We visited McLeod Ganj and Dharamkot as if we were on a foreign trip - good thing we did! [COMPACTIDEA]

This trip a few days ago was different from the domestic and foreign trips that I've done so far. No more miserliness. Not worrying about high taxi rates [worrying about paying high taxi rates spoiled my mood a lot during our Singapore trip in 2019]. Eating at the best restaurants and cafes and not worrying about menu prices. Staying at one of the topmost hotels there. Ordering lots of food via room service, and not worrying about the prices of items. Not negotiating with taxi drivers. And so on.

We spent with the silent background assumption that we were on an international trip, and this extra spending decisively multiplied the joy and satisfaction we received from our trip.

To be honest, McLeod Ganj and Dharamkot are both already not-so-expensive places. Aside from local cab / taxi rates, hardly anything else is more expensive there - with Ludhiana prices as the benchmark / reference. This itself helped a lot. But even if McLeod had been somewhat more expensive than it is now, we would've still spent without the miserliness associated with my previous travels within or outside India - because this time I had told myself that I'm gonna spend during this trip as if it were a foreign trip. The focus here is primarily on the new way in which we spent, and not primarily on McLeod's relative inexpensiveness.

The generalization here is that even intra-India leisure trips should be made as if you're on a foreign trip. If you keep trying to save money here and there on your Indian trip - and this I'm saying from several of my personal traveling experiences within and outside India - then you'll end up enjoying much less.

Summary of our wonderful McLeon Ganj plus Dharamkot trip in October 2022 [COMPACTIDEA]

1. 8.10.22.
1. MakeMyTrip Cab from Ludhiana.
2. Reached Dharamshala, saw lovely mountains and cloudy weather ahead.
3. Reached hotel. Lovely cloudy / foggy weather again on the way to hotel.
4. Satish's taxi to Main Square. Roamed around the market, roadside momos, etc.
1. McLeod is really Little Lhasa / Mini Tibet of India. There are so many Tibetan people here, that you get a partial feeling as if you're outside India.
5. Dinner at McLlo restaurant.
6. Taxi back to hotel.
7. Room service dinner.
2. 9.10.22.
1. Breakfast buffet at hotel.
2. Rahul's taxi to Guna Devi temple trek starting point. Bad road.
3. 10-15 minutes of trek - up to crossing the river bridge.
4. Noodles at the cafe there.
5. Enjoyment at the river - sitting on stones, seeing Tibet people, playing with river water.
6. Taxi to Bhagsunag temple. Trek to the waterfall. Ate, drank and enjoyed at the waterfall.
7. Came down and visited temple.
8. Taxi to Main Square.
9. Food at House of Tibet + roaming.
1. Overall, MG is a nice melting pot of different ethnicities and cultures. This is visible in two ways - via the wide variety of people visible there, and also via the various cuisines available there - North Indian, Tibetan, South Indian, Bhutanese, Israeli, German, Mexican, Nepali, Korean, etc.
10. Taxi to Dharamshala local market.
11. Taxi to hotel.
12. Room service dinner.
3. 10.10.22.
1. Breakfast buffet at hotel.
2. Omkar's taxi to Main Square. Dense fog on the way.
3. Walk towards Dalai Lama Temple + Namgyal Monastery.
4. Visited Dalai Lama Temple + Namgyal Monastery.
1. We probably also visited Tsechokling Gompa. Probably another name or a part of the complex. Or did we visit the Tsuglagkhang Complex?
5. Walk back to Main Square.
6. Jackie's taxi to Dharamkot [Mini Israel]. Such a peaceful place compared to McLeod.
7. Morgan's Place cafe - some eating.
8. Khanabadosh cafe - more eating.
9. Walk in the village, met Israelis.
10. Trek & Dine - more eating.
11. Swings in the open.
12. Taxi back to Main Square. Was a wonderful mini-trip to Dharamkot, including its Israeli aspect. Now I feel that any trip to McLeod Ganj must include Dharamkot, or else it would be incomplete. I also feel that maybe close to 99% of people who visit McLeod Ganj do not visit Dharamkot [especially Punjabis], and perhaps don't even know about it, despite the distance being merely 1-2 km. Thankfully we did know and we did visit this Mini Israel / Little Tel Aviv.
13. Juniper Cafe - yet more eating.
14. Taxi back to hotel.
15. Room service dinner.
4. 11.10.22.
1. Woke up and saw snow-covered mountain tops from the room window. First snow of the season according to hotel reception.
2. Breakfast at hotel.
3. Check-out from hotel.
4. MakeMyTrip Cab to Ludhiana.
5. Places we didn't go to / things we didn't do.
1. Kareri Lake
2. Tibet government-in-exile.
3. Dharamshala cricket stadium.
4. Spa.

Superfoods - a list compiled using quick reading of high-quality sources - Harvard, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins, Cambridge [COMPACTIDEA]

//Non-vegetarian superfoods such as salmon excluded.

//Each superfood has its own strengths. Diversified consumption essential.

Eggs.

Nuts [peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachio, cashew, etc.].

Extra virgin olive oil.

Beans / legumes / lentils [e.g., kidney beans, peas]. Pulses / dals / chane.

Soy / soybean.

Yogurt / Greek yogurt.

Curd / dahi / lassi.

Spinach.

Broccoli. Cauliflower. Cabbage.

Radish. Turnip. Carrot. Beetroot. 

Turmeric. Ginger. Garlic. Onion.

Tomato. Amla. 

Sweet potato.

Seeds [chia seeds, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, etc.].

Fruits [avocado, apple, orange, banana].

Berries [blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries].

Green tea.

Whole grains [oatmeal, quinoa, barley, ragi].

***

SOURCES.

1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-super-are-superfoods
2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/sizing-up-superfoods-for-heart-health
3. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/12-superfoods-you-should-be-eating
4. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/superfoods/
5. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10-superfoods-to-boost-a-healthy-diet-2018082914463
6. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/true-superfoods
7. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-most-nutrient-dense-foods-on-the-planet
8. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/multimedia/health-foods/sls-20076653
9. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/superfoods-why-you-should-eat-cruciferous-vegetables
10. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/flaxseed-tiny-nutritional-powerhouse
11. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-a-superfood/
12. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/publications/johns_hopkins_health/summer_2014/superfoods_to_the_rescue
13. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/5-spices-with-healthy-benefits
14. https://www.robinson.cam.ac.uk/college-life/catering/superfoods
15. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801

Abandoning Costa3 with sadness - the total cost is much higher than what I can spend today - some day... [RAWDUMP]

Had found this great cruise with Costa, for me, my wife and my daughter. Total would've been EUR 790, or about INR 63K. Add about INR 67K for flights [sub total INR ~1.3 lakh], and I had [wrongly] thought that - add other expenses such as food, taxis, 3 nights in Dubai hotel, etc. - us three will be able to do this ~11-12 days trip in roughly INR 1.75-1.9 lakhs. I was so wrong. UAE multi-entry visa is very expensive. Add Qatar and Oman visa costs. Add costs for going to Delhi and coming back to Ludhiana. Add costs for Burj Khalifa and desert safari for the three of us. The total would've been at least INR 2.7 lakhs, and quite possibly INR 3 lakhs. Can't spend this amount, at least now. Abandoning it with sadness. Money is the barrier. Need to earn more. Much more. Only then can I enjoy these things. Already I had chosen the cruise which was so much cheaper than regular cruise prices. If I can't do a trip with an already-discounted cruise, how will I buy regularly-priced cruises in the future?

Copying below the Google online document I had created to plan this trip. It's of no use now. Some day...

Air tickets.

To Dubai. Air India AI-915 [B787] 17.1.23 DEL 4-30 PM to DXB 7 PM. ~39K.

From dubai. Indigo 6E-1836 [Airbus A321neo] 28.1.23 ABU DHABI 00-25 AM to DEL 5-05 AM. ~28K.

Dubai hotel [prior to cruise] + pre-book only a few excursions/activities [try to do mostly free ones like Jumeirah beach] - Burj Khalifa top, desert safari [+barbeque dinner, dance, camel], burj al arab, atlantis free area + metro ride to one palm, mall of the emirates [ski dubai entrance?], dubai mall + fountain show + free outside view of aquarium, palm Jumeirah taxi ride [underground tunnel?].

---

Abu dhabi free places. 1 day and 1.5 hours. Emirates palace. Grand mosque. Corniche + Corniche beach. Yas Mall / Marina Mall.

---

Doha free places. 7.5 hours only. Al Hazm Mall. Villaggio. Souq waqif. Corniche [beach?].

---

Muscat free places. 10 hours. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Mutrah Corniche.

---

Dubai business visits?

Visas - suitable dates and types

• UAE multi-entry type probably needed [more than twice maybe?]

• Qatar 

• Oman

Also check COVID entry requirements - UAE, Qatar, Oman.

Mobile connectivity in UAE, Qatar, Oman and also onboard Costa.

Medicines. Spectacles. Goggles. Bank cards. Cash.

---

26 Free Things To Do In Dubai In 2022 With Your Loved Ones! (traveltriangle.com) https://traveltriangle.com/blog/free-things-to-do-in-dubai/

THE 10 BEST Free Things to Do in Dubai | Tripadvisor
https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g295424-Activities-zft11292-Dubai_Emirate_of_Dubai.html

THE 10 BEST Free Things to Do in Abu Dhabi | Tripadvisor
https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g294013-Activities-zft11292-Abu_Dhabi_Emirate_of_Abu_Dhabi.html

15 Best Places to Visit in Abu Dhabi for Free in 2022 (thrillophilia.com)
https://www.thrillophilia.com/places-to-visit-in-abu-dhabi-for-free

THE 10 BEST Free Things to Do in Doha | Tripadvisor
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g294009-Activities-zft11292-Doha.html

Free things to do in Doha: 50 things that won’t cost you a single riyal | Time Out Doha https://www.timeoutdoha.com/things-to-do/81253-48-awesome-free-things-to-do-in-doha

THE 10 BEST Free Things to Do in Muscat - TripAdvisor
https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g1940497-Activities-zft11292-Muscat_Muscat_Governorate.html

20 Best free attractions in Muscat - Wanderlog
https://wanderlog.com/list/geoCategory/131125/-best-free-attractions-in-muscat

Is a nude beach possible in India - how face-hiding masks might bring Indians to such a beach, especially young Indians [COMPACTIDEA]

Due to cultural [and maybe religious] reasons, no Indian expects Indians to turn up naked at a nude beach, should one open here in India. It'll fail - Indian girls or women roaming naked on an open beach in front of other Indians, including other men, is antithetical to our culture [although looking at what young Indian girls and women are doing these days on Instagram Reels, TikTok, etc., some could say that's not completely true now]. Culture apart, lack of confidence on one's body is another reason [and it itself is because of near-total absence of fitness in India, although this too is changing now in the younger generation].

Anyway. Can masks that fully cover / hide one's face make Indians comfortable in coming to a domestic nude beach? It's possible. The shame associated with revealing one's face, and thus identity, if coming to such a place can be overcome by hiding one's identity. People roaming with weird masks on might look strange at a nude beach, but what's the alternative, if any? Younger Indians will obviously be far more receptive to this whole idea compared to older ones.

Recent Bollywood trend - also in OTT Web series - showing Indian females smoking, drinking, abusing beyond what exists in reality [COMPACTIDEA]

1. Lesbian love-making sequence in City of Dreams. WTF?! No connection to reality. Is this what the series-makers call 'empowerement'?
2. Indian girls/women shown using excessive cuss words and local language abuses. Not in line with the reality that Indians see in their lives. What's the point of depicting the usage of swear words beyond what exists in reality? To add masala to the video?
3. Not only abusive language, Indian females are also [forcibly] being depicted using vulgar words that feel out of place, under the banners of 'liberated', 'modern', 'progressive', 'empowered', etc.
1. Clear example is the sudden + screaming 'vagina between legs' dialog from City of Dreams, and also the daughter referring to her own father's testes in the same show. Nonsense and unrealistic!
4. It seems like the average Indian person / viewer isn't mentally clear about what exactly do terms such as empowered, liberated, etc., mean, and filmmakers are consciously or accidentally exploiting this lack of clarity to push masala dialogs and scenes that are in reality not aligned with the real definitions of these terms.
5. City of Dreams has such excessive depiction of Indian women smoking and drinking that you're like WTF!
6. You're left wondering whether these filmmakers are merely trying to reflect the reality of Indian societies, or are they covertly [maybe overtly?] trying to affect Indian societies, sensibilities, culture and public order?
7. In Voot series Illegal, women are deliberately depicted revealing cleavage when it's out of touch with the reality in India. Now, one could argue that actresses have been exposed for eons by filmmakers in order to make books/movies/shows sell [more], but in this case it isn't only that. Cleavage exposure is also being used as an overt visual cue to convey 'empowerement'. It's like the makers are overtly telling you - "See that cleavage? She's empowered!".
8. Even in Voot's Illegal, display of cleavage has been used as a tool to convey empowerment and confidence. Which professional female lawyer routinely wears cleavage-revealing dresses at her workplace {a high-end law firm}?
9. Also, another overt cue being used these days to highlight 'empowerement' - also visible in Illegal - is excessive use of English language. More English is being sold as more modern, more empowered. Ma or mummy has become mom, this sub-trend is part of the overall English issue.

TAGS= FEMINISM, FEMINIST, GENDER

Financial success doesn't necessarily by itself imply wisdom in other areas, although society considers it so

In general, at least in the Indian society, those who have made a lot of money are also considered wise in non-monetary / non-business areas. Friends, colleagues and relatives start taking advice from these people on a range of social, financial, family, and other issues, implicitly implying that these folks are "wise".

I don't believe that this implicit assessment is correct. I have at least one strong example to think so.

Recently, one of my relatives - who is one generation senior to me and has had huge successes in business over the last many years - kept not one but two extended-family gatherings at his home within a span of roughly 10 days. What kind of wisdom is this, I ask. Entire India is burning from the coronavirus / COVID-19 fire for the last many weeks, and in these dangerous circumstances how can someone put his own extended-family's lives in danger just because he wants to celebrate some of his own occasions? Due to the nature of the close relation, it becomes difficult to refuse the invite, but shouldn't the relative act wisely in the first place and not hold such gatherings at all?

Should we put our lives at stake just because you want to celebrate? Do you know for sure in advance that out of all the people invited / attending the gatherings, none has covid, or that none's body will be devastated if the novel coronavirus enters it?

A corollary. I think earning a lot of money makes a person overestimate / overconfident about his intelligence and wisdom in non-monetary / non-business areas. The person starts to think that because he has successfully earned a lot of money, it's proof that he's universally intelligent / wise - that is, he's capable of intelligently thinking about any area, discipline, situation or subject.

This, I feel, is a major trap which can bust this rich person.

Am I overreacting to the threat from coronavirus? [COMPACTIDEA]

As the various curfews / lockdowns are ending, I - sometimes - feel a bit of a doubt on the unchanged continuation of my strict protection / safety measures from coronavirus. Wearing a mask always, regular sanitization of hands, distancing, not letting anyone into my office, and many more. In contrast, people elsewhere seem to be starting to mix and meet others now. Some of my friends have even done some sort of meetups / get-togethers, but I refused for now. Am I being unnecessarily strict? Am I harming myself by this religious continuation preventive practices? Is it already time for some relaxations? I don't know, but it's important to express the self-doubt that has started to occur at times.

TAGS= CORONA, COVID-19, PANDEMIC

New trend in India - A-grade actresses shamelessly exposing their bodies right in front of their fathers, brothers, etc.

Surprising that they don't feel any sort of lajja / shame / sharam while exposing their bodies in front of their fathers, brothers, etc. So much for Westernization! No value that you're the daughter of that man? Or a sister of your brother? Will this shamelessness ever end? Do these Westernized actresses have no shame left? Bikinis while with your father / brother? How much more can you possibly expose when you're with your boyfriend / husband, compared to what some actresses are currently doing with their fathers / brothers? Further, the discourse environment that has currently been manufactured in the Indian society is such that if you point out or criticize this shamelessness, you're yourself targeted and attacked as regressive, ancient, sexist, dirty-minded and what not [and immediately labeled a "troll"]. No space for unbiased consideration of the criticism.

Females publicly sharing their near-nude pregnancy photos feels like exhibitionism and narcissism to me [COMPACTIDEA]

The 'usual' exhibitionism can be called out as such, but in the case of 'pregnancy', since it's considered a unique and divine experience, it's difficult to call out exhibitionism as exhibitionism. But just because the situation makes it difficult to call something out doesn't in itself mean or imply that it isn't the same negative thing that it was before the current special situation. Basic point being, keeping aside sweet language - females get some kind of excitement/kick in sharing exposing photos of themselves during pregnancy. Whether it's the hormones or whether it's usual stuff, who knows.

SEARCH TAGS= pregnant, childbirth