Category: Information

Japan 2.0

Japan once again!
The first time it was through the books
Murakami, Kiga Higashino, Ryu Murakami to name a few… These books showcased the simplicity of the locals and the dark side of the city and that’s one of the reasons Japan fascinated me as a place to travel and explore so in June 2018 was the first time, A time where everyone questioned us Why Japan?
To answer it’s a place so little we know about..
The first time was a touristy visit going to the temples, streets and viewing the towers of each city we visited.
Japan was coming alive through the pages I had read, the streets sounded familiar and some streets I specifically visited since they were mentioned and described in the books.
The recent Trip to Japan was being an exploration of what all does the city has to offer besides the tourist sights and the humanity the people showcase in the country.
The food was and still is the best in Osaka.
The city was buzzing and full of tourists even closer to midnight, unlike Tokyo which seemed busy with people chasing their dreams..
Kyoto is still a small town where you can walk around and still discover the city.
The vintage shops and the second-hand Market seem to be thriving in the country with more than 80% population that has aged over the age of 70 and living a minimalistic life.
Retail was thriving with American, British and Asian tourists shopping at malls and brands that are relatively cheaper in Japan from countries like the US & India.
The Osaka Expo was an experience like no other, an endless Snake line on a hot afternoon, which tested not just ours but quite a few people’s patience too.
Since we had to register and get specific slots for pavilions we managed to only get one the Blue Dome, the others were long queues to enter and waitlists, The magnitude of the whole expo was huge 130+ countries participated and the tourism it brought to the city and country has been huge.
The designs and the sustainable options used to create them were interesting.
This was the first time we visited an expo abroad that had so many cultural influences on just design but food too the expo offered.

French Connection – 2025

A month. A Week. A Day. 

France is sometimes lost in Translation. Sometimes lost with the network. 

France – Cannes, The Big question was also. 

Canne We Do It? That became Cannes We Do It. 

The week, that had all the moments of drama and the beginning of the French Summer.

Went off in a slow Flow. With many “Visa rejections” and new challenges unfolding. 

France was an experience again. After 7 Yrs not much had changed, Yet only it was Cannes instead of Monaco this time. 

This was the Grand Prix, Lion and the film fest all rolling into the Carpet of Cannes. 

Nice – If you have read that has Nice it was indeed nice to meet the city. That connects so many other cities within less than an hour.

 A city with a beach, a view and a drone show with 2000 thousand drones too was witnessed here, thanks to a local Indian who we met that day. 

The Indian food by Noori’s Anaz was the highlight of our Nice trip! 

Meeting our group every day for Dinner at Noori for the 4 days we were there felt like a home away from home, With so many more connections we came across. 

Monte Carlo after 7 years – The memories of the streets, where we walked around and bought magnets, the venues ( Le Meridien and Monte Carlo Square) 

Oh! Not to forget the Hermitage tour-Bought back memories of all the wedding functions we did there for the first time, I had visited the South of France. 

The Baraat holding area, The Welcome lunch and the Rituals. 

The only thing the hotel has added is a Japanese Restaurant recently and renovated the Pavilion restaurant.

Menton! 7 Yrs later we do it… and No! We still haven’t done the lemon fest this time too! 

The city is citrusy in colour Orange &  Yellow. 

You will come across a lot of Orange trees and Lemon Stores, where you can taste lemon in sauces, Dip, Jams, Syrups and Paste. 

Eze! The Medieval city and the walk to the top. 

Felt like a Harry Potter city with stores, and cafes built in the medieval city.  It wasn’t Eze-eee! 

The city had buses that would hourly travel to the main village and Bolt/Uber that would take about 15 minutes minimum before it gave in their verdict of approving or denying us a ride.

Provence- The lavender region! Had a lot of violet and lavender fragrance around. 

The two cities: Aix En Provence,  Avignon and Arles each were different. Avignon & Arles felt more like Italy, Rome-like architecture the city was built with. 

Arles also had a mini Colosseum, that overlooked from a cafe. 

Aix en Provence was beautiful with small boutique stores and weekend flea markets. 

Marseille: One of the most underrated cities in France. And we were told to be watchful in the city. 

The city felt like Brazil, the Le Panier district felt like São Paulo Penirinos district and Narrow lanes were built on a hill with cafés and boutique stores. 

The city had all the Rio De Jinero feels. 

The Pardo District and Beach. Felt like the Copacabana beach, A long stretch with a view and shades of blue with mountains as the backdrop. 

The cathedral of Notre De Dame here in Marseille was a beautiful ride to the top and worth viewing the cathedral. 

The Longchamp Palais in the city was another beautiful park that felt inspired by Italy. 

Marseille was too big a city, we hadn’t expected the city to have so many sides to it. 

Paris! A long wait! A decade later… 

The city was now going through the restoration of the Notre Dame that was affected by the fire, the dazzling lights of Effile Tower were the highlight of the trip! And we sat through a long time just viewing the Structure, that has made the city a popular dream destination for many. 

The Walk on the Champs Elyse’s and ride across the Arc De Triumph still felt this is Paris! 

We did travel to a few more neighbourhoods around Paris, but the trees, and the energy at the champ Elyse’s was very different from the other parts. 

Oh! This time too we did a few touristy things. 

The new addition is Bacha cafe now in Paris, the experience was good. But nothing like the Marrakech one! 

The Angelina Hot Chocolate: The 45-minute Queue for the experience had to be done once. 

I felt I had better hot chocolate at Pierre Herme and Valrhona cafe. 

We did visit Lenotre too, the team that we worked with on a recent project in Cannes. 

And tasted some amazing desserts. 

48 Hrs in Paris were more than enough. 

Abu Dhabi!

The Middle East city of United Arab of Emirates has been an interesting connection. 

On my 18th Birthday, I had visited the newly opened Ferrari Theme Park and Experienced the fastest rollercoaster in the world Formula Rosso.

That visit to the city was all about Yas Island – The popular F1 Track. 

After Thirteen Years.  I visited Abu Dhabi yet again for a family friend wedding, this also happened to be my 31st Birthday weekend. 

The city has transformed so much, The city felt so big. Each of the landmarks we wanted to visit would take us between fifteen-to Thirty Minutes. And the distances were about Twenty Kilometre maximum 

The Roads were so smooth, you hardly realised the time flew by driving 

The Corniche, an upcoming beach front space was too calm for a middle east city that buzzes during the night. 

The Al-Qana a space that was like the Marina Dubai had Cafes, Restaurants with water front view and bridges to connect the either sides of the space. 

Visited  The Sheikh Zayed Mosque after a thirteen Years wait, A Beautiful white mosque with detailing kept in mind of the florals inside were nicely em-bedded. 

The Walk in & out of the sheikh Zayed Mosque is a long one. 

But, Golf Cart as an option for senior citizen available and and travelator to walk without any movement. 

We visited Al- Watan a fairly newly promoted sight of Abu Dhabi.

It had the structure of the palace hotel from the outside. 

But, inside the dome and the walls stole the show. 

The seating outside during the exit, highlights soothing sit-down space with a view overlooking Palm trees. 

You must definitely visit the site on your next visit to Abu Dhabi. 

The visit to Emirates Palace, was a visit with mixed emotions. 

Since we initially planned  to visit the palace for lunch, but only ended with touring the property around the whole palace, a grandeur hotel with large spaces spread across for restaurants and shopping. 

We ended up at an Art House Cafe, for a meal that had the Arabic flavours and good coffee 

With Art Pieces from artist and a vibe that had creativity flowing around the space. 

Abu Dhabi, has become one of the top tourist destinations with Global popstars and bands too making it a destination for their tours. The Recent opening of Warner Brother Theme park has Abu Dhabi becoming more of a family destination. 

The new BAPS Temple too is a beautiful sight a Hindu Radha swami temple on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi that has become a landmark for all tourists and locals alike.

Do Books have a shelf life? 

Not exactly from the time they have been published until they hit the stores and are ready to witness the books flying off the shelf. 

But, from the time they are published until the time, the reader figures this is a book he/she would like to read at a certain time of their life if not now. 

Does the book hold the same relevance to the reader it had when it was released in the market? 

Some bestsellers no matter when you read them. They still are relevant, They fall in the bracket of classics, classics that become the reference points for other authors and readers to compare that work with the current ones written in a similar style. 

But, years later when you recommend them to someone would the book have the same impression and effect on the reader too? 

Or would the reader wonder what was special about the book or would have outgrown the subject if they had already experienced something similar in real life or in another, a book that wasn’t necessarily a bestseller but a book worth reading or investing your time in it? 

And with social media, content flows all across a range of channels, what happens to books that become the source of content, Does the reader still enjoy reading the book as a whole? 

Or do social media opinions play on the minds of the reader to read classics/Bestsellers? 

iOS vs Google!

What’s stopping me from switching from

iPhone to Google! 

iOS apps: Music, Face Time, iMessage , Notes, App Store , Airdrop and iCloud  are some of the application that make their system! 

But, thinking how many of these do I actually use regularly. 

AirDrop and Notes besides the camera come to my mind within seconds. 

The other apps might not  be used so frequently by me. 

I also have a MacBook Air, And both my devices act like family. But, Will changing one make a lot of different? 

And oh! My AirPods will they be as good on the Google than they were on the iPhone and Apple devices? 

For transferring images and videos from

Apple to Apple. We had Airdrop! 

Well, Android has an application known as Airdroid for the instant transfer between the two OS. 

Well for sound for music and videos – I am not sure how good Google would be. 

But, as far as the reviews I have read – The common problem on Google phones is the clarity and muffled sound when having conversations over phone. How much will this  impact? 

The other Tech Specs: like Ram, Battery size and size are minor worries since Google have been a notch higher on that end compared to Apple phones. 

The only hitch is It’s Android and It’s Google. 

And not like I have never used Google. 

Google sheets and Gmail was one of the first few applications used from the organisation. 

And no I wasn’t born with an Apple device, like many who are born today! 

I had Sony Ercison as an android device for about 2 years… And then I bought a Micromax phone an Indian phone maker for a year and a half until I got my first iPhone 5s and since then it’s been 10 Years and 4 iPhones I have used ( 5s, 7, Xs, 13) each spanning 2 And  a half to 3 Years. 

I have been very comfortable with the device, 

But of late Android devices have been more innovative with technology and design, With minor plus and minus from their end. 

On the other hand, Apple has been offering the best features for their devices that are on the higher end. The Pro’s and even in those there are huge difference of sizes and specifications that you wonder after spending $1000+ you still aren’t getting the best. Since there is a difference between a Pro, Pro Max and the base model. 

Where as Android and Google have the same offering within their range of $1000 + with  each model with the same features, just different sizes of screen and Pro and base model  series, Pro has another camera. 

So which one should you go ahead with?