My maiden marathon run

Earlier this month I ran my maiden marathon in Hartford, Connecticut. I completed the 26.2 mile course in just less than 4 hours. Last year I ran the half-marathon. I completed it quite comfortably in 1 hour 45 minutes. So, I planned to try the full one this year. Generally, I run 6 miles everyday on the treadmill. Once in a while I go to a trail to run similar or slightly more distances. However, once our daughter was born last June, I struggled to follow the above schedule. Hence, I was hopeful but a bit skeptical whether I would be able to finish!

Hiking the Falling Water Trail in White Mountains, Lincoln, New Hampshire

Panoramic view from the top of Little Haystack Mountain
in White Mountains, New Hampshire

The Falling Water trail in White Mountains is located near Franconia Notch State Park off I-93. The trail is about 6 miles, round trip. It passes through three waterfalls - Stair Falls, Swiftwater Falls and Cloudland Falls - and goes all the way to the top of the Little Haystack mountain. After one crosses the Cloudland Falls, the trek becomes very difficult for those without prior trekking experience. The trail, there on, becomes very rocky. However, once we get to the top, the panoramic view of the surrounding mountains is breathtaking.

Kodaikanal trip with Tamil Nadu tourism

It was April, the time of the year when most Indian states begin their own regional years. Tamil New Year fell on a Monday ensuing a long weekend for us. Chennai was getting hotter by day. Naturally, we were looking for a cool hilltop getaway. Our search ended at Kodaikanal, a 2000 feet hill station around 550 Km away from Chennai. We booked a 3-day package with Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation or TTDC. I earlier vacationed with other state tourism corporations like APTDC (Andhra Pradesh), OTDC (Orissa), WBTDC (West Bengal) etc. My experience with them was satisfactory. Hence, we hoped that TTDC wouldn't disappoint us either.

Soan Papdi

While having Haldiram’s orange-flavored Soan Papdi today I remembered how much I liked this sweet in my childhood. My grandmother used to buy a packet for me whenever she returned home after visiting a relative.  Soan Papdi vendors with red & white paper boxes stacked on a tray are common sights in any mofussil bus terminus in Bengal. These boxes used to be priced at two or three rupees; not sure how much they cost now. They were not of good quality. But does a child care for quality? I remember my father once bought me a packet from a big sweet shop, supposedly of better quality. What was the occasion? May be after half-yearly or annual school exam. In those days our cravings had to wait for appropriate occasions. My grandmother expired few years back. Some fond memories, however, occasionally come back and I cherish those.

Visit to the majestic Lake District

Ullswater

We were finally to the land of lakes last week, the Lake District in the county of Cumbria of United Kingdom. Lake district consists of 16 large lakes (meres) and 200+ smaller ones (tarns). It is November, early winter and probably not the ideal time to visit this 'area of outstanding natural beauty'. However, there are significantly less crowd this time, hence the hills and the lakes were all ours!

Durga Puja Overseas

This is the second time I am spending Durga Puja outside my country. In 2009, I was in the United States. This year I am in UK. It feels bad not to be at home during the time of festivities, particularly during Durga Puja. However, it gives an opportunity to look at the most celebrated festival of the Bengalis from a different perspective.

Day trip to Formby beach, UK

Last week we were looking for a weekend getaway. We had been to hills (Edale, Peak District) earlier the month. We thought, 'Why not to the sea this time?' The east coast of England is near to Leeds, our home for last five months. We had been to Scarborough before. However, the weather forecast was not promising - it predicted shower in the north-east, whereas western part of the country were to remain somewhat dry. So after little research we hit upon the Formby beach on the west coast - between Liverpool and Blackpool in Lancashire. It's among the 20 best beaches as per Telegraph.