So it was after a lot of patient waiting that I finally convinced the man that we needed to go to Goa. And I think I might have been successful in converting him to a beach lover. When I asked him if we could do this at least once a year, he said, “let’s do it twice!”

Mission accomplished.

Thanks to suggestions from some friends we found a super reasonable place to stay on Agonda Beach. Quiet, relatively empty and super peaceful. We basically just sat out on the beach all day reading, sleeping, staring at the constant ebb and flow of the ocean. Exactly what our flu-ridden, and tired-of-breathing-Bombay’s-polluted-air lungs and souls needed.

We are so grateful to have this beauty (inside and out) as a friend.

Your adventurous soul inspires me, friend.

This was SO much fun!

So we’re back from a extended weekend trip to Nainital. We stayed at a little old (and I mean really OLD) building with some friends and it was so so so refreshing. I feel so refreshed. I can’t tell you how refreshed I feel. It was breathing that glorious fresh air, being surrounded by beautiful tall trees, taking a walk/hike down to the lake, sitting by the camp fire and being mesmerised by it’s crackling and sizzling sounds, but more than that, it was incredible stimulating conversations with this amazing group of friends. So grateful.

On our way back, after some major mess-ups on the part of MakeMyTrip, we had to change our flights back to Mumbai and so we had a few hours of free time in the capital. We spend many hours pigging out at a breakfast buffet while Rob did some work and I did some reading and then made a short trip to Safdarjung’s Tomb before heading to the airport.

I have more photos to share but for now, here’s an early morning photo from our chai-shop at Chandi Chowk.

It was fun being a ‘tourist’ in Bombay as we showed Jenny around. Rob really enjoyed showing us his old map collection and a few of his drawings too.

We checked out several galleries in Kala Ghoda and the first evening of the Kala Ghoda Festival (which I have to say isn’t quite as artsy as it used to be, and seems to have become rather disappointingly commercial).

I think our favourite part of the weekend was eating the famed “Berry Pulao” at Brittania. Apart from the fact that Berry Pulao is amazingly tasty, we loved having our order taken by an elderly Irani man who we think is probably the son of the man who opened the café in the 1920s.

Having been through my own wedding, I also now realise more fully the gravity of what I do as a wedding photographer. I’ve always known it of course, but it sinks in deeper after your own wedding. Both Rob and I were in a bit of a daze in the follow-up and during our wedding. There was so much going on, so many people that we love around us, so many details that we couldn’t possibly keep up with… that I am SO glad that we had two incredible photographers (George Seemon and Sharan Ranjit) beautifully backing up our memories of those days. It’s been great to see our friends’ and families’ perspectives too through their countless camera and phone pictures!

Rob and I are super grateful that we were able to get away for about 10 days after the wedding to get a break from the “to-dos” and getting into the logistics of being married! We call it our “Honeytreat”. Honeymoon + Retreat :)

We were treated to a holiday in the amazing Namib desert in Namibia, and Cape Town and Stellenbosch in South Africa. Both countries were incredible. I’ve been to South Africa before as a child and once as a teenager when we lived in Zambia but Namibia was new to both of us and we loved every bit of it. The desert on the outset seems like miles and miles of emptiness and silence but once you get closer, and have an expert explain it to you, you realise just how much life there actually is. How beautifully everything is designed and created to compliment one another.

For me, raw, unadulterated nature like this is like tonic for my soul. Being in these places even for a short while fills me up with endurance and patience to live in a city. And Rob was so fascinated and excited at it all too which I am sure he is going to write about on his blog when he gets a chance.

We are grateful and “rejoicing at the wonders that he has shown us.”

And at the wonders that he is showing us.

Namibia:

Cape Town and Stellenbosch:

So great having dinner with Rod and Diana, two wonderful friends of ours who were also on holiday in South Africa while we were there!

Thank you Ram and Ruwanie and your awesome family and friends.

Ram and Ruwanie got married (again!). This time the Sri Lankan way!

All three of them actually don’t live in Sydney but they all came down for the weekend and we stayed at Jen’s grandma’s cute little house. We did the essential Sydney sightseeing, ate delicious dinner at Jamie’s Italian Restaurant, did a little bit of shopping at a market, checked out a cool gallery (recommended to me by my co-passenger on my flight from Singapore to Sydney!), and hung out at the beautiful Bondi beach.

Anna, Jen and Lyds, so grateful for you girls!

Here’s a little glimpse of the beautiful city of Sydney.

Glitch # 1

Customs stopped me to investigate all my camera gear and informed me that I was carrying too much and unless I could prove to them that I had taken it out of the country, I could not bring it in without paying a hefty amount of money and I’m talking enough money to buy a new lens! Of course I was NOT going to pay them anything because it’s not new gear and it was all bought in India and I could prove it with my receipts BUT the receipts were all in Bangalore and not on me personally. Anyway, thankfully my fiancé Rob was waiting outside for me and I drew confidence from him to stand my ground. They initially said they would detain my bag and I could come back to pick it up with my receipts and I explained that I had to get back to Bangalore TODAY because I was getting married in two weeks and I couldn’t come back to Bombay with receipts.

Thankfully, they were not sadistic officers and after sitting me down for a lecture on what is permissable and what is not and what I have to make sure I do when I travel abroad with all this gear again, they let me go with a warning.

Glitch # 2

I was so anxious to just get out of the airport and spend about an hour with Rob before I got back on my last flight to Bombay that I didn’t even think about what happens to my checked in baggage? I knew it was checked till Bangalore but I had no idea that I was supposed to collect it in between and take it through Customs in Bombay! Blame it on the fiasco with my camera bag and 20+ hours of traveling, lack of sleep and general exhaustion. I also wish they would have announced it on my flight from Singapore to Bombay.

Anyway, I finally made it home at around 7am on Monday morning and slept pretty much the whole day. Jet Airways has been stellar with sorting out my baggage and getting it to Bangalore. They initially said I would have to go to the airport to pick it up but I managed to convince them to have it delivered to my place. They usually do that for free but in my case, because it had to do with Customs and not technically a fault of Jet Airways, I will have to pay for the service. Oh well. I’m okay with not having to see an airport again for a while! And I am just grateful to have my bag back!

On my last day in Sydney, I shot the second wedding ceremony of Ram and Ruwanie. I shot their Indian wedding here in Bangalore in July and was absolutely honoured to witness their Sri Lankan wedding! I stayed at Ruwanie’s parents’ place in Sydney for my last fews day in Australia and was honestly humbled by how they made me feel like a part of the family.

When I started off this photography business, I wanted it to be more than just earning a living or even doing what I am passionate about. I wanted it to be about relationships and service and I think finishing off 2013 with this wedding was such a fantabulous confirmation of that goal. Shooting for Ram and Ruwanie didn’t feel like ‘work’, it felt like a great big celebration with family and friends and for that, I am inexplicably grateful.

Cannot wait to share this set with you. For now, a tiny little sneak peek:

Melbourne was wonderful. I don’t know which part I loved best but honestly I’m pretty sure Melbourne by itself wouldn’t be even half as awesome if I didn’t have such great and generous friends there!

Two really cool people in Melbs. Gorgee and Rusty and Baby-in-the-tum!
Niru, my amazing friend of 12 years and host in Melbourne!

Tasted just as beautiful as they look.

My favouritest little family in Frankston. The Clements.