Category: Movie

Phuket It!


This was a very sudden trip! Wasn’t even sure, if my passport would come in time, and the next thing I knew, I was to fly to Phuket in 2 Days. 


Thailand is like the Goa of India. Warm, Humid and sticky weather with a very good taste for the foodies and Views of the Beaches and the sea that you can’t get enough of! 


Thailand has come back in the Radar of Americans, With White lotus making it A travel destination you can’t miss in 2025. 
The moment, we arrived at the Laem Sai Pier This part of Thailand was very different, it had the feels of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and Brazil, well! Had never seen Thailand like a luxury destination until this trip, it was always like a tourist destination. 


The next week, travelling around Phuket City including Phi Phi Island, was just the beginning of the  Peak tourism in the city, with Queues everywhere, and a short distance by the Car would be similar to a walk to the same place. 
Phuket is a big city, Every neighbourhood we travelled to would not take less than 20-25 minutes. Batong Beach, was the quietest part of the city, only the beach clubs were buzzing. 
Kata Beach, seemed like a new space that was coming up with hotel property and stores. 
Patong Beach, Had all the Bangkok vibes. 
Music, Clubs, Karaoke and A lot of massage centres. 


Patong made you feel that you are in Thailand. 
In terms of food, Thai food did standout in most of the places we ate, the Italian food it wasn’t that good. 
The Japanese & Asian foods had good  quality of meat and freshness of the vegetables. 
Which I wasn’t sure about Phuket City, since Phuket isn’t considered a travel destination or Foodie Destination. 
The old Phuket town, Seemed like Singapore Koon Seng Road with Colourful Shophouses where boutique stores, Cafes and tourist souvenir shops.
The Old Phuket town had an interesting Ice Cream Shop” Torry” that offered unique ice cream combinations. One of them we tried was Caramel Ice Cream with Fish Sauce. 

The short trip to Phuket, Thailand felt we needed more time in the city, with 4 days too, weren’t enough.

With Bangkok, Phuket too should be on your travel list. 

Stay:
@kohyaoyaivillage
@hotelindigophuket

Cafes:
@campuscoffeeroasters
@graphcoffee.co

Ice Cream:
@torrysicecream

Nightlife:
@nomadbeachclubphuket

Eat:

bluetamarind

galarestaurant

lavista

@bonpanasiantapas

Sightseeing:

wanchalongtemple

bigbuddha

Phuketoldtown

phiphiislansds

Indian Reader


Does India Read? Do Indians Read? 
And if they do what do they read? 
Well, India is slowly getting into the habit of reading books! And a lot of them have been enjoying reading books. But, this India that I am talking about is not the one that is into literature books. But, a new emerging audience of readers is discovering reading books is not for the joy of it. But, to improve my English speaking skills, Vocabulary and diction. These readers are the ones who make up the large population that we have. But again are we growing in numbers? Who enjoy reading Mythology, Romance, and Young Adult books. The authors who have successfully managed to capture their audience are the likes of Chetan Bhagat, Preeti Shenoy, Durjoy Datta, Ravinder Singh, Anuja Chauhan, and Robin Sharma to name a few…Others like Amrish Tripathi and Devdutt Patnaik are Gaining popularity amongst new readers who are interested in reading books. 
But, what are the avid literary Indian readers reading today? 
They are the ones who like reading Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murthy, Chitra Banerjee, Arvind Adiga, and Arundhati Roy, which are some of the books which the other Indian audiences are reading. 
But, the positive side of the reader reading in India is they have started reading books of Indian authors from India.

Rise of Latin American, Asian and European Content

OTT Platforms

Ever since Ott platforms have made their way into India, The content option to choose from is huge, You have American Movies, Series to choose from, You have British content to choose and you have the rise of K-Drama, Yakuza’s from Japan to choose from and you have rising options from Latin America and Europe to choose from.

When you have so much choice ,You observe the stories coming from these countries, you notice 

Most of the American shows are only highlighting – Race, Identity , law, Super hero’s and supernatural power . A lot of the series are about colour people’s struggle and identity. 

British series are all about the Royal family and politics. Series like Crown, Bridgeton, Peaky Blinders. 

The content from Korea is all about Escaping, boundaries, Technology and Social Media, Topics which are more current and appealing. 

Japan series are all about their food and the relationship with their loved ones, loneliness and storytelling. 

Latin America series are all about powerful families and their secrets, Mafia and hunger to control their identity. 

European series are about Murders in Scandinavian countries, Cult leader following and humanity with adaption like Man called Otto and Anxious People.

Indian content is also more dominant with the D-world, Gangster control, Corruption and Scams.

Australian series, haven’t made a mark on the platform besides their popular show like Masterchef and food shows. When it comes to fiction. They do have a lot of shows on Politics and the system. Secret City & Stateless as two interesting series. 

But, yet when it comes we don’t experiment with the content we stream. We would still watch only American & British and often complain, for it’s lack of interesting stories. 

Today, we have a variety of global content to choose from and we still choose the same stories, What makes us avoid experimenting, We are anyways being charged for the month and year, we wouldn’t be paying extra if we shift our content preferences to experiment. 

If we don’t experiment with content, We would have makers making the same thing that has a set formula that they believe works globally. But does it work?

Food & Summer Writing

Some Of The Must Visit Cafes In India!


When you have lived In a city like Mumbai for a long time and have had the opportunity to enjoy some of the best Yum food in the city and also get equally good food at home, It
becomes difficult to find food that tastes just as good in the city or town you travel for vacation or Work.
While travelling around the country, there have been some amazing cafes for Food, Coffee or The View and occasionally all three elements.
Here are some of them I have visited and recommend

Goa: The La Plage Cafe in Goa.
The beach view is amazing, The Coffee is good too and the seafood options are Yum.
Babka in Anjuna has the best Eclairs, Coffee and Pasta.

Kolkata: The Roastery House location, The White & Yellow colours on the walls Definitely make you feel you are in Kolkata the cold brew options In coffee and the Baked fish in mustard is amazing!

Bengaluru: Araku’s Orange Cold Brew and the savoury Waffles have been two of the best things from the cafe. The Roastery within the cafe, The Mod Bar Espresso machines, and the Coffee table Books at the cafe does not make you get enough of the cafe.

Lavonee Cafe’sAcademy has been the Foundation for many patisseries and Pastry chefs in the city and in India and no wonder the Cafe Gets the Bake and the coffee right! The breakfast menu has been one of the most beautifully presented and filled with Taste and texture in the Bengaluru city.

Conoor: The Culinarium cafe en route to Ooty has one of the most breathtaking views. The coffee option, The Bakes( Lemon Cake) was one of the perfect ones I have had not too sweet or not too sour.
The pizzas were amazing too!

Dharamshala:
Moonspeak Deli Cafe – A tiny cafe near the main market is a hidden gem!
The coffee Ricotta Cake has been one of the most delicious Tea-cakes I have ever had!
The coffee was also well-balanced and the Ham and Bacon sandwich was very good too!
The Cliffs In Palampur is a cute little cafe that’s like a cottage in the woods, with a small corner filled with books.
The Marble Cake, Filter Coffee, and Mutton Kheema Dosa were the highlight of our meal

The Other Space: There wasn’t any other space like this one in Dharamshala!
The day we visited this space, we witnessed Hail and Rain from the balcony of the cafe while sipping our Coffee and enjoying Spaghetti at this cafe.
You just can’t miss this for the view!

Varanasi:
Vatika – A cafe Overlooking the Ghats of Varanasi and you are enjoying the most delicious pizza, you could not imagine you could get here! For desserts, you must have Apple Pie with Ice Cream and try their Saffron Milk and Paan Stuffed With Rose Petal Milk.