Beautiful Bali

Bali is a perfect blend of culture, beauty and kindness. Here's some tips if you wish to visit Bali one day...

Places to visit

BEACHES - Make sure you have a feel of the white sand on the east coast and the black sand beaches (due to volcanic eruptions) on the west coast. Kuta beach and Sanur beach to name a couple.

There are lots of water activities activities too such as surfing, jetski, para-sailing, flying inflatable beds attached to speed boats (dun know what they call it...).

VOLCANOES - There are several active volcanoes in Bali. I had an awesome view of Batur volcano from a restaurant overlooking the volcano while enjoying a balinese lunch. I wish I was prepared to hike up one of the more friendly and manageable volcanoes..

BALINESE HOME - Do set aside some time to visit a balinese home. Their homes are kindda nice n cosy huts with grass roofs. A typical balinese house will house several huts including a temple within their premises. The one we visited also had a house on stilts to house the rice and a pig's pen..Oink Oink :)

SHOPPING - Bali is very tourist-y. Many shopping centres, villages and villages of handicrafts, rows and rows of family shops, flea markets (called up markets) and factory outlets but mostly selling the same stuff...anything from silver, intricate scupltures to branded stuff like polo and roxy.

PERFORMANCES - They have evening perfomances all around Bali. I went for a Kechak dance performance inspired by Hindu epic "Ramayana" in a temple situated on top of a cliff (think its called monkey temple). It was an open air amphitheatre and there was a chanting 'choir' of men who provide the 'chak-a-chak-a-chak' noise. Beautiful sunset and performance but watch out for the monkeys as the scan you for valuable items (such as jewellery and reading glasses) to barter trade for food..

TEMPLES - Visit a couple of temples to get a feel of the culture and the architecture. The temples are mainly for the 3 Hindu Gods- The Creator, Destroyer and Preserver. Do wear modestly. If not,fret not,they will have sarongs and sashes for visitors and you are expected to donate a nominal sum when you return the sarongs. Do not be conned by shopkeepers who insist that you have to buy a sarong as you are not allowed to wear shorts to the temples. The temples will loan the sarongs to you.

Other Travel Tips

BARGAINING - If you are not a good bargainer like me, forget about bargaining and just pop into fixed price shops in shopping centres. All other shops require you to bargain. Just as a guide, start bargaining from 30% of the initial price. Our guide told us that if you reach 50%, it is a win win situation. ANything lower, you gain..

TRAVEL AGENT - One of our family friends recommended Bali Mardy Adventure Tour. Mr Mardy has a team of 8 staff and they are very very professional and affordable. They charge according to the distance travelled. They provide MPVs and a professional driver cum tour guide. The highest we paid was US$45 for one day and the total tour came to US$140 for 5 days which we felt was extrememly reasonable. Contact details in case u wish to engage his tour services:

I Wayan Mardana (Mardy)

Mobile: 08123912108 or 7425110

Email: mardana45@hotmail.com

Are U Ready, Arsenal?

What is the Time, Mr Wolf?

Junior Soccer School Tryouts

Dental Phobia

I was on my way to Alexendra Hospital on Monday and was feeling extremely nervous. My palms were sweaty andy legs were a little shaky. I was cursing myself for not taking care of my teeth and munching on all the chocolates and sweet stuff. I should have listened to Mum and Dad...and the dentist..

I was going for tooth extraction surgery @ AH..... Several images flashed across my mind as I rode in the bus to AH... A dentist laughing at me hysterically while bring the big drill towards my face...and in another a rather unapproachable looking dentist scolding me for not opening my mouth wide enough for him to force a drill, a plier and his hand inside to pull out my poor tooth. Ahhh...Stop! Stop! ..

I tried to divert myself from those thoughts by plugging in my iPod, watching people rushing to work and fiddling with the contents of my bag..didn help..SO I started wondering why I was fearing visits to the dentist (why the fuss over pulling out a tooth).. My mind raced to the time when I was in Primary 1. Everytime, someone knocks on the classroom door holding a B5 sized white card, all of us in the class would start praying hoping that his/her name was not on the card. For it was the dentist who would have sent her last victim to call for the next one.. and yes, I have been quite "lucky" to be the chosen one on several occasions.

On such lucky moments, I would drag myself slowly and nervously down to the dental room...I hated the dentist. She hardly smiled at least not to me. In fact, she had this perpetual displeased look on her face. While updating some records manually, the dentist would command me to lie down on the chair that seemed like the electric chair (even now...). She would then swing the chair around, pick up her weapons from the shiny tray and starts to knock and poke my gums and teeth. Throughout the what seems like a really long ordeal, the dentist would be reprimanding me in a muffled tone (thanks to her mask) for not keeping the teeth clean.. I must tell you that I do keep my teeth clean but probably not up to her ISO 18000 standard.. Once the corrective maintenance is completed, she pulls out a big plastic-ky jaw set and asks me to demonstrate how I would brush my teeth and starts lecturing a second time on how I should brush my teeth. Finally, the session is over and she hands you the next victim's card.

With the discomfort and the taste of blood tingling in my mouth, I would take the card, unwillingly thank her and walk out. The moment I leave the room I would feel so relieved that I do not have to face her for the next 6 months unless she accidentally pulls out my card earlier(which also happened..).

Now I understood why I feared dentists even after all these years. My childhood experiences influenced my thoughts all these years and created an irreversible negative fearful image of dentists. This time, I braved myself thinking of people who had to undergo major surgeries and diverted my attention to beautiful memories as the dentist extracted my tooth. I would be lying if I said I wasn afraid at all but it was not that bad... I am so proud of myself to have survived the terrifying 30 mins and I reported to work the very next day despite given 3 days MC :)

2 more wisdom teeth to go... hopefully never or at least a few years later..

Pain in the .....

Hi Hi.

Wanted to share with you some simple tips to get rid of the usual aches and pains. I learnt them from my parents and believe me..they do work miraculously. Hope you find the tips useful especially if u hate taking medication or do not wish to make your rich doctor richer....

I must qualify that these are for normal pains and aches not associated with other diseases and should not be tried when you are under another medication. So here goes...

Toothaches (Decay/ Wisdom Tooth)
Take a few cloves (say 5 or 6), poke a needle through the stem and heat the cloves over a flame. Remove from the pin when the clove blackens and fattens a little. Once you have done this for all, place the cloves over the decayed area and bite into them. Leave the cloves there for a couple of hours and when the juice from the cloves sinks in, you’ll feel better.

You may need to do this a couple of times and the toothache will go away for a few days at least till you see your dentist. This is only an interim solution. So, please consult your dentist for a permanent solution

Sore Throat/ Flu/ Cold (Beginning Stage)
Take one small shallot, peel off the skin and eat it before you head to bed!!! Make sure you chew well and swallow it. Drink a glass of warm water mixed with a spoon with honey. You will feel much much better the next day. Shallots are super effective in killing germs... Take a mint or two in the morning to get rid of the smell.

You could also eat it everyday to reduce the chances of coming down with flu or cold..

Sore Throat

Take one teaspoon of honey and mix with black pepper and heat it over a small flame. Once it is heated up, slowly sip it and your throat will thank you for it. But dun take it too frequently as pepper is heaty..

Gastric Pain/ Feeling of Tummy Bloated (Mild)
Take about 3 to 4 pieces from one garlic. Skewer them (with the skin) and heat them over fire till the skin starts to blacken (the skin may catch fire, so dun panic..just blow off the fire). Remove the skin and eat them. Drink a glass of warm milk and the pain should subside...

This post is dedicated to my 2 babies

Dearest Dharani and Bharath,

This post is dedicated to both of you. Both of you loved birthdays more than anything else and we always sang the birthday song at least twice - for each one of you though your birthdays were months apart...

I really hope that both of you will be best of friends and siblings forever. Be the pillar of strength and encouragement for each other even when you have your own circle of friends. Nobody cares for you more than family.

Finally..Hope you guys had lotsa fun growing up...as much as we had, watching you grow !!!

Yours lovingly,

Chitti.

My Latest Favourite :)

Check out my new car...hehe..ya like real :)
Love the separated single seater concept... Awesome ya?

Euthanasia

Euthanasia has been a widely debated topic but I just wanted to pen my thoughts...

Euthanasia, in my opinion, should be allowed under certain circumstances. For example, patients in their advanced stages of cancer who have to go through unbearable pain both physically and mentally should be given an option to end their lives... that is if the end is known and medicine is just merely keeping them alive for another couple of days or weeks and prolonging the agony.

On the other hand, if a medical breakthrough is in the pipeline or there is a slightest chance of survival (i.e. in coma), euthanasia should not be an option at all. Life is precious not just to the patient but also to his/ her loved ones.

I also agree that the procedures and final decision should be agreed unanimously by medical practioners, patient and family.

This is just my humble view and I was just putting myself in the shoes of a patient... but I do understand that it would be tough to agree to mercy killing if you are family and you would be hoping for miracles as I would too..

Do share your views too....

Afternote: I just read an article on Switzerland being a haven for suicide or death tourism...I was taken by surprise. Do check out the two organisations in Switz who are suicide assisted groups and how they do it - Exit and Dignitas.

Some references if you are keen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_suicide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignitas_(euthanasia_group)

My Humble Car Collection

Exhibited proudly (and safely...) in my new office :)

Ferrari Collection - 2 collections, 13 cars in all. The 2008 Collection comes with the engine sounds...Awesome yes?

Random Collection - Includes Viper, Integra, Merc and Celica

Last but definitely not the least my 2 robocars - Lamborghini Murciélago and Toyota Supra...

My Last Journey

Okie. This is gonna sound morbid..But I have always wanted to document this.

Bro JJ, You have to ensure that the following are done when I'm gone... Else, I will come after you!

When I die

1) Please DO NOT bring my body back home. I want to go straight from the mortuary to the crematorium.



2) I want a funky looking coffin (must have blue, silver and black colours). It can be an eco coffin not because i am environmentally friendly but because it looks different.

3) The coffin must be covered completely. I want everyone to remember the cheerful me and not the DEAD and LIFELESS me..

4) Dun allow any of the oldies to hug my parents or siblings and cry (in fact, the right word is wail)... No crying! (if la...)

5) Please remember...I do not owe anyone any money. I am a loan free person :)

I like this mode of transport for my last journey but dun think its available here...so I will save u the trouble...normal means will suffice.