Travel,Culture,Food

Hello friends,

I've created a blog called You and Me with a Cup of Tea. It is an endeavor to bring my passions together. This blog is about people, their stories and the places they take me.It's about exploring new cultures, food, moving out of comfort zones and leaving the known behind.

I have always loved meeting and getting to know people from across the world. Hearing their stories,traveling with them through their stories, peeking into their world,visualizing their childhood, understanding and participating in their culture, eating and trying all kinds of food.I thrive on it- it drives me.

I love traveling, it's ingrained into me. My father was in the Indian Air force and we have traveled the length and breadth of India. My childhood was about travel, we moved every two years and travel for me is synonymous with adventure, exploring the unknown, drinking in the sights and sounds of a new place, and creating more connections.

I'll share one memory from my childhood travels. My father got posted out from Udhampur in the Northern state of Jammu and Kashmir to Bagdogra in the Eastern state of West Bengal. 2000 kilometers and we drove in our old Fiat. It was 1985. 3 days and 2 nights in the car. I loved every minute of it. If I close my eyes, I can see a little girl hanging her head out of the car, lustily drinking in the scenes passing by. Villages, temples, fields, fisher-women, vegetable carts, tamarind trees, small tea shops, children playing with tyres on the roads, hastily getting out-of-the-way with the honking. I can feel the heat and smell the dust in my nose and eyes.

The second day we lost our way and we reached a village called Kishanganj in Assam. It was twilight when we entered the village and I can still see that temple - the only lit up place in the center.It was alive with evening aarti( prayers) and bells were clanging loudly. We spent our night there.

I love books and reading and I will attempt(through people I meet) to introduce you to authors from around the world.

I like to write. It centers me.(I'm okayish at it, but that's never been the point!)

This blog will help us travel together, experience and soak in different cultures, places and food! It also means, I get to write:-)

PS - Oh - forgot! I am a Sikh by birth,married to a catholic and I believe our home is unique and beautiful! We've integrated bits and pieces from our cultural backgrounds and influences from our travels. Am a mum of two gorgeous children, a free-lance writer with a publication, have my venture and have worked as an HR professional for 12 years.

I've lived and worked across a few countries and now call Sydney my home!

In my next post - I'm taking you to Aletai, in Xinjiang China.And you will meet my beautiful friend Vera who grew up in Aletai, studied and worked in Beijing and now calls Sydney home. This journey I've taken with her has been spectacular and I hope you enjoy it too:-)