Trip to India - July 2011 - Part 1

Hi,

This is first of the series of posts around my recent travel to India and then to US.

Had an early start at 4 AM. Got ready just in time for the cab to come at 5. Had an interesting cab ride to the
airport with an Afghani cabbie. In the 30 minute or so ride he gave me the basics of being a cabbie and what it takes to own a "plate". Apparently it costs about 400 thousand dollars to be able to own a license for a taxi (just the license not the car). The revenue potential seemed quite high - probably close to revenues from a medium range apartment in Sydney.

The check-in was a bit funny. The Singapore Airlines carry on luggage limits for economy says 1 piece of baggage upto 7 kilos and a extra allowance for a laptop. My hand luggage excluding the laptop was just over 7 kg. The agent says, "I'll allow you to take it together,but once in the aircraft you need to remove your laptop from the bag.". When I asked her the reason for it, apparently it is due to hazard restrictions in Australia that one should not get hit with a luggage more than 7 kg (if it topples over someone's head from the overhead bin).

The A380 experience - someone claimed that the economy was as good as business class in terms of space or maybe I heard it wrong. It does seem to have just a wee bit of extra legroom and maybe a few centimetres of extra width. Apart from that nothing great about the space. However the inflight entertainment system definitely rocks. For the first time I have seen actually something "informative" apart from the usual movies, music and games. There were book reviews, information about cultural practices in different countries. It was interesting to read about Indian business practices - very frank.

The flight overall was good. Had the entire row of 3 seats for myself. Got to see a Singaporean movie (My Magic)- which was apparently submitted for Oscars. It was truly Singaporean because it was a mix of Tamil, Malay & Chinese. It is a story about a stage performer turned drunkard. Not a movie for those faint at heart. Finally caught up with "Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya". Singapore Airlines continues to impress me with their customer service. There was one "uncle" in the next row who had chosen a vegetarian meal. I guess he changed his mind in the last minute and he wanted the normal meal served to general public. The hostess politely refused his request.The best part was she came back and checked with him if he would like that to be changed in his next segment to Delhi. That is customer service - inspite of the fact that he was quite a "high maintenance" traveler (with frequent requests). The "Uncle" beside me was interesting. After a "few" pegs of whiskey the hostess comes around with the freshening towel and he asks "Hot or cold?". :-)

Had a great time in Singapore. Got picked up by Mamai and Athai from airport around 2.30 PM. Went straight to Mustafa shopping center to finish some shopping. Got a new camera - a Panasonic. The best part of the camera was when the salesman took a photo of a mini table fun running nearby and it captured as if the blades were stationary. Here's a sample of what I took at the hotel of a normal running fan.

After relaxing a bit at Mamai's house went to a nearby seafood restaurant for dinner along with Uma akka and Sanku. Had the Singapore famous - "Pepper Crab".

Tried several other dishes couple of spinach varieties in different sauces. Sambal prawns tasted pretty good here. Now I can compare the Malaysian food in Sydney, yes the taste was quite comparable to what I get in Sambal. Post dinner went to the Sands hotel with an idea to go up to the top.
We spent so much time trying to get a parking spot, that it got too late by then.

Walked around the hotel complex and saw some nice laser cum musical fountain shows.

Singapore to Delhi was quite uneventful. Slept through the whole time after being awake for close to 22 hours.

The international airport at Delhi was quite cool. Especially the shower and nap facilities they had was close to what they offer in Singapore. Had a great time with most of my team members today over lunch. Many of them I was meeting for the first time in person.

Jet lag is slowly kicking in right about now at around 9 PM IST. Hope it gets fixed soon.

Guess I've made up for not being able to write earlier. :-)

Have A Great Week!!

C