Our Very First Campervan Adventure

Eglinton Valley, Fiordland National Park, Southland, New Zealand

Express photo post coming up! There, told ya, I’d do one. These are photos of our very first campervan adventure. And it was in New Zealand’s South Island in December 2018. I have loads of old photos stored up just for busy times like these. Unfortunately, in most cases, these also had to be sorted out, as they’d be tons of photos, thanks to our trigger-happy fingers, ahem!

Here goes.

We decided to rent a campervan. It’s summer in NZ, don’t think there’d be a problem. What better way to see the South Island than by campervan! Woohoo! We’re cheapskates (as I’ve mentioned hundreds of times before in this blog), so we rented a basic campervan, instead of a motorhome or a caravan. (Heck, I don’t even know whether I could drive those things or not!?!)


First up, let’s stock up on some supplies before we start our trip! Outside the Countdown hypermarket at Queenstown Central, Queenstown, NZ. This area is near Queenstown’s airport where we hired the campervan!


AWAY WE GO! To the south. Beautiful weather beside Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown


Wow, what’s this great expanse of yellowish grass? Lemme see. It’s the Eglinton Valley. We’ve reached the Fiordland National Park. Our destination for the day is the Milford Sound Lodge Campervan Park. In NZ, you can only park your campervans at designated locations, or you’d be fine, or worse, banned from camping… (I think)




Let’s play cowboys!!


Our campervan in the distance. Hey, let’s go before it gets too late!


Next stop, the Mirror Lakes. (How do we know all these names? All the sites are clearly sign posted. This is a National Park, OK?)


Anu, at the Mirror Lakes, Fiordland National Park, NZ


On the road again…


Next stop, uh-oh, I don’t know where this is. (Spoke too soon, not everything is bloody sign-posted). It looks like the flower field from the Hindi movie, Hamari Adhuri Kahani, where the hero was blown up by a land mine! Nope, no land mines here, only crazy tourists and flowers!


Wait, looking at Google Maps, I think it’s at the turn off to the Cascade Creek Road. In Google Maps, it’s labelled as ‘Cascade Creek Historic Campsite’ near the start of the ‘Lake Gunn Nature Walk’. There you go!


Gotta go, getting late… Look at the majestic snowy peaks! And it’s summer!


Finally, we reached our destination! Our Jucy campervan, with extended room above the van (Justin slept there, all alone), at the Milford Sound Lodge. Luckily, I booked a space in advance. The campervan parking was FULL! Summer is super busy in NZ. Book everything in advance or you’d be left with no place to sleep (even if you have a campervan). Or get ready to pay premium bucks!

Becoming Indian, Almost

Whew… I’m back from a 3 week break home to Malaysia++ (that plus-plus sign will be explained later). Right after coming back, I found, to my surprise, that our usually slow relaxed and stubborn bureaucratic head office, has transformed into a madhouse. Heck, they’re on panic mode! Working thru nights and on weekends and they’re trying to drag everyone along with it. Double heck!

And all that just because of some sort of audit from China (it must be some serious-shit audit, or those bureaucrats there at our office wouldn’t have budged…). Anyway, as a result, yours truly have been slogging over reams of god-damn financial records for the past 2 weeks, trying to figure out how they all piece together. At the expense of my other, ‘more important’ work (according to me) and family (talk about hell).

I’ll have to leave my story of our recent home trip (which took us on 11 flights, through 11 different airports, in 7 different countries) till later, ahem. Meanwhile, here’s a short photo post to keep the blog alive, till I find some time. These are photos I’ve collected earlier, of last year’s friends and gatherings, which I wanted to post before I went on leave, but… It’s better late than never, huh? Gotta think of a way to catch up on posting…

Last year was basically an extended COVID lock down year with the Dubai Expo2020 brightening up an otherwise drab year. Our gatherings were mostly during the Indian festivals towards the end of the year when restrictions were less strict. Luckily, we were still able to mingle and stay in touch with friends. Thank you, God, for continuing to bless us with friends and fellowship. See for yourself!


Red vs Black – a gathering with old frens at the Jebel Ali Village Recreation Club, Apr 2021 – with Roby, Madhavi and Jasna. They’re all from the expat Indian community, born and brought up in Dubai. Hey, what’s with the red? Valentines ain’t in April!?


Here’re the kids! Justin’s Year 1 classmates Aria and Mashel, and also Aria’s younger sister Viva who is Jayden’s age – Jebel Ali Recreation Club


Summer break’s coming up! It’s the end of the School Year. Here’s a school party at Bounce, a trampoline park in Dubai – Justin with 2 of his Year 6 classmates, Nikita from Russia (right) and ummm, don’t really know the name of the girl (Justin never talks about any of the girls in his class...), Jun 2021


Here’s Justin’s Year 6 Class Teacher, Ms Harland Tither from the UK and Moaz, another of Justin’s classmate, who’s from Egypt. Hmmm, I remember Anu taking a lot more photos including photos of Ms Harland and Justin together, but I found only this one?!? Bummer, I must have accidentally left out a huge chunk of photos when transferring photos from Anu’s phone into the hard disk. I found very few photos from June – July months of last year… Now, they’re gone for good…


More bouncing fun coming up… with the parents joining in this time! This is Bounce-X Dubai. The mothers (Madhavi, Jasna and Anu) decided on a play date where they’d also play! (What about the fathers? It's not like we could sit around and enjoy a mug of beer while waiting?!?) In the middle of the photo is Jasna and Anu trying to out-bounce each other. Madhavi is on the left playing ball with her younger daughter, Viva. The one lying down I’m sure is Jayden, up to his usual antics… Jul, 2021


Just like that and summer’s gone! School starts again. This is Ms Mariesa Ford, Jayden’s Year 3 class teacher. (Nope, I don’t have a pic of his Year 2 teacher, Ms Rachel White). This photo was taken at the end of last year, when restrictions were less strict and when parents could actually visit schools

Let the festivals begin! And here's what we did during the festivals towards the end of the year.


Ganesh Chaturthi, Sep 2021 – At our Maharashtrian neighbour Milind’s house. We decided to go traditional, while our Maharashtrian friends stayed casual, hah! But at least, there’s a Maharashtrian cap to go! Justin and Jayden, with Mihir (right) and Arul


Durga Puja, Oct 2021 – Our friends visited us. Anu with Madhavi, Jasna and Madhavi’s family’s dog… Stacey, if I’m not mistaken


The Festival of Lights, Nov 2021 – A Diwali dinner at another neighbour’s house – That’s Bhavna, the lady of the house and her daughter Dyuti


And this is the host, Umesh Aggarwal with yours truly. Thanks for the treat mate!


Another neighbour – KP Singh and wife, Abha


Here’re their kids – Shreya and Advika (right)


At Milind's house, Anu with Milind’s wife Rajeshri (right) and their housekeeper (left) on Diwali


Our neighbor Milind Padhare, on Bhai Dooj, which comes right after Diwali / Deepavali, at our home


Finally, it’s the end of the year. Celebrating Justin’s birthday with some of his classmates staying nearby! The boy in red is Jamal (who’s a Kyrgyz national) but speaks only English at home, like Justin, because his dad is Saudi and mom is Kyrgyz and they don’t speak each other’s language. There’re lots of kids like that in Dubai! The other 3 are brothers, Moaz (centre), Malik (left) and Musab (right) from Egypt. Moaz and Malik are both in Year 7 this year, although Moaz is a year older than Malik. That’s normal also, Moaz just started school at a later age. Justin and Jayden are 5 years apart in age, but only 4 years apart academically, because Jayden started school at a younger age… Musab is Jayden’s age

And that’s it for the time being… Now, what other photos have I collected earlier to let me do another express post???...

The River Turns Deadly

The floods and landslides in North East India and Bangladesh are devastating. Hundreds dead, millions homeless. Till now large parts of Assam are under water, with no power, food or drinking water. Some villages are completely submerged, not even the roofs could be seen. It’s like a sea.

Silchar city is also affected. The entire city is waterlogged. It’s like friggin Venice, only that instead of boats, people are wading in waist-high to neck-high water depending on where you are in the city. Our home in Silchar is likewise affected. There’s about a foot of water in our home for the last week now.

This flood, by the way, was the second to hit North East India in the last 2 months. The first was in May and then now. I don’t know how many lives were lost, how many homes are permanently gone…

God, have mercy on us and deliver those affected from the effects of devastating flood, and the hardships and diseases that follow. We’re looking for volunteers and charitable organizations in the Silchar to see how we could contribute to their efforts. If you wanna help, please send me a message on prahnago@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you. Meanwhile, please pray for the people affected. God bless you.

Here’re some photos of the river we took in April this year before the floods hit.


Barak River, Fulertal, Assam, India – Justin at her aunt’s (Rekha) garden/ farm beside their home. This entire garden is under water as I write. Just imagine how much the water level has risen…


Amar Gurung’s riverside house, Fulertal – The river would’ve surged up to the foundations of the house. I hope they’re safe…


The Barak River in tranquil times, seen from the Mukam at Fulertal. The Mukam is what locals call the tomb of a Muslim holy man called Baba Longarshah. The tomb is located inside the compound of a large mosque. What’s strange but wonderful about this place is that, Hindus also revere this holy man and frequently visit the tomb to place candles and pray. They’d do this right after visiting the Hindu temple next door to the mosque! That’s what I call tolerance and acceptance. Peace, no hate. I hope the whole world could be more like that.






Tomb of Baba Longarshah, Mukam, Fulertal, Cachar District, Assam


Amrita at the Mukam


The Manipuri temple (or what locals call the Shiv Temple) beside the Mukam. The Barak River is just behind the yellow-coloured shrine on the right. It’s a high drop from this temple to the river below. This accounts for why Fulertal Village isn’t flooded. According to Anu, the land behind the temple used to be much larger, but years of erosion have caused the land to shrink considerably since Anu was a child. Local Hindus frequently pray here and then pray at the Mukam, next door


Anu at the Shiv Mandir, Fulertal, Cachar, Assam


The Barak River at Lakhipur town – This is the ghat where boats ferry passengers across to the other side of the river i.e. Binnakandi. From seeing how the river has risen in the news and videos sent from home, I think the river’s level would have risen to where that lady in front is standing…

Continue to pray my friends…

Crossing Borders in COVID Times

The Emirati wilderness, …or is this Oman?? From Google Maps, it looks more like the latter. This was where we camped for the night in Oct 2020, our first of many camping trips to come since the pandemic started.

I got it finally. Blasted COVID. From the son, and he from school. That’s the problem of relaxing your guard, heck! (Not me, but the others out there, not wearing masks, etc, etc, etc). But it ain’t that serious, just like a bad bout of flu for me. Today’s my first day of work after nearly 2 weeks of isolation! While I was out of action from the office, I’ve collected some photos of our first excursion into the UAE wilderness since COVID started.

This was in October 2020. After months of not getting out of our home city of Dubai, we finally decided that enough was enough, and headed out into the Emirati wilderness, for Jayden’s birthday. We found out that Sharjah had just opened a new road through the mountains connecting directly to its enclave of Khor Fakkan in the east coast, so…, what the heck! Let’s go check it out. We packed our tent and the barbecue stuff and headed out as I was pretty sure that there’d be some camping ground on the way. After all, it’s a new road! (But boy, was I wrong…) Here’s the story.


Wow, beautiful new road across the mountains – the Khor Fakkan Road! This is the ermmmm… 4th road across the mountains that I could count in my head, 1) Masafi Road, 2) Hatta Road, 3) Kalba Road and now this one. No complaints for roads, after all I’m in the road construction business, haha!


There’re a series of tunnels on this road… as it cuts across the Hajar Mountains

Hey, why don’t we explore this route through Madha and Nahwa? It looks really interesting in the map. Madha is an Omani territory (enclave) surrounded completely by the UAE. But what makes it even more interesting is that, in the middle of this enclave (or exclave), sits the village of Nahwa, which is UAE territory, completely surrounded by the Omani enclave of Madha. It’s an enclave within and enclave, or what you call, a double-enclave!! We had actually brought along our passports just to find out whether we could drive into this bizarre area. It turns out that there’re no border controls, just drive in and out as you like!

And so, we turned off the Khor Fakkan Road at Wadi Shees (which is an interesting mountain village which we would eventually visit a few trips later), and headed into Madha.


Wadi Shees Road – hey, there’s water in the gap below, cool!


Uh-oh, dirt track ahead! The sealed road’s gone… (This photo was actually taken the next day in the morning, which explains the sunny conditions. At the first time we reached here, it was almost dusk as we started late)


I think we’re in Omani territory now… Really scary road, is that soil gonna collapse? And it’s getting dark, didn’t really see any camping ground, shit!


Hey, we reached a cave! I recognized this as the Nahwa Cave (from pictures in Google), meaning we’ve gone past the Omani parts and entered the UAE territory of Nahwa! Could we camp here?? Nah, don’t think it’s a good idea. Let’s go on, before we lose all the daylight!!

And so, we drove on, past Nahwa, re-entered Omani Madha, went past that and came out onto Khor Fakkan on the east coast of the UAE. Nope, still no place suitable. Hey, how about checking out this place labelled ‘Al Sadah Picnic Point’ inside Madha, Oman? And back we went, into Madha Oman again. Shit, the park is closed! Now, what do we do in the night? I remember a somewhat suitable point further back past the cave, and so drove on. Nope, not here either. It's under a tree but there're lots of rocks, and some trash nearby. Let’s head back towards the cave. And finally, Anu (bless her) chose a spot in the dark and we set up camp! In Omani territory.


Anu’s picnic meal! Yummy! Complete with decorative lights! Happy 6th Birthday Jayden! Here we were, all alone, with no one near us for miles. This was a weekday, as I took the day off for Jayden’s birthday and it was not a particularly busy road. We set up camp on a ledge beside the dirt road. The whole night thru, we were worried about bandits, wild animals, security forces, etc… (Heck, we’re in Omani territory sez Google Maps, and we don’t know whether we’re allowed to camp, or whether this is a dangerous place or not, etc, etc, etc). From the night till day break, I think a total of 3 cars drove past the road below, but none stopped luckily.


Rise and shine. WE MADE IT! See our camp, all by ourselves, in the middle of nowhere. Bliss!


What a wonderful view! View from our camp site, Madha Enclave, Oman. The gap on the left, is the road, the one on the right is a friggin dried up wadi. Just imagine if there’s a rain, the road would be a river!


Here’s Nahwa Cave again! In the morning! See that small UAE flag painted on the wall! We’re back in UAE territory!


Those date palms mark the entrance of Nahwa Village, coming from Shees


Driving past Nahwa… We would head to Khor Fakkan from here but that is another story. In total, we crossed the UAE-Omani border 9 times in 2 days! Talk about border controls. Heck, it was more difficult for us to go into Abu Dhabi than this place!

Here’re some photos of a second drive thru of the Madha Area when we finally visited Wadi Shees Village in March 2021.


Coming from Wadi Shees, instead of taking the left turn towards Nahwa, we turned right into a green plantation area called Hajar Bani Humayd, which would eventually emerge into the main road to Madha


Here’s the Madha Mosque, Oman

Before I go off, if you have some time, please pray for Assam, North East India and Bangladesh. It’s been raining heavily and the rivers have overflown their banks, flooding, …worse, submerging entire villages, killing hundreds and making millions homeless… Water also entered our home in Silchar, but it is not as bad as some other homes… Silchar city is completely waterlogged and cut off, and so are many cities, towns and villages in the region. Pray for the water to recede and for people to be saved.