Happy New Year 2015!

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19

This is the promise that came to me early in 2014 and has been fulfilled in the most marvellous ways this year.  I am writing this annual newsletter in New Delhi after a dream holiday with my best friends. Christmas is the perfect time to reflect and be grateful for all the blessings enjoyed this year.

• 2014 got off to a roaring start with a family reunion in California.  Daddy and Julie jointly celebrated their birthdays for the first time in many years, and the Yeohs ushered in the Year of the Horse with friends in Julie's Citrus Heights home
• Visited the US three times this year.  Fell in love with a beautiful place called Pacific Grove on the northern California coast in winter.  Enjoyed it so much I went back in late spring to vist Monterey and Carmel as well.  The mountains around Lake Tahoe provided more inspiration in the fall
• One of my career highlights this year was a visit to LinkedIn's headquarters in Mountain View, as part of a global group of customer advocates.  The time spent in Silicon Valley and a fireside chat with Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder, about "tours of duty" motivated me to wrap up my role at SingPost in July, and take a career break to recharge
• The wonderful thing about a career break is the opportunity for more leisurely travel to catch up with friends I haven't seen in the longest time!  A big thank you to Selina (Penang), Ian (KL), Martin and Tariq (London), Kathleen (LA) and my sister Julie who have been such gracious hosts to me this year
• Spent my birthday in London with Martin and Tariq, two wonderful friends from my MBA days.  It was quite a homecoming being back in the UK after 14 years. Visited the Kentish coast and Canterbury  as well
• Ending the year on a high note with a tour of India. Till now, Taj Mahal, Rajasthan, Old Delhi have only been figments of my imagination, and to be able to experience them personally has been such a treat!  Even more wonderful, are the new friends I've made while in New Delhi. 

While I have chosen to focus on the positives from 2014, I'm also reminded of the heartbreak in the shape of airline disasters, epidemics, terrorism and wars and I ask you to join me in a silent prayer for those who have gone before their time, and for sanity to return soon.  

Despite this, I am still very excited to see what 2015 will bring. It is another year for us to celebrate life, family and friendships.  To become all that we were created to be.  

And so to all my friends, old and new, I wish you all the best for a fruitful and blessed 2015.

Blessed Christmas and Happy 2015!

Ode to Love

The magnificent Taj Mahal

I finally saw the Taj Mahal in Agra - one of the seven wonders of the world.  It is breathtakingly beautiful. 

Aunty Jojo @ the Diana Seat

This mausoleum was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631.  An ode to love - is what I've heard it described as, many times. Though in my humble opinion, any woman who has 14 children in a 19-year marriage totally deserves a monument built in her honour.  Just saying.

Yes, Aunty Jojo is perfectly capable of capturing cheesy tourist photos!

The Taj Mahal took 22 years to complete and almost emptied the treasury of the Mughal empire, with all the marble and precious stones that were required for its completion.  In the end, Shah Jehan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in a small room in the Agra Fort, where he spent the rest of his life watching workmen toiling to complete his mausoleum.  While Shah Jehan never set foot in the Taj Mahal, that is where he is buried to this day alongside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal.

View from the northern entrance

Street Foods of Old Delhi

Every first time traveller to India would no doubt be warned about the dangers of bacteria and intestinal parasites which result in "Delhi belly" - a nasty set of symptoms that has ruined many a holiday. Much of the apprehension is focussed on street foods, which while providing an authentic culinary experience on the one hand, also serves as a possible vehicle for contamination.  As I arrived in New Delhi, I too weighed the risks of eating street food but decided to take the plunge anyway - with a proper tour guide - Surekha Narain of Delhi Metro Walks.  Boy am I glad I did! 

It's possible to enjoy the street delights of Delhi as long as one takes some precautions such as:

• refraining from eating fresh, uncooked food (e.g. juices, salads, cut fruits & vegetables)
• buying cooked food from stalls with high customer turnover, where the wares haven't been left sitting out for too long
• bringing your own hand sanitizers & disposable spoons, and remembering to use them before every meal or snack stop
• not judging a stall too quickly by western standards of hygiene, maintaining a high level of tolerance and healthy sense of humour :)

 Aunty Jo Jo enjoying breakfast puri (deep fried bread) and potato curry at Chandni Chowk

As we traversed the ancient alleys of Old Delhi, I discovered some truly unique and delicious foods.  Here are a some of my favourites, in order of preference.

 Daulat Ki Chaat is a dessert of milk mousse topped with saffron and sugar.  It's a winter specialty in Old Delhi.  What a delightful plate of playfulness!  I only caught a brief taste of sugary milkiness before the pillow of mousse dissolved in my mouth.  This dessert requires a lot of preparation, often beginning with the churning of milk at 2am before setting it in the wake of morning dew. 

Next up we have Til Papri - a confectionary made of sesame which reminded me of some Chinese sweets which were a childhood favourite.  Since it can keep for several months, I bought some to take home.

Khurchan (meaning "leftover scrapes" in Hindi) is a gooey milk candy that is ultra sweet.  It is made by boiling milk, scraping the leftovers from the bottom of the pan and leaving it to evaporate. It's then packed into trays, cut into rectangles and topped with more sugar and julienned pistachios. 

Finally we have dahi balla - spicy lentil balls topped with sweet yogurt and tamarind sauce. The power-packed combination of sweet, savoury, sour and spicy flavours were a little too overwhelming for my palate.  Although I'm told it is the firm favourite of many Delhi-ites. 





We tried a few savoury samosas as well - one fried in pure ghee which was quite decadent and a Jain samosa filled with moong dhal (yellow peas).

I am so happy to have experienced the street foods of Old Delhi and lived to tell the tale!

Magical Mumbai

What a great party town Mumbai is!  My first night comprised champagne, bratwurst, potato salad, men in leiderhosen, dancing to 80's hits, making awesome new friends, a spell at "Please Don't Tell" club before ending at 2am with a dose of sweet paan.  Wow, these people really know how to have a good time!

Left:  Aunty & "Ah Boy" Harvey;
 Right: at Britannia with Harvey, Michael & Mr Kohinoor

The main reason I'd come to Mumbai was to visit my dear "Ah Boy" Harvey Koh.  We first met at Calvary Church in 1994 when we were cast to play the two main characters in a Christmas production. The finale saw us serenading each other with a song entitled "O, What a Love", Bollywood style.  How apt that we should be reunited in Mumbai - the home of Bollywood!  Harvey and Michael live in Bandra, the Beverly Hills equivalent, where the major movie stars have their homes.  In fact, Shah Rukh Khan's house was a mere 300m away from our apartment!

The next day, the boys took me to Britannia & Co, an authentic Parsi restaurant in the heart of old Mumbai. While the sali boti (mutton stew topped with potato chips), chicken berry pulao (chicken rice with fruit & nuts) and chicken dhansak (lentil stew with chicken) were all extremely good, the real attraction is a charming 93-year old gentleman.  Mr Kohinoor is the owner, and while he took almost 15 minutes to take our order, I was completely enamoured by his stories, jokes and devotion to Queen Elizabeth II.  She's even written him a letter to thank him for his loyalty! You won't have to ask to see the letter, Mr Kohinoor proudly parades it around the restaurant every hour.

At the Gateway of India & Taj Palace Hotel 

I also treated myself to a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel - the grande dame of hotels in India.  It was right next to the Gateway of India, a unique landmark built to commemorate to visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.  The place was heaving with local and foreign tourists and security was tight.  Still, the monument and its eclectic mix of European, Mughal and Hindu designs is worth seeing.