Running to educate and to empower the future - Teach for India Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2016

Hey All,

This one is a personal post!

Well, I was approached by an NGO called "Teach For India" to run for the Standard Chartered Marathon 2016 to help raise funds towards the cause of empowering children through education.

For those who are unaware, Teach For India is a nationwide movement aiming to bridge the educational gap in India by placing the country's most promising college graduates, young professionals, in under resourced schools to teach full-time for two years and create a large movement of leaders to build sustainable educational reform in the country.

Read more on the link: http://www.teachforindia.org/about-us

I believe in this cause as education has made a big impact in my life.I feel privileged! Among st other things, I am able to write a blog and share it with the worldwide audience because of EDUCATION. Hence I would like to contribute in my own small way by spreading the word and encouraging each one of you to donate to this cause for a better tomorrow.

It is time to lighten your pockets and GIVE for an equitable world! It is very easy, will take 2 minutes of your time and you have the option to donate anonymously too!

Please go to this link http://unitedwaymumbai.org/scmm-fundraiser-5294 and press on the donate button. The first page will ask you for your details. After you submit that page you will be redirected to pay via online transaction or alternatively you can make an offline donation by cheque.

At an individual level, education is a priceless asset which dictates one's course in life. A lack of education creates ignorance, which in turn fosters issues from corruption to violence to populist government policies, which in turn creates problems which could have a big impact on the global front. If we educate in the right way, the future holds great promise. India, being the most populous country, needs the support and the cooperation to help achieve the basic educational needs to give every child at least an opportunity to pursue their goals.

Below are a couple of facts that I would like to share with you about Teach for India.

1) Out of every rupee that is donated to Teach For India, 86 paise goes towards classroom expenses like fellow salary, classroom resources, field trips etc. and 14 paise goes towards ensuring that the Teach For India Fellowship program is successful in all the five cities.

2)Further, the government encourages donations. All contributions above Rs 100 are eligible for tax deductions. Giving lets us work toward building a better world—one that's safer, healthier, more stable, TOLERANT (if, i may so) and happier for all of us. Donate what you can ( say as much as one dollar) - Even a small donation can make an impact.

Supporting the campaign for Teach For India means supporting the mission to provide basic educational needs and giving every child a chance to pursue their dreams and goals.

And, if none of the above, help me through the difficult, by encouraging me and sharing tips on running a marathon! :)

Thank you for removing your time to read this post. I know it is not about traveling, but it is an experience and I wanted to share it with you.

Ruchita.

Note: You can also make an offline donate by cheque, however, a small cut will go toward United Way of Mumbai for cheques (online donations have 100% of donations go directly to Teach for India). I would encourage you to make an online payment, as it is just convenient for everybody.

Broke, A Beach bum, and enjoy a brunch BUZZ - you are all set to be bedazzled by Bali! :)

Time of Travel - 1st week November

Weather - Hot 

Number of Days - 7

Hotel - Peninsula Beach Resort, Nusa Dua for 6 days.

Peninsula Beach Resort, Nusa Dua

Nusa Dua Bali Beach Resort - Stayed here for the a night. Our flight Jetstar Airways had cancelled flights due to the volcanic ash situation, hence had to stay an extra night.

Please note: During the volcanic ash situation, all the other airlines were flying out. except Jet Star.

Good Property - You can take a walk alongside the beach strip and take in the sights of all the 5 star hotel properties.

Nusa Dua Bali Beach Resort- Pool Side

Nusa Dua Bali Beach Resort- Entra

Nusa Dua is a more relaxed, laid back and lazy type of a place, hence was an ideal choice for a family holiday. If you are looking for something peppy, young and which has a vibrant vibe - definitely Seminyak. But, If you are a party animal and belong to the age group of 16-23, hit Kuta.

Nusa Dua - The Beach Life

Travel mode in Bali - Hire a car for the day. It is very inexpensive and a comfortable option. Contact Wisnu - +62818553497.  Honest and a good driver. He may guide you, But, I would recommend to do your own research on the places that you would like to see and he can drive you around. 

Things to do:

The first day we reached, it was afternoon till we settled in. So we stepped out of the hotel in the evening around 4.30 to go to the Jimbaran area to the Ayana Resort to  enjoy the sunset at the gorgeous Rock Bar. It must be around 30 mins away. Definitely a go go. Sadly, Rock Bar doesn't have enough food choices to satiate a vegetarians palette. Being a  vegetarian, we nibbled on the fries and Vietnamese rolls. The cocktails are yummylicious.  Reach in time to enjoy the sunset.

Rock Bar- Bali

Sunset at Rock Bar, Ayana Bali

The next day, we set off to Ubud for a day trip. Approximately an hour away from Nusa Dua.
1st Stop - The monkey forest -  It's great for people who live in places where they do not frequent animal counters. Well, in India, one does not need to pay to see monkeys. Yes, you can experience the live safari at zero cost at hill stations in India at your own risk.

Hello there! - Monkey Forest

Then we took a break for lunch at 'The Elephant' restaurant. It serves only vegetarian food (Luck favours the like of us too sometimes) It is uphill at a nice location with a good view, but the food is okay-ish. I guess very organic for my taste too. ;). 

Then we scoured the market area. Hot Tips -  Ubud is good for money exchange rates. If you would like to buy a souvenir or buy bali manufactured handicrafts, buy it from here. It will be difficult to find these and at a good price anywhere else. Ubud has a lot of handicraft, wooden, idols, workshops.

Running out of time, we made a quick photo stop to see the rice paddy field. We did not do the tour. India is an agricultural country, but we go all the distance to check out the rice terraces in bali :)

Tegallalang Rice Terraces, famous for its beautiful scenes of rice paddies.

We finished the day by catching another Sunset at the Tanah Lot temple. It is nice. But skippable. I am not sure whether it was low tide or it is always like this but the temple did not seem to be located in the middle of the water. If you pay a donation, you can hold a snake.

Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple

View at Tanah Lot

Honestly, by the second day I have inferred, that Bali should be called the sunset capital. Keep reading and you will totally agree with me.

We ran out of time so we could not visit goa gajah the elephant cave so plan to start early. But honestly, it is difficult to do so much in a day. 

After being in bali for 1 and a half days, we finally set foot on the beach.

Sigh! A ready set for a wedding venue!

As a family we enjoy/love adventure sports. So, We spent an entire day on the beach to enjoy the Sports Activities at Tanjong Benoa.

Para Sailing

Banana Boat Ride

Jet Ski

Flying Fish

Snorkelling

Turtle Island

Glass boat

A turn of turtles at Turtle Island

We reached the hotel for an evening swim ( also our first dip in the pool after 1 & a half days).

We went to Bali Collection for Dinner. It is a base level mall with shops and restaurants in Nusa Dua.

There is a free shuttle which runs from Bali Collection to almost all hotel properties, so use that and visit the centre. It has restaurants, shops, money changers. Spent couple of hours just browsing and shopping and eating and drinking.

The night ended in a Karaoke session  - I almost had a fan club.

It's been 3 days, we've been in Bali,  and are now craving some city life and shopping. I spear head the shopping agenda but my family is not far behind. So we went to Seminyak the next day. There are a lot of small boutiques, small labels originally from bali or opened by expats amidst the throng of restaurants and bars at Seminyak Square. It is good shopping, but expensive. If you are looking for swimwear then hit universo it houses an australian swimwear brand Sea Folly - which is super! 

After that, we went to the Potato Head Beach Bar - It is brunch/ lunch bar on the beach with a pool overlooking the beach and the sea. You have to go here.  Awesome music, Awesome alcohol, Awesome ambience, Awesome atmosphere - it is just an AWESOME place. The only downside for me was the food. Do not eat here if you are a vegetarian.  The zucchini fritters and falafel is so bland, that you will need copious amounts of alcohol to wash it down with. However enjoy the yummy cocktails at the pool bar. Tips: Carry your swimsuit, Towels and just enjoy the Bali beat. You can easily spend 4-5 hours chilling, reading a book, plunging in the pool or dirtying yourself in the beach. 

Potato Head Beach Bar

Go early or reserve to book a day bed by the pool. Minimum spend must be IDR 500000 for a bed.

Sun loungers at Potato Head

Thursday, we lounged in the resort. Went to Bali Collection for Lunch. Went around Nusa Dua. Stopped by the Nikki Beach property at Sofitel. Not a soul, so we left it to peace and went back to the hotel to spend another evening at Karaoke. So, this was our first attempt at what actually is the definition of a holiday.

Friday being the last day was planned. It was the morning pool and the brunch sessions. After that we had our 3 hour spa appointments booked. Following that, we set off for Ku de ta, Seminyak to spend another evening to see the last of the sunset at Bali. The place was quite a disappointment. However, we were luckily steered in the direction of Woo Bar. 

Woo Bar- W HOTEL, My most favourite place. It is on the similar lines of potato beach and rock bar. But it is just more posh. Surprisingly, it has a separate vegetarian menu, and were amazed by their molecular gastronomy. Highlights being the cocktails again and the Pink Bean bags for the Pool. This place is  done up so well and has such an oomph factor. Loved it. Skip everything else and go here if you have to,but do not miss this place.

Can you spot the 'W'?

Friday went well. All packed and ready to say bye to Bali. But then Bali fell in love with us. So due to unforeseen circumstances as already mentioned earlier we had to extend another day. We spent the whole day at the beach resort lounging and enjoying the spa activities.

The Et cetera things to do:
Scuba Dive
Bali is famous for its scuba diving sites. Pedang Bai is supposed to be one of the better sites for diving. You could call on a company called Adventure Scuba Dive, A friend recommended it. I went to another school goes by the name of Baliscubamasters. They were right opposite my hotel. Do not go to them. I was lazy and it was convenient and it said 5 star PADI. But, I would recommend go to Adventure Scuba since my friend did like them. I signed up for the Open Water Course and then backed out after one pool dive. I never do back out of things, however challenging they are but I just did not want to go unaccompanied and only with an instructor, and i was doing miserably at mask cleaning. I haven't given up yet, and I think the next time when I do try to get trained I will do it India and with a friend because with other countries there is always the language barrier and I wouldn't mind familiar faces in an unfamiliar space.

There are other things like Bali Safari, Dolphins at Lovina or a trek to the volcanic mountain. But all these places would take up almost 3 hours to reach from where I was staying. The thought of travelling so much makes me cringe. So if you do not mind moving around, then do visit these places.

From the airport, take a regular taxi - it is not expensive. Just see to it that they are running by the metre.

While exchanging money go to a proper exchange place, else you may get cheated. They have a magicians hand while tricking you into giving you less money. They are scared of the police, so if you do get caught up in the situation just mention police.

Restaurants:
There are quite a few restaurants, but I didn't frequent that many. Below are the few ones that I did manage to go to.

Tropicana - Indonesian Food, Nachos were not good - so just try and pick options from the staple Indonesian menu.

Bali Bangle - Indian Food

Queens - Indian Restaurant - Good Indian Food

Bumbu Bali - Indonesian Food - My sister quite liked it. I take time to appreciate different 

Karaoke, Live Bands - almost every night at nusa dua.
The Elephant- Ubud
Woobar - Seminyak
Anomali Cafe- Good coffee

Visit Tamarind Restaurant at Nusa Dua Beach Bali Resort- It is made of cane and bamboos and straw- Amazing!!!! Somebody needs to replicate it. Super architecture. I did not eat there, so I am not sure of the food - but the place looks Preetttyyy~

Tamarind Restaurant at Nusa Dua Beach Bali Resort

If you stay in Nusa Dua, do note that all restaurants provide you with free transport - so you can use that.

Shopping:

Bali Collection

New Look

Universo

Sogo - buy a souvenir from here

Seminyak Square
A lot of small boutiques. No big brand.

Ubud
The market area

Massage  
What I didn't mention earlier is the massage. The best of Bali is the Balinese Massage. It is exactly like thailand. Walk out of your hotel if you want cheap massages everyday or enjoy a spa at the hotel itself. Totally worth it.

To summarise,  Just. Binge on the beach life and enjoy the many sunset views! C'est la vie !!Bali is the definition of a retreat. 

The only hard time I had was making my flight from Bali to Singapore. But I do not blame Bali for that, more like the airline agency and circumstantially the volcanic ash clouds. More than that grateful that we reached home safely. Though, I hope there is a direct airline from Mumbai to Bali soon.