will make this a short post by wishing everyone in this world a very happy new year. may all your wishes come true (as long as it is not to harm others) :)
this is sabs signing off, probably after the last post of this year.
|
( 2.9 / 177 )finally, my india vacation has come to an end. yes, it got over two days back with my family and i reaching back US day before yesterday night. onward journey was good, vacation was fun but the return journey plagued with multiple delays were not at all fun. had a full family gathering (after a very long gap) at my place (trivandrum) during my entire stay there (close to 3 weeks). caught up with many friends whom i've not seen for several years. spent the remaining time in bangalore (wife's place).
never before in my life, i might've gotten fed up with food like in this vacation. ate too much yummy food that i've put on 8.5 lbs in these 3 weeks (no exaggeration). cant blame parents, cant blame the restaurants, cant blame the bakeries, cant blame in-laws - everyone provided awesome food (junk included liberally) :) in all possibilities, i was on a 6000 calorie a day diet instead of the required 2000 calorie diet ! and for the spoiler, the annual mud run is coming in a month and i need to get back in shape to particpate.
i had written about the low cost airlines in one of my prev postings. finally flew with them and had a very rough patch with the ground staff there. these kidos at the check-in counter think that they run the airlines. they were so rude just cuz we had just 3 kg in excess for all the 4 passengers together. they were not considerate inspite of us travelling with 2 little kids and given the fact that we had an onward international journey where the baggage allowances are three times their limit. anyways, it is a lesson learned that if you save money on something, you probably will sacrifice on quality.
and guess what my prized purchases (to bring back to US) this time were - a few packs of 'naaranga muttai' and the orange colored 'unda muttai' :) those who grew up in kerala as kids will know what these are. i will probably add pics of both for the people who dont really know or recollect it. the difference in price ? about 800%-1000% than what i used to pay as a little kid (probably 25-30 years ago) !!!
its time for me to conclude this post. i will write more about this vacation later. till then, this is sabs signing off, cursing the jetlag making him wakeup at 2:00 in the morning ! :)
|
( 3 / 1732 )seen in today's (13th july 2007) economictimes.com.
probably he was running too fast inside the court room and had brake down rather than breaking down? :)
this is sabs signing off ..
|
( 3 / 1037 )indians generally are not known to participate in terrorism outside of india. but the recent bombing of glasgow airport by a bangalorean has changed that equation forever. dr. kafeel ahmed, from bangalore, is supposedly (using the word supposedly since it is proclaimed that 'innocent until proven guilty') the brain (did he really have brains??) behind this attack. the moron did not practise well (i know there cannot be rehearsals for suicide missions !!) and he was left almost fully burnt at the scene. all along we (indians) were happy that behind most of the international terrorism, it would be a pakistani or someone from the middle east and that it would cause a backlash against them by the world in general. now we have lost our standing.
people say poverty coupled with illiteracy breeds terrorism. is that really true ? many in the 9/11 attacks are .. oops.. were from elite families in their respective countries and were well educated. same here also. a doctor who is supposed to save common man from death is planning and executing bomb attacks aimed to kill innocent air travellers ! all in the name of religion ?? where in the world would this end up ?
this is sabs signing off with a deep sigh .. hoping someone will someday inject some wisdom to those people who think killing innocent non-believers is the shortest way to reach GOD.
|
( 2.9 / 186 )last week, we had to make a reservation in one of the 'low cost' airlines in india for some domestic travel. the fares advertised were atrociously low .. this one was for just Rs. 24 from bangalore to trivandrum. however, once the reservation is made, we get to know the 'actual' cost .. here is the break up ..
COACH - 24.00 INR (INR = ruppees)
Special Service Request 1.20 INR
Fuel Surcharge 900.00 INR
Passenger Service Fee 225.00 INR
Congestion Surcharge BLR 150.00
special service request ?? what the heck is that ? we never asked for it ! but anyway, if they want to make us feel 'special' for rs. 1.20, so be it :)
fuel surcharge ?? more than 37 times the airfare ? shouldn't that be the part of actual advertised airfare ?
passenger service fee .. another name of tax .. quite understandable but again 900% of the airfare ?
congestion surcharge .. 6 times the airfare .. since when is the sky congested with aircrafts that they have to charge everyone a congestion charge ? or are their aircrafts 'driven' through the narrow roads from bangalore to trivandrum to keep the costs low ? :)
having said all this, i'm still happy that the total is just rs. 1300 which is probably cheaper than a rail ticket for the same destination !! let more people start making use of these low cost airlines so that they have a steady revenue and hence do not have to go bankrupt or increase their charges. let the common man fly whenever he wants to.
go low cost airlines !
this is sabs signing off for today.
|
( 2.9 / 1334 )Next page >>
Calendar
