I see, I am

I've been back from the south-east just a few days back but it seems like I finished the tour just yesterday, Sentosa beach still clearly replaying the Songs of the Sea in my mind over and over again. It was lovely to come back to relaxation and the daily comfort of not always following a hectic physically demanding schedule. At the same time, I miss the food - sausages, noodles (so many different kinds...so many exotic flavors), rice and curry combinations, the soothing combination of fried egg and buttery croissants, the temptations of hot and golden bread pudding with vanilla sauce on the side...a million memories all blending together and yet each individual piece glinting out of the tapestry of melded gastronomic delights.

I also miss the streets, the inns and the streetside restaurants even if I passed most of them on my way to different tourist attractions. The quiet sidewalks, even with traffic constantly flowing past. Our beautiful hotel rooms at Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur both providing a great view of the cityscape both in the morning and night. A chaise longue in a corner and a canopied four poster bed at the other end. 'Together-time' between tours. A great spread awaiting us at every table we stopped at for meals. The lush green landscape of Thailand, the dark velvety rainforest scenes of the Malaysian highways, verdant fronds leaping into view from dark stone buildings of Singapore. I can just close my eyes and see them again.

At the same time, I'm glad to be back in Bombay. The land where you dont need to convert one currency to another, where everything is afforable as long as you're reasonable. Where one can find a mix of different cuisines, some made to suit your palate, some that you need to adjust to. Where you dont always need a map to locate where exactly you are rather than where you're off to.

One of the many treats in store was meeting my mom, dad and sis for a family lunch. Our first Diwali after marraige was quite a special affair. Both mom-in-law and mommy went all out to make it memorable in their own ways. The lunch was super in every way, kabuli pulao, chicken curry in brown gravy, loads of boondi raita and vegetable salad, pooris and shrikhand and potato bhaji. A mango ice cream at the end made us all a bit dozy...my uncle decided to break up the gathering to get a bit of sleep.

Lots of gifts exchanged and presented to us. We also got hampers - my mom made a hamper of my favourite (and now my husband's too) goodies from the bakery near my house. It was heaven to bite into a chocolate walnut brownie the next day with breakfast. My aunt made a hamper of home-made goodies that were yummy too...I dont remember when I last ate a homemade chiroti.

A lovely couple of days, as memorable as the trip we've just completed, if not more. We received a microwave from my parents as a Diwali gift which we're excited to try out. Consulting its massive cookbook, we made a veg pulao as the very first microwave-cooked dish. It turned out really well and I cant wait to make more things like chicken, rolls, desserts, cakes... the sky's the limit.

It all really just comes back to food. No matter how far you go, the one thing that instantly makes you feel at home is food.