i can SEEEEE.:-)!

without specs that is- i completely forgot to mention that i had my lasik surgery last friday and its now been a week since i do not need my glasses-after so many years of wearing them! ya i know its going to be all weird seeing me like this after all these years but get used to it people-hehe! the procedure was simple but the boredom that follows killed me! now i am finaly back to doing things ..!

SL –forever!

SRI LANKA is one heck of a fun place and we just about had the entire experience of it-from the soldiers and check-posts to the vast greenery and wild elephants and traditional food and culture. A little more than a month back the 6 of us-Siddhu, Adhi, Vinay, JD and Nickhil FINALLY made it there after years in the planning. It was one heck of blast- in, out and throughout. It was one complete total holiday experience-even better than Europe in some ways. And lol the best part -FAR cheaper. (got to love the fact that its so close by to Chennai and that one Indian rupee is 2 Sri lankan) Due credit to Siddhu for putting it together and pulling it off despite the unpredictable gang of us he had to do that with.

LONG in the planning and after a LOT of uncertainties it finally happened, and it was more than worth its wait, exceeding by milestones all expectations of it. It was by far one of the best trips Ever and I am sure the 6 of us are NEVER going to forget it. It had everything in the right proportion-fun, adventure, insanity, tension, bonding, disappointments (Reebok in particular, eh guys?) and even an emotional teary moment. It was hence Complete.

The trip started on the 9th of Jan with the bunch of us reporting at the airport quickly getting rid of the parents. hehe! Right after checking in, we were back out to grab a bite. We reached late night and had our first taste of local Srilankan food on the way to the apartment which was our base at Colombo for the trip-Sid’s dads place. Checked in there and he had arranged a Toyota Hiace van to take us around and believe me we needed every sq inch of those 9 days.

The first excitement (apart from the daily after dinner entertainments witnessed in the apartment-lol) was white water rafting at Kithulgala in the rapids and the rain provided the perfect ambience to make it all the more thrilling. The second phase of our trip consisted of an elephant sanctuary visit and getting close to the wild beasts. Kandy was the stopover for the night-that I didn’t get to see much of but the guys had a nice time watching the cultural extravaganza show they went to. The third part of our trip lead us across winding mountainous roads, taking diversions in the routes due to landslips (thankfully) that led us to Ella through picturesque Neurallia and we spent quite a bit of time there freezing ourselves and playing around in the spot where they shot Khaaka Khaaka.. When we finally arrived tired and starved at Ella Adventure park we were welcomed by a black snake that crossed right by our path! We crashed into the hotel in the very beautiful tree houses and log cabins. In the morn, we took the jeep to the mountain and trekked all the way down the mountain to the campsite crossing the rope bridge and settled into our room- which was more of a tree house right by the gushing river. It was one hell of an experience staying in the wilderness so close to nature. After a morning of super fun adventure sports we settled in for a nap only to be awaken by Nickhil screaming for us to join him for a dip in the icy chilly freezing river filled wit stones and rapids! It was just heaven lying there in the river with the water rushing at that speed. In the night we chilled with a campfire dinner and watched the fire die out.The next day Siddhu finally took the wheel of the Hiace, giving Karu (our dear driver) some rest and drove us all the way to Bentotta beach resort-the last part of our trip. We checked into the resort and headed for the beach. We swam far into the sea and the water was shallow for like 200metres. The next day we had a blast of a time doing what we had been eagerly awaiting for- the watersports. We put to good use the jet-ski’s, bananana boat and ring ride and Nickhil insisted on trying water skiing-which by the way is a very difficult thing to do! We headed back to the hotel and packed up to leave back to Columbo all of us feeling the trip ending and the thought of headed back home to our hectic paced life. We spent that evening as well as the next day morning rushing around Colombo to get all our overdue shopping finished and just about managed to leave to the airport before rush hour traffic began and had time to check out the airport duty free before catching the quick flight back home .We landed and each bid adieu dreaming of when our next trip would be.

Cheap Shopping. Lots of food and buffet dinners, the very many mokkai’s and more kalai’s are just some of the many things we will remember Sri Lanka for. We even managed to have discussions on a few intellectual interesting topics. Despite many painful moments and a whole lot of travel sickness care of the long drives Sri Lanka will forever be remembered as one of my most favorite memorable trips.The hugest of thanks to Sid’s dad , Nada uncle, Veena aunty and Prabhu uncle and their family for their amazing hospitality and sparing the time to make arrangements, come with us and making the trip possible! Lots of pictures and videos taken are going to help hang on to those ever memorable moments.

And again.

Ok one last try at writing something again before I give up on blogging. Here goes-
(please leave honest comments you few sweet people who tolrate and visit)

Gone

I have lost the ability to form meaningful sentences and write blog entries! i am unable to write anything to update my blog!

iPhone

i LOVE it.

A friend.. a gem..

Life sure can throw surprises at you sometimes in the most unexpected of forms. One moment you are feeling on top of the world with everything going right-the start of a new year, a new beginning- and the next somethin happens that leaves you crushed and in shock...

One of my good friends passed away today in a bike accident and i am just so shaken by it that i am still coming to terms with accepting that its happened. I cherish many memories of my school days and this is a guy whom i have known right from my beginning years at VM up until i left in 11th when he also left. Visted his home, met his family and hung out over the years.

It was so sad to see his family and twin brother absolutely devastated and i felt so helpless that there was nothing i could possibly say or do for them..
Life seems so unfair to torment the most innocent of souls..

It just isnt right that he had to have such a painful passing in the time his life was just beginning to be made.- all those dreams he must have had....

i couldnt look at the body lieing there cause it was difficult for me to imagine thinking of the twins not together anymore.. and a friend gone..

To Venu-May his soul rest in Eternal Peace and may he be in a happier place than where hes left us all...~
we will all miss u Da.. and in our memories and prayers you will always live on forever...