Wo(a)ndering thoughts!!!

A very good friend of mine kind enough to get me a Korean healthy snack called 'Yakgwa' , when I tasted it..it just reminded me of my moms Athirsam..Athirsam is a South Indian snack made of Rice and Brown sugar. When I looked in to the ingredients of Yakgwa it said the same thing. What a coincidence!!!! Then I start to think of all the Korean snacks I have tried which has similar texture ,taste and ingredients but their shape is different. This is the just small list of Korean-South Indian snacks to my knowledge which I tasted personally and found they are similar. Pictures I took from google images and PC are listed at the end.. 1. Steamed Rice cakes: In Tamil we call Kozhukatai and in Korean its called Songpyeon (half moon cake). Both are made of rice flour and stuffed with sesame seeds or nuts with brown sugar. Kozhukatai is a special dish which is specially made for Lord Ganesha on his birthday (Hindu elephant face god ) and Songpyeon is made specially fo...

Korean Ajummas they call the aged women here.. who are more active and fun loving than I'm- from my opinion. I just admire their healthy life style. I see them often at the park with other ladies just chit chatting after a good hike or spending their day with their girl friends at SPA or doing Aerobics at the community pool or taking care of their grand kids. They are Super- Women I would call.. First thing I noticed about these super women are they care about people like once I saw this lady told this10yr old boy(not her own) in train to put his feet down, not to stamp on seats. Other times at my pool, they come to me and give me ideas on how to breathe or kick and encourage me. I can feel a sense of CARE there, not once felt nosy. Lot of times they offer A some candies or cookies with love. I have seen lot of ajummas run small Korean restaurant or their own veggie shop on the street.. Its always healthy to keep yourself occupied isn't....

Art.. that word in any form- dance, music, sculptures, architecture, history, drawings interests me.. I have to admit I ain't  an artist(Cant draw a line artfully..)  But I'm happy to be an ART lover.. ART in any form or language can entertain me.. I really admire people with any artistic skill, I really wish I had atleast one.. My dad paints when he gets time(I had to really plead him to draw..) but when he takes his time to draw something it comes out so realistic.. I really wonder how none of us in the family got that skill passed on.. Well, artist skill is not inherited, had to be in-built.. When I visited Italy, it was like walking in Dream. Every step you take is a history and everything you see is ART. The buildings and their history no words to say, we planned to see Italy's main cities for 5 weeks. But I don't think I had enough time to breathe in the air. It was so magical and poetic , I always have a fascination for history. Maybe being born in rich cul...

This time my friend invited me to her Sister's holiday home at Tsushima Island. It was a last minute plan as she was planning to go with her mum but her mum cancelled on her. So I got an invitation  which was great( I must thank her mum for this opportunity).  For the best trip , you need good company with like minded people. I was lucky enough to get OSM company, both my friend and her sister took control on the whole trip from planning the day to trying out every possible good food in town.  My friend's Sister Y was so enthusiastic to show us everything in the island. Tsushima Island,Nagasaki: Its one of those Japanese Islands closer to Busan and only way to get here from Korea is by Ferry. There is airport in the Island but flights fly only from other Japanese cities like Fukuoka.  There are 2 ports to reach here , on the north Hitakatsu Port which is only 50 minutes from Busan and on the south Izuhara port which takes 2 hrs from Busan. Whole Island...

When I first moved in to Korea I struggled for everything because of language barrier. I didn't have a clue what to expect before moving here. I was looking for help from basic grocery shopping like Milk, Yogurt to  visiting hospitals. Thinking about it now, I thought I must write it to help anyone moving here in future.. Just the things I felt would help. Safe place: Before starting, want to say Korea is very safe no doubt. Its so safe once when I got down from taxi , I kept my sons backpack at the side of the road and start to get the stroller from boot. Finally I put my son on the stroller and completely forgot about the bag. I went to my friends place and realized I left the bag at the signal 30 min back and went down there .. Surprised to see bag was still there untouched. Yes I agree there is nothing worthy in that bag but still it remained there untouched is something I cant expect it anywhere else. Google Translator : This is a great app for smart phone...

I watched this amazing Bollywood movie PIKU yesterday..Its about a father/daughter bond.. its like any family ,they argue, fight and emotional sometimes.. Dad (played by Big B) in his 70's & he worries all-day about his poop.. Its just funny how he(sometimes daughter played by gorgeous Deepika) talks about it like its weather.. At times dad/daughter goes in to details without realizing how it puts the person next to them awkward. (PC:http://www.koimoi.com/photos/piku-movie-posters/) This reminds me of babies.. I remember when A was a new born, every thing was a worry..one of them is poop.. Its just that  we mothers doesn't feel awkward to talk about it. Sometimes it could be our main topic and we can discuss about it for hours. When we have baby, until they do things on their own(which is literally never according to parents dictionary) , we worry about all the things which we never-ever imagined we would think & worry ...

This is another write up on my memory lane-2011 Year of travel to my dream places- London, Touch of Europe & Asia.. I can officially name 2011 as my year of travel.. Last I did travel like this was in 2005 with friends.. I love travelling, preparing for travel, planning for travel.. anything to do with travel.. I guess everyone does- new culture, new place..  I don't like rush and see all the touristy place. Take all the time to spend as much time to explore & understand the place / culture. Most important thing I learnt from all the travel is to  use public transport as much as possible, I believe thats the only way u learn abt the place &  meet ppl.. here goes my 2011 nostalgic travel lane.. Feb: Germany G had official work in Stuttgart & I decided to tag along(as always..) .. That was a nice break for me & ofcourse G had to work hard everyday.. So I was forced to have fun  solo.. From Stuttgart we had to go to B...