Back to Moscow

On 29th was my 36th Birthday and this was the day we returned to Moscow. As if Moscow was waiting for us with all its snow and and sub zer temperatures, but still we could feel the warmth of our home. Our friends from the building were nice to throw a party and we didnt have to cook on our first day. Must give credit to Ira, who had prepared our Rice Dal and Vegetables, so that we dont starve.
Normal routine started from 30th Jan, School for kids, Yoga for Neeta and Work for me.
Today was - 12, and the synoptics says it will be around -27 around the weekend.
So enjoy, I will post some restaurant reviews............

Patiala Peg and Fujiya

Enough of lambasting Goa. Lets get back to our good old Delhi. Guys- Delhi is changing. It looks as if the Delhi is engulfing the whole world. Its getting hep!
Metro is in, its good,..... running on time, u can now actually calculate at what time you will reach office, if you take the metro.I will not talk here about the incomplete metro stations, though its a reality that we never seem to finish anything.
Big malls are in. Hypermarkets are in and more to come. Reliance has announced its foray into retail. It will build 51 Hypermarkets across the country. So all the guys who have not been to India for the last 2 years and dont plan to be here for another 3 years, be ready for a BIG change when you guys land here.

Now to Patiala Peg.......

Patiala Peg is a bar located in Delhi's most luxurious, boutique hotel Imperial. Here you can bump into the likes of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi. Though its small but its cozy, certainly worth a visit. If you ask for a beer, request for the Silver beer mug, for an extended pleasure.

Fujiya at Malcha Marg still serves the best Chinese in town. The only thing that has dissappeared is the que in the front, rest is same.

Goa.....continued

Goa certainly surprised me, but since I was on a semi pleasure trip, I did not enjoy much as I expected to, nor were we able to do our little things independently.
But nevertheless, we hired a motorbike on a last day and Neeta had a ride on a scooty, she can ride very fast......
Since we were accompanying a business associate and we were showing him our own country, we were a little careful.

Russians have really spoilt the place. Our hotel was 70-80% occupied by Russian groups. Some of them were very pompous and pretentious. Most of them were lying on the beach, some of them were playing golf, its the latest fad in Russia!
The hawkers ont he beach have a wonderful time when Russians are around....they are the only people who can buy Coconut water for INR 200 without negotiations!

Russians also want to go for a yatcht ride for INR 15000 per hour, a luxury which is not so easily available in Goa.

I have come to a conclusion that our resorts are still not very much equipped for the very high end of tourism. Though they pretend to match the highest standards, but there are very serious flaws.

Neeta bought some sea shells as presents and had kept them in the room, but they vanished in the evening before they checked out. She protested but the shells were lost! Welcome to Intercontinental in Goa.................

I'll post some pictures soon.......

Goa

Its one of the most expensive "holidays" I had in one of my worst times!
Well Goa's Intercontinental Hotel in South Goa charged us around USD 420 per night, fortunately was paid by Welspun, because our family was accompanying a gentleman - Igor with his family, a client of Welspun.
Goa is a rip off in this period, everything is expensive.
Palolem Beach near the hotel in South Goa is a place worth a visit, its full with tourists and could be compared to any other mediterranean or SE Asian resort.
Shacks are very fashionable to have food in Palolem beach, but they are not cheap.
LLobsters can cost from 750 - 1500 per KG.
Never go to a Shack owned by Nepalese in Palolem Beach, they will really cheat you, they did it to us.
The Waterfall - Dudhsagar, was good fun and tiring ride through the jungles.
Kids enjoyed the sun, swimming pool and the sea.
We need to change a lot still.