Melbourne - The Most Livable City

MESMERIZING

ENTICING

LOVABLE

BEAUTIFUL

OSTENTATIOUS

UNEXCEPTIONABLE BEAUTY

RAVISHING

NATURAL BEAUTY

EXOTIC

These are some simple words which make me fall in love with Melbourne the most livable City. 

While writing this post the first question that came into my mind was, What makes a city livable?

Everybody has it's own take on this some like cities which have a great night life and are fast moving. Some cannot adjust in these kind of cities. Some like to go to cities on holiday which have lot of adventure sports or scenic beauty or historical places everybody has it's own opinion.

When I heard about Melbourne I started exploring it on the internet and I simply concluded that Melbourne is the most livable city. A city which has everything. Melbourne is the Capital and most populous city of Victoria. Founded on 30th August 1835 and was named "Melbourne" by Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke.

Melbourne City has been ranked the most livable city since 2011 and among the top 3 since 2002 according to the Economic Intelligence Unit. If I talk about Melbourne as a tourist, this city has everything. A city which is a must to visit in lifetime.

Some of the places which I would love to visit in Melbourne city :

Melbourne City Center was established in 1835. It comprises of two oldest areas of Melbourne the Hoddle Grid and Queen Victoria Market. It has the five most tallest buildings out of six in Australia. It has five railway stations.

Melbourne City Center
Image Source : http://www.melbournetower.net/Pages/Melbourne_Views.aspx

The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River. Yarra Valley is popular for day trips and a tourist area. A nice place with awesome scenic beauty.

Yarra Valley
Image Source: http://tour.com.au/melbourne/tour-yarra-valley-puffing-billy-healesville.html

Eureka Tower  is one of the tallest residential building in the world. The construction started in August 2002 and was completed in June 2006 and officially opened on 11th October 2011. It is 975 ft.

Eureka Tower
Image Source: http://www.fkaustralia.com/project/s/name/eureka-tower/

Melbourne Cricket Ground : Watching a cricket match at Melbourne Cricket ground would be a dream come true. It is one the largest stadium in the world. The stadium was opened in 1854 and has a seating capacity of 100,000 approximately.

Melbourne Cricket Ground
Image Source : http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=71

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is home to more than 10,000 aquatic animals including one  of the world's largest saltwater Crocodiles.

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
Image Source: http://www.groupon.com.au/deals/travelcity/SEA-LIFE-Sydney-Aquarium/717572759 

Queen Victoria Market is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere ( about 17 acres). This Market has everything from food, fruits, jewellery to clothing and is a major attraction for tourists.

Queen Victoria Market
Image Source: http://planetden.com/travel/queen-victoria-market-melbourne-australia

Shrine of Remembrance was unveiled on 11th November 1934 for the all the Australian soldiers post World War I. Built with a nice architecture it is a must place to visit.

Shrine of Remembrance
Image Source: http://www.lodgebros.com.au/melbourne_shrine.shtml

Crown Casino and Entertainment was opened in 1997 located on the south bank of the Yarra river. I like Casino' so would surely visit Crown Casino.

Crown Casino
Image Source: http://www.aroundyou.com.au/place/businesses/crown-casino-and-entertainment-complex

Luna Park is a historic amusement park in St. Kilda. It was opened on 13th December 1912. There a number of enjoyable rides.

Luna Park
Image Source: http://www.easyweddings.com.au/blogs/easy-weddings-blog/all-the-fun-of-the-fair-a-luna-park-wedding/

Polly Woodside is a major tourist attraction. It is a tall ship and was launched in 1885 in Belfast. It was closed for redevelopment and was opened recently for the public on 23rd December 2010. 

Polly Woodside
Image Source : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g255100-d257177-Reviews-Polly_Woodside_Melbourne_s_Tall_Ship_Story-Melbourne_Victoria.html

St. Kilda Beach is located in St. Kilda 6 KM south from Melbourne City Center. It is the most famous beach in Melbourne.  

St. Kilda Beach
Image Source : http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Review-g255100-d637029-Reviews-St_Kilda_Beach_House-Melbourne_Victoria.html

Colonial Tramcar Restaurant is one the major tourist attraction in Melbourne. The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant Company was was formed in 1981 to operate restaurant trams. The service started in August 1983. This place is at the top in my list. 

Image Source : http://freeandsingle.com/blog/tag/colonial-tramcar-restaurant/

Apart, from these Melbourne Markets are a must to visit.

If I get a chance to visit Melbourne I would plan my itinerary in such a way that I visit all these places. In my opinion, Melbourne is the most livable City.

To get more insight visit Tourism Victoria website 

Contest Time Readers

Answer a simple question and the best answer will win a shopping worth Rs. 500.

Question: "Which of these places would you want to visit in Melbourne and why?". 

Contest ends 4th Jan 2015. So, hurry and answer the question.

Note : The best answer will be chosen by me and the decision will be final. 

My Ungroomed Look and the Interview

It was mid December a few years back when I was in my college. I was very lazy at that time and never used to shave or take bath until my body odor reached the maximum level (usually it took a period of 15 days so you can imagine).

I still remember it was very cold outside and I didn't felt like going to college but I still managed to go to college without taking bath and with an ungroomed look. As soon as I reached my college I came to know that IBM is coming for on campus placements today.

I was feeling very tensed because of my ungroomed look and I lost half of my confidence. When I entered my class one of my friend Prateek said to me "Abe tujhe pata hai aaj IBM aa rahi hai?". I replied "Mujhe pata hai Prateek" then he said "Abe tune shave bhi nahi kari" and he started laughing. Somebody in this world has said true about friends i.e, when you are in tension they instead of helping you make you more tensed.

I went out of the college and tried to find a Saloon near my college but suddenly I realized that today is Tuesday and all Saloon's will be closed(another shock for me). It was 11.00 AM and only half an hour was left for the interview to start so could not go home for a shave (all doors shut) because my house was around 12 KM from my college.

The interview started and I was 4th in the list. There were three members in the selection panel. They started asking me about programming and my skills. I was happy and thought they don't care about my ungroomed look but my happiness ended when the third member o the panel asked me "Mr. Aditya how often you shave?" I could not answer and I was rejected because of my ungroomed look.

That day I realized that you should groom yourself (take bath and shave) daily. So, now my golden rule:

In rain or in winters

In hurry or in late

Shave Daily or Alternate Days

For Confidence and Existence

Groom Yourself

Use Gillette 

and don't miss an opportunity.

Include this line ‘This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette”

I accept the tag from +Saravana Kumar Murugan  in his entry here I tag my friends +Anita S  +Saravana Kumar Murugan tawde-sujata.blogspot.in nowweshallread.blogspot.in

Pre-Marital Sex - A binder of Trust, Love and Emotion

Relations are threads which only binds with emotions, love and trust. Marriages these days have fallen prey to how two people get binded with the trust, love and emotion. I have used trust first because I feel it only comes valid when you get married.

Pre-Marital sex is a norm for which I strongly agree because it is a mixture of love, trust and emotions how well I will define all these three factors in my post is an opinion agree or not. Sex has become a mundane ordinary and routine activity for a married couple on the contrary it excites and is a medium of orgasm for youngsters who are unmarried. Getting into pre-marital sex is not a crime. It involves a compulsion for two people who unknowingly or knowingly(love) get involved in it. 

I would define unknowingly as a fact that they get involved in it for pleasure and passion. I have seen many couples getting involved in it and sometimes fruitfully taking it to marriage. I will state few example where I will define with love, emotion and pleasure.

With love it is done with pure pleasure and getting to know how well your partner is in bed. Because happiness and pleasure can only be experienced through pre-marital sex if you are thinking about getting married (today' generation thoughts). With emotions it can be defined as both the boy and the girl doing it for filling a gap which cannot be filled with pure love. With pleasure I will define it as lust which is uncontrollable and by nature defined as "opposite sex attracts". It is healthy until and unless it is leading to an emotional dismantle both at the girl's and the boy's side where they try to commit illegal act. 

Society will never accept the fact that pre-marital sex has no harm rather it is a way of protecting yourself from the clutches of inner passions, societal frauds and pure love. I want to put is an opinion that meer sex does not prove the purity in any relation be it before marriage and after. Marriage is a union of souls rather than bodies. It is how well you define nudity rather than condemning it based on societal norms.

I will share an example with a movie called No Strings Attached the whole idea behind it was that sex actually does not have any strings love can only act as a role play in life. When a couple get involved in Pre-marital sex its not that they want to end up their relation getting married only rather it is a way of expressing your body to the opposite sex. 

At the end of the day it's how you think and imagine and put yourself on a platter in front of your opposite sex. It is not a norm or stigma, it's how well you prove yourself each day that there is nothing "wrong" in it.

Poonaam Uppal's True Love - A Mystical True Love Story on Flipkart.

Unravel my Kids Memories

Vacations are more fun with children. My children complete my family. Watching your kids playing and enjoying makes you happy. I feel really good when I tell my kids about a certain place that we as parents have visited and they listen with a lot of interest as if its their story time.  It is a pleasure sharing your childhood with a generation which yearns to listen and enjoy your experiences of life.

My kids have always loved to travel. A sheer adrenaline rush goes into their veins when they hear about another adventure to be unpacked with a handful of beautiful memories that they will cherish. I would ensure that my kids explore places of knowledge and give them a good playtime.

My kids are fond of visiting amusement parks where they enjoy rides and make sure that they get tired enough to have their best of dreams. They love to watch animals and see how they get adapted into the mother nature.

They love to visit fiestas where their favourite canopy of the most treasured cartoon has been displayed and click pictures with it. Buying their favourite cartoon character goodies is their favourite part of shopping. My children enjoy playing indoor games where most of their time goes into learning and applying their own observation and time. I would make sure that I carry their favourite indoor games on my vacations. They love to play Chess, Carrom, Ludo and always have that winning stride in them. Games like Brainvita gives them a charge when they feel bored looking out of the window while we are travelling.

My kids enjoy water so I make sure that whenever I plan my trip I book a hotel which has all the facilities including a swimming pool. They wear their favourite cartoon character swimsuits and jump into the water and splash with fun.

Investing time in my kids is the most precious thing I can offer to them. The more wisely you invest in them the more closer you become... Just like their most favourite cartoon character sleeping under their arms. Watching my kids enjoy whatever I plan in my vacations gives me a sense of achievement. It is for them I live and seeing their happy faces gives me a sigh of relief that life revolves around them. I feel that vacations should always  be planned keeping in mind the fun and the enjoyment of kids. Enjoying seeing them growing up with a plethora of memories that we as parents nurture and cherish for lifetime is the best thing that can happen with any parent. I feel that my kids have really grown with me and feel that their happiness is what I have been able to live up for.

Club Mahindra http://membership.clubmahindra.com/TeddyTravelogues/index.html

Fear Away My Self

In the hustle bustle of life and daily chores one tends to forget the faces of life which have caused fear and trauma in mind. I will share one of my greatest and the deepest threat in life i.e. to swim. I know it sounds cliche “ to swim” but yes…..to swim,  one of my greatest fear seeing my face in the deep water, pounding to come above and drowning , shouting and asking for help!!  Water phobia is one that kills many; mine was at its highest when I was asked to jump from a cliff near Rishikesh river rafting in the water of Ganga. 

A sudden adrenaline rush took over me, and took me into deeper thoughts of reaching my deathbed. The momentary version of seeing myself drowning, overcome and for one moment I choose to overcome my fear and I jumped (I was wearing a life jacket though)... zip zap and zoom. The thundering water shove on my face very hard, my eyes could not see anything, and zoop I was floating in the deepest river of the country i.e. Goddess Ganga. I came out safe, ahhh.. that moment when you feel that you are on top of the world, and you feel that you have overcome your biggest fear is worth sharing. That day and today, I am no less than a big mouth blabbering about my fearful experiences with everyone. 

Recently when I was traveling to Goa with my husband I again faced a situation where I had to overcome my water fear . It was when doing the water sports in the sea, I was asked to be thrown in sea with my life jacket on and swim to the shore with the waves. I was all geared and took it very sportingly since my fear of water had gone with the Ganges. It was an amazing experience where my loss of life, visuals of deathbed could not be seen and only life, adventure and fun was in my mind. The best part was I was feeling free, as if I have reached to something which is called the bliss in life. 

In life your fear teaches you many things, it teaches you to rise above all and prove that life is much beyond death. Unconquered under the realms of reality. Overcoming your fear gives you a sigh of relief that life is to take challenges and prove that victory counts. Just like the good wins over evil. Similarly your thoughts of being scared of anything would be washed away once you just try to take it up as a challenge. One thing learned, do not fear and just like me fear away yourself!!. 

I have overcome my fear of swimming have you overcome your fear yet? "Rise above fear" - Mountain Dew

Check out the Facebook page of Mountain Dew India https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

The New Mountain Dew Film: Tamil

Airbnb and My Wishlist of 5 places

Airbnb is a website from where you can find and rent unique places to stay. I like the concept of this website. It’s now very easy to find and rent accommodations with Airbnb. 

My referral link on Airbnb www.airbnb.co.in/c/amanchanda2?s=8

My Airbnb Wishlist https://www.airbnb.co.in/wishlists/46564697

1. I love Mumbai and my first choice of place is a house in Bandra, Mumbai with sea view. I like sea views and it would be really great to stay here and enjoy the sea view from this flat. The flat looks nice and is fully furnished. The flat can accommodate four guests and has one bathroom. I think this will be the best accommodation which will fit in my budget and is near to other places in Mumbai.
2. My next choice is a Colonial Mansion in Udaipur. Udaipur City of lakes, I have never been to this place and my next place to visit on my travel list is Udaipur. I personally love visiting traditional places and enjoy the type of food these places have. Living in a mansion with my entire family would be really great. Since, it’s suitable for 4 guests so it’s a good choice of option for me. It has two bathrooms which I think are good enough. The place has kitchen so I can cook my own food too.
3. My third choice of place is a 130 year old British Bungalow. I love hill station and living at a hill station in an old property would be really great. I will be soon planning a holiday with my entire family to Nainital. The best accommodation which I could find in my budget was this 130 year old British bungalow. It can accommodate 10 guests and has 6 bedrooms which is a pretty good number. I would really love to stay at this place in Nainital.
4. My fourth choice is a one bedroom apartment in Sharjah, Dubai. I have heard a lot about Dubai and now I am planning to go to Dubai next year with my wife. I am planning to go to Dubai at the time of Dubai Shopping festival. I think that this is the best accommodation which I could find in Dubai for me an apartment with one bedroom. It can accommodate 2 guests and has one bedroom which is ideal for my stay.
5. My fifth choice is Colonels Retreat Home in Jammu. My wife love natural beauty and the best place known for natural beauty in India is Jammu and Kashmir. I am planning to travel to Jammu with my wife and other couple friends next year. The place has lots of facilities and can accommodate 9 guests and has 9 bedrooms. This place would be an ideal place to live in Jammu. 

Airbnb made it easy for me to find accommodations for rent. 

Book Review "Private India"

 

 

The story begins with murders in Mumbai. The synopsis of the book says:

 

In Mumbai, seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with the corpses.

 

For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it’s a race against time to stop the killer striking again.

 

In a city of over thirteen million, he’d have his work cut out at the best of times, but this case has him battling Mumbai’s biggest gang lord and a godman who isn’t all he seems.

 

And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India.  Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organisation  -along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens…

The story is a murder mystery and has a lot of twists and turns. The story becomes more and more interesting with the murders one after another. The book can be read by beginners, as it has an easy written English. Overall an interesting book by Ashwin Singh & James Patterson.

 

About the Author:

 

Ashwin Singh is counted among India's highest-selling English fiction authors. He has written three novels, all bestsellers - The Rozabal Line, Chanakya's Chant and The Krishna Key.

 

James Patterson is one of the best-known and  biggest selling writers of all time. He is the author of some of the most popular series of the past decade - The Alex Cross, Women's Murder Club and Detective Michael Bennett novels.

 

 

ISBN : 978-0-099-58639-5

 

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Kotak Jifi - The New Age Banking

With time everything is changing so fast. First, we used to go physically to a bank and used to deposit or withdraw our money. Then came ATM's, Internet Banking etc etc. Now a new concept by Kotak Jifi is here.

Social Media now has become very popular it is being used by everyone from children to adults. Making banking social is really a great initiative by Kotak.

So, what exactly Jifi is; I came to know about this at the Kotak meet by Indiblogger.in. What I am sharing in this post is my experience with Kotak Jifi and a review of the product.

Since it is a social banking you can connect with Jifi using your existing Facebook account or you can request for an invitation on your email-id.

The various features which you have with Kotak Jifi are :

 

1. No Minimum Balance required.
2. Social Banking
3. Refer a friend
4. Loyalty Club
5. Kotak Mobile App
6. Sign-up Benefits
7. Platinum Debit Card

1. No Minimum Balance : I always criticize my bank for deducting MAB(Monthly Available Balance) Charges thank god there is no Minimum Balance Required here.

2. Social Banking : Banking with Twitter I never thought of it but Kotak has made it possible. Your account balance, transaction history, cheque book request and many more activities are now just a tweet away.

3. Refer a Friend : Refer your friends and earn Social points and you can easily redeem them. 

 4. Loyalty Club: Get Social, Make Transactions and earn points, Transfer and redeem your points.

5. Kotak Mobile App: Now you can manage your account, do transactions or pay your bills using the Kotak Mobile Application.

6. Sign-up Benefits: When you Sign-up you get some Sign-up Benefits.

7. Platinum Debit Card: You can also apply for the Kotak Platinum Debit Card.

Once you get an invite or log in with your Facebook you can view your dashboard which shows your social and transaction points.

You can also view your recent transactions

 

*Social points are earned when you refer a friend and like or comment on Kotak Jifi.

You can also manage your points using the Manage points Tab once you login.

Once you are done with the sign-up you need to apply and activate you account to earn transaction points.

For this you can go to Apply Now and apply for your account.

To redeem points go to Manage Points after you login and click Redeem Points Tab

How to earn points?

A detailed information is there on How to earn Points under the Manage points Tab

Earn Points Part 1

Earn Points Part 2

Not only this you also receive update from Kotak on your e-mail.

Social Banking is a new age banking and it will be very successful.

This post is written for the Indistuff contest Jifi is Here!! (http://www.kotakjifi.com) by Indiblogger.in

The secret behind #WhatTheBlack

When I read about #WhatTheBlack on Blogadda.com I was really confused about what exactly it is and why everything is suddenly turning black. Then I got shortlisted for the #WhatTheBlack activity and started receiving the clues to guess #WhatTheBlack is

On Day 1, I recieved and egg and chocolate  inside it and I thought #WhatTheBlack is a dark chocolate

On Day 2 I recieved a black newspaper and

On Day 3 I received a coffee mug and tissue and now I thought #WhatTheBlack is a Black Coffee.
But all my guesses went wrong when I  the secret was revealed

The new Colgate Slim Soft Charcoal Tooth Brush. Charcoal Infused and 17 times slimmer tip bristles.

For details log on to www.whattheblack.com

Black is Black!!

Black is black and is the best color. Black color is my favourite color it goes with all. Whether it is a black T-shirt or Jeans or suit or a Car all look awesome when black. Black is a mysterious color for me and it signifies the Hindu God Shani. People sometimes relate Black Color to Lord Shani.

The Five things which are on my Blacklist:

1. The Black Hole: Black hole is still a mystery for everyone and I want to explore the unexplored. I really like adventures and exploring the Black hole will be the biggest adventure of my life. I want to be the first one to reveal the mystery of Black Hole.

2.  My Black Hair: I want to go in my hair and destroy all the dandruff in my hair. I really don’t like scratching my head all the time because of dandruff. Dandruff irritates you so much that sometimes you really want to get all you hair removed from your head.

3.  Black T-shirt: Black is my favourite color and I like black color for my T-shirts. Black looks really good on me. A black T-shit with a cool print on it will really look good. I can wear a Black T-shirt every day.  

4.  Black Jeans: Black Jeans give a great combination for my black T-shirt. The best combination which I can wear is Black T-shirt with black jeans. Black jeans with some nice patches of leather at the joints wil look awesome. 

5.   Black Mercedes: My favourite a black color Mercedes. I always wanted to buy a Mercedes a luxury car which will give me a good and elegant look. I imagine myself going in a Black Mercedes what a classy look it gives.

Awesome is the word for Black color It goes with everything.

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

Adding Zest to my Life!!

The five thing that zest up my life are :

1. My Car – Whenever I get over- stressed and tensed with my work pressure I go out for a long drive with my wife in my Tata Indigo and discuss all my tensions and problems with her. A nice Sufi music and a long drive with my better half zest up my life and I get ready to get back to work with some nice solutions to my problems. A nice car and a long drive can zest up your life.

2. My Television - Watching some comedy shows on TV after my long day hectic schedule makes me laugh and make me forget the whole day long stress which I have had. Watching movies with a popcorn tub in my hand adds to it. Lying on bed and watching TV zest up my life.

3. Delicious Food – Being a food blogger I like to have delicious food. Nice and good food zest up my life. Going to new restaurant and exploring new kinds of food, new type of dishes also add to zest of my life. Apart, from this I like to do experiments with food. Making new combinations in food and food art further adds to the zest of my life. So, I keep on making new dishes in my kitchen.

4. New Gadgets – I am a gadget freak and I like to buy and use new gadgets which are up in the market. I keep on exploring e-commerce websites and buy new gadgets as soon as I see one. I can still remember my craziness of surfing and buying gadgets online late night even during my examinations

5. Playing Games on my PS2 – I like Playing games on PS2 and clearing rounds of the games and sometimes playing a multi-player game with my friends makes me relax and forget all tensions and  zest up my life.

This post is a part of the #ZestUpYourLife activity in association with TATA Zest BlogAdda.com

From fragrance of Flowers and Fruits to Smell of Petrol

Talking about fragrance everybody has its own choice. Some like Rose, some Jasmine, some sandal and so on. Some like fragrance of fruits like Lime, Orange or even mango. 

I still remember a cousin of mine came to my house and when I offered him mango to eat he said bro I don’t eat mango I don’t like the smell of mango. Weird it was, but anyways everybody has its own choice I personally like mangoes and its fragrance too.

A friend of mine is crazy about chocolates and likes its fragrance so he keeps a bottle of chocolate sauce in his car just for the fragrance. Some choices of fragrance are so weird like my friend has; he likes the smell of petrol. I also like the smell of Petrol

From fruit fragrances to flower to a petrol smell everybody has its own choice for it.

Talking about my evocative travel experience I one experience I still remember which brought me close to nature and some nice fresh fragrances was my Nainital and Ranikhet Trip from Delhi. A day before the trip I got the Godrej aer car freshener for my car and was nice and long lasting.

I went with my in-laws on this trip. We started our journey late in the night to avoid the no entry at various routes in Delhi. It was 4.30 AM in the morning we were around 50 KM away from Nainital and I came out of the car to see the sunrise. The beautiful sunrise and the cold breeze on the hills and a mix fragrance of Roses, Lily and Marigold was an experience of a lifetime.

Image Source http://www.anandway.com/

After, reaching Nainital we stayed there for two days and then continued our journey to Ranikhet. On, our way to Ranikhet there were Mango trees, Litchi and Guava Trees. I came out of the car and got some mangoes from the mango tree. 

The fragrance which the fresh mangoes had was awesome. In seconds the fragrance of mango had spread in the whole car. I had never seen a fresh mango like this in Delhi with such a fresh fragrance. It was an experience to remember.

Image Source : http://pitchonnet.com/

A fragrance which makes you feel the freshness of it no matter where you are in the car or in your room it will work great!!! Like, if you have a lime car perfume it should make you feel as you have a lemon cut into two just next to you that is what I call a fresh fragrance.

This post is a part of contest InspireAFragrance by http://www.godrejaer.com/ on Indiblogger.in