Discovering Candid Cafe

London is a coffee lovers paradise. Every other shop is a cafe or a patisserie, every street has a Starbucks (or two) And almost all of them are quite packed in the evenings. I guess the weather has everything to do with it. Sitting warm and snug, by the window watching the world go by. It's nice. Except when you're desperately looking for a place to sit, and no one seems to be in a hurry to getup and leave.

Ram is always on the lookout for a quiet place to write. Starbucks is still his favourite (apparently no one can beat their venti-coffee- frappuccino), but it does get quite busy on weekends. And by no means quiet. So the other day he told me about a new discovery. A tiny place called Candid Cafe. As the name suggests, it's tucked away in an alley behind the Angel tube station. It's in an old building, without the flashy name boards. You have climb two floors through a narrow stairway. So no surprise, it's never too crowded.

It's super cosy, informal, they have all kinds of stuff thrown around, books, candles, fairy lights, guitar. And what they call these days- 'shabby chic'. When messy becomes cool. An artist's haven. Another pre requisite, that also adds to the 'cool quotient'- wifi! Yes they have free wifi.

Ram has found his perfect spot, a quiet and cozy nook where he can write in peace, while I get touristy clicking pictures.

Discovering Brick Lane

Far more exquisite than the well protected crown jewels are London's free treasures. Free for those , who want to discover. Walking through the alleys of Brick Lane, is your treasure hunt for the day. 

The most unpromising pathways lead you to a defunct parking garage or an empty lot, and there you stand, unprepared for what you're confronted with! No wall is forgotten, no walls are wasted. Brick Lane is an artist's canvas. 

Somehow they don't look like paintings on a wall. They look like people who belong, living, breathing, thriving. Citizens of a dystopian world? 

So in my excitement I uploaded a bunch of pictures on my Instagram. Just when I was wondering about the unknown artists behind these paintings, (and here's the thing I just love about social media) I had another Instagram user tag all the artists on the pictures I had posted.

Do check out the Instagram links, some of them even have the work in progress shots. I was pretty blown away.

By Otto Scade, a Chilean artist & architect from London

http://instagram.com/ottoschade

By churchofbestever

http://instagram.com/churchofbestever

By Alexis Diaz, an artist from Puerto Rico

http://instagram.com/alexis_diaz

By Martin Ron-  Murales,

http://instagram.com/martinronmurales

On my bus ride to work, I saw a lot of street art at Shoreditch. I also googled London wall tours. That would be an interesting trip. Looking to spot a few Banksy as well. Will plan it for another day!

Discovering pho!

I'm thrilled about moving to central London. From where we stay, Kings Cross and the Angel are about 10 minutes away. And so are the dozens and dozens of wonderful eating joints and pubs.

This Thursday we went to Pho. This little Vietnamese joint on Upper street is one of  Ram's favorite joints. Although I'm not into the south East Asian kind of cuisine (and being vegetarian none the less), but this bowl of pure flavour is to die for.

Mildly spiced but robust in flavours, four different kind of mushroom in a vegetable broth with vietnamese noodles, seasoned with coriander, red chilli and caramelised onions. The portions are huge, easily more than enough for two people, or in my case, parceling the leftover for the next day.

Vietnamese coffee reminds me of our good old South Indian filter coffee. The layer of luscious condensed milk at the bottom of the glass is pure heaven.

Needless to say, this is a joint I'm going be frequenting on a regular basis.

Tooting, for a slice of madras

You can take a Madrasi out of Madras, but not the other way round. Proofs in London's Tooting. Where the streets smell of chennai ( can't say that's good). 

Ever since I moved to London, almost every Indian I have met has had one thing to say 'you HAVE to go to Tooting' or 'you haven't been to Tooting yet!?' 

So much hype was enough to put my husband off. I haven't come all the way to London to go to a place that smells like India! Sure, I would agree, but I'm always up for exploring and Tooting was right up on the list. I needed my Indian groceries, which is impossible to find at Wimbledon, and Indian vegetables like bhindi. I take a dabba to office everyday, so I need some basic ingredients for dal or sambar or sabzi.

We set out on a Saturday afternoon, a fifteen minute bus ride. From a rich manicured Wimbledon you know you are entering poor cousin Tooting when the streets get narrower, shops start looking run down, and then begin the one pound shops and pawn brokers in a row. 

 We started on a high with a super fulfilling lunch at Saravanabhavan. It was delightful authentic. I used to hate the South Indian joints in Mumbai. Madras cafe was total hype. And the others were far and too few. The udupi joints in Bangalore are not too bad, but they always screw up the sambar- too red, too sweet. 

So we ordered the onion rava dosa, rava masala dosa, ghee pongal, butter milk and thair vadai. Finished it off with a filter coffee which looked like a muffin bursting out of a steel tumbler. 

I must comment about the decor. So authentically downmarket. Old chairs and ugly frames on the walls that I can only guess they have specially ordered from India. Cracks on the ceiling plastered with dirty plastic brown tape. I have mixed feelings about that. Do you deliberately like to look 'cheap', because you are certainly not. I guess it's the Indian attitude of 'we are like only' , or 'chalta hai'. But full points for the grub, I would come here again for that. 

We went to the Tooting market, which was totally disappointing. I don't know why anyone would go there, unless they are looking for something specific, or they want to buy some garish outfits or show pieces. Indian fortune teller, Chinese medicine woman, plastic flowers, loud print curtains, the house of tacky.

Some of the supermarkets are good, when you want your hadi jeera, or mustard seeds, maggi, masalas, all kinds of dals, imli and even parachute coconut oil. They are not expensive. 

Tooting is charming or nostalgic, just the way a T- nagar would be!  I think I have had my south Indian fix for now, needless to say I'm not coming back here for a long time, unless I have that nagging craving for good dosa - sambar, or we run out of asofoteda!

Comic Con Mumbai

First... THANK GOD the venue for the Comic Con is Goregaon this time, not godforsaken WTC at Cuffe Parade. No matter how interesting the event may be, traveling in Mumbai makes nothing worth the effort.

A bigger venue, meant larger crowds, and I was quite surprised by the turnout for a Saturday. A lot of enthusiasm when it came to the Cosplay events. So many kids in very well executed costumes and masks... I could actually spend a lot of time just looking around and trying to identify all the various characters. 

Two of Ram's works were launched in the Comic Con. The ongoing Aghori series- the finale, and a short story a part of a horror anthology by Pulpocracy. 

It's sad that increasingly the Comic Con in India is becoming more about stalls selling merchandise, knick knacks and t-shirts, and not so many Comics! A lot of publishers I had seen in the previous comic cons were totally missing this time, and in their place yet another 'quirky and kitsch'  (i'm beginning to hate those words) handbag or coffee mug stall. I don't want to go to a comic con for the t shirts and mugs, where are all you comic people? 

Road trip- Mumbai- Belgaum- Bangalore..... with our dog Loki

We took the road route to go to Bangalore from Mumbai. Mainly because of Loki, driving down seemed like the best option both financially and practically. 

We started early... packed idlis and chutneypudi  (minus the chutney powder for Loki), and buttermilk for the way. Mapped the route on GPS, it was fairly straight forward, the only painful part being the endless toll booths one after the other in every section of the highway.

We must have left around 7:30am, and we made good time. Hit Belgaum by 2pm, including a couple of stops in between for lunch and chai. Loki surprisingly quite enjoyed the whole drive. Used to stick out his head from the window for a while, and when he got bored, curled up like a little ball and slept like a baby with his head on my lap. He did not bark or whine even once. He enjoyed the pitstops and the idlis and the rotis from a highway dhaba.

We had booked a couple of rooms at a home stay in Belgaum. One of the few places that did allow pets. It's called 'Nature n I'. A little away from the main city, the farmhouse was nestled inside a huge coconut grove, chikoo and fruit orchards. Loki loved the place at first sight, even after the long journey  he was so excited to jump out of the car and explore the place. 

I think for the first time we had let him free off his leash in the outdoors. Coming to think of it, it's really sad. In a city like Bombay, we are so used to living in tiny apartments. Taking your dog outside for a walk is no fun either. There are very few green areas and parks, the streets are crowded, and most people seem super scared of dogs in general, you always need to keep them leashed when you step out. 

After he did a few rounds of exploring in the wilderness, he settled down this time for a proper snooze. The farmhouse was a modest bungalow with about 3-4 bedrooms. It was quite reasonable at about rs 1000/ 1500 per night and 100rs extra for food. The bathrooms were huge and clean, bedrooms were comfortable with fan and ac. The caretaker and his family were very sweet and helpful. 

At the end we were happy about splitting the journey instead for the long 14 hr drive from Mumbai to Bangalore. I would definitely recommend staying over at 'Nature n I' if you are planning to do a long road trip through Belgaum.

 Nature n I, Belgaum

Monsoon weekend- Lonavala

When you think of Lonavala for a weekend getaway, you cant help but picture- crowd and more sweaty crowds, noise, hooligans, long traffic snarls, tourist buses, the typical sunset point, waterfalls and slush with ugly pot bellied men in shorts roaming uninhibited, and now there seems to be a wax museum with a billboard that says "Why go to Tussaud"?

Far from all the action, driving further into the clouds, you turn somewhere where the road winds, and take another turn somewhere else, through a narrow trail that seems to lead nowhere till you see a tiny gate. I'm quite glad that this place is well hidden.

We stayed in what's called the 'Heritage Machan', a fancy tree house with a large living- dining area and two bed rooms. It's ideal for a family. Covered in glass on three sides, the view is jaw-drop breath-taking. We looked at each other and pretty much thought the same thing- we are NOT getting out of here for the next couple of days.

But for those who are not so lazy and want to enjoy nature at her best in the monsoons... they have activities like nature walks, trails and treks and star gazing! The property is quite massive by itself.

the hanging room

The place is a bit pricey- 32,000 a night for the heritage machaan and 12,000 for a smaller tree house with one bed. Only breakfast included. Pets are allowed, and I wish I had taken Loki there. He would have loved the place and the weather.

Camping at Thar

It's almost surreal. Half a dozen tents in the middle of nowhere, just miles of brown yellow sand in all directions. You think you're lost, yet you're right there, you can see yourself like a tiny dot on your google map on your smart phone. And you wonder for a moment, is there any such place where you are completely untraceable?

Checking in at the Winds desert camp, a two hour drive from the nearest train station Jaisalmer. The desert creeps in gradually. As you leave the city, drive through the tiny towns and villages, reducing to a few settlements- trees dwindling to shrubs to just dry grass to nothing but sand.

The tents look modest from a distance, but they are quite luxurious really. Hot chai, pakoras, a book, and you're set for the next few days of lazy indulgence. I would recommend staying here for at least a couple of days, work on your tan, long lazy afternoons in procrastination, and chilly nights under a blanket of stars warming stiff bones by the bonfire, drowning in whiskey and familiar old folk melodies of the raavan hatha.

 folk dance and music under the stars

 

our 'modest' abode

On camel safaris in the evenings, you can venture further into the desert quite close to the Pakistan border. For some action, you can try surfing the dunes on buggies. It's actually harder than it looks, we got badly stuck in the sand a couple of times. Definitely go for the mini day trips to the ghost villages of Kuldera and Khaba. Very 'eerie' but in a cool way. Walk through the ruined maze of broken homes, and your guide tells you different tales and legends of what led to the over night desertion of these places. Some very interesting theories, one that says that the king married a girl from a different caste, so his entire village decided to abandon him, packed up and fled over night. Strange.

Kuldera and Khaba villages