Foodventures of the veggie kind

Amazing how vegetarians manage to remain vegetarians all over the world. Fifteen years ago, a boss of mine, a staunch vegetarian, on his visit abroad, said he ate potatoes and fruit all through. Times have changed, I must say at the cost of sounding cliched. 

When we landed here a couple of years ago, we never ventured into the Food courts, imagining everything to be non-vegetarian. Everywhere we went, we hunted for Indian food. Not anymore. We now enjoy experimenting with local vegetarian delights in the Food courts.

Popiah in the making

It is with a twinge of regret that I recall the good time I had at Katong Mall, when Tweety attended her ballet class for two and a half years. Only in the last few weeks did I venture into their Food court. I discovered the strangely delightful combination of spice and sweet, in the local Popaiah.
Ultra thin crepe is the closest definition of popiah skin I can think of. She spread sweet soya sauce on it, then garlic pieces, vegetables, coriander leaves, chilly, rolled it , cut it and served it. Bought a glass of freshly crushed sugarcane juice to go along. Heaven.

     The next week I bought the same filling, filled in a crispy bite sized cup. Equally good.

Popiah filling in a crispy cup

Spring roll, sesame sprinkled sweet fritter, Pau

Another adventure was at the Mall of Buona Vista, again waiting for Tweety at her ballet rehearsal. Though there was an Indian food stall at the Food court here, I tried out the veg spring roll. The Pau was akin to the steamed Modaks of India, Kadubu of Karnataka, only round like a ball. The fillings are varied, I have tried Lotus paste filling, Red bean filling, crushed Peanut  and Kaya filling, all sweet. The sesame fritter looking so tempting had sweet crushed peanut inside. This almost filled me up, so I could have none of the Indian food we ordered!

Indian food in a Food court

Clever displays of art food  - this was outside a Japanese joint

How can we leave out Thai food, more popular among Indians? Our favourite order is the vegetarian Pineapple fried rice. After ordering it a number of times, I assumed my waiter would understand my veggie needs, and was shocked when we got me Pineapple fried rice, but with shrimp nicely cuddled in it...he was courteous enough to exchange it of course, though I wonder when I will start tasting seafood, supposed to be healthy and tasty...

Tofu, cashew and rice - at Basil Restaurant

I already have blogged on Thai food before. Our other favourites are fried Taro with cashew, with a tantalising flavour of sweet and hot, mushroom soup and Mango salad. Oh and desserts too are on the healthier side. We order sticky rice with coconut milk and Thai mango, very little sugar added. We once ordered a plate of roasted peanuts, sweet potato and coconut ice cream. So different, so yum, the name I forget, but blogged elsewhere, do take a look at the older posts!!

PS - We once attended a Steam boat party hosted by our Singaporean friends. They had a steaming pot of vegetables for us vegetarians. When we asked what spices they added, they said to savour its natural flavour. That stuck with me, and now I try to add less of my Garam Masala, trying to retain the original flavour of the fresh vegetables...what say?

Gold Coast Day 9 : The Great Barrier Reef

Islands in the sea (stream)...That is what we are...

No one in between...How can we be wrong...

Sail away with me...To another world...

                                                 - Kenny Rogers

The small Cessna plane looked like a rich kid's toy. It being my first flight in a private plane, I apprehensively surveyed the engineering of the aircraft, stopping short of asking the pilot (he was in shorts!!) how many engines the plane had. The chassis was full of rivets that held the aluminium in place. Hmm tight enough I thought. A Chinese family flew with us. They were friendly, the two kids said a warm Hello to Tweety, the ladies did not speak English so we kept throwing smiles at each other, while the men chatted. We were given a breakfast kit of nutty health bars, juice and I don't remember what else. We flew over the Pacific for about an hour. My fear of flying in all things small were laid to rest, when we looked down at the emerald sea, even whales popping in and out, and finally came to view the tiny Lady Elliot Island where we were to spend the day.

                                 

    Lady Elliot Island got its name after a Governor who visited here, is what our guide said.  The island was formed by coral deposits, since corals grow only up to the level of the low tides. This island is the nearest place you can get to, if you want to explore the GREAT BARRIER REEF! A World Heritage, no point in going to Australia and returning without a look at this incredible Reef. 

The stars we could reach were NOT just star fish on the beach!

We were given thermal diving suits to wear, sticks and  Crocs to wade in the water as a friendly staff took us to explore the Reef. The wind gave us a chill even in the thermal suits. We saw a lot of Sea cucumbers, blue Starfish, and corals in the clear rippling waters.

Teeming with life...falling short of words

Time for snorkelling...Brrr...venturing in the winter sun...as we sailed farther away from the island, it became a Whale spotting trip when we saw the omnipresent Humpback whales cavorting in the waters. One went right under our glass-bottomed boat, sending cheers through the guests on board! Finally, since the waters were a little choppy, only A managed to catch sight of pretty marine fishes in his snorkelling gear, which was why we took the boat in the first place.

Mark my words..this could be a new Coral Island in the making!

When we came back to the island, lunch time was up, so they cooked us a fresh batch of snacks - veggie burgers with delicious patties, a whole heap of potato fries and even ice cream I think...if only our guides would keep notice of time, we could have had proper lunch before the resort closed its kitchen...Oh its a small matter though, compared to the mightiness and the awesomeness of the Reef...
 We rushed through our meal, changed and sat in an even smaller aircraft, since apparently the one in which we flew in, was required for a bigger group. High above the seas, A wrote on Facebook that we are safe and sound....why did he even think otherwise???
Even after writing an entire post, I feel that only one word describes this island, this Reef....Indescribable. Sigh!

This was the last highlight of our Great Gold Coast Holiday!!! Ciao Australia.

Gold Coast Day 8 : Boojerahla Gwongorella at the Hinterlands

Time...keeps flowing like a river...

To the sea...till its gone forever...gone for evermore

                                                      - The Alan Parsons Project

Boojerahla - charming, Gwongorella - Dancing waters, in Aboriginal language. A number of tour operators take you on half day trips to the serene forest side of Queensland, away from the busy Gold Coast. The friendly driver cum guide was right on time to pick us up from Meriton Broadbeach. We settled comfortably in the heated Chartered Bus as he drove us smoothly out of Gold Coast into Springbrook Mountain. The first stop was at the Natural Bridge. It gets its name since the water fall cuts through a basalt cave with its sheer force, and when you see it you realize why its called a natural bridge...Sunlight peeped through the otherwise dark cave, and it looked like a picture out of a calendar. We missed the glow worms though. Said to be protected, you can get a glimpse of glow worms here at night.

Water still continues to cut through the cave

                We had a forest walk at the Gondwana Rainforests, where we saw very attractive looking poisonous leaves and berries, which the guide warned us not to touch. The lofty trees, like the Antarctic Beech trees and Eucalyptus were swaying in the howling winter winds, birds chirped as we went exploring on the wooden walk ways, clutching our jackets and scarves close. The toilets were Eco-friendly too. Some of the trees were more than a thousand years old. And as if these views were not good enough, we stopped at a great view point called The best of all Lookouts! Indeed, it was a great view of the ancient plateau, now a preserved site, to salvage whatever is left of Australia's forestation. 

Looking out from the Best of all Lookouts

Australia's own Grand Canyon?

        All through the commentary, our humorous guide reminded us of the scones and tea we would be having at one of the cafes in Springbrook. We finally did. A batch of hot scones with fresh cream, and the aroma of fresh hot coffee was most refreshing in the cold late afternoon, and we made our way back. With a sigh we got out of the comfortable coach, as the guide told us "This is your captain speaking, you have landed at your hotel, hope to fly again with you..."

Gold Coast Day 6, 7 : Chills and thrills

When you have 7-Day Passes for Movie World, Sea World and Wet n Wild Water parks, you try to revisit them to get your money's worth. We did it too. The water at Wet n Wild is heated I understand, but what happens when you get out of the ride, dripping wet on a winter day? I ventured not, the sporty types of the family did, and came back bravely in an hour's time, but with teeth chattering...so we had a lunch of the usual veggie burgers, fries and drink, and headed back to Movie World, for a repeat of our favourite rides and for some final shopping, a Batman towel, a Batman water-bottle, a Tweety towel and a huge black Movie World umbrella.

A Wet n Wild ride

I tried this one

This wet ride looks safer

After the experience with the whales in a tiny vessel, I was rid of all fear of riding the waves in tiny boats, and enjoyed every bit of the Extreme Jet boating. The wind ripped through our hair as we zipped through the water close to 80 kmph,  suddenly applying the brakes to add to the thrill...It was over in a half hour though, so we headed to Surfer's Paradise beach, salt in our hair and water on our shoes. 

        En route, the sets of Pirates of the Carribean...!!!

Can't see me but I am on this Extreme Jet boat, honest...

It was still daylight, we had Idlis at an Indian restaurant there, and strolled along the now familiar shopping street with Cotton-On, Lovisa and other popular shops. There is an array of kiosks selling rare and even strange merchandise closer to the beach. Trinkets, bags, crystal ware apart, there were shops selling sludge, crocodile leather bags (genuine?), head wrap, reptile shows, nameplates, and then some more... The kids got a pack or two of erasable sketch pens, some sludge and other such knick-knacks.

There was an Elvis whose singing I narrowly missed. There was this man painted in silver, seemingly sitting on nothing all day, not moving an inch. The moment my coin clinked in his bowl he shook hands and posed for a photo. That was his livelihood. 

Do you know his trick of sitting on nothing? Think I do...

Gold Coast Day 5: Crocs and Cassowaries

Doting attendants fed Eucalyptus leaves to koalas when we entered the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Started by Alex Griffiths in 1947 to keep the lorikeets fed, this Park has become a most loved Wildlife Sanctuary of Queensland.

We boarded a small train that took us around the park. Just in time for the Croc Show. Huge reptiles they were, jumping high up to sink their teeth into the chunks of meat shown to them by the trainers. Then we queued for a photo session with a baby croc!

 There was a board that said : (Some) Crocodiles do not eat for six months straight in a year, but the question is, "which six months?"

    Jog your memory about these remarkable reptilians. Their symbiotic habit - letting birds get right inside their mouth so the bird gets bits of food and the crocs get their teeth cleaned. And that their teeth regrow throughout their life. And the lore about crocodiles weeping for their victims! Hope all people give up their greed for crocodile meat and crocodile hide and conserve these reptilian wonders...

Fun in the winter sun...

There was a Bird show where magnificent flying creatures like lorikeets, kookaburras, kites, macaws, wedge-tailed eagles and pelicans were among the main cast, anchored by youngsters with a great sense of humour. It was commendable, their efforts to save many of these endangered species. 

Birds of many feathers flock here together

Time to watch the world's most dangerous bird, the Cassowary, from a safe platform. She was having her favorite food, fruits, rather fruit salad. Cassowaries are said to be very helpful in dispersal of seeds that they ejest. But resist the temptation to show your admiration of their shiny feathers, they can claw you, although only one case of human fatality is known so far. So it was a bit of a relief to know that this particular one was quite friendly with her caretaker and recognized her!

Hey I can kill....not just with my looks!!

 The one activity which kids would enjoy the most would be feeding the kangaroos. The emus too were strutting around. The kangaroo feed was a special food that looked like thick bits of noodles, sorry I don't know what they were made of...It was a delight to watch them leap on their hind legs, some of the mothers with babies in their pouches, stuff we had only read of before...

That must be the Alpha male feeding off Tweety;s hands

 It wasn't until the closure of the park that we reluctantly left the kangaroos to feed by themselves. It was Thursday, so the Malls and eating places were open till 9 pm! We made the most of it, making a beeline for K Mart, Target, and for some Pide, some chicken rice at the Food courts!

Gold Coast Day3 : Whale of a time

One of the best things of holidaying in Gold Coast in the Winters is the cool weather. The other thing is Whale watching. 

The Humpback whales make their annual journey from the colder waters this side of the world to the warmer Antarctica, for breeding purposes. These majestic creatures are known to be playful and their breaching and water-slapping are a treat to watch. 

                We boarded the Mahi Mahi along with a small group of people and cruised past houses of the rich and famous, along the river Nerang. It seemed all fine and smooth, and I wondered why the crew had warned us of choppy waters that day. Only when we hit the sea water did I realize what they meant. I am the only non-swimmer in the family. The rest of them ran to the viewing platform to watch the huge waves lapping against our boat. While I sat and prayed on the deck down, wondering why they never gave us the life-jacket beforehand, and what the point was, of having them on board, in case we never had time to wear them....and I asked a fellow whale-watcher, "Is it normal? The boat tossing thus?"

A wet-blanket watches as the last speck of land disappears from her sight

And nothing but the sea and sea marvels surround her

"I don't know...I wouldn't be here if it were not". I froze when he said "I dunno" but the second part gave me a bit of a relief. Still I watched in alarm from the lower deck as the boat rocked and rolled from one side to another, watched as the last speck of land disappeared and the ocean turned a darker shade of blue every passing minute.

         As all the other sporty sorts shrieked in delight at the first spotting of dolphins almost smiling at us, I felt an inkling of pleasure too. And then emerged the magical creatures, spraying mists of ocean water, now breaching, now clapping...

Here they come, with their tails towering high above the ocean waters

I'll huff and puff to bring your boat down? (Gulp!)

Then emerged one more, then a pair dancing in reckless abandon, ooh one more at direction 1 o' clock, look at this one at 3 o clock, and the Oohing and Aahing of the group, combined with "Hmm can we go back now?" by my fearful mind, what an experience of fear mingled with excitement! 

    The knowledgeable crew explained how the whale population had dwindled until Whaling was declared illegal in Australian waters in the 1960s. The poor whales were hunted for their blubber and meat without a care till then...

We had a bite of biscuits with hot tea in the cold evening, with wind blowing through our hair, a wondrous two hour trip lasted in our minds forever...What a relief when we finally sighted land...

Unforgettable Humpbacks! May your tribe increase!

Gold Coast Day2 - Target Sea World

Come share with me the oceans
Oceans of fantasy
Where you can lose your soul forever
Like in a melody
                          - BoneyM

The next day we were wiser, we managed to take the Public bus to Sea World. My kinda place. These are some of the sea creatures I learnt about:
About the Nautilus: Its shell is said to be a perfect spiral.

Sea World has many such impressive models

The Blue Whale : An endangered species, it is found in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. They are rarely stranded on beaches and only 21 skeletons have been recovered.

A rare skeleton of the Blue Whale

The Gulper Eel : A small but menacing creature, it has a huge mouth hanging open, to gulp any prey that swims by.
The Turtle: One of the most ancient creatures alive, fossil records show that they date back to 220 million years ago.
The Sunfish: It swims near the surface of the sea, hence is mistaken for a shark when its huge dorsal fin peeps out of the water.
The Whale Shark : Is the biggest fish known. These gentle giants feed on plankton food.

You can take a tour of what the place has to offer. You can see the Polar bears roaming lazily, penguins swimming languidly.

Happy feet are here again...

In the huge lagoon system you will find a variety of Fish, Rays and sharks swimming past you. The Dolphin show was awe inspiring.

High high up in the sky

The kids enjoyed the trail of the creatures of the Deep, marking up what they learnt, in the booklet provided on site. Then we hit the rides.

A useful tip : Always take your raincoats to Amusement Parks, you are bound to get wet in one ride or another.
Everyone but me enjoyed the Storm Coaster, a bit too steep for my liking. I enjoyed the water fight on the pirate boat themed Castaway Bay. The Jet Rescue ride was the speediest ride of our lives to date.

                                                                  The Storm Coaster

The evening became more picturesque at sunset, as we made our way back to the city, and headed to the Megastore Target. Bought shoes, clothes and clicked some that I felt were out of the ordinary!

This pair of boots can keep an Eskimo warm

Moo Moo Shoe

Gargantuan store

Gold Coast Day 1 - with the Movie World Stars

I'm not an actor I'm not a star

I don't even have my own car..

But I'm hoping so much you'll stay

That you will love me anyway...

                                             - Michael Learns To Rock

The city buses plying to Warner Brothers' Movie World, which is quite at the end of town, make their last trip before midday. This was a surprise to us, Gold Coast being a tourist city. We were about to make a return to The Meriton, disappointed, but to save the day, I insisted we pay A$ 50 to the cab and we finally made it. The cabby bantered along about how he dreamed of coming to Australia, and he now even owns a farm house though a bit far from the main city. He seemed so happy living his dream it looked like, while we gave him chunks of info about life in our Singapore. 

                   Okay, we finally were greeted by gigantic rides at the entrance, Arkham Asylum, Superman Ride which turns you upside down, so we enjoyed them from far, amused ourselves with riders' screaming thrilled. What we enjoyed was the Scooby Do ride, but not the long queue due to School holidays. The wait was not too bad though, because you can click photos around some scary characters, like fiery eyed ghouls, watch a Scooby Do movie and just look around the various statues meant to scare, like knights in metallic body-suits who open their mouths suddenly. Then there was the roller coaster for kids, but Tweety was disappointed because she could not ride the bigger rides. You can have fun at the 3D ride Justice League, watch fast cars at Hollywood Stunt Driver show. The 4D movie Rio was colourful but the only 4D effects I remember are the bursts of wind in your nape and the chairs shaking.

     Eating options too are not plenty, especially when you are vegetarian. We had the regular fare of burgers and fries. They made us vegetarian patty for the burger, really appreciate that. Then we had the parade of the movie characters. Tweety enjoyed meeting her namesake, the teen was enthralled by Batman. That was about it, because they start to shut down by 5 pm. Even the sun refused to work after 5....

 

Gold Coast Day 0

Circle in the sand round and round
Never ending love is what we found...
And you complete the heart of me
Our love is all we need...
                               -Belinda Carlisle

SG 50 shines in the Changi International Airport

New Zealand with its picturesque terrain was where we wanted to go first. For a while now, Tweety wanted to go to Australia, why? To buy a Boomerang. So we finally settled for the Fun Capital of the world, Gold Coast.
After looking at all the flights, we settled for Scoot, since it took us directly to the Coolangatta Airport. It was only later that we realized that we had the 'lacy frilly' flights operating direct to Brisbane, just 100 km from Gold Coast. Oh well, the only difficulty was the long queues at the Immigration counter. The officers' friendliness was touching.

We opted for a Ten-day Pass that allowed us to use the Shuttle to the Theme Parks and Public transport except the Tram. Alas, since we were to book the Shuttle a day in advance, we never got to use it, since we were never sure of what time we were actually gonna make it out of the House!

So the Shuttle dropped us to our pre-booked Apartments at Meriton, Broad Beach. At the pleasantly appointed Reception, we were welcomed and asked for our advanced payment. Happily, we offered the Credit card, and to our chagrin, payment was declined. A few more tries, and a cold sweat started forming, since we had just a few hundred dollars in hard cash. A left to get more cash at a near by ATM, and the kids patiently sat in the cold morning, asking what happened, not getting  a proper reply. About half an hour later, "hard luck", the card was blocked. In a new country, dealing with total strangers, my mind raced as to whom we would call for help. I wonder why the term 'Bank Transfer' never occurred to me. Then we fished out another card, broken right in the middle. Wonder of Wonders, the card worked. We went to our apartment. As if to make up for this morning mishap, we were upgraded to a 3 Bedroom apartment instead of the 2 BHK we booked, no extra cost.

Broad Beach - View from our spacious Balcony

The view from the Balcony was splendid. The rooms clean, the toilets shone. I wondered then, as to what the difference is, between a Hotel and an apartment, except for the lack of a restaurant, which were in plenty, just a few steps away from the apartment. When you stay for 11 days like we did, it pays to have a Kitchenette, a Dish washer, a Washing Machine and the like, and it felt so much more private than a Hotel! The kids were too happy not having to share their room with each other.

      We freshened up and left for breakfast at the nearby Mall. The restaurant was called Marigold. We had parathas, tea, sandwiches and omelettes, after which we shopped for some food stuff. The Public buses to Movie World had left for the day, which was a bit surprising, it being just midday.

    So we made our way to the Surfers Paradise, lively and bustling with surfers, tourists and shoppers. We bought a pair of shoes at Cotton On, watched the Sea Gulls on the beach (yeah gulls not girls).

Sea gull you fly...across the horizon..into the misty morning sun....(BAD COMPANY)

 It got dark as early as 5.30 pm, we passed by interesting places like Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not. But, believe it or not, the kids were not keen to go explore, so we called it a day after some more shopping at Lovisa.

Please wait, more family fun awaits on Day 1!

Hither Cometh The Bard of Avon

Life is a tale
Told by an idiot
Full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
                             - Shakespeare in Macbeth

These were probably the first lines of Shakespeare that I learnt from my beloved English teacher in high school. In primary school I had even tried reading an oil-red hard-bound book of the Bard, generously loaned to me by my childhood friend. Alas! Not a line understood because it was the original script, with medieval English, and after struggling with a page or two, I returned the book.
Door Darshan beamed Shakespeare's Plays every Saturday afternoons - I am sure nobody remembers! And any number of attempts would not get me past the speed and accent of the seemingly beautiful  dialogues of the talented actors in their medieval costumes, with all their grace and style.
And then here and there I did read abridged and adapted stories of the 'Taming of the Shrew', 'A Midsummer Night's Story', etc  but honestly the stories did not leave much impact on me, except my recent reading of 'Macbeth' which I felt was too dark and gory, and my teen had it as a high-school text!

Thus, it was with some reluctance that I agreed to go watch Shakespeare in the Park, 'The Tempest' to be exact. A hot day had turned into a breezy evening when we reached Mt Faber Park.

Balmy but breezy evening

The hubby's office guys, bless them,  had arranged a cozy corner for the lucky few who turned up, with picnic mats and a reference book. We packed our picnic basket with potato chips, salad and dip,  and dinner too. And settled down as the lights went up and the Creative Director welcomed us warmly, and off he went to let Prospero and Miranda take the stage by storm...

The Creative Director working hard to keep the arts alive

'The Tempest' is the last Play by Shakespeare, written just before his retirement. The only story he wrote out of his imagination, rather than based on a historical event or building up on a story told by someone else.

Prospero, the Duke of  Milano, whose throne was wrongfully usurped by his brother Antonio, takes the help of magic and the spirits to avenge the wrongdoing.
 The play begins on the deck of a ship at sea, amidst a raging tempest. On board the ship are the traitors Antonio and his cronies, the King of Naples and his brother, along with a butler, a Councillor  and others. But this is a storm created by the magical powers of  Prospero, who wishes to punish his traitors, but has actually protected them from any real harm, and hidden the ship under a charm.

The magnificently designed giant stage is set...for a magical evening

Amidst  this main plot is the spirit Ariel, who spins her magic as well as music, to help Prospero in his mission. Prospero has a beautiful daughter Miranda, who is in love with Ferdinand, son to the King of Naples. In a typical Indian movie style, Prospero asks Ferdinand to do odd jobs to test his love for Miranda. The love story finally does have a happy ending.

There is another treacherous plot by Sebastian, brother of the King Alonso, to murder Alonso and usurp the throne of Naples, but there is the spirit Ariel to stop the wrongdoers, with her spells and mesmerizing music. To add to the eeriness is Caliban, half man and half fish, vowing not to serve Prospero first, but finally realizes that he is his true master worthy of serving.
If you are now reeling in confusion, its time to read the Play.

A touch of humour and a lilting score of music accompanies the dialogues in every act. Even in such a historic setting, the producers of the Play managed to sneak in special effects wherever magic and spirits were involved.

The spirits and humans both take a bow

In the end when the traitors are brought together to face the grave consequences of their crime, Ariel, the seemingly blithe spirit seeks compassion for them, and Prospero actually forgives them! Prospero here is not just a King who has been wronged, but is a real Hero in my opinion, fits into the mould of a kind and brave King, a compassionate father who cares for his daughter and tests her lover, punishes his brother for treason but at the same time protects him from real harm! He even stops the nymphs and reapers in a dance sequence, saying that their dance movement had lost its innocence, asks his daughter and her lover to exercise restraint before they are wedded...ever the traditional gentleman...Or
Should we say A Raymonds Man?

Even after the curtains went down...the spirits were high

PS : When I ask them about their interest to watch a Play or a show, friends often say "Singapore is full of such events". Well in that case, friends, why not start somewhere!

SEA Games 2015 - Sports Experience for All!

Wow what a festival that was...the just concluded 28th South East Asian (SEA) Games! We live just a bridge across the Iconic Indoor Stadium. We have been following this gigantic monument ever since its inception, well almost. Because my husband's Company was involved in the engineering of this Super-dome. We remember fondly when the Stadium was thrown open to the public of Singapore, with people thronging to it dressed in Red. We took a tour around, we participated in the numerous sports and fitness events like Zumba, Kick-boxing, and other sports for kids too.

The National Stadium...Iconic

The festive atmosphere was evident around the Stadium, which was the main venue for the events. What with the mushrooming of kids' stalls for "Walking on water", Climbing walls, Trampolines , Laser Tag and such. It being the Holidays for local schools, the queues were long, but the kids patient. The evenings were resplendent with stage shows, and we even had our Desi Bhangra show once.

Go child! Scale great heights!!

In spite of the ticket sales being advertised months ago, we did not have the foresight to book tickets to our favourite sports, and a fortnight before the Games began, I desperately scanned the websites, looking for tickets for Swimming, Gymnastics....Anything...but they teasingly said 'Sold Out".

Nila the Mascot waiting for the next day's events

 We followed the opulent Opening Ceremony on the telly. We ran to the kids' bedroom to catch the fireworks on various nights, including the trials. We only sighed and discussed with friends how come they are so cool even with no tickets...

And then one fine evening, we did land up at the Stadium, where we watched the Hurdles, Heptathlon and cheered hoarse at the Relay Races! The last time I remember watching a tournament was during school days when my beloved mother played Table Tennis for CFTRI! Relived those memories with the kids...munched potato chips, took photographs, and came home.

May the flags of friendship fly high...

As the winners were announced, and their National anthems played, their tears ran down their cheeks and it was all I could do to control my tears too! The names of the winners? All are listed in the official website.I remember Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia vying for the medals that evening.

It ain't Diwali yet...the bridge near the Stadium is lit up 

And the real winner is...this ultra smart camera!!!

Of course, we had to catch the scintillating Closing ceremony on TV too.
And just when I thought maybe next time we will be prompt in buying tickets in advance, I saw that the next SEA Games are going to be hosted by Malaysia...