Author: Akhil Nanda

I am Still Trying To Write ...

UK Flashback 2023!

The Memories, come flashing back!

The vivid details, the signages, The bustling streets, the hop on and hop off buses,

The Lego store, Leicester Square and Times Square coming together in my memory!

The M&M World! Piccadilly Circle written faintly!

And the huge square, Trafalgar Square with the lion roaring.

The London Bridge! All that meets the London eye!

The erratic weather changing, like mood swings for humans in the city!

Brexit has happened from the last time we visited,

Still trying to figure things out here! 

UK! LONDON! Seems …

Can’t get over it it’s been a decade since I visited London!

The memories seem crystal clear, walking up the bridge and witnessing the Thames…

Felt like a Lord! After taking them through the cricket ring that has so much history in the sport and St.John Woods Brownish, Beige rooftops and homes with a little redness never felt the same again!

Walking through the dining room and changing room of the Lord’s Stadium was a Kodak tour in so many ways! The sport that I couldn’t breathe & sleep without in childhood is a distant reality in my adulthood!

The Marketspace CAMDEN! IN Yellowish brown BOLD Font, was an interesting space of shops and cafes!

The London Tube and the Big Red Bus! Through Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Notting Hill!

The Tourist’s ness was rubbing on our shoulders, Afternoon tea and scones at Claridge’s was one splurge we did on our trip!

Oh! The now famous Pret A Manager that has India sipping and eating was one of our hangout spots after we strolled through Oxford Street!

Oh! We passed through Covent Garden which years later became a hub for Contemporary interiors and places to eat! Like the BKC In Mumbai.

London, The UK! Hadn’t seemed to have changed much! But, what had changed was it had become expensive to live and holiday here! Transport fares had doubled, and the pricing of basic goods & services too had doubled. And on the other side, Ireland was thriving with tourism, and had seemed a better bet for the UK Locals to move there! Irish Cream was a nice country with beautiful bookstores and odd-looking people with colourful hair. The Vibe & energy in Ireland felt more for youngsters and youth. With Good food options and not just 90 minutes by Air from London City Ireland indeed became a good option for UK residents to shift.

Galway & Cork were two small towns, each having their charm & differences.

The Bars were hangout spots to enjoy the Guinness Beer or have a cup of Irish coffee.

A pizzeria in Galway was also not just in Ireland but had been accoladed with the 16th best pizzeria in Europe in 2022 and 37th best in the world in 2022.

Well! Ireland is also well known for Bailey’s liqueur – A popular coffee-based alcohol and Butlers chocolates. A bar of chocolate that melts away!

And last but not least the Jameson whiskey outlet – The Secret ingredient behind the Irish Coffee.

The last highlight, An 18th-century Century Church that was restored over seven years in the late nineties until mid two thousands was opened in 2005 and still has the rustiness and architecture of the 18th Century.
Information:

Ireland 

Cities: Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast. 

Enter through Dublin and travel through trains to the other cities.

 Stay: 

Ashkings Hotel Dublin

Buy a leap card from the station. You could use this across public transport (Trams, Trains, Buses)

The Rise of Disability stories.

In the Year 2023, I read a few books on Disability characters, And all of them have been written around in the last decade They all have had a personal connection with the author and the story.

The disability ranging from intellectual to physical disabilities. Have only made it more human to have a sense of fulfilment of how fortunate they are those who haven’t gone through any of these experiences, that challenges ones existence for a small task that seem simple to the ones who are completely mobile or have all their senses functioning to the fullest.

Whether it was The housekeeper and the professor. A story about a professor who has only 80 minutes of memory in a day and he likes to associate with numbers. To Elena a story about a missing daughter and a mothers struggle to find her daughter while the mother is suffering from Parkinson’s.

To the injustice the disabled have to deal with in the “disability visibility by Alice Wong.”

To a child who suffers from autism is being curious about a dogs death and how he associates certain daily activities for his day or week to go by.

“True Biz about Deafness “in a world that can see. Through sign language one could learn to communicate with another deaf person.

“Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow “protagonist who has been physically hurt by an accident. And how he has to bring certain changes into his life.

These stories have been pushing the acceptance of what these disabilities are and why one shouldn’t take advantage and be more considerate to the ones who have to deal with so much from the ones around them.

These stories aren’t just about children, but also about Adults who have more challenges to face than the younger ones.

While these are the books! The question that comes to mind is Films and television.

What controls them & stops them from adapting these stories, that could have a wider reach and be more influential in accepting disabilities?

These books out there only have pushed the boundaries of acceptance of the existence of disabilities that we haven’t made any arrangements for.

Best Books on Disability: I have Read 

  • Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
  • Elena Knows by Claudia Pinerio
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
  • Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow by Gabriell Zevin
  • True Biz by Sara Novic
  • The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa
  • The Diary of Murder by Kim Young-ha

The Roastery Tour -Blue Tokai

Having been a home brewer for years, and enjoying a good cup of coffee daily!

The Roastery tour was fascinating.

The effort, that goes into the brew of a single cup of coffee is huge, and within a few sips/Slurps, we have our verdict of liking or disliking the coffee.

The tour began with all those interested in assembling in a room and introduction of themselves, and what interested them about coffee and the tour.

We then moved to the storage room, where 1000 Kg gunny bags of green coffee beans were stored.

Each bag had a variety of green coffee beans which is sorted manually for good, bad and damaged beans.

They are then collected into a storage box before they go into roasting.

Each day 180 Kgs of green coffee beans are sorted manually at the Roastery.

There are a couple of green coffee varieties. They are Natural, Washed, Honey Processed (Red/Yellow) Malabar, and anaerobic fermentation.

Each of these beans have their own texture and size.

Natural: They are the natural ones. No Water or machines used to remove the coffee beans

Washed: They get washed away by water and then dried.

Malabar: A variety that’s popular in India. Is salt-panned coffee beans.

Honey Processed: A Process where coffee beans are de-pulped and dried without being washed. The golden sticky substance that remains is something like honey, which is why it’s known as honey processed.

Anaerobic fermentation: This is when the coffee cherries are locked into an airtight fermentation tank after being harvested, to stop any Carbon -dioxide from escaping.

The second room was the roasting room. 

The green coffee beans that has to be roasted are thrown into a hopper then a roasting profile is set ,that the roasters thinks  is the most appropriate for the coffee beans and then the coffee is roasted into the roaster. There are three drums within the roaster. 

And the coffee once roasted is flushed out in a section and spun over a few minutes where it cools down, before it can be taken into production for the cafés brewing, for cafe retailing, for E-Commerce purchases and other outlets that source beans from the Roastery. 

The packaging is done within minutes and ready to be sent all over.

The beans Preferably should be consumed within a month from the date it has been roasted to enjoy the flavour profile and taste of the coffee.

Post our Tour we also tried the coffees at the Roastery.

We brewed the pour over method and tried the drip bags too.

Oh! Please note before the Roastery brews a large batch of coffee, they have a portable roasting machine, that they use to sample beans.

The Roastery has to choose coffee from about 800 odd samples from which they choose about 40 odd samples they would produce under their Roastery.

Goa Foodie Weekend!

North Goa:

Is another city altogether. With quite a few hotel options and so many restaurants and places to choose from.

Goa has tried balancing the two sides very well!

Even the MOPA airport has been done up so well! With shopping options and food options available at the airport.

On my recent visit from Nashik to North Goa.

I was impressed with Goa. It had been years since I visited as a tourist. And being a complete foodie! I did not miss any of the restaurants that were on the other side of Goa.

I had a completely new list of places to explore in north Goa.

Some of the places, that we managed to explore and enjoy in our 48 Hrs In Goa.

Hosa: A Coastal cuisine restaurant in Goa that

is beautifully done up in a 100-year-old Portuguese Villa that was restored by the same hospitality group that also has Indian Accent and Comorin under them. Two very popular restaurants they have been listed as one of the best places to Eat & drink annually in the world best.

The Muttonpepper Ghee Roast and coconut Shrimp were the two things we tasted and enjoyed from the menu.

A sure shot must visit during your visit to Goa.

Assa House: 

A French restaurant in North Goa that shouldn’t be missed by any foodie!

The menu is done by French Chef Alexis Gielbaum who was the chef at Souffle & Slink & Bardot.

Both of the restaurants that I had visited and had meals too.

The Onion French soup at Soufle and the interiors of Slink & Bardot would remind you a lot of it at Assa House. The Baked Alaska, The Clams in Pesto Butter Sauce, The Sea Bass and the Pork Belly were so good! A perfect recommendation for a light meal with a great ambience.

Sakana Goa: A Japanese Restaurant that has been opened by an Israeli-Israeli-Japanese couple is a must-visit for Japanese food. The interiors can be enjoyed during the day as well as at night with green gardens and trees around as you walk in. The Miso Calamari was a different palate but a great combination. The Pork belly Zucchini roll wais s soft & smooth they just melted right away. The Sea Bass in Teriyaki sauce two combinations that we couldn’t get enough of.

These are all not to be missed.
Burger Factory: Juicy meaty or leafy burgers. Burger Factory Burger will remind you of the typical American burgers and fries. The Zucchini fries were crispy and yummy! The Pork Cheddar bacon burger, Avocado and truffle and BBQ Pork Bacon were so well made!

Babka: A cafe that was tiny, but packed with surprises. The Tiramisu & the Salted Eclaris were so Good! Only if we were not dripping in the heat! We would have had more!
G-Shot: A coffee space more than bakes! The Vegan Vietnamese Coffee with Cashew Butter! Had heard so much about the space! And with coffee, it did not fail.

Stay: In North Goa 

  • W Hotel 
  • JW Marriott Goa 
  • Westin Hotel

Bookstore to Visit:

Champaca Bookstore

Hampiness – An adventure in the waiting!

Virupaksha Temple

A journey that had been on the bucket list for the last few years.

And having explored India from the north and west.

South had a been little unexplored and was waiting to be explored.

Hampi is a city full of temples that have references not just mythology ( Ramayan) Hanuman’s Birthplace. But, also with Shiva- A single monolith statue that’s one of the most visited sights of the city. To the Dynasties battles Kilji, Chanayaka and later the British coming to existence.

No Wonder a city filled with so much history and mythology feels like one place with many world heritage references that the The Ministry of Tourism, on 29th September, declared Karnataka’s iconic destination as the Best Tourism Village of India-2023.

Hampi was selected one among the 795 applications received from 31 states and UTs.

Some bits of Hampi feel like you are in Macchi- Picchu to some feel like you are in Greece. While some truly belong to India.

The city has many world heritage sites.Think your ₹50 currency and you will observe the chariot stone. Hampi is also referred to as India’s Rome with so many ruins and history to the sights.

The historians at Hampi, also mentioned to explore the whole of Hampi that has 80 monuments worth exploring would take you an ideal 45 days here! So much history!

And if you would like to travel to Hampi some of the most important sites are Vitthala temple, that’s full of interpretations of history and the home to the stone Chariot. To the Virupaksha temple an active temple that has rituals performed daily including feeding of elephants as an experience of lifetime.

Elephant Stables a monument that was built for the kings elephant many centuries ago is another site worth visiting.

At times Hampi makes you believe you are In Stonehenge with the rocks here beautifully placed naturally or makes you believe you are In Grand Canyon with trekking around on rocks that are placed with boulders for support.

The sunset and sunrise view points of the city, give you an overview of the lush green landscapes covered with sugarcane’s and Banana plantations.

With so much to offer for history & nature buffs.Hampi still has the rawness and beauty of India.

Hampi is still not considered a tourist destination, with only one flight to Mumbai! And limited advertising for tourism in Hampi.

Stay: Evolve Back Resort

Did You Know?

Karnataka once served as the capital of one of the largest kingdoms of India the Vijayanagara Empire around the 1500 AD. And during that time it was known to be one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world.

The Virupaksha temple dates back to 7th-century, which makes it one of the oldest functional temple in the country is dedicated to Virupaksha, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, built with a pillared hall, three.

One of the must things to do before you leave the temple take blessings from Lakshmi elephant

The pillars in the Vittahla temple would also be used as musical instruments by the locals. Each pillar would have a different sound and rhythm.

Elephant Stables
Vitthala temple