Entertaining Diversions

25 May 2019 (Saturday) Today was a more relaxed day. The weather was great till 11 am. So we had breakfast till 11 (in the open balcony as Kunal would remind us) and put our feet up! Then when everybody finally got ready to leave for Vintgar Gorge it started raining with a forecast of thunderstorms. We got ponchos and braved it. While driving to the gorge, I missed the toll collection again (similar to Innsbruck last year where we had a letter in German placed on our car saying something like ‘pay the fine at the counter, or else…’). When will these get automated I said in mock frustration before the uncomplimentary chorus intensified. The walk along the narrow wooden platform at the gorge was refreshing. The gorge was simply…well – I didn’t need to think too hard on this one –  … gorgeous. And the light breeze and the steady sound of flowing water more than made up for the drizzle which greeted us. I went ahead to walk on my own and enjoy solitude in the midst of the crowd. It was jus

23 May 2019   Mishti peeked out of the window in the morning and pointed to a lake outside. I stood beside her and said to Sneha who was sleeping upstairs in the loft of our room: "There is a bleeding lake outside. Is it Bled?" It was the pretty sight of Lake Bled indeed. Sneha was sound asleep and couldn't care less for my bleeding joke. We swapped Day 2 of our itinerary with Day 1 because the weather was sunny and glorious today and is mixed tomorrow. There were some notes in our apartment about about the two hikes that were in store for us today:   The hike to Slemenova Spica is incredible. Starting from Slovenia's highest mountain pass - Vrsic - to Slemenova Spica is one of the classic short trails. With quite a small amount of effort, you can feel the presence of high walls and incredible views. The view just before you reach the top of this grassy peak is one of the most photographed shots in Slovenia. 2-3 hours. 35

23 May 2019 Ten of us started our Slovenia-Croatia holiday today. Kunal, Kanu, Gaurav, Anshuman, Ashwani, Sneha, Kabir, Shalini, Mishti and I. Kabir and Shalini had added themselves much later, and will be staying in a separate hotel and hiring their own car. Some of us took a cab to Stansted from Credit Suisse at 4 pm and we were on our way. Our Whatsapp group for this trip is called ‘Slovaaania’. This is because Ashwani was on a date and the girl asked him where he was going for his next holiday. Confused between Slovakia and Slovenia, he came up with Slovaaania. Best of both worlds…or not. He hasn’t heard back from her since. There was some leg-pulling going on on Whatsapp as the start of the holiday neared. [5/22, 23:17] Mishti: Those leaving from CW tomorrow, please reach the meeting point at 3.50pm so that we can leave at 4. We don’t have a lot of buffer time if we hit traffic on the way [5/22, 23:56] Amit K: True joy is in havin

8 April, 2018 (Sunday) I have made note of a few more observations and findings about Japan. ·    People here are very polite. They listen attentively but still stick to the script with their answers. For example, at our hotel in Kyoto, while entering the breakfast room, we were were trying to get a discount of 10% (as it said on the board) on top of a 10% discount voucher from reception. They patiently listened to me explain what we were after, and then simply took the voucher and ushered me into the room, courteously describing which one was for continental and which one for the Japanese breakfast. ·    Japan has self-defence forces but no military for offensive purposes after the second World War. ·    Every train or have taken in Japan has been bang on time. Even the hotel shuttle bus that refused to wait for Khushboo’s nature’s call. ·    I found out yesterday that some metros here have a women's only compartment, and also fast trains. Like Mumbai. And the ‘women only’ applies

          7 April, 2018 (Saturday)           We woke up early and got ready for the prayer session which was at 6.20 in the morning. It was a punctual start. It was some quiet time for reflection and meditation. I have not had much of that in this trip and was grateful. I could not concentrate my mind though, similar to when I was at the Onsen in Nagano, where also I could not focus. I seem to have more gentle thoughts when I am walking or when I am naturally resting rather than when forced into a quiet situation. After the prayer session, we gathered in the dining room for breakfast. The breakfast was not very filling and not as good as last night’s dinner. Plus, there was no one around to explain to us this time what each dish was. It felt like the service level had dropped down a notch.            After breakfast, Kanu, GK, Kunal and Khushboo decided to head back to Tokyo while the rest of us decided to do the Okunoin cemetery walk during daytime. This was a rewarding experience and