June 2017 - The Pretty City Girl | Indian Travel & Lifestyle Blog

This is by far the best scrub I've used. I'm fortunate to have come across this brand and this scrub, in particular. I'm using it regularly in mornings, and have never felt so good. Read its in-depth review further.

PACKAGING

The packaging is something that would give you serious-scrub vibes, which is a good thing. The aesthetic value is prominent. The bottle is of plastic and the lid is plastic too. It does not spill, and is travel friendly. Also, I had placed the product in bathroom, while using it with my wet hands. In spite of this, I found the insides still dry and they hadn't turned damp.

APPLICATION

The application is little troublesome as the product is powdery and does not include liquid or semi liquid ingredients in it. So you have to take some product on your palms and then use it. It's not too much of a task, but as it's a review, I must try to do proper justice.

HOW I USE

After brushing teeth in morning, I wet my face and on my palms, take coin-size product. I put a couple of water drops on it, and then make a paste on my palms. I take little amounts of it and scrub on needful areas like near my nose, chin, forehead, etc. Then, I rub my palms together and scrub my entire face using the leftover product. I later rinse it off.

FEEL

You get a nice, soft feel. While scrubbing, you can smell something like castor and gram flour, and it lifts your mood. The product does not remove blackheads, but does a decent job in removing whiteheads. It is a mild scrub and so can be used daily. After you rinse your face off, you'll feel pampered, I assure you.

PROS

- Inexpensive
- Available online
- Can be used daily
- Mild fragrance
- Mild scrubbing
- Travel friendly packaging
- 100% natural

CONS

- Not an intense scrub

WILL I BUY AGAIN?

Definitely. I've already recommended it to my friends and have shown them my face right after using it. I will definitely buy it as its mild, natural, and inexpensive.

CONCLUSION

For daily, mild scrubbing, you should definitely buy this!

EXTRA DETAILS

WEIGHT: 110 g

PRICE: Rs. 185

FROM: Vedantikaherbals.com

Which is your go-to skin polishing scrub?

xoxo

June 29, 2017 No comments

June 28, 2017 No comments

Not many people know how my mom used to work and the hardships she faced, so I thought of sharing an important episode of her life on her birthday, which is today.

We used to live in Pune for few years before we shifted to Mumbai. My mom used to work in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and used to travel from Pune to Mumbai every single day for work. Her alarm used to be set at 3:45 am every morning. She used to wake up, make food, pack food, get ready, and then dad used to go to drop her off at Pune railway station. Her Sinhagad Express used to leave at 6:05 am and the distance between my then house and the station was too much. After around four hours of travel, she used to reach Mumbai, at the CST railway station. Then from there, she used to walk to office.

After her office hours, she used to get in the 5:10 pm Deccan Queen Express that started from CST, and then again, after a four hours long journey, she used to reach Pune. Dad used to pick her up on his Caliber bike, and then after coming home, she used to start cooking dinner. And then, finally, she spent time with me and my brother.

I remember, in my first grade, I had created a breeding ground for lice in my hair. My mom used to oil, and religiously remove lice using the specially designed lice-comb after coming back from office. I was a kid, but this is one of the childhood memories I have and clearly remember.

Then after looking at my brother's homework, cleaning the mess in kitchen and the house, she used to finally sleep around 11:30 pm.

This was her routine for four years straight. I have seen my mom's incredible strength and that's why I love her so much. The way she's struggled, just so that me and my brother stay close to my uncle and grandparents while she worked, is something only a mother can do. She inspires me and I can see myself turn into someone just like her.

You know how the "modern" girls are stereotyped now, right? Even I was someone who would be found passing her time rather than doing household chores. But since I've seen my mom's ways of keeping house clean and always looking after family, I can say that I'm certainly going in the same direction. I am seeing this change happening to me. It's beautiful...

This was one of the episodes I wanted to share, since none of you knew about it. I used to literally hold my mom's clothes to my heart and cry when I missed her. Gosh! It's heart melting!

I'm glad we shifted to Mumbai and we got more time to spend with her. Now, she's a voluntarily retired person, and it's great to have her around. Nonetheless, she's still the same, hardworking lady, and I'm proud to have a mom like her.

I wish her a happy birthday, and pray to God that she lives for many more decades. For, I don't know a world without her, and I'm addicted to having her with me...

xoxo

June 27, 2017 No comments

June 25, 2017 No comments

June 23, 2017 No comments

Shrutika had fallen asleep, and shortly thereafter, Anurag was seen dozed off too. We tried waking them up, but they were too sleepy to bother. After few hours, Anurag woke up as he could not sleep inside the tent. He did something for better sleep.

He pulled out the cover of a tent and laid it on the ground. He then spread a bed sheet, applied some mosquito repellent on his body, and then slept on the makeshift mattress. We lied next to him as well. The remaining four of us were not sleepy at all; our eyes were heavy, but we seemed to be more of night owls.

We then sat on the big rocks nearby. From chatting about cricket to drunken nights, we covered all possible topics. We had set alarm of 4:00 am. We thought of giving sleep another shot and went inside our respective tents at around 3:00 am. Roshan slept on the makeshift mattress; whereas, Anurag was back in his tent.

I could slightly hear the alarm ring, but I snoozed it, and then dismissed it. Later, Shrutika, who was the eldest among all and who had slept for more numbers of hours than us, tried waking us up at around 4:45 am. We had to reach the river rafting office by 8:15 am. We somehow got up, changed into new set of clothes, brushed, washed face, packed the tents, and cleaned the mess.

We went down walking with our luggage to the base village, Bhira. Anurag got the car and Roshan got his bike; meanwhile, Pratik was negotiating with the guide for fees. We paid a total of Rs. 1,000 only. Rs. 50 as the guiding fee and remaining Rs. 950 for the food. (Remember how the guide had said he would charge us Rs. 500? We paid only Rs. 50 instead!)

We called the river rafting organizers to tell them we were running late. After lot of diversions and turns, we reached the office at 8:30 am. Our organizer was Mercury Himalayan Explorations. The distance between Bhira village and their office is around 12 km. We parked our car and bike outside the office. We just carried water bottles, action camera, and few Oreo packets. We handed over our car key to the rafting guide, who kept it safely in his waterproof bag.

We sat in a six seater and went to the starting point of the river. We met our rafting guide there. He handed us paddles, floaters, and head gear. Later, instructions were given about commands, safety, and paddling. I was a little bit nauseated; thanks to the empty stomach and an hour only sleep.

We pushed the boat in the river and started our rafting journey, which was of two hours. Anurag had fixed the action camera to his chest and we were happily rowing. None of us fell in the river, and there was no danger at all. The flow was less as it hadn't rained in two days. There were few points where the water did splash at us, but that was the only 'thrill' we experienced.

The guide also let us go in the waters, but strictly asked to hold the rope that's attached to the raft. I went in water twice. We wanted to go more, on which he said there was scope for swimming later. After almost 1.5 hours, we were given time to swim! Amrita and Shrutika didn't know to swim, but due to the floaters, they could enjoy as much as we swimmers did. It was a jolly time as there were many other rafts with us!

After say, forty five minutes, we were pulled up by our guide and then we approached the river bank. Our guide was funny as he was cracking jokes with us. We were pulling Anurag's legs, and the guide played a major role in doing this!

We reached the ending point and dragged our raft upwards, to the ground. We were tanned and tired. We then sat in a six seater and came back to their office. We paid Rs. 700 in total for the six seater ride! We girls then changed our clothes in their storage room. For lunch, we ordered rice bhaakris and pithla from a nearby hotel. The non vegetarians hogged on some chicken masala too. For desserts, we had ice cream!

We started off for coming back to Mumbai and it was time to bid Roshan a goodbye, as he was to go Goa on a solo bike ride directly. Shrutika sat with us in the car and it was good to have her with us. We played songs and then, after a three hours drive, we were back in the cement jungle! How I missed the neon green carpet and the tranquility of mind!

EXPENSES SPLIT UP

Rafting Charges - Rs. 775 (incl. tax) per head
Zoomcar - Rs. 3,200 (incl. petrol)
Guide and Food (depends on negotiation) - Rs. 1,000
Six Seater - Rs. 700
Miscellaneous Expenses - Rs. 300 per head

TOTAL EXPENSE PER HEAD - Rs. 1,748

EXTRA DETAILS

Travel - Zoomcar
River Rafting Organisers - Mercury Himalayan Explorations
Campsite - Bhira Village
River where did Rafting - Kundalika River
Location of River Rafting Activities - Kolad
Distance between Bhira and Kolad - 15 km approx.
Guide for Camping - You'll have to ask the locals after reaching Bhira village
Food at Campsite - Provided by the guide at Bhira village
Best time to visit - June end or July
Nearby must visit places - Devkund waterfalls and Mulshi dam

Comment below if you have any query!

xoxo

June 21, 2017 No comments

We pitched three tents, a little away from the banks of Kundalika river. The holding capacity of the tents was 2+2+3. Amrita, Shrutika, and I were in the larger tent. Anurag and Pratik were in one tent, and Roshan alone was in the third tent. Who was sleeping in which tent didn't really matter, as we slept for one hour only.

After we erected our tents on the neon green carpet, we started changing into swimwear. Anurag had carried a waterproof action camera and we took it to the river.

The temperature of Kundalika river was perfect--not too cold, not too hot. It was a divine time to swim. There was not a single soul apart from us. It was only us. Floating, splashing water, and marvelling at the beauty around. I had never seen such a breathtaking view; it was one of the best landscapes I'd ever seen. There was a valley with tall mountains and we could see the dense mist around it. Shortly, it started raining there and we could see the rain move along with the clouds. Such a beautiful sight!

When it got darker, we came out of the water. I was hoping the weather to be chilly, but it wasn't. In fact, all the warm clothes I'd carried were only a burden. I wish I hadn't carried warm clothes at all.

We changed into dry clothes, following which, the guide brought dinner. Roshan badly wanted to grill chicken and paneer. He started marinating chicken. Alongside, rest of us were trying to make a campfire. The worst thing to forget while camping is a matchbox; we had only one of it with us. We weren't aware until we had three matchsticks left. We tried using different stuff--magazine papers, tissues, deodorant, oil, logs, twigs--but nothing worked. The fire was alive for barely ten minutes, after which, we gave up.

We went inside the large tent to have dinner. Dinner per person cost us Rs. 150 and the carrying charges were Rs. 50 one way. So we paid the person total Rs. 950. The quantity provided was absurd--less dal, less sabzi, a lot of rice, and a lot of rotis. We thought the sabzi was insufficient so we mashed the paneer cubes and mixed into it. The guide had forgotten to bring water, so the boys had to get it from taps that were 10 minutes away from the campsite.

As there was no fire, Roshan's wish of having barbequed paneer and chicken was not fulfilled. We then served all the leftover food to the dog that was with us right from the base village to our campsite. He was sleeping outside our tents and had become a faithful guard. Every time someone passed, he used to growl. His growling was like a security alarm. Tommy, as christened by Shrutika, seemed hungry as he ate a lot of our leftover food.

We were unsure of what to do next, so we thought of having fun with the cards. Playing cards inside the tent was a big no, as it was way too hot inside. The bad thing about monsoon is the humidity; because of the humidity, there's no wind flowing. We would have died out of heat and suffocation inside the tent; plus, torches would have made it even worse.

So we decided to play cards outside. It was pitch-dark. I laid magazine papers for us to sit, and one more in the centre to keep the deck of cards. We were going to play Barbie Uno. The boys were reluctant to play it, but I told them we had no other option. We played around five rounds of Uno using flashlights, after which, it was about to be midnight.

We were constantly keeping an eye on the time as it was Anurag's birthday. We got up and cleaned the mess. We wished him at midnight, and it was time for a surprise! Pratik and I had packed a chocolate cake all the way from Mumbai in a round container. I brought the cake to him and he was surprised! He had not imagined cutting cake on a campsite, for sure! We sang the birthday song to him, fed him the cake, smashed the leftover on his face, and then cleaned ourselves up. What a wonderful way to celebrate one's birthday! Amidst the nature!

After the cake cutting session, we decided to take a nap. But it was hot inside the tents, so we came up with a hack instead...

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Part 3 of the travelogue coming soon...

June 20, 2017 No comments

For my best friend Anurag's birthday, we were planning to go camping. We both take delight in it and we thought that it would be a fantastic idea. He also was keen on going for river rafting. So we hunted down river rafting organisers and then a camping spot nearby. We decided we would do it at the Kundalika river and camp near Devkund waterfalls. We fixed the dates; we were going on 14th June and coming back on the 15th. We had fixed the place as well, but we did not have a company yet. We gathered people from both our sides--I asked my cousin and my best friends and Anurag did the same. Finally, in the end, we were six people in total.

We had planned on going by Vishal's car, but he ditched at the last moment. Vishal is Anurag's school friend and he cancelled because he was in Bangalore for a work meeting. The next best (but costlier) option was Zoomcar. We had hired a Zoomcar for my birthday trip too, so we knew how exactly it functioned. Vishal had cancelled on 13th morning and we were leaving next day. We immediately booked a Zoomcar and our expenses rose high. From Mumbai suburban to Kolad village, they charged us Rs. 3,200 inclusive the petrol but exclusive the tolls. Vishal's car would have cost us around Rs. 200 per head, and the Zoomcar cost Rs. 640 each. Along with the car, we had one Bullet. Anurag's society friend Roshan was going to be on it.

Next morning, on the 14th, I woke up at 5:30 am to make food for us. I was going to make aloo parathas and cheese sandwiches. I made the potato stuffing and kneaded the dough a night before. In the morning, I made balls out of potato stuffing and dough, and made parathas. I made eight, as my brother, who was up early morning to read a book, was hungry too. I made two for him and packed six in an aluminium foil. I packed pickle and tomato sachets along. Later, while my mom was making parathas for my breakfast, I was making cheese sandwiches. These are my favourite ones. I made four of these and cut them in four little squares. After packing the sandwiches, I started getting ready.

Anurag had asked me and my cousin Pratik to wait near a decided spot at 8:20 am. As the same blood flows through me and Pratik, we were on time; we are always on time. But, the Zoomcar guy handed over the car to Anurag at 8:15. Anurag was waiting for Roshan, who was late. Roshan stashed his and Shrutika's stuff in the car trunk. Shrutika is Roshan's school friend and I had been with them for a Liverpool match screening. Pratik and I were still waiting for them. It was 9:30 am, and finally, we saw Anurag in a maroon Figo. Imagine! We were waiting for him since 8:20 am and after an hour, we finally get in the car. Our next pickup was Amrita, my college best friend.

We went a little farther and picked her up as well. Roshan and Shrutika were coming on the bike. Anurag was too frustrated with what had happened in the morning. He wasn't in the mood till we reached Bhira village and we could see that; he wasn't cheerful at all.

We met Shrutika and Roshan on the way and then followed each other's trail to reach the village. Unfortunately, it was not raining even a bit. Rather, the weather was a little unpleasant. We had already stopped four times on our way. Sometimes for Amrita to vomit, and sometimes for hogging something. We stopped our car and bike near Karnala Bird Sanctuary to have breakfast. Within few minutes, we gulped down the food I had carried.

Vomit break

Anurag trying to calm down his anger

Bhira Dam

Top | Decathlon; Pants | Vans; Shoes | Decathlon

We were gonna camp first and then on 15th, we had booked river rafting. After getting directions from the locals, we finally reached Bhira village. When we were getting directions outside Bhira, we got our 'guide'. One of the locals told us that he would guide us till the waterfalls and arrange for food if we gave him Rs. 600 as guiding fee. We bargained and settled on Rs. 500. He sat with us in the car and then showed a place near his house where we could park our car and bike. We got down from the car to marvel at the surrounding greenery. It was 3:00 pm when we reached. The guide asked us about lunch and we said that we would have dinner and skip lunch.

From the base village to the falls, we started walking. One young boy and his younger brother were guiding us. We had so much of weight--our individual haversacks, food bags, tents, and few extra bags. Amrita was feeling too weak to walk so we had to pause for few minutes while walking. It was cloudy, but not a single drop of rain. It surely was cloudy, but wasn't cold at all. We reached the campsite by 5:00 pm. The guide told us that Devkund waterfalls was an hour away and it would get completely dark until we come back.

It made sense. It was already 5:00 pm, and until we reach, have fun under the falls and come back, it would have been pitch-dark. And I wanted to enjoy the waterfall and not worry about the time. So we decided that we would not go there but enjoy the river, which was overseen from our campsite. Rather, we were camping at the bank of River Kundalika.

Twice I had aimed for Devkund waterfalls, but could not see it even once due to some or the other reason. Heaven knows what the place is about to offer! So anyway, we started pitching our tents while simultaneously gaping at the beautiful neon green carpet that was around us...

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