Pictures from the trip to South Africa...

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Cape Town is an amazing place...there is enough for everyone out there...! Check out these pics to get a feel of what I want to say :)

I will next share my experiences about travel to Cape Town...(the posts will come as soon as I have some more time to sit down and write more...)

Trip to South Africa - A trip of many `firsts`

       After an almost disastrous start to 2012 (read my previous post from December 31st 2011 for my 2011 report card), the best I could have asked for was some timeout from a monotonous schedule and get some respite, before I get back to the same routine, but just with a new frame of mind and new found energy. I got the same in the form of a week-long travel trip to Cape Town, South Africa. The trip was almost cancelled for me since I applied for my travel permit on 03.01.2012, just 4days before the scheduled start of the trip. The South African embassy told me that it would take 10days for me to get the tourist visa, but then, to my surprise, I received a mail from them the very next day saying that my visa was ready...! So the issue was eventually a `no-issue` :) 

        I booked my flights with British Airways (primary reason being that this was the cheapest option available). The onward journey was fine but the return journey was not all that good. The flight from Cape Town to London was delayed, due to which, I could not catch my flight from London to Oslo. The next available option was the day after. But it was not entirely bad either since BA then gave me a complimentary stay at Hotel Renaissance for that night. The trip started on 08.01.2012 and I reached Cape Town on 09.01.2012. The trip lasted for 8 days and I returned to Oslo on 16.01.2012 (Scheduled return was 15.01.2012 night). In the next two posts, I will tell you more about my experiences in Cape Town. I will also provide links to some of the pictures I took over the course of the trip. So, keep linked :)

Good vibes to you...

Thoughts for the day

Just yesterday I came across seven brilliant quotations...which I felt were definitely worth sharing... so here they are...

These quotes just kind of made my day...so true yet so forgotten...New Year...new resolutions...new ideas and new thoughts, hopefully towards a better year ahead (I don´t really think it can go any worse anyways :) )...

Hope people out there will also have loads to absorb from the above 7 lessons !

Have a great day ahead....!!!

Bye bye 2011...it's (finally) time to say good bye to you...! Welcome 2012

If I recap my experiences in 2011, I am sure I have all the ingredients for a platinum-hit Bollywood movie. It has been a roller-coaster of a year (to say the least). Had a breakup (right at the 1st week of January 2011), somehow got over it, met another girl...was very happy with her...but then lied about things to her and our relationship got worse, then finally when I was sincerely making efforts to improve myself and when I thought that we both were making progress to get together, then I found that she was cheating on me... (sounds funny now, but it has been insanely frustrating and dramatic...!). Till 23rd November (my last post), I was very happy since I felt that 2011 would at least end on a good note...but then, I am not one deciding my fate (as Shakespeare would say: "I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano, A stage, where every man must play a part; And mine a sad one.")...and indeed mine was a sad one (at least in 2011). This year had a lot for me to learn...mostly the hard way...but then what we learn the hard way, possibly (and hopefully) stays longer with us. I am sure what I have learned this year, will stay with me for the rest of my life.

But being truly human, I believe that none of us is perfect and we all make mistakes. But, at the same time, being an eternal optimist, I believe in myself that I can get over my mistakes and make sure not to repeat those. Coming year, I have loads of plans, just to keep me busy and make sure that I feel better about myself. I want to travel to places, where I have never been or probably will never go either (once back in India), get going with my hobbies and interests and just keep myself busy. So I have to enjoy the coming year, be happy and keep learning (even if it is the hard way).

Yesterday, I was thinking of my motto for 2012 and I can put it up as below:

"Welcome 2012...it can only get better from here on...! Let go what was never mine and mend my present to make sure my future is happier. Live every moment this year as if there is no tomorrow...who knows maybe Nostradamus and Mayans might be right about 2012...!!!"

Stay happy and stay blessed...and welcome 2012 with both hands. Wishing a very happy New Year to all.............................