The charm of luxury vacations...

Google defines luxury as a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense. When money isn't an issue (even post demonetisation) and the need for relaxation in a huge spacious area with unlimited benefits is your thing, then luxury vacations are a must for you! 

Vacation is the best way to destress, create happy memories, innumerable photo opportunities, gastronomical journey and so on.. 
You can lounge in your casual wear and be at ease with your true self.
 Now, you may ask why the need for spending so much on a room wherein you can do the trip with a lesser budget! 

True that !! 

This is my feeble attempt to highlight the features!

The ROOM -- Imagine a huge sprawling living room welcoming you with its brightly coloured cushions, chandeliers/state of art lighting, gigantic television with a printed menu of programmed channels, a side bar area/dining table for digging in your room serviced food without messing the sleeping area, a humongous bed ( imagine king+queen bed makes it royal bed ) with excellent turndown service, a walk in closet along with a private safe and an adjoining bathroom which gives you an awesome feel of doing your ablutions in luxury! 

Whether it is the sunken bathtub or the private shower cubicle with best complimentary essentials ( ex: forest essentials), or the additional sit out in the balcony,overlooking a beautiful landscape or just the kick of getting free knick knacks like pastries, fresh fruit and sweets ! 

The housekeeping personnel are like magical elves who keep everything spick and span! some even make interesting swans and elephants out of towels and place them on your bed !! 
Be ready to inhale rose petals smells and see beautiful arrangements when the hotel discovers you are on a special occasion trip :) 

The extra space gives you tremendous breathing space, cozy corners and value for money!

The Property -- Manicured lawns, smiling and courteous personnel wishing you during your stroll, beautiful and artistic locations wherein you can click pics and get those tons of likes on FB! The ease of checking in and checking out.. the golf cart rides and beautiful pathways for your serene walk..

Private pools -- The best feature money can buy/rent ! :) ideal for couples looking for some wicked fun! this is the latest trend in the hottest properties around. 
advisory warning- avoid winter time while booking this since none of them are heated pools.. Splash around with your special someone or indulge in a water volleyball match with family! 
In India, Serai - chikmagalur, Orange County ( Hampi,Kabini and Coorg), Leela Goa are good places with private pools.

The Food -- Chefs go out of the way to accommodate all your requests.. The spread of buffet and taste is so good that you want to overstuff yourself! The room service delivers your food with aplomb! Proper cutlery meets brilliant packaging!

Privacy -- Luxury places offer you the perfect serene environment with good crowd. You can be assured of a good guest list owing to the high price tag ( am not being racist here)! Discretion is the middle name of the staff who wouldn't disturb you until you call for them!

However, as life isn't bed of roses, similarly luxury vacations have many cons as well..


Price Tag : Its definitely not for the faint hearted! imagine paying minimum Rs.25,000-30,000 (plus taxes) for a single night! It works out best for people who are likely to be more indoors and use the facilities than for adventurous sorts! basically, for sloth bears :) 

Pricey Food and Beverage : Most properties (like leela and orange county) have a american plan system wherein the buffet breakfast,lunch and dinner are included for a small fee or with the room. In case, this isn't available, best way is to get a takeaway for at least one meal from outside. If the resort is on extreme outskirts then no option but to opt for the food plan. 

Also, if you are a avid drinker and love your 3-4 pegs or just want to have some fun... smuggle a bottle and coke tins/soda inside your room ! it just isn't practical to spend Rs.350 on a can of soda/coke! 

2 peg in room (with ice bucket on request) and 2 peg in their lounge will balance your wallet's status :) 

Veg food jugaad : places abroad have lesser varieties for vegetarians and in Indian Cuisine. My Hack is to carry a packet of haldiram's bhujia and relish it with bread and ketchup available in the hotel! Problem solved, happy tummy!

Instant food packs like sambhar rice, pav bhaji,bhel puri etc from haldiram's, MTR and priya are your best friends when you travel and also, if you wish to save few bucks! 

Its not wrong to be cost effective while being extravagant! :P (quite an oxymoron)

Some of the fabulous properties can be listed as : 

Atlantis - Dubai 

Orange County - Kabini, India

Kurumba - Maldives

Park Hyatt-- Hyderabad

Hyatt -- Hyderabad 

Westin Villa --Langkawi

Nusa Dua hotel and spa - Bali 

If you need any additional info about any of these hotels or generally, pls do comment :) will be happy to help !!

thanks for reading ! :) 

Love, 

Anu ! 

Short Story - Honeymoon!

"Rs.40,000/- per night!!! Don't u think its little expensive?" said jalebi.  She was shocked hearing the room rate as she was going on her honeymoon to an exotic location with the love of her life, laddu.

"but baby, look at the amenities, it is the top room available in the resort. we would have enough space, additional features and discounts in spa, private butler, pick and drop in luxury car etc. I think the money will be justified.". Laddu was trying to pacify the frayed nerves of jalebi with all the marketing tactics he could employ. He wanted to give the best in their HM to her and was looking forward for a super relaxing time.

"you think we can afford it?"

"yes dear, we can."

"alright. if u say so... now, let me finish packing!"

End of discussion, start of daydream. Jalebi saw a kaleidoscope of images of the location/hotel in her mind and the naughty way they would do justice to the room. here, was a girl who believed in the beauty of love and dreamt about all she read about love and art of lovemaking in mills and boon novels. laddu seemed the perfect guy to be hitched to, smart, tall, educated, set her pulse on treadmill speed. 

" Standing near the floor-to-ceiling glass window, soaking the visual delight of the vast blue sea with its golden grained shore, the heartbeat raced as Michael  Schumacher would race his F1 car in the winning lap. The adrenaline pumping made her uncomfortably wet in the moist centre of her being. He came up to her from behind and held her tenderly in her arms. She hesitantly kept her head back on his broad chest and lowered her back on his tummy. Most were mesmerised by the way their bodies fit in sync, the warmth radiated between them was comforting and exciting at the same time. He turned her around and looked deep in her eyes, she lowered her eyelids demurely. He coaxed her to look at him and stole a kiss from her unsuspecting lips. He laughed at her sudden widened eyes and then pinched her chin playfully. 

His arm around her waist made her feel secure and loved while her head on his chest made him feel happy and responsible. 

She went up on her toes and rubbed her face against his one day old stubble. Startled, laddu looked upon his bride with raw lust in his eyes. He never expected her to take a bold step so easily given her timid nature, this added fuel to the fire.. She wanted to DO so much, but shyness didn't let her take a step voluntarily. 

Removing the garb of being shy, jalebi raked her fingers in his hair, traced his eyebrows with her nails and pulled his mouth upon hers. Her tongue explored his lips and delved within the inviting warmth of his mouth.. he quickly responded by playing the same and biting her lower lip in a way which made her squeal in delight.. 

laddu started showering a trail of wet kisses from her lips till her tummy. A deep vampirish kiss on her throat ensured nail marks of ecstasy on his back. 

Laughing crazily, she falls back on the soft bed and is instantly bouncing on it like a kid.. Laddu feels the happiness exploding in his chest ! he walks to the bed menacingly, hoping to scare her..  But, jalebi is making all inappropriate gestures,enticing him to the point of madness. The Little Big Guy in his pants is doing a crazy tribal voodoo dance on its own.

The atmosphere in the room is crackling. She sits on the foot of the bed while laddu stands between her legs. Taking their own sweet time, she unbuttons him slowly and pushes shirt away. 

Throes of passion engulf him when he rubs her face on his belly button... Uncontrolled passion leads him to pull her hair up and kiss her senseless. "

"OOOOOOuuuuucccchhhh..........!! What are u doing laddu??"

"Wake up sleeping beauty.  Time to get ready and head to the airport. Our flight is in few hours.. Remember??" 

" Oh.. i was seeing a beautiful and erotic dream... wait till it comes true soon...."

As scheduled, they reached their destination, checked in and loved the place. The tranquility and beauty of the place was worth the flight time, the money invested and time taken off. 

Jalebi's anxiety, shyness and wildness of her heartbeat reached its zenith, anticipating her dream to come true. 

Laddu was lounging on the chair in the patio in a relaxed stance,unknown to the raging fires within jalebi's mind and body. 

She tried to initiate the love making session, but couldn't fathom the lack of interest from laddu's part.

"whats wrong? did i do something which turned u off?"

" nahi, aisa kuch nahi hai.... just need to destress the mind. The wedding and its preparations have taken a toll on me"

"But, Aint u happy we are finally together?"

" Yes, Iam very happy. however, can't explain you my mindset as of now."
"SO, what do we do now?"

"lets just enjoy the vacation and let things be spontaneous"

"my dreams, my longing of being with u , my fantasies????"

"i Promise to fulfil it all in due course of time....."

She Said YES ABHI..... and he says ABHI NAHIN!

newbie daughter-in-law's veggie shopping experience!

mother-in-law hassled with the vegetable lady in a shrill voice, " how much for the karelas? 100/kg? aiyyo... its too much.. 80 should be fine!!"...

the newly wed bahu stood dutifully behind her to learn the tactics of the most important shopping a lady endures on a daily basis.. she was trying to control the peals of laughter bubbling within her while she glanced the interesting scene around her. lots of people were walking with bulging bags of colourful veggies and trying to sort good products from not to so ones, with their free hand!

its an art to learn how to run a household and its vegetable requirements.. it sounds floozy at the moment but too many permutations and combinations are needed in order to stock your fridge with healthy stuff and not rotten goods. In a big family, the choices/tastes are different and hence, one may consume abc veggie and the other may not.. !

the daughter in law was like a management trainee in a new corporation. she had to unlearn her learning and imbibe new organisation culture and learning.. the manual instructions include mother in laws instructions! The chef's requirements! the household staff helping and aiding u on how to select a better looking vegetable and so on... Its always advisable to ask your driver to hold the bags while u shop in a sabji mandi..

as she contemplated the pricing of a big supermarket v/s sabji mandi v/s weekly neighbourhood bazaars, She was thrown the most potent weapon to tackle.. " the rates are higher on a amavasya"..LOL!!

Am sure, this trip is the HIGHLIGHT of any self-respecting household stree's daily routine.. :P

Caution : please buy your stuff with a calm mind.. or else u will have to return back to stock up your dhania.. tamatar and nimbu !! ;)