Introduction

Details

Fees, and things to see

Travel

The thought of having an identity for yourself is quite perplexing at times! The thought of renewing that identity in different forms as time progresses brings about a nice refreshing change to the mind. Over the last 10 years, my interest over the internet has been completely captivating to say the least. This web journey started off in 1996 with humble ways of getting small time entrepreneurs in India on the world wide web (1)

In the quest for a youngster’s rather silly hopes of reaching dizzy heights using the net, a rather skewed attempt was made in 1998 to jump onto the internet bandwagon with the highly rated Tripod and Yahoo web services during those times. (2) When enlightenment occurred, the lure of the “yourname.com” syndrome caught me as well. But I never wanted my site to be too specific to me ever! So in the period between 2000 and 2002 a valiant but fruitless effort was made to put up a site meant to share my interests with others, the theme being “information sharing” (3)

To get onto the net more purposefully, a rather comprehensive plan was laid out in 2004 for a knowledge sharing site. But the need for conciseness and better focus brought about a change in names for reading the same content. (4) After a thorough run for ten whole years, and the purpose and design clarified, I bring about another refreshing change with a more pleasing layout which I think will keep the drive in me for the coming years. (5)

Just when I thought I had fixed on the gameplan for continuing the journey forward, I realized that people also needed something easy to remember to reach me, something connected to the city I write about, something that made them fond of Bangalore and thus came about the Bengaluru blog at http://www.chowchowbath.com! (6)

   

…. that this site looks and feels pleasant and refreshing to the eyes

…. that this site is as lively in terms of information as its looks

…. and that it is always updated with interesting things to get you back here

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For any queries that you might have, you may use the contacts link on the menu above to get in touch.

(1) – http://hallmark.enmail.com was my first attempt in bringing about an insurance company’s presence onto the internet. At a time when web publishing and development was still nascent and there were hardly any standards for pages on the web, this effort brought about a lot of cheer to me to proceed onto better things. Although a rather graphics intensive site, Hallmark succeeded in providing the necessary information in a crisp manner to customers

(2) – http://srikanth.tripod.com was an attempt in bringing about my own presence onto the net. This site lasted only a while, since it was only an effort to learn the nuances of web publishing in those early times.

(3) – http://www.infodais.com literally meant a stage for information sharing. But a terrible time in my life wrecked the patience out of me to continue with this venture and all this site did was to prepare a stage for a moderate growth ahead, both in my web ventures as well as in my personal life.

(4) – what started off as a site that was to voice opinions from the geek community, the site http://geekopinion.com was transformed into a personal page full of my own scribbles, http://scribbles.ws. At the time of putting up this content, the site and domains still exist with the content, and has managed to draw over 3500 unique visitors for some or the other reason.

(5) – After a bit of pondering about myself, I realized that the amount of information I had amassed for one whole decade was possible only because of my time spent with the different gizmos that I had – the PC, the PDA, the laptop, the SmartPhone. I had by now acquired an identity – the GizmoGazer. And this site is a reflection of that identity –http://www.gizmogazer.info.

(6) – The final output of all the previous years worth of efforts is what you see here – the actual site that has survived, flourished and gone through years of efforts to be refined enough and accepted as a popular Bangalore based website – the Bengaluru blog!

An evening at the KL Tower, Malaysia

We were tired after a long journey from the airport to the city and after taking sufficient rest in our serviced apartment which I had written about earlier (you can read it here), we decided to quickly make a dash to the KL tower. This was pretty nearby to the Vortex suites and though it is walkable there is a bit of elevation as you approach the tower and it is not entirely possiblet to climb so much unless you are fit.

Taxi is a better way to reach the top and it should not cost you too much. There are two floors to the tower one being the observation deck only and the other having a restaurant and an open air observation deck from where you can see the city much more freely for photography purposes. The observation deck is fully housed in glass and hence provides for very less photography opportunity in a clarity sense.

The tickets are sold on either individual or combo basis. The observation deck for 2 adults and 2 kids must set you back about 150-170RM (1RM = 17Rs) whereas if you opt for other packages you will end up paying more but get to see other things such as aquarium, upside down house, and mini zoo. There is a normal queue and a priority queue for those who booked using booking sites such as booking.com. We thankfully had a priority queue entry though the number of people in normal queue were not many when we went it. However this number had swelled by the time we finished seeing the tower.

We spent a good hour going around and clicking photos of KL’s landmarks including the Petronas towers which is visible from one of the sides and I somehow found taking a photo of the twin towers from KL tower better than the other way round. It was just a choice between the two keeping costs in mind and I chose the KL tower this time.

Besides the KL tower observation deck, there is information and souveniers available everywhere around and you can buy them if you wish. The latest trick of having your photo taken and processed for you will earn those guys a few ringgits and make you poorer by that much as well. These are not photos that you yourself cannot take or process but remember everyone may not have access to good phones or cameras and for some, the moment captured in a pic is just what they need in return for some cash.

Written with StackEdit.

Introduction

With so many tourists flooding all the places, lots of accommodations have come up lately in all cities and people are spoilt for choices. You fire up any travel website and you will suddenly be flooded with thousands of options for staying in a place ranging from as low as 20$ upto all the way to 400 or 500$ even.

For me it was the same case when I decided to stay in KL. Initially considering my first stop was Batu Caves in KL, I decided to use my favourite app, to book the East Kiara Dex suites (apartments) since it was very near to Batu Caves. Something told me later that it would be difficult to shift when you have luggage from one place to another. So I decided to book The Vortex suites instead. You won’t believe what I got.

Apartments vs Hotels – what to choose?

It is always a confusion on whether to choose hotels or apartments ever since Airbnb type of apps came up on the markets and allowed people to book peoples homes for stays. What is more important to note are the pros and cons of booking apartments versus hotels. To make things simple I will list them here for you

Hotels: Pros

• Breakfast is covered in some hotels
• Scenic views of surroundings
• better room service (both on housekeeping and food)

Hotels: Cons

• Room sizes is limited
• Only one toilet usually
• Rentals maybe high

Apartments: Pros

• multiple rooms, feels like home
• kitchen for self cooking
• Better furnished and larger spaces
• Gaming consoles are there in some apartments

Apartments: Cons

• You have to prepare your own food or carry food from outside
• no feeling of being pampered
• sometimes could be in residential localities with access issues, and far from attractions

So its actually more of what you prefer as each has its own pros and cons as listed above. For us since i had never booked an apartment in the past, I decided to book the Vortex to see how it was for our journey.

Vortex apartments, near KLCC

We booked the Vortex which is a 25+ floors of apartment complex right in the heart of KL city. The apartment is walkable from KL tower, Petronas twin towers, and also many attractions nearby not to forget to mention hotels, clubs, and other small places within town. The speciality of this complex is that it is circular in shape with a dizzying stance if you look at it from below. The whole building seems to be glass facaded and has some fantastic views of the city from whichever location you look at it.

Booking and check-in procedures

I booked this hotel on booking.com from India, and was not charged the full amount until about a week before the actual check-in. The instructions in the booking mail were clear and I had to go to floor 6 for finishing the formalities. True to what was quoted, I went to the floor mentioned and the people managing the apartment were pretty welcoming for me.

Usually when I go to other countries I have to do some initial communication with the reception to make them understand what I need, but here the whole stay was understood and planned for me since they do this day in and day out. I spent less than 10 minutes at the reception to finish my checkin. Please bear in mind that there is a tourist tax and they ask you to deposit 200 ringgit (about 50 usd) for security purposes. This is refundable and will be returned to you later on. However, it is to be paid in cash only and you need to have withdrawn it well in advance.

Other constraints to reach the room

Since this is a high rise with over 25 floors, there are 6 lifts to reach the floors and you need to take one of the three lifts on the side of the apartment you are reaching to. Each set of three lifts service half the area of the overall circular building. These are high speed lifts and what you need to know is that these operate when you swipe the room card on the panel. It will automatically know which floor to stop at and will stop only in those floors for which people are present inside the lift.

Going up is easy, but coming down can mean stopping at every floor where there are people. I did find people smoking in the corridors and throwing cigarette butts here and there though advised not to, so this is something you need to get used to. Having said that you also need to remember that most people staying here are tourists who have come to KL to visit its attractions and hence they will all leave in the morning hours for this purpose. The hours between 9-11 are very crowded and hence the lifts are so full that you will have trouble moving yourself with your luggage – hence its advisable to be early or go later than those hours.

The apartment

In our apartment the furnishing was top notch. It had a dining table, a nice big sofa with a view to the outside of the city buildings, and two bedrooms with cots and mattresses again of high quality. Wardrobes, desks, bathroom fittings and bathroom facilities are all top notch as well. The apartment also had a kitchen with cutlery as well as a washer and dryer. The washer and dryer is perhaps the single most useful appliance for long journeys if you know what I mean. Overall the apartment was really high quality but did not have any balconies.

The air conditioner can sometimes make you feel a bit stuffy inside and the window opening was rather too high. I am not sure about the fire safety worthiness of such apartments and have my own doubts about it. I am yet to see a hotel with large dustbins instead of those silly small ones which serve no purposes.

There were enough towels provided during our stay and these were also refreshed by the time we were back from tourist visits. The housekeeping was seamless.

Other facilities

The apartment has a swimming pool which you can use daily once for a stipulated amount of time. However since it was on a higher floor it was small and not really a professional one. The apartment also has a small shop which is stocked well with things you need to buy for cooking or eating for quick eats.

There is also a 7-11 shop which is rather congested at the ground level, and a paid car park which is NOT touch-and-go card compatible at the moment.

Since this is in a highly commercial area, there are also banks nearby so withdrawing cash should not be an issue. This apartment is very near to KL tower, Suria KLCC (Petronas towers) and many other attractions nearby including restaurants and pubs.

Check out

One word : Smooth!

Your deposit money is returned to you, you return the cards to the room, and you are done. Period. Fastest one I have seen!

Written with StackEdit.

Ingredients

• One Potato – dices into small cube sized pieces and soak in water
• Beans – about 10 of them chopped into medium pieces, soak in water
• Carrot – about 2 of them chopped into medium pieces, and soak in water
• Onions – big ones, 2 of them sliced thin and long
• Green peas – a handful
• Mint and Coriander leaves – one medium sized bowl
• Ghee – 2 to 3 teaspoons
• Curd – 4 tea spoons
• Groundnut oil – 4 to 6 teaspoons for the onions to caramelize (same can be later used for vegetables to be cooked), 4 teaspoons for the spices to be cooked along with rice
• Basmati rice – One cup upto brim (standard cup measure)
• Multi spices pack – 2 packs (contains cloves, elaichi, cinnamon, star anise)
• Bay leaves – 3-4 for vegetables, 2-3 for rice
• Shahi jeera – for vegetables (2-3 teaspoons)
• Turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, biriyani masala, salt, cumin powder
• Ginger garlic paste – 2-3 teaspoons
• Methi leaves – half a handful
• Chillies to taste (I used one long chilli, you can desire to add 2) – diced into medium pieces

Preparation

You need 2-3 vessels. Of these one is a small one for caramelizing onions. The other two are fairly bigger and preferably made of cast iron as it to withstand cooking heat.

Caramelizing onions

Of the diced onions, take 1/3 of that and fry it in the oil, until they start turning golden brown. You need to keep stirring and turning them around and the moment you see them moving towards reddish brown colour, take them out and let them dry and cool off on a tissue so that all oil is removed. Keep these caramelized onions for later.

Rice Prep – Parallel step 1

You need to do these steps in parallel with the next one which is veggie saute, but you can start this one so rice keeps cooking when we do the veggies. For this we begin doing as below

• one cup basmati rice filled to brim is to be washed in water and all the dust to be removed
• Put 3-4 teaspoons of oil in a vessel and add spices to the oil once its warm
• Add 1/2 handful shahi jeera, 3-4 cloves, 2-3 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon bark pieces, 3-4 elaichi and nicely fry in oil
• Once you smell the aroma and its sufficiently fried, add the washed rice into the vessel and 2.5 cups of water (using the same cup as the rice was measured in) to the vessel
• Add one spoon of salt and keep the flame low to cook the rice, vessel can be kept open as this will give time for you to do step 2 below

Veggie saute – Parallel step 2

• Take 4-6 teaspoons of oil in a vessel and heat it. Add 4-6 elaichi, 3-4 cloves, 3 bay leaves, half a handful shahi jeera, and 2-3 cinnamon bark pieces to the hot oil. You can feel the aroma as you gently turn them around in the oil. Always keep the heat at medium or low. Never on the high side as it can burn the vessel and the food inside leaving it utterly distasteful.

• Add the chillies and stir

• Add the shahi jeera and stir

• Add 2/3rds of the uncaramelized onions and continue stirring.

• Add 1.5 spoons of salt, 1/2 spoon turmeric, 1/2 spoon red chilli powder, 1 spoon cumin powder, 1 spoon biriyani masala, 1/2 spoon garam masala

• Potatoes naturally have water content in them which is needed while stirring when oil content goes low, so add these first along with the ingredients already added so far. Stir these potatoes nicely into the spicy mixture until the absorb all the spices well. At this stage the potatoes will begin to let out the water they have so we need to continue with others

• Add the carrots next, and add 1/2 spoon salt more and stir

• Next is Beans and green peas – add these and continue stirring

• Add 1/2 spoon turmeric, 2 spoons garlic ginger paste, 1/2 spoon of garam masala, 1/2 spoon biryani masala, 1/2 spoon red chilli powder, 1/2 spoon cumin powder and saute the vegetables well.

Tip: If you find vessel is losing water and oil content and going dry, take some water into your palm and sprinkle it into vessel. Max only 2 times in one go, and continue stirring. You can do this sprinkling water two times, again a total of only two times. Only to ensure that vessel is never dry.

Bonus tip : never keep stove in high it will burn the vessel and burn your food. The last thing you need is this.
You need to keep the vessel oiled and moist at all times until the veggies consume all the spices.

Bringing everything together

• Once the veggies are prepared, switch off the flame, it will remain warm (dont close the veggies)
• At this stage the carrots and potatoes will feel undercooked. To check spice content, eat a cooked carrot piece and if you feel ok, then nothing more to add. It is ok for it to be little salty and if you need more spice add chilli powder and saute it with a spoon of oil and half a handful of water until the spices merge to the preparation

Getting the Biryani together

• Take a fresh cast iron vessel, into this pour all the veggies prepared and form a bed of veggies
• Next put the semi cooked rice and form a bed of rice on the veggies
• Add 3 teaspoon of melted ghee to the top all around
• On this rice, put coriander and mint leaves all over and add caramelized onions as well
• Next put more rice on top of that and again form a bed of rice
• Add more mint and coriander leaves and the rest of the onions on top
• You can add ghevar water and saffron to this on top if you want it, I did not use both
• Add 2-3 teaspoon ghee again on top
• Now put this whole thing on low flame, close the top of the vessel and let the mixture cook for 5 minutes (not more than this because everything is already cooked and just needs to finish)
• After 5 mins, sprinkle half a handful of water into the container at top, close the vessel again for 5 minutes
• Turn off the stove and wait another 5-10 minutes as the remaining heat will let the veggies cook fully underneath as well as allow rice to be fully cooked state (you can break the rice with your fingers to see if its cooked)

Serving suggestion

Take a tablespoon and go from top all the way until the end of the vessel to pick rice, veggies everything in one go, and serve onto the plate for eating. Biryani can be served with curd raitha to make it tasty for your guests.

This set of measures are such that the Biryani made would be suitable for two to four people.
Enjoy your meal and let me know if you got the taste right in the comments !

Written with StackEdit.