refreshing thing today. We have stacked up for tomorrow from one of the numerous 24 hour convenience stores in Seminyak/ Legian so that we can venture out. Even the hotel staff warned us not to drink the tap water, so mineral water is a must have. So much for today and hoping for a better tomorrow!

Precious Thots

There is so much to write
That I dont know where to start
You have left an imprint so bright
That a lifetime will not help distort

The journey so far, travelled so fast
Has been filled with memories from the recent past
Leaving me dumbstruck in considerable awe
That I had to fall back on my forgotten poetic skills to hem and haw

A lot of happiness and excitement
Interspersed with a lot of anxiety and disappointment
Your birth has been a miracle of life itself
A story so lush with action of yourself

The anxiety started much in advance by everyone
With your arrival eagerly expected and prayers done
I was the first to know the news, slightly before it came
For I had read tonnes of literature on the same

So when the results came, I was thoroughly overjoyed
And we shared the happy news with everyone and enjoyed
But immediately came the scare, bringing a tear
Rushing us to the hospital in nervous fear

The first 3 months were quite hectic
With your demanding mom becoming more erratic
With weird requests late at night, it was hard going
But for you my dear, nothing was beyond my doing

I have been following your growth right from when you were 8mm long
When I first saw you, a lovely angel with a heart fluttering strong
That brings tears of joy to my eyes even as I recollect the moment, so frozen in time
The most enduring of images there ever will be, seeing a life being born from mine.

Just when things were settling down in earnest
And everyone was getting excited and getting some needed rest
There came another shocker to our hearts, another stern test
For getting a baby as precious as you, everything has to be at its best!

I already had the checklist ready based on my extensive research
And was glad when the doctor checked all the boxes based on her scan and search
But my heart stopped a beat when she consulted her senior and saw a shift in her tone
And the mood became sombre when she finally broke the news that you dont have a nose bone!

This event triggered the most frantic search ever
From the US to India to Australia, family members wherever
To understand whether further diagnosis is absolutely required or not
Given the procedure will put you at risk, we didnt want to, but we were in a knot

At the end, we decided to put your well being at the forefront
And trust in the power of prayer from everyone we knew, and bear the brunt
Your mom had the courage to take in the longest needle I have ever seen
All to ensure that you are safe and healthy, the most precious gift there has even been.

The results came out normal, bringing collective relief after a while
And from then on, with due extra care, you didnt give us any further surge in bile
You took your own sweet time to finally develop your sweet little nose
But everyone around you went into panic mode until then, I suppose!

The first kick you gave had your mother screaming in joy and chime
And gave me the same feeling as seeing your heart beat for the first time
As days went on, she was making me jealous as you were responding to only her brush
But then soon realised that I had a calming effort on your adrenaline rush

We enjoyed the days counting down to the arrival of my dame
Scouring the internet and arguing countless times over your name
While enjoying your attention from inside your mom's tummy, constantly shifting positions
And keeping you engaged and singing lullabies through my ameteurish piano compositions

There was no shortage of drama just prior to your birth, a week ahead
First rushing us to think you wanted to meet me in a hurry, turning all our plans on its head
And then when we have finished re-scheduling everything, taking your time to come out
Keeping all of us waiting and guessing, 26 hours in all, even to the point the doctors were in doubt.

I was there all along, keeping your mom and yourself company, anxious after every BP drop
Waiting for my precious daughter to arrive, my most sought after prize
And then as suddenly as it was, there was a surge of activity and your head appeared with a pop
Taking even the doctor and experienced nurses by complete surprise

November the 12th, just as my sister always wanted and I had secretly hoped,
You came out with a loud sneeze, and just as soon I had you enveloped
My darling was in my hands and the next 15 mins were absolute bliss at last
Just you and me, looking into each other's eyes, while an eternity walked past

Not a word spoken, not a cry heard, you were just exploring with your eyes dashing
Having me completely mesmerised, I wouldnt have noticed if the world came crashing
I would have even failed to capture the previous moment if not for a eager nurse who told
Hearing her complement your long eyelashes, I was filled with pride as a dad only a few minutes old!

Then started the flurry of calls I didnt want to make
Although only a few minutes it would eventually take
I didnt want to lose even a few seconds of that precious time
When that instant connection was established between us, poetic beyond rhyme.

Even your great grand mother flew in at 85 yrs to witness your birth
So precious were you, although at 2.6 kg you were quite small in girth
Of all the names shortlisted, Sahana (Patience) was finally chosen as it struck a chord
And it did resemble the times you have made us desparately wait for you to break free from your cord.

To say that your mom has been through everything to bring you here
Is but a massive understatement, for the sacrifices she made for you my dear
From her food to her job, from her sleep to her greatest fear
Has all been for you and only you, my precious one born in the Rabbit year.

There is a lot more to say, but I am sure this verse is just one of aplenty
To describe my loveable girl that I have always wanted, my most precious dainty
But what better way to celebrate my 30th birthday than to compose this poem, long overdue
Smiling ear to ear as I commence describing the precious thots about you!

Random Access
The search has just begun !!! (to find my way back to earth from Cloud 9 - on second thot, I dont want to!)