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Saturday, January 9, 2016

A Year That it Was

The year 2015 was one of the most eventful one for me-with the life taking a roller coaster ride from the word ’GO’! January of 2015 saw my family & I on the blue shores of Halong Bay, Vietnam-seeping in the culture of a new country and relishing paper thin rice spring rolls with endless cups of sweetened Vietnamese coffee.

The work life became more exciting on return, as  I was asked by management to step into a project which was in dire straits! The next quarter saw me turning around this garganutuan project before taking a professional bow as I celebrated my 60th birthday.

June rolled in - and my wife & I spent a glorious  month of hibernating with rounds of Ashtang Yoga and Teh C in Singapore. The long walk at Fort Canning Park, visiting a melange of Chinese, Buddhist and South Indian shrines rejuvenated us 

As fall season set in, with trees shedding their golden hues, I lost my aging father-just a few days after he had turned 90.  The next couple of weeks were shrouded in a pall of gloom. 

We decided to take a break to pep ourselves and soak the Yuletide spirit of Christmas.
The cobbled streets of Valetta- Malta

On 23rd Dec we left the shores to discover Malta- a country with a population of just 450,000 and an area of 35 square kilometers. The spectacular landscape, the cobbled streets spread in a grid structure, the Mediterranean Sea sparkling to match the colors of the azure sky, the tall spires of the churches, and some of the Maltese food such as- the melt in the mouth Ricotta cheese & peas pastizzis leave indelible flavors for a life time. 
The cherry on the topping was a lucky invite to attend the Christmas mass graced by the President of Malta on the midnight of 24 Dec at the famous St John’s Cathedral. As the clock struck 12 the sky was lit up with fireworks!
The Azure Window- Gozo, Malta


The Trevi Fountain- Rome

Out next halt was Rome and Vatican, the cradle of Christianity ,whose beauty is unsurpassed and strengthening belief in the old adage, ‘A lifetime is not sufficient to see Rome’. One needs a life time to immerse in the beauty , history, archaeology and creations of Michelangelo, Berninni and many more.
We savored the pizzas, where they were created- in the dusty industrial town of  Naples.

We then left the shores of the Renaissance kissed Italy & Vatican.

 The grand finale awaited us with alluring sight of snow clad Haga Sofia and Blue Mosque. The beautiful paradox of co-exitence of Christian &Islamic beliefs, the endless thrill of eating Turkish Mezze and Baklawa,& the serenity of the white fresh snow were the best way to herald the New Year 2016  with a promise of more fun and even more excitement!

The Turkish Delights and Baklawa

PS: “I’m sharing my #TalesOf2015 with BlogAdda.”

14 comments:

  1. So sorry about the loss.

    The places you visited in 2015 make me want to pack my bags right now. Would love to read more about Malta, Rome and the Vatican. Loved the pictures.

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    1. Thanks Akanksha! Will write more about the places soon! Wishing you many more trips in 2016.

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  2. Hi Rahul

    Sorry about your father....
    Thats a lot of amazing travel in 2015... Wish you a more adventurous 2016
    P.S Do lemme know the next time you are in Sg :)

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    1. Thanks for reading Jaishree! Am planning to travel to SG soon and will try to catch up with you this time:)

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  3. Hi Rahul

    Sorry about your father....
    Thats a lot of amazing travel in 2015... Wish you a more adventurous 2016
    P.S Do lemme know the next time you are in Sg :)

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  4. What?? Such a small post for so much travel...not fair. Tell us all about it with more pics :)
    Happy new Year to you and your family!

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    1. Ha ha... Latha! Ok, promise to write a longer post on my latest travel. Thanks a lot for that comment and wishing you and your family a very happy and enjoyable New Year!

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  5. I can see that it WAS a roller coaster of a year.
    First of all, so sorry to hear about your dad.

    Happy Belated big birthday.

    Here's wishing you a 2016 that is all pleasant and nice and has a lot of travel in it. ;) Happy New year.

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    1. Thanks for reading Divya!good to see you here and wishing you and family a lot of happiness in the New Year and beyond!

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  6. I remember you taking a break for travel and to be with your family when your father passed away. Hope you continue to travel and reach professional milestones in 2016 too. Good to see you back, Sir.

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    1. Thanks a lot Saru! Your support and kind words have helped in the dark moments and I am once again trying to get back to life starting with a lot of travel in end 2015/beginning 2016! Am sharing some experiences in coming posts too! Hope you and Alok have a great time and see all dreams getting fulfilled!

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  7. So sorry to hear about your father, Rahul. And I will never cease to envy your travels.

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  8. So sorry to hear about your father, Rahul. And I will never cease to envy your travels.

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  9. Thanks Rachna for reading my posts and I just thank god for the opportunities that came by to travel.

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