Antelope canyon and death valley

The Red canyons are an area of red colured natural rock formations hills and steep faces ,its about 24 km from Las Vegas and is well known as trekking trails rock climbing and other adventure sports .

Miles of huge staccato red hued hills dot the surface and it was a photographers delight

After our overnight stay in a very warm cosy homely cottage in the town of Page ( AirBnb and one of the best we had stayed ,rented by a family who were  away it had everything in good taste from the fireplace to the cosy beds to the quaint piano to tap away  )

We had a breakfast of fresh farm eggs omelette with some fresh bread and hot strong coffee to wash it down and suitably suited with our woollens we were off to another day of adventure into the famous Antelope canyons .

This was in Navajo country almost like a red Indian reserve ,there were two sighting points upper an lower Antelope canyons .

The special feature of these canyons were they were limestone hills carved by the forces of nature specially water over the years creating visually very pleasing natural art ,the upper antelope canyon was a t ground level ad was more easier to walk across it was more like narrow tall caves with light filtering from the top lighting up the myriad colours of the stone sculptured by the rain water and at times flash flood over the years .

The lower canyon was more difficult to reach as it involved metal spiral  steps  to climb down made slippery by falling sand from top and one had to ascend and descend at least five to six flights of stairs ,the advantage was it was better of photography and professional photographers frequented it more with their tripods rather than the normal tourist .

it was called HasdiStazi by the Navojhos or spiral rock arches

all tours here are guided as the danger of flash floods specially during monsoons existed always ,within minutes the water level could drown all inside those canyons and it had happened a couple of times too

We bought our tour tickets for the upper Antelope canyon and found that the place was run by Navajho Indians ,

There was a Hopi dance as part of the tour and it was exciting to see the colourful young man leaping and bounding with his hoop to the song and beat of his friends ,the howl of a coyote and the bounding of antelopes and the flowing of water was all brilliantly enacted and we also came to know that annual Hopi dance competitions were very popular and one had to learn it the hard way from a master and it wasn't easy too  

After this we were asked to get into small open trucks and driven across dusty sandy dunes to distant hillock where we alighted and got into the caves

It was spell binding the smooth crenulations of the walls with its myriad colours all sculpted by nature and the light falling from the top made it ideal of photographs ,for a long way we winded through the narrow passageways at times in one file and had to squeeze through to give way to those who were returning back but we never felt claustrophobic as the tunnels were lit by light on off and quite tall though narrow .

the upper Antelope canyon was called Tse Bignalini by the Navojho which means the place where water rune through .

Uncle of the Bride

Uncle of the Bride

In kerala uncles specially maternal uncles hold an esteemed positions in its matrilineal Nair households .
So it was for the marriage of both my nieces my sisters daughters I being the sole heir to that exalted position considered myself as being indispensable .
Both marriages were held in Guruvayoor Sree Krishna temple an all time Nair wedding favourite so much so I suspect Guruvayoorappan is hoping for a change in this obsession .
My sister got married here so did my cousins and yours faithfully entered into wedded bliss in its hallowed precints .
With more than 100 weddings on a day during the season chances of a mismatch was not a joke but had happened
in fact a malayalam movie was taken on such a happening !
So on the marriage of my elder niece i was entrusted with an important responsibilty .
The marriages were no more inside temple as it would be practically difficult
Imagine 100 weddings with 200 familes friends invitees by standers non invitees usual pilgrims it would have resulted in Guruvayoorappan asking for a transfer !
So marriages would be on a pedestal outside facing the altar
Each group would be in line @to thier time schedule move forwards
The group whose number is called would make thier bride and groom get into the grandstand with close family members of course UNCLES were paramount .rest of the cattle class stood cheering around
Once the formalities like tying thali garlanding and grinning was done the party moved forwards into the temple for darshan while next team slid into place .
The reciept given by temple was a very vital document as the priests and organisers needed that piece of paper for some order .
This paper was entrusted to me and i was asked to move into place in the right time .

There usually is a small rush to get into the pandal as all sort of distant uncles unknown cousins uninvited guests want to get a foothold in paradise so might is right .

So i was ready for the job clutching the reciept with great responsibilty .

I moved close to pandhal with the group before my niece and groom could trying to get into a strategic spot with military manouevuring .
What i didnt imagine was the surge of crowd would push me up the pandhal a bit  prematurely with the group in front .

Once inside i had no intention of getting down i could just be a part of the furniture till my time came i thought !
And so i was in a group about whom i knew nothing smiling in all photos
Ism sure they would get minor shocks seeing an unknown grinning monkey behind thier bride

I remember i even raised my palms in blessing a sign of my universal benevolence
Once the formalities got over the party moved down
Now the unthinkable happened
I was pushed down with as much vigour as i was pushed up and like a flotsam was carried with the current till i managed to rethink my military strategy and reversed my position to swim back to pandhal which by now was filled with unwanted cousins fake uncles and my niece with her parents and i just handed the reciept with a sheepish grin
Thus the great uncle was never seen in the annals of the family pictures .
The sorry uncle of the bride

Ethiopian cuisine

In Cleveland we were taken to a speciality Ethiopian restaurant by our daughter Sruthi .
It was snowing and bitterly cold as we entered into this very warm homely place filled with Ethiopian memorablia and resounding to its songs belted on a TV with some dancing a bit similar to our Bollywood though not so boisterous .
The lady waitresses were wreathed in smiles with swirling skirts and had a natural charm .
The food was ordered
At that time i did not know much about the thin brownish yellow pancake like bread with multiple colourful dips and sauces was the Ethiopian staple food called Injera .

This is a sort of dough bread akin to a pizza or a dosa more the latter but tasting more like an Aapam .
The dough was made of Teff a type of grain grown in middle Ethiopia .
As Teff was rare to get at times maize wheat or rye are also used
Initially a dough made is allowed to ferment hence the mildly sour taste and the batter is poured into a flat stone and baked as a thin pancake like a dosa .
One eats this with side dishes .
Ethiopian coffee had the pride of being the first coffee drunk in the world
It was discovered when Ethiopian sheperds ate wild coffee berries and realised it makes one alert .
Later one Arab traveller smuggled coffee bean to Arabia and India .

Thus we had an Ethiopian dinner

Zion Mountain Ranch Resort



It was new year eve ,we had been on a road trip to the Grand canyon from Vegas ,we were eight ,with my daughters colleagues and in a rented Chrysler ,each day we would go to a specific spot and retire at night to a pre booked apartment or cottage ,we had been to Death valet ,later to Antelope hill stayed in Vegas ,Page town and now we were off to Zion national park in Utah where we planned to welcome new year .

It was quite cold as it was January when we reached the picturesque ranch ,there was no snow of course ,we were tired after the long drive so got our keys to our log cabin ,the ranch had many tiled cottages made of wood with traditional fireplaces and furniture and gave a very warm homely feel .

It was dusk and we could see a peeping moon behind the cottage perfect for a picture .

There was a huge heated jacussi in the rear porch and the youngsters jumped into it with gusto ,later we all dressed up to go to the restaurant for dinner ,there was no other choice for food in that place .

Though the restaurant had ambience the service was not satisfactory ,we were given a couple of choices not much to write home about as they were universally depressing and tasteless ,the request for a rest room was met by a reply asking us to walk all the way to our cottage as the restaurant had no rest room and the souvenir shop cum office which had one was closed for the night !

the only saving factor was the fireworks for new year which diverted our a hunger to a small extent

we went back to our cottages and spent two hours sitting around a bon fire with our breezers and snacks and warmed ourselves shaking our feet all clothed in woollens

And thus we greeted 2018

next day we woke up fresh and was amazed at the beauty of the landscape took some pictures and were on our way to our next destination but that is another story for you



Curse of a connouisuer

The curse of a connouisuer

I have always been a fickle eater in hotels .
I need my food hot , tasty ,my coffee along with the  food , it has to be of correct strength , sweetness ,milk ,etc .
I need neat surroundings , hate sticky tables though am not too bothered about palatial ambiences !
Having lived in Madras and tasted food in some very good hotels and homes and having known kerala cuisine ,one of the most tastiest in the world I developed this supercilious attitude , which is actually nothing to be proud of but thats me !
This snap shows at me looking at a masala dosa with disdain !
My dear cousin in Doha took me to this hotel named  Bonanza where he felt massla dosas were reasonably good when  I visited him on a weekend from Dubai !
But I found the masala dosa way down my appreciation scores and the expression clearly shows my unhappiness !
Balan my cousin called the waiter by name

"hey swami get a replacement itsnt good "

I asked him

"so you know the guy by name "
I was amused when Balan said
"Who knows ? I  just called him Swami "

Strangely the guy whose real name was later we came to know Anwar answered when called swami !!

And then Anwar swami brought me a replacement masala dosa which still didnt hit the pass mark

Once in Brunei I went to a Chinese restaurant and asked for a coffee ,of course it took time for them to click as only coffee known to them was black in colour and on writing a sarcastic post in a local food page on this I got angry comments from its afficandos on my going there for a coffee which had nothing to do with Chinese cuisine ..
true too
cant expect poorimasala from a korean restaurant and then complain can we !

When I used to visit restaurants most regular ones even  used to know my preferences  .
one waiter told me before I could open my mouth
yes sir i know u want your coffee strong only with food neither before nor after !

My close friend also used to make it a point to remind the waiter
look my friwnd he needs coffee only with food be careful !!

I felt  like iam a food terrorist !

My children used to say
Dad  the problem with you is you have been  molly coddled a bit too much , spoilt , never stayed in a hostel , had a mother who was an excellent cook and  ready to dance to your tunes and later a wife who also is a great cook and would dance to your tunes at least as far as  food is concerned  and later ur  selfish cooking experiments !
Phew !!

What all one needs to bear for having some fine tastes ?

The curse of a connouissuer !