Was definitely not built in a day

Of all the many places we wanted to visit, this one was definitely in the top ten. WE just back from the Hungary holidays in August, so my wife was no in for another holiday this soon. But I decided to surprise her and book another trip.
Booked flights and hotel via Expedia. The hotel was very close to the Vatican city walls. just an eight-minute walk. This was a four-day visit and we departed from Dublin on a Friday morning at half four. Since we realised that security is super quick when we have a kid we took it easy.
It was a three-hour flight but we spent one hour just on the tarmac on Friday morning due to air traffic delays. Just from the window, I could count up to eleven planes lined up behind us.
Ciampino airport in Rome was 40 minutes away from the main city. We first had some coffee and carrot cake at the airport and two facts we experienced for the rest of the stay. Just latte means, just warm plain milk, second coffee served here is not as warm that you'd expect it to be.  But nothing is expensive by Dublin standards. the best of coffee cost only a euro fifty and the best of carrot cake was one euro eighty-five cents.

We got ourselves a  48-hour Roma pass that allows us to use all transport and entrance to anyone museum. We took the public bus plus a metro to Termini, which is a major central station for Bus and underground metro. I am surprised in all of the 4 days we were there, we never used the metro train except for the first day. Had a good goats cheese sandwich from moocha and carried on. Bus route number 64 from termini took straight to the hotel Gravina.
The hotel was top class and the reception agent was very helpful. Gave us all tips, helped us with information as the best places to visit. Provided maps and details. We rested for few hours. Rome was much warmer than where we came, so it was comfortable to walk around. The Vatican city wall was just a short stroll away. We headed there and fact number two hit us, the old part of the city which is most of it is all cobbled street is not buggy friendly. My mate had already made me aware of this earlier. As we entered the large square in front of the Vatican the scale of monuments here hits you. Hundreds of huge pillars all around and several tourists there bore the same expression that we had. Of awe.

It was dusk and the Sun was gently setting behind the massive dome. we Stood there absorbing the ambience of the setting. We walked down the long road towards the main street where there is a castle/ fort.  THere was a busker entertaining the crowds with massive soap bubbles which entertained my daughter for a good long while. AS the skies got darker we walked back to the hotel room and conveniently next to the hotel as a very good pizzeria. WE dined on some authentic bruschetta, pizzas and some good local brew of draft beer. Fact number three, pizzas anywhere in Rome is amazing. They are delicious, offers several tens of choices and very good value for money.
Saturday morning after our breakfast at the hotel, we first headed to Colosseum. Bus Route number 916 is what we used and, at the stop where we had to switch to the next bus, we decided to walk. The best thing we did. WIthin a minute of walking, we ended up in the "Altare della Patria" .  A national monument in honour of the first king Victor Emmanuel who unified Italy.

Very imposing structure of the massive scale. had several flights of stairs to get to the second level. From there we headed back down and the Colosseum was a fifteen-minute straight walk from there. But it took us more than an hour to complete that walk because on either side of the road was several archaeological excavations and sites. Just having a quick glance at these ancient ruins and look at the intricate mosaic of all of the marble flooring makes me wonder, this is so unreal that thousands of years ago there was such fine craftsmanship. It's a kind of flooring that I would love in my own house. Good design and good craftsmanship are truly timeless.
AT the gates of the Colosseum tourists flocked in thousands and by no way could we have queued up there for hours to get in. THanks to the Roma pass we had, there was no wait time at all. Straight in.
As we made it into the level zero and looked into the arena we realise that true grandeur of this monument. How as such a large structure built in the first place. Some of the pillars are smoothly carved up granite pillars 3 feet wide, 20 feet tall and brought all the way from across the oceans on wooden sips. How!
Even the barbaric acts what went on in this venue for the entertainment of the crowds is also something which is an inhumane/ insane act at a different level.  We made our way up the super inclined stairs to level one which offered a much wider viewing of the space. Cant help but think of the fact that these same stairs were used by the ancient Romans thousands of years ago.

After some cliche touristy pictures we made our way around the outer corridor where there were several exhibits and models on how the Colosseum would have been in its full grandeur back in those days. Soon after we exited and had a fantastic sit in Pizza. We walked back the same street we walked up observing the archaeological dig ups on the other side of the road.
Thanks to offline google map our next venue was the Pantheon. There was a long queue there as well but did not take that long to get in. The size of the dome is what takes your breath away, the on close observation the intricate and highly detailed stonework all over is equally impressive.  It's now a church, but was once a Roman temple . all were asked to quieten down, but this request had to be placed every five minutes. Such was the steady flow of visitors.

One the way back did some shopping for the little one and something to snack on. Back at the hotel to our dismay we found that all the day tours that we wanted to get on were all sold out. We were able to get two seats on the "Taste of Italy" day tour. THough unintended it was just as fun as we could have expected. Headed out of the city towards Cortona in Tuscany. Beautiful countryside villages which unlike normal villages which generally lie in the valleys. These little towns are on hilltops. For obvious reasons of good visibility to detect enemies. The steep cobbled stone roads were challenging enough for us, but wonder how the folks do this every day, day in and day out. The guide explained on how grapes are cultivated and harvested. The different types of grapes etc.. There was an open weekly market fair going on which made the experience even more genuine. On the windy roads down noticed several cyclists make their way up the mountain. what an amazing location and landscape to train. The next stop was Montepulciano, another hilltop town but here there were some very old wineries. The one we went to was four hundred years old. We met the master wine taster who is still doing his duty at the age of eighty-five. We were explained how to read the barrels and how wine is actually made, stored, bottled and even labelled. Tasted several samples of wines.

Some just two years old. Some more than five. I am no expert, but if I focus hard I could tell the difference. From smell to the aftertaste, how it felt as it went down the tube, everything had a subtle difference.

We shopped for some simple wooden toys there and we made our way back to the bus. it was lunch time and we stopped at a restaurant deep in the countryside. We were in for a treat for an authentic Italian four-course lunch with ample varieties of cheese and bread thrown in.
Fact four, dishes don't have to be complicated with many different types of spices to make is delicious. Simplicity is beautiful.
heading back to Rome was a tiring experience because the traffic was super heavy. Took more than one hour just to travel 20 kilometres. It was the Sunday evening and everyone was heading back in.
A memorable day tour since the green line tours picked us up and dropped us back at the hotel which was super convenient, especially when you have a two-year-old and a buggy to lug around. A bottle of wine, while we dined, was the perfect remedy for a good night's sleep after a long day.
The final day in Rome was slightly dramatic at the end .

We had a lazy morning , headed out of the hotel after packing all of our stuff . we checked out at ten AM. My wife and to shop for some gifts. Rosary and fridge magnets and all. We walked down the awards the Vatican and continued t walk by the north side of the river. Its quite note worth that the architecture of all the buildings all around stands out. We walked towards the large park at the north side of the city which must have been just a 4 KM walk. it was a short hike up the side of the hill where we spent some time in the serene park. a very large park. SO large that there were bikes to rent to go about. My little one had good time running around freely. it was a good view of the city from there  as we overlooked a square.
Headed back down and walked down the south side of the river. On the tourist map there was a  landmark for a basilica. We found the place and it was as impressive as it could be. Beyond expectations. Thats the nature of the buildings there. From exterior it looks so un assuringly simple . But once you set in get ready to be blown away.  it was on one of the high streets and there were plenty of high end stores. Never seen so many lingere  stores lined up . Finally my mrs found a good retail shop "Mango" where I did my duty of minding the kid and she shopped for herself and my sister.

We could see that this street connected straight to the national monument from there. The mental map of the city gets so much richer the more w spend our time on foot there. We must have walked a lot that day. I would say 15 km the least. We got back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and we headed to Termini. The flight was at eight PM and leaving at five should be safe enough; God were we wrong . The notorious traffic meant that we would recutting into close. The shuttle coach runs every 30 minutes or so and but the next coach we could get was at seven six So we had to take a taxi . We got to the airport by seven . went though the routine security and some last minute airport shopping for chocolates. Got on to the plane and the three of us went out like lights. End of a fantastic trip. Truly fantastic .
One thing was decided as we touched down at Dublin Airport, got togo back for more.. Pompeii, Scilly, Florence, Milan... there is so much more Italy has to offer.

Buda or Pest

Mrs started with new job and by the policy no personal leaves allowed during probation. Abiding by that we could not have family break. Until there was this one day where her manager walked up to her to ask  "why are you not taking any holidays?" .  Obliging to such generosity is being respectful . Her team mate was always on about the city he is from . Common lunch table topics was about his home city and how wondrous it is. We did not need much inspiration  to choose a city break.
Because identifying a holiday destination is a pain. Too many variables to be evaluated. Her team mate was kind of enough to give all the details of all things that may be visited, places to stay away from, best things for kids to do etc...
We booked the hotel and flights for the bank holiday weekend in August. Time to bring out the "Days to holiday count down app" . Something to look forward to. Only a week later while on my way to wedding with my buddy Dave did i know that he and his Fiance are great fans of the same place. So much so that they even got engaged there. Now that made me take a look at the app everyday twice as much. I was also made aware that currency there is Fornito and  things can get really cheaper there. Double win!!
It was an early morning flight and on a bank holiday weekend airport can get super busy. After receiving multiple alert emails from the airline i decided to be safe rather than sorry. We were there three hours well in advance. At five AM it was the busiest I have ever seen Dublin Airport terminal 1 at. But me and my little family were though the whole process in under 15 minutes. The power of having a  toddler with you at airport is supreme. Security checks done in priority and assisted. Super! But that did leave a lot of time for us at the airport to have a snooze.
A flight duration of three hours was not fantastic , thanks to the same annoying toddler.  It was her first holiday in Europe and this time she was registering the fact that she is ina . metal tube and its going up. Her look outside the window and back at my face twenty times during lift off was priceless.
At the airport after getting some currency exchanged i felt like a super rich dude for few minutes. Exchange rate was 1 euro is to 300 Forinto . Thousands of cash in my hand. Finding way from airport to hotel was not too complicated. Transport was super cheap. three day unlimited access to all forms of transport for hte both of us was just Euro 20. What caught us in true surprise was the heat. Man was it hot! 37 degrees. I might be from India , but my body has truly acclimatized to the Irish weather and anything above 20 is hot for me. 37 degrees is something that I haven't even experienced in India .
The hotel we checked in at was fabulous. Had an AC ! we rested for a little while and got out during dusk. The hotel  was at central location accessible to all trains, trams and busses.  The city was beautiful and busy. we wandered about the squares and decided to hop on to a tram on the Pest side of the city. This is all unplanned. The tram stopped at the parliament. and god was a it a beautiful building. One of the best I have seen in Europe. We spent the evening here since there was a pool which the little kiddo enjoyed wading in.  Way back Mrs tried a hand at shopping expecting things to be cheaper, but where . we stayed , it was a tourist hot spot. So everything was Euro converted to Forinto.
Dinner was at one of the restaurants . We sat outside and there was this constant fine mist of water sprayed to keep everyone cool . Best fresh Pizza, mushroom risotto and soup I have had. THe fact that i remember what I have had speaks for itself.
Following day we decided to head to the baths which Budapest was famous for. The bath is a thermal batha nd at that heat ice cold bath is waht is preferable. We were allowed in for a look around. My Mrs would never get into a swim suit so the option of trying out, ruled out. we headed to the zoo right opposite . Huge zoo and plenty to see. My daughter was truly entertained. All the animals that she sees on her favorite cartoon were all alive and kicking for real. The butterfly sanctuary and petting zoo was her favorite. we spent four hours there and was able to cover just the half of it. It was noon and even after gulping two liters of water  each, none of us had pee'ed . It was that hot.  Potable Water fountains were every where which was a huge relief. We headed to the hotel for a snooze and resume exploration later on.
By four we decided to . cross over the bridge closes to us and that we did. But what i did not mention to my Mrs was my intention of hiking up the hill at the other end of it. That too with a buggy. My little daughter was all in for it.  It was a good climb up to the citadel .  Must have taken us an hour. The entire trail was through wooded area so it was not too bad. When we reached the summit my wife stared giving out and was delighted we did get up here. The views were spectacular.  Totally flexed the zoom on my lens. Bought the most expensive lemonade at four euro each. Total rip off of the tourists. By the way we had been warned of this before we came over.
We headed back down  by six and hopped on to  the tram that traversed the Buda part of the city . we spotted a children's play area and we hopped off there.  She has a whale of a time playing there. It was funny to see most kids running around in just diapers and i dont blame them at all.
After while just when the sun decided to set we thought this was the best time to take the river cruise and boy was the best move made. We got on to the one and a half hour river cruise and to see the city with the orange backlit sky was splendid. THe highlight was the parliament all illuminated. Priceless . The buda castle also looked great but we knew we did not have enough time to check out the museum there. It was the most peaceful evening we have had. Soaking up the views and the reflection of the lights on the waters  was enthralling. The city had many bridges, not one of  them looked looked industrial. Each bridge looks like it stood for an era and was a piece of art.

That night the three of us slept like logs. Tired is an understatement.
Following day we had little time time so we took the tram to the Budapest city park.  We got off at the Hero's square which is ten times as much as trafalgar's square. WE wandered into the park. There was a rehearsal going on for some music fest. By noon we headed back to the hotel to checkout. Took the train to the airport. There was a huge mall where we had to transfer to a bus from the last train station. We had our lunch there and my Mrs engaged in her favorite pass time while i minded the trouble maker.
Security check was super quick again but the weather wasn't cooperative. we were grounded in the aircraft for one hour because of a thunderstorm that we could all see from the oval windows in the distance.
Finally back to dublin to the super comfy sub twenties and felt great to head back to the urinals.

Marathon 2016

My fifth ever marathon run coincided this time with the one hundred year celebration in Ireland. Last year was a disappointment and my blog back then reflected that. the Illusory red balloons. This year was nothing different. End of story. Well, though I was not completely satisfied, I should not complain either. I did slightly better than last year. Just improved by another four minute. The same kind of gain as before. There is something different to the experience as compared to the last one.
To begin with, this year my outdoor activity has been split. I have done as much as cycling as I have been running . Clocking a  total distance of 490 km running, while I put in 1960 km in cycling. in the past one year alone. It's quite shocking to see these stats by the end of the year. Kind of blows my mind away , that in total I spent over seventy thousand calories in just running and cycling.

The training for my running this year was split into two, The first quarter I was focussed on getting a 10K run in 45 minutes. I managed to get that done in 45 minutes. Which were 5 minutes better than the previous year. The rest of the year was mostly cycling and majority of the running, well over one hundred kilometers  in the last month of October alone.

This was my Achilles heel in training which I only realized later . The week previous to the big run managed to get 27 km run done in two hours eighteen minutes with a  respectable Avg heart rate of 171 bpm. That gave me the confidence that I could pull this off easily. (proved wrong later) .
the bank holiday Sunday was finally upon me. Collected my race pack from RDS next door. I got a sense that this was huge this time. well over 19,500 participants this time. My chip number 10800.

Sunday the 30th was the best anyone could expect weather wise. It was a nice thirteen degree with gentle breeze under 6 kph. To my own surprise, I was not wearing a thermal wear. I had not worn it throughout 2016! The turnout was massive. seeing close to twenty thousand people on the street is amazing and quite a rare sight. I was inspired by few of the participants I noticed at the green wave. A soldier from the Irish army in full gear. A firefighter in full gear . There was the now common, superman, and batman. The green wave has the flag off at ten past nine. I started off with a slow run, 6minutes for the first kilometer. it was kind of congested to pick up any pace. But I was determined not to up the pace and keep it slow and steady. The focus was to get my energy level up till the finish line. was aiming for a pace of just under five minutes thirty which would keep my heart rate at a comfortable 170 bpm.
The kilometers kept ticking ant I was holding a steady pace till the 32nd kilometer. I was already in celebratory mode. I had just another ten kilometers to go. The three hour fifty pace keepers were right beside me. All I had to do is dig deep and keep the pace steady.  Few tips that kept me ticking was nibbling away at the free jelly beans handed by the good Dublin folks. I had a banana handed out by a kid, which I am very grateful for. Also kept sipping water to keep hydrated. All is going good, right; WRONG!
After that I cannot explain what happened, I could not keep the pace, I was fighting with myself to keep running the whole distance. I decided to walk 100 meters for every 900 meters of running. That's the only way I could see myself getting to the finish line . This one stat of my pace  alone is self-explanatory .

It has to be mental because I did not have any cramps , nor did my muscles tighten up. Mysteriously I had lost all the energy and my body was not able to deliver them. I had three gels and that was not doing it for me. The red balloon went past me again this time, to my total dismay when I was just three kilometers from the finish line.
My daughter and wife were by Merrion road, outside my home to cheer me up. That gave me some joy. I had to keep chugging along at least for them. I had seen many collapses along the route, but what broke my heart is when a chap fainted just 100 meters from the finish line. The medics rushing to him was the last thing I remember. I had to take ten steps walking at that point thankful that I am still able to walk. The final 50 meters mustered all that I could in me and crossed the finish line. I thanked the lords. I spent well over 40 minutes just sitting by the curbside on Merrion square park. tried to get some food in me. gently limped back to my bike, made my way to home to sleep for two hours straight.
What a day!! Dublin Marathon Vs me is still 1-0. But I am not giving up just yet; am I .

The First

For everything, there is a first. The first job, the first car, the first home, first child
There is one more first that very few of us remember but it truly is the most significant. The first birthday. There are two ways to go about it. The kid is not going to remember the first birthday celebration anyway so why to bother. It quickly dawned on us it is not for the child but for yourself. A child getting through the first yea

r of life is a significant achievement in biological terms.
We were far from family and relatives so the celebration had to be just between us and friends.
In Dublin or outside was the next question. But the answer to that was easy since my wife and I always wanted to visit an island resort since the last couple fo years. Leverage this opportunity to hit two birds, one stone.
Fota Island Resort in Cork is a place many of our friends have been and had only good things to say about it.It was one of the top destination places to be at in Ireland as well. We booked a self-catering lodge at the resort for three night four days right away.
The countdown to the day had begun, train tickets booked lodge booked for the weekend of April the twenty-fourth 2016. With the remaining few weekends were spent in shopping for dresses and shoes for the birthday girl and ourselves.
The lodge was a three bedroom accommodation and we were thinking we might feel lonely just the three of us there. We decided to invite a friend of mine and his good wife to join us for the celebration. A very simple celebration that is.
Packed our bags and took off on Friday morning at the morning train to Kent train station, Cork.
The journey was extremely comfortable. At cork, we went to the nearest M&S and shopped for some food, snacks, cakes and sweets enough to keep us happy over the weekend.

A short taxi to the Island was all it took for us to be wowed by this amazing island. I still can't figure out how this is an island since we did not cross any bridges. I am not complaining. as we entered the gates where were plenty of wooded areas and pristine green golf courses spread all over. We drove up to the main hotel and picked up the keys to the lodge. There were two such blocks of lodges space by half a kilometer.  We were put up in a corner lodge with the children's play area right behind it.
The lodge was a duplex in mint condition. Everything we could think of was available and the bedrooms looked so cozy. We unpacked quickly had some quick lunch and stepped out for a walk.
We were given maps of the four different routes within the resort. we decided to explore the short one. It lead us to a beautiful meandering path within the woods. Everything looked so lush and green. The sound of water, the breeze flowing through the leaves of very tall trees, the birds chirping and squirrels scampering across the foliage felt like we had reached a magical place.  Almost forgot that we still are in the middle of civilization. Just beyond the woods, we could see the golf course.
The routes were a bit confusing but we were not completely lost. We care around to the back of the Main hotel. There was beautiful gazebo placed down the hill. A small bridge to get to it. To our complete surprise as we walked up the bridge water fountains sprouted all over. There even was an orchestrated water jet going over and above us while on the bridge. Impressive display.  Spend few minutes there while we let Gayathri try out her walking skills. She had just barely learned to walk a couple of weeks ago and was honing in on her skills.
Back at the lodge , watched some telly and cooked food. Our friends from Dublin arrived the next day morning (Saturday). It was great having them over and share our joy. Gayathri got her birthday gift which she loves.

 We all decided to walk around the island to the Fota wildlife sanctuary on the other end. On the map, there was a yellow route that was supposed to take us there. We tried to follow the route to the best of our abilities but we ended up getting lost. SO big was the island that we had to ask someone to get back. Exploration was fun and the cloudy weather did not help us with GPS being useless.
We somehow followed the edge of the golf course and got back to the main hotel. To our surprise , the staff forgot to mention that the yellow path no longer exists though it's clearly marked on the map. We were offered a free shuttle to the sanctuary which was nice. So we decided to head over on Sunday. Back at the lodge, we spent time chatting away, cooking dinner together and having a good time.
Sunday morning , I started decorating the living room with the little supplies we had brought over. The cake and the sweets laid out, the little princess dressed in her fancy new dress and it was time. George and Teena joined us in singing Gayathri's first birthday song. She looked clueless and amused that all of them were singing the same song. We enjoyed the cake and sweets.


It was time for the free shuttle and we got to the Fota wildlife sanctuary. it was a massive place now compared to what it was seven years ago. That is when I visited last. There was a new jungle section with Tigers. The spider monkeys were the most entertaining. The dexterity of these creatures and how flawlessly the navigate through the tree tops jumping and swinging away from one branch to the next. They even use their tails as hooks to hang upside down to grab on to the next tree. All of this at a striking pace that totally took me by surprise. The other top entertainment of the park were the peacocks. These birds had to show off and it was absolutely worth it. the pictures speak better than I can describe.
We had five hours for the return shuttle to arrive  and we could not reach few of the exhibits. It was time well spent. Back at the lodge, we had some time to walk around in the garden and let the little one play in the play area. George and Teena had the return train that evening . We stayed over that night had a photo shoot of our own. finished up the food that we had brought for the weekend.
 Monday morning we had the first train out of Cork back to Dublin . A weekend to remember for few of the "firsts". The first visit to Fota resort and the First birthday celebrated there. The history book of Gayathri now will always have Fota, Cork as the place where she celebrated her First year of arriving into our life, arriving into this world.

Welcome to VR

Generally I do not write blogs about gadgets or stuffs I have bought. I do make an un-boxing video. Even if that was the rage five years ago, I am still fascinated by un-boxing video.
With this new gadget I bought, I sure did make an un-boxing video but what amazed me so much with it was, the possibilities. This is truly one of the most affordable , mass market gadget that's going to push the technology to the next level. Its Virtual Reality. It has its ups and down. The Downs' coming up first..
In this day and age we see almost every one scratching away at a mobile device in their hands like as if there is no tomorrow. If not a rare moment occurring in front of them is being viewed on a small screen rather that soaking it all up in fullness on the spot.  No one wants to speak to the person sitting next to them in a train or a bus, they are more than happy to stay in their own world staring at a five inch screen. Thankfully there are few sane pubs that offer no Wi-fi and encourage people to socialise in reality, but not on Facebook. I still don't understand, what it means "accepting Friend Request" on face book. In real life, has anyone ever come over and asked, "Will you please accept my request to be friends with you?" Obviously not, then why does it seem so normal doing it electronically. Are we really "Friends" : "Friends" in the virtual world, or is everyone being too nosy about others lives, because theirs own is too boring to be lived. People are zoning out of reality and me having a eleven month old daughter am concerned about the world my little girl is growing up into. This little gadget that I have bought it taking this zoning out to the next level. Seriously to the next level. A good pair of headsets and this VR headset is all you need to take two out of the five essential senses away from this world. Sight and hearing. The person sitting right next might be having a stroke and the one wearing the VR is living or is enthralled in another world.
Now that the downs have been served up in Dollops, On the plus side. This VR world can take you places where ever you want to, or at least limited to all the media that is available to you . You want to be in the middle of the thick Amzonian jungle, and hear the sounds, yes you can do that with few clicks. Inside the space station, touring all the modules ( my all time, personal favourite) Yes you can!
The possibilities are awesome. My wife normally gives out about me letting the boy in me getting the better of me and I indulge myself in such gadgets. But this one, she has nothing to say one she tried on the set. It was just WOW! after WOW! . I did take the device to work to give a demo. A mate of mine who generally despises me at the tech stuff I buy was instantly sold within few seconds of trying it on. Other younger friends of mine were more than surprised. All of them walk away after trying this headset with just one thought. "Unbelievable".
 The response time of the image that one sees every time one moves the head is very quick. You look one way and the cross hairs that lets one select is right there. Movies can be played in true cinema style. A large screen in front and empty seats all around. The exit signs and the stairs leading to it all clearly visible. If you were in a couch , I sure do not find a reason why not believe that you in an empty cinema hall. A great pair of head sets sure does add to the complete experience.
This new platform has a great future of being an educational tool. Google has already capitalised on that potential at classroom level with its Google cardboard. Students can virtual be at places to look at the wonders of the world, bottom of the ice caves or be right next to a great white shark. Visual aids that are memorable and powerful  which no blackboard or projectors can replicate.
I am not that much into gaming, but I tried a couple and immersive it sure is. You get to sit right next to the characters while looking up at a gunship that has just been shot down. Gamers paradise!
Samsung has also got an app in there to just browse the internet, so YouTube galore. Every video clip can not be in cinematic mode. The true advantage of this application is that one can lie down and reorient the screen to be where ever you want it to be. So I generally have it on the ceiling while I lay down and watch with supreme comfort . I cannot think of any other place where the such a large screen is at that position for all that visual experience.
Occulus who pioneered the VR concept, has a tie up with Samsung and hence such top quality technology is made available on every Samsung S6 and beyond phones. The Occulus app store allows you to shop for movies and games. This does mean a natural product line extension to
apps that are sold in millions. 360 degree videos, photographs, movies, games is going to become main stream in a couple of years. Go Pro the market leader in action cameras have a 360 degree camera lined up for release this year which means the action footage is going to be complete. This will change the whole market for VR. Nokia, Samsung, HTC and many others have go such 360 degrees camera's lined up. Now it has just become a matter of time, when VR will be a part of normal day to day life, just like how scratching on a screen all day long to stay engaged, or a "Friend Request" on a website is normal. The truth is , it horrifies me and amazes me wondering about the future at the same time.
Mixed feelings really

Here is a video clip of the up-boxing of VR headset.

"Grand Fun Do" - Cycling at Granfundo Westport

The past year, I have taken up a new sport along with my running. Cycling, has struck a chord with me. After my Dublin to Sligo charity cycle on a borrowed bike, I bought a good pair of wheels for myself at a dear price. In the past year and a four months I have put in more than one thousand four hundred kilometres on it and counting.

Few other mates joined me for the early morning spins. Really early morning, half four. We regularly did fifty kilometres every week. I would additionally do another fifty on weekends by myself. This kept going on for few months, until the day one of them suggested we take part in a sportive event. All of us agreed and quickly signed up. That also meant, training up. It was 122 km route along the scenic routes on Connemara, Co Mayo, West coast of Ireland. The excitement was building up, so much so that I bought a go pro camera to capture the event. I had a few practice spins with the camera beforehand. Editing the footage with metadata overlay and colour correcting was all new skills I had to learn.

Alan and I had a few serious spins to get to the 100 km mark, just so to check if we really had it in us. I noticed that I was depleted by the seventy kilometre mark and I needed food to top up. Bought some extra gear like overshoes and full length trousers just to be prepared for the worst of the weather.

It was March the 11th and the logistics were all sorted. We rented one car to throw in two bicycles and booked a B&B at Westport. Alan drove his car with two bicycles in it. So the four of us set off on a busy Friday evening. It took us over four hours to get there. The first port of call was the Castle court hotel where we had to register and pick up our race packs. First aid kit and reflective blanket was mandatory along with the usual extra bits and bob one needs for a sportive like this.

We checked in at the B&B, we had requested for an early breakfast since the race starts at eight. Three of us went to grab a bite and a pint. Now that the energy levels are all topped up a good night’s sleep is all that was required.

Race Day:

Water bottles topped up, and the tyres pumped to 110 psi, cycling gear on, Jersey pockets filled with energy gels and finally the race number pinned to the back of the Jersey we were all set. Had porridge and cereal for breakfast and off we went to the briefing area at castle court. Seven hundred cyclists out of which 277 for the the longer route.

The entrants for the longer route had an early start at eight AM. The event manager was clear and concise about the course. The weather was mild at thirteen degrees and less than 25 kmph winds. Just what we wanted. We started with a rolling start off from Castle court. Few camera poses and three kilometres down the line was the official start line.

Everyone were trying to find the pace they are comfortable in.

Alan and I stuck together for most of the route. Our pace matched and we kept it steady. Meanwhile we kept jumping groups until we found a bunch of cyclists who matched our pace. Never have I taken part in a sportive such as these and I was not sure how things would fall in pace. I was well aware that cycling in a group is the most efficient way of cycling. A cyclists third behind the lead cyclists spends thirty percent lesser energy to propel forward. On the course it felt natural that such groups kept forming. Cyclists who could not keep up, dropped behind, but those who could maintain stayed in such tight groups, often just six inches behind the wheel of another. I sure does sound we are drafting on some ones hard work as the lead. For over ninety kilometres Alan and I was part of such a group. Couple of times, I did shoot to the front and took the lead for over ten kilometres, just to show that I am contributing to the group as well. It turned out not to be a good idea, since I drained lot quicker and soon I was looking for energy.  Alan kept telling me, "don't go to the front of the group Badri, stay behind" . 

There is some level of grossness to cycling in such groups. Every often one needs to spit or clear the nose, no one had time to stop, so it all has to be on the go. Some just spit on their own jerseys some try their best to avoid the ones behind. But nothing much can be done. Second, is on a wet section, the tyre wash is in your face. The dirt and grime from the tarmac is on your face into your mouth if open. Yuck!! In Spite of all this, there is no time to even think about it. Just keep pedalling ahead, keep up the pace. 

The event was well organized. We had clear markings along the route to watch out for deviations. At corners where caution had to be exercised, race marshals were present with red flags, with clear verbal warnings as what laid ahead.  There were markings on the road as to the road condition and bends that came up. There was a camera crew in an Audi, and couple of motor cycles zipping by two and fro to keeping a good vigil on the cyclists. 

Close to the ninety kilometre mark where I had already passed two food station, i was craving for food. My water was low, so that is the point where Alan went by with the group. I topped up the bottle and had a banana costing me seven minutes. From that point onwards I was by myself most of the way. I did meet a fellow veteran racer on a steel bike. He must be sixty plus and he was keeping up the pace on his heavy bike. That is when you find new respect for the sport and the commitment of the participants. The route was simply too scenic to be missed. I did take some time to not worry about pace, but lift my head up and absorb the beautiful hills of the west coast. The road alongside the Kellymoore abbey was smooth as chess board. The lake on the left, the Abbey by the right with the backdrop of the gorgeous hills with the smooth tarmac ahead was bliss. It was a great feeling, to be putting out the watts with other fellow cyclists at that moment. 

My wife and I had been to these places on the same route before on a day trip. But at that point, I was not in a position to refresh all those memories.  We cycled around the lake where we once went on a two hour cruise. And we were on the return leg that is when the last challenge was waiting for us. It was a steep climb for three kilometres. That was the point when I was at the largest cog on the gears and willing to be as slow as I can to keep the balance. It was tough and standing up to cycle did no good. My heart rate only climbed as the elevation did. I could go as low as seven kmph which is slower than even my running speed. All I had was to get to the top of the hill. Really SLOW and steady was the mode. 

Once past the hill, the best part of the hill, the downhill; that's what I thought. I was wrong, the other side had really bad patches of roads with some acute corners. The Marshals had warned us to be extremely cautious. I could not get gravity to take at me at full speed there. Every Time I braked, tears almost rolled off my eyes (exaggerating). All that momentum lost.

At the hundred kilometre mark was the final food stop. Here there were tents set up and hot beverages served. I had to fight the temptation and make a flying pass at the stop just stopping for a mere thirty seconds to grab few Jaffa cakes from the volunteer. 

Energy levels were low and I had run out of the last gel at the climb of that nasty hill kilometres behind me. There was no groups now to draft behind to conserve energy. All I had, I had to give. The weather at this point was bright and roads kept getting better. We hit the wide N roads and I could hardly see anyone neither in front of me nor behind. The road looked familiar as this was the one we took on the way out. I just put my head down and kept at it. Then a sign which more than boosted by spirit showed up. "10 kilometres to the finish line". My Garmin concurred, the end was near.

Finally one cyclist caught up and I drafted him for a few kilometres and then he did the same with me. The volunteers as I approached showed up more often with red flags, cheering us along shouting out how close the finish line is. Music to my years. The final left corner and there it was. I was so overjoyed, that I let go of the handle bars and did that the pro's do at the finish line. Felt really good. A pretty girl was handing out the medal and I remember telling her “You have no idea how much this one means to me”.

Clasping the medal, i rode on the last few feet, hung up the bike on the stand and got on both my feet. It left like my legs were made of Jelly, wobbling around I looked for Alan's bike. He was at the message tent. He got in 15 minutes ahead of me. Grabbed at least five croissant and a cup of soup and some bananas. Fed myself and waited for Mihir to come in. 

After half hour of feeding myself, I headed back to the B&B. Took a shower and then I was on the bed and I was out within seconds. I slept for an hour and woke up to feel my legs fully functional again. 

The lads came later on. That evening we all headed out to celebrate the race. Had a few pints and good Indian food at "the Everest" restaurant. The food was amazing and all we had to talk about was the race. Analyse and dissect every moment each one had on the race. What worked for them, what did not? As we had our dinner, we checked for the results on the phone. I was the 74th  position out of the 270 odd cyclists which I think is respectable. I was able to complete the route in four hours forty six minutes. Alan was 49^th, Mihir 111^th and Lee 264^th .

Lee did have a tough time, but that was purely due to lack of training. But I have so much respect for the man for not giving up. He kept it going and made sure he was on the saddle at the finish line.

We rested up well that evening, and the Sunday morning, it was time to pack the bags, check out and hit the road. As we started driving towards Dublin we noticed many cyclists as part of a club cycling together. I had so much of respect for them and I respect myself more than I had known for partaking in such an awesome event. Thoughts about the next event popped up then,  and by the time I am writing this, I have already signed up for the next sportive and training has been planned. 

Here is my short video diary

The race route

Kerala sure is God's own country

I am a Bangalore boy, my parents are from Kerala. That means I inherit the best of both. An urban culture and the traditions from one of the most beautiful states in India. I have to admit that until now I have heard of many mates of mine who have been to the best places in Kerala more than I have. Many of them from Ireland , tell me about how good an experience they have had in Kerala. A place which is my native. I had to hang my head down in shame. A visit to the best places in Kerala appeared on my things to do list.

My best mate from Ireland and his newly wed wife had plans for Honeymoon, so I tossed the idea why not they visit the places they want to and come to Kerala. There my family and I can play the hosts and be the tourists ourselves.  The plans was put into play, my visit to India was rejigged to accommodate this plans. The train tickets were booked from Kasargod to Cochin and the return flights from Kochi to Bangalore was booked two months advance.

End of December, Flew to India to meet my seven month old daughter. Super excited! The weather in Kerala was at its best. A very enjoyable twenty to twenty eight degrees. No rains and just the right amount of Sun. two weeks visiting relatives flew by and the time came for the Kerala trip. 

We took the train to Cochin, which is the financial hub of Kerala. The train journey itself was very exciting because we were on the waiting list of the seat we reserved and we finally did not get it.  

We had to board the general compartment which was jam packed, found ourselves some seats and stuck to it till we reached our destination six hours later.  The views of Kerala from the windows did keep me enthralled. We got to the hotel which was just fifteen minutes taxi from the train station. We all rested and my little one took a good nap. Later in the evening, my parents, my wife, my daughter and myself headed out to check out what the city is like. There was lot of construction work going on and soon we were disinterested in exploring more. Did some generally shopping and headed back to Hotel. i was eagerly awaiting for my friend and his wife from Ireland to arrive. I sure was very glad to meet them at the hotel. Made plans for the next day sorted out the taxi for the next four days and we were all set. 

We were heading to Allepey the next day. It’s the Venice of the east. The back waters which has been the rice bowl of the rice and off late the tourist hot spot. We had rented out a house boat for twenty four hours. We were extremely lucky to have found a taxi driver who knew the whole place like the back of his hand. No asking directions, No checking out the map, No Sat nav. The pick-up point for the House boat was some kind of garage to fix boats. Did not make a good first impression, but once we stepped in through three other boats to get to the boat that was assigned to us, it was a big relief. The boat was spick and span, very comfortable three bedrooms with ensuite. There was a dining area. The deck of the boat is where we all spent most of the time absorbing the gorgeous views of the unforgettable scenery that went by. For less than €500, we had a house boat with air conditioned bedroom for each couple, inclusive of all food and the priceless location. An absolute bargain!

The boat cruised ever so gentle that we settled in and relaxed. The food served was extremely delicious. It felt like a well-cooked homemade meal. We had three crew members. Once to navigate the boat, a chef and a house (boat) keeper. We had a stopover at a local fisher man who had some super fresh catch from the backwaters. Most of them were still alive. We hopped over to the thin shoreline and bought some large prawns for less than a tenner. The chef made some fine curry out of it that everyone enjoyed. I was the only vegetarian on board who was enjoying the vegetarian dishes. 

Looking at how the locals went about their daily routine, like going to school, doing business or getting to work and back was fascinating. Children took to water like how the ducks would be at home in water. Women washing up laundry and at the other shore line women divers were diving to the bottom to pick up molluscs. It looked like every house had their own boat. It’s like how we city clickers having a car at home. We gently eased into the night. Mosquito would have been a serious menace but the crew did such a good work or putting up mosquito net all over the boat that we never had any bites. The dusk presented me with some good opportunities to capture the sunset over this beautiful landscape. Paddy fields and stream all over this place with little and large boats going about left and right. 

The following day we woke up to enjoy a great breakfast, both continental and Indian cuisine. What engaged me and my friend was the skill of a tiny little master of this watery world. The kingfisher! There were many hundreds of them, but well-spaced out on the wires and the branches. All they did was look straight down, more than forty feet down into the water below. With the patience of a saint. Suddenly, it would within the blink of an eye drop like a stone with wings closing just before entering water and out it flew with a catch! We were utterly impressed with what this little birdy was doing. Its perseverance, its eye sight, its reflex, its accuracy simply astounding. 

Our Taxi driver was there to greet us at the drop off point, we showed our appreciation to the crew and left the boat contented.  

The next stop was the Preiyar nature reserve, in the district of Idduki. The district that has one of the densest tropical forest of south India. The Preiyar reserve has several tigers and other wild creatures.

We were staying at Cardomom County. It was definitely a very upmarket place but the hospitality and the ambience was worth the price. Top notch! For the evening, the plan was to witness the traditional dance and martial arts of Kerala. All happening within a ten minute walk from the resort. "kathakali" A traditional art form means katha-Story, kali- Dance.

Essentially, its means dancing the story. it was for two hours and the first hours was with introductions to the various gestures, postures and expressions that is involved. The proof of this was in the pudding, the artist pulled up a seven year old from the crowd and just with these expressions and gestures was able to convey, complicated messages to this kid. Not for a brief few minutes, but for a fair bit of half hour. It just went to show how communicative this dance was. The full on Dance was performed which did leave me impressed , but at times lost as well since I could not understand all the gestures. 

The next show at the nearby venue was the martial art, "kallari-paiyattu" . Eight very skilled young men showed off their skills with swords, shields, spears, knives and sticks. Even if each move was planned, the speed at which it was executed was astounding. Even for our eyes it was hard to trace the speed at which this sword or stick moved through the air, forget dodging them. I would say, a slight mistake or lack of attention would cost dearly. There were several occasions where we jumped out of our seats. The crowd was definitely wooed by their performance. I was scared a couple of times because, if the stick of sword slipped out their hands, definitely it would have been a disaster. Given what the guys had to show for, with their experience, they would not have gotten it wrong. 

We retired for the night and the following day itinerary was to explore the nature reserve and some local attractions. The gates of the reserve shut down at five and opened the following day at seven. We were one amongst several others cars queueing up to enter. Looked like we were unfortunate on the particular day, since the tourists were out in several hundreds and we could not get a ticket for the boat ride or the safari. Since that flopped, we had plan B, that is to visit the tea estate. The whole district has several thousand acres of tea estates. The geography was particularly suited for tea. We asked out Taxi driver to take us to one such plantations and I could not have guessed ever, where we would end up. It’s called "Connemara" tea estate.

Yes!! Exactly the same spelling. Amused as we were, the started and it sure did have a Paddy connection. My Friend and I were looking at each other amused. Apparently in the early nineteen hundreds an Irish Engineer came over and set up this factory. It reminded him of Connemara. We, soon were enlightened with all Tea facts. First that tea is not a short shrub. It's a tree which is constantly trimmed to keep its tea leaves accessible. It’s still a very manual process where the leaves are hand-picked. Generally it’s the women folk who do this and the men get to most physical work of moving the leaves to the pickup trucks. I spoke to a couple of the women workers and they were seemed to be happy with their work. What they earn for eight days of work picking tea leaves is close to what one would pay for a cup of tea at Starbucks. It does not seem to be fair at all. The tea tree actually does flower. Green tea and the normal tea is from the same tea leaves. There are only three species of tea and all the different flavours we get at the shelves are a mix of these same tea leaves with something else. We got to see the inside of the factory and the various stages of processing. Quite fascinating, to get to see what the humble tea leaves go through to make it to my cup of tea twice a day. When asked the question, "does the tea from Connemara tea estate get to see the land where Connemara is?” He replied, "might be, packaged as Barry's tea”. That's global commerce for you. We left the place after sampling the tea.

I was not impressed and from the look on other faces. I can say they were not either. 

Spent the evening, shopping for some clothes and local sweets. Took it nice and easy at the resort. My friend and his wife enjoyed the good herbal massage offered at the resort. For the entertainment of the guests there was a dance performance arranged by the management. It was called "Barathanatyam" An ancient Indian dance form. It was performed by a male and a female artist. Quite impressive. The dance ended with the female artist performing dance while standing on the edges of a plate with a jar full of water placed on the head. Not once did she spill a drop of slip of the edge of the plate. Truly skilled. The guests were very impressed.

The following morning, it was time to head back home. It was a long five hour drive to the Airport and we had to start really early. As early as half five. My Parents and we three had to fly to Bengaluru, My friend and his wife had to fly to Ahmedabad, in Gujarat. We were really very grateful to Sumesh our taxi driver, who did a splendid job in getting us to places, in time and even making arrangements for us at different venues. We boarded our respective planes while the beautiful memories of this sweet little trip kept replaying in my head over and over again.