The hunt for fancy places

My office is in Connaught Place in Delhi. For those who dont know much about Delhi, it is pretty much the geographical center of town.

Often, on Friday evenings, I ask my wife over to pick me up from office, and plan an evening out. We are constrained by the fact that we dont want to leave one car behind in my office, and so we need to go to places nearby, so that we can pick up the other car while leaving for home. A couple of weeks of this, and we have already exhausted most places where we can get dinner and generally hang out.

We have made a couple of good discoveries in our adventures though. One is the bar at the Shangri-La. This place has a couple of performers who sing REALLY well (and all our favourite songs too!!), and is not too crowded or smoky. The other is a restaurant that goes by the name of Veda. The decor is dark and antique, the food good, and the service excellent. The wine list, though expansive, is not very reliable. And prices are not too bad.

But now we are pretty much at the end of our tether...at least in and around CP. Any new ideas are always welcome!!

PNs and all that...

Those that punt on the stock market would know something of the bourhaha that has been happening the last few weeks over SEBI's circular proposing a ban on Participatory Notes (or PNs as they are popularly called).

The BSE Sensex has gone from being on a spectacular uptrend, to being locked at the 10% lower circuit, to gaining the largest single day rise, all in a matter of 2 weeks.

Without going into the technicalities of the matter, and in no way trying to undermine the copious amounts of opinions, reports etc. etc. in the media, all I can do is look and yawn...

As much as I see it, this noise over P-Notes is an annual occurance, and is just a cooling mechanism that the market finds for itself. It usually results in a sharp fall with a sharp rise in volatility, and enables new buyers to come into the market. In other words, it is just evolution.

So I look at it as a golden opportunity for going long. Now only if I had any capital :-(....

Leverage

I was reminded today of the power of leverage. I was shooting breeze with a couple of friends, and one of them mentioned the following (true) anecdote.

This buddy of mine is a banker, and was talking about the bad old days of '03, when bankers were lucky to hold on to their jobs, and no bonus in sight. During such desperate times, with liabilities in the form of student loans, this canny dude bought a house in South Delhi worth 1.25 crores with just 15 lacs of equity, the rest leveraged as debt. The house is today worth 4 crores, and there is still Rs 80lacs outstanding on the loan.

To work out a simple equation, 15l has grown to 3.2cr in 4 years, or 21 times return. This is an annual return of 114%!!

Harnessing the power of 1) leverage and 2) real estate seems like a quick way to untold riches!!

To the big apple and back

First, the good news - my country count has gone up by 1. The big one - the USofA is done with. The largish (big is not big enough a word, and giant is too big) apple has seen one more soul pass by.

Now for the middling news - its no great shakes. Times Square, central Manhattan, Broadway are kind of ok.. a bit touristy, massively densely populated, of course. Though not pretty, what with the sky not very visible amidst the giant towers all around, yet not foreign either. Truly cosmopolitan and not at all unwelcoming (which Europe can be, I must confess!!) It didn't help, of course, that I had to travel for 36 hours each way to spend 36 hours in the damn place. The resulting jet lag was quite an experience, to put it mildly.

And now for the bad news - one of the torchbearers of the Indian renaissance disappointed me. Jet Airways, with its promise of great service, flat beds, all new aircraft, great food, etc etc seemed the ideal airline to fly. And yet, twice within the week, once while going and then on the way back, the supposedly new aircraft developed technical faults - resulting in a delay of 14 hours at various airports one time, and a relatively mild 3 hour delay at the other. Though I must admit here that once the damn planes did take off, the experience was quite quite nice (among other things, great crew, and the most amazing movie - Paris Je' T' Aime with the perfect accompaniment - a nice bottle of red wine - but more on that later). But I think Jet needs to pull up their socks especially on punctuality and maintenance if they are to compete with the BAs and the Continentals of this world, let alone Singapore Airlines or Cathay. Would be interesting to see how Kingfisher fare when they start international service - though of course I think they will start with flying Deccan to the gulf.

All in all, the week was nothing to write home about!!

Johnny G

I saw a movie recently after a fairly longish time. With a rather unusual title, Johnny Gaddaar is actually a great viewing experience. I found it quite gripping and real. And though quite violent, the story kept my interest alive at all points.

The movie tells the story of a gang, each of which could be out to double cross the rest, and how coincidences and twists and turns keep each of them guessing about the motives of the others. I wont detail out anything else in this post though...

The music is also good (the movie thankfully only has very brief snippets of the songs, Hollywood style) and the acting competent.

Altogether a good watch. I'm also hoping to watch another strangely titled movie soon. This one is called Manorama, Six Feet Under!!

Interesting conversation - rooted in economic theory

This is an email I received today. It is about an apparently true conversation that took place on a social networking website:

What am I doing wrong?


Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy.
I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board?
Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock.
250,000 won't get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me
specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms
-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won't hurt my feelings
-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I'm 25)?
- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who havenothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys.
I've seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village.
What's the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, Investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm
being up front about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys
if I wasn't able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.


And then the reply:


Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought
Meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament. Firstly, I'm not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I see it.
Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a cr@ppy business deal. Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!
So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I
am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your
depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!
So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather
lease. In case you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If
my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It's as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.
Separately, I was taught early in my career about
efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and
spectacularly beautiful" as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.
By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.
With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way. Classic "pump and dump." I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

Nostalgia

My 5 secs of fame (bright red striped t-shirt) - always with my back to the camera though :-(!!
For those who are not from IIMB, apologies for posting something very topical!
For those who don't visit the class of 2004 blog, FYI -

Flinched

Saw this on Gullu's blog and liked it enough to flinch it (but not without acknowledgement :-) As they say, there is a fine line between inspiration and imitation...

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.

- Edgar Alan Poe

Service

I've realised something recently that gives me patriotic joy - the Indian hospitality industry is far more advanced than our western counterparts.

During my work at my previous job, I would often stay in hotels in different cities in India. Though expensive and tough to book into, the quality of service, food, promptness of staff were all exemplary. The Taj, Oberoi and even ITC Welcomgroup chain of hotels all met this quality bar nicely.

Contrast that to my recent experiences. In Phuket, I lived at the Hilton. Nice rooms and great views, but once when I was ravenously hungry and ordered some food and tea, the room service manager refused to serve anything, saying that they were short of staff!! After some cajoling, she finally agreed to send something after 60 minutes, and after 120 minutes of waiting, I was almost eating the pillows!! This was not a one-off during the week that I was there.

Similarly, the Marriott in London has got a great location, but the service leaves much to be desired. For one, it is devilishly expensive. But we can let that pass. After having my clothes misplaced, and after not getting a wireless broadband signal inspite of paying a bomb for it, I have formed a pretty unflattering view of the place. And the gym they have is a joke!

I've had not too great experiences with the Westin in Sydney, the Millennium in London too. But the Taj in Mauritius was awesome. The Indian connection? A lot of my European colleagues who have been to India and stayed at hotels there hold similar opinions.

I think its time for Indian Hotels, ITC, Asian Hotels and their ilk to go out and conquer the world. Maybe I should buy their stocks in anticipation!!

London

I've been in London for about a week now, and it is delightfully European! With the benefit of the English language as a bonus!! :-) (though to be absolutely honest I still need to get used to the strong accents here).


London must definitely count as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Very old world and graceful in its architecture, no buildings over 3 storeys tall and greenery everyewhere, the city is ideal for walking about. And it is also the home of capital and enterprise - every pretty house I see has a discreet nameplate in front - xyz Capital or abc Partners. Hedge funds and capital pools abound in plenty. Not very surprising, given that the English were the original bankers to the world (or was it the Swiss? - I suspect it was the English, and the Swiss got their fame for being discreet)

London is frightfully expensive. And not expensive when compared to India, it is expensive when compared to Tokyo, or mainland Europe. A modest meal would set one back by an average of GBP25, and lodging is just plain unaffordable (my colleague here pays about GBP2,000 per month for a 500 sq ft apartment in a not-so-central locality)!! And when I venture into the big shopping places on Oxford Street, I usually marvel at the fact that anyone is buying anything at all at these rates!

London is also distinctly English! Understated, solid and polite to a fault! More conservative than the Europeans (no topless sunbathing in public parks in London!!), and much more cosmopolitan. The last week, I've feasted on Japanese, Lebanese, Italian, Indian, American and English food (the last could perhaps be an oxymoron - fish and chips is what I'm alluding to :-)
Though surprisingly, I haven't found any English ale or beer easily available - most alcohol is the standard European / global stuff. The office I work in has only a couple of Brits - the others are all German / Dutch / American / other Europeans.

The best part about this time of the year in London is the fact that it is daylight from very early morning to about 9:30pm. Getting out of office at eight is such a pleasure, because it seems to be afternoon still! Speaking of which, Londoners are also full of the same work ethic as Americans - very little chatting or socialising in office. No one breaks for much, and even lunch is a hurried affair - usually take-out food eaten on the desk.

One other oddity I noticed is the English fascination with lions. Surprising, given that the UK didn't have any of its own! All public places, sculptures, coats of arms MUST have a couple of fierce lions! And one of the most famous kings of England was Richard the Lionheart!
Speaking of oddities, I must mention here the Brit cab. It looks quite weird, unlike any other car I've seen - a bit like an Ambassador, but more like a horse buggy!! The inside though is very spacious and comfortable. I wonder if its manufactured only to be used as a London cab, because I certainly haven't seen the car anywhere else. But then maybe its a bit like the fact that all Fiat cars in India are found running as taxis in Bombay..

Unfortunately I have no photos - my wife is our official photographer, and she is not here with me :-( But then I dont think photos could do justice to this beautiful city.

What did I do right?

I usually track the milage I'm getting from my car quite religiously. The last few weeks I've been driving around quite a lot, and therefore I have been filling up the tank each time. I buy a thousand bucks worth of premium petrol each time (gives around 22 - 22.2 litres).

The milage I got the last 6 times has been (with AC on 100% of the time) -

1. 362 km
2. 368 km
3. 362 km (this was 1k worth of normal petrol, therefore more litres)
4. 182 km (with Rs 500 of petrol)
5. 362 km
6. 398 km!!

I'm wondering what I did right this time!! This was the first time I've used BPCL Speed (mainly to participate in a lucky draw that has a Mauritius trip as prize on petrol fill up of a thousand bucks). Or maybe it has to do with the fact that a divine power wants to compensate me for the fines I've been paying recently.

Now, in my whole driving life, I have never been fined or had any mishaps. I've been told I drive well. And yet in the last 3 weeks, I have paid out to traffic policemen the following amounts -

1. Rs 500 (talking on a mobile phone while driving)
2. Rs 900 (speeding at 71 kmph - the speed limit is apparently 50!!)
3. Rs 600 (damaged number plate - some retard actually got kicks out of scratching out a character from my number plate)

I dont know if its luck or Delhi police in need of funds. Any which way, I'm a more careful driver this week!!

More creativity

Sarayu had this to say:

called vishesh there was a boy
to bother he had a ploy
sent rhymes unbid
distract it did
That alone gave him joy

And in return I said:

Sa-ra-yu
went to the zoo
she saw a lion
who was the scion
of the king of timbuctoo!

Dominic added -
Sa-ra-yu
in a short haikoo
i could envelope
all your develop-
ment needs too

This thing is addicitve :-)

Ridiculous rhymes

Andre's profile on orkut is frequently refreshed with some poetry. This is what he has there currently (among other things):

A man of Chicago named Young,
Who once, when his nerves were unstrung,
Put his mother (unseen)
In the chopping-machine,
And canned her and labelled her "Tongue"

Quite macabre!! But this led me to google for limericks, and here is one collection of truly wacky stuff: http://www.geocities.com/ridiculousrhymes/morelimericks.html

A sample of the stuff on offer:

There was this bizarre young fella
Who had a magic umbrella.
When he went on a plane,
And the engine caught flame,
His umbrella became a propella

I know this strange young lass
Whose body is made of glass.
Whe she stands in a queue
She does not block the view,
But she's still no easier to walk past

I have this friend called "Stink"
Who would wash his brain in the sink.
But the daily routine
Of keeping it clean
Played havoc with his ability to think

I once met a friend of Ned's,
Who had one hundred heads.
For the body to walk,
The heads had to talk
About who had control of the legs

And more risque stuff:

There was a young man from Australia
With incredibly huge genitallia.
He went off to France
For some extra large pants,
And they said "when we get some, we'll mail-ya"

I think I should try my hand at writing some :-)

Getting there... but when?

These days I spend a lot of time driving to and fro Gurgaon. It takes me about 35 minutes to cover a 30km stretch from home to Gurgaon, and then another 40 minutes to get to the office building in Gurgaon (a distance of some 2 kms). And this is no matter what time I leave home (I've tried 30 minute intervals starting 7:30 am to 9am). The reason is quite silly - there is one particular stretch of road which is all broken down and frequently gets waterlogged, stopping all flow of traffic on it.
Another time I was stuck at the airport in Mumbai for over 12 hours, not able to fly out as Indian flights were not leaving due to low visibility, and not able to leave the airport because the access road was totally under water and no vehicle could pass (this was quite an experience and probably deserves a blog post of its own!!)
I do feel quite often that infrastructure in Delhi has improved by leaps and bounds. Travelling on the newly done up NH8 is quite a pleasure! But even this 8 lane expressway gets bottlenecked each morning and evening, due to a very very silly reason - a couple of toll gates bang at the mouth of the expressway(operated manually, and with no system for disaggregation of commercial vehicles and other vehicles).
I'm quite optimistic about infrastructure in India in general. For example, I find the Metro quite convenient and comfortable to travel in Delhi. I find the new airport terminal for private airlines in Bombay also quite easy to navigate. What I don't get though is the 'last mile' or last detail lapses that skew the experience so much. I wonder why we are poor as a nation in designing systems? I can confidently assert that the average Indian is smarter than the average Japanese, but Japanese systems are far superior to ours. Perhaps it has to do with our education - we learn more theory and less application based stuff (at least that's what I felt all through till I went to IIT).
I'm sure all these niggling lapses will eventually be sorted out. What I'm not sure about is when this will happen? And what can I do to expedite the process??

An amazing adventure - III

Our next mission was to get to the top of Mount Harriet. This was the highest peak in the South Andamans, and also the British summer capital (the Brits certainly knew how to live life!!). We trekked a bit of the distance and were rewarded with a cool wide vista and a cool breeze. We discovered a 16km trekking path through wild jungle at the top, but did not go because we did not have footwear which would protect us from leeches..


After exploring all these interesting places from Port Blair, we set off for Havelock island with great excitement. After a three hour boat ride, we arrived at Havelock. We were quite excited to be there, what with Time magazine naming Beach no. 7 on Havelock as the best beach in Asia and one of the best in the world (though I am quite puzzled at how something so subjective can be ranked...).
Havelock was a real revelation!! Half the island was still uninhabited (unexplored dense jungle). No cell phone signal, no cable tv, no newspaper, no STD phones!! One dirt track (the highway!!), about 200 population, and massive beauty all around.. check out some of the landscapes there. We would usually wake up at five am to catch the sunrise (and mostly missed!!) and would be in bed by eight cos it would be pitch dark by six!!

We rented a couple of bicycles on this idyllic island, and would set off for Beach no. 7 which was 13 km away from our pretty resort!! Believe me, it was not easy (the pictures say it all :-))

Finally I come to the icing on the cake - our scuba dive into a live coral reef. It was scary and majestic at the same time. We were underwater for 63 minutes straight, and I have never been so determined to keep breathing in my life!! My ears hurt, my nose were blocked and my mouth was totally dry from the dry air pumping from the oxygen tank, and yet I was mesmerised by so many different fluoroscent fishes, snakes, corals and plants!! We went down to a depth of 12 meters (which does not seem so much on paper, but is actually damn scary if you happen to look up!!) and thankfully we were able to overcome our fears and panic (the guide later remarked that it was one of the smoothest rookie dives that he had ever undertaken!). My only regret is that all the wonderous stuff I saw at the bottom of the ocean will remain only in my memories...

After two nights in Havelock we returned to Port Blair. The return ship ride was quite rough (a storm brewing and a choppy sea tossing our ship about as if it were made of paper!!). We were quite grateful to get back to land safely, and our enthusiasm for the sea was severly tempered :-) A couple of stiff drinks helped restore nerves, and yet after this we did not venture back to the sea for the duration of our holiday...
As I revisit my bland narrative I find there is so much I have missed - the shells we collected, the elephants we encountered, the ghost house we lived in, the nice time we had solving very hard sudoku puzzles over neat whiskey, the strange ship with underwater first class... there is enough in my memory to populate many posts. Yet that will have to wait for some other time.

An amazing adventure - II

Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, is a small, beautiful and neat town. Hindi is the most commonly spoken language, followed by Bengali and Tamil. The town looks somewhat like this -
Our resort (the Fortune Bay Island resort) had a fantastic view of the bay and North Island.
Port Blair does have basic infrastructure (unlike Havelock, but more on that later) - you do get a cellphone signal sometimes, and typically get yesterday's newspaper.

Post Blair was only our base station. From there, we visited a multitude of different islands. Viper island was the first - it was somewhat macabre, since all it contained were a prison house and a gallows, and especially since it had been devastated completely by the tsunami and had been abandoned since!!

The next island we went to was North Bay. The island is known for its beach where one can snorkel. We took a glass bottomed boat and saw some corals (which were mostly dead, alas!). However, we took off into the forest and were rewarded for our efforts when we came to this massive lighthouse (the same as seen behind the twenty rupee note!). After a rough and tough climb to the top of the lighthouse, we were rewarded with a massively cold and strong breeze, and a view to die for!! Check out the misty mountains in the distance.


Our next stop was at Ross Island. This island is only a small distance away from Port Blair, and was the erstwhile colony of the British army. It was known as the Paris of the East, so beautiful was it. Even now, ruins of the Brit settlement can be seen. The island is currently owned and run by the Indian navy, and has deer and peacocks, in addition to a beautiful melancholy abandoned beach and lonely World War II Japanese bunkers!!

Next came Baratang Island. To reach this distant place, we had to pass through a tribal reserved forest (no pictures are permitted, so we dont have any, though we did manage to see a lot of tribals). The tribals are totally naked, except colorful belts of beads, and are seen with bows and arrows. They looked totally African, with flat noses, very dark complexions and curly hair!

Baratang island is in the middle of a mangrove swamp. The boat ride to the limestone caves was awesome, through dense and thick mangroves!!
The entrance to the limestone cave came after a trek through dense forest which came after the mangroves. Though the cave itself was pitch dark (so no photos!!), we could see massive stalactites and stalagmites being formed before our very eyes.

We encountered some wild fauna en route (check out this sleeping bat from close quarters and this multicolored reptile!!)

After returning from the mangroves, we trudged further uphill on Baratang to view this mud volcano. Though we could see the bubbling mud oozing out, I must confess the damn thing was a bit underwhelming. Somehow when I think volcano I think of huge craters and large seething masses of lava. This was unique, but distinctly timid :-)

More to go in part III...

An amazing adventure - I

First, a trivia question - what do you see on the back of a twenty rupee note?
Answer - this (Check it now!!) Second trivia question - what place is this??
(Easy to guess) answer - North bay, South Andaman islands

Before you go on reading this blogpost, a quick warning. I'm just back from an amazing adventure in the Andamans, and I may suffer from an overdose of enthusiasm as I describe all there is to experience there. Please bear with me!! The second warning is that words may not be able to describe the sheer beauty of the place, therefore I will depend a lot on photographs (this could make it tough to load this page)

The Andaman islands offer a smorgasbord of different ecosystems - emerald blue sea, dense rainforest, mangroves, high altitude mountains, and of course the best beaches in the world. We were lucky to visit in the lean tourist season, so we had the whole place to ourselves! We had planned the trip as an adventure trip, and we surely had quite a few - scuba diving in a live and impossibly colorful coral reef, trekking through dense forest, going deep into a dark limestone cave, seeing a bubbling mud volcano, and cycling, cycling and more cycling!!

First, the origin - the Andaman islands apparently got their name from Handuman (or Hanuman, son of the wind). This is because in the Ramayan, Ram's army of apes had initally planned to launch an attack on Ravan's Lanka from these islands (though it seems to be quite surprising, given that these islands are quite a distance away from the mainland - it takes the same time to get to the Andamans from Chennai by air as it takes to get from Delhi to Chennai!). Hanuman had come to these islands to do a recce, and wisely decided against it!! The islands have been inhabited by aboriginal tribes (a few of which are cannibals!!) since time immemorial, and only when the British decided to set up a penal outpost (sometime at the end of the nineteenth century) here did these islands see civilization. These islands came to be known an 'kaala paani' or 'black water' ever since the dreaded Cellular jail was built to lock up political prisoners.
We travelled a lot by a small boat between these islands, and though the waters are usually friendly and emerald green, they do suddenly become very scary, black and opaque whenever its cloudy!! More recently, the islands were severely affected by a tsunami, and even a eighteen months later, the effects are there to see - uprooted massive trees, waterlogged shops and destroyed flora, ships etc.
But now for the good stuff. To be continued in part II...

Back again

Whew!! Its good to be back again...

Here is a narration of what's been going on in life in the interim -
http://iimbclassof2004.blogspot.com/

More updates in a bit!

Geography

I was trying to figure out what would be a good place for a 2 week vacation (the jury is still out, after having considered Bali and Indonesia, Maldives, Greece and Sri Lanka, I seem to be deciding on good ol' Andaman and Nicobar islands right here in India!), when I tried to recall the places I've been to and what I've liked about them.

As far as I can remember, I have been to 16 countries apart from India (my ambition is to visit 24, then I will call it a day!!) - vis -
Europe: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, the UK, Belgium (in passing)
Middle East: Kuwait
Asia: China (Hong Kong), Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Malaysia
Australia
Africa: Mauritius

I think the big ones I've missed (and should definitely visit sometime in the next 5 years) would be the US, Switzerland, Indonesia (i.e. Bali), South Africa / Sri Lanka. That leaves me with 4 more countries to be visited. The Caribbean islands would figure on the list, and so would a South American country (maybe Brazil, though my buddy Mahender strongly recommends Peru, which seems too radical to a guy like me). But who knows what spin of dice life may play, so we will see when it actually happens!

But this post was about what I liked in the places I've visited.
Without exception, Europe has the most beautiful places (London is lovely, as is Munich, and Amsterdam is delightfully bohemian - but I think Florence wins hands down). What I really like about European cities is their smallness - you can walk about for a day or two, and you find that you have seen most of the city already. I did not like Paris because it seemed to me to be too big, and I thought Venice was overhyped. In addition to small size, I seem to like old, beautifully architected grand buildings. Cobbled streets are another favourite. Its places like Pisa or Florence or Salzburg that really get me going.

However, when it comes to comfort, I find Asia much more welcoming. Japan is relentlessly efficient and painfully polite. Singapore is too artificial for me. Hong Kong was refreshing. But Thailand is what I loved. It has the right amount of chaos, beauty, commerce and activity to make it very very relaxing.

Australia is also very nice (esp Sydney - the Harbour Bridge walk was amazing, as was the Opera House cruise), but good only for a week's vacation.
Mauritius had possibilities - nice friendly people, laissez faire attitudes, beautiful beaches, unique experiences (i.e. the artificial ship building industry, sugarcane fields) but again possibly would get tedious after a week.

For the Andamans, I'm looking forward to three things - one is a scuba dive (after some half day training course apparently), the other is a visit to tribal forests (the tribes still live in aboriginal times, according to whatever I've been able to read), and the third is an active mud volcano and limestone caves. Added to sights of the 'Kaala Paani' or the jail which had tales of terror from the freedom movement. All doped with days of doing nothing on the beach (beach no. 7 on Havelock island was rated the 2nd best beach in the world by Time magazine - thought it beats me how you can have a definite rating for a subjective thing like this!!)

I hope I get tickets!!

Black and white

Warning: this post is somewhat meandering and ambiguous - I'm writing as I think!!

I was thinking about this question yesterday - do i really prefer black or white? Dark and mysterious or sunny and cheerful? Do I look at people mostly as black or white? The chain of thought led to some interesting digressions.

My initial thought on this was a balanced 'horses for courses' kind of phenomenon (i.e. on particular days / situations, I prefer black, on others white). Most time anyway is spent experiencing a huge big swathe of gray (or is it grey? - never could remember!!). Most movies, popular literature, and life as we know it is full of the golden mean, the ambiguous middle, the 'balanced' path. Therefore it is probably true that in my inner world, I always look at everything from two points of view. Nothing is right or wrong, there are only situations and actions. Everything can be justified from the other point of view.

But as I think about this, I grow uneasy. To say that everything is gray (or grey) is the easiest way out. It enables you to not take sides. But seen deeply, everything which is meaningful has happened because it was for a cause, a belief. Once you admit the supremacy of gray, everything can find an excuse, a reason for inaction, and inertia would reign supreme.

I think the truly successful person, the real virtuoso, the grandmaster strives to break free from the shackles of gray and strive for the pure. Black or white, never gray!! One or the other, never both. Yes or no, never maybe.

This thought completed, I return to the original question - is it white or black for me? I am allured by black. It beckons with power and secrets. But I think deep down I like white. I'm always optimistic, always believe the best of everything. I like summers and sunshine. I believe in good over evil. Definitely white!!

Till yesterday I would have said I like white on some days and black on the other. But today I can say I like white :-)