It's A Girl!!!

Congratulations to the Kola's (My friend Zaid and The Maidens cousin Dilshad) on their baby girl, born yesterday and named Heba. We wish you many years of great parenting and bundles of joy !!!

Happy Birthday Elle

To my good friend Elvira on her birthday!! (Yes yes I know im 3 days late, but rather late than never ;) )

The Maiden, The Butterfly and I wish you a year filled with curling toes and giggles and laughter and tears of happiness and pretty much all things nice. Oh, and not forgetting a good-looking rich Indian husband just like The Maiden got ;)

Mwuah xxx

Traffic Jam

A block away from Piccadily Circus and already the monkeys are running the show. No points for spotting the tourists here.

Hanging With The Big Boys

The bouncers from Ba Salsa in London. Popular watering hole for good ole' latin clubbing.

Mamma Mia!

The Kaloo's do Broadway.

London Nights

Thats The Maiden on a night out in London.

Party Animals

Thats my pal Shaff and I outside Club Equinox in London. The original party animals.

Bridge On The River Thames

London on a rare sunny afternoon.

Crossroads

Zurich City Centre. Spot the tourist.

Bridge On The River Zurich

A wintery cold night out in Zurich. I cant remember ever eating as much pizza as I did on this trip!

Peek-A-Boo

Now I see you, now I dont.

Meet Wouter

This is the guy who picked us up from the airport when we arrived. Quite a funny story really.

We land at Zurich Airport and meet him holding up our nameboards at arrivals. As you can see, he's dressed to the nines in his finest suit and shiny shoes. Already im impressed; next he escorts us outside where this big black mercedes benz awaits. Wow! Thins certainly are looking up, I think. As we get in, we're invited to partake of the chilled wine and complimentary snacks. At about this point i time, im starting to think maybe Wouter got us mixed up with some Foreign Minister and his wife or something. I knew i'd booked a pretty good package to Switzerland, but even I wasnt expecting this!!

After some chit-chat with the very friendly Wouter, he asks me "Your first time to Zurich?" When I replied in the affirmative, he just smiled. We passed the Hilton, then the Sheraton, The Ritz, and I expected to see our hotel next. It turns out Hotel Montana was up the road, across the river and on the other side of town. Not a seedy side, just not the side as the 5 Star Hotels. Of course it was then that it dawned on me: Our rocket scientist travel agent had pulled out all the stops and gone big on the transport from airport to hotel, and used the change to book our room. Personally I would have sooner taken the 5 Star hotel and travelled to and from the airport by taxi, even bicycle, but such is life and I guess its all part of the adventure.

Her Royal Highness

A street bench in Zurich.
This would probably last 20 seconds in the streets of Jo'burg!

Train To Catch

Thats me waiting for the train at Zurich Station, on our way to Geneva.

The first rule of International Travel: Book with an agent who's actually been to the destination you planning on travelling to. This trip could have turned out to be a disaster were it not for the fact that I tripple-checked our itinerary and crapped out my agent for the silliest of blunders.
When asked about our transfer between Zurich and Geneva, he said "Easy peasy. Catch the bus for a 30 minute drive, at a cost of $20."

3 hours by train and $250 later, I wasnt impressed with his bad advice. All turned out well though coz the train ride was an absolute treasure.

Smuggling Marshmallows

The Butterfly, with cheeks puffed out like she's smuggling marshmallows in them :)

The London Files 2

Uhm... lottsa people we met in London. This was taken at my sisters apartment. Im not sure who they all are, but if you know any of these suspects, please drop me a line.

Dont Mess With Us

We know some nasty people who arent afraid to kick butt ;)

Artists Unite

Now im not sure who the other artists in this pic are, but I know Picasso is there somewhere; maybe Andy Warhol; I think the guy on the far right side is Van Gogh; but what I do know for certain is that the world reknowned artist seated front right is The Maiden.

Backpacking In Zurich

Thats me, doing the tourist pose, in the church district of Zurich.

The London Files

From left to right: Moe, The Maiden and I, Dilshaad, Zaid, Nabawiya, Yasmin, and my sister Shamima kneeling in front.

Taken in London on our holiday there some time back.

The Lady Di Memorial

The Maiden and I at Princess Diana's Memorial in Harrod's, London.

Maiden Voyage

The Maiden, at the same boat club. Dont be fooled by the yacht named Lausanne in the background. Its not the same as the town of Lausserne, which is where the yacht club is.

Boondock Saint

At the yacht club in Lausserne, Switzerland.

Eyes Wide Open

While the rest of the world sleeps, Sabreen plays.

Hanging With "The Big B"

From left to right: Dilshaad (The Maidens cousin and married to my good pal Coke's), The Maiden, my chess-partner Amitabh Bachchan (who also does acting occassionaly) and of course myself.

Love In A Foreign Country

The Blog Superstars, on holiday in Switzerland. Can you tell how cold it is on this night?

Aah.. I Found Heidi

This is The Maiden at a popular park overlooking the mountainside and City Centre in Zurich. The Alps aren't visible from here, but in later pics taken in Geneva you can see them better.

Looking For Heidi

This week im starting with a new series of pics. A collection of holiday pics taken during our travels in Switzerland, London, Thailand and of course during our stay in Dubai. The Maidens visits to Milan, Beirut and I forget half of where else she's travelled.

This pic was taken in Zurich. I figured i'd find out for myself whether Switzerland really is the watch capital of the world, and im glad to report that in one street alone, there were no less than 20 of the most famous watchbrands based there.

This was a holiday The Maiden and I had done back in 2002.

Bedtime Blues

Someone's not happy about being put to bed so early. If she could have things her way, anytime would be playtime.

Boo Hoo... Guess Who?

The Yummy Giraffe

Once upon a time, there was a girl who ate every toy that was put before her, including this poor Giraffe... who started life off as a cute furry toy, and ended up a wet, soggy and abused teething-ring.

To Shamima

On your 32nd Birthday

All the best from The Merchant, The Maiden, The Butterfly, Thabo Mbeki and the rest of South Africa.

Discovering The Face

The Butterfly has discovered facial expressions, and she's not shy to use them. Her favourite is pulling her tongue out, and blowing bubbles.