Incredible India!

I had the opportunity of visiting India again recently (3-6 Jan) because of work and I found some time to see a few famous attractions in Hyderabad. Hyderabad is the 5th largest metropolis of India and is apparently famous for pearls...

The first place of interest was the Salar Jung Museum which displayed some of the private art pieces collected by these three generations of kings or 'Nizams'. Quite an impressive collection although the place wasn't well taken care of. The 'Veiled Rebecca' must be the most impressive piece. From afar it looked as though there is a veil draped over the statue but on closer inspection, it was actually sculpted on the statue itself to create the facade!

The second was the Charminar; a monument in Hyderabad they say is like, "what the Statue of Liberty is to the US and the Eiffel Tower is to Paris". 'Char' means four and 'Minar' means pillar so basically, the Charminar is this HUGE structure with four pillars smack right in the middle of the city. I didn't climb up the structure though cos it was (1) 54m high (2) a lot of peddlers & beggars were starting to crowd around me... (reminded me of Cambodia. only the kids looked less cute.)

The third was the Golconda Fort where it has one of the most amazing acoustic features I had ever seen! When you clap under specific spots along the corridor of the fort, the sound reverberates, travels and can be heard all the way to the top of the hill which is about a kilometer away... incredible! I also stayed behind to watch the 'Sound-and-Light' Show which is basically, a narration (sound) of the history of the fort with some...well... spot(lights).

Looking back...

at my first year of blogging, it really brought back a lot of both fond and some 'not so fond' memories. I never had the habit of keeping a diary so I could only vaguely remember what happened in the past before I started blogging. But now I understand why penning down feelings and experiences is so important.

Basically it boils down to the 3Rs:

1. Reminiscence. To remind us of our experiences and to bathe in the joys and sorrows of our past.
2. Reflection. To look at what we could have done better and not repeat mistakes.
3. Rejuvenate. To celebrate life as it unfolds and energize us to look ahead towards our goals.

So... "Gambatte" Siyuan! Dun slack now and keep on blogging!

Happy 1-year Blogging Anniversary!

Happy New Year!

:)