The Story of Simba's Prideland.

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Many of you who read my blog must have wondered why the name "Simba's Prideland'? Or maybe not because most of u who take the pain of reading my blog are my friends since the times we frolicked around in the corridors of our Alma mater Sacred Heart Convent School  and are therefore aware of my ardent obsession with Simba.And others who were not with me in school i have already bugged by recounting my Simba infatuation innumerable times.But the time has come to give a even more detailed account of my love affair with Simba :D 

It was the year 1997 .Three years after Lion King had released world wide.A swarm of people were heading towards an auditorium where Loyola School's (my brother's school) Golden Jubilee was being celebrated.Among the sea of people was a tiny tot heading towards the auditorium clasping her parents hand.She again glanced at the brochure in her hand ,It said said Loyola School  welcomes u the stage adaptation of the movie The Lion King.The pictures from the movie on the brochure looked quite adorable and she was quite eagerly looking forward to the play

The Presentation of Simba

The opening scene of that play would forever remain itched in my memory.The scene is the presentation of the new born Cub Simba to the subjects of King Mufasa.The opening song of the movie "The circle of Life" is amazing.It starts with very powerful Zulu Lyrics and for me it has magical feel to it.Simba is presented by the King Mufasa's old and wizened old friend Rafiki to the subjects.The subjects bow to the their new Prince and the song reaches its crescendo.In School play the cub Simba was a baby  in a lion suit and on seeing the baby the entire audience awwwed and went How cute! including me of course.That's when i fell in love with Simba and the Lion King.

The pic I used as my election symbol

Fast forward to 2005.Campaigning of the School Pupil Elections of Sacred Convent School was going on with gusto.Vote For Simba!!!!! went the campaigners .One Two Three Four who are we for Five Six Seven Eight whom do we appreciate ? Simba!!!!!!!! chants echoed in the corridors of my Alma mater.I had chosen cub Simba as my election symbol.By this time I was in 10th Std and  had watched The Lion King innumerable times and developed a bond with him.In my election speech I referred to how Simba ,a boisterous playful little cub, an heir to the King Mufasa, had not a care in the world but then his life is completely shattered upon the death of his father for which his wicked uncle blames him.He runs away out of guilt .He eventually returns to his kingdom Prideland with a mission to take his rightful place as King.Its about Simba' s journey of self discovery which leads him to take his place in the Circle of Life.

Needless to say batch mates and juniors alike went gaga over my symbol.There was huge demand fr Simba stickers and badges.I had to print so many .The Juniors would go "Simba didi Simba Didi on seeing me. (How embarrassing!!! *shudders*) ( Ok ok!!Confession!!! I secretly enjoyed it :P)I got won with above 350 votes and the next highest was a measly 70 :D :D

Now Fast Forward to 2007.This time I was in 12th Std and standing for the School President elections.This time I didn't even have to think for a moment  regarding what my election symbol should be .As soon as I was nominated as  a candidate I said to myself Simba has grown up. :D So my symbol this time was Adult Simba.The logic being last two years had been a growing up journey fr me.And my stint as School pupil leader has made me more responsible and instilled in me even a greater pride for my school. :D  *Tch I am a genius :P * 

Hakuna Matata moment.

I won this time too though the vote margin had narrowed this time. :( But still a victory is a victory :D . I remember those fun filled campaigning days, When my friends boisterously sang in the corridors and cheered and shouted slogans for me. One daring one even volunteered to dance wearing  a Simba mask but  i blatantly refused and saved her from  embarrassing herself

So Simba has always been with me in my life's journey.I have watched the movie many times but yet I never get bored of it. I adored  cub simba, his rowdiness , his playfulness, his arrogance,his mischievousness his attempts to be brave like his father,.the lessons which wise and experienced King Mufasa teaches his young cub and the wonderful and close bond they share. I have all these years cried along in the movie when Mufasa dies and swelled with pride when Simba returns to Prideland .I have laughed at the antics of Timon and Pumba and sighed when love blossoms between Simba and Nala..I have cheered when Simba defeats Scar and finally in the closing scene- the presentation of Simba's and Nala's cub to the animals of Prideland. Apart from the cuteness and charm of the movie and the mellifluous music and lyrics what I like about it is how with utter simplicity the movie teaches us important life lessons.

I put in two quotes like.  :D :D

Rafiki: [after guiding Simba to a spot where he says will show him Mufasa] Look down there. 

Adult Simba: [looks into a pool of water] That's not my father. That's just my reflection. 

Rafiki: No, look harder. 

[touches the water, as it ripples Simba's reflection changes to that of his father] 

Rafiki: You see? He lives in you. 

Mufasa's ghost: [from above] Simba. 

Adult Simba: Father? 

Mufasa's ghost: [apears among the stars] Simba, you have forgotten me. 

Adult Simba: No. How could I? 

Mufasa's ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life. 

Adult Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be. 

Mufasa's ghost: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember... 

Here is another one : 

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long. 

[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick] 

Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for? 

Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past. 

[laughs] 

Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts. 

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it. 

[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way] 

Rafiki: Ha. You See? So what are you going to do? 

Adult Simba: First, I'm gonna take your stick. 

[Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it] 

Rafiki: No, not the stick! Hey, where you going? 

Adult Simba: I'm going back! 

Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here! 

[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly] 

And ofcourse one of my favorites 

Rafiki: Asante sana Squash banana, Wiwi nugu Mi mi apana! 

This quote is in Swahili.I have often put it up as my gtalk status message.And many unsuspecting people have asked me what does it mean. To which i reply impishly and animatedly "It means You are a Baboon and I am not" .:D :D Yes Yes that's what Wiwi nugu mimi apana translates to in English , not kidding  :D :P

Ok ok I think i have said all i wanted to say.U might conclude from the post that I am infatuated with The movie and Simba in particular.But let me tell u this.Its not infatuation or obsession. It is love :D :P

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P.S - I cant find the pic of Adlut Simba I used in the president elections : '( .Will put it up once I find it :D

Great Indian Love Marriage :D

Yesterday I attended the wedding of  the sister of our family friend.Mum told me it was going to be held with arya samajic rituals and all which meant it would be held in the morning and the reception would be at night.Which also meant no Baraat and Nach gana  .No Baraat :O I was dejected.one of my favorite passtime in weddings is to watch the bridegroom's friends and family dancing funnily in the Baraat.And baraat dance also happens to be the only dance I'm good at :D .I have two left feet u see :(

"Whats a wedding without Baraat? "I  muttered to my Mum.

She also informed me the girl was having a love marriage with a boy of a different caste.At this i jumped and said "Wohoo!!  Way to go didi" . My Mum threw me a irritated look.She has given me numerous lectures on pros and cons of love marriage(specially inter caste ones) No make that only cons .She is dead against it  :(

Though i have radically different views.I feel caste is such a outmoded concept  I am a believer of bubblegum romance and then a fairy tale wedding :D.Hope Mum doesn't read this otherwise I will again get a free lecture :P

We arrived at the venue all decked up  at around 11 a.m.I was highly sleepy having gone to bed late the previous night.I was watching the wedding rituals in progress and yawning from time to time.My Mum nudged me and said "Hey that guy is good looking na?" I turned around to gape at her and shrieked "Mum !! Whats up with u? U are checking out Guys.Wait I am going to tell papa what u are upto"!

"Hatt, she said slapping me on the wrist. "I was checking out for u.Now take a look." I grinned broadly and turned around to look.

"Naah." I said. "Decent hai but not good".

"I have to be on look out now na.I have to get u married soon no.", she said.I rolled my eyes and said "Mum not for another five years ".At that she giggled and said mischievously , "Of course but we can always be on lookout."

"Hey Mum What about that one "? I asked pointing to a dude with a goatee and in blue kurta

"I thought u were going to point out that bloke.Nope not good", she said .If such a guy asks fr your hand in marriage i will reject outright.'she finished. and I giggled.

For next hour we discussed and scrutinized the Saree's and suits of the guests and debated on whether the flowers used to decorate the Mandap were artificial or real.

"Mum I am hungry" I wailed after sometime.

"I told u to have more pancakes for breakfast.Why did u have only one?" she chided.

"Not my fault u forgot to put salt in it."I shot back

We had lunch and went back home.We had to come back later in the night for the reception.As soon as i got out of the car in front of the reception hall I heard the sound of dhol and nagada coming from inside.Turns out the bridegroom's friends deprived of the opportunity to dance in their friends baraat had brought the dhol people.Friends I tell u :D When we entered the hall they were all dancing and making the groom and bride dance too.I got to watch the funny steps they were doing and felt like breaking into a jig too.But i controlled myself.

Party was nice and lively.I chatted up a friend of mine she told me that aunties were talking that the girl should not have gone fr a love marriage as the bridegroom's parents had not accepted her.And also that nobody had come for the marriage frm the bridegroom's side except his brother and his friends.I was shocked at this piece of news."What are they(bridegroom's parents) creating such a fuss for?He is marrying a girl only na? So what if she is from another community? That should be the least of their worries.There are graver issues now like guys ending up marrying guys ."I replied angrily and my friend sniggered.

That night I went home pondering that its high time people change there mentality  regarding inter community marriages.Hmph :|

The Great Indian Arranged Marraige

This event  happened  sometime in April.Its the rituals which happen in the Great Indian Arrange Marriage but this one describes the plight of a boy.Times they are changing!! :D

The morning began with hustle and bustle of activity in my house. My cousin an MBBS was staying with us and the previous day we had been informed that an interested party (read parents of wannabe bride) wanted to meet him and would come to our place today evening. Ahem! My cousin an eligible bachelor was of the opinion that it would be his parents who would have to go girl hunting and he wouldn’t have to face what girls face when would be in laws come to your place and stare at you as if they are looking at an interesting creature in the zoo.
I for one saw this an excellent opportunity to pull his leg .You see I wanted to take some revenge for all the torture he had put me through (read “Simba your are very lazy”, “Simba you have no girl like qualities, Simba its high time you learn cooking”, “Simba you should help your mother more with household chores” and on and on he went with the incessant nagging) throughout the one month he stayed with us.
After breakfast Mum entered my the room with a solemn face and said “Simba we are having guests over,I want to you to serve tea and snacks ,and please don’t drop anything “,she implored. She added the last sentence because I am quite notorious for my clumsiness in such matters. Just then my cousin entered the room and I looked at him impishly and said “Mum why don’t You make Bhaiya serve. Let the ladkiwalas also see that Bhaiya is sarvagunsampan .” Then I chuckled at my own joke and mummy started laughing hysterically .My cousin threw me a nasty look at this point and said ruefully that he thought he would get the opportunity to go bride hunting but now it looks like he would also have to give interviews.

Throughout the day my mother kept giving me odd jobs to do like changing the sofa covers and bed sheets and all while my cousin was lazing around and net surfing. I barged into his room and said ,”It’s not fair that I go around making the house tidy for your wannabe in-laws while you sit cosily"(Feminist hu na :D)He should help around too. He got up grudgingly and did small jobs around the house.

Throughout the day I never missed an opportunity to pull his leg and I must say I quite enjoyed it. In the afternoon our taps suddenly ran dry. Papa called the watchman and instructed him to start the motor so that water could be pumped into our water tank. “And be quick” my cousin added. Hearing this I sprang up and said “Bhaiya why are you so worried? Is it because it would make a bad impression in front of your wannabe in –laws if there is no water." He threw me a  dirty look and I grinned broadly. Later in the afternoon my cousin was putting aloevera gel (aloevera gel has cleansing properties btw)on his face, which he usually does, but of course the impish me grabbed this opportunity to sneak behind his back and shout “Look mum! A girl wouldn’t take so much pain and efforts as much Bhaiya is taking ".This time I got my ears pulled .
In the evening I saw my cousin coming to my room but then he stopped at the doorway and started scurrying away. I jumped off my bed and called out to him. He said he came to my room to ask me which shirt should he wear but then he changed his mind lest this gives me another opportunity to take a dig at him. Ha! Looks like I have scared him.
Evening approached. Everyone in the house was ready to welcome the guests. We heard a car screeching to a halt nearby.”Are they here”, the wannabe groom asked. To which I said mischievously “Relax Bhaiya! Dont get so excited, It‘s not them”. They finally came .Greeting were exchanged and conversation flowed easily between my parents and them. The wannabe bride’s parents handed over the bio data and her photo to my mother who showed it to me. I took it and went hopping and skpipping to my brothers’ room were the wannabe groom and my brother were chatting. I waved the bio data and the photo infront of his face. Then I read out the bio data to him and showed him the photo .He listened to it all with a a sombre expression on his face.” So?” I asked giggling “So what? “He asked.”Aree kaisi lagi bhabhi” I asked now laughing hysterically.”Umm..She is nice” he replied and his mouth then twitched into a smile. “I like her” I declared after scrutinizing the photo and bio data and “If you don’t marry her I will get her married to Z bhaiya(another eligible bachelor cousin of mine)” I said teasingly. “Wait” I said. ”I’ll go check her out on facebook”, the facebook addict in me said. I tried to track her but looked like she wasn’t a member. “Looks like your would- be is not tech savvy....who does not own a facebook profile these days “I said quite shocked.”Hey its nothing like that” my cousin said “I myself joined it a month back” he said defending her.”Hey whats this? You are defending her already?”I said mischievously. The wanna- be groom threw up his hand in exasperation and I gave a devilish chuckle. He bribed with me with a Cadbury Bournville if i stopped it but i was surprised at myself for refusing the offer.You see i was having far too much fun doing this.

All in all the day ended nicely. This is just the beginning lets see how it turns out whether this particular girl is going to be my future Bhabhi. Lets wait and watch and wait for things to unfold.Till then i will enjoy the Great Indian Arranged Marriage. :D

Hong Kong-Foreign Travel and International Experience Take Three

As the name suggests this is Take 3 of the post so Take One and Take Two should be read before this.What are u waiting for? Go read !!! :P
Ok 2 very Important things about Taiwan trip I missed in the previous post..The Awards ceremony I mentioned had a very elaborate dinner afterwards.Having only had fruits and juice for breakfast and Subway submarine for lunch I was obviously starving.I could have even had beef if it looked delicious.Oh I have this theory which  I put in practice that what doesn't look good doesn't taste good.The beef looked repulsive so I circumvented it.I steered clear of Squids and seaweed also.(Obviously) But  I stopped at ham stir fried noodles.It looked scrumptious and the starved me immediately piled it up on my plate.The rest of my plate was occupied by asparagus, lettuce and the like (hindi mein bole toh ghas phus).I sat at my team table and immediately started devouring the noddles.

What is that? my Gujarati teammate inquired
"Ham stir fried noddles" I replied cheerfully .The change in mood was of course because I had something to eat in my plate.

"What????" My strictly vegetarian Gujarati teammate shouted and gave me such a nasty look that I felt myself sinking and slouching in the chair

."But..But...I am hungry" I said feeling as guilty as if i had murdered the animal for the ham with my own bare hands

."What about Swine Flu"?, he countered.

I had no counter attack for that and I pushed away my plate and the cheerful expression i had a moment a go was replaced with a scowl.But I later found myself wishing I had never touched the ham noddles because during the return flight i was feeling a little feverish and I became paranoid that I had caught the flu :(

Then another very important event in my life happened later that night. It was the After Awards Party and alcohol was flowing freely.   Now the teetotaler me sat there sipping my soft drink I looked around at people consuming alcohol and I mused that I had paid for that too in my competition fee.Not only that I had paid for the food too.But neither did i eat their food nor did i drink their wine.What a waste of money , I  brooded.It was time to do some Paisa Vasooly , I decided. I then made a resolution and made my way towards one of my teammates.

"I want a sip of your Vodka" I said to her."Then I will think about whether to get my own glass." She more than willingly handed it to me.Having reached this stage now looked at the glass unsure.I was afraid it might burn my throat.Then with steely determination I put the glass to my lips and drew a sip."Ugghhh....Vile stuff !!"I concluded just after one sip. It tasted like lemon gone bad(I had Vodka with Sprite) but thankfully it didn't burn my throat as I had expected.I handed her the glass back and went back to my soft drink and to my ambition of making it to the List of Famous Teetotaler in Wikipedia.So much for Paisa Vasooly, I rued.Now u mustn't let this attempt of mine at Pasia Vasooly   fool u into thinking I am parsimonious in any way.But my 1 year stint in Gujjuland (My college was in Gujarat) was bound to affect  and give my thinking  its characteristic stingy touch .

Ok now back to where I left.We landed in Hong Kong at night and headed towards Causeway Bay which is one of Hong Kong's busiest shopping district.Since we were in Hong Kong only for a day we were putting up in a hostel in Causeway Bay It was nearing midnight but All of us wanted to explore the place so we headed out.Most shops were closed but the place was alive with neon signs.We were clicking pics in one such place when I caught one of my teammates excitedly pointing at something.Her face was glowing with happiness of the kind i didnt even see when we stood third in the competition.

"What is it?" we inquired

."Look This building has an Indian Restaurant on the 7th floor.All our faces lit up brighter than the neon lights of Hong Kong.We rushed to the lift giggling with pleasure at the mere thought of eating an Indian meal at last.We reached the restaurant only to find the owner switching off the lights, ready to close

Sign showing Mirch Masala(The Indian restaurent)

"Oh? You are closing?"we inquired.The crestfallen and dejected  look on our face quite apparent.

"Yes we close at midnight", the Indian owner of the restaurant replied.

"What time do u open in the morning?"

At 10" came the reply.

"Can we at least look at the menu?" we pleaded.He looked at us for a second then went got us the menu.We were drooling just looking at the name of the dishes.Kashmiri pulao with raita,Paneer kadai,Paneer Pasanda, Chicken butter masala  etc etc *slurp slurp*

We explained the reason for our weird behaviour and he said "Oh OK I can do one thing.I can ask the Chef to prepare some dishes for u and parcel it .Quickly decide what you want.We thanked him profusely and he said benevolently *Agar ek Indian dusre Indian ki help nai karega toh kaun karega"and I could have hugged him and planted a peck on his cheek right then and there but i refrained from such overt acts of expressing one's gratitude. :D :P 

Much before i landed in Hong Kong i had done some research on it.And since i was only there for a day i had my heart set on visiting Disneyland.But before that i wanted to make a stop at the Peak.This tourist destination was suggested to us by a Hong Kong participant.Did I mention him before?Oh damn I forgot.Ok will tell u in short that he was very cute and he also tried to teach me how to use chopsticks but alas i failed miserably and concluded  that my fingers are not flexible  and  dexterous enough to hold and use chopsticks :-| 

Off to The Peak I went with one of my teammates.The other two preferred to go to Mong Kok for shopping The Peak is Hong Kong's highest point.The Tram journey to reach The Peak is quite exhilarating.The design of the peak tram is very ingenious.Most part of the route is quite steep and the steepest slope angle is around 27 degree.This gives a very topsy turvy view of the city on the right.

The Peak Tram

Pablo Picasso at Madame Tussads

View From Sky Terrace

Now i expected the Peak to be some kind of mountain.It was but with so much more.It had a mall where one could do souvenir hunting and some pretty expensive shopping.It had great many restaurants for dining.It had a Sky terrace from where u could get a panoramic view of the Hong Kong city.U could enjoy the high speed wind blowing across your face at the Sky terrace and ponder over the wonders and delights that Hong Kong had to offer.On one side u could see the concrete jungle and right on the other the Victoria bay and the greenery around.And it also had a Maddame Tussads :D. I posed for innumerable pics with wax statues.My favorite ones are with 

Brad Pitt,Pierce Brosnan Lady Daina and Marlyn Monroe.

Then we headed to Disneyland from there.Disneyland is on another island in Hong Kong and it has its own train to ferry passengers to and fro too.The train is painted very colorfully and inside it also there are various small figures of Disney characters.Just as i got off the train i saw a little girl running around with Mickey Mouse Ears and anotherone with a Stitch cap(he too is a Disney cartoon.) .And i found myself grinning broadly from ear to ear.I resolved to get the Stitch 

Stitch Stuff toy/Cap

stuff toy.At the very entrance of Disneyland a giant a 

statue of a whale with Mickey Mouse surfing on the water coming out from its Blowhole welcomed us.

As soon as I lay my eyes on the Stitch cap i had seen earlier (.It was a cap with doubles up as a stuff toy.The mouth serves as the cap part and the body of the stuff toy dangles from the back of the head like a tail. :D Take a look at the pic for better understanding) i bought one from the first stall i came across.I had to shell out 195 HKD(Hong Kong dollars) for it.I was in a very jocund mood and put on the cap without caring how silly i looked.In my defense Disneyland is a place where one is allowed to act like a kid :D. As i walked 

along taking in the various sights i did a quick mental calculation as to how much my cap had cost me.It came out to be Rs. 1462.5  :-o (1 HKD was around 7.5 Indian Rupees that time.) I jerked away the cap from my head and gaped at it fr a second , my love for it diminishing slightly.Did i mention i had already spent 350 HKD on entry ticket. (Rs.2525) :-o ."But oh well ",i thought,"Its a wonderful souvenir to take back".I again donned on the cap and went back to looking silly.Throughout  Disneyland I fought a strong impulse to buy more souvenirs.I really had to  pull myself away from the Lion King T shirt *sob sob sniff*

Disneyland

There were many rides in Disneyland.One particular ride i enjoyed a lot was called Space Attack. It was a roller coaster with a difference.For one thing it was an indoor roller coaster.We passed through darkness and every now and then it was illuminated by beautiful pictures of space.It was a very thrilling ride and I went on it twice.The rest of the rides  I found a little silly and slow.There was a lot of stuff to do at Disneyland.It took us rest of the day to explore it all.And when the time came for Disneyland to close at 7 in the evening we were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks accompanied by nice music.Thus next day we headed back for our homeland :D .I enjoyed the trip immensely.Though after coming back i weighed a good 5 kgs less than I weighed went i had begun my journey.And that's not a good thing considering i weighed only 48 kgs in the beginning of the trip :P :-o

 

Taiwan: Foreign Travel and International Experience -Take Two

Disclaimer : I repeat My name is Simba and I am not a racist. :-|

          I will continue from where I left.(Those of  you who haven't read the previous post should go through that before reading this one)

We were waiting at the Bangkok Airport for our continuing flight to Taiwan.As we navigated the airport to reach our Security Check In point, at one place I stopped for a brief second looking in horror at what lay ahead of me.Escalators!! I have had a strange phobia for escalators ever since I can remember.I avoid them at all costs .In shopping malls or any other place I always take the stairs.The phobia is mainly because I always have an queer feeling that my jeans will get caught at the end of it and I also don't like the queasy sensation one gets when one steps on an escalator.
           So in the airport I looked left and right for stairs but nope there were none.Refusing to freak out in front of my senior teammates lest I come across as a rustic character.(Hindi mein bole toh gaon ki gawar) I plucked up my courage and gingerly stepped on it.The initial queer sensation having subsided  I was extremely alert and timed my stepping out of it with precision so as to avoid my jeans getting caught.Time and again i encountered escalators after escalators in the airport.My phobia started diminishing slowly and I even came to the conclusion that they were not that bad after all(provided u stay alert and time ur stepping out with precision of course).Now  I can confidently say that one good thing that happened in the trip was that i overcame my fear of escalators. :D

My Room at The Leader

We finally boarded the plane and reached our destination.Taipei(Taiwan's capital city)was beautiful.During the journey from the airport to the main city we passed through a scenic landscape but the main city was a bit of a concrete jungle.We arrived at the hotel(The Leader) and after completing the check in formalities we headed for our rooms.Our rooms were luxurious without being ornate.They had a comfortable and homely feel to it.But the bathroom!!!  I gaped at it aghast. It had a translucent sliding panel for an excuse of  door and with no latch.Yes you read right No latch ! It was not defective in any way it was designed like that. :-| And they called this  a five star hotel.Hmph!

Later I wasted a good ten minutes trying to figure out how to work out the various knobs on the shower.It was the kind that had  water sprinkling from all sides.Cant these people keep anything simple? I reflected critically.Take a look at the pic in the side to fully understand the extent of my dilemma.Later as we waited in the lobby we were joined by other participating teams.They were mostly South Asians.As I looked at the sea of faces around me I was confounded as to how to tell them apart.:-o How to tell apart Vietnamese from Japanese from Hong Kong participants from Taiwanese from Koreans?? But right then i was transported to my kindergarten days when we used the Chinese Japanese Batameez (*slap* ) Sorry Please Jingle(accompanied by actions) to dupe our friends.I recalled that for Chinese we pulled our eye slits upwards and fr Japanese downwards.Therein lay the difference.I scanned the faces and was immediately able to pick out the Japanese girl with eye slits slanting downwards (Yes yes i know i am a genius :D )

Food(I think) we were served.

For the food we were served take a look at the pictures,A picture is worth a thousand words they say.I survived on Subway submarines during the entire trip and  devoured on the Theplas my Gujarati teammate had brought from home.Every time i raided his stock of food i thanked the Almighty profusely for Gujaratis and their habit of packing enough eatables to feed an entire army, for any trip.

Taipei is very famous for its Night markets(they are basically Street markets) which is an excellent place to shop for clothes, and gifts and try the local cuisine (if you are the daring type of course). One thing i liked about if was that shopkeepers  had their prices on display and didn't try to rip you off by quoting exorbitant prices just because you are a foreigner.The night markets we went to were Gong Guan Night Market and Shilin Night Market.

Taipei 101 at night

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

A very famous landmark of Taipei City is Taipei 101.it had the honor of being the tallest skyscraper and having the fastest elevator before Burj Khalifa overtook it in 2010 on both these counts The first five floors have a shopping mall.The view from the top is no doubt spectacular.I also found out that from 6:00 to 10:00 each evening  the tower's lights display one of seven colours in the spectrum.
Another remarkable structure is the The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall  erected in memory of Chiang Kai-shek,

former President of the Republic of China. It incorporates traditional Chinese Architecture and is a  mesmerizing piece of work.

Now allow me to describe a little bit about the Awards ceremony night of the Elsa Wto Moot court Competition.We had decided to wear ethnic Indian clothes for the function.(And oh btw we were placed third in the Competition :D ) I wore a salwar suit ,the other two girls wore Sarees and the guy member a sherwani.Needless to say the other foreigner participants all went gaga over our traditional outfits.All of them wanted to pose for photos with us.I guess i ought to be flattered but right then i was feeling like a Mickey Mouse in Disneyland with whom everybody wants to take a photo. :-|
The competition was over and the next day we were headed for Hong Kong.The Hong Kong experience coming up in the next post.Stay tuned :D

P.S -All photos (except the shower one is from my camera :D ) 

P.S.S :This post was short before I added pics.I swear!!! :( :(