A new year.. A new beginning

2015 has not been a very active year on my blog, and I've really missed blogging regularly. What started as a parenting memoir has grown organically in so many ways and I am humbled when someone unexpectedly mentions to me that they read my posts and enjoyed a particular one. I also still get ragged occasionally for my A-Z attempt during our US holiday ;).

What finally prompted this last post for the year? For the record, it is not a "wrap up" post (do I hear some Phews ;)). It is going to be, though, a post of resolutions, of a new adventure and what I want to achieve in 2016. The last week of the year saw us moving to Singapore, after 17+ years in Bangalore. There were many reasons for the actual decision, but here are the ways in which I want to make my/our lives different in this all-new year:

More fun: The biggest advantage of living in a city with a great public transport system is that we have no excuse for not getting around. So I want us to experience more events, plays & movies, more running around, more enrichment and more of everything that's fun. As of today, we just became members in the local public library (I know this is passé' for U.S. folks, but I was as wide-eyed as the kids) and I am really looking forward to regular visits there as well.

More travel: I know many of my friends are experts at planning quick holidays, but I have always stuck to the planned-much-in-advance and usually a week's worth type of getaway. With a lot of long weekends to look forward to in 2016, I hope we'll be able to explore this part of the world with some quick and short trips.

More work: Another big life change that I am quite looking forward to is to go back to full-time work. I have enjoyed writing as a flexible career space, but I am now hoping to make a foray back into the big bad world of tech (if it'll have me!). As moving to a different country is such a huge step anyway, it felt like the right time to jump right into another change of pace as well. I know I have some challenges ahead and not everyone on the other side of the table will have faith in my capability, but I will be patient and wait for the right match, so fingers crossed :).

More blogging: As the kids grow (D is 10, and S is 7), the challenges are different. Dealing with daily doses of defiance do not a blog post inspire, but I need to look past the minor irritations and find those lovely positives too! Memories for today: D is apparently old enough to make a list of new year resolutions, and S thinks he doesn't need school anymore as he "knows so much Math already" ;).

More photos: After buying a good phone this year mainly for the purpose of using it as a camera, I have not really put it to use except when on holiday :P. That needs to change!

Those seem like quite enough resolutions to get on with, so let me stop with writing any "more" and wish you a:

The Rajasthan Holiday Ends - Part III

The holiday continues after our day 5 at Kumbalgarh:

Catching the sunrise as we left the resort on Day 5

Day 6: We had planned a day trip to Udaipur which was about 100 kilometers away. We left the resort early and also enjoyed a local breakfast of samosas, methi pakodas and faafda before reaching the city of lakes. Our driver, Devendra, belonged to the city and was raring to show us around his hometown. First stop was the Karni Mata temple that you can reach by cable car (or by walk) and provides a bird-eye view of the city and Lake Pichola. The temple also houses some white mice that are considered sacred here.

Clicked from the cable car

One of many attempted selfies on the trip ;)

The next stop was the City Palace, but we headed here only after a photo session in the local Rajasthani Garb near Lake Pichola (once again on our driver's recommendation). We realized later that this is an activity that is quite popular here as every tourist spot had a stall set up for this :).

Caution Rant ahead.. 

At the City Palace, we were a bit taken aback by the camera fee being equal to the entry fee :P. It was also a bit of an irritation that the security was at an all-time high and one of us had to leave the camera behind (we were not planning to use it as we took just one camera ticket). I guess honesty cannot be gauged by our faces, so I'm ok with our camera getting kept back but it just didn't seem to make sense in this age of technology where literally everyone can click with their phones anyway. On that day, the place was inundated by groups of schoolchildren who were doing just that when unnoticed by the guards. 

..Rant over

Well, I made the best of the camera fee and clicked a pic of EVERYTHING, don't worry I won't share it all here ;). On the whole, the place was kept very clean in spite of the crowds so it was a nice experience looking around.

My fascination with arches continues :)

The view!

One of MANY interesting windows

Beautiful doorknob - didn't I tell you I clicked everything ;)

One of the displays was the collect of silver - this included items like a present of silver hairbrushes and other grooming implements, as well as many lovely photo frames made of silver. The idol of Chetak was also decorated with tons of silver.. looked at this very keenly as I have a bit of a silver jewelry fixation ;).

Chetak in all his silver glory

After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we headed to the statue of Maharana Pratap and Chetak, where we couldn't stand around too long due to the heat being quite high at that time of day. We soon took refuge in a small museum type display of paintings and models depicting the history of the state. 

Statue of Maharana Pratap and Chetak

Battle of Haldighati

Saheliyon Ki Baadi

After a quick stop at the lovely fountain and gardens at Saheliyon ki baadi, we were quite tired, and after a spot of shopping we headed back to Kumbalgarh for the night.

Day 7: This was a day of rest, to recuperate from the hectic sightseeing of the day before and also because of there not being much to see at Kumbalgarh other than the fort. We did manage a short visit to a nearby lake, where again the profusion of catfish was amazing as fishing is not allowed and tourists feeding the fish with puffed rice and other treats is a small source of income to the locals.

Feeding the fish

Lovely view near the lake at Kelwada

We went back to the fort in the evening, where we thoroughly enjoyed the Sound and Light Show - it was an amazing way to hear of the history of the fort and the state. A beautiful experience to round off our holiday :)