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Cherry Cross

by Shaheen Rajan

EPISODE 6: Széchenyi Thermal Bath

Posted on 11th September 202112th September 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
EPISODE 6: Széchenyi Thermal Bath
Posted In TravelTagged In Széchenyi Thermal Bath

Of all the ‘things to do in Budapest’, I was most excited about thermal baths. And they did not disappoint! Corona restrictions (like masks) have been relaxed in Budapest, and Continue Reading

Pakistan’s Independence Day 2021 – aap Azaad hain?

Posted on 14th August 202114th August 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Pakistan’s Independence Day 2021 – aap Azaad hain?
Posted In Pakistani Things, Personal Essays

I stayed off the celebratory Independence Day posting this year. It felt hypocritical, when every time I close my eyes, I see Noor’s face – a person I didn’t know Continue Reading

Pakistani RTW options for plus size women

Posted on 29th April 202122nd April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Pakistani RTW options for plus size women
Posted In Style

Listen, plus sized girls have it hard. Not to say others don’t. But let’s focus on us for a minute. Finding ready to wear eastern clothes, which aren’t plain ugly Continue Reading

Projection. The unfair kind.

Posted on 28th April 202122nd April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Projection. The unfair kind.
Posted In Lifestyle, Personal Essays, Relationships

I requested a car via Careem to go home from my in-laws. Once I got the notification that the car had arrived, I hurriedly went down the stairs and walked Continue Reading

Updated – flying from Germany to Pakistan in times of Corona (with Qatar Airways)

Posted on 27th April 202122nd April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Updated – flying from Germany to Pakistan in times of Corona (with Qatar Airways)
Posted In Travel

This was my second trip to Pakistan since Corona outbreak. I did a detailed video about the first trip, so you can check that out for a low down on Continue Reading

They call it Synesthesia.

Posted on 24th April 202121st April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
They call it Synesthesia.
Posted In Lifestyle

Emotional Mirroring is a legit thing folk(ses). Last night, at 3am, while trying to get some writing done for Bunte Markhor, I took an Instagram break and watched some stories. A Continue Reading

10 things I did for the first in 2020

Posted on 23rd April 202125th April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
10 things I did for the first in 2020
Posted In Personal Essays

I want to take a minute to share all the things that I did for the very first time in year of Corona!

Dealing with mind fog 101

Posted on 22nd April 202125th April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Dealing with mind fog 101
Posted In Lifestyle, Personal Essays

Some days, I can’t figure out where to begin. What to start my day with. My mind is racing in 17 different directions, and the more my mental to-do list Continue Reading

It’s okay to ask for HELP

Posted on 21st April 202121st April 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
It’s okay to ask for HELP
Posted In Lifestyle, Personal Essays

What you are going through today will make you stronger tomorrow. Just keep going. Don’t give up. Not just yet. You have what it takes to see this through. I Continue Reading

Women’s Day 2021: Blend in, they said.

Posted on 8th March 20218th March 2021 by Shaheen Rajan
Women’s Day 2021: Blend in, they said.
Posted In Personal EssaysTagged In Women's Day 2021

I pick up my dupatta and am about to step out of the house. I have to send out a package and I have decided to walk to the post Continue Reading

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Cherry Cross

by Shaheen Rajan

About Me:

Hi.

I am Shaheen.

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thecherrycross

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EPISODE 5: WHAT TO EAT IN BUDAPEST Our #food choi EPISODE 5: WHAT TO EAT IN BUDAPEST Our #food choices in #Budapest were questionable. Half the time we couldn’t get to the place, or couldn’t get to the place in time, and the remaining, we craved for either fries or pasta. But in order to not direct you to #JamieOliver or pasta makers in Budapest, I am sharing recommendations from friends who’s food choices we trust. Starting with Rizwan @idogiveafork's recommendations: - Try their #chickenpaprikash and #gulash with potato noodles. Super yum. - #Rosenstein is your restaurant to be. - For the cakes head to #cafeGerbeaud. If you take away, you’ll pay half. Then I asked Zarmina @teatotoast, who generously shared a whole bunch of them. She lives in Budapest and if you check out her account, you’ll agree that the girl knows food 😀 Classic Street Food: 1. #Lángos, a deep fried doughy flatbread that's eaten warm and slathered with sour cream and grated cheese. Langos Papa on Andrassay utca is one spot. 2. #Kürtőskalács is a chimney cake; there is a stall in Fashion street selling them all year around and in Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street. 3. #GelatoRosa - these rose-shaped ice creams are essential for a summer trip to Budapest, Gelato Rosa is beside St Stephen’s Basillica, selling very instagrammable rose cones. National Dishes include Goulash and Chicken Paprika but it’s difficult to find halal version. Halal and international food options are, Syrian, Persian and Lebanese restaurants. Al Amir Restaurant on Fashion Street. Shiraz restaurant in Raday utca and Daarband on Szemere utca are great options for grilled meat and kebab lovers. There is loads of #Israelifood to sample here. In the area around Dohány Street Synagogue, there are countless eateries serving Israeli and Middle Eastern foods like shawarma and shakshuka. #HummusBar and #MazelTov restaurant are places to try. Budapest has amazing, out of a vintage book cafes, all gilted and dreamy. They serve delicious delicacies. Must try is #DobCake and layered Walnut cake. #NewYorkCafe, #AlexandraBookCafe and #CaféGerbeaud are must see! For Indian & Pakistani food, visit Indigo, Mughal Shahi, Rajkot, Chatorey.
EPISODE 4: HOW TO PAY IN BUDAPEST 1. Budapest is EPISODE 4: HOW TO PAY IN BUDAPEST 1. Budapest is a very card friendly city. Even kiosks/Späti accept it. So that’s the first thing you need to know. 2. Even when using a card, insist on paying in local currency instead of foreign, like euros. Ask to pay on forint. 3. PayPal offers the best rate (from what I have experienced). In case you aren’t using PayPal for real world payments, you can simply connect your Google Pay with PayPal and then it works like a virtual bank card. 4. We withdrew money from 3 different banks. Average service charges are 7%, and the conversion rate offered differs from one bank to another. PayPal was better than all of them. 5. Hunagry’s local currency is forint, and the conversion rate is approximately 350HUF = 1 euro (with PayPal). Coming next - WHAT TO EAT IN BUDAPEST! #cctravels #cherrycross #travelblogger_de #paypal #weekendgetaway #travelfromberlin #budapest #paypalde #florint #hungarygram #traveller #travel #budapestgram #visitbudapest @paypalde @paypal
Episode 2: COMMUTING IN BUDAPEST We didn’t trav Episode 2: COMMUTING IN BUDAPEST We didn’t travel to Budapest with a concrete plan or a list of things to do (SO UNLIKE ME!). The plan was to play by the ear. As we had booked our hotels through booking.com, they offered us a free transfer to the hotel. Due to flight’s time change, our ride hadn’t arrived upon arrival but a quick phone call and 15 minutes of waiting fixed that. Airport is about 17km away from the hotel, so it was a sweet 30 minutes ride. Budapest doesn’t have Uber, and their alternate is Bolt. It is the most economical can service in the city. You need a smartphone and @bolt_hungary’s app to hire a cab, and payment can be in cash or through the app (if you have connected a card to it). You can also hail a cab from the streets but those are relatively more expensive. We mostly walked around the city and then got a pack of 10 train tickets on day 2 from a ticket machine as we planned to going a little further away (for example, to Széchenyi Thermal Bath). The pack costs 3000ft/8.57€. There are random ticket checks, so make sure to have a validated ticket to avoid fines. To get to the airport on our day of return, we again used Bolt, and it costed 7500ft/21€ (plus tip). Our hotel had offered us a transfer for a fixed price of 31€, but as Bolt costed less, we just called a cab ourselves. And that’s all there is to commuting in the city. It isn’t the most bicycle friendly city and many people use electric scooters (which can be rented as well). Have I missed anything? Got a question? Please drop them in comments below. #cherrycross #travelblogger_de #plussizeblogger #weekendgetaway #travelfromberlin #budapest #theluxurycollection #hungary #hungarygram #lovebudapest #travelgirl #girlslovetravel #ladiesgoneglobal #sheisnotlost #girlsthatwander #dametraveller #damestravel #girlstravel #girlsborntotravel #dametraveler #journeysofgirls #wearetravelgirls #voyaged #natgeotravel #bolt #bolthungary #utazzbolttal
Episode 1: Travelling to Budapest from Berlin in t Episode 1: Travelling to Budapest from Berlin in times of Corona We flew to Budapest from Berlin via WizzAir. It’s a budget airline, and if you book in advance, you can get a return flight for 25€. This is their most basic version, where you can only take a small backpack with you. You can upgrade to include a hand carry bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm) with Wizz Priority. You must check in online, or pay 40€ per person for at the airport counter - a lesson we learnt the hard way, for no fault of ours. We tried checking in a few times, but weren’t able to. There was a technical glitch, so we planned to tell the WizzAir staff as much at the airport when check in. However, they wouldn’t hear of it and made us pay 40€ per person in order to get on board. It was that, or miss the flight. Begrudgingly, we paid; we paid more for checking in than the flight itself. Yea, that sucked. We faced a similar issue when returning (same technical glitch) but this time we had screenshots to prove it. I don’t believe that WizzAir doesn’t know of this glitch. It feels more like an opportunity for them to make customers pay unnecessarily. This time, as we had screenshots, it was smooth sailing. Check in directed us to ticket office, where we presented evidence, and that was that. We had also paid extra to reserve the seats. 30€ to be exact. However, they had already been given to someone else (ammmm?). So after insisting that they fix it, they gave us two seats together elsewhere. So take screenshots and arrive at least 90 minutes prior to departure to deal with unforeseen circumstances. Otherwise, it is your standard budget airline. Small planes, you can buy food and drinks, no screen for entertainment, and it is usually busy. I would take @wizzair again if need be, but just be more prepared. Now on to Covid restrictions. You can enter Budapest with a valid EU Digital COVID Certificate (Vaccination, Recovery, Test). Otherwise, there is a mandatory quarantine of 10 days. The city itself has let go of restrictions. Wearing a mask was no longer required ANYWHERE. I barely saw anyone wearing it. It felt weird the first day and incredible the day after. #travelblogger_de #wizzair
Hello folk(ses), kya haal? We are back from our w Hello folk(ses), kya haal? We are back from our weekend trip to Budapest and I have so much to share!! I didn't post anything while was there as I wanted to live more in the moment and come back to do more detailed posts. I will also combine them all later to create my first ever guide on Instagram. I am really excited about it. It's the first conscious content creation I have done in weeks, so I am really looking forward to it. In the next few posts, I will talk about travelling to Budapest from Berlin, Corona situation and regulations, where to stay, what to see, thermals baths and saunas, currency conversion and payment options, cruise choices and what to buy for yourself/as a present for loved ones when in Budapest. Please turn on notifications for my posts in case you'd like to not miss any. Save for future. And share with friends because who knows which of them are heading to the Hungarian capital soon?! Let's go!! #cctravels #cherrycross #travelblogger_de #plussizeblogger #weekendgetaway #travelfromberlin #budapest #theluxurycollection #hungary #hungarygram #wellness #luxurydestination #neoclassic #internationalexperience #luxuryliving #traveller #travel #instahun #photography #budapestgram #travelphotography #instagood #hungarianparliament #building #hellohungary #hungary_gram
"Guess what? I am still hot." On my way back from "Guess what? I am still hot." On my way back from meeting friends earlier this evening, I was thinking about a time when I really enjoyed makeup. I still do, but I often don't have the time to experiment as much. And I miss that. The art of making up a face dates back to ancient Egyptians. Back then, both men and women wore it. Skincare was unisex, and it had more to do with a person's wealth than their gender. Raise your hands if you have noticed scented baths (with petals) for men as well in historical movies 🙋‍♀️ Makeup was a big part of Royal family decorum, and even today, there are episodes of Cleopetra inspired makeup looks taking over an entire season. It is unfortunate that the art form has met such degradation and bad press. Every male makeup enthusiasts who has decided to showcase their talent on social media has met abuse and trolling. And let's not even go to what drag queens are subjected to. I would love to see the person trolling paint just one eye the way drag queen does. Just one. Everything has to conform to the gender constructs of the society, art be damned. Talent and aspirations can take a hike. Rigid gender boundaries, with a check list of allowed and not-allowed interests. Can you imagine a world where no one is forced to be anything that they are not, and an absolute freedom to just be? As long as a choice doesn't harm the other, imagine a world where you can follow your aspirations, where there are no boxes to fit in, no moulds to adapt to...I think it'd be a beautiful world. A happier world. A world with more art and music and inventors. P.S love this @tariq_saadi tee. It has his own art work printed on it, and it inspires me to love my chins too 😀 #berlinblogger #pakistaniingermany #pakistanigirlingermany #shaheenrajan #ootd #plussizeblogger #plussizeblogger_de #blogger_de #prettylittleiiinspo #wiwt #makeup #beauty #dragqueens #makeupformen #menwhowearmakeup #boundaries #genderconstructs #makeuphasnogender
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