Dancing, Illegal? Not in my world.

Since I have arrived in Bangalore, I have heard over and over that dancing is illegal. I didn't quite believe it. However, I had confirmation this weekend when my room mate Tiffany and I went to a local pub on called Couch, with some friends from Target.

Apparently dancing can lead to poor decision making, especially around alcohol. Imagine that. So, the bars put up signs reminding us that due to police orders dancing is restricted.

We had a great time, and DID break the law with some dancing.... oops.

Singapore, Galore!

Work has been busy busy the last few weeks.. so I apologize for the delay in updates..

SO, SINGAPORE! What a fabulous city!! My friend Casey and I spent long weekend there and took full advantage of this little treasure of Asia. Singapore is so very clean, modern, safe, and overall amazing. The city is extremely organized, so it was a bit of a change from our every day life in India. People actually wait in straight, formed lines for taxis with patience! It is also true that you cannot chew gum or liter, without consequences. Lovely.

Our trip started at 11 pm on Thursday as we boarded the four hour red-eye flight from Bangalore to Singapore. We arrived in Singapore on Friday around 6 am, which was approximately 3 am Bangalore time. Needless to say, we were a little sleepy. As our luck would have it.. our hotel room was NOT ready, so we spent about three hours sleeping at the hotel pool, looking semi-homeless. At the time, I wasn't impressed, but looking back it was hysterical.

Once we were actually able to get into our room Friday, we started our first day off! We spent most of the day shopping on Orchard Road, which is the famous shopping strip in Singapore. The shopping literally went for miles and was above ground, and underground. I have never seen such an intricate structure of shopping, with so many stores. There were designer stores, full sized malls, and American retail. Literally, everything you could think of or want. For lunch, we had our first round of the famous Singapore street food, which included noodles and spring rolls. It was soooo yummy.

On Friday night, we ventured out to the world’s largest ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer. We took the half hour ride around the Ferris wheel in a fully enclosed capsule. The view from the top was so so beautiful; you could see all of downtown Singapore, which was just stunning.

After the Singapore Flyer, we had our first Singapore Seafood Dinner. We had our eye on the Singapore Chili crab legs, however they were very expensive. We settled on Prawns and Noodles, Hot and Sour soup, and Seafood fried rice. Turns out we didn't settle at all! Fabulous food. Of course, we couldn’t leave without also having Asian tea, in a cute pink glass pot filled with flowers.

Our Saturday began by taking a cable car from downtown Singapore to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is comparable to downtown Orlando with Universal Studios, various rides, restaurants, and attractions.

We chose to spend our day on a few key attractions: the Images of Singapore, the Butterfly Garden, and Underwater world aquarium complete with a Dolphin show. Of course, I can't resist a good aquarium! Oh, how could I forget.. Casey convinced me to take a luge ride down the island. I was kind of annoyed, but it was actually very fun.

The Images of Singapore was a serious of scenes depicting the History of Singapore. It was full of mannequins, and poorly created sets. To most, this would seem semi-lame, but to Casey and I it was the making of a great photo shoot. The ropes that blocked the scenes from the public were very short and we took full advantage.

As expected, the butterfly garden was full of colorful butterflies, flowers, plants, and a few birds. It wasn’t anything grand, but did make us feel like we were in a tropical oasis in the middle of Asia.

Before heading to the Underwater world aquarium, as it was somewhat farther on the island from where we initially started, we made a stop at Siloso Beach. There were tons of people on the beach relaxing and taking in the hot Singapore sun! You could see all of the ships and barges past the island in the ocean.

Underwater world did not disappoint, especially when it came to the Dolphin show! We saw tons of Dolphin tricks and flips. They also had these adorable seals that were part of the show, which we got to see up close and personal because we were in the front row. We were Best Friends.

Outside of the aquarium was the fish spa. Since we had a long day full of activities on the island, we took a quick trip to the spa to relax our little feed. Apparently, the fish spa originated in Singapore. As many know, I hate my feet being touched; so having fish nibbling at them is torture. However, when in Singapore! I couldn’t leave without trying the "original" fish spa.. again…

Finally, before leaving Sentosa, we made a pit stop at the luge! We took the luge down a hill on Sentoa and then took a lift back up. You could see close to the entire island on the way down and up.

Although we had a very adventurous day on the Island of Sentosa, we returned to mainland Singapore to enjoy an evening at the famous Marina Bay Sands Resort. The resort is an 8.5 billion dollars US investment equipped with hundreds of rooms, a roof top pool, rooftop bar, Casino, shopping center, and over five restaurants. It was amazing and had a completely breath taking view of the Singapore skyline at night. We spent some time on the rooftop bar indulging in $20 drinks and then ate a dinner of seafood at one of the Asian restaurants.

Sunday was our final day to take in all Singapore had to offer, so we decide to jump on board with the city bus tours. First, we did the land tour traveling all over Singapore, and then the water tour on the famous ducks boats.

When you take a city bus tour, you have the ability to hop on and hop off. We didn’t make many stops on the bus, however we did get off to see the Singapore Botanical Gardens. They have the National Orchid Garden, which is the flower of Singapore. The one down side was the heat. It was extremely hot touring the gardens, but well worth the scenery.

After the bus it was onto the water tour via the Duck! It was great way to see the city. We were able to see the Marina Bay Sands resort, Lotus Art Museum, Singapore Flyer, and the Singapore Merlion!

66 hours later...we saw almost everything possible in Singapore and had so much fun. It was absolutey gorgeous. I am so grateful for the experience!

New Home, New Roomie, Manager visit!

As some may know, I have recently moved apartments in Bangalore! Target made the decision to move all expats/travelers into the same complex, the Grand Mercure. I am now in a building with five other Target employees. Having others to interact with on a consistent basis is great.

Those of us that live together at the Mercure are somewhat of a little Brady Bunch. There are two younger girls, one bachelor, two older dads, and an younger woman with the cutest baby alive. We meet for dinner/drinks often, especially on the weekends. It's pretty comical and entertaining.

Along with having the others around, I have had quite an upgrade in amenities...two restaurants, a spa, a pool, and a full A/C filled gym. I am also on the same floor as my friend Casey, which is really nice. She is super fun and we get along really well. I am thankful for her and know my experience here would not be the same without her. I love the new place and am glad Target made the change. It was definitely for the best.

With my move, I have acquired a roommate, Tiffany, who works at Target as well. She just arrived late this Friday and will stay for two months. She makes our little Brady Bunch jump to seven total, with three younger girls. I spent the weekend helping her explore Bangalore.

My Manager from Minneapolis was also visiting this week/weekend so he was able to experience the city with Tiffany and I too. Saturday we started with lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Then we spent most of the day shopping in markets and on the famous Commercial Street. Post shopping, we went to UB City for dinner at Shiro, which is a Japanese restaurant and amazing!

Today, we rounded out the weekend by going to brunch at the Leela Hotel, which was to die for! Honestly, so much Western food and an entire table of desserts. It was so yummy, but I immediately regretted the full plate of desserts I ate as I got a real bad tummy ache!

Again, a busy, but good weekend! Singapore up next!

Training Graduation!

With two months in India under my belt, I am almost half way through my experience. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Work keeps me busy, as does exploring and traveling.

This week at work, we reached a huge milestone at Target India! Our first class of Merchandising Presentation Analysts graduated our New Hire training program. I have been working on developing this program since January and to see it executed successfully has been worth the wait.

To celebrate, I had a graduation ceremony for my New Hires. I didn't realize how emotional I would get! I am truly going to miss all of the team members I have had in training through out the last five weeks.

As my current batch of New Hires completes training, my second batch starts on Monday! Bring on more full days of training, smiling until my face hurts, and talking until I can't speak any more!

After my assignment is complete, I don't know how I am going to leave my new teams and new friends. Likely with many tears.

Yum, Round One.

It's the moment you've all been waiting for. My food diary, part UNO.

Over the last few weeks, I have been sampling quite a few different types of cuisine and restaurants. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy.

Let's start with my next door neighbor, 100 Ft. Restaurant. This little place has an extensive menu. The hummus is to die for, salads are great, the pasta is comforting, and the chocolate brownie is too good to be true. It can be uncomfortable going to a restaurant alone, however I have make an exception at 100 Ft. because it's delicious.

After shopping in Bangalore one afternoon with a friend from work, she took me to an Italian restaurant called, "The Only Place." Although, I don't eat much steak they apparently have fabulous cuts of beef, which is somewhat unheard of in India. The table next to us actually ordered steak and it looked very much like a US steak, so I assume the rumors are true. I do however eat cheesy things, which was basically my entire meal. I had spinach lasagna and cheese bread. I've really been missing my cheese, so this was pure soul food to me.

Onto Indian food... I've decided my favorite Indian food is paneer, which is a type of cottage cheese/cheese product. Surprise. As I've mentioned, I enjoy Indian food, but my stomach doesn't always agree. Luckily, paneer seems to be just fine. I've also developed an obsession with Naan, which in India is out of this world good! Indian food is basically buttery spicy curry liquid, oily veggies/lentils, or carbs, so it doesn't do much for the waste line, but "when in Rome." I recently ate a restaurant called Sikander where I had garlic paneer and naan with mint chutney.

Indian food is also known for it's rich, sugary sweets. I am not a huge sweet fan, but have I've made an exception here to gain the full Indian cuisine experience. Recently, a co-worker of mine had a family wedding and brought home made Indian sweets to work. I am not entirely sure what they are, but I know they taste like pure sugar and honey, with spice. Everything in India has spice.

Another mention of the Goan Seafood. It was truly amazing. Goa is known for it's ability to serve fabulous seafood and it lived up to it's reputation. Again, we were at Tito's Restaurant, a famous bar in Baja Beach.

Don't worry, I am not nearly done.. more to come!

Congrats all Around!

My bestest friend, partner in crime, the cheese to my macaroni...got ENGAGED last weekend! I was able to call and congratulate her, which made my Goa trip even more amazing. Hearing her voice was such a treat, especially during such an important and exciting event in her life.

Congrats Brooke and Britt! Love you to pieces.

This week I also received a new baby cousin! Congrats Shawna! I can't wait to meet you Tinley!

So much to celebrate and look forward to when I return.. Brooke's engagement, Kristen's wedding, Laura's wedding, meeting a new baby cousin! Oh.. and Hillary living in the US!?!? I am sure much much more...

Dad! Dvoraks in India!

I pass the Dwaraka Family restaurant every day on my way to work. The first time I saw it I actually did a double take because I thought it said Dvorak. Then, I immediately thought of my Dad as I knew he would enjoy the fact that in some way, shape, or form the Dvorak's integrated themselves into India.

I haven't gotten the courage to stop yet, and not sure I will. I just smirk at the restaurant as I pass Monday through Friday, making me think of my family, and especially my Dad.

I think Dwaraka is as close as it get's here!

Goa = Paradise

I spent last weekend with a few friends in a little Indian paradise called Goa, which is located on the Arabian Sea in southwest India. Absolutely Amazing.

Surprisingly, my flight was very smooth although the plane came equipped with a set of propellers, which raised alarm. I turned green as I boarded the plane, but woke up an hour later unharmed and with a lovely view of a tropical landscape bordered by the ocean.

We arrived around 7:30 am on Friday, leaving us the entire day to soak up the sun and relax. As we drove from the airport to our resort, we passed palm tree after palm tree, beach hut after beach hut. Straight out of a magazine.

Our resort, which was located in south Goa was equipped with a casino, two restaurants, a huge pool including a swim up bar, a beach side bar, and of course direct access to the beach and ocean. Money, Food, Booze, Water. Basically, everything you could ever need.

We spent most of the day Friday poolside and bar side. I managed to get so burnt that I am still nursing my back and shoulders. Being in the sun and relaxing by the pool felt so great, that I neglected to use sunscreen appropriately. My poor little skin is used to 30 degree weather, and was thrown into a tail spin when it came into contact with that much sun. I can say I learned my lesson.

Friday night, we stayed around the resort, watched the sunset on the beach, ate a late dinner, and had two for one doubles at one of the restaurant bars. Having numerous rounds of vodka/sodas or vodka/OJs, which I have decide is my tropical drink of choice, made me feel at home.

We also decided to check out the hotel’s famous dance club, which was supposed to be one of the most happening bars in Goa. There were four people at the club, which was made up completely by our group. It was hysterical. This time of year is actually considered the “off-season” in Goa because of how hot it gets, so that likely contributed to the lack of attendance at our dance party.

The next day, we woke up to enjoy an early morning Dolphin cruise. I was pretty sure we weren’t actually going to see any dolphins, but to my surprise we did. I was also very certain that the boat we were on was going to sink considering it had six unsteady seats, was steered from the back, and the gas tank was filled with a gas can while we were on the boat. Fortunately, the boat made it back to shore after we spotted some dolphins, so in my book it was a successful venture.

The rest of Saturday we lounged around again soaking in the relaxing vibe of Goa. That evening, we headed to Baja Beach in north Goa, to check out the famous party scene. We had about an hour and half drive, but north Goa is known for it’s wild bars, and popular restaurants, so we had to check it out.

When we arrived we immediately went to the beach, which was packed with people and beach side huts. We ate dinner at Tito’s Bar, which had delicious Goan seafood. We called it an earlier night than expected, but were still able to enjoy a few drinks first.

The weekend was just what I needed. I was absolutely dreading heading back to Bangalore. It’s hard to leave such warm, laid-back, beautiful beach where you have not a care in the world.

It’s funny though, because on my drive from the airport in Bangalore, I thought to myself how nice it was to be home. Then I realized that was the first time I truly felt like I had a home in Bangalore.