Traveller's Guide to a Peaceful Journey

1. Find the perfect destination.

Do start early with some good research on finding your perfect destination. Your budget and days to spare are the major things to consider prior decision. Once finalized, do some in-depth research on the place. Places to visit, Places to stay, Places to eat, Mode of transportation, Expenses, Exchange rates, Climate, Safety and Visitor Reviews.

2. Make the reservations.

Book your travel tickets and a visa if needed. You could do this directly but to be hassle-free, its better to assign an agent to do this for you. A tourist visa wouldn't take longer than a week to process but its wiser to provide at least a month. Agents will let you know what all documents you need to file along with your application. You could google the list of documents needed for each country. Once the tickets are confirmed and the visa is under process, you can proceed with making other reservations. It’s always good to reserve every attractions/hotels that you intend to visit on your trip before you're there, if possible. For Inst: If you are planning to visit Universal Studios Singapore, you can book your tickets online, carry a printout and enter straight into the park. It saves a lot of time and makes you tension-free. However it’s a must that you have the reservations for your stay ready with you, before travel. You could use any travel review sites to locate recommended hotels depending on your budget. Most of the hotels need credit card information but that will only be charged once you've checked in.

3. Make an itinerary.

Once you've completed your research and reservations, its time for you to make yourself an itinerary. Itinerary is either a hard or soft copy on the things that you want to do on your trip. An itinerary should include, your traveling tickets, your hotel booking confirmation, a document on day-by-day activities you are planning, attraction reservation slips, In-country MRT/LRT/Bus Route and Stations, A map of the place with locations you want to go, highlighted. If you have a smart phone (which by-the-way everyone has now), you could carry a soft copy of the itinerary as well for easy access. But you need to carry hard copies of all your tickets anyway.

4. Backpacking.

A very important rule to remember: Travel light. I would suggest a single piece hand luggage for each one and that’s all! Only do carry clothing you need for the duration of your stay. If you are anxious do make a list on what to wear each day. Do invest in a quality backpack, preferably one with a laptop compartment. Do take a travel adapter and all the cables you need to charge your devices, but do it wisely. For inst. If your phone supports USB charging and you have your laptop, do not carry the wall adapter of the phone. This will save a lot of space when you wish to travel light. Put all your travel documents in a compartment that is easily accessible.

5. Carrying Cash.

Be ready with your finances at least a week before traveling. Convert 3/4 of your total budget (left-over post reservations) to the required foreign currency. Put the remaining 1/4 on your credit card and carry it along as reserve money. Do carry a few notes in your wallet for emergency needs but make sure that you have the major portion safe inside your hand luggage.


6. Bon Voyage.

As mentioned earlier, if you are carrying just one piece of luggage, you don't need to worry about reaching early at the airport. You can reach the airport two hours prior to your departure and start with your check-in procedures. Now here are some tips to avoid some very common delays at the airport. After getting your boarding pass, grab an immigration form and start filling it. Keep the passport handy for this. And do not forget to carry a Pen! Be cool at the immigration department, they might irritate you, but you will definitely get through that counter in less than 5 minutes. Be ready to answer some very silly questions. What is the purpose of your visit / Where are you working/ Traveling alone? Etc. Answer those , get your passport stamped and proceed to the security check. Now here's one useful advice. Before going to the security check, take out your wallet, your cell phone and your watch and put it in your hand luggage's front compartment. If you are carrying a laptop, take that out and hold it in your hand while waiting in the queue. Now you can just dump your laptop and bag in the belt and walk. Once its over get back your bag and laptop. Pack it back and proceed to the gate of departure. Most of the major international airlines will have a second round of security check, which is a bit more serious. They might ask you to remove your shoes and your belt. It would be embarrassing to hold your documents in one hand and your pants with the other one! So I would suggest wearing a perfect-fit trouser without a belt. Also do prefer shoes that you can easily get out of and vice versa.

7. Flying time.

I am not going to put statistics here, but they say flying is the safest mode of transport out there. Still many people are afraid of flying. I am one among them! But even then I am forced by opportunity to fly at least 7-9 times an year. Trust me, there is no easy way to get out of that fear but these tips will make your journey as smooth as possible. If you are traveling on an international flight, track the flight a couple of days before your flight on the Internet. You will see that the flight is making a safe landing and take-off on time every day. Turbulence (or a bumpy ride) is another common fear most people have. Turbulence is a very common phenomenon and all the flights are made to withstand even higher levels of turbulence. So don't think that your flight is going straight down. For every downdraft, there is an updraft as well. If you are still worried about it, try and get a seat by the middle of the aircraft (the wing area). The effect of turbulence will be less there, though with only a negligible difference. Another easy solution for your anxiety is to go see a doctor, get a prescription, and take an anti-anxiety drug before you fly. It will give you a peaceful sleep on-flight and thus will take care of any on board anxieties. (Restyl .5mg helps for a 4.5 hr flight but will give you a bad hangover the next morning. Be cautious, as the drug is addictive).

If you hate to sleep or you have an even longer flight, take some entertainment with you. Throw in some movies and music to your iPod/iPad whatever and carry it along. Don't forget to fill out your disembarkation form (the attendants will provide one to you) before your land.

8. Arriving.

Most of the international airports will have the smoothest arrival procedures. Though it will be good to have your destination airport map handy. You can grab a bunch of required brochures from the airport ( maps, mrt information, attraction info etc).

Hope this helps someone someday!

Travel Safe; Eat a lot of food; Travel Back Safe!

My (Weird) Food Adventures in Seoul: Part One

The night before my final day in Seoul, I took a walk and the objective was to eat something weird before I leave. A few minutes later I was at a Hawker centre where they had a bunch of multinational cuisine outlets and one name caught my attention.

(Still dont get why the frogs are so happy)

Well weird enough, but not too weird that I'll be left out at dinner parties back home!

I went through the menu and my wallet. Frog with spring onions sounded ok. But the chef said its gonna take atleast 15 minutes, so while waiting I got myself a box of seafood dumplings, which was exquisite!


A perfect well-cooked blend of flour with a mixture of squid, prawns, fish and oyster. They gave me 3 in a box with a chilli paste to spice it up a notch.

And finally, it arrived. A smoking pot full of Frogs and Spring onions.


One bite and I was gracious to my perfect appetite. The pieces were soaked in a hot and thick sauce gravy. The flesh were well cooked and its taste reminded me of chicken wings. I left the Spring Onions just the way it came.


Final Verdict : It was delicious by default and the thought of this being forbidden, juiced up the taste a bit!

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gm
Onion - 2 medium-size (thinly sliced)
Tomato -1 medium-size
Ginger - Small size
Garlic - 2-3
Chili Powder (Kashmiri) - 1 ½ tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Cashew nut - 10-15
Cream - 2-3 tbspn
Green Chilli - 2
Kasoori Methi
Coriander leaf
Salt
Butter
Oil

How to:

1. Shallow-fry the Paneer with a little butter

2. Make the cashew nut into a paste and keep it aside

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion. Fry till it turns golden brown. Add into it finely chopped Ginger-Garlic pieces. Then add Kashmir Chilli Powder, Coriandar Powder, Turmeric Powder and Garam masala to it and cook well. Add Salt as needed. Add Tomatoes and Stir Well. Once it becomes cool, grind it well in a mixer along with Kasuri Methi leaves and keep it aside

4. Put needed butter in a pan. Add the above prepared content onto it, then paneer, cashew paste and finally the cream. Mix well in low flame. Garnish with Coriander leaves and Butter. Can put two finely chopped chilies on top.

Coconut Groove: Salt n Pepper

Whenever I start thinking of doing a budget plan, a new hoarding will appear right across my door of some new restaurant chain. The latest addition was Coconut Groove, the mid-range eatery serving keralite cuisines.

On my first visit to the place, I ordered Appams with Meen Mappas, Idiyappam with Chicken Stew and Panni Varuthathu.

Appam

Idiyappam

Fish (Meen) Mappas

Chicken Stew

Appam went well with the Meen Mappas (a light red fish curry). It also made an excellent combo with the Chicken Stew. Idiyappam, was disappointing even with the pinch of pepper corns added to them. Panni Varuthathu (Pork Dry Fried with Onions) is a must-try for all the Pork Lovers. Though a little spicy, it tasted awesome.

Coconut Groove provides a wide range of traditional keralite delicacies. I will also recommend the Motta Porotta (Egg Porottas) and Prawns Biriyani.

A decent variety meal for two will cost your around 700 INR.

Address: Coconut Groove, Next to South Indian Bank, Opp Ittina Souparnika, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore.

Pasta with Onions and Sausages

Last night was Pasta Night. I had a pack of Fusilli pasta and arrabbiata sauce. I've kept it really simple for the fact that I don't want to spend more time in the kitchen!


Ingredients:

Oil as needed
One Pack of Fusilli (Cork Screw Shaped Pasta)
Arrabbiata Sauce
Two Chicken Sausages
One Onion
Tomato Puree
Red and Green Capsicum
Basil Leaves
Salt as needed

PS: You can do it either with the Sausage cut to dices or with the wrap removed.

How to:

0. Cook the Fusilli as per Pack Instruction and Keep aside.
0. Boil the Sausages and Keep aside.
1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add nicely cut onions and stir fry till golden brown
3. Add in the dice cut capsicum
4. Pour in the tomato puree
5. Add the cooked pasta to the pan
6. Add dice cut / sausage content to the pan
7. Add in Arabbiata Sauce
8. Salt if needed
9. Mix well
10. Add in basil leaves
11. Simmer and Serve Hot

Down the memory lane: Chilli Stuff at Mamma

Back in the mid-90s, Dining out was a once-in-a-while family tradition for us. Me and my brother will be really excited when Dad stops our mighty old ambassador by the well lit parking lot of any of our regular diner. I still remember those tastes. It was exquisite, Out of the world and nowhere comparable to what we are getting now in the name of indian chinese! Our dinner date menus were pretty much preset and regular. Sweet Corn Chicken Soups, Vegetable Fried Rice, Nans and Chilli Chicken. Well cooked chicken pieces in a light and red viscous gravy along with green chillies and capsicum. The taste is unexplainable. It satisfied every single bud in my tongue. As time passed and with more and more hotels and fast food counters, the above said taste was somehow lost. The chicken pieces became a last minute add-on to the thick buttery spicy gravy and Chilli Chicken started tasting like any other Chicken in the menu. Traditions became memories.

Last month, I was traveling in and across Cochin on an assignment when my senses unexpectedly flew back down the memory lane. We stopped at Hotel Mamma in Tripunithura for our lunch, Well we got the exact same Chilli chicken I was talking about earlier (Note for dummies: not the exact same stuff, that wouldn't be edible after all these years!).

We (me & my brother) ordered a Portion of Chilli Chicken,Chilli Beef, Chilli Pork , Butter Nans and a plate of Mixed Fried Rice.

Fried Rice with Chilli Chicken.

Naans with Chilli Beef.

Naans with Chilli Pork.

All of these were awesome and not that expensive. We spend the next 1 hr there eating, drinking and refreshing our memories!

Discovering the Hainanese

Our visit to Singapore Universal Studios was a Semi-Disaster due to the unexpected bad weather. We hardly went on outside rides but made sure that we are in the Jurassic Rapids, the best ride in the park. We had to wait in the queue for about an hour (which is usually considered fast moving there) and had an exciting Jurassic Water Adventure.

I was quite hungry after all the waiting, animatronic dinosaurs and water splashes. So we decided to have lunch at the Discover Food Court.

The place, though heavily crowded (most of them were there to escape the rain), reminded me of the Visitor Center in Jurassic Park.

There was a huge queue to the food counter. We could see only two items on the display board from there and hence decided to go with it . The Hainanese Chicken Rice Set and the Roasted Chicken Rice Set.

The Hainanese chicken rice set had Sliced up Grilled Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Rice and Onion Sprouts.

"The chicken is prepared in traditional Hainanese methods which involve the boiling of the entire chicken in a pork and chicken bone stock, reusing the broth over and over and only topping it up with water when needed, in accordance with the Chinese preferences for creating master stocks. This stock is not used for rice preparation, which instead involves chicken stock created specifically for that purpose, producing an oily, flavourful rice sometimes known as "oily rice" with Southeast Asian pandan leaves added sometimes. Some cooks may add coconut milk to the rice, reminiscent of the Malay dish nasi lemak." - Wiki

The Roasted Chicken Rice set had a No-Frills Roasted Chicken , Flavored Cabbage Slices,Rice and Onion Sprouts.

Being inside the park, the food was comparatively expensive at 10.50 S$ each.

Don't ,by any chance ,miss out on the Hainanese Chicken Rice set, if you are anywhere near Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand. It is definitely worth a try.