Simple ways to improve your immune system.

Image courtesy - everydayhealth.com

This too shall pass - A Persian adage

All we want to hear right now is the above quote. Amidst all the chaos of the Covid-19 attack, our heart needs faith that this time will also pass. It is been months since we are suffering from this disease and continuing. It has already become difficult to keep everybody shut indoors for such a long duration. As you all can see, the world is opening its door gradually. But, we have to admit, this lockdown has taught us a lot of things, one of them is, it has flashed a high-intensity torchlight on the importance of our healthy immune system.

I have searched and jot down a few already known ways that can help you sustain infections and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It's just like a slight reminder..!!

1. Get Enough Sleep 

It is like stating the obvious again, but guys we really need to focus on this point. Even I was once a victim of this addictive habit of staying up late nights like an owl, fortunately, I can sleep early now. It's time to take seriously our old proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wise". Our body mechanism is forced to work oppositely, and this is one of the reasons for hormonal imbalance and vulnerable immune system. The best way to change our habit is to have early dinner, turning off electrical gadgets early, and reading a book after dinner, even having a glass of warm milk can help you sleep early. Taking your eyes off a blue screen can relax your eyes and allow them to function accordingly. Think over your sleep schedule again, try closing your chores, and slipping into bed with a book by 10 PM. Things will change automatically.

Image Courtesy - https://www.motherandbaby.co.uk/baby-and-toddler/toddler/toddler-sleep-problems-solved/toddler-sleep-regression-reasons-why-your-toddler-may-be-waking-in-the-night

2. Drink Lots of water

Another important facet is staying as much as hydrated as possible. Water being a universal solvent dissolves all the toxins in our body. It maintains the optimum body temperature, enhances our body metabolism, acts as a medium for the proper flow of nutrients, and helps reach them to all the parts.

We live in a world of technology, so why not make some use out of it to help us adopt good habits. Download any water drinking app and start checking on your water contents. You can even let somebody do it for you and you can do it for them, keep a watch on each other's water drinking levels, as I do. Trust me, helps a lot as we all humans tend to pick out the mistakes of others instead of our own..!!!

Image Courtesy - https://www.redbubble.com/i/sticker/drink-more-water-cute-glass-stay-hydrated-by-joycolor/38181229.EJUG5

3.Vitamins C intake

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a great way to regenerate your immune system. It is a very good anti-oxidant, maintains a collagen level(i.e. good for skin), etc. But, instead of sci-fi terms, let's simplify. The human body has the ability of healing in many ways, but it lacks to produce vitamin C or even store it. Thus, it is very essential for us to have a sufficient intake of them through our daily diet. Foods such as oranges, lemon, spinach, guava, kiwi, broccoli, papayas, etc can help you get them easily.

Image Courtesy - https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-vitamin-c-sources

4. Exercise 

Most of us know exercise for fat burning and making our outer body fit. However, exercise not only makes our outer body attractive, but it also changes our body within. It makes better changes in antibodies and WBCs(White Blood Cells). These WBCs are responsible for the early detection of illness and fight against it. To sum up, WBCs decide our immune system in some way. Make a 30 mins space for your exercise in your schedule. Watch motivational videos to keep you going, but don't give up. It will take time, but soon will be a habit.

Image Courtesy - https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/exercise

5. Pranayam

While we are hovering over the topic of physical exercise, let's cover the breathing exercise as well. We Indians are lucky to have a strong background in yoga and Pranayam. 'Pran' means vital energy and 'Ayam' means to regulate or control. Simple basic three types of Pranayam are anulom-vilom,kapal-bhati, and bhastrika. Breathing hygiene lets us inhale more oxygen than regular and thus more oxygen is injected into bloodstreams. There are many articles and videos regarding the detailed procedure of these exercises. 

Image Courtesy - https://fitsri.com/pranayama/benefits-of-pranayama

6. Physical Hygiene 

It's time to follow the old school good habits of washing your hands more frequently, freshening up as soon as you come from outside without lingering all over the house, maintaining sanitary cleanliness, re-cleansing the utensils once again before having meals, etc. If you have a pet in your home, its health is also your responsibility, so bathing it properly even includes in this one. If we don't take the necessary preventive measure, the germs from outside are soon gonna make your body their home leading to infection. 

7. Be happy. 

Last but not the least, and the most simple one too, be happy no matter what. A light mood always creates a positive atmosphere and helps reduce your stress levels. Stress and immunity are inversely proportional. Meditation, listening to your favorite music, dancing, pursuing hobbies, etc produce endorphins, these are hormones within your brain and nervous system which help give a soothing mental effect. So lower your stress and boost your immune system.

So everyone please take care of yourself. Try to follow the above things in your routine and see yourself getting better progressively. 

See you in the next blog..!! 

Travel with Acquaintance - Durban Itinerary for 3 days.

The Whalebone Pier 

• Country – South Africa
• City – Durban
• Starting point – Johannesburg (568KM to Durban(approx.))
• Leave as early as possible, to avoid traffic and better to reach the place before sunset.
• Commute options – Car or Flights.
• Durban – A small, coastal and a beautiful city in South Africa’s, Kwa-Zulu Natal province lies at the mouth of Umgeni river. Durban harbor is the largest and busiest port in sub-Saharan Africa. The commonly spoken languages are English, Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans. The city is lined by the Indian Ocean and hence climate is quite humid. 
• Currency – South African Zar /Rands.
• Safety concerns – On the way to Durban, for refreshments, stop only in Harrismith, at the plaza, here you will get everything you need. Do not miss this place, as it is the only safest one on the way. Please avoid stopping at unknown places. It may or may not be safe. 
• Durban as a city is quite safe, but always try to reach your destination before late night. 

• Stay options – Instead of booking any hotels, we preferred Airbnb.com for pre-booking of the houses. This way it made us feel homely in a new city and also we could easily interact with the localities. It is also affordable and we were never disappointed. Other options of hotels are also available near the Umhalanga rocks and the gateway theatre of shopping. 

• Cuisine – Indian food easily available everywhere in Durban. Bunny Chow is the famous must try specialty of Durban. Bunny chow is claimed to be originated in Durban by the South African Indians in 1940s as a way of carrying their lunch to their work place. It is a curry in a bread meal which is delicious.

• Fast food outlets – KFC, Debonair pizza, Steers, Mc Donald’s, Wimpy, Chicken Licken, etc. 

YOUTUBE LINK FOR COMPLETE DURBAN:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XScp_UCiaU4&t=206s

Day I

Mini Town –

• Best known for - A complete miniature model of Durban city. Worth visiting.
• Address – 114 Snell Parade, North Beach,Durban,4001
• Location - https://goo.gl/maps/bY8XQb8zhhs9KBtb7
• Entry fees – R30 (approx.) /Available at the Ticket window.
• Timings – 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
• Approximate duration of visit – 30mins- 45mins. 
• Parking – Outside on road (Safe)

Umhalanga beach/Umhalanga rocks – 

• Best known for – Whalebone Pier - A beautiful bridge leading to the ocean, and the lighthouse. Also known for fishing. Calm and peaceful.
• Address – Umhalanga 4320 (Try putting whalebone pier on GPS to avoid confusion)
• Location – https://goo.gl/maps/wSFQQhz7SPeQZYmG9
• Entry Fees –Free
• Timings –Open 24 hours ( Prefer evening time)
• Approximate duration of visit – As you wish.
• Parking – Available in nearby buildings(Will have to search)

DAY II

Golden Mile Beach-

• Best we enjoyed– Fascinating sunrise from the Indian Ocean (Check sunrise timings)
• Location - https://goo.gl/maps/EH4RYpWBVPa7J2sZ7
• Entry Fees – free
• Timings – Open 24 hours
• Parking – Outside on road (Safe)

Ushaka Marine World (Theme Park) –

• Best known for – Awesome Aquarium, Cute Dolphin shoes, attractive Seal shows and Cute penguins info session, Wet and wild water park, snorkeling, shark cage dive, sea walker, snake museum, 7D virtual reality games, Zulu dance, Ushaka village walk, etc.
• Address- 1, King Shaka Ave,Point,Durban,4001.
• Location – https://g.page/uShakaFanPage?share
• Entry Fees – The shows and Wet and Wild combo – R214 adults, Children and Seniors – R174 (For further details check out their website)
• Website –  https://ushakamarineworld.co.za
• Timings – 9:30 AM - 5PM
• Parking – Available
• Duration of visit – A complete day.
• Must Try – Snorkeling (Will have to buy the tickets separately)
• Youtube link for UShaka Marine World : - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OtfdKSFBlw&t=1s

DAY III

Moses Mabhida Stadium –

• Best known for –Big Rush Big Swing - World’s Tallest Big Swing. The best and must try adventure. 
• Address- Shop No. 15,Moses Mabhida Stadium,Masabalala Yengwa Ave,Stamford Hill,Durban,4001.
• Location – https://goo.gl/maps/5WZk1kkQheMYMai28
• Entry Fees – The shows and Wet and Wild combo – R214 adults, Children and Seniors – R174 (For further details check out their website)
• Website –  www.bigrush.co.za
• Timings –
• Monday to Friday -  9:30 AM to 4:30 AM (Last jump at 3 pm)
• Weekends – 8 AM to 5 PM(Last jump 4 PM)
• Parking – Available
• Duration of Big Swing – 45 min to 1 hour.
• Tips – Booking in advance essential. You can also try your luck by on spot bookings, but better to book in advance. 
• Youtube link for BigRush Experience - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XehrFW3MOjU

OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS:

• GOOGLE MAPS WORK PROPERLY.

• BUY SOUVEINIRS FROM USHAKA MARINE OR NEAR MINI TOWN ON ROADSIDE.

• DO NOT KEEP ANYTHING IN CAR THAT CAN BE SEEN EASILY, KEEP ALL THE BELONGINGS IN THE BOOT ONLY.

• IF YOU HAVE TIME YOU CAN TRY THE 1000 HILLS TOURISM (A COMPLETE DAY ACTIVITY),UMGENI BIRD RIVER PARK,MITCHELL ZOO PARK AND MORE.

• AT THE PARKING PLACES ALWAYS GIVE SOME BUCKS TO THE PEOPLE GUARDING YOUR CAR. IT IS CONSIDERED AS A GENEROUS GESTURE. THAT MAKES THEM HAPPY.

HOPE YOU FIND IT HELPFUL..!! SAFE TRAVELS..!!

FOR ANY FURTHER DETAILS WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU..!!

REACH ME AT rovinggull@gmail.com
Link for YouTube Channel –https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roving_gull
Please like..Share..Subscribe..!!

Travel with Acquaintance - Introduction.

Travel with acquaintance..!!

Hello and a warm welcome to all the readers once again..!! I hope you all are doing well.
Without beating around the bush, I will come directly to the today’s topic. So we all know that whenever we plan to travel somewhere, there are a bunch of questions that start dancing in our minds, where to stay? Which are the best sightseeing points? What is the cuisine specialty? Etc. Sometimes a sightseeing spot is way too famous but not worth visiting

by compromising other hidden striking places or may be a hotel stay might be a failure. To avoid such circumstances and spoil the trip’s fun, it’s better to be well planned ahead of time. I have not travelled much yet, but yeah would like to share my itineraries with you under the series of blogs “Travel with acquaintance”. I really hope you find those helpful.  In this series, I wish to provide a brief information about the place, sightseeing options, stay where about, etc. I will also provide a link for all my YouTube travel vlogs, where you can visualize the complete experience.

Link for my YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=roving_gull

* These blogs are currently meant only for informative and planning purpose.Please amidst the COVID-19 crisis do no plan to travel or go outside.Stay Home Stay Safe.

An incident in Bali - A short Story

“Can I drive you up to the chemist store?”

This question that came from a complete stranger, at a night time, on an empty road, was fearsome. Away from our home country while wandering on this new island of Bali, we were searching for a chemist shop. It was quite dark outside, but I needed the pills. I and my husband were on a short trip here, hence did not possess any local sim cards to access the internet and find our way. While walking, on the other side of the road, outside a typical Balinese house we saw a man busy in his chores. As it was late evening, there was no one on the roads and we were left with no choice other than asking help from this fellow. After a little hesitation we decided to approach him. Gathering our guts we asked him for a chemist shop in the vicinity. At first due to the language barriers it was difficult to understand him. Later, we managed to understand that the chemist shop was two blocks away and we will have to walk till there. After realizing this, the man voluntarily asked,” Can I drive you up to the chemist store? You are already sick and walking up till there may worsen it”. Being unused of this hospitality in this world, the thoughts that ran through our minds were, does he want to mug us? Or what are his evil intentions behind this? We were reluctant to take such a help from a complete stranger. But, nevertheless he was repeatedly asking if he could help us. Gradually after coming back to our senses we realized that the man had a pure soul and was actually willing to help us, just because we were new to the place. We had heard so much about this aesthetic island, but little did we knew that we would explore another appealing facet about it. A small encounter with this person restored the faith in humanity in us. This incident gave us the confidence of trusting the people here and sightseeing the place with no worries in mind. Later as we roamed around the place we came across so many locals and their amazing welcomes, their prioritizing your comfort first, down to earth nature and that serene smile on their calm faces, made our journey even more blissful. Every travel teaches you something, this trip taught me to be more thoughtful and helpful even towards the unknown.

Image courtesy :
Image 1. Photo by Alex Fu from Pexels
Image 2 : Photo by Alena Koval from Pexels

My day in Kruger National Park(South Africa)

“Hurry! It’s already 4:30 am and we are getting late..!” My husband yelled at me, seeing me dragging myself towards getting ready. I am not an early bird and 4:30 am is generally when I am in my sugar dreams but today was being forced to leave at this hour. We packed all the food for our journey, and after making some silly, ‘C’mon! Let’s sleep instead’ faces we started for an African Wildlife Safari (Kruger National Park). I put on a neck rest and prepared to sleep in the backseat. But, as the journey began, the quiet dark roads seemed to sing a melodious song and the breeze blew me a kiss every time it stroked the hair off my face. This feeling was heart melting and passed on positive vibes. I could barely close my eyes now.

Hours of travel and we reached the main gate of the National Park. This was a self-drive safari park and animals inside were in their natural habitat roaming freely. I was for sure scared as I had running thoughts of some animal attacking us. As we entered into the park, I was unaware of the fact that this day was about to change my life in some way. The park officials had given us a paper map to find our way inside, this sure gave me a feeling of jumanji (No network inside for our beloved GPS to guide us).It was an early delightful morning, I was able to hear the long forgotten sound of birds chirping merrily. After driving for a while steadily, we spotted a group of lovely grazing Impala’s. They were so calm and healthy. Their eyes were sparkling, skin like a velvet shawl and horns as if designed by someone with great ability to be creative.

While passing a bridge over a pond, a loud groan drew our attention. For a moment it was spooky as we couldn’t find or spot anything in vicinity. A few minutes later the gigantic creature emerged from the pond to catch its breath. It was none other than the strong hippopotamus, it was the first time I heard its grunt. I don’t know whether they were trying to communicate with each other or laugh, yet it was very fascinating to see the hippo dip in and out at times, groan and also spread its jaw to 180 degree flat. Moving along the same road we saw a herd of wildebeest crossing our roads. Or should I say that we were crossing their path? After all, the jungle was their home and we were just the visitors. I was further amazed by the magnificent yet docile Giraffe. Its long neck made it look more commanding but its eyes revealed the true decency. 

Other than spotting animals, driving and just being in a jungle with stunning landscape was also soothing and enthusiastic. “Look..!! Look..!! Ahead”, a sudden panicky statement from one of our friend’s alarmed us, however it was not an alarming cry but a happy surprising one as we saw a herd of massive African elephants approaching towards us from the mountains. Their big waving ears, their huge feet (they could have killed us with a thumb), the long trunks, the extended ivory and the gracious walk. In no time we were surrounded by these elephants from 3 sides, we waited patiently for them to pass, but, to our surprise the whole herd stopped walking and were waiting for us to cross, it was an unexpected gesture from such an animal. Amidst this scene, I saw an elephant change its way and approaching towards us fast, maybe he was in a playful mood that day but scared the hell out of us. We slowly hid in a hide nearby and watched these elephants splashing the water with their trunks and enjoying their baths.

We freshened up ourselves in one of the refreshment centers inside the park and started our drive again. In a little while of driving we saw many cars jammed on a road, we were curious of what they had spotted, but soon our curiosity came to rest when we saw dozens of baboons playing and jumping on the road approaching towards us. We made sure our car was locked and window panes up, and observed them do their funny acts. It was fun indeed. Slowly after their permission, the car block cleared and we were on our way ahead.

That day I came across many other animals like rhinoceros, zebra, warthog, wild buffalo, etc. and also a variety of birds. Unfortunately out of BIG 5 of Africa we could only find Elephants, Rhinoceros, Wild buffalo and a lion from too far. We sadly missed the other wild cats like leopard and cheetahs, but as someone has rightly said, “It is better have something left behind, as it gives us a reason to come back”. 

That day I saw the magic of nature. A small demo of the mastermind who created our universe. All these animals who were roaming freely in the jungle, were sometimes so difficult to spot even from a small distance because of their camouflage property. They do not need to hide, but can easily manage to stay away from hunters and predators. They all are not of same colors, but all of them blend with the forest in the same way. Observing these animals doing their own business calmly made me understand that their needs are so minimum, they have their own ways of communication, they are charmed by you as long as you don't scare them and also we humans are so heartless sometimes that to fulfill our needs we destroy their lives. Just to be a part of their life from a distance made me happy. Now I get the animal lovers, why they are so involved with them. Watching just a handful of animals made us realize that as much right we have to live on this earth, same right the animal does have. Live and let live!

Poem - The Harsh Truth..!!

I wish I had an enormous fridge

To fit my entire globe in it

Or else to cool and calm it down

I had some sort of startling kit

Oh!! My sweet and naive folks

We are already running very late

Varied Climate and Harmful air

Have started forecasting our fate

The jungles are burning

And so are the poor animals

Bear is dead, kangaroo is scared

And on streets are the running camels

Ice-covered Arctic is melting

 Helpless Birds are migrating

Some parts of world are drought

While others are immensely over flooding

Our techno brilliant minds

Have proudly flown us to Mars

But, isn’t it a shame

Our own planet is suffering from scars??

  

If we still wish to walk this path of ignorance

Then Trees shall turn in a myth

Animals might will live only in books

And regret will be the only thing we die with.

It’s an eleventh hour good people

Our worn-out and weak mother is calling for aid

Let’s unite with rigor making our efforts twice

For sure we’ll unveil a blissful future and earth’s shiny shade.

New Year Resolution-Let's strive for a better world!!

Hello Guysss!!!! Happy and a Hip Happening new year to all my beloved readers!!

1^st JAN, a day full of new hopes, new determinations and of course a bunch of resolutions. Some of them get completed while some are just carry forwarded to the next year… You know what I mean right?? ;-) Like all others, even I sat down to make my personal bucket list, when I opened my notepad, well!! I couldn’t think of anything, maybe it’s because I have many undone tasks from the previous year, that need to be completed before starting new ones or maybe there is a need to think about other social important things rather than personal.

                I don’t mean to say that we all are selfish, but yeah I think we all are at some level self-centered, including me. Every year we make resolutions for our own well-being, for our own careers and many personal things. But, why don’t we make a single resolution for our country? For our depriving nature? Or something for a better society?

                Let’s recall our past year, we will just highlight the major natural and man-made disasters that have happened, because good things are beautiful memories and are treasured for life. However, wrong things need attention and actions to improve their state.

1.       The most highlighted and terrifying issue – The Amazon fires.

2.       Another related issue – Australian bush fires.

3.       A horrifying heat wave all over.

4.       Heavy unexpected floods in India.

5.       Snow storm in most of the American states.

6.       Cyclone Vayu and Cyclone Fani hit India.

7.       Flooding and devastating hurricane Dorian in Bahamas.

8.       Wildfires in California and Chile

9.       Typhoon Hag ibis hits Japan.

10.   Volcano Eruptions in New Zealand.

Image Courtesy - 123rf.com

Believe me guys, the list is big and among which many even have gone unnoticed. A single year, and numerous disasters, isn’t this ratio frightening?? So, if we think that these are natural disasters and not of our business, I suppose we are wrong. These disasters may seem natural, but we all know that deep down, us HUMANS are the responsible reasons for them. Can you just blame global warming and scroll down? Well, ‘NO’ I strongly believe that ‘WE’, are guilty for the climate change and the warming up of the earth. The inhuman deforestation, the greed for unhealthy development, the raging politics and our ignorance towards major climate changes are leading towards a miserable condition of our planet and future generations to live in.

Image Courtesy - Pinterest.com

Apart from these disasters, we must not overlook the fact that current mindset of most of our society are dragging us way back and hampering our steps towards development. We live in 21^st century but we are discussing topics which should not even exist. One of the major issues ruining the unity among people is caste-ism, we common people should understand that the media, politics and some nasty mentality people are doing our brainwash just to fulfill their desires, making us more and more behave like illiterates. Instead of fighting on these issues, which will lead us nowhere, why can’t we join our hands together for fighting against unemployment? To make this world a better and a safe place for girls by fighting against rape? To strive for getting over pollution and population? Or to fight against the malnutrition? There are many such important issues which can be resolved if we decide to change ourselves for our country and for our future generations. The freedom we are enjoying right now, is an outcome of uncountable and striving efforts of some legends whose only priority was to make this country a peaceful place for us to live in. By behaving in such a reckless manner don’t you think that we are insulting their efforts?

Image Courtesy- Slideshare.net

I don’t expect a lot of heavy actions from all of us. It is quite impossible for us to give 100% of our lives, as we have other priorities as well. But, 10% efforts from every individual can lead us to a brighter future. Instead of debating over unwanted issues over social media, let’s use it to spread positivity, joy and happiness. Students can do their bits by focusing on emerging technologies and innovations instead of unwanted issues and politics. We can start cleaning our vicinity areas or we can join some NGO who cleans the rivers and prevents pollution. Grooming our kids to be free from technologies and with ethical mind will definitely make their future secure and also a better and healthy youth for our country. Students and businessman can even try to focus more on renewable energy resources to reduce pollution. The food and clothes that are likely to get wasted can be given to the people suffering from cold and starvation.Save electricity and save water as much as possible.Even just by not littering our environment you can share your part for the well-being. Instead of expecting and blaming others to take actions, think on what you should have done till now? Don’t let negativity influence you in anyway.

Image Courtesy - Teepublic.com

At last, our old crow has taught us that where there is a will there is a way!! So, I believe if you want to do something for your world, your country or your people, you will for sure find a way to do it. If even few people amongst us strive for a better world in some or the other way we will certainly move forwards to our goal at least a little bit J I pledge to make at least one resolution for the benefit of my environment and country. I hope you all do it too!!!

Image Courtesy- eventprise.com