BLOG - Capt. Anup Murthy

Blue Whales of Sri Lanka

2012-01-26T02:23:00.000-08:00

January started off well and a trip overseas to Sri Lanka happened. I've been to this beautiful island Nation many times in the past but now that the internal conflict is over and peace reigns, its a greater pleasure to visit and do business or go on a holiday.

Before I start off on my Whale of a Tale, let me update some important information on travel to Sri Lanka. As of January 2012, all visitors to Sri Lanka need to apply and obtain an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) before embarking on their trip. The one-arrival visa has been scrapped for all Nationalities except Singapore and Maldives, both of whom have given visa free entry to Sri Lankans and hence the reciprocal benefits. An ETA is Visa that you apply, pay and receive approval entirely online. It is a very simple process, just visit this website and follow easy instructions: http://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/ It took me 10 minutes to complete, cost me $10 for a double entry visit visa and authorization came by email very soon after. For a limited time, the SL Authorities will still allow foreigners to come without the Authorization, go to an ETA desk at the airport, fill up forms, get Authorization and then go for immigration clearance. This will cost you more and waste so much time and the service may not be available in a couple of months time, so its better to do it online like I did.

(whale watching boat)

Mirissa is a fishing port about 40 kilometres due East from Galle in Southern Sri Lanka. No one visited the place during conflict years because there was nothing going on except fishing. With the onset of peace and information moving freely, it soon came to light that a few Kms into the sea off Dhondra Point was a pod of "resident"Blue Whales. The best whale watching season in this area is between December and March. All of a sudden, with the news of the whales spreading, the sleepy village of Mirissa became a hotbed of activity with new hotels coming up and new boat operators taking to the Whale watching business. The Sri Lankan Navy pioneered the whale watching trips and still operate on certain days.

(Look for the fine mist when the whale exhale)

What are these Blue Whales, you may ask. To put it simply, they are the largest animal on the entire planet. There is nothing living on Earth that comes even close in size to these magnificent leviathans of the Deep. Nothing. More info on these beautiful mammals of the Deep is available on another blog mentioned below. Whale watching trips leave very early in the morning and hotel pick ups start around 0600Hrs. There are around a dozen or more boats of various sizes and configuration, that are privately owned and operated. The charges can range from LKR 5,000 to LKR 9,000 (1 US$ = 113 LKR) per person. Once everyone's settled in the boat and life jackets put on, the Coast Guard comes along and takes down the names, passport number and signature of the passengers and makes sure that no boat is carrying more than 25 people. While this is good practise, there is no order or method to the operation of these Whale boats and their methods of chasing down whales leaves much to be desired among us Cetacean lovers who know a thing or two about Dolphins and Whales.

(This is close and they chose to surface nearby as we had no clue and were looking around for them)

So, after the headcount and paperwork got over, we left the fishing harbor of Mirissa and chugged into the open Indian Ocean. Bread and cheese was served followed by bananas and bottles of water. It so happened, in a season known for flat water, a regional storm had affected the waves and it turned out to a jolly old nightmare. Jolly for me because I enjoyed the Wild heaving of the boat and thanks to my sea-legs, the Boat crew and I were left standing and nightmare for the remaining passengers, mostly foreigners who were constantly throwing up. For those who are naturally seasick or don't know if they are, maybe you should take some seasickness/motion sickness pills before the voyage.

(lone dolphin torpedoing on fish)

A brief glimpse of two Bottle nose Dolphins got our interest going and the anticipation of finding the big Blue Whales soon started to build up, an hour out at sea, heading into deeper waters. Two hours later and seeing plastics floating around in the Ocean thanks to humans all over the World dumping them everywhere, we finally managed to sight a spouting, a fine mist of air and water that is thrown up like a fountain when a Whale surfaces to exhale. Soon, the boats that had all spread over the Ocean started to chug to this point at full speed. After chasing more whale spouts here and there, we were finally lucky to get close to three of them just as they broke the surface and dived underwater. On a day of flat seas, one would have been able to take good photographs but on heaving seas, only a brief respite in the roughness coinciding with the whales surfacing, made it happen for our group.

(pod of dolphins)

After 3 hours, the boat decided to leave the poor Whales to their feeding undisturbed and made way back to the harbor. On the return, we were treated to a delightful pod of Dolphins that were corralling fish together into a ball and tearing through them to feed. That was the highlight of the trip.

(video of the dolphin pod)

I made it to Galle for the evening and settled down near the sea shore at a chalet. It was back to Colombo the next day. While this trip was a week of good times and meeting people, there are more trips to Sri Lanka this year in the offing. There will be opportunities for me to visit more places and re-visit all the places that I have been to, in the past. More blogs may follow those visits.

For those who want to read more about Blue Whales of Sri Lanka, this wonderful researcher friend Asha De Vos, a Sri Lankan doing her PhD in Australia, writes her blogs and posts her pictures and gives details about them, their feeding, their habitat and so on. Visit her blog here. Asha is also featured in this Aussie Video program about Blue Whales in Sri Lanka, just discount the title of the video because the size of the whale pods are not known and the title claims that this is the biggest colony in the World. Never mind that, watch the video above. There are other whales that visit these waters such as Sperm whales, we didn't see any but I'm hoping that someday in future, I'd be able to say hello to one.

Sri Lanka has everything going for it now. The friendly people, the beautiful tea gardens and of it's high mountain lakes and streams, the fabulously spicy food, the culture of thousands of years, UNESCO World Heritage sites, the land of Elephants and the famed Leopards of Yala and now, the magnificent Blue Whales. It's not like you needed one more reason to visit but it is there now. Enjoy responsibly, as green as possible (and I don't mean from being seasick!), visit and leave nothing behind except footprints and take away nothing except memories. Leave the environment as pristine as you found it.

2011 Ends..cheers!

2011-12-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

Another year ends and another is about to begin. For many it is a psychological boost to end/start something. For some it's just another day, same as the previous day. However anyone takes it, there is still an atmosphere of fun generally. People planning parties, sales events going on, people travelling, relaxing.

I have nothing planned for the year end because that's generally how my life is. I can almost never plan anything and stick by it. Everything I do has last minute changes and I am quick to adapt. Being at home doing my laundry or some other chore and then to receive a call and head off overseas is par for the course, for me. In the past I used to blog a bit, pen down my experiences, post pictures of all these planned and unplanned trips. Now I have become lazy. I spend much time on twitter, getting stuff done on Facebook related to all my Wildlife Conservation efforts and so on.

All indicators for the next year is that it is going to be super busy. I am not complaining, I like being super busy. In January we move into a new facility at Seletar Airport and I catch up with work and whales in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. Side trips to Malaysia and Indonesia as well. February will have me grounded in Singapore, for the mid month culmination of the 100th year of civil aviation in Singapore and it all ends in a grand show called the Singapore Air Show. For sure, I'll be reporting from the event and posting pictures. I wrote about the Centennial Celebrations in an earlier blog in March 2011 when it all began. Read that post here.

For those who visit my blog and enjoy it, I will try and post more than I did in 2011. It will be about aviation and wildlife. It will be about Aircraft and Whales. Hopefully it will be interesting enough for my friends, I thank all of you for being with me, even virtually, over the years on my blog. Hope to see more of you in my new posts.

Have a great 2012 people!

RECENT EVENTS - SINGAPORE

2011-09-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

This blog is about recent events in Singapore. We had the Singapore National Day celebrations on 9th August and preceding this event were weekends of rehearsals including Helicopter displays, fighter jets formation flights, marching bands and so on. Here are a few videos of one of the rehearsals, with Helicopter displays.

(Boeing Chinook Helicopter flies low over Marina Bay & drops off commandos into the water)

(Boeing Chinook Helicopter accompanied by Apaches flying Singapore flag over the marina bay area)

The month of August was the hungry ghost festival. I had described details of this festival in a blog that I posed in 2007, click on this to find that article. Following this "Ghost month", as they call it, was the Mid Autumn festival or the Lantern festival. Again, I had posted an article with information and photos of this event in 2007, click here to find that article. I am posting some of the lanterns that lined up Singapore river this year (2011).

(Lanterns lined up near Singapore River, Clarke Quay)

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is a famous new attraction/theme park in Singapore. They have many interesting things to see and do and also have a casino. The sad thing is that they are planning a marine park and had commissioned a Dolphin trader to trap Wild Dolphins from the Solomon Islands. Around 30 or so Dolphins were caught. A few died in captivity in their holding pens and the rest of the 27 Dolphins face a future where they are going to be trapped in a pool to entertain people. RWS claims that the Dolphins are for "education" but they have not responded convincingly to question put to them about their motives. I was part of the "Save the World's saddest Dolphins" concert last month and continue to support ACRES Singapore, an NGO fighting for these Dolphins, for their release back into the Wild. Here are some pictures and videos of that concert. We are not calling for a boycott of RWS but please avoid visiting the marine section when it opens. No imposition here, just an appeal. I am against incarceration of any animal and for Dolphins who are empathic animals, our cousins of the sea, it's like putting innocent people in jail.

(Kids above holding pics of captive Dolphins with their own names, performances from local singers below)

(More performers at the free concert in aid of the Dolphins, "Let the Dolphins go" RWS was the theme)

Singapore Art Museum hosted a light manipulation show early this month, this involves lighting on the Art Museum Building that moves according to sound, it appears as if the building itself is speaking, expressing, moving. Here are some interesting videos of the event, enjoy the movements of light!

(Simple manipulation above, more complex one below)

Recently, last weekend in fact (17th September 2011) was the International Coastal Cleanup Day. This is a global event where volunteers and organizations engage in cleaning up rivers, beaches, mangroves, all coastal areas in order to rid the environment of various types of garbage. Plastics are among the most use and throw items in the World today. Sadly, we are poisoning our rivers and oceans with this debris and harming the marine environment. Many marine animals are trapped and die due to the trash that humans throw away carelessly. Data shows that there are around 45,000+ pieces of plastic in every square mile of Ocean!

(Above: Volunteers from Land Transport Authority filing off to do their bit near Seletar Mangroves)

(Our group of 6 public volunteers bagging trash caught in the mangroves)

(Look at the trash collected in our area of mangroves in 2 hours-bagged in biodegradable plastic bags)

(Our Group of coastal clean up crew L-R Vinodini, LiLin, Forgot, Self, Anjali, Melissa)

No Country is free or safe from trash. Singapore, among the more cleaner cities in Asia, isn't immune to improper trash disposal. We have a problem here, as big as any other place. So, on this day, 2400 odd volunteers (Including yours truly) all around coastal Singapore managed to clean up 13 kilometres of coastline, removing some 12,000 Kilograms of trash from the beaches and mangroves. Some of those pictures are posted here as well.

(Degraded beach and mangroves are overlooking Malaysia port of Pasir Gudang viewed from Seletar)

There's not much else to write about at this point. I'll blog more when time permits and something new and exciting happens. Meanwhile, my advice to all, please spread awareness about reducing unnecessary consumption, reduce the amount of plastics in your lives, use jute or cloth bags for your shopping always, dispose off trash responsibly. Do you little bit and maybe we can still save the planet or at least continue to maintain it habitable for all creatures including ourselves. Cheers.

Sungei Serangoon River - Singapore

2011-08-10T04:54:00.000-07:00

Sungei means river, Serangoon is the name of the river we have in the North East part of Singapore where they have constructed a barrage to make it into a reservoir. What's more, the Singapore Government has linked two rivers, Sungei Serangoon (less than 10 minutes from where I live) with Sungei Punggol. This has created a large fresh water source for Singapore in addition to the many other such drinking water sources.

Sungei Serangoon was all wilderness untill 2 years ago when they started to clean up the area around and develop nice walkways cycling tracks, restrooms, boardwalk and a few restaurants overlooking the river at one spot at higher ground.

On the other side of the river from the housing estates is a wet land reserve, a haven for small birds and large ones like the Sea Eagle. Some wildlife enthusiasts have also encountered wild boar! In Singapore, where there are wet lands, there are water monitor lizards.

(10 minutes from my home - Monitor habitat!)

In 2007, I had blogged about a wet land reserve called Sungei Buloh and that is in the North West part of the Island. Water monitors grow very large in that neck of the woods and I had posted pictures of them in that blog. Clink on the link to visit that blog.

This evening we ran into a monitor lizard swimming lazily near the foot bridge and although the light was fading and all I had was a mobile phone, the beautiful animal is still visible clearly here below:

I will post more pictures of the Sungei Serangoon river, the boardwalk, the foot bridge over the river and the wetlands area in a few days. Watch this space!

Next Blog: Singapore downtown, Merlion, Beoing Chinnok Helicopter low over water downtown..all part of the National Day Celebrations of Singapore that happened yesterday, 9th August. Happy 46th Birthday Singapore!

GREAT AMERICAN BALD EAGLE

2011-04-08T19:07:00.001-07:00

As the title goes, this is a story about an American Bald Eagle. Before I tell you the story, lets find out a bit about these raptors in the first place. What's an American Bald Eagle? Its found in North America, has a white head and a National symbol of the United States of America. Its not really bald, just that the white head has given it that name. It is a magnificent Sea Eagle and can live up to 30 years or so in the Wild. In the late 20th Century it was in the endangered species list but they have made a remarkable comeback and now flourishing throughout the contiguous United States, Canada and Alaska.

Now I will begin the story about this particular family of Bald Eagles. A group called the "Raptor Research Project" has positioned a video camera overlooking the nest of an American Bald Eagle family. Recently the mamma bird laid 3 eggs and that live stream was watched by hundreds of thousands of people Worldwide. In the past few days the eggs have hatched and the viewing interest was so great that the website crashed! Here is a link to the hatching event (video recording of hatching also available)and some details related. This post also has live cam feed of the Eagles as they are now.

I'll call Mama Eagle by the name Daisy and Daddy Eagle as Donald or Don for short. Thanks to the Raptor project, we are all able to watch this beautiful family 24X7. Daisy laid 3 eggs and the first chick hatched on April 2nd. The second one hatched the next day and the third chick hatched on the 6th of April and this is the time I started watching the family. If there was anything that got me down or made me tense at work or otherwise, I'd go back to watching the Eagle family. Not only was it therapeutic for me, it was also a source of education, to observe the interaction between Daisy and Don, how they cared for the chicks, their understanding, conversations, taking turns preening and shoring up their nest and so on. Don would fly in now and then bringing a fish to feed Daisy and the 3 chicks, I name them Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Their nest is huge. Its perched upon a tree 80 feet high, is about 5-6 feet wide and about the same dimension in depth. Apparently weighs over a ton! I saw Daisy shore up the nest yesterday with a large branch and the power of her beak was awesome to watch. Daisy and Don aren't new parents. They have been together since winter of 2007/2008 and experts put Daisy's age at that time as 4 years old. They had 2 eaglets in 2008, 3 in 2009 and 3 again in 2010. They have been a successful pair so far and know what they are doing. I have embedded the Live video on this blog for readers to watch. When I posted this, Daisy was curled up on her chicks and was sleeping (night time in Iowa, USA).

I'm looking forward to watching this present lot grow up, earn their wings and take their first flight. It will be an awesome experience, for me as an aviator, this is as good as it gets. We need to strap ourselves into a machine to enjoy what they feel like when flying and they are just born with it. The freedom to fly, the freedom to range and set down anywhere. Perhaps its this freedom, tenacity, intelligence, beauty of this magnificent bird, that emulates the spirit of the United States and has made it their National bird and symbol. Long live Don, Daisy and the Great American Bald Eagles!

Addendum: Yesterday (April 15, 2011) in the U.S., PBS aired a documentary on this Eagle family. Many viewers learned new things about American Eagles in general and this family in particular, thanks to PBS. Just to share a few things more about them, I have added this piece. I believe Daddy Eagle is around 12 years of age and mamma Eagle is 8. This is his second mate, his first wife died in a blizzard a few years ago and she was observed to be a one-eyed Eagle. This happy couple have been successful parents 3 times already. Daddy Eagle took 3 months to build this current nest and recent re-estimation puts it at 1,000 pounds heavy, built on this cottonwood tree. I thought some would like this update.

Update as on 19th/20th April: The live feed cam is encrusted with snow, it has been snowing at the Eagle's lair in Iowa and visibility is completely obscured. Its supposed to be spring now but Iowans have been complaining that winter persists, an unusually long spell this year it seems. Lets wait for better weather and snow melt so that we can observe the family Live again.

Update as on 20th May 2011: The three chicks have grown up, stand on their own feet and walk erect. I have seen them flex their wings and hop around. Very soon they will start "branching" and by mid June they are expected to take off in their first flight. The camera will be switched off in July when the eaglets have started flying out on their own. I will update this space when the branching occurs and subsequently report their first flight when that happens.

Update as on 16th June 2011: The Eaglets have branched. They are now hopping from one branch to the other flapping their wings. This is the final step before they take their first flight. It's been amazing watching them hatch, waddle around their nest like gray colored balls, become large enough to jump around their nest flapping wings and now they have branched. An event many of us Eagleheads were waiting for.
Next update: Their first flight!

Update as on 21st June 2011: E1 (Huey), the first of the Eaglets has fledged. His first flight was spectacular and he/she is making frequent flights out circling the nest, landing on the meadows nearby and on the farmhouse roof top and so on. He is racking up his frequent flyer miles, as someone put it and looked like he had been flying for his entire life. Amazing how they learn by themselves and how they master their element. Now we are awaiting E2 (Dewey)and E3 (Louie) to fledge and it may happen anytime now. E1 took off within 11 weeks of hatching. E2 and E3 came out later and now have been seen taking short hop flights from branch to nest and so on.

LATEST UPDATE: As on 23rd June 2011: ALL the Eaglets have fledged and now flying freely! This has been the most amazing experience for me. From Eggs to flying magnificent kings of the sky. My best wishes to the family for a long and free life.

Last update: 12th July 2011: Eaglets are fine, flying free, being Eagles. The camera has been turned off for the season. Live feed is no longer available below. It will be back on again next season, perhaps sometime next year. Long Live the Eagles.

Live Eagle cam feed:

Online video chat by Ustream

100 Years of Aviation in Singapore

2011-03-28T19:37:00.001-07:00

It's been a 100 years of aviation in many Countries around the World this year. For us in tiny Singapore, the 16th of March marked the 100th year of aviation here. On 16th March, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore organized a gala dinner program for aviators and Airlines based/operating into Singapore. The event was at the huge banquet hall of the new "Resorts World" at Sentosa. This blog is more like a news report, mentioning the event and the celebrations.

(Bristol Boxkite that flew from Belmont Race Course in Australia, also in 1911)

The evening began with audio visual presentation of what people thought about aviation in Singapore titled "People, Passions, Opportunities". It was on the evening of 16th March 1911 that a French pilot Joseph Christiaens piloted a Bristol Boxkite Biplane. He took off from the Old Racecourse at Farrer Park from an unprepared airstrip, offering rides to many people for $50 a head! Pricey it may have been, apparently it had many takers. Farrer Park is now just grassy area near the Farrer Park MRT station on Race Course Road. There is no Race Course here but the name remains. Race Course Road is now famous for many Indian restaurants and Singaporean Indian restaurants that are famous for signature dishes such as the "Fish Head Curry".

The Bristol Boxkite was first built in 1910 by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). The Boxkite was powered by a 70 horsepower "Le Rhone" rotary engine. First flight of this model was on 29th July 1910 and later on became a highly successful model selling units around the World.

(Bristol Boxkite)

The program was well conducted, as expected, everything works with clockwork precision in Singapore. There was an aerial symphony with dancers climbing on long curtains and conducting graceful movements set to music. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is also a former PM spoke on aviation and Singapore, keeping the speech brief and relevant. Then they collectively pushed a button to launch the start of year long celebrations called as the Singapore Aviation Centennial Celebrations which will end next year at the Singapore Air Show and that's going to be something special for sure. Watch this space for reports and pictures/videos that event.

Soon after the Minister's speech, another video presentation was shown on large screens set up throughout the vast hall, this one was titled "Our dreams, Our journey". This is particularly relevant to us here in Singapore, for growth of aviation here in future and for all the success of the past. Yes, its been a 100 years and tiny Singapore catapulted into the World stage far better than most other Countries with among the best Airports in the World in Changi and among the best Airlines in the World with Singapore Airlines.

The newly expanded Seletar Aerospace Park where yours truly has spent the last 4 years, is going to be the showpiece for General Aviation and Aviation technology leadership in the region. For Singapore to continue as a leader, it will have to innovate and come up with new concepts to forge a competitive aviation hub in this region. I suppose we all need to pull our socks up and get to work!

There was a musical finalé to the evening, songs were sung by locally famous artists Dick Lee and Ms Julia Abueva and she did sing very well indeed. All this while we ate a four course meal with free flowing drinks. As we left the hall, there were CAAS representatives who handed out large gift bag with a box in it, that turned out to be a scale model of the original Bristol Boxkite, made beautifully out of wood and thread. That's sitting on my desk right now as I write this piece. A fitting way to start off the Centennial year of Aviation. Cheers!

2010-NO TITLE

2010-12-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

2010 is nearly over. If we needed to be reminded about how fragile we are in the fabric of life, this year showed that with great clarity. While we continue to plunder and pillage the planet and make it uninhabitable for future generations, we are already feeling the intense heat, drought, floods, excess rain, excess snow, intense cold and so on.

The planet does not show any mercy on rich or poor nations and we are all equal to blame. For putting up stupid fronts and creating boundaries, for building walls and waging useless wars that cost lives, for lack of political will, we humans are nowhere close to evolution than we were when we lived in caves. I know, evolution for Gen X or Y or whatever the hell it is now, means connectivity and gadgets. I wish many of them can look beyond those tiny screens on their mobile devices and see that there's much more to the World and they may lose it from right under their nose.

This year I watched lethargy build, watched Government Babus sit on their fat behinds and do nothing, politicians brazenly looting the public while the public watched, of an intolerant/inefficient/corrupt system that fails people in each and every department. This isn't only about failed states and so-called "free" countries such as India, this is from a messed up World involving the now emerging bankruptcies (financial and moral) across the board in every Country. EU Countries are going broke and the US was always broke and didn't know about it. I watched a majority sit, sulk, blog and do nothing about it.

Personally this year, some good things happened too. I met more good people this year than ever before. I met dedicated people who are out there trying to do something for the common good, for the well being of all life forms and not with any intention of making money.

I finally got a long term goal in mind. Something that I can continue to do for a long time to come or at least till my time's up on this planet. None of that involves making tons of money, power or position for myself. That is giving me way more sense of fulfillment than anything else so far. I have found a closeness to our cousins, one that I had but never did anything about it in the past. The same cousins of ours that live in the marine environment, the ones I can relate to better than humans any day. The ones that have far superior intelligence, empathic, understanding, loving and yet remain threatened by most of our actions. Some of them are critically endangered and live in our river systems including my favorite Gangetic Dolphins. I'll work for them more this new year and the years to come and I'm glad about the building up of World wide support to my efforts.

This isn't about me. Not this planet, not this spec of dust at the edge of a vague galaxy among millions more. This is about the very fabric that runs through it, that binds us and holds us together, a fabric that is joy if it stays together in harmony, and causes destruction and misery when we meddle with it while exhibiting our selfish greed.

I hope and wish for a better life for all when the calendar changes dates. I hope and wish all people are successful at what they do. I hope I can blog more, when I'm not working with my cousins and bring their plight to everyone's attention.

This blog is a serious deviation from my previous year end blogs.
2005 I ended the year with a short blog about my trip to Colva, Goa.
The year ending 2006 was about aviation and that was my most prolific year of blogging.
2007 ending was about Singapore's New Year and I wrote hoping that humans would evolve and come out of this madness that overtook the region. Safe to say we haven't evolved even the tiniest bit so far.
2008 end piece was about an air show in Dubai, nothing hugely interesting.
2009 was about a visit to Bangkok. By now I had moved into a bit of travel writing. Maybe I was losing direction.
2010 awoke me. Showed me the dark side, personal loss of dad, chikungunya hit me with a vengeance, mom's health went erratic recently and so on. All well now. Sundarbans was a much needed release mid year. Dolphins kept me sane and focused. Working for their cause gave me inspiration. In future if you read or see me doing lots for them, know for certain that its them that matter, not I. Peace be with you!

SUNDARBANS TIGER CAMP

2010-09-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

(A young Sundari tree, Sundarbans is named after this mangrove tree)
(click on pictures to enlarge)(Videos are poor quality when expanded, need to upload to youtube and embed sometime!)

This blog is a continuation of the previous one titled: "Sundarbans-World's Largest Mangroves". I was on a country boat in my last line of the previous blog, going from Pakhirala, to Sajnekhali Tiger Camp on Sajnekhali island where I was to stay. The boat went across the channel first to a mudbank on Satjelia to pick up one more person who worked at the Tiger Camp before cutting across the narrow channel to arrive at Sajnekhali. I was well and truly in the middle of the tide country, as it is called, due to the fact that low and high tides has large scale impact on people's lives in the Sundarbans low lying Islands on a daily basis.

(Tide country and its mangrove islands)

The signboard at the entrance to the jetty said "Sajnekhali Tiger Camp" an indication that one had reached tiger country, and although this part of Sajnekhali is in the buffer zone, tigers are known to wander around here. Dragging my light luggage on a fenced off brick lined path, I obtained a forest permit to stay at the Tiger Camp guest house. The permit section of the Forest Department is on the left of the entrance. Paperwork took very little time and I was keen to head on in for a shower, having spent the morning under the Sun in the open. It was time to do what tigers like to do, cool off in water, or so I thought. Continuing on the brick lane, I came upon this old building, not looking too well in appearance, with a staircase leading upstairs to an office and the guest rooms area. The friendly manager of the Tiger Camp was away getting my room cleaned it seems but was happy to see me upon his return, I was the lone occupant of the entire complex, giving him some work to do in this lean season. As I said before, not too many people head to the Sundarbans in summer but I dare say it was much cooler and definitely far more pleasant than busy, noisy, polluted Kolkata (calcutta).

(Basic room)

I was led to this room that has a basic bed, a side chair and a writing table. If one keeps the windows open during the day, some breeze will come in although the uninsulated tin roof keeps the inside warmer than the outside. Tiger camp is run on solar power that is used mainly during night times. Limited use is allowed during morning hours. There is a back up diesel generator if all else fails. The manager guided me through everything, I was to use the shower (cold water only) which was drawn from the salt water river. Only the wash basin has fresh water for brushing teeth or for lathering for a shave. Fresh water is supplied in boats that come in now and then from the mainland and hence a precious commodity on these islands. I was reminded to be judicious about fresh water usage. The manager said, making all kinds of gesticulations with his hands, that I was to shower first with the salt water and then 'rinse' myself with a few mugs of fresh water from the wash basin tap! He showed me the electrical points and the fan and a small balcony at the back end of the room that overlooks a fresh water pond. He told me that lunch would be ready by 1PM and asked if I had any preferences. I left the menu decision to him, knowing that resources and vegetables were scarce. I just told him to keep things simple and local.

(River cruise boats from Sajnekhali-I went on the white one on the left called "Madhumati")

(Ramakrishno at the boat wheel house)

I had a restful morning, catching up on a short mid morning nap, to shed all that earlier travel tiredness. A bit dazed but otherwise awake, I wandered over to the mess hall for a quick simple lunch consisting of some local vegetable on the side and Dal (lentils) and rice. There was french fries on the side too! The Bengalis love their potatoes and this is available in plenty throughout the state. Its a sort of staple for them. So far, since my arrival, it had been deathly quiet, there wasn't any sound at all. If there was anything lurking in the forest beyond the steel fence that separated the tiger camp guest house and the mangroves forest, I wouldn't have known.

(New growth mangroves near the water's edge)

In the afternoon, I was re-introduced to this young fellow Ramakrishno, he was the same person who'd brought me from Pakhirala in that rickety country boat. He was going to be the boat captain on the river cruise of the Sundarbans. Boat permits and forest entry permits were obtained at the same place near the entrance and accompanied by a Tiger guide, we set off. We navigated the waters, Ramakrishno in the wheel house, myself and the tiger guide on the outside deck, first heading North and then North East around Sajnekhali Island, passing numerous creeks and narrow water ways that meandered in and out of the mangroves. Some of the creeks are narrow and the main channels between islands are rather wide, sometimes 3 kilometers and more in width. Tigers here are expert swimmers and have been spotted swimming across wide channels from one island to the other.

Along the way on the main river channel, we saw many types Kingfishers, Cormorants and the guide pointed out areas of old and new growth mangroves. I wasn't going to see any salt water estuarine crocodiles, I knew that they normally come out and bask in the winter sun but hide somewhere inside the cooler foliage during summer. Sometime after meandering around at slow speed, we came up to the jetty of Sudhanyakhali, Tiger Core Zone.

(Entrance gate to Sudhanyakhali Tiger Reserve)

The jetty was exposed but the pathway from the entrance gate, leading into the jungle was fenced off on both sides. Near the entrance I came upon a shrine, dedicated to Bon Bibi, a female deity and her brother Shah Jongoli. Honey collectors who foray into the jungle during collecting season just before the monsoon, never do so without first invoking the blessings of the deity as she, Bon Bibi, is the keeper of the forest. Without her protection, Dokkin Rai would make mincemeat out of you. Or so, the legend is told. Dokkin Rai/Ray apparently takes the form of the Tiger of course. The legend of Bon Bibi is interesting. I did not think that I would come across a Hindu looking deity, worshipped as the Hindus do, but by mainly Muslim honey collectors whose prayer is a strange invocation using Islamic phrases. Instead of writing the entire story of Bon Bibi again, let me make a link here to a wiki article on this here

.

(Bon Bibi shrine at entrance of Sudhanyakhali-also seen is her brother Shah Jongoli and Dokkin Rai as the tiger)

I paid my respects to Bon Bibi as she was the protector of the forest. It was my way of thanking the forest itself, just for being there, as a habitat for animals and birds, for purifying the air, for being an excellent carbon sink and so on. It was a blessing just being there. The lane led to a watch tower that overlooks a mad made water hole. The forest department has a small garden with hibiscus plants. One of them was in full bloom with lots of Hibiscus on it. Climbing the stairs to the tower, I was told that this place had reported a number of tiger sightings in the recent past. The bulk of my afternoon was going to be spent sitting here watching for anything that moved. Although there was cell phone coverage (surprisingly), I switched it off completely. No way was I going to disturb the completely silent forest or it's inhabitants. There are places on the planet where one can go to and just hear oneself breathe. This is one of those places in the non tourist season.

(Fenced off lane and the watch tower on Sudhanyakhali)

(The 2 female deer at the water hole)

Two female Chital deer appeared slowly, looking this way and that. Shortly thereafter a young Stag with magnificent horns came out of the bushes too. I watched them as they circled the water hole, graze on lush grass under a tall tree that had a rather large, quiet, dozy changeable hawk eagle on it. The Hawk Eagle didn't move for ages. A water monitor lizard appeared from the bushes as I watched the deer get closer to the watch tower. The water monitor also circled around, looking for an easy entry point and having found it, slipped into the water for a nice swim. Time went by and the monitor made an exit, waddling his frame across the semi wet mud to slink off into the undergrowth, probably for a much needed nap!

(Video-Monitor lizard taking his walk)

(Stag arrives)

Suddenly the jungle got noisy. A large family of Rhesus monkeys showed up from behind us, jumping over the tall fence with ease. The large male looked like he was the boss as he led his group on a feedings frenzy. He installed himself on one of the branches of the Hibiscus tree, it could barely hold his weight, and began to pluck and eat them. I watched in amazement as he polished off every single flower! A young male came up the tower to take a look at me. Not impressed, he sat on a railing outside on the watch tower's open deck area and munched on something he'd stuffed in his face earlier. He didn't show even the slightest fear nor interest as I filmed a short clip of him from up close. The dominant male then came closer to the water hole and began to forage for things that had fallen from the trees.

(Monkey King in the middle of the hibiscus tree)

The Stag and his girlfriends were also nearby. I'm not sure what happened next, my reverie was broken. The male shouted out a warning and climbed the nearest tree faster than I could say tree. All the monkeys went up various trees. My tiger guide whispered that it could be a tiger lurking around. The stag got agitated and thumped his foot a few times on the ground and then took off running a short distance followed by the girls. The tiger is an intelligent creature blessed with a fabulous sense of smell. I knew he'd never come out because he had sensed us. We were downwind of him and he would have smelled us from a long time, perhaps from when we first got to the tower. This moment seemed magical, even just imagining a tiger in the neighborhood.

(The young stag, a little disturbed)

As the afternoon wound down to a calm early evening, we set out again, back to a slow meandering cruise down to Pakhiralay. The Guest House manager had called to say that he was coming across and we could have some tea together at the tea stall near the Pakhiralay boat jetty. As we negotiated the waters at almost idle speed, we saw fighter jets swoop down into the water. I'm talking about the magnificent Crested Serpent Eagle of the Sundarbans. They were circling around over the water and would swoop down in an aerobatic display, snatch fish from near the surface and fly away. With the Sun at a oblique angle, the cool breeze off the water, the mangroves gliding by, predatory birds putting on an aerial display, this was one of those evening that I would wish to have lasted for eternity.

By the time we landed on the jetty at Pakhiralay, it was getting dark. The Manager and I had our cup of tea while I paid the boat owner for the trip, he also owns a shop there that had a generator in it. I watched as people gathered around to welcome a new piece of equipment. It was a soft drinks cooler for his shop on a cycle van and we watched the excitement of people unloading and installing this cooler. Another piece of modernity to these parts, perhaps to cater to the droves of tourists that would appear in the peak season. We waited for a water tanker boat to come by and pick us up, first stopping at Satjelia to drop off Mr. Tiger Guide and then turning towards Sajnekhali to drop us off.

I went in to freshen up and then came out to enjoy the complete darkness, standing at the railing of the long balcony. The low power light coming out from my open doorway couldn't cut through even to the edge of the balcony, it was that dark. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a large form run on the ground, dodging sharp mangroves roots coming out of the soil, and climb up the tree not even few feet away from me. I was standing perfectly still. It came up to my face level. It was large, furry, with a long bushy tail, a giant squirrel as the manager told me later. It paused for a second before clambering on to the tin roof, raising a racket as it ran across it. I wandered over to the dining room where I was met at the door by junior Sher Khan, the tiger of his domain, a kitten that had been left by some villager on this Island and lived in the guest house.

(Junior Sher Khan)

A gentleman who worked as a guide to the Sundarbans dropped in for a chat. He was staying over for the night, having lodged his naturalist-guest from Europe at one of those swanky "tiger Resorts" on another Island. Over a simple meal he told me that he'd been coming to the Sundarbans over many decades and this, he felt, was the most peaceful environment that he had ever seen. He had just come off a Pan India tour for his company when this foreign lady dropped in and asked for an English speaking guide to the Sundarbans. Apparently he cancelled his leave application and seized on this chance to come back again to the Sundarbans, that's how much he loved the place and it's inhabitants. Junior Sher Khan was happy to nibble on the tit bits I gave him and he got a good scratch massage from me later.

(Sun going down in the Sundarbans)

I went to bed in peace, with the mosquito net in place, athough I did not find any flying around. Other insects invaded at night, I was told, and therefore wisely used the net. I was woken up early in the morning by a loud racket. A large family of Rhesus monkeys had come marauding. They were shrieking and running all over the roof. It was like I was in the middle of a war zone. Good wake up call, this. I wished I was staying longer but this was one of those in-between trips that I had squeezed in. I was needed in Bangalore the next day and had to scoot off the same way I had come into the Sundarbans. I'd go back there again, at every opportunity I got. I need to give back to that precious eco system, in whatever way I can. I also want to see if I'm lucky enough to spot my favorite Gangetic Dolphins and the Irrawady Dolphins.

(Rhesus monkey who didn't care for my filming)

Sundarbans is a fragile eco system, one that is being affected by climate change. Cyclone Alia in 2008 did a lot of damage and flooded the area with salt water rendering many fields barren. Salinity has moved up from the sea in the South and into the river systems. Species with poor tolerance to salt water, such as Gangetic Dolphins, will be affected. I would suggest all my readers, most of whom are lovers of nature and wildlife, to come and visit the Sundarbans. Come here for the Mangroves, come here for the fresh air, come here for the natural wonder that this place is. Don't come here looking for tigers, chances are that you'd have better luck sighting them in the jungles of peninsular India than in the Sundarbans.

If you do see Sher Khan, pay him respects quietly, he deserves his place in the Sun. This is a peace of heaven, as Bittu Sehgal said in his comment on my last blog piece, let us keep it that way. Come here in peace, leave nothing behind except a piece of your soul that will invariably attach itself to these magical mangroves. For newbie readers who plan on visiting or telling your friends about it, please tell them to leave their plastic bags at home. Please take your garbage with you, back to your origin or to Kolkata at least, for disposal. Use resources very carefully, leave as little footprint as possible. Sundarbans doesn't need our sympathy, it needs our understanding and respect.

SUNDARBANS – WORLD’S LARGEST MANGROVE

2010-06-19T01:58:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Sundarbans, the World’s largest mangrove forest, famous for its chief inhabitant – the Royal Bengal Tiger, on a hot morning in April 2010. Now, getting here can be an adventure and perhaps a challenge in itself, because of the remoteness of this place. If you look at the map of India and its Eastern border with Bangladesh, you’d notice a string of marshy islands with hundreds, perhaps thousands of minor rivulets cutting in and around the various islands. These low level islands constitute the Sundarbans- a word in Bengali that means “beautiful forest” but the name is actually derived from a mangrove tree called Sundari, which also means beautiful. There are many ways of getting here from Kolkata, the nearest major city, all of those ways are somewhat complicated but I will provide those details at the end of this blog. Here I am going to recount the route I took and the method that seemed the shortest way to get to the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve on Sajenkhali Island.

(Islands of the Sundarbans)

I rented a vehicle, air-conditioned of course, the April heat this year being exceptionally hot on record, I was not going to rough it out like I would have in my younger days or in better weather. I don’t mind roughing it out once I get to my destination but if I can avoid a rough ride to get there, I’ll do it any day. Driving down, one heads South from Kolkata on a narrow state highway that passes through the outer fringes of Kolkata, passing through stinking areas of leather processing plants, brick kilns, small and very congested fish and vegetable markets, grubby satellite towns and so on. After about 40 kilometers from Kolkata we seemed to have left everything behind and all that I could see were vegetable gardens, water pools, canals and for some time we paralleled a river that was quite polluted, a river that leaves India and goes into Bangladesh at some point. Apparently it’s our polluted gift to the people there!

(Chimneys belching smoke-brick kilns)

The small villages of Bengal are neat, with mud walled huts and clean surroundings, a far cry from dirty villages that I have seen in many parts of Southern India. These villages were neat and tidy and one is surprised at the level of cleanliness after leaving the dirty polluted environment of a big city like Kolkata. Each mud house has a small pond near it, called a “pukur”. I suppose this water is used for many things, I saw people swimming in it, bathing in it and even cleaning their vessels and clothes in it.
We passed through several such villages, some of them the driver knew by name and most he didn’t. What mattered to me was that he was able to find the route correctly, even choosing the right forks in the road and so on, since signboards were entirely missing.

The last town and it’s a really small town is Basanti and possibly the last place where one can use their ATM cards to withdraw cash, I saw a new one being installed in the town, off the main highway, at the State Bank of India. 10 Kms from Basanti is the waterfront, a place called Godkhali where one can park their hired cars for a fee, at sheltered car parking areas. A short distance away at the waterside is a bus stop type shelter for the country boats and water taxis that ply between Godkhali and Gosaba. Gosaba is a large island and gateway to the Sundarbans. Overloaded, open to air/sun ferries with people and bikes cross the waterway between Godkhali and Gosaba, one look at the engine and one can start praying straightaway to their favorite God because the entire thing looks too rickety to support that many people.

(Country boat before people, livestock, motorcycles etc get on it)

The system is strange, they go a short distance and collect more people from what looks like sand bank and then cross a larger section of water to Gosaba. When one gets off at Gosaba, a guy with a wooden table sits at the point of exit and I noticed that everyone placed a One Rupee coin on his table as they exit. I too did the same, do as the locals do, I thought. One Rupee is a great deal for 20 minutes in the Sun on an overloaded country boat indeed.

Now, just so that I don’t scare the bejesus out of you readers, let me tell you that if you are in a group or booked through a resort that’s on Bali Island, one can proceed by a covered vessel that starts from Godkhali to the resort directly. I was alone and did not want to take one large boat to go to Sajnekhali, that’s where the Government run Forest Guest House is, inside the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, where I planned to stay. For one person, it would have cost me a few thousand Rupees in this offseason. Anyway, the adventurous side in me wouldn’t have it. I really wanted to experience this as the locals do.

Once on Gosaba, I was told that I needed to take a “van” ride to the Southern part of the Island and catch another water taxi to Sajnekhali. So, I set off to hunt for a van. On the way, I passed through a small lane market, bustling with people and goods exhibited like a fair was going on. This seems to be a normal affair everyday, with Islanders flocking to buy everything from medicines to groceries to Vegetables and fish of course. At the end of the market, it just suddenly stops, I spotted a State Bank of India with an ATM there! Imagine, you are in the middle of nowhere, village island at the edge of the Sundarbans and there was 21st Century convenience! That euphoria was short lived when I found out that the ATM had broken down and had not been fixed for some time! Carrying some cash is a prudent thing to do when you are going to visit the boondocks.

(Riding on a cycle van through Gosaba)

Backtracking to the market and not seeing any “van”, I asked a local yokel where I could find a van and being a good Samaritan that he was, led me to a group of cycle rickshaws at the stand and told me in Bengali and sign language that I had to get on it. This cycle rickshaw is a bicycle hinged to a flat bed made of wood. One sits all around it, I believe 9 people can share a ride! I thought that this wiry bloke on the cycle rickshaw was going to take me to another place where one could continue in a Van. It struck me a little while later, during the 45 minutes cycling this guy did, with me and my bag on the flatbed and trying a conversation, to realize that this contraption was indeed “the van”, it’s a cycle van, he told me, sweat dripping off his legs as he pumped furiously, speeding on the narrow road, dodging people and other “vans” coming from the opposite side.

(Cycle van perspective)

The two videos posted above gives a good idea of what it feels like bumping along on the van for 45 minutes, going through many neat villages of Gosaba before finally ending up at what they call Sajnekhali ghat (or Pakhirala - another name for this place), the place to catch another open to air country boat to Sajnekhali Island, home to the Sajnekhali Tiger Camp, a part of the core area of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. This time, however, I was the lone paying occupant of the country boat and accompanying me were two others who worked on Sajnekhali island which has no other occupants or villages. Check out this video of the boat and its engine.

(Boat from Pakhirala to Sajnekhali Tiger Camp)

The next part will have stories about my boat trip into the Sudhanyakhali Tiger Reserve in the core area of the Sundarbans, my animal encounters in the Sundarbans, Legend of Bon Bibi and will have videos and more pictures of these things. Coming soon!

DID NOT DISAPPEAR!

2010-04-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just when people thought I’d disappeared, I’m back. Since my last blog about the Singapore Kite Festival, lots’ of things have been going on. Dad went into ICU first week of Feb and by 12th he was no more. I was in India for the whole time. Since that is a very personal event, I'm not going to say much except that my Dad was a simple, straightforward, decent and honest to the core. Qualities one can try and emulate. After going back home to Singapore, I started to get calls to come back to do interesting projects in aviation in India and so I came back on 20th March. Since then it’s been Bharat Darshan for me, touring all over the Country in this hot summer weather.

I started in Mysore, Bangalore and Goa, where my little apartment is, and then progressed on to Kolkata. Being the environment buff that I am, and particularly fond of mangroves and the Tiger, it was quite obvious that I’d end up in the Sundarbans, the World’s largest mangrove area. To say it was magical itself would be an understatement and a few lines cannot describe the place. This I will blog about as soon as I go back home to better Internet connection and when I get back to comfort of my desk. I have photos and videos to post on Sundarbans.

Then I had trips to Bhubaneshwar, New Delhi twice and Ahmadabad. There’s more work to be done, mostly with Government agencies and that needs plenty of patience. I’d probably break this on going trip with a visit back home to regain my sanity a bit. I’m so looking forward to more visits to wildlife reserves and Biospheres in the next leg. Wildlife and conservation is something that can get me going non-stop but that’d bore everyone else so I’ll end that topic here for now.

Since I have been traveling so much and working so hard in this trying (and tiring) climate, there’s not been time (or inclination) to blog. Hence this long gap. You can’t keep a good man down so I took solace in twitter, where I could micro blog and find instant gratification. So, anyone who follows me there would have tracked all my movements and stories, albeit in 140 characters at a time! I’m not on Twitter because of the likes of cattle class interlocutors like Shashi Tharoor or that lisping Kingpin of IPL (not any more) Lalith Modi. I don’t follow any celebrity for that matter, just normal people, some of whom have become real good friends now, in the real World.

There’s so much in India that one can be proud about and so much that one can be depressed about, not reached the stage where the former is at higher percentage than the latter, unfortunately. For me, the need of the hour is conservation of Wildlife, we are losing Tigers and forests and our source of water supply, Oxygen, carbon sink and so on. I am studying a more vibrant involvement with small NGO’s that are into this or get one started on my own. That’s a goal for me next, side by side with all the other projects that I am doing, with a plan to offset actively, carbon footprint as a result of such activity. There I go again, pontificating about the environment. But I guess I do so because I am passionate about it and feel the need to have this all -important issue on the front burner at all times. That way, something gets done and directly results in benefits to humans.

That’s it for now next blog will be about the Sundarbans, an area seldom visited during summer and hence pristine and empty. I was there and returned with a story to tell. Till then, Ciao!

SINGAPORE KITE DAY

2010-01-31T01:58:00.000-08:00

(Crocodile and Teddy Bear flying together)

Today was the 3rd Singapore International Kite Day, actually last 2 days of kite flying fun. I'd not seen them in the previous 2 years but they were in the field right next door to me and I just couldn't miss them this time.

There are 11 International teams participating in this festival plus Singapore. The crowd participation was good but not overwhelming. All in all, 2 days of glorious flying kites. I don't mean just the usual ones, there were kites that looked like huge crocodiles, Sting Ray, Teddy Bear and even a White Tiger. I guess the accompanying still pictures and videos are self explanatory.

The event Chief Guest was the defense Minister who is also Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. As usual, the event was well managed, there were tents for people to take shade under, these tents had fans running to cool off. There was ambulance on standby, portable potties for those that had to go and there were kiosks where one could buy kites, buy insurance and even clothes! All kinds of vending going on...

(LED Kite just as evening set in)

(White Tiger and others)

The Kite festival included night flying and this was a first for me. I had not seen Kites all lit up with LED lights take to the skies and do those wonderful dances they did. There was a dazzling display of kites with Lites at night, looking like a UFO invasion. Of course, as in all such events, there was loud foot tapping music, Lion Dance performances and hip hop routines on a stage. All in all, a good event to get lots of people together, of all racial mix and get them to fly kites. Well done! More pictures below:

BANGKOK IN BRIEF

2009-12-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

I'd like to take some time off, maybe I'll do that during the Holidays, to write about Thailand and Bangkok in particular. I know many things comes to one's mind when one hears the word Bangkok. For some it is a place for fabulous and cheap (if you know where to go) shopping, for some it conjures up images of hundreds of Buddha temples and there are those who use Bangkok as a short stop, a transit point to go further to their favorite resorts of Thailand.

(Bangkok skyline along Chao Phraya)

There's a lot more to Bangkok than just the many number of notable temples, great shopping and night life. That surely deserves another blog where I can flog lots of photos that I have taken. There are trips that I have made as an extension to Bangkok, going by road to Ayutthaya in the North, the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Thailand to visit the archaeological sites there and then coming back to Bangkok on a long leisurely lunch cruise, in a large river boat, observing life along the river. I am of course talking of the famous Chao Phraya river. Chao Phraya river deserves a blog by itself, being the lifeline of Bangkok and forming an important transportation link as well. I'll do justice to this later.

(Hotels on the Chao Phraya river)

(Chao Phraya River taken from top of Hilton)

This blog shows a bit of this river, as seen from the top of Hilton Millennium Hotel, where I went for a meeting a few days back. The pictures show parts of Bangkok, a small part of it actually, because Bangkok is quite a large city and sprawled out. While I wait to blog about the details of Bangkok, I do suggest travelers to Thailand to take a couple of days off to visit this vibrant city and enjoy the myriad delights it has on offer. These photos are from my phone and not the greatest, hope you like them.

As always, click on the pictures and you will get an expanded view of the same.

(restaurant on top from where I took the pictures of Chao Phraya and Bangkok skyline)

An important update about Visa On Arrival facilities in Thailand. Indians and citizens of various countries that are eligible for Visa on arrival facility can now apply for visa on arrival for free. There was a Thai Baht 1,000 fee earlier and one needed to carry this amount in Thai Baht. That fee has been waived for all till March 2010 with the aim of encouraging tourism in Thailand. Other conditions of the visa on arrival still remain. One must fill up a simple form on arrival, have a valid/paid for return ticket, stick a pp size photograph and also demonstrate (in cash) that you have at least 10,000 Baht for your stay or 20,000 baht if you are traveling as family. equivalent amount in other convertible currencies is fine. Producing your Credit/Debit card will not help. Do check the complete requirements on this Government website However, please note that this website has not been updated about Visa fee waiver yet. However, it is a fact, and this info can be found on any other travel website. I took 1,000 Baht with me this time without knowing that there was a waiver and they have put up bold signs at the visa on arrival counter that clearly mentions this fact.

To add: This info is for visa on arrival nationalities only. If you are from the USA, EU and other Visa waiver countries, you do not need to go through this process.

Once you come out of the Aircraft, you will find signs that say "Visa on Arrival" as you proceed towards immigration. First go to these counters and get the visa on arrival stamp on your passport (as mentioned above) and then go to immigration counters with this stamp on your passport along with the arrival/departure card (that the Airline gives you on board before arrival in Bangkok). After you clear immigration and get an entry stamp, you may proceed to baggage claim at the same level to get your baggage. Note that Visa on arrival takes time, especially if there are many applicants waiting. If there are any questions related to this, please ask me on this blog and I will try and address those based on what I know and experienced.

XMAS TIME IN SINGAPORE

2009-11-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

Its early Christmas for Singapore. They do all festive events on a grand scale here. Christmas season starts a month before the actual dates, bringing in an air of cheer all around. I have spent many Christmas's in different parts of the World but I must say Singapore goes overboard in decorations like no place else. All over this Country, during this entire month, one can find Christmas trees inside every mall, outside every mall, in other public areas and roads such as Orchard Road and coupled with fabulous lighting everywhere.

(Orchard Road above and below)

They call it Christmas in the tropics. It never gets cold enough here to feel a seasonal change into winter. It just gets rainier. That's not as depressing as, say raining and snow right through the long winter months in Europe and North America. Been there, done that.

(An Elf hanging around-should he not be helping Santa?)

This is my 3rd X Mas in Singapore and every year I have observed changes. Nothing is repeated in Singapore, there is always something new, some innovation, some new idea to bring people out on the streets and enjoy the sights. X Mas brings in hoards of tourists as well because the atmosphere is so cheerful, colorful and bright. If you are looking for retail therapy, you got to be in Singapore during this time!

(X Mas tree outside Paragon Singapore)

I grew up in Mysore and had a few Christian friends around. I won't go too much into the various denominations of the religion, but suffice to say I had good experiences with all of them. My childhood memories, what little I have left in my head, reminds me of the X mas day mass I used to go in that little neighborhood church, the choir singing in Kannada and English and the subsequent lunch. Of course one cannot forget the rum and raisin cakes (yup we got to eat that as kids!). My family was quite liberal in terms of everything, including participating in various religious activities of other religions as well. I am grateful for that upbringing.

(Outside Ion Orchard, Singapore)

I remember attending X Mas midnight mass in Trivandrum, Kerala, India, with friends of mine and the atmosphere that was so cheerful and charged. I could not sing the songs, they were mostly in Malayalam. Unlike Mysore, it never got cold or even cool in Trivandrum (Now Thiruvananthapuram). I remember my first white X Mas. I was attending X mas day prayers with friends in New Jersey 20 years ago and we had early snow, large amounts of it. That lent a completely different atmosphere to the whole event. It felt like real X Mas for the first time in my life, the cold, the white blanket on the ground and on tree branches, of snow on top of cars, it was truly magical. Maybe my mind always had this image of X Mas and snow, from reading articles and from comics. I always wished, as a child, to see a "real" X Mas. In New Jersey two decades ago, I finally saw that during X Mas. I had seen snow before but not on X Mas eve or X Mas day.

(X Mas tree inside a Mall on Orchard)

I had a few more X Mas in the tropics, couple of times in Florida where it was still shorts and T Shirt weather and once in the Bahamas. The Bahamas visit was a coincidence but it was X Mas time and everything else being shut down, I wandered around till I found this nice church. It did not have many people for mass but it had a nice air about it. The preacher noticed me and at the end of the service, he chatted up with me asking about where I was from and so on. He had that sing-song Caribbean accent. It was all so pleasant.

A few other places where we had a good time during Christmas was in the Maldives, although not permitted there publicly, I had enough friends who could organize a mean party. What was missing was Church services. Where I had a lot of fun during Christmas, without missing Church services and enjoying the atmosphere of Christmas was in Goa, a few years ago. I am so looking forward to doing that again once I start living there.

(From "Inside" an X Mas tree-they had hung crystal balls inside the skeleton)

Back to Singapore now. I took these pictures from my fogged up phone and they are not the greatest but hopefully they will show some aspects of how Singapore is all decked up for X Mas. I know many people lament that Christmas time has become very commercialized and all that. That won't stop me from enjoying the season. That's the World today, lets just make the best of it, I do, the season makes me feel good as I am sure it does others. I will be blogging before the end of the year, so I'll hold off on wishing everyone right now. Have a great December all!
More pictures of Orchard Road, evening time:

25 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

2009-11-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

This is my 100th post on Blog-Capt. Anup Murthy. Not counting my other Blogs on Blogger. I was in India last two weeks and it hit me that this year is an Anniversary of sorts for me.

In 1984, I was the Air Wing Best Cadet from Karnataka & Goa Contingent at the Republic Day Parade Camp and also had the privilege to march down Rajpath in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Air Wing parade contingent. During the camp, I was selected for the International Air Cadet's Exchange in Singapore. In June 1984, I, the de facto team leader of a four member NCC team, Cadet Under Office Anup Murthy, set off on an Air India flight that went from New Delhi to Bombay to Madras and on to Singapore on a hopping flight. We were hosted by the NCC of Singapore at that time and I remember many of the events that we participated in. The first place we stayed was the RELC Singapore on Orange Grove Road which is still there. Then we were shifted to an Army camp and later on to a local NCC cadet's house as part of the "cultural exchange". My first trip overseas was a free trip!

I remember what Singapore looked like back then, a small but very neat and clean place 25 years ago. It's spread out now but still neat. Orchard Road was the place to hang out and a quarter century later (for me) it remarkably still is The place to hang out, Orchard Road has changed tremendously and now is the glitzier than ever, a haven for shopping and eating and a place to see and be seen. This was the place where I bought my first Sony Walkman tape player. I also bought a swim suit for my sister who used to participate in University Swimming competitions back then. I remember buying a sari for Mom from a shop in Little India. Little India looks like any place in India now and on weekends, the crowds can outmatch any Indian town Bazaar.

What a coincidence that 25 years later and having lived in different countries and traveled to dozens of others, I now live in this Lion City Singapore! I had not given that a thought until I saw a TV program in India recently marking Mrs. Gandhi's death and they mentioned 25 years. I had seen Mrs. Gandhi at the NCC Republic Day Parade Camp and we gave a Guard of Honor for the visiting PM. I also remember meeting President of India Gyani Zail Singh, at the Rose Garden in Rashtrapathi Bhavan for tea as we the Best Cadet winners were introduced to him. So many memories, all tucked out in the corner of my brain and would have never come out if blogging wasn't around. So, my 100th post brought out so many memories of where all my International Travel started, that I had to re-write and re-edit a few times. As tiresome it may be for some of my readers to go through a long post, I had to do it this time.

I need to dig out the Shield presented by the Singapore NCC that year and paper cuttings of a local newspaper in Singapore that featured our team. I also made it on the Star of Mysore, a young upstart English evening daily paper in Mysore that featured an article on me that year. I now travel Internationally more than I ever did before. Even now, every time I go somewhere, something always opens my eyes wide and I learn something new. That's what I love about it.

2012 APOCALYPTIC BUNK

2009-10-24T01:53:00.000-07:00

All of a sudden mankind has realized that the year 2012 is going to be the end of this planet. Why? Because of a Mayan "Long count" Calendar that supposedly ends in the year 2012 and is misrepresented now as being the end of the cycle of birth and end of the World. The poor Mayans could not predict that a white European race, with their lust for Gold would come and pounce on them one day, literally exterminating their civilization. The Mayans don't seem to have attached any importance to this, though!

And then we have this bunch of apocalyptic believing religious orders, who wants everyone to think that Armageddon is just around the corner and we should all flock to their houses of worship (with lots of money to give away) in order to save themselves from this planet wide disaster. These guys suddenly put the Mayans on the map, a people whom they had discredited when decimating them in order to uphold their own “superior” religion and free the Mayans from their “primitive barbaric pagan” rituals. So, these "barbarians" had an accurate calendar which is now the focus of attention.

Add another element of these Internet doomsday prophets that make claims about a planet called Nibiru, that unbeknownst to us, will sneak by our planet, jump across and enslave us and use us to mine our planet dry before exterminating us. We have done that already I think, the Nibirans will find an already over mined polluted planet and fly away in disgust. Another claim is that the apocalypse will be due to geomagnetic reversal caused by a massive solar flare. That's a sure fire way of closing up business on this planet, right?

Now, enter Hollywood, with their marketing skills and special effects. Their latest offering is called 2012 from Sony Pictures. Their marketing effort for this film has been so effective that many people have been fearing for their lives literally. They have used all sources of pseudo-science and plain fiction, to reinforce the thought of the World coming to and end. They want all of us to go and watch this movie. I'll watch for sure, it's got some great special effects and some fine acting of people generally screaming and running around. All you have to do is tell the Americans that their gallon of gas is going to be $10 bucks and they'll be screaming louder than they would if it was about the end of the World. They'd scream from now till 2012!

The Internet is often an idiotic source of absurd news, bogus claims of scientific advancements and full of predatory doomsday prophets waiting to take advantage of the millions of gullible browsers. That explains the success of these Nigerian e-mail scams, promise of miraculous cures for diseases and of course the existence of our unfriendly aliens called Nibirans from planet Nibiru. Youtube is filled with Videos of “professorial” looking presenters who, so seriously and with a straight face, talk about this mysterious planet that NASA is hiding from all of us. All of a sudden we have people getting depressed, contemplating suicides and generally apprehensive of what’s going to happen to us in December 2012 when the Mayan long count calendar runs out. I can't believe that NASA is being inundated with people inquiring about this doomsday planet with this doomsday race on it.

So, NASA and Discovery Channel had to come out with statements to make people believe that this movie and the millions of website proclaiming this so-called end of the World in 2012 is just complete hogwash. Read about that in this link.

As for me, I will have a bucket of beer in the cooler on December 21st, 2012, so that when the Nibirans come, we can invite them to the party! Hope they bring the entertainment or they will have to listen to my oft repeated stale jokes. Lets get drunk and happy before we are put to work in the mines for them!

MOON MANIA

2009-10-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

Firstly, thanks to GVK and MBP community, now we Bloggers can post directly on Mysore Blog Park using our own google account. What an idea Sirjee!

The Moon is going to be "Bombed" in the next two hours I believe, so this post is really fresh, "Breaking News Ishtyle". It's got a lot of people in a tizzy. Not here in Singapore, the only thing we are interested here are the moon cakes that are really popular. No one is really talking much about it here or anywhere else. The minute the news of NASA scientists "Bombing" the moon came on TV, Twitter went crazy. The trending topic on Twitter all day has been 'Bombing" of the moon.

I wish NASA had used a better term, all they are doing is shooting a projectile to hit the surface of the moon inside a crater and hopefully that is going to throw up a plume of dust with water (hopefully) contained in it. Chandrayaan 1 already proved water exists but NASA's probe will confirm larger presence (maybe) of water in craters and other colder parts of the moon that perhaps receive lesser Sunshine. The poles are also their target sometime. OK, that's enough to make some heads spin around in the good old USA where many Tweeters have got their knickers all tied up in knots.

One of the tweets said that if stupidity was a crime, 90% of the twitter userbase should be arrested! He was so exasperated (as I have been) about the continuous profanity against NASA for "bombing" the moon. One rare guy suggested that the education system in the States be improved so that idiotic tweets did not look so idiotic.

They've now got people asking if the moon is going to break up and maybe chunks of it will hit the Earth. One tweeted asking if this was going to result in high tides and trigger Global Armageddon like in the movie "Day After Tomorrow". Then we have a female tweeting in despair and wondering if it is going to mess up her periods! One guy now says it's not cool, dude, to bomb the Moon. Back off NASA. One girl asks if we voted for this kind of sh*t? One guy asked a profound question. He asks "did we consult other countries before we decided to bomb the Moon? It's their Moon too you know". Wow, I am deeply humbled by this guy's magnanimity.

The latest tweets is a guy asking President Obama to stop this Moon "bombing" because Osama was not on the Moon. Oh boy! This all ties into the fact that President Obama was announced as the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner! That got the Moon Bombing tweeters into a crazy frenzy, letting loose comments like "Why did Obama get the Peace Price when he's about to bomb the moon?" One girl tweets about The Nobel Prize announcement saying "verrrrrry funny...now can we have the real announcement please?" I digress, maybe it's the moon effect!

Watch this space for boring scientific updates on the impact. Or for interesting funny comments from tweeters who can't get enough of this Moon topic! Or maybe no updates at all since we'd all be destroyed in this brouhaha!

UPDATE: Impact has occurred, probe has "bombed" the moon, scientific evaluation follows. There was no "plume" visible like expected. They showed a simulated fountain coming out of the crater but that was not visible in reality. Now for the fun part: I am packing my beach wear, sun umbrella and hop on Virgin Galactic (Thanks Richard Branson!) for a nice Lunar vacation! LATEST Tweet that caught my eye (from those expecting a huge plume of dust and ice particles): "Dear NASA, we are not impressed, we want our money back!" hehehe...

FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

2009-09-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

(Ferrari F1 mock up during road show in down town)

Formula 1 GP Singapore just ended and I am feeling tired, my body and mind is winding down from all that adrenaline that was coursing through my veins all evening. The action was fantastic, those who have only seen the race on TV like I have for a long time, really need to get to a race and watch it live. The sound, the speed, the atmosphere, the fun, nothing comes close to being there. This time I found myself at the Pit Grand Stand, opposite the pit lane and garages, meters away from the starting grid!

(Brazilian Samba dancers at F1)

The race was won by Lewis Hamilton followed by Timo Glock and Alonso and that’s common knowledge by now. I won’t dwell into the results part of it but will only say that there was plenty of drama. 14 out of 20 cars finished and there were some racing incidents including one where Force India driver hit Nick Heidfeld and both went out of the race, also a bit of excitement when Mark Webber’s brakes locked up and he went out of the track backwards and back crashed into a crash barrier, ending his race.

(F1 cars at the starting grid above and below)

Other than the thrills and spills, it was beautiful to watch Lewis Hamilton drive with clinical precision. He finished first, went past us punching his fists in the air, jumped out of the car at the end of his victory lap to take a kiss on his helmet, given lovingly by his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussy Cat Dolls)! What drama and what a finish.

(Travis rocking the audience, one more Travis video at end of this article)

Formula 1 GP Singapore is the only night race venue in the World. The event is not just the race itself but many other side attractions that are a week long, culminating in the race itself. The entire week is packed with F1 themed events and it is called "F1 Rocks" and involves live performances from World famous artists at various venues in Singapore. Some of the familiar performers were Beyonce, Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, Black Eyed Peas, Backstreet Boys, Travis, ZZ Top and Chaka Khan (oldies would know these last two for sure) and even Brazilian Samba dancers who lent a Brazilian Carnival festive mood to the event as the video above shows! Race day saw Travis, the band from Scotland, perform an hour before the race and I have a video of this in this blog below. They had all of us singing and dancing, belting out well known numbers.

(me on practice day at F1)

I have to blog a few things about the organization of this whole thing. Singapore is famous for efficiency and that was in full show during this entire event. There were free shuttle buses that connected some MRT stations and the entire exercise was seamless. No stress, no worries about getting to the race venue or out of it at the end of the race. There were huge crowds but very well managed, no one was pushed or shoved or crammed into buses like they do in cattle class. It was all so seamless. For that, and that reason alone, one should make a trip out here. There was easy wheel chair/disabled access areas, food and drink concessionaires, first aid stations, first class security and so on.

(Singapore Flyer-World's biggest Observation Wheel-bigger than London Eye, seen from Race seating)

When you enter the venue, on a donation of S$2 (Two Singapore Dollars) to a charitable organization, one was given a "survival kit" consisting of ear plugs and a plastic rain coat in case it rained. Without ear plugs, you'd be deaf by the end of the race. Singapore Grand Prix night race is run on a regular street circuit. Even with traffic diversions and restrictions there was no chaos and no stress. I just cannot compare this to most places in Asia or elsewhere. So, for this, I must say “Singapore Rocks!”

(Start of the Singapore Grand Prix Race notice the speed and sound-people without ear plus trying their best to plug with their fingers!)

The race itself is the crème de la crème of course. That’s what we all really look forward to in the end. There are three days of exposure to the Formula 1 cars, one practice day, one day for race qualifying. For those who are not clued into the race, qualifying is the day when drivers put their cars through the best timing possible and the car/driver with the fastest lap times during qualifying, heads up as “Pole position” on the starting line up (Starting grid). And the third day is the Race day. I went for the practice sessions, skipped qualifying to party with friends from India who had flown in to watch the race and made it to the actual race today, 27th September 2009. For those who missed this year in Singapore, I’d suggest a trip out next year if possible. It's simply worth a trip, to see Singapore, enjoy the events and the race, a hard to beat combination.

(Lewis Hamilton on the Podium excuse my poor video)

Bonus Travis Video at the pre race event:

SOUTH GOA – MOBOR - BETUL BEACH

2009-09-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

I’m fond of South Goa beaches. These include Colva (my new home to be) and heading south from there to Benaulim, Varca, Mobor (Cavelossim) and ending up at Betul beach where the River Sal meets the Arabian Sea. I wrote a bit about River Sal in my previous Goa blog here.

I am not against North Goa beaches that are well known to all like Baga, Calangute, Anjuna and so on but that’s not my game, its too white (population of Brits, European and Russian I mean), too commercialized, too crowded, too many things going on and very happening. For me, I’d like the quieter parts that South Goa offers. I won’t include other famous South Goa beaches like Palolem for now but let me give some glimpses Mobor and Betul here.

Mobor-Cavelossim (as it is known) has some fine hotels in the vicinity of its famous beach. The hotels are mostly for the well heeled and in a way keeps out riff raff. Some of these hotels have beachfront like property that looks like the Hotels own stretches of this beach but that is not true, the beaches are indeed public. Elite Hotels like the Leela Palace are on top of the list in this stretch and moving on down the list to The Holiday Inn and further to budget hotels nearby that are quite good frankly, although without immediate beach access. There’s something good to suit all budgets.

(Fishing boat at the mouth of the Sal and Arabian Sea)

My favorite time at Mobor is in the evenings. I like this a lot, warm waters gently lapping at your feet while you walk on the edge of the water and the soft sand of the beach. The sunset in the horizon, changing hues of orange to somewhat deep red before plunging below. The soft sounds of the waves and the gentle breeze. I like stopping by and watching little birds run behind small crustaceans on the exposed wet sand when the tide goes out and then they come running back when the waves return towards the beach. For me that’s what a piece of heaven would feel like.

(Sunset at Betul)

One can relax by the seaside into the evening and night, there are a few good “shacks” where one can order up cocktails, mocktails and whatever else one fancies. I like the starts showing up as the sky darkens, the breeze still soft and less humid. It is seafood paradise, Goa is, and I’d encourage everyone to try some of the local dishes. Vegetarians don’t despair, there are options available, although it may not be extensive. South Goa beaches are a series of villages by the sea, all very clean and some villages still offering some very fine examples of old Portuguese architectures in their Casas.

(Islets formed by the Sal and the Sea)

I like that short stretch of walk between Mobor and Betul beach, reaching a point where the River Sal meets with the Arabian Sea. The Leela is located at this spot. Its really picturesque. There’s Betul Beach, soft sand bordering the river Sal’s mouth and on the other side is a line of Hills. The beach itself has various small channels that bring in water from the river to the sea and vice versa. One can stand on sand banks in low tide and watch water all around the little “island” that you are on. Some of the pictures accompanying this post would help imagine this.

(Sunset over the sand bar)

I normally just take the village road that runs parallel to the sea, from The Madgao-Colva road past villages and rice fields, going South. In high season this narrow road can have lots of traffic going at high speed, so if you are renting a two-wheeler, wear a helmet and be careful! If you are coming from Madgao side, on the road going to Colva, you’ll see a lot of signboards showing either Leela Palace. Take a left and drive till you see Mobor beach or till you drive into the River Sal eventually because the road ends there! The turn off to the left, facing Colva beach side is at a cross road just before the famous Colva Church of Our Lady of Mercy. If you go past the Church (Church on your right side), you have missed the turn. Never mind, take the next left and that road joins up with the road that you missed!

Betul is famous for this "river meets sea" location. I have also seen tour operators who take people out in boats to watch for Dolphins in the area and also motor up the river to a fishing village and take a look at the fresh catch of the day. I’d just go there to un-clutter my otherwise cluttered brain and let the feeling of peace and tranquility wash over me.

DUDHSAGAR FALLS

2009-09-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

Dudh Sagar (Konkani words, also spelt doodh sagar in Hindi) literally means sea of milk. This is the name given to a waterfalls in the tiny state of Goa, in India. Since the water rushes down the hills and sort of looks white and foamy during the monsoon, it has earned the name as such. Of course there is a legend/myth around this name as well, like many places in India. In short, the story goes as follows. There was a princess who used to bathe in the falls a long time ago. She used to drink a jug of milk right after her bath everyday it seems (don't ask me why!). one day she was startled to see a handsome prince (what did you expect) who had stumbled on to the falls and since she was in the buff, she grew red in the face and poured the jug of milk in front of her into the waterfall. This milky white water shielded her for a brief moment that it took the attendants to drape a cloth over her and protect her modesty. Anyway, I am sure it was better told in a long and romantic version than my twitter style abridged version.

(Top of falls from a distance - click on all the pictures for an expanded view)

The falls has a total fall height of 1017 feet, the ecosystem around the hills and the falls is almost pristine, the mining activity has been at a fair distance away and thank heavens for that. The falls is located in the hills of Goa off a bumpy highway NH-4A, about 45 Kms from Madgao. The destruction of the road and red mud colors of the tarmac is a result of Iron Ore mining in the area and spill over from mining trucks that speed along this highway. I went on an earlier trip during the dry season and drove all around Goa. I can safely say that these mining trucks are best avoided, they drive at breakneck speed, are rash with their turns and sometimes you can get stuck behind a convoy of them belching thick black smoke.

(Not spectacular in dry season as one can see above)

Once you get off the Highway, it’s OK though. At Collem, one needs to get into an SUV and there are several of them operated by local companies there. “Normal” cars are best left parked. The terrain is muddy, rocky and no road exists in many sections. The only way is by these SUV’s that one can hire with driver either exclusively or by sharing with other visitors. This is all easily done. The SUV will take you to the falls and after an hour and a half, bring you back to where you had parked our car (or bus if you came by bus or any other transportation from Madgao. I believe there is a train service between Madgao and Collem. I am not sure of the frequency or costs as I have not experienced it.

Bhagwan Mahavir Forest surrounds the falls and the Forest Department collects money as Entrance Fee. I think it wasn’t more than Rs. 20 (less than 50 cents US). There are additional charges for cameras like they do in many places in India and these charges are based on the type of camera one has, an ordinary still camera is cheaper than video ones. Of course I find it funny. These days a lot of people just carry their cell phones that have great cameras and video capability too. That’s not charged. So, go figure.

(View from front seat of an SUV crossing the stream)

Riding in the SUV is great fun. The vehicle goes in and out of large depressions in the ground, over rocks and also crossing shallow streams. The drivers are good and what looks like a hairy piece of road is easy for them. I guess this is the exciting part of visiting the falls because once you get there, if the crowds are low, it is mostly quiet. You’d run into lots of monkeys in the wild but not much else (because of all the human activity) unless you got great vision or staring up at trees on the hill side. Maybe you’d spot something more exotic. All I saw were monkeys and spiders, both easily seen in my home town of Mysore. We grew up with monkeys as neighbors. I mean real monkeys, I’m not calling any of my human neighbors as monkeys, they were nice people.

(British built bridge)

The falls had enough water in it, although it wasn’t the season. However, crowds were absent (lucky me) and this tranquil place is best enjoyed with a cool dip in the pool at the foot of the falls. Looking up at the top of the falls, one can see an old Railway Bridge. That was built during the British occupation of India and the trains chugs down the hills, past the falls mid way, on it’s way to Goa or Karnataka on the other end of the line. The bridge and train are still in use as regular service, some people stop coming from Karnataka get off at the Castle Rock station and trek down to the falls.

(At the foot of the falls, a large pool is formed and ideal place to chill)

In the monsoon, when the falls is at its full glory, everything is wet and slippery so be careful and wear the right type of clothing. Watch out for leaches when you trek. Enjoy the bountiful nature around, there’s nothing there that will jump out of the scrubs and eat you so go ahead and be adventurous. Leaving the falls, I came across a resort on the side of the Highway, surrounded by greenery and thickly wooded and well maintained. There was a good restaurant on site with some nice food options. I believe that there were rooms for staying also but I did not stay back and continued on my journey. For those who have been there, I'm sure you had a good time. Others, I'd say you should make a part of your trip to Goa to do things away from the Beaches. There's lots more to Goa and hopefully I'll blog more about my adopted State.

Cross posting

2009-09-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging on my other blog: anupmurthy@blogspot.com. Here are the link addresses. Blogger in Singapore acts crazy and does not let me insert links and once again does not allow me and many other bloggers to insert pictures and videos. Something to do with my ISP Singtel (sounds of me banging my head on the wall).

Latest one about Mysore Airport:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/09/saga-continues.html

This one is about the YSR Chopper crash:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/09/sad-questions.html

This one is about the swine flu masks and the humor side of it:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/08/masks-everywhere.html

This one is about the Mysore Airport July update:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/07/mysore-airport-latest-as-on-jul-2009.html

News since then about Mysore Airport is that no operator has agreed to start any flights yet. The Airport is still on course for an opening ceremony on 15th September. State Government does not have any refueling facility at this Airport for now but in future when they actually get the storage tanks built and fuel available, they will supply at a reduced sales tax of 4% in order to encourage operators to fly into Mysore. I hope to do more updates on this soon.

For those following my blog, I apologize, you have already read all my blogs and did not need these links. I had resisted the idea of tweeting for a while, don't know why, finally I am on twitter with the handle: airplanetalk
Happy tweeting all.

MONSOON MAGIC - 2

2009-07-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

This continues from Monsoon Magic Part 1, click here to read.

Winding down the narrow roads of the Western Ghats with enough twists and turns to churn whatever is in the stomach, one finally emerges in the coastal area of Karnataka near Honnavar Town where the mountain road meets the so-called National Highway NH-17. The “highway” is quite narrow by International standards and was badly worn out and exposed in stretches. Swollen rivers and lakes were all around us as we drove North towards Goa, reaching a wet and windy Colva Beach (Colva is near Madgao for those familiar with the larger cities of Goa).

(Swollen river)

Monsoon is a lean season in Goa and one does not generally need reservations anywhere in any class of accommodation. We just walked into a hotel that’s a stone’s throw away from Colva Beach. Although Goa tries to promote “monsoon tourism”, I know why most prefer the dry season. In this wet season, the sea is very rough and has a muddy tinge, there are no beach shacks to have a drink and eat some fresh local seafood. The sand on the beach is wet and somewhat dirty with left over plastic covers stuck in the sand, remnants from the tail end of the high season. Asking around, I came to know that they (whoever they are) don’t clean the beaches during monsoon simply because no one really comes beach side. But this is also the best time to go to Goa since there are no crowds, restaurants are all open and seating easily available unlike during the high season and generally the entire place wears a deserted look, which suits me fine. If better promoted and if the Government cleans up the place a bit, this would be an ideal monsoon lover’s paradise.

The morning turns out dark and gloomy, looking out towards the sea from the hotel window it appears like menacing clouds are about to make landfall and attack with fury and that’s precisely what happens, just as I step out the door of the lobby for a short walk across the street to a South Indian Udupi style breakfast joint called Sagar Kinara (what else!). The strong gusty wind catches me unawares and breaks my umbrella. Holding the tattered remains of the same and getting drenched, I made it to the restaurant for hot Idli and coffee. It’s raining very hard by now. It’s as if a dam in the sky has burst open and water is literally pouring down. For those who want to experience real rain and get away from the rest of the parched country, this would be the place. For lovebirds, the sounds of rain falling outside the window, the ever-rustling sounds of the coconut palm, the dark gray clouds heavily laden with rain provides ideal conditions to stay indoors and snuggle. For those who love getting wet in the rain or don’t mind a bit of a soak, like me, nothing will stop us characters from venturing out at the slightest pretext. Just watch out for objects flying around in the wind and falling tree branches!

We ventured up to Panjim, the capital city of Goa. I think a separate blog is in order, to fully describe this little town that makes up the capital of this small state. I’ll do that when I go back for housewarming in November. There are too many things to describe about Panjim that can’t be done here. I love the Old Portuguese buildings that are all over, well restored and in active use centuries later. The waterfront areas, in particular the river Mandovi’s banks, have some fine examples of such architecture. One can walk along the river on well paved walkways and lined with gardens and have a first class view of the boats that ply the river leading out to sea on one side and on the other side you’d be seeing these architecturally aesthetic buildings and you’d continue walking all the way to Campal and the Goa Kala Academy. All this is for another blog. Back in South Goa 45 minutes of driving later, we stopped for lunch at the famous Martin’s Corner and I kept my eyes peeled out for celebrities but no such luck. Photographs of Indian glitterati are hung on the wall showing how popular this place is. I found the ambiance to be delightfully Goan with murals of Mario Miranda’s cartoons on the walls. I ordered Goan food, the staple fish curry and rice combination and that was simply great. I’d say the service was fantastic too.

Next day was the big day for us. The apartment was all done and delivered. The swimming pool is near ready as is the community center and gymnasium. The keys handed over and the paperwork done, it was time for a celebratory lunch. There’s a restaurant called Fisherman’s Wharf near Mobor beach that’s right on the river Sal. One can see the line of fishing boats berthed silently, waiting for the monsoon to end before the fishing season starts. The ambience and food were both good. Sal River had turned muddy like all others.

(River Sal from Fisherman's Wharf)

Now, Mobor Beach needs a special blog too, as it’s my favorite. You’ve got white powdery sand, nice seafront, classy hotels nearby and at one end the River Sal empties itself into the sea. It all sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? It is worth a visit to anyone who has not been there. After lunch we drove up to Ponda and after visiting the Laxmi Narasimha temple in nearby Veiling, which I go to every time I am in Goa, we headed back out towards Karwar, the coastal port town in Karnataka. Not finding a decent place to stay in Karwar, we continued on into the night, something I swear I’d never do again.

The same road, NH-17, had completely become a lunar landscape during the brief two days that I was away in Goa. There had been extensive flooding of the road, heavy rainfall, stormy winds, downed trees and power lines, you name it. The same road we had traveled earlier was unrecognizable. Driver and I had to keep looking for signs that said we were still on NH-17 as neither of us could remember the road being that bad just a few days before. Night driving is insane. Add copious rain, poor general visibility, stray cattle (even at night!) and humans running across poorly lit or sometimes even completely dark NH-17 and it adds up to be a dangerous recipe. What with blinding lights coming in the opposite direction from drivers who never dip their lights, ill defined sign boards and directions, and you know you are close to an impending disaster. Luckily we escaped some very close calls that night.

We snuck into Kumta, another coastal town not far away from Karwar and hunkered down for the night at a decent place. There’s a rest stop in between Karwar and Kumta and I’d recommend a stop here at the Kamat Yatrinivas restaurant at any time. I liked their breakfast and generally everything else on the menu. They’ve got a sugarcane juice machine and will make fresh delicious cane juice for you while you wait, for a low price of Rs. 12 a glass (US 25 cents!).

(Flying fox - hanging from a tree on the banks of the Payaswini - click on the picture for an expanded view)

The next morning looked promising, with the sun partially out, visibility reasonably good and it was only then that we could see the real damage the excessive rainfall in this area had done. Heading out South towards northern Kerala, we saw people marooned, away from the road, their houses and huts were like little islands in a sea of muddy water. There was flooding all the way South and the roads did not show any signs of improvement for the entire length of the Karnataka coast that NH-17 follows.

(Hanging bridge - still pic - over Payaswini River)

Five bumpy hours later we arrived in Kerala. Interior roads in Kerala were still good and we made good progress. Staying back in Kanhangad town and visiting the somewhat disappointing beach there and our social visit completed, we drove next to Kuntar village for more socializing. Kuntar is on the banks of the river Payaswini that had also turned red and was flowing strong. They’ve made a new suspension bridge that now connects the other bank of the river. It was fun walking across the bridge and fun to see the greenery all around. Bats hung in trees in hundreds near the water, noisy as ever. These were flying foxes and I’ve never seen them from that close up.

(Payaswini River)

Returning to Mysore via the hill town of Madikeri was interesting. Getting out of the nice Kerala roads, one encounters the Sulya-Madikeri road winding uphill, to be an extremely bad road. What makes up for this bone jarring experience is the vista. The hills all around, coffee plantations, the cool atmosphere and light intermittent rain followed us all the way to Mysore. The weather suddenly cleared up as we were just outside Mysore and the road, State Highway SH-88, was a real pleasure to drive on. The trip was therefore an overall success, bad roads adding to the adventure. I hope those who read this are prompted to visit Jog and possibly Goa; I heard the monsoon is getting weaker over the area now.

Magic has to wait a bit

2009-07-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

My Monsoon Magic Part 2 is ready but like many other people, I am having a tough time with Blogger and unable to post pictures and videos. Without being able to do this, I don't want to post the article. So, let's wait and see. In the meantime, I have an anecdote that I remember from my time spent with friends from Thiruvananthapuram. They were a hilarious bunch of people who would, especially after a couple of drinks, let loose jokes from Kerala, mainly targeting their politicians. We used to stay in Male', the capital of Maldives then and our drinking sessions were always fun, argumentative, loud sometimes and there were lot's of stories going around.

At one of these gatherings at a friends place, drinks in hand and snacks on the table all set, the guys started their stories, real anecdotes I was told. I believe the topic was about the Monsoon and how the moisture was trapped by the thick forests of the Western Ghats producing copious amounts of rain like it did this time as well. Apparently this came up as a discussion in the State Assembly when on a debate about deforestation, an MLA made a speech about the ill effects of deforestation and how that was preventing moisture from being trapped, resulting in drought like conditions and so on. A ruling part MLA stood up and rubbished these claims saying that there was really no evidence that cutting down trees reduced rainfall. He said that trees had no role to play regarding rainfall. He continued that he'd seen it rain many times over the open seas and that he had not seen any trees there in the middle of the sea. He sat down triumphantly, having scored a point that could not have been rebutted with a short answer from an MLA who probably could not explain further. Although I don't remember the names of the characters in the story, this just proves how this is the quality of people we chose each time in an election to run our States and Country.

While we always expect nature to live up to expectations and while it did for some this year and did not for a majority of the growing areas of India, there's not much that we do to help heal the planet. I do believe that trees are very important for rainfall to occur. I do believe trees are the greatest gift to the planet, they support entire mini ecosystems within their branches, give life, shade, shelter, homes, food and countless other supports to living creatures. This includes humans of course. They are pleasing to the eye and never fails to me rather calm and collected when I see trees. Monsoon provides the magic and turns all of India green, in a good year. This has a been a mixed year so far. I hope my monsoon magic part 2 can be uploaded soon, before the real monsoon completely runs out of steam!

MONSOON MAGIC PART-1

2009-07-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

It’s been bad news about the deficit rainfall in the Northern parts of India so far this year. What started as a slow and perceived deficient rainfall even in Southern India, especially coastal Karnataka and Goa, ended up being surplus by mid July. Although late, copious rains have filled the State’s reservoirs. I witnessed heavy rainfall in coastal Karnataka, Goa and generally the Western Ghats area during this monsoon season during my travels there. I encountered swollen lakes and rivers, broken embankments and general flooding all over the coastal areas between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea.

(Muddy swollen rivers all along the roads in coastal Karnataka)

I took a short, well deserved break, in between hectic hospital visits with my dad and the timing coincided with the delivery of my new apartment in Goa, so I decided to head over there by road from Mysore. My plan, although hastily arranged, was to leave Mysore early morning and head up to Jog Falls by lunchtime and after a couple of hours there, we’d leave for Goa and reach the same evening. Jog falls is best seen when the monsoon fury is tapering and the Linganamakki dam over the Sharavathi River is full. Jog Falls is also the highest plunge waterfall in India, falling from a height of about 829 feet. My trip was in the middle of the monsoon and hence what I saw was quite a spectacle but perhaps wasn’t at maximum flow/volume of water.

(Jog Falls July 2009)

Setting out early in the morning from Mysore on an overcast day, the day promised to be a comfortable ride till we started to hit the roads going to Shimoga and believe me, astronauts may have had a better ride on the lunar rover on the lunar surface. Portions of the Highways were badly pitted. My driver also managed to nick a bus, damaging the rear door a bit, while negotiating through the crazy labyrinth of streets that make up Shimoga. It was just after noon when we reached Sagar and Jog Falls, which was perfect, schedule-wise.

I was told by friendly local touts who hang around offering to take photos of people with the falls in the background, that one can view the falls from at least 5 different places. I managed two locations on this trip, the idea being not to spend more than two hours in Jog, after all I had to head down the mountains to coastal Karnataka and Goa the same evening.

(Here's a short video I took of Jog Falls)

The main view of the Falls is from a viewing area directly in front of it. The tourism guys have built platforms and steps to accommodate a large number of people who come to view the falls. The main area also has some accommodation facilities and restaurants. Another popular viewpoint is the one from across the main viewing area, in a place called the British Bungalow. I guess the Brits built it during their heyday in India, the small Bungalow now eclipsed by a large new edifice that will serve as an inn or hotel in the near future. If time permits, I recommend an arduous climb down the steps to the foot of the falls when the weather is right. Don’t forget the even more arduous climb back, up to the car park/bus stop area! I had done this trek long back and it was more arduous then, I don’t remember the steps being as good as it is now.

(Another short video of the falls from the main viewing area)

What was mesmerizing was all the mist created by the water falling from such a great height. Clouds of heavy mist would drift in and out, occasionally blanking out the view of the falls and the surrounding hills completely and then vanishing mysteriously. There was intermittent drizzle from the rain, nothing that drenched us but enough to create a magical atmosphere overall. It's no wonder male and female leads in Indian movies break out into song and dance routine in such locales, the environment makes one want to sing and dance! I wouldn't try it, having been born with mediocre voice and two left feet..

(View of the steps leading down to the foot of the falls and the falls viewed from British Bungalow side)

The weather, the journey so far and the views - all combined to give me a good appetite as we headed for one of the two restaurants that were available at site. While the food wasn’t great and ambiance lacking, a hungry stomach can pack in anything. But this is where we as a country, lose the plot. Karnataka tourism can do so much more to improve facilities in such a popular tourist destination but one wonders why nothing is done.

The best thing was the timing of this trip, although unintentional, it is during this time that few people visit the falls. Crowds of visitors had stayed away, maybe because there weren’t any holidays around the corner and perhaps most people visit during the end of the monsoon period. It was quite peaceful for us and that made the visit quite memorable. I had not seen Jog Falls in twenty-five years and had quite forgotten how spectacular it really is. I hope the pictures and video does some justice. The trip down the Ghats to Goa and back will be posted next. That was one rough ride I'd never forget!

Random Memories

2009-06-02T03:20:00.000-07:00

There's been too much going on recently, that's good, in a way. So when I got some leisure time, a single malt with Ice in my hand and a surprising urge to write, I had no topic to focus on! So, here are some of my random memories of my travel days gone by.

A decade back when I did a lot of exciting trips, there was no blogging and I never kept a real diary of events and anecdotes that I should have written down somewhere, even on a piece of paper. In some cases I did record things in writing and in some cases I simply forgot to write. One such event was my adventurous trip into the jungles of Honduras, in a retired American school bus turned public transport, sharing seats with entirely Spanish speaking rural Hondurans and their chickens on bumpy mountain roads. I was on my way to see the Mayan ruins of Copan Ruinas, a fine example of the Mayan civilization with one of the best recorded historical evidence of how the Mayans lived. This is now just a slowly fading memory. I knew a smattering of Spanish then, having listened to tape recorded manuals for learning Spanish, available freely at the Miami Central Library in Miami, Florida (where else?). That was enough to equip myself to travel to a country that spoke no English and to wander around the little villages so equipped! That's another story to write, I know.

Maybe I should re-look at those photographs and try and remember little things to put down in a blog. The archaeologist hidden in me says, go and dig - Unearth those pictures and tell your story, my mind urges. After I take another sip of this fine single malt whiskey, I tell myself but never manage to go on this "dig".

There was this time, eight years ago that I went into the mountains in Central Cyprus to visit the famous lace making town of Lefkara. I still have some lace items from there hanging around. No blogging then either but I do have a few things written down for me to remember. That's a visit that I had enjoyed as well, the archaeologist hidden in me had the most fun. Lefkara was actually a diversion. My main goal was to visit one of the best preserved Neolithic settlement in Eastern Mediterranean, a site more than 8,000 years old (no, there is no mistake in the zeroes following 8). This place is unique in the sense that other than the fact that Neolithic people lived as a well organized society, there is also direct evidence, perhaps for the first time, of humans and cats living together. Human and cat remains have been found in graves, side by side, indicated a "master and pet" relationship. I am not surprised though, human - animal domestic relationship in my opinion, perhaps stretches far back in time than that. but here was direct evidence. Earlier schools of thought put the cat as being domesticated and living with humans, as recorded in Egyptian history. That actually came much later that's much later than this settlement in Cyprus. The bones of the cat are intact and there is no evidence of the cat having been hunted and killed. People used to be buried with their "wealth" and items that they held close. Anyway, that's another story for another blog. I've shot loads of pictures, need to dig them out too.

Let's see. Where were we? Oh yeah, I'm still in the "archaeology mood" and I just remembered another trip done around the same period. That was an inadvertent trip, afforded to me due to a technical glitch in the Airplane that I was flying (as pilot). I got stranded in Ahmedabad, a city in the Western State of India for a couple of days. This was a ferry flight and no one was really inconvenienced, matter of fact this trip ranks among my most favorite ones and became a part of my cherished memory.

I had been somewhat familiar with the so-called Indus Valley civilization (which now is a misnomer since the Saraswathi river had hundreds more civilized settlement 4,500 years ago than the Indus Valley). So, some drive away from Ahmedabad I stumbled into, what I would call, a spectacular site of ruins of the ancient city of Lothal. It took some doing to get there since most taxi operators in Ahmedabad, sadly, were not even aware of this place. Lothal was a rich "inland" port, a unique place of commerce and civilization around 2400 B.C.E. I know this "Inland port" statement of mine may have evoked some curiosity, that's got to wait till I write about it or one can find out about that on the net of course. I shot loads of pictures here too and I promise that's going to be a part of another blog.

Maybe I should write about the time that I fell into the river accidentally and broke my finger in Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka while ogling at Elephant herds, grounding me and the plane for some time. I remember the 6 hour ride back to Colombo for medical attention, multiple fractures that too. That incident gave me the opportunity of going uphill to Kandy to see the Buddha's relic (Temple of the Tooth) and to wander around some parts of Sri Lanka, a country I have visited many times.

Or maybe I should write about the trip to Guatemala with the threat of banditos lurking around in the hills or maybe about that beautiful walk I took, around a crater lake (caused by a Meteor, eons ago) in Central Grenada surrounded by total silence and nutmeg trees, not necessarily in that order! The silence is only broken by sounds of birds in the trees and the crunching of nutmeg shells strewn on the ground crackling under my foot. That's another experience I can never forget. You'll find the tiny Island of Grenada in the West Indies, just north of Trinidad and Tobago - cricket fans would know this place.

I promise to write about all of the above. How about the fabulous years I spent in the Maldives flying around the beautiful Islands until the Tsunami hit us?....and the time we saw hundreds of Dolphins and I mean hundreds. So many Dolphins that actually caused a flotilla of sea taxis to halt in their position mid sea. These sea taxis are called Dhonies in Maldives and thay ply between the Airport Island to the capital city-Island of Male'. The taxi on both sides of the channel actually stopped and waited for the entire herd to pass, taking more than ten minutes. I can never forget that sight, of hundreds of Dolphins going by, some doing spectacular flips and leaps out of the water. I could actually have died of contentment and joy that filled me then, nothing more needed to live for, having seen what I considered quite divine. And I had seen them from so close that I could have reached out and touched one, standing near the sea wall in Male'. What else is there to see on this otherwise strange planet, when one has seen divinity? When I think of that scene, I still get goose bumps.

I didn't die, of course, still sitting here in my tenth floor apartment in Singapore, typing in between taking sips from my depleting glass. Strange things it does, to the mind, this fine single malt going smoothly down my throat. I can go on and on but that would be pointless. Maybe I should not promise to write these stories and maybe you should not take me too seriously and wait for me to write them! Who knows when that will happen? Cheers! Hic...

KOH SAMUI - THAI ISLAND

2009-04-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

It was a first trip for me, to Koh samui, an island situated in the Gulf of Thailand. I am sure many have heard of Phuket (Thai Andaman Sea), Krabi, Phi Phi and so on. Seasoned travelers would have heard of Koh Samui as well but many I know have heard about it but never been there. Here's a taste of Koh Samui.

First of all, you'd arrive on Bangkok Airways (or in my case, private jet) to this island. The airport has been developed, owned and operated by Bangkok airways. One can fly into Koh Samui from Bangkok or Singapore too (or in the case of private jets, one can fly in from anywhere). What is unique about this airport is the outdoor-open air hut style, typical Thai ambiance buildings that make up the main terminal building, immigration, baggage claim and pretty much everything else. The only air conditioned "hut" is the Duty Free. Weather in Koh Samui or just Samui for short, is tropical year round, just as one would expect Thailand to be. Last month it was a bit cooler in the evenings, pleasant breeze blowing in from the sea always. This video below shows an overview of the departure terminal after one clears Thai immigration.

I stayed in a hotel on the most famous beach on the island called Chaweng Beach. This strip has many hotel/resort options, many dining and party options and except for the sleaze massage parlors that can be easily identified, there are some good traiditonal Thai massage options as well. Night life is interesting, to people watch and hang out at the many theme bars and cafe's. This island is not as crowded as Phuket or that commercialized as Pattaya, at least for now, but is already one of the favorite destinations for travelers in Thailand. Chaweng beach is the most crowded, I saw a bit of Lamai beach, south of Chaweng and less crowded and much cleaner. Seafood options are many, on the beach, if only one walks up and down to look at the menu as well as the catch of the day in ice, inside small wooden boats. Food options on the main street are many and varied. I'd suggest local fare as always. Here's a video of Chaweng beach adjacent to my hotel, in the evening, in very low tide.

There are a few things that one can do in Samui. I'd suggest a one day tour of the Island in a tour bus. I took a tour like that and went to some of the interesting places on the Island. I found the first stop a bit wierd. There's a bunch of rocks by the sea and that's really nice. What's weird is that one rock formation resembles the make genitalia and a crevice in another looks like the female genitalia. This place is called Grandpa and Grandma rocks, for this reason. As usual, there are funny stories about how this place was named. One of them being two star crossed lovers who jumped off the cliff there and the only thing remaining were these organs. Here's a video of the area.

Next stop was something uniquely Thai, a temple monastery (Wat Khunaram) where a revered monk's mummified body is kept in a glass case in a meditative position. He gave up his body during meditation I was told, having predicted his own time of death. Then there's a visit to a coconut plantation where monkeys are trained to climb the trees and pick the right coconuts. Next stop was an Elephant ride park that is also the starting point for hiking up a hilly trail.The hike is a fairly steep climb and not very pleasant in hot climate, ending at a water falls and water pools that one can dip in to cool off. Here are pictures of the entrance area to the hiking trail and a small part of the water falls in the distance up in the hills.

A visit to the main town on Samui for lunch and then off to the big Buddha near the Airport. Here's a video of the Big Buddha.

The surrounding area of the Big Buddha has several other temples and I was surprised that the deities were of Hindu gods such as Ganesh, Shiva, Brahma and so on. Brahma is fine, one can see Brahma statues everywhere in Thailand, even Bangkok. Here are some pictures of the temples and shrines of the area.

There is another "must see" in the big Buddha area. There's a guy with a show room full of Alien and Predator sculptures (real looking dinosaurs as well). What's unique about it is that all the sculptures are hand made, using various parts from many junked motorcycles. Some of the Predator and Alien sculptures are really big, over 6 feet tall. Imagine if this was kept near your front door! They are so life like that I thought one of them was going to attack any minute. For all you metal heads out there, this is nirvana, and I spent a considerable amount of time gawking at the fantastic metal work. Click on the pictures to see brake pads, spark plugs, shock absorbers and so on, that make these sculptures! They are for sale. The challenge would be shipping, handling and re-assembly. The guy who makes them can do all this too.

There's lots more to do in Koh samui and in the neighboring islands. There's even a National marine park that comprises of 40 something islands where one can observe nature and get involved in snorkeling, kayaking, swimming in the sea and so on. Tours leave hotels very early in the morning for this trip. Cost of staying in Koh Samui can go from budget to high end. Eating out is not expensive and generally things are cheap. I'd suggest Samui as a destination to just go and hang out, do a bit of sightseeing but mostly for just hanging out at the beach and getting a relaxing Thai traditional massage for literally a song.

CAMBODIA AND ANGKOR WAT

2009-03-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places to visit is Cambodia. I guess everyone knows of my archaeological interests from all my previous blog posts. In the latter half of 2006, I had visited Siem Reap, cambodia (famous for Angkor Wat and hundreds of other Angkorean temples and cities) for a long holiday and blogged about the trip in three parts. You can find that here titled "Siem Reap, Cambodia" and second part titled "More of the Angkor Kingdom" and last part titled "Siem Reap Trip Ends". Click on each of them to be directed to the blog posts. Now, in the year 2009, I made a short return visit to Siem Reap. Last week to be precise! I had guests who'd never been to Siem Reap before. My previous posts have plenty of still pictures.

(Here above is a vdo clip of the inner courtyard of Angkor Wat now. They are doing a lot of restoration works in the Angkor Wat complex currently, being funded by foreign governments, saw a banner mentioning German Government aid for these works)

Information contained in my 2006 blogs on Cambodia is still relevant today because the details provided in them are still current. Almost nothing has changed except that many more hotels, shops and restaurants have sprung up. Tuk Tuk's (carriage pulled by a moped) still costs $2 anywhere in Siem Reap town and food is still cheap. Hotels are cheap as well, tourism is down like everywhere else. Very attractive for those looking for an interesting and adventurous holiday. This time I stayed at a slightly upmarket boutique hotel called the Victoria Angkor, rates being so affordable these days.
Terms of entry into the country are the same. E-Visa can be obtained online here and having that ensures that you spend very little time in line filling up on-arrival visa forms, paying fees and then having to standing in line at Immigration. E-visa is the fast track way of getting in.

(Above is a short vdo clip of a ride through Siem Reap town, taken from my Tuk Tuk moped-carriage. This is the central park area and houses the King's Palace which is not an extra ordinary building anyway)

This time I went in March, hot season actually and predictably muggy. It's all worth it at the end of the day. So, if you are remotely interested in history or archaeology, this would be the place to put on the top of your "must visit" list. I found a group who had just come to visit those temples where Angelina Jolie starred movie "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" was shot.

(Above is a vdo clip of the Bayon Temple complex, a part of it, taken from the upper-inner courtyard)

Backpackers hang around Cambodia because things are really cheap, there are loads of things to do on a lean budget. You'd find masses of whites on bicycles all around towns and the temple complexes. During my last visit to Siem Reap, I had described and photographed Pub Street, a common watering hole for many foreigners and expats living in Siem Reap. Pub street has expanded, the lanes and by lanes that feed pub street have improved a lot, adding many new restaurants and bars, all reasonably priced and wonderful street side ambiance.

(Doesn't the Mok look good?)

After a hard day of exploring, this would be a perfect place to chill out. Read my previous Cambodia blogs for details of Pub street and the food available there but one thing I'd strongly recommend is to try the Seafood Mok which is a seafood curry in young coconut. Usually served with rice, this is a complete meal, delicious and available everywhere. There are places where one can find the vegetarian versions of the same or sweet talk the waiter to get the chef to put in veggies instead of the seafood.

Here's a short vdo of one part of pub street at night ending with a shot of an Indian restaurant offering Kabab dinner.

MACAU, MY FAV PLACE IN EAST ASIA...

2009-02-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

I have been to Macau three times in the last two years and first wrote about it in my blog on April 21st, 2007 that one can read here and did a follow up on the same trip that can be found here. On my second visit there, I got to visit more of Macau (I spelt it then as the Portuguese had done-Macao) and posted a new blog called Return to the dragon which can be read here.

(At the start of the town center)
In 2008 I went there again because I do enjoy going there. As I had written earlier, Macau is not just about the Casinos although it has positioned itself as a country (China S.A.R.) promoting it's casinos more than anything else. This has actually led to a downfall as their tourism numbers have progressively gone down. In this economic down turn, China has put in restrictions for their nationals going to Macau and possibly prevent people from gambling away their money! This was on local news in Singapore recently. However, I think there is still a lot to do in Macau and is a perfect weekend getaway from SE Asia. If one is fond of colonial architecture and Heritage buildings, this is the place to see some fine restored samples, like the picture below illustrates:

I think one will find better room rates and lesser crowds now and therefore a good time to visit. While one is there, do make it to see The Venetian and enjoy the delights of being able to go on a Gondola ride inside the large complex, on waterways/canals built indoors with boutique stores lined on both sides. The Venetian is located in the Cotai strip and one can find free transportation from Macau ferry terminal to and fro The Venetian. One can shop, dine, gamble, take a gondola ride or just enjoy the many free performances that this place has to offer, all indoors and in air conditioned comfort. Take in the regular paid shows as well, this is the Las Vegas of the East.

(Inside The Venetian-apologies for the blurry picture, taken around midnight but looks like day time due to the artificial sky and lighting)

The above video was taken late night, indoors, in The Venetian.

On mainland Macau, here are some more options of things to do or places to go to, other than those mentioned in my previous articles. There is the UNESCO heritage town center that needs more exploration than I did last time. There's a typical 19th Century (Built 1889) Chinese house called the Lou Kau Mansion. Visiting the house gives a glimpse of how a typical wealthy trading family lived in those days.

(Inside the Chinese Mansion)

Another good place to visit is the A-Ma temple (featured in my April 21, 2007 blog) and I watched a Lion dance performance this time, something that one can catch during the Chinese New year time. A video of the area around A-Ma temple featuring a Lion dance troupe is featured below:

Right next to the Am-Ma temple and also visible briefly in the video above, is the Maritime Museum of Macau. This is a fascinating place for me, being a lover of the sea, ships and of course seaplanes.

This museum features models of old ships that plied the waters around Macau and also when the seaport was used for take off and landing of seaplanes in the 1940's.

Cathay Pacific offered Seaplane service between Hong Kong and Macau during that time. In 1948 Cathay Pacific seaplane service to Macau became infamous for the first ever hijacking of a commercial Aircraft by Chinese bandits who eventually shot the pilot and crashed into the water killing 26 of the 27 people on board the Catalina Seaplane. The lone survivor was the leader of the gang! Pictures below are those of the seaplane service and a data plate illustrating some of the history of the origin of aviation in Macau. Click on image to read.

All in all, another enjoyable trip to the Pearl River Delta, I made it back to Coloane' that sleepy village I talked about in my earlier articles. There's more to Macau!

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

2009-01-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

Towards the end of the year 2008, I made a trip with golfing enthusiast friends to check out what was available for golfing, in the Vietnam central coast area straddling the South China sea on one side and the Danang river inland. Danang city came to mind and we headed out there on a three hour flight from Singapore. Danang is famous for China Beach, a popular hang out place for American GI's during the Vietnam war and the location for an evacuation hospital made famous by the TV series that was aired in the United States in the 1980's called, what else, "China Beach". Danang was also a major Air Force base during the war, for US Aircraft based in Vietnam.

(Danang city area)
We arrived quite late at night. Danang is a small town and late night food options (or even entertainment options) are quite limited. We looked around for places that had been recommended by forums on the net, only to be disappointed that these were really non existent. Driving by a typical Vietnamese noodle soup shop, we decided that our real Vietnamese experience should start with a noodle soup dinner at a local shop. Ordering food was a challenge since no one spoke English there and none of us knew a word of Vietnamese. Payment was in US Dollars, change given in Dong-their currency. They convert at fair market value. Anyway, either we were really hungry by the time we used sign language and finger pointing to order food and it being past midnight, or the soup was really good, I don't know, but we gobbled it up hot and scalding before continuing on to our lovely hotel, The Furama Beach Resort.

(China Beach early morning)

(Golf course near the driving range)

The next morning we were up early, I was at least, and quick breakfast later, got a chance to wander around beach side taking in the early morning sun and cool breeze. I imagined Robin Williams shouting "Gooood moooorning Vietnaaaaam" like he did in the movie of the same name, except that it was real real quiet.The only sound you hear on the video is that of the crashing waves. The weather was nice, cool but not nippy and definitely not humid like Singapore was when we left. Here is a video of the South China Sea, the beach, pool area and the hotel Furama where I stayed:

Our first stop was to check out the golf course, signature one at that and went around the first nine, the back nine being under development, we only got a tour of that, on their golf buggy. Leaving the golf course, we went into Danang town to have some lunch and visit the Cham museum.

(Cham Museum with Shiva Linga and Goddess Uma below-click on pictures to enlarge)

With Hanoi in the North and capital of the country and with Ho Chi Minh in the South (formerly Saigon), Danang comes in as the fourth largest city in Vietnam. With less than 800,000 population and fairly spread out, it appears as a well planned but old and quiet city. The lanes and bye lanes reminded me of old Bangkok. Some similarities apart, this is a different town in many ways.

(Entrance to Cham museum)
I found the Cham museum to be particularly interesting because it contains archaeological artifacts and relics of an era when Vietnam was ruled by the Chams, a Hindu Kingdom! It boggles the mind that the concepts of Hinduism traveled this far in it's purest form thousands of years ago, as did Buddhism that followed it. The museum contains what was removed from dilapidated temple complexes found during the various expeditions in the Vietnam jungles. Some pictures of the sculptures housed in the museum is displayed here.

(Lord Ganesh above)
Having hired a car, it was a piece of cake traveling around except that our driver was excruciatingly slow and almost everyone except those on pedal driven cycles passing us left and right. When challenged, the guy mentioned that he stuck to the speed limit! The ride to Hoi An took us nearly 45 minutes, on country roads. Hoi An is 30 Kilometers south of Danang. Now, Hoi An is where most travelers end up. Backpackers are aplenty. Decent hotels with cheap fare and even cheaper beer can be found here lined up along the riverside. One can bump into really ancient looking people in row boats offering rides up and down the river, wearing that quintessentially native conical hats to ward off the sharp sun.

(Hoi An street walk route)

One must walk around the UNESCO protected city center where it is pedestrian only and streets contain boutique shops selling art or tailor made suits or cafe's and so on, interspersed with a Buddhist temples. I know many in Singapore who pick up paintings from here real cheap. Vietnamese art isn't all cheap by the way. A few artists here from this town have made it big on the World stage and command good value for their works. It is a real treat to walk around old Hoi An and to stop by a local coffee shop to sip the famous strong Vietnamese Coffee while watching the sun go down on the far end of the river. Another popular site is an old Japanese covered bridge built across one of the arms of the river and a place most visitors love to take pictures of themselves.

It was back to Danang for the night, and like I said before, we scouted around for some "lively" places where one could enjoy the night life and it just wasn't anything close to lively. I'd rather say that come nightfall and Danang just goes to sleep. There are a few beach side cafe's lit up with neon lights like throw backs from another era and these are good places to tuck into fresh seafood. Guess what, that's exactly what we did, quaffing down the local brew along with steaming hot seafood. We left the next day after lunch time, having had a splash at the local spa at the hotel that I would rate first class in terms of facilities and three star when it came to service.

Before traveling to Vietnam, check the entry requirements, most countries except ASEAN nationals need visas prior to arrival in Vietnam. Ports of entry are the airports of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Danang. Ho Chi Minh is brand-spanking-new and has beautiful terminals. Vegetarians beware, if you are the finicky kind, Vietnam can be a real challenge. Bread and milk is available if one can just live off that! Climate varies, check before you travel. New golf sites are coming up, even signature ones, so if you are a golfing enthusiast, keep an eye open for news from that part of the World. Vietnam is a long country North to South and plenty to see and do. Some parts are OK communications wise and in most parts one would have to do with sign language and pointing at things. But its still great fun.

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS AVIATION SHOW DUBAI 2008

2008-12-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Before I start on this blog piece, let me just make a statement about the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. Bloggers everywhere have flooded the Blogspehere with condemnation and justifiably vented their anger and frustration at such an open attack being allowed to happen. To the people who lost their lives and to those who escaped with psychological scars that will remain for a very long time and to a nation that withstood such an attack, I salute them. I salute the people who bravely faced these attackers and who laid down their lives or ended up with injuries in the effort to save the rest of us from these monsters. Nothing more I write can extinguish the depressed feeling that we all suffered from this onslaught that was broadcast around the World.

In my last blog I had written about my trip to Dubai to attend the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) event, an air show held once in two years and showcasing the latest in business and corporate aviation. My participation was also to gather information on how the market was moving for aviation products and to know the pulse of the aviation scene as it is currently.

To those of you who have traveled on Emirates Airlines, you’d have been lucky to have entered or departed through the spanking new Terminal 3 at the Dubai International Airport. The sheer size of this new terminal and the opulence that goes with it makes one wonder if they have overdone it. For those of us used to Indian airports and even new ones such as the sorry one at Bangalore, cannot but be wonder struck at experiencing just one terminal in Dubai. One thing noticeable is that the airport is filled with foreigners, mostly Filipinas working in all departments except immigration! For a moment it looks like one may have landed in Manila by mistake.

The much awaited high speed train network that I saw them building during my last visit here a year ago, is not complete yet and passengers still have to take taxis to their venues. There is a slow down in construction projects in Dubai and the region, the low price of oil adding to their misery. Low oil price means great news for aviation generally and I thought that the market as we knew it was bottoming out in all spheres and perhaps there was still hope for aviation.

(Chalets were occupied but saw few serious visitors)

The MEBA event started with little fanfare and the first day saw very low turn out in terms of visitors. The event was well represented by manufacturers of various Business Jet Aircraft. The only problem that there was a sever lacking of potential buyers. I have never been to an air show that looked so bare. One could stroll around the booths indoors and among the many Aircraft outdoors that were flown in to the event for display at great costs, without running into a sea of humanity.

(Business helicopters on display)

I had reported in this blog, during last year’s Dubai Air Show and this year’s Singapore Air Show, that I had seen frenetic buying and selling of Aircraft and equipment. I had experienced so much positivity in people who came to do buy Aircraft and announce mega deals during that time, unsuspecting that the economic situation of the World would, in a few months, would be like someone pulled a massive rug from underneath their feet, leaving everyone scrambling to save themselves. That showed clearly during this event with even participants from the countries that were relatively better off, failing to make any impression. My first video on my blog below shows many Aircraft on display and few visitors and this was during peak hours.

(Aircraft display at MEBA)

What I would report from this trip is that aviation, which usually is the first industry to suffer during any economic downturn anywhere, is in the doldrums. That was reflected during this trip. But opportunists will see this as a great time to consolidate and buy Aircraft. New Aircraft positions are available and many without the premium attached to it. For those who invest in used Aircraft, there are tremendous deals out there to be made. It is a veritable buyers market driven by the fact that there are very few buyers out there.

(Sunset over the Dubai skyline with the new Burj Towers that will one day be the World's tallest building)

As I conclude this blog, I’m making plans for acquisitions, best time to get maximum value for money. Watch this space next month, when I think Aircraft values go further South, and I make a beeline for a good deal. Wish me luck!

WORLD WAR TWO HANGAR

2008-11-10T02:11:00.000-08:00

(shrapnel damage-note the door is thick steel)

I promised to post pictures of the hangar door of my hangar at Seletar Airport, Singapore but never really got down to doing any blogging. It's been busy here lately, despite the gloom and doom that most people seem to focus on. Everyone knows that Second World War saw a fair bit of action in South East Asia and the Japs over ran the British base at Singapore quite easily, taking them by surprise, using cycles to come in from Malay peninsula. The British had moved their (by then already obsolete and slow) Aircraft out of Seletar Air Base, further down to Indonesia.

(Bullet holes perhaps from a field gun)

Seletar is in the North Eastern part of Singapore and the air base within shelling range from the Malay peninsula and therefore saw a lot of damage inflicted on the facilities there. I am now occupying one of the hangars that was then a storage area and apparently had British troops occupying the place. The Japs attacked with guns and mortar and inflicted damage and casualties. Going on a search of the world wide web, one can read into great detail of what went on. Wikipedia has some details, a bit old but interesting pictures of the place and also interesting links and pictures of the airplanes that used to operate in the days of the Second World War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Seletar).

About a year ago, the previous occupant of the hangar where I have my offices now, came to me with an interesting story of a British serviceman, now really old, who came to see the hangar. He had been inside it when the Japs started pounding them with artillery and guns. This old man was surprised to see that the back door of the hangar had never been changed or even repaired since the Second World War! As for me, I am not going to cover it or repair it although many people suggested that I cover up the "ugly" door. It's a part of history. When they tear the hangar down in two years to pave the way for new facilities as part of the Aerospace Technology Park, I hope to bid for the doors and keep them in our new facility, as a reminder of what happened those many years ago and how people died saving the place.

In my hurry to blog, I did not take my camera and used my phone to take the pictures that appear here. The picture above, is of my plane taken from the back door area of the hangar.

Despite the gloom and doom that plague aviation in many places, the middle east is still seemingly the only place where activity is still on the upswing. Dubai is hosting the Middle East Business Aviation event from the 16th to the 18th of November and yours truly is going to be there. I will know the pulse of the market there as well as interact with aviation experts in all areas of expertise. That will be a blog soon, once I return.

Seajet News

2008-08-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

My blogs have suffered from drought, with no new posts in a while, been so busy getting things done that blogging has taken a back seat. However, I'm back in the game and in this one I will only trumpet more about my company SEAJET in SIngapore, Asia's first Mustang Jet Operator. I have a few more blog pieces lined up including one that is about the holes in my hangar door caused by Second World War Japanese bombing and bullets and another about my latest trip to Macau (been there twice last year as my readers from then would recall). So, there's lots to write about and I shall start doing that in the next few days.

Straits Times is the largest selling newspaper here in Singapore and I was mentioned in a news article about aviation they did today. I have scanned the news and posted it below. There are other magazines that I am being featured in and copies of those will also be eventually scanned and posted here. Channel News Asia, a leading Television channel in SE Asia is doing a 13 part series called "High Life" and one of the segments is about my company. I hope at that time I'd be able to post video clips when it gets aired. Meanwhile, thanks to all who wrote in and sent me e-mails all through July.

Click on image below to see a larger view.

MUSTANG IN SINGAPORE

2008-06-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

(Jim and I, with Selvam and flowers on arrival at Seletar Airport)

The Mustang has been busy and so have I. I had written in my last piece that I'd do photos of the Mustang in her home in Seletar Airport, Singapore and this is it. She's been flying in and around Indonesia and Thailand. Bangkok mainly and recent trip over to Phuket. Seajet is coming together as a premier charter company with multiple Aircraft available for lease and charter throughout the region. I won't be blogging too much about it in this space, lest it becomes more of an advertisement than a blog. But then, many people and even companies are known to use blogspace for their propaganda.

(Being towed in from the apron to the East Camp side of Seletar Airport where my hangar is located)

On arrival in Singapore, we were treated to a small reception party and given bouquets. After we headed across to the East Camp side of Seletar, the handlers towed the Airplane to a hangar that I have leased. I have built up offices inside the hangar to support the Operational aspects of the business and these offices have a good view of the Airplane in the hangar. The hangar has been there since World War II and I may have mentioned this before. The rear hangar door contains many "holes" in it. These have been caused by grenades, flying shrapnel and neat, round, bullet holes that was the result of the fighting between the Japanese and British forces before Singapore finally fell to Japanese hands. A few people have suggested that I repair or replace this "ugly" door but I won't, it's got too much history to tell.

The Mustang and I have had many visitors, some aviators and some not including my friend Yasmin from all the way down under - New Zealand. Reviews have all been good, whether the Mustang is on the ground or in the air. Jim's tenure as a contract pilot ended and we had good times together as a team. Randall Brink has taken over as our main pilot with Eric, for the next one year. Randall is famous for being an accomplished and experienced jet pilot and an author of several books including a story about Amelia Earhart's disappearance! He's a golf and boating enthusiast, not sure in what order. He's also written about living aboard boats.

(About to be towed into the hangar)

The Mustang is also fast becoming a celebrity locally. She will appear on Tattler Magazine cover page for the August issue of the Singapore edition of the World renowned magazine. Of course the models came with their designer outfits, bags and shoes. The photoshoot took place in the hangar. The entire thing looked like a movie set with lights, camera, spot boys, make up chaps, models running around and their friends who had come along to cheer them on. It took my peaceful Sunday and threw it out the window but I think she was happy and so was I.

Yours truly was also subsequently interviewed for the Formula 1 race edition titled "Boys and their big toys". Corny as it sounds, at least I think it does, the interview will be my first one in a non aviation forum. The Mustang and I seem to be competing in celebrity space! Let me say complementing. Without her, I'm not any one's favorite subject! There will be a time when the Mustang gets company soon, more planes and bigger outlay. Happy landings to all till next time.

MUSTANG FERRY ENDS

2008-05-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Continuing after where I left off more than a week back. I got bogged down with loads of work and could not blog earlier as promised. Story of my blogging so far. I am not confident that I will find time again for a week and will take this opportunity to complete this saga, no matter how long this blog piece becomes.

Not much landscape in Keflavik as you can see above

Leaving Greenland, we were over the North Atlantic again. Next stop: Iceland. I have been to Reykjavik the capital of Iceland and Kefalvik, a town famous for the blue lagoon that I wrote about in a previous post. This time, we decided to stop only for re-fueling and press on to Prestwick. Coming in from the North Atlantic, Keflavik Iceland looks quite barren. With the hills in the backdrop, the small town of Keflavik is not really picturesque, just a watering hole for ferry pilots like me. Having been there in the past and having found hotels expensive and food unavailable all the times of the day (and night), the best thing to do is to refuel and leave. As usual I used South Air, an FBO that offers free cookies and coffee, relaxing atmosphere, seamless flight planning and refueling. We were in an out of Iceland, keen to get into the United Kingdom, with good hotels and curry! Just like to add, for the benefit of those crossing with the Mustang, Gander radio was available right through Greenland and thereafter crossing over to Iceland. NATRAC restrictions does not allow this Aircraft to fly over 27,000 and even at this altitude, one is able to receive clear VHF from Gander and never had to relay.

(Keflavik runway and town nearby)

This part of the ferry from Keflavi Iceland to Prestwick Scotland was perhaps the easiest, in that the weather was good, visibility was good and crossing the pond seemed more like a walk in the park. It is the best weather I have encountered in this part of the World and wasn't raining anywhere. We got into Prestwick where the handling agent Ocean Sky, was waiting for us. They were cordial and made the arrangements to get us to a hotel. A mix up in their booking had us arrive at the hotel and not finding ourselves anywhere on the list of expected arrivals. It had been a long day and we were hungry and in desperate need of some sleep. The front desk was quite helpful and while we waited for them to set us up rooms, we adjourned to the pub/grub place also in the lobby area. The hotel was packed with people in the lobby area, a Scottish wedding or reception in progress.

(Leaving Greenland towards Keflavik)
These Scots were loud, gregarious and all over the place, hogging every inch of the lobby. The bride looked fabulous, did not know they have such petite sized waists for such tall women! Jim was of course dismissal of the whole thing saying that this would only last a few months after the wedding. Mind you, by then we were wolfing down a tuna sandwich (curry be damned, we were hungry) and literally pouring down our throat a large pint of some really dark, strong, Ale. Rather dismal observation of the bride by Jim, I thought, bewitched by the beautiful gown she was wearing and looking so gorgeous, when he again spoke saying that "the men looked funny in skirts"! I was about to drop my drink and head anywhere else but be associated with Jim at that time. "Don't say that", I hissed, "unless you want one of those really big guys bashing us up". You'd never call a Scottish Kilt a skirt, ever, not with each and every Scotsman being almost double my size and Jim ain't no giant either.

I have a grouse against hotels in the U.K. they have poor net connectivity, funny showers, cold rooms, no electric iron (they have a mickey mouse thingamajig contraption that supposedly presses shirts and trousers). Although it was late at night, I wanted to catch up with e-mail so that I can check on the clearances that my efficient and hard working assistant Marisol had applied for, back in SIngapore.

A note to the guys who want to ferry to Asia, you only need to file a flight plan everywhere in the US, Canada, across the pond and across Europe but you will need to start applying for flight permits many days ahead for all the rest of the countries through Asia. Every country from there on needs to have an application put in, days ahead, and permission granted for you to land in those countries. Therefore I was tracking clearances from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan overflight permit, Indian DGCA clearance, Bangladesh overflight permit, Myanmar overflight permit, Thailand Landing permit. If flying from Thailand to Singapore, one does not need a Malaysia overflight permit if the flight plan is filed 12 hours ahead of the flight. Singapore does not require you to apply for a permit, feels like we got back to first world civilization when you get here because of the simplicity.

Back to the story now. There was a cable in the room that advertised high speed internet. I plugged that in and it asked for a password. I called the front desk and he did not have a clue, after much discussion they had me try "guest" as user id and the room number as password. Guess what? It did not work! Went to bed frustrated. After stuffing ourselves with a hearty breakfast, we started on our way to Luxor. Encountering a bit of problem with an intermittent auto pilot, we headed for Le Bourget France and spent some time getting things fixed. We had flown over Paris and past the Eiffel Tower on such a clear, bright, summer day in France and I had stuffed my camera in the bag behind and could not take any pictures. Lost opportunity indeed.

Leaving France we flew over the swiss alps and found most of them green at this time of the year, not sure that's the way it is supposed to be. Entering Italy, we stopped at the picturesque town of Pescara on the sea. A seamless turnaround and we were on our way to the island of Crete in Greece. I started imagining the Minotaur and the legends associated with Crete that I had read about way back in primary and middle school. I told Jim of the Minotaur and he had no clue about what I was talking about. Landing in Crete (Iraklion) is a treat, passing over beautiful resorts and hills on one side, the runway and airport sticking out to sea literally. Our first taste of the third world begins here, the paperwork takes ling, the fueling takes long and we are looking to desperately regain lost time and press on to Luxor, Egypt. From here onwards it seems apparent that no one has heard of a Mustang, never heard of a Jet being that small and that light weight. Of course they don't have it on their chart of Aircraft and the handling lady has to work out the charges for the Aircraft based on the maximum take off weight of the Aircraft. What made this excruciating wait so much worse was that this lady was smoking like a chimney, inside and this was normal for them! I'd like to mention that through Europe, finding clearance to fly in RVSM airspace in the Mustang was easy and till India and beyond we managed FL370-FL380 easily. The Mustang performs best here and we averaged 380 Knots every time, passing 400 Knots over the Arabian peninsula.

(Hot air balloons rising above the Nile-early morning in Luxor)
Finally we headed out back to the Aircraft and flew on to Luxor. The handling was smooth, visa on arrival was smooth and we were herded off to Sofitel for some rest and relaxation. I had planned an entire day of rest and we had not planned on leaving Egypt till the next day. My handling agent offered to get a friend of his who is a tour guide, to join us and take a tour of the Valley of the Kings and the Hatshepsut Temple complex. Never the one to resist anything archaeological, we left at nearly noon, having slept most of the rest of the night and into the morning. Now, noon time and afternoon in Luxor is not the best time to visit anything because of the intense sun and heat but this is also the time when crowd levels are low. So we went, Jim in tow, earnest to learn a bit of Egyptian history.

(Luxor International Airport above)

(Approaching the valley of the Kings where great Pharoahs were interned)

Luxor is host to the largest number archaeological sites in Egypt with the Luxor complex, Karnak temple complex, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut temple complex and so on. We went past the others and made Valley of the Kings and hatsheput Temple. One can get details from many websites out there that describe this part of Egypt so I won't dwell into history here. Jim was singled out for harassment by hawkers trying to sell their wares everywhere. I was commonly mistaken to be Egyptian! I was asked at least in three different places whether I was a local. At the Queen Hatsheput Temple complex, a uniformed Egyptian guard also asked if I was an Egyptian and I was sick of saying no by this time. Therefore I identified myself as being descended from the Pharoahs and that my real name was Anupmosis the great, tracing my lineage back to Thothmosis the great! I think the humor was lost on him and he looked at me quizzically while I walked away to take pictures that you see below.

(Entrance to King Tutankhamun -King Tut to some-tomb)

(entering Queen Hatshepsut Temple and Pharoah Anupmosis the great-me!)

Leaving Luxor the next morning, from the rather nice International Airport that they have built, we headed off for a fuel stop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Less than two hours on the ground there and seamless handling through Jet Aviation and we were off to Muscat, Oman for a rest stop before going on to India. A note about Muscat, I have been here a few times before but I saw many pleasant changed there, staring from improvements in the airport terminal to the taxis, roads, infrastructure, landscaping, al reflecting the economic growth this region is experiencing.

(More Hatshepsut temple pix and painting of jackal face god Anubis)

A good night rest before the crossing over India because I knew that this was going to be the challenging and sometimes most frustrating part of any ferry. Ahmedabad wasnot bad, just too hot and the wait near the Aircraft in the heat was for a little more than an hour. Flying across India, we ran into the biggest honking "mother of all" CB cloud over Jamshedpur. It was so large, so threatening, full of turbulence and lightning, it almost looked evil. Airlines were diverting left, right and center around this massive storm. Making it to Kolkata was a relief, having gallivanted all over the countryside to avoid the storm, a remnant of the cyclone that had just devastated Myanmar. I'll not dwell on Kolkata as I have been nasty enough on my comments page of my previous blog about my experience here.

(Us and Minee at Royal Sky before departure to Seletar SIngapore)
Not one to stay behind, we pressed on to fly over Myanmar and on to Thailand, landing around mid night. We did not expect a grand reception but Minee and her team at Royal Sky Bangkok's Don Mueng Airpot gave us one, offering a cold local drink, wet towels and a welcoming committee of more than a dozen people. Quickly they put the baby in the hangar and whisked us through the empty terminal to our hotel downtown. I had meetings in Bangkok the next day and we took the day off to pamper ourselves with some good local massage. Business over that day and a restful night later, we took off towards home-Singapore at last, half way around the World. Landing at Seletar, the Baby's home base, I kissed her nose in thanks, like I do on all ferries. Our friends and office mates were on hand to whisk us away home but not before we put the baby in her own hangar and had a spot of Indian food at a restaurant in Little India. Our ferry had ended and with it, another set of memories that is etched in my brain. Should I forget any event in future, all I need to do is read my own blog and relive it. That's why I write in the first place. Thanks for bearing with me on this long piece. Cheers.

Next blog will be about the baby at home.

THE MUSTANG FERRY PART 1

2008-05-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

(On the ramp in Wichita, ready to go, that's Jim in the above photo)

Those who have read my previous two posts on the Cessna Citation Mustang acquisition and ferry (at least small portions of the ferry), will find continuity here in this post. Jim Harrod and I left Wichita on the afternoon of the 1st of May. I have blogged about this till Goose Bay. I have posted some pictures of Goose Bay airport which, when we arrived, was a balmy 8 degrees celcius. That's a bit warm for this region. During the night, on the way through dark roads in Goose Bay, we arrived at Hotel North. Having wolfed down a pizza in Bangor earlier, we headed off straight to bed. I found Jim early in the coffee shop and I was a bit delayed because of having to check e-mails and working on clearances for the trip. My colleague and assistant in Singapore, Marisol, was working overtime to get all the permits along the route done. Co-ordinating with the Singapore office and balancing logistics on the ground right through made sure yours truly slept little during this trip across the World. Half way across and a bit more actually.

(On ground and over Goose Bay's frozen land, click on pix to enlarge-one can see Goose Bay runway below)

Anyway, starting off early in the morning, we planned to make sure that the North Atlantic crossing was going to be done in good visibility and weather (fingers crossed) and Woodward Aviation our handler, picked us up after breakfast. Heading over the airport, it dawned on us that the 8 degree celsius had been a misleading temperature because of all the ice still in heaps on the ground all around Goose Bay. Things still looked and felt icy although it did not feel as cold. We filed the flight plan and checked on the weather that suggested a rather good forecast in Narsarsuaq, Southern Greenlend, one of the two fueling stops across the Atlantic. Counting on our luck holding, we took off towards BGBW (Narsarsuaq).

(Our MFD shows us tracking Loach intersection on the way to Greenland and other info on the flight on MFD)
Approaching Greenland always feels alien. Like you are going to land in a place that's not on this planet. Unfamiliar rocks, scenery, misty mountains and so on, feels like one's flying on a barren moon orbiting Saturn or something like that. The sea looked frozen but not as much as I remember in the past. The sea looked calm. Narsarsuaq has one of the strangest approaches as an airport. There are no precision approaches and if the area is under fog, one can easily get lost flying the fjords, crashing into rocks if a single wrong turn is made. We took the non fjord flying approach and with little clearance between us and a big hill that blocks out the runway, we made over it and over the short stretch of water to land in perfectly good VFR conditions. Of course VFR looks a bit strange in Arctic conditions but it was good visibility nevertheless. A guy flying a Cirrus single engine made it safely after us, walked over to us later on and wanted to see if we would trade his plane for ours! A joke of course, good humor always makes up for hairy experiences in a single piston engine ferry across the Atlantic.

(Frozen sea around Greenland, loosening up in summer)

(approaching runway at Nars, over the mountains)
Narsarsuaq is a pretty place, mountains all around, a melting Glacier just behind the runway (what a comforting thought!) and a single terminal, lounge, flight planning, traffic advisory place all rolled into one. This was my first trip out to Nars, having been in Kulusuk and Nuuk in Greenland on previous ferries. The chaps at the airport were friendly, one of them a retired Airline captain who also owns a flight school in Copenhagen, made us feel quite welcome. I asked him why he was there and the answer was that for nordic pilots who had retired, a short summer stint in Greenland is like going to Valhalla! I presented him with a poster of the Mustang, being the first one to do so and the first Mustang to adorn the walls of the airport at Nars. He wanted to come and see the airplane and we happily obliged, having filed a flight plan out of Greenland easily. We wanted to make haste to keflavik (BIKF) in Iceland, notorious for heavy winds and poor visibility in the late afternoons.

(Nars runway, approaching over the mountains)

We took off downhill, the runway incline being so, with the glacier behind us. As we climbed out and turned heading over the icy inland on Greenland, we could not but admire the beautiful landscape below. Innumerable glaciers, interlinked, melting, hues of the color blue that only exists within glacier ice. If this was not Valhalla, where else could it be? It was a short flight across before exiting out over the North Atlantic again, on our second leg of the crossing to Keflavik. Iceland is pretty but Greenland is spectacular, everywhere I've been to in this vast Island.

(The baby jet and me in Nars)

In order to make this blog readable and to be able to post more pictures, I will have to break it up into parts. This is the first part and in a space of every two days I will post a new blog on the continuation of the ferry over to Iceland, the U.K., Europe and to Luxor in Egypt where we felt like Pharoahs and took a day off to visit King Tut. Lots more pictures and stories coming up in the next part. Meanwhile, a few more pictures below.

Nars runway with the melting glacier behind it)

(beautiful glaciers and their runoffs over Greenland)

More pictures of the ferry, especially Greenland, can be found here.
End of First Part.

FERRY UPDATES-BREAKING NEWS!

2008-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS!
More Breaking news:
Arrived safely (and soundly!) in Singapore at Seletar Airport Singapore yesterday the 8th of May 2008. Pictures of Greenland and Luxor stops will be posted on the blog this weekend. Royal Group (Royal Sky Bangkok) handled our Aircraft at VTBD (Bangkok) and they were superb. No delays, flight plan filed, Aircraft cleaned and fueled, paperwork complete-all in advance by Royal Sky and friendly service. Getting in and out of Bangkok was one of the easiest experiences on the ferry. Same cannot be said about getting in and out of India, though! Kolkata in particular, suffers from the "bygone era" syndrome in the amount of paperwork that goes into a simple ferry flight that landed there only for refueling. Took us a good two hours to do all the documentation and getting stamps from all and sundry at the airport. Their antiquated facilities are among the worst in the world, with dingy rooms and rotting files. We did not find this anywhere else on our route (or anywhere else in the World that I've been to). Ahmedabad was a quick turnaround by Indian standards, at 1.5 hours on the ground. Kolkata seemed forever. Even the refueling could not take place until customs had given their approval! This, on a continuing ferry flight! Anyway, what matters is that, once the nightmare of going through India is done, Bangkok was a piece of cake. We walk into the country by just giving immigration the GD forms (also handled by Royal Sky) and walk out just as easily. Why can't India learn from the rest of the World? Beats me. Simplifying things is not in their blood, especially Kolkata I suppose. Anyway, back home in good shape and SIngapore seems like paradise after a long trek around the World. More details on the ferry coming up this weekend.

Previous news:

Made it to Bangkok Thailand last night after a long trip from Muscat (Oman) through India (VAAH Ahmedabad and VECC Kolkata) and it was boiling hot all the way. Will be proceeding to Singapore, our final stop, on this ferry. I will be posting a blog with lots of pictures, in the next couple of days.

I have been very busy with the ferry flight of the Mustang and could not update the blog. Thanks for those writing in and asking questions. We are in Oman today after going through Greenland, Iceland, U.K., Italy, Greece and Egypt. I have taken loads of pictures of the trip and to say that it was spectacular is an understatement. Luxor, Egypt, took the cake because of a one day layover that I had planned, allowing us to visit the Valley of the Kings, Hatsheput's temple, briefly Luxor and karnac temples. The ferry had tied us and this did more to add to that. No regrets however, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

Tomorrow we leave for India (Ahmedabad and Kolkata) and on to Bangkok Thailand overflying Myanmar. Hope the weather's improved because Myanmar has been hot by a cyclone and has suffered extensive loss of life and damage. It has been difficult getting hold of the DCA in Myanmar for the overflying permit because their lines are down.

I promise to post the full story of the ferry before I forget events and also post lots of pictures. The airplane is behaving well, having transited through cold and now hot weather in the middle east. More heat awaits us in India and wet weather in Thailand. My next post, when I get some time, maybe in Bangkok or when we're back home in Singapore on the 8th will have pictures of the trip.

Cheers.

GOOSE BAY CANADA

2008-05-02T03:28:00.000-07:00

As I write this quickly, I'm preparing to leave on the second leg of the ferry flight of my Mustang. We took off from Wichita yestrday a bit late due to last minute paperwork issues. However, through Fort Wayne, indiana and Bangor, Maine, we (Jim Harrod and me) made it to Goose Bay (CYYR) in Labrador region of Canada. It is a "balmy 4 degrees Celius as I write this and that's not too bad for tis time of the year, it is warming up.

A short night rest and we are off in the next few minutes across to Narsarssuaq (BGBW) on the southern part of Greenland and fuel up before heading off again to Keflavik in Iceland. We will end up at Prestwick, Scotland, U.K. tonight and catch up on some much needed R&R. I took some more photos of the Mustang on the ramp in Wichita and I'll try and post them tonight or tomorrow when I write in from Prestwick. The airplane is behaving nicely and we got some good performances at FL370 (F370 or 37,000 feet for lay folks).

Thanks for all the comments on my previous blog with respect to the Mustang. I appreciate everyone who has written in and the comments continue.
Cheers.

MILESTONE REACHED

2008-04-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to report that on 23rd of April 2008, yours truly became a proud father of a baby jet aircraft. On what looked to be a dull, overcast, rainy day in Kansas, we took off in the Cessna caravan shuttle from Wichita to Independence. My last post gives more information on Independence, a little town now on the World map for manufacturing the highly successful Cessna Citation Mustang Aircraft, also featured in my previous post. Waiting for me and my Aircraft acceptance pilot Andre' was the Aircraft delivery team. The sun was suddenly shining, I kid you not, and things seemed pleasant, even the temperature. I was first taken to what is known as the delivery room (sounds so much like a maternity event, right?) where there are amenities to help do the documentation and acceptance of the Aircraft and a place to relax in between, if there was any time to relax, that is.

(The baby with the red carpet-before delivery)

I was then introduced to the entire delivery team and that includes the folks who look after CESSCOM, Pro-parts Pro-advantage programs for the Aircraft. To those who are not in aviation, CESSCOM is a maintenance tracking/reporting software that is provided to new Aircraft owners free for one year. They'll make me pay a fee for it for subsequent years, it's all in the game. There is a delivery hangar attached to the delivery room (makes sense does it not?) and they had already wheeled in my "baby". We were ushered out to the hangar where a Cessna Professional photographer made your truly stand and pose all around the Mustang that I was taking delivery and it was a scene straight from FTV (except it was me in a suit instead of models in their birthday suits on FTV). He kept clicking away and promised me a CD full of pictures that he'd make into a portfolio. I assure readers of my blog that when the professional photos come in, I'll splash them all over this article. Meanwhile, you'd have to do with the pictures from my camera, some of those that make me look like an ant in a suit. The big event was when the delivery manager handed over the keys to the Mustang and more pictures of that were taken.

(Me in a suit is an unusual sight to most of my friends)

An extensive pre flight of the airplane was carried out with the delivery pilot and technical manager from Cessna walking self and acceptance test pilot Andre' from my company. They wheeled the airplane out to the tarmac and we took off for a flight that last a little over an hour, taking her up to 34,000 feet. The Aircraft performed very well indeed, better than expected. Although it is a shiny new Aircraft, there are usually some surprises and squaks (maintenance problems) during an acceptance. Not in this one, behaved flawlessly. A few issues with paint touch ups were the only thing we could report.

(None of my photos are brilliant but here they are anyway- N235SS is the registration of my Mustang SS stands for SEAJET Services, my Singapore company)

Going in for a spot of lunch, we had a good time with aviation related banter. In a room full of aviators, it's usually a laugh fest when there are tall stories told and jokes being passed around, all of them real life incidences. Some aviators I know, should write about all their experiences, if not for selling books, at least something to remember by and share with others who'd be interested in such tales. I'd be one of them. I digress, unfortunately, and let me continue the events of this day.

Post lunch, there was documentation to do, signatures to be affixed, to have titles passed, escrow accounts released, the airplane paid for etc etc, the usual stuff that one has to do when one buys an airplane. The Mustang was represented to me after they had polished and buffed up the portions we had asked for and I was headed into a large room full of manuals, equipment and other loose items that go with each new airplane. Going through lists, more signatures and they loaded up the Mustang with the freebies. I was presented with a Sheep Skin jacket with the Mustang logo and serial number of my Aircraft embossed on it. It's so heavy that it felt like I was wearing the whole sheep, not just the jacket. I'd cook in Singapore if I wore the jacket but it will come in handy when I go across the pond. For non aviation guys, going across the pond means crossing the North Atlantic. I'd be making stops for refueling in Greenland and Iceland before crossing over to the U.K. and through Europe, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, Thailand and finally home in Singapore. I'm going to blog about the ferry.

(Andre' and me)

It was time to bid farewell to the guys at the Mustang facility in Independence as we took off into thunderstorms and headed back to Wichita. My Mustang is in the service centre as I write this, getting the documentation for an export certificate of airworthiness. The work should complete in a few days and I'd be ready to leave on the ferry flight on the 1st of May. I went to the service centre hangar today as well, saw my Mustang and met with people who got me enrolled on the CESSCOM program. I'll be going there again tomorrow, more meetings, more stuff to do in preparation for the ferry and export paperwork. What a day it was, a day that I'll never forget. It hasn't sunk into me yet, that this lone Mysorean becomes the first Indian, Mysorean and Asian to get the first ever brand new Citation Mustang to the continent of Asia. There's more to come for sure but the first one will always feel good when I remember the events in my later years.

VISITING CESSNA

2008-03-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

I went back to Wichita, Kansas to check on the progress of our first Citation Mustang. The Airplane has just been painted and the interior components have arrived. Cessna says that the Airplane will be ready for delivery on 22nd of April. I went to visit our chief pilot who lives in the Tampa area. He is now contracted to us and is currently at FlightSafety International Citation Learning Center where he will be doing the Mustang Pilot Initial training.

(Me and the Mustang I flew to Independence, on Cessna tarmac at Wichita)

The Citation Mustang production is located at Cessna's facility in Independence, Kansas and we flew their demonstrator Mustang from Wichita to Independence. The weather has been real nasty in that neck of the woods and as this goes into posting, the weather has worsened and large parts of the US midwest is literally underwater. Heavy rains has caused extensive flooding. When I was in Wichita last week, there was enough indication that the weather was going to get worse. The good thing is that we flew over to Independence when it was still marginal.

(On the way to Independence,taxiing out of the Cessna tarmac)

Our Mustang is painted Sterling silver and Blue on the outside and Sterling interior. It's new Garmin 1000 all glass cockpit suite is a cinch to use. The large panels PFD and MFD makes it easy to use and bring up everything from weather radar to Terrain alert and Traffic Alert system. Moving maps make it easy for navigation. There are several nice features that include airport situational maps that can be used to navigate around an airport easily. A little airplane pictogram on the airport map moves along taxiways and indicates actual airplane position on the airport.

(Our Mustang is serial number 70-at the paint shop they pencilled it on the masking)

(At the paint shop-our Mustang)

The Citation Mustang is a short take off and landing airplane. It's twin Pratt and Whitney jet engines allow good cruising speeds of 340 Knots and the airplane can make a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. I made friends with a good guy who delivers Mustangs World-wide and also acts as a FlightSafety instructor. Andre' and his lovely wife Sarah are good people to be friends with and it was fun talking about aviation experiences. The day I returned from the Independence trip, Andre' was kind enough to take me to the FlightSafety Simulator for the Mustang and demonstrate the same. My experience with the simulator was a fun one, Andre' simulated single engine failures for me during take off and I had to bring it back in for a single engine landing. The Sim is actually a lot more sensitive that the real airplane. This is supposedly an FAA requirement to ensure that pilots can handle and skiddish situation in the airplane. The Mustang sim at FlightSafety is a new technology full motion three axis facility that operates on screw jacks rather than the hydraulic ones used before in other simulators. This is smoother and more real in feeling when the sim is operated.

(Our new cockpit and unfinished interior)

I'm headed back to Independence sometime towards the delivery date. The delivery of a new airplane comes with it's paperwork and ceremony. Photo sessions and handing over, acceptance flights and other fun stuff becomes a part of the process. Needless to say, yours truly is as excited as a 10 year old with a new airplane toy. I plan on adding more airplane to the fleet this year and the next. Back in Singapore, it's back to business and this week will see me going to Jakarta and Bangkok. There's loads of stuff to do in preparation for the arrival of our new airplane and it's tough to find time to blog. However, I will blog about the delivery of the airplane as it happens and subsequently during the ferry flight. Cheers.

Singapore Air Show 2008

2008-02-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

As promised, I have blogged about the Singapore Air Show and it is available on my other blog here, check it out.

If time permits later this week, I'll blog about my visit to Cessna's Aircraft manufacturing facility at Wichita and Independance, Kansas. I am taking delivery of the first Mustang for Asia in late March and I'll record that event as well as document the ferry flight.
Cheers.

Blue Blistering Barnacles

2008-02-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

Sea dog, pirate, sea cucumber, billions of blue blistering barnacles, ten thousand thundering typhoons...anyone who's familiar with Tin Tin comics will surely know what I'm talking about. I did feel a bit like Captain Haddock but wasn't cursing like him for sure. Would have loved to swear like that, but I had guests on board the new yacht (yacht is pronounced as YOT-most Indians say it like "hatch" but with a "Y" and a dear friend in Mysore suggested I make this clarification for the benefit of interested Mysoreans and Indians in general) that we acquired and that would not have made a good impression for sure. I wrote briefly in my last post about us acquiring a yacht on my new company called SEAJET and here I am going to crow about it a bit more.

(Our Yacht)

The yacht is a Carver Cruiser, made in the U.S.A. and just less than 60 feet in length. That makes it a good sized boat but not nearly the size that captain Haddock would have commanded. I did not have Tin Tin and snowy on board but I did have my colleagues and a few guests from overseas, Cessna chaps in particular, who had come in early for the Air Show. Now the Airshow is just two days away, opening on the 19th of February and I'm going to be making a splash with Cessna. Like I'd mention before, the Citation Mustang will be making its first entry into Asia when I bring in the first one. I'm taking delivery of the new Aircraft at Cessna facility in Independence/Wichita in late March. So, how's that for a first?

(Me and colleague director Selvam)

Back to the yacht story and we launched in the evening from One Degree Fifteen Marina located on Sentosa Island, south of Singapore. The sea had turned a bit choppy and most of us decided the upper deck was the best place to be, to have the wind blowing into one's face and for acquiring some "sea legs". Haddock would have shouted obscenities for sure. The yacht has a living room with sofas and chairs, cabinets, Television and so on.

(Living room sofa)

The dining area has a nice kitchen and seating area with a dining table. There are two bedrooms, one is a master bedroom with an attached toilet and shower and there's a guest bedroom that has access to the common toilet as well. There's a mid deck with outdoor lounge sofa and an upper deck where Captain Haddock would sit, in this case it was Mr. Razak (and he wasn't swearing!). The upper deck has some sofa style seating as well.

(kitchen, dining and gest room entrace in the background)
As the sun set, I had the captain head out to sea, rounding out over the southern islands of Singapore. We first went past the turtle island, so called because one can find many turtles there and legend has it that a turtle saved some fishermen who had fallen into the water. They've built a Chinese temple on the island and the temple is dedicated to-what else-turtles!

(Captain Sea Dog on deck!)

(Some of our geasts taking in the sights of Sentosa from the sea)

Heading out further, we aligned ourselves in parallel to Sentosa southern coast where the "Songs of the sea" lazer show is organized every evening. The waters here were calm and it was time for the drinks to come out. We served some nice "St Julien" grape wine and seafood canapés. Every one took to the wine although I had stocked the fridge with Heineken beer as well. There was no whiskey on board and Haddock would have been livid and called me a sea urchin for sure! Maybe he’d have me thrown off the deck too.

Heading back to home base after watching a bit of the laser show from the boat, the sea had calmed down, making it nicer for people to relax outside and consume more wine. A sit down dinner at they yacht marina finished off the evening. We are all steady, as one can be after a yacht ride and drinks, making it back home elated and relaxed. The guests were boaters in the States and loved doing the same in the tropics. They'll carry good memories from their first trip to Singapore. I needed to have this casual meeting with them and it was a chance to catch my breath, the last few weeks has been hectic. I'm doing exciting stuff though, so I won't complain. Next one's going to be about the Singapore Air Show and I'll try to blog while the event is mid-way. Cheers...hic!

GREAT START

2008-01-28T17:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a great start to 2008 for me. I incorporated SEAJET Services Pte Ltd in Singapore and presently in Wichita, Kansas, USA where Cessna makes the Citation Series of jets. I am in the market for buying some of them. The company got incorporated on 10th January, coinciding with the opening of the brand new terminal 3 at Changi International Airport in Singapore. Another marvelous terminal, the best anywhere presently.

Also coinciding this was the arrival of the second Airbus A380 Super Jumbo (out of the first five ordered) by Singapore Airlines. I'm back in Singapore in time for the Air show and will be blogging about my present trip. Today was eventful and fun and I piloted the Cessna Citation Mustang jet. Details of the flight flown from Wichita to Independence (Kansas) will be a part of my next blog. With pictures. This year, I will be bringing in three jets, two new ones and one pre-owned.

I forgot to mention that we have a new 58 foot yatch (Carver cruiser) and will be posting that on the net as well. The ownership is on SEAJET and I am planning to charter that too. That's as much time I have to blog this time and wanted to do it before I start forgetting what I have done so far this year and it's a lot!

YEAR END CHEER

2007-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

Singapore is all decked up for Christmas and New the Year grand party that culminates with one of the best fireworks displays in the World. Its all open to the public at the Marina Bay area. Hotels all round the Marina Bay have been booked up, like it was last year. Yours truly was there last year and yours truly is going to be there for this one too.

Christmas cheer was everywhere; Singapore had been transformed into a Christmas wonderland of sorts, a show that had been put out at its best. There was everything except the snow, I mean real snow. In putting on a show, Singapore does it best and this is validated by the fact that record arrivals of tourists from around the World each month and total visitor arrivals crossed the 10 million mark.

Now a bit about the rest of the World; there were things to cheer about and then there were things that we could have lived without. It was not all cheer and not meant to be either. Humans they say evolved, and rather quickly in the last fifty years they say, evidence to the contrary seems to manifest itself right through 2007. At least mentally they haven’t. Disregard to the environment, ignoring the plight of the masses that still go to sleep each night without food, the ugly head of terrorism rearing up everywhere and so on. Then there are some good things that also happen and won’t make the news because the media is not interested. Who’ll watch good news? Is 2008 going to be any better? I hope so and I hope humans do evolve and are able to set aside petty differences. That’s wishful thinking but a thought nevertheless.

2007 has been great for aviation and I have written quite a bit about that. The next year is going to look good as well, albeit an anticipated slow down in World economy. So they say. I’m looking ahead to reporting here on the Singapore Air Show in February next year. My own company Orion Air Pvt Ltd completed 9 years this year. My latest baby is operational as of yesterday, a new Jet provider incorporated in Singapore called Jeteezy Pte Ltd. Projects next year will see me work more and blog less, this becoming the norm. I’d like to blog more, just to keep a diary of sorts and something I can re-read years later and have a laugh.

So, let’s cheer ourselves up, get out this depressing madness that the World has seen in the region the last few days and truly look forward to evolving. It starts at home, I’ve been told, and I hope it spreads throughout humanity. Cheers to all for a wonderful and successful 2008.

ARABIAN NIGHTS

2007-11-24T21:48:00.000-08:00

Corny title I know but it sort of fits because this is about my brief stay in Dubai since I was attending the Dubai Air Show that I wrote about in my last blog piece. Dubai is a fast developing emirate of the United Arab Emirates. Most Indians have either been there or going there and half the guys from the Indian States of Kerala are working there, far outnumbering the local populace. It is reported that Dubai is growing so fat, that 50% of the World' cranes used in construction are to be found in Dubai. A popular local joke is in the form of a question: What is the national bird of Dubai? And the answer: The crane! Mallus in Dubai invented this joke it seems and a Mallu dear friend of mine told me this while chuckling at his own joke! And it could be true because everywhere you look, you’ll see cranes lifting something or the other at a construction site.

But speaking of real birds, did you know that Dubai creek leads to the creation of a sort of wetland reserve in Dubai that attracts lots of sea birds? Chief among them is a healthy population of greater flamingos and I saw them. Took no pictures sadly, but I saw plenty of them wading in the shallow pools caused by the creek. This area is now called the Ras Al Khor wetland wildlife sanctuary.

(Sunset at Dubai Creek)

Dubai offers the visitor many things and it will take more than a single trip for me to write about all on offer. In fact, the only time I had was each day at the end of the air show; I had the evenings off for wandering around. I stayed in Bur Dubai, one of the districts of Dubai known for its offices and residences. On the other flank of the Dubai creek (a sea waterway) is Deira, famous for its shopping and the World famous Gold Souk or Gold Market. I managed to literally walk all around the place, the evening weather at this time of the year being rather pleasant and all. I even crossed the Dubai Creek, under the creek in a narrow long tunnel that goes down and down and then across and up and up again. For those of you who are even remotely claustrophobic, do not try this, it is a sure recipe for freaking you out.

(Entrance to the Gold Souk street)

Bur Dubai side of the creek has the Dubai heritage village, made to look like how Dubai was in the olden days, a small Arabian village that was a center for trade and shipping and how it grew into the metropolis that it is now, without being largely dependant on oil to sustain it’s development. Alongside the Dubai creek are some local sidewalk café’s that are really elegant and offer great views of Arab dhows that still ply the creek with goods from afar.

(boat with heritage village in the backdrop and below Arab Dhows moored)

The entrance to the heritage village from the water’s edge is just after these elegant restaurants. For those that needed to wet their whistles, this is a good watering hole. Beers on tap, that is. The heritage villages has a lovely atmosphere to it, naturally feels like you’d walked into an Arabian nights setting. The “village” is open till late, I remember reading 11:30 PM and is free.

(Near the entrance of the heritage village)

Inside the complex one comes across tribesmen and women sitting and gossiping, manning shops with local merchandise and letting their camels rest. From a toothless, ageless woman (who may have been at least thousand years old) I almost bought a magic carpet to fly across to Deira but instead dived into the tunnel that seemed to go on for a long time, I half expected to end up in a room, staring a mummy or a sarcophagus in the face. It was like going through the tunnels at the Giza in Egypt (an earlier trip of mine).

(Inside the complex)

Now Deira is exactly as you may imagine (don’t imagine mate, just click on the pictures), in the sense, it resembles a much cleaner and organized Mumbai. There’s no such thing as a cleaner and organized Mumbai but you get the picture. Lots of places with garish sign boards, neon everywhere and walking through the maze, one cannot miss stumbling into the Gold Souk. Now I can tell you with certainty that this place perhaps has more gold and other jewels, next only to Fort Knox. It is a maze of side streets and everywhere one looked, there were Indians buying and Indians selling. The rest of the “foreigners” were only taking pictures it seemed. The Indian appetite for gold and jewelry is manifested in this one area of Dubai.

(All Deira side pix)

Plus side of Dubai is that they have some good busses that ply between these important places and rather cheap, the place is largely clean and pedestrian friendly sidewalks, most people who visit from India can just about get by speaking in Hindi, lots of local Arabs speak the language too. The downside of Dubai is that they let everyone smoke wherever they want, inside close-environment cyber café’s, inside hotel lobbies, pretty much wherever they want. This is irritating to those of us who choke on second hand smoking and abhor it. I hope this is stopped. Taxis can be a problem, not enough and they won’t show up even if called on the phone. For those of us who are spoiled by the orderliness of places like Singapore, this may be a little shocking, things cannot be taken for granted that we normally take for granted in Singapore or elsewhere in the developed World. Bur Dubai has also become a bit raunchy and rough looking at night time because of all the so-called discos that are filled with Russian women selling themselves and loud music that continues into the night. However, it is not unsafe to be in that area at night or need to worry about being mugged. Some of the good budget hotels are in this area.

(Using bulls to draw well water, like they used to centuries ago)

I have walked alongside the creek and watched the dhows sail by late evenings and night time. I found many local and expat women by themselves or with another female companion sitting on one of the park benches along the creek, without fear or worry for their safety and that is one of Dubai’s strengths. No, I did not manage the desert safari, did not spend the night in a camp on the dunes with belly dancing for entertainment, did not go to the financial district or see the Burj Arab hotel and no I did not hitch a ride on a flying carpet. I took Air Arabia instead! And I kept all these things for next time. There’s got to be things to do when I do another trip, hopefully on vacation.

DUBAI AIR SHOW 2007

2007-11-20T20:55:00.000-08:00

The Dubai Air Show was on between 11th and 14th of November 2007 and I was there for the event. It was my first appearance at this show, as a trade visitor. It was held at the Airport Expo pavilion, a part of the Dubai Airport Complex. This year's representation from the aviation industry surpassed the previous years by a long shot. The general mood in aviation circles such as Airline Industry, General Aviation and Military was upbeat. And it should have been because deals worth more than US$100 Billion were signed during this air show and that’s no small change.

The large tarmac outside the pavilion hosted the static display of all types of Aircraft - from single piston engine trainers to large jets. The trick was adjusting to the difference in the sunny outside temperature and the cold air-conditioned interior. Like most Air Shows, there were people from the defense forces from around the region, I found too many of them from the Pakistani Air Force, looking like they were on a holiday. Here I thought that they had an emergency going on in that country and there was a noose around the General's neck. Didn't seem like that at all! What's more amusing is that many of these chaps just go around picking up free bags and fill them up with free hand-outs, brochures, trinkets and such.

The Air Show itself was a good show and well organized except for the transportation to and from Dubai city which was poorly done. At the end of each day it was no uncommon to see serpentine queues for taxis and taxis in these parts are rare and expensive. For those who drove or had made arrangements for cars, they’d get a free bus ride to a general parking area. I’d dread to drive there; the traffic was horrendous to say the least. Hotels were outrageously priced too, because of the Airshow and I even found big company executives complaining over a normal lunch time conversation about this. Some last minute attendees had been slapped with US$800 a night tariffs at the same hotel’s where it would have a been a quarter of that during any other period in Dubai.

Coming to the Airplanes part of the show, there were many manufacturers on display. The crowds of delegates and trade visitors were treated to the usual afternoon flying displays featuring aerobatic teams from around the World. There was a spectacular Airbus Super Jumbo A380 demo flight as well. The Aircraft made an appearance in Airbus colors and not in the livery of any Airline. Funny, I’d have thought they’d come in Emirates Airlines colors, since they are the largest A380 customers. In the pavilion area, deals were getting signed with Boeing and Airbus primarily and Airbus seems to have been the overall winner here. General and Corporate aviation saw plenty of activity too, with Embraer and Cessna Jets making a big presence felt and populating their order books.

(click on pic to enlarge and see formation aerobatic aircraft in the background sky)

On the tarmac outside were Embraer Jets, Bombardier Jets, all of the Gulfstream Jets available, the futuristic looking Piaggio Avanti pusher turbo prop, turbine islanders, Cessna Mustang VLJ (Very Light Jet), Eclipse 500 VLJ, Single engine turbo prop Cessna Caravan well you name it and it was there. What caught my eye however was a rare appearance of a Mooney. People have almost forgotten about the World’s fastest single piston engine Aircraft and many of us who had a US exposure 20 years ago remember fondly, this airplane. The company has changed hands many times and has re-started production of it’s popular line of Aircraft and speaking to the reps there, it had been a last minute decision from Mooney to attend the air show.

(Piaggio Avanti Pusher Turboprop - above)

(Mooney cockpit-all glass)

Some concept jets were also on the tarmac, with mock ups and this included the Grob Jet. For me, meeting many of the people I knew and a lot of them I didn’t know was the exciting part. So much knowledge about the latest happenings in aviation and future trends is available at these air shows. The next air show here is in 2009.

The next major show is in Singapore in February 2008 coming up real soon. I'd also like to mention here that Dubai is attracting aviation companies by huge numbers. Their New Dubai Aviation City being developed is going to attract the biggest and the best in aviation including the World's largest MRO. Makes this aerospace technology park in Singapore that is also to come up at the same time, look rather small. I know Singapore is more than capable of catching up and they really need to because the competition in S.E. Asia is intense.

During the evening, I managed to have a look around the Dubai City area and found a few nice surprises. That’s going to form my next blog piece and may be of more interest to my readers who have been following my travels. This one’s for the aviation buffs.

BATAM ISLAND

2007-10-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

For those who live in Singapore, the options for traveling around in the region is immense and inexpensive. If ones wants a change of scene from the organized, clean, orderly environment that Singapore is, one can escape to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia (of course) or perhaps a ferry ride across to one of the nearby Indonesian Islands. Yours truly did just that a couple of weeks back and this time it was for a holiday, a quick break at that.

Harborfront ferry embarkation area

Batam Waterfront ferry Arrival complex

From Singapore's Harbor Front terminal, there are ferries to the Indonesian Islands of Batam and Bintan. I chose Batam and after an easy 50 minute airconditioned ferry boat ride, we put into the Batam gateway at Sekupang. Most of those on board, especially day trippers from Singapore got off here because Sekupang entry point is connected to the biggest shopping Mall on Batam and also happens to be the "city Center". A few of us stayed on board to continue for a few minutes more and alighted at the "Waterfront City" gateway to Batam. Now, don't be fooled, there is no real city here but vast countryside, plenty of greenery and the waterfront area of course. Indians and others at the present, can clear Indonesian immigration at the visa-on-arrival counter at the arrival area by paying US$10 and please be wise to bring exact amount or you may get short-changed! They'll paste the entire page of your passport with a nice visa that's only good for one visit!

Main Mosque at the city center

I'd booked a spa package consisting of a Javanese aromatherapy massages at the Holiday Inn resort, minutes away from the waterfront City arrival complex and that's where we headed. After a seamless check in and putting the bags away, we used the hotel's free shuttle service that only runs on some days of the week, to go on a countryside trip and ending at the big mall that is the center of the city, mentioned earlier. Wandering around the city was fun and rather brief. Walking around the mall, like most mall rats and running into more Singaporeans than back home, we decided to get a meal. Veggies have no fear, options are here! We of course chickened out and ate at the cheapest Pizza Hut (the original franchise) that I have ever been to. It is a bit shocking when one first arrives here and looks at the cost of everything and one has to mentally calculate everything into Singapore Dollars to make sense of how cheap things are. If no calculations are made, prices appear in thousands of Rupiahs, the Indon currency. A meal and a couple of drinks can set us back by more than 60,000 Rupiahs. Basically around ten bucks in Singy money!

Spa complex at the hotel

Heading back to the hotel and the spa area of the complex, we were accorded a warm welcome, people who did not know us personally acted like they did and escorted us to a lovely Javanese hut. Spent the evening exploring the waterfront area, where dutch style buildings (the dutch ruled the spice islands for a long time and left their impressions everywhere)are occupied by locals who live there.

Buildings at the waterfront

The road next to the waterfront complex leads to the water front (where else!) and that is lined by plenty of outdoor style eateries, pubs, bars and such. Everything cheap on the menu and while seafood forms a bulk of it, not too hard to look for some limited veggie options such as local style fried rice, mixed veggies and such. This part of town is popular with the Batamese as well as foreigners. Ran into many North Americans who are doing projects in Indonesia and from some of the deep Texas drawls one could make out that they were basically drillers, oil men who have proliferated around the World looking for black gold.

The area around the waterfront

The next day, more exploration on foot and literally walked into a sign post by the road side that proclaimed that there was a flying club nearby! That takes the cake I thought and excitedly looked around for any aviation activity. Seeing none, except an abandoned hangar that also proclaims itself as the flying club, I was disappointed with the fact that there was just one microlight Aircraft, in a pretty bad shape, hanging around the hangar and weeds grew everywhere.

The "flying club" grounded!

I walked into the neighboring wake boarding complex to ask about the flying club and a local told me, in broken English, that it was in disuse (although this was starkly apparent) and they had stopped flying because there was no pilot (peeloth as he said it). The wake boarding school is a man made lake that goes around, laid out like a race course. It has these pylons that have motorized winches that's attached to a line. A wake boarder can catch one of those lines and wake board around the course.

Wake boarding

Coming back to Singapore later in the evening, on another seamless ferry ride and taking the MRT home was a tad depressing (The northeast line of the MRT starts and ends here). We had just gotten used to complete silence, no traffic and virtually no people or few people especially in the waterfront city area. The good thing is that places like this are so close to Singapore that, if one has time, or even just the weekend off, one can head out to unlimited options.

View from Batam departure area

Maybe it is Bintan or any other thousands of islands that make the Indon chain next time but that's going to have to wait, I'm off to India for Deepavali, Indian festival of lights and my favourite and then off to the Dubai Air Show. Cheers.

BREAKING NEWS - FIRST SUPER JUMBO DELIVERED

2007-10-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

I write this as the first Airbus A380 Super Jumbo is being delivered to Singapore Airlines. The CEO of SIA has just made a speech and standing behind him are a bevy of Flight Attendants, symbolising the famous "Singapore Girl". SIA is the launch customer for this airplane. The CEO of SIA just announced live that while there was a long delay (about 18 months)that this airplane was worth the wait. Once he made the speech, they towed in the Aircraft and the CEO of Airbus and SIA boarded the plane along with the TV camera crew. They are showing the interior just now as I write. History has been made for aviation as well as SIA. As for Singapore, this small country has again stood out in the World and portrays itself as a modern, forward thinking and progressive country. The Super Jumbo epitomizes everything that Singapore stands for.

The Airbus A380 inaugural commercial flight is to take place on the 25th of this month from Singapore. There was a bidding war for seats on the first commercial flight and that has raised a lot of money, intended to go to charity entirely. A noble gesture for sure. SIA has just unveiled the various seating classes in the airplane and while there is additional space in economy class, the business class is the biggest in terms of space in the World. What takes the cake, however, is the Singapore Airlines suite class. For the first time in modern aviation, there is actually a suite, a private enclosure that is more like a small room. The suite class is a step beyond First Class, as they say.

I am impressed, by the show, by the design of it all, by the vision that went behind creating this behemoth of an airplane. I'm also impressed with what it is capable of doing, the efficiency of it's design and the Rolls Royce engines that virtually guarantees the lowest carbon emission per passenger by any airplane flying in the skies to day. I'm of course impressed that this tiny country, Singapore, is the proud first operator of this type of Airplane in the World. So I say, three cheers to all concerned.

Hong Kong - Smog or no smog

2007-10-12T02:04:00.000-07:00

Just back from a couple of trips. This one was about a quick trip to Hong Kong. That too during the period said to be the worst time of the year because of air pollution and the pollution index was hovering around the danger mark. The weather was also too warm for this time of the year. Locals told me that this was the time of the year for some pleasant early fall weather. The recent typhoon to hit eastern China, it is said, had something to do with the smog staying around, in a high pressure area. That said, HK is really an easy place to get to. For Indians and many others, it is a seamless 'visa on arrival' and takes no time in getting past the immigration desks unlike in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia where the waiting time for a visa can be excruciating. The new airport is swanky, spacious and easy to get in and out of.

(The smoggy skyline of HK from the Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront)

A high speed train takes one right from the Airport terminal to the heart of downtown HK in about half an hour. That's pretty good speed and a comfy ride. HK is famous in Asia for many things, Disney Land seems to attract a fair bit of Asian crowds who have not been to Disney's theme parks in the States. I was there on business and on this occasion had half a day to spend. Not much one can do, right? Actually, there's plenty to do in a short time and HK has a similar underground train system to the one we have in Singapore that I have written about previously. Except that they call it an MTR in HK. HK also has good busses and a tram system. No comparison to the dilapidated and rickety trams they have in Kolkata.

The MTR connects vast portions of HK territory and some say connects better than the Singapore MRT. It is cheap, fast,efficient and gets you everywhere you want to go. I hopped on one to Kowloon, on the other side of the bay and walked around in the afternoon sun, taking in the sights. Partly due to the weather and partly due to my interest in museums and art, I ventured into the Hong Kong Art Museum in Kowloon, they were exhibiting among many other things, selections from the collections of Asian artifacts housed in the British Museum. Spending most of the day in the air conditioned museum, I was fascinated by HK Museums own collections of Chinese art, Calligraphy and ancient pottery.

(Above and below - HK Art Museum)

Now that was something new to me, having glimpsed Chinese pottery on Nat Geo in the past. The outside area around the Museum is a walkway called as Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and one gets a good glimpse of the HK skyline and the business district. Nearby is the "Avenue of the stars" and is a tribute to HK's movie scene. The beginning of the avenue has a tall statue of a woman and this is supposed to be the statue awarded to winners at the Hong Kong Film Awards functions. In front of the museum, and just as one exits from the underground road crossing, one comes across a domed structure. This is the Hong Kong Space Museum and the domed structure is an Omnimax theatre. I didn't have time to go in.

(The Movie Maiden)

(The Space Museum)
I'd like to mention a few things about the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. Firstly, it is well laid out and can handle the crowds without looking like a mess. Then the ease at which one can get in and out of the Airport. The options for eating is vast. What caught my eye, obviously, is aviation. This Airport has a large dedicated section for aviation, the technology that goes behind aviation, the history of aviation in Hong Kong and so on. They even have a large scale model of a glass cockpit Airliner that one can walk into. The entrance looks like a runway and the interior looks like an Aviation museum, indeed that's what it is. Working models that can be handled by visitors makes it interactive and gives loads of information. To spend time at the Airport, at this place within the Airport terminal building, is a cinch. Full marks to their efforts in promoting aviation this way. Through all my travels, I have not come across an aviation museum of sorts within an Airport terminal building that can rival this.

I have posted photos above and as always, please click on them to enlarge. I'm going to find time later next week to put in more posts. I have not done HK any justice in this blog. The next time I go there, I'll find more to see and write about. And hopefully the air quality would have improved and it won't be so hot!

Foot note: No, I didn't run into Jackie Chan, a lot of my friends asked me just that when I got back.

SINGAPORE SNAPSHOT-12 MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL

2007-09-27T03:11:00.000-07:00

In my last blog piece I had mentioned about the mid-autumn festival in brief and that this was also the time famous for consuming moon cakes. What I'll do here is keep the information brief and let the pictures do the talking. Mid-autumn festival is a Chinese festival. So, this is celebrated wherever Chinese people live, mainland China especially. Singapore has a strong Chinese origin population, hence the hungry ghost and mid-autumn festivals and so on.

(Musicians entertaining the crowd at Clarke Quay)

The festival revolves around the moon or rather stories built around the moon, it being the biggest brightest object in the night skies (when it's not raining, and it is raining a lot these days in Singapore!). Essentially a harvest festival as it started in China. The China town section of Singapore is specially decked up with lanterns, huge and innovative ones. Not ot be left behind, the Clarke Quay area next to the Singapore river is also lined up with such colorful lanterns, adding a bit of music to the festivities. Moon cakes from all the big name hotels are found in stalls, in many malls across the Island. My focus this time was the lanterns near the Singapore river. Enjoy the pictures, click on them to get full size.

End

AMAZING FLIGHT

2007-09-18T18:59:00.001-07:00

We had this recent shake up in Singapore last week, resulting from the massive under sea earthquake near Indonesia, the first of which measured 8.4 on the Richter scale. Since the local news was slow in breaking the news and since I was convinced that the rocking back and forth experience was due to a tremor and not my whiskey that i had just started on, I began searching for data on the United States Geological Survey for verification. They had the earthquake located and detailed on their website instantly it seemed. I had not visited the USGS website in a while and this time, it was something else that caught my eye other than the earthquake and it was titled "Bird completes epic flight across the pacific".

I was under the impression that USGS website contained only geological survey material. Turns out I was wrong and they have several projects going on including a joint study on the migratory pattern of certain birds. They have teamed up with researchers using various private and Government grants, to install tiny radio transmitters (via satellite) that would give the position of the birds in flight. This story was about a particular species, a land bird actually, called the Bar-Tailed Godwit. While they have radio tagged many Godwits, it was one called as E7 that got the scientific community in a tizzy. This female completed what can only be termed as an amazing flight non stop across the water (The Pacific) from Alaska to New Zealand. They determined that she was flying non stop because of the constant forward speed recorded by the radio satellite tag.

I cannot write better than what they have done on the USGS website and I encourage all bird lovers to take a look for themselves. Here is one paragraph of the journey that I felt overwhelmed about and I quote: "The last leg of E7's journey is the most extraordinary, entailing a non-stop flight of more than eight days and a distance of 7,200 miles, the equivalent of making a round trip flight between New York and San Francisco, and then flying back again to San Francisco without ever touching down."

I know aviators including myself who would marvel at this achievement because it is a bit beyond human capability at this time unless you strap on a huge gas tank and make a lot of noise and we'd still need advanced avionics to tell us where we are headed. What got the attention of the researchers is that E7 flew a route back from Alaska that is not commonly used and is perhaps the only bird recorded to have done this route. When going through the information on the USGS website, I'd encourage the reader to look at and pay attention to the maps provided highlighting the route that E7 took and you'll realize too that this is one amazing bird on a really amazing flight. Hail the Godwit!

USGS website: http://www.usgs.gov/
Link to the story: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1774

SINGAPORE SNAPSHOT - 11 HUNGRY GHOSTS

2007-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Singapore is a multi-cultural society as everyone knows. I sampled a part of it last night; this culture is particular to the Singaporean Chinese. The end of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar is upon us now but the entire month had festivities to honor and “entertain” the dead. Did you read that right? Of course you did. During the 7th month, it is known by the Chinese that the gates of Hades (or hell) are thrown open to the dead and they come down to the land of the living. They are known as the hungry ghosts. I’d be hungry too, if they had me locked up in hell for a year. So, the month is known as “hungry ghost’s month”. This festival is also big in Hong Kong and Taiwan except that in Singapore it has a twist.

(Getai-sound stage before performance)

During this month it is common to see Chinese origin people burning joss sticks, incense and conducting prayers for the returning dead. In order to provide entertainment to the returning dead, Singaporeans went one step further and organized singing concerts on stage. This is known as a Getai (sound stage) performance. Such performances are held throughout the island and this has become quite big in recent years. The Getai singers dress up in pretty skimpy outfits (yup you read that right as well) and perform for the hungry ghosts. I’d be hungry too if I returned to such entertainment, indeed. A live band accompanies the singers/performers. The front row has candles lit on them and no one is allowed to sit there, no mortals I mean. They are meant for the returning dead!

(Front row of seats with the lights-not for mortals!)

The songs are all in Chinese and such events throughout the month also attract overseas singers/performers from Taiwan. This year’s biggest local movie hit in Singapore has been the movie called “881”. In Mandarin, 881 sounds like Papaya (Pa Pa Yaw). The movie is based on the Getai culture of Singapore, all the songs in the movie are in original Hokkien and the movie runs with English sub-titles. The two main protagonists in the movie are called as the Papaya sisters and they are challenged by the Durian sisters in a Getai duel! Yours truly went to see the movie and then went on to see live Getai performances shown (in the photos) in this blog piece. For those who don’t understand the language, that’s OK, the melodies sound haunting (literally) and I loved the performances.

(click on pictures for bigger format-getai performers)

I would have liked to see more participation from other cultures in Singapore, just to learn, appreciate and integrate. It’s all in good fun. However, to my dismay, I was the only “Indian” in the movie hall and also in the crowd at the live performance. The next big event is the mid-autumn festival that is going on now, also Chinese origin culture where paper lamps of various hues and designs are lit all over Singapore. This is also the best time to tuck into very local “moon cakes” made from lotus seeds and consumed during the mid-autumn festival. All this talk of food, I’m hungry already lah, got to reach for that moon cake. Ta till next time.