I love to add life to my years. If I can ignite you to live life,grab life,meet people,know them and make the most of it,I can fuel your energy through these pages. Life is precious and so is planet Earth. Tred on it carefully while getting to know her more through travel and environment documentation. Contact elsiegabriel@yahoo.com 9967347511
Saturday, January 4, 2014
mytravelfootprints: One Man Woman - the Lady boys of Thailand! A salut...
mytravelfootprints: One Man Woman - the Lady boys of Thailand! A salut...: One Man Woman-the Lady boys of Thailand! A salute to the third gender! Elsie Gabriel Cabarets might not be on everyone's buck...
One Man Woman - the Lady boys of Thailand! A salute to the third gender! Elsie Gabriel
One Man Woman-the Lady boys of Thailand!
A salute to the third gender!
Elsie Gabriel
Cabarets might not be on everyone's bucket list when out in Thailand for the New Years weekend celebrations but in Phuket you can enjoy a mesmerising evening out filled with clean entertainment.
In Thailand, the third gender is regarded as beautiful and the society there is generally more open to lady boys than many other cultures. Katoey, or the 'third sex', which have played a prominent role in the country’s entertainment
industry for generations are almost revered. So if you want to sit back
and enjoy the most gorgeous lady boys in the world put up a captivating
musical, do watch the Aphrodite Cabaret show which is funny,
entertaining and for the family too, join the hilarious antics at the
show in Phuket. Of course these no non sense cabarets are also available
everywhere in
Thailand as well.This third gender work very hard to perfect the art of
dancing and earning a living as well as look after their figures which
they strut on stage.
I
found myself watching the troupe grind like Madhuri Dixit to the famous
number “Aja Nachle Nachle” as part of the international cultural
offering by the dancers and enjoyed every minute of it and am not
ashamed to write about ad share their amazing theatrical talent. So keep
an open mind and read on….
At first they are all simply the most beautiful girls on stage dancing gracefully, its only at the end that you are told that each and every participant
was a ladyboy. Thailand's katoey are world famous, they are drop dead
gorgeous and so well defined, you would never be able to tell if she was
a man or a woman. The ladyboys are a Thai institution by themselves and
have earned great respect in the clean musical world of stage
performances.
For those sheltered few, katoeys is a term popularly used to refer to men who endeavour to be women, usually through disguise
and tactful surgery. They are jaw drop gorgeous and bewildering, soft
spoken, and elegant and almost mythical. See the pictures and know why
some women would almost envy them.
This
Aphrodite Cabaret show involved perfected lip-synched interpretations
of popular songs from various countries, complete with elaborate
costumes and make-up. Some of the performances were skilfully choreographed and the theme was light-hearted, star dusted magic, glitter and glitz.
A professional
huge theatre with the most amazing acoustics delivers the show with a
bang, being very punctual, featuring a full stage of dancers and
‘singers’, all impossibly glamorous and eye catching. It’s showbiz to
the hilt alright! Technical qualifications and the modern stage technology ensure the highest quality entertainment.
Defused
lighting and soft rays not only bring out the best features of the
dancers but also of the elaborate expensive shimmering costumes and
stage décor to the heights ,you could compare internationally to anywhere in theatrical world.
The cabaret theatre is built to accommodate 950 seats and offer a plush and comfortable seating arrangement. So do include the Aphrodite Cabaret Show in your holiday schedule. I took the entire family to the show while in Phuket.
The Indians in the audience applauded when the Maduri Dixit Bollywood number was belted out and
then the Koreans clapped to their familiar song and then it was time
for the Chinese as their Umbrella song dance came a stage, so you see it
was family fun all the way, including hilarious skits and songs which
sent the audience into splits of laughter. To the amazement of the kids
present in the audience, even the Korean Gangam Style stole the show at
the Aphrodite concert.
The
Lady boys simply serenade you with one great number after another non
stop . The choreography at Aphrodite is admirable and the multi-armed
Shiva goddess dance is a perfect example of the ingenuity on display
here, fusing themes of religion and culture into one.
Finally,
after just over an hour of colourful entertainment, the grand finale
has over 80 of them making a grand exit and it’s only then that you
realise that the whole show consists of men. There’s not a single lady
on the stage and those sexy legs you’ve been admiring for the last hour belong to gorgeous boys! Very pretty ones for sure, but guys nevertheless.
You
can have photos clicked with them for over 100 bts or almost 200 Rs as
they line up outside to bid farewell. Watching their immaculate makeup,
ostrich feathers, sequins and outrageous outfits, they make an
attractive package for sure, Oh what the heck I
posed with some of them and couldn’t help but notice that some of their
features put mine to shame! I was talking about their height. Caught
ya….
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Come join Terra Madre and the Slow Food movement. Keep track of your Food Prints.Elsie Gabriel
Come join Terra
Madre and the Slow Food movement.
Keep track of your
Food Prints.
Elsie Gabriel
From simple home
dinners to community festivals, local food is being celebrated in hundreds of
different ways on December 10. It’s not too late to know that ‘Slow Food’ still
exists and that if we try ,we can surely pass on this gourmet tradition to the
next generation before we actually lose it! I was lucky enough to celebrate the
Slow Food day with my Young Environmentalists Colleagues this week as we all
came together to enjoy local organic vegetables!!
Am sharing how we
women friends got together with Chef Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal MD -A Perfect Bite Consulting and APB studio kitchen in Powai, to cook up and make
an effort to unite those committed to
the slow food movement, focus on the promotion of local, sustainable, organic
food products from across the country. We cooked up Spicy
Millet Porridge with Melon seed topping,Sweet Potato Gnochi with Thencha Pesto, Sesame Potato Gratin, Pump
I love food. I
simply love food and am not ashamed to talk about it. For me one of the celebrations
of life is Food! Am no hypocrite! If I
want to eat Non vegetarian I eat non vegetarian and if I do not want feel like
eating I simply don’t fuss, I devour vegetables galore. I indulge in food! And I love to cook! Baigan
bharta, Alu chokha, Baigani, Bhindi fry, Patal alu, Lauki patta bhaji, mixed
vegetables in dil, good old fashioned panch phoren daals in garlic or pumpkin
sabji with rotis, I cook every day!
I celebrate ‘Slow food’ everyday and how far
my kids run from the table the day there is ‘Slow food ‘movement going on, on
my table is my challenge! Which is everyday! My Slow Food movement starts right
on my kitchen table, dining table and how I shop in the vegetable markets. I
enjoy the shopping in the local sabji mandi and fish market, I love to bargain too.
I make no bones that I simply love to go to the market and take in all the
bright colours, smells and noise!!
How much you eat
and how much you burn off is every one’s personal business though. If you
follow a diet chart or eat every two hours or eat only vegetables, its all a
part of personal choice. If you follow your doctors orders or simply make up a
time table with a YO-YO diet spaced out with cheat days, it’s all in the name
of food , so enjoy!
It is not hard to counter
the disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in
where their food comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the
rest of the world. We envision a world in which all people can access and
enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow and produce it and
good for Mother Earth.
Terra Madre is
the world
meeting of food communities
launched by Slow Food
in 2004 in Italy. It brings small-scale farmers and food producers together
with cooks, academics and the young generation to promote food in a
sustainable, good, clean and fair way.
This year Terra Madre is being celebrated on
December 10th, so go on make your own Slow food recipes, whether its
vegetarian or non vegetarian, it’s simply a dish cooked slowly using local
seasonal produces available near by so that you do not increase your ‘Food carbon
footprints’ while buying products from far away.
The simplest and most cost effective way to reduce your food footprint is to minimize food waste. Although not all food waste is within your control, your purchasing and cooking habits can play a large part in reducing food losses.
Food’s carbon footprint, or ‘foodprint’, is the greenhouse gas emissions
produced by growing, rearing, farming, processing, transporting, storing,
cooking and disposing of the food you eat.
I am glad this week
I re-established the simple pleasures of preparing and eating one’s own meals.
Save
your leftovers and create a new meal with them whenever you can. Think about where food comes from, if it is
from the other side of the world, it will have a high transportation footprint.
Thankfully, we here in India still do our own shopping locally mostly and still
belong to the Slow Food movement, at least most of the rest of the rural country does.
And here in the city believe me, most of the ladies still try to hunt out the cheapest
bhaji walla, admit it!?
Friday, November 29, 2013
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. by Elsie Gabriel
Rolex
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Elsie
Gabriel
Impressive, international, competitive, colossal,
adventurous and classic are the words which overwhelmed me as I walked through
the gates of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, to join thousands of spectators who came to pay tribute to the
participants at the start of the 68th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, December 26th 2012.
At once
I knew why it was such an iconic sport,of which so far I had only read about in
the sailing and sports world news magazines.
The
assorted fleet were registered and set to sail as we came in to flag off the competition
for the 68th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and true to it’s name I
knew it would provide a spectacle befitting of the event’s reputation. The
Boxing Day annual 628-nm ocean classic running from Sydney to Hobart, often
referred to as a ‘nautical rite of passage’, has been sponsored by Rolex since
2002.Rloex as apt as ever ruled the timely sport by the ocean side.Event
organizers Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) were equally alive with
enthusiasm and sportsmanship.
The
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is
an annual event hosted by the CYCA, starting in Sydney on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart,
Tasmania. The race is run in co-operation with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world.
The
68th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race once again lived up to its reputation as
one of the world’s toughest ocean races and am glad I was there to witness this
milestone, once in a life time experience.
It
is said that the race was initially planned to be a cruise by Peter Luke and
some friends who had formed a club for those who enjoyed cruising as opposed to
racing, however when a visiting British Royal Navy Officer, Captain John
Illingworth, suggested it be made a race, the event was born. Peter Luke, who
contributed to the formation of the Cruising Yacht club of Australia and the establishment of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race,
died on 23 September 2007 aged 92.
The
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has gathered much might over the decades, since the
inaugural race in 1945, to become one of the top three offshore yacht races in
the world, and it now attracts the biggest yachts from all around the globe.
All
I could hear was the buzz of ‘Wild Oats’ in the air amidst much conversations.
Eventually I came to learn that the race record was set in 2005 by Wild Oats XI which crossed the line in a time of 1
day, 18 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds. And later, it was wonderful to know
that the previous record was beaten by Wild Oats XI in 2012 when it crossed the line in 1 day,
18 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds. This brought about another record for Wild Oats XI , as they became the first boat to claim the
treble - race record, line honours and overall winner - twice.
Bass Strait and the eastern rough waters of the Pacific Ocean
are renowned for their gusty treacherous winds and notorious seas. Although the
race mostly takes place in the Tasman Sea, the shallowness of Bass Strait
and the proximity to the race course means that the fleet is very much under
the influence of the Strait as they transit from the mainland to Flinders Island. Even though the race is held in the
Australian summer, storms often make the
Sydney–Hobart race cold, choppy and extremely challenging for the crew.
The
Rolex Sydney to Hobart is often described as the most grueling long ocean race
in the world. This traditional sporting event a day after Christmas is filled
with tradition and has the ability year after year to bring an entire country to a dramatic stand
still. A fiercely contested race across the often dangerous seas, this is
always an engaging event for the whole of Australia.
Seventy
six boats of various types and sizes, the largest of them 100-footers, started
off right before us. Leading the pack from the starting line was five-time line
honors winner Wild Oats XI, which last year lost out to Investec Loyal. As the
race leaders turned right into open sea, one could see how Wild Oats XI was
kick starting as the leader.
Over the past 68 years, the Rolex Sydney
Hobart has become an icon of Australia's summer sport ranking top in public
interest. No annual yachting event in the world attracts such huge media
coverage than does the start on Sydney Harbour. I bowed down to Sydney’s
offering, as one attraction I wouldn’t forget in a long long time.
For
me, the fresh strong southerly breeze and sunshine provided the perfect angles
for all the photographs I wanted to capture, it sure was a photo journalist’s
delight. That December month,the weather gods intervened to make the 2012 race
all about the big boats.
This grand classic ocean race is remembered for many
things from records and personal achievements, challenges to tribulations and
unfortunately, disasters too. It
has proved quite a baptism for the news traveler in me, I was simply overjoyed
to simply watch the frenzy of the crew preparations and catch first hand
conversations with some sailors!
Ofcourse
I wasn’t there at Hobart for the winners reception which is said to be as grand
as the flag off but I did come to know of it’s spirited battle for line honours
just as I had expected.
Yachts
scorched out briskly with the endless blaze of media and public attention, as I
waved vigorously, knowing deep in my heart that the crew in every yacht surely
must be bowing their heads to God above and to nature below!
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