Humane Touch

This a continuation from Indochina Adventures I

We slept at 5.30ish that morning and had kept our alarms for 9.30 am. The plan was to do a quick visit of the palace and then head to the ocean world around 3ish and be out at the bars for a fun night out! But what we forgot was about the time difference! Yes, they announced the time difference on the flight as well. No, we did not pay attention! *the air hostesses were way too cute to pay attention to anything else ;)

So when one of my more organized friend woke us up at 9.30 we scowled at him and snored away to glory. When we finally woke up it was lunch time and we could not even imagine roaming around the palace with such a heavy head! After a mini debate and democratic voting, KFC won over McD and we headed straight to one that was next to our hotel. To my surprise this was manned/womanned/ladyboyed by Speech- and hearing-impaired staff! This was fantastic! Not only were they giving opportunity for the disadvantaged (in general sense) but also to those who are harassed by the society (in general). I was also amazed that the ladyboys were not begging like in some parts of India nor were they involved in satisfying some sexual pervert's fantasies in Bangkok. This gave a new kind of respect for the lady boys. Its not that I had held them in low esteem but usually the feeling that I show towards them is of pity! Just imagine that they had to change sex just to satisfy their hunger! Anywho... We ordered in the best language of the world that puts everyone on the same platform - Sign language! 

After the 'finger lickin good' meal we headed to the Ocean world and got ourselves a combo ticket for the aquarium, behind the scenes tour and a 5D movie. We chose to skip the Madame Tussaud wax museum which was also in the same complex. The aquarium had some of the coolest, weirdest, craziest, scariest creatures on display. Some of them were straight out of Avatar and some from Harry Potter. Oh! And did I tell you they also had a complimentary fish spa included in the combo? and a portion of popcorn and cool drinks that you can enjoy while watching the penguins play!? It was super awesome I must say. Felt like I was in some school excursion "ooh-aah"ing at most of the display. The "behind the scenes" tour was an eyewash and a drab. Next up was the 5D movie which again made all of us into a bunch of 7 year old kids. Apart from the 3 Ds that we all know the other two were smell and touch. So when the character in the movie falls on his bum the chair you are sitting will give a thud to yours! When there is a gush of wind then there are tubes in your seat that blows out air on to your ears and cheeks. Cool isn't it?

In one of the bars the bartender, a porky young woman wanted to marry me. She demanded that we go to a pastor now and get married because she is in love with me. I do have that effect on many, but her? No way man! But she was just a jolly girl and we all joked about it, suggested other passersby to her for a potential match. In the end we had to bid adieu to her as even one other friend broke her heart and I also turned down her offer to come with us to our room. We then returned to our hotel after all the fun. I was so dehydrated and zonked after all the beer and LIITs that I had had at different bars around Sukhumvit! I decided to skip dinner and headed straight for the bed. Tomorrow, we are leaving for the great temples of Angkor Wat! 

"10 days, 5 friends, 4 modes of transport, 3 countries and zero worries!" I had even set my FB status message for the vacation. Packed backpack - check; Passport - check; Forex in USD - check. All that remains is to have fun! We had chosen Bangkok as the central hub for our trip as the flights were cheaper and we had easy options of overland travel within Thailand-Cambodia and Vietnam. 

The five of us congregated at the nondescript and my second least favorite airport in India - Chennai. Quick round of drinks at the airport bar and we had started on the right note for the trip. Ignoring the smirking lady at the immigration (on seeing our Thailand tickets) and past the pan chewing security forces and subjected to the tormenting frisking we were aboard Air Asia flight to Bangkok. The sweet Thai from the cute air hostess put a smile to the inebriated mind. Air Asia had moved their operations to the older Don Muang airport from October 2012 and this was a spot of bother for us. None of us had prior experience with this airport. 

Anyway it was all unfounded and we finished the process and took the prepaid taxi to donw town area and headed to our hotel. Best Comfort Inn, was the hotel used by my friends during their earlier trip to Thailand. Anyways we arrived early morning and the guy at the reception tried to extort money for early arrival. I, being the expert in Thai among the 5, was put in front of him. I made sure that I frustrated him enough, with my half Thai half sign language, to let us get in without extra charge. It is very important that you don't overdo this bit with your fractured language else you might find yourself on the street with no room!

We were 5 bachelors set out to enjoy for the next 10 days. One of my mates wanted to see Angkor Wat and I wanted to SCUBA dive, other than that it was intended to be no plans hold fun trip. So it was only fair that we started the sojourn with drinks brought from the street bars of Sukhumvit, Bangkok. The next day we decided to visit the Grand Palace and the Siam Ocean World. As it turns out with any of our plans it was only on paper. It was an eventful and also a dehydrating day. Will update that soon!

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Read about what happens next! - Indochina Adventures II

"Suicide is not a solution to any problem" is the noble thought behind the Dhanush, Shruti Hassan starrer - 3. I would have been grateful to the director, Aishwarya R Dhanush, had it remained a thought and did not materialize as a real world movie! I would recommend this movie only if you have lost everything in life; then again, I might say "Get a life dude!" 

The movie starts in the present time where Dhanush is no more and Shruti is a grieving widow. But who is Dhanush? Who is Shruti? Who are everyone crying for the loss of this guy? All these questions are answered through an interlude flashback. The flashback does start with a huge promise and the stars breeze their way through the first half. Shiva Karthikeyan has done a great cameo that will make Santhanam a little jittery! A worthy competitor for Santhanam is on the anvil. We will have to wait and watch how Shiva carries his career forward. Dhanush and Aishwarya have done very well in their innocent teen roles in the flashback and the irrational puppy love that they share has been very well made. The sequence where Aishwarya goes to Tirupathi and the separation makes the couple go mad might strike a chord with the youngsters. No one can ask Aishwarya what was different in her movie. She has special aces up her sleeve just for this question.  One of the aces is the marriage happening in a pub! I mean, why? This is when the director decides to give a break. A hope blooms that things will continue and I won't feel so bad for spending 250 bucks on the ticket. The director has other plans for minions like me. I went out and come back with loads of popcorn, eagerly waiting for the second half to begin. 

I am now eager to see the super excellent romantic sequences. Again, here is the second ace, the mother of all aces. The second half is not about their life at all! It is about how Dhanush died. Now, you will think Dhansuh's death must be somehow connected to their life, the way they lived it or something. Minions!! You are all wrong! In the second half they took me through a meaningless roller coaster ride of Dhanush and Shruti crying at various pitches and locations. Then just like how a mokkai speaker hogs all the air time and then says, "Without much further ado..." the director also finishes the movie abruptly. Maybe she thought that was her way of causing a lump in our throats. Caused a lump she did, but not because of her movie but because I  realized I have been tricked!

Debut Musician Anirudh shows a lot of promise in songs like Kannazhaga and throughout the first half with his BGM. However, in the second half he is overshadowed by Shruti with her crying BGM and he takes a back seat. At least after seeing the "Why This Kolaveri Di" song, I hope people will allow it to RIP and I strongly recommend they do the same with any thought that arises to watch this movie. This movie is best described by any 1990s Indian cricket team chasing a target. They start well but then lost not just steam but also their sanity mid-way through and then laugh derisively at the audiences who have wasted their time and money. End of it all I have only two questions for the director – “Why the name 3?” and “Why (this kolaveri di)?” 

In the end, when the message of the movie is flashed across the screen I wondered if it is the director asking me not to commit suicide after watching the movie. As a good friend, I advise you to not even think about watching this movie. But if get a free ticket because you bought two juices at the karumbu juice kadai and happen to go for the movie then get out after interval. Save yourself!

This season is the happiest for everyone and I like happy times. Businesses are happy about the boom in sales, Parents are happy about getting their kids "settled" and kids are happy for having found the right match. Coming to think about it, everyone is actually optimistic about the future and I like optimistic thinking as well. However, in all the euphoria about the rosy future we still drag along a demon from the past which has no relevance, according to me, in the modern world. The demon is haunting me right now and what actually got me thinking about it was an interaction with one of my batch mates. This guy recently tied the knot with his girl friend and I met him for lunch as his office was near mine. We had worked together in the same committee while at Lucknow and knew quite a bit about each other. As usual the conversation started with a pointless, useless question when my friend asked me, "So when are you getting married?" I took a casual sip from my glass of carbonated poison and shrugged my shoulders. He persisted, "Arey! Tell me, saale. By now your parents must have started the hunt" He referred to the bridal hunt, which every Indian youth is aware of, as if it were the latest Roadies audition. I nodded in agreement accompanied with a wry smile. He continued, "Look, even if you go one chain lower in your FB friend list you will be able to find a suitable girl. I am sure!" I coughed up the poison that I was drinking and started laughing. Just because he has had a fairy tale wedding it cannot be that he has no clue about the system. The system of arranged marriage, which I call, deranged marriage. Initially followed by the western royal families who have now moved away from it to change according to changing times. While this practice is now prevalent in their colonial states. Intelligent buggers these colonialists!

As a dutiful friend and a co-societal being I explained the process to him. When I finished the entire process, especially the one that pertains to a traditional south Tamilnadu family, he was wide eyed in disbelief and gulped his poison, thanked his stars that he was not subjected to this torture. 


Of all the steps involved in a deranged marriage, what I find the most amusing is that you should only get married to a girl from your own caste and some parents even go into sub-castes, sub-sub castes etc. I have no clue how many levels they have. I have earlier in my old blog (which is defunct now) talked about why we should question the relevance of some practices in today's life. While we evaluate technology and adopt as per changing needs and time but refuse to do that with customs and rituals is a blinker. Let me tell you why I think the caste based marriage made sense for my ancestors but no more appeals to me. 

Why it made sense to my ancestors - 

Caste system in its inception, as narrated to me by history books and wiki, was a classification based on the work you do; in essence the skill you possessed. So a Brahman's son could end up being a Kshatriya while a Kshatriya's son could end up being a baniya etc. Also, even town planning was done in a way that all the people with related skills stayed together. This is further corroborated by several street names that exist even today. This not only made societal sense in terms of easy planning of town and facilities required in an area but also business sense in terms of clustering. 

Now, what does this tell me? Guys and girls from the same caste were in close proximity and had enough chance to interact with each other, observe each others' response to situations and other people. It gave them time and opportunity to evaluate each other. Also, the girls in the same caste understood the work life of her partner because she sees it day in and day out. She understands the difficulties, the opportunities, the up side and downside. So, it made sense for the same caste guy and girl to come together and say I understand you and I think we can make our lives easier, more pleasant and make it a journey worthwhile to be made together. 

Why it makes absolutely no sense to me - 

Slowly the caste system got corrupted in India. No surprises there! Any system in India is susceptible to corruption just like how any iron is susceptible to rusting. It is only a matter of time in both the cases. So it just took some time for the greedy Kings and ministers who wanted their sons and daughters to be with them. So they made caste system birth based rather than merit based. Then again, time wreaked havoc and we are in a state where it is a kichdi of the previous eras. While caste is based on birth, the work I do is not. The logical relationship between caste and work is abolished while the illogical relationship between caste and birth is still withheld. So, to find a partner in this kichdi world is to get married to a stranger who by birth is in the same caste which makes no sense to me. 

I find it logical for a guy to marry a girl from the same profession. Though this is not necessary, I find it at least appealing. But the idea of marrying a girl about who you have no idea is appalling. If you guys find any relationship between the castes of the guy/girl to get married to one another, please let me know! I will at least change the title of this post if you convince me.

Tackling a big problem, on which everyone has an opinion about and most have an emotional attachment to, even in a big book is tricky. There will be chapters which you have exactly the opposite view than the one that the author has taken. You might opine that the author has made a mountain out of a mole hill in certain other chapters. But the author has presented his view and smartly put into a form where you have the choice to skip the chapter if you want. So I don't really see this as a disadvantage but only a minor hiccup. From my personal experience, I found the boring chapters were in the middle and I could not help but yawn and switch off my reading lights. This was one of the most time consuming books for me. It took me almost three months to finish this book. Mumbai's traffic and commute did not help much either. Another important factor is that you run out of nostalgic moments somewhere in the middle of the book and the boring present starts to take over. These were the pages I found the most difficult to coast through because I am confused where this country is presently headed to while the author definitively tries to pave a path. At least he is clear about what he is talking.

As I had told you guys before reaching Mumbai, I had been to the islands of Thailand and met people from other countries. During these encounters I realized that though every human being is unique, there are lessons we can take from everybody we meet and apply it in our lives. So here are some of my interesting observations:

Everybody has problems - If you know me personally, then you know how much I desist the Indian way of "settling down". While your parents will want you to be unique early in your school days and the trophies you bring home for poetry and elocution is much appreciated, it is never seriously viewed. It is to be written in the "hobbies" section of your resume. The main part of your resume is supposed to follow the routine route of Professional Education --> Work --> MBA --> Work --> Marry --> Home and Car --> Kids -- Die! I thought or was led to believe by the books and Hollywood movies that my counterparts in the western hemisphere have a better life! But I was proved wrong by Danielle, a 20 something English girl who was an accountant in a firm and quit her job because it became "too much". She narrated her woes in life and the pressures the society in UK puts on an individual. Her next career move, according to the society and her family should be to get an MBA, then get married and settle down in life. But she wants to be a writer and volunteer in the education space. I was totally flabbergasted! It was a story like any other Indian's only that she was super cute and had an English accent! 

Get real. Get experience - I had to walk over 5 Km to get to the highest viewing point on Koh Tao - my most favorite spot in Thailand. The viewpoint was called Nangyuan Terrace and was actually a part of a resort. As a PR move the resort had allowed free access to the public and right at the ledge of the viewpoint is a restaurant overlooking the beautiful atoll Nang Yuan which is a popular day trip among visitors. It is here that I met David - A guy from England who lost his job with Barclays Capital. He is travelling and trying to find a job in SE Asia as the economy here is touted to be better. While talking to him topics about India and its culture came up. He was very curious to know how the marriage system works and the role that gold plays in the marriage and hence the economy. He even tutored me about the economic impact at which point I yawned more than I nodded. And then he revealed that he does not even have a degree which made me almost jump off the cliff! Looking at my expression and my open mouth he explained further - "Unlike India, in the western hemisphere you need experience. Your certificate does not hold any value for a job application unless you have worked in the industry. If you want to change your sector and find a new career or even an alternate career, then get real, get some experience and work your way up. I started 7 years ago as a back office analyst and now I have been fired as a consultant" 

Exposure is reality - We often come across westerners in weird, unique, different careers and wonder how they had even thought about becoming what they were. I kind of figured out the answer to this question while exploring the beautiful reefs of Koh Tao. My dive instructor was a guy named Toby and he was all of 20 years. While it amused me to no end that he was an instructor at such a young age, it irritated him that I was amused by his age. Shamelessly, I kept prodding about how he knew that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He said he was exposed to diving at 15, the minimum age for you to be certified, and got hooked to it. He has been diving ever since and took up the instructor course at 18, again the minimum age to start, and became an instructor at 18! In India rarely do we get such exposure to a variety of professions. Rarely do we travel to other nations to give a different experience to our children. If there needs to be change in the way we look at life and career it is not enough if we swap marks for grades and give prizes for everyone. Rather, I would say make competition mandatory but the basis of competition must be different depending on the student. For that you need to expose him and bring to his cognition that there are alternate avenues available. 

Do nothing - We Indians have a compulsive need to be doing something. While we plan our holidays we plan for "activities" to be done and sights to be seen. If there were not enough things to do then we label the place as "Not so good". "It was fun but there is nothing to do beyond a day in Kodaikanal and it gets boring." Such statements are testimonial that we have lost the power to extract happiness in doing nothing and just enjoying each others' company! We need a boat ride or a monkey falls or at least a children's park to enjoy the holiday. But travelling and doing nothing during a holiday is awesome. Its fun! All through this entire sojourn I had so little to do and I enjoyed it! I did not have a "must see" place that I was anxious not to miss out or a "must try" activity that I desperately wanted to try. I did nothing but laze around the beach, read a book and eat at the local coffee shop. I simply loved it!

Confusion - After all this, I was confused! What am I doing? Am I doing the right thing? But confusion is good. Confusion leads to good conclusions. 




This post has been entered for the expedia travel competition in indiblogger. 

"So you can add this to the list of things only you and I know" said Satish and Anu looked up from his shoulder with her wide beautiful eyes. Those were like restless blacktip reef sharks; scanning his eyes in horizontal motion. Without saying a word She slid down a little, kissed his bare chest, rested her head on it. He knew what it meant; it meant - "I love you", that "I am closer to you than anyone else in this world", that "she will shed a lone tear of joy" wetting his barren chest and then kiss it again to make it wetter. Yet he tilted his head to direct his gaze on her saffron tinted hair partition and asked with a puzzled tone, "What?" He knew this will make her happier and it made him feel like the creator of happiness. Had he just reflected his understanding of her emotion then it would mean he had deciphered her, She is a simple being whose emotions are deciphered easily and then her mysterious nature is lost. The relationship from then on becomes stale and no more interesting. So Satish played along and asked her again, this time more a cajole than a puzzled bewilderment, "What?" She shook her head which made the single tear she had concealed and controlled till now to fall off her eyelids like the single dew drop in the morning grass that bends the blade of the grass with its weight and perseverance to be dropped off into the earth, its rightful place. He did not press any further but just smiled and kissed her head again, squeezed her closer to him. He knew, that is all that she wanted and acted like he had preserved the mystery about her lone tear while the fact is he knew it.

Their game was flagged off, without any balloons, crackers, flashy dancers or gymnasts, a simple beginning to a complex life together. Satish and Anu had a simple wedding so that they can save money for this luxury called home. Satish had refused the home that Anu's father offered and instead bought this humble home in the suburbs. It was normal days over the week for Satish who was a professional photographer. His work load was jagged and he defines his work as he usually freelances a lot. Photography also helped him in his Personal life as he seldom spoke and Anu loved him for that. She knew he understood everything and still didnot have to use words to describe it in real life as in his profession. 

However Anu felt something weird about the house. She could not call it a home yet as something was disturbing her. She felt like she is being constantly watched over and she even searched the entire house for any hidden cameras. Not that she did not trust Satish but she was wary of his practical jokes of clicking what she considered to be ugly photos of her. One day she felt like a pair of gleaming eyes were fixated on her, from a far off land someone was watching her. Aliens are an alien concept to her, "but anything is possible these days" she thought to herself. Satish dismissed this by joking about how she is now missing her family and that girls are never satisfied with her husband alone. Anu would smack him with a roti stick or a spatula whichever is nearer and Satish again had to act like he is hurt. But this insecure feeling was growing despite the best efforts by Satish to rubbish it. It was too much to bear when she refused to open the windows, shades or worst of it all she wanted to keep the light going in nights. To Satish this was ridiculous and he tried reasoning it with her. Anu was thinking Satish has grown insensitive to her feelings and Satish was getting too frustrated to play the loving and caring husband. 

Anu could no longer take this growing feeling of insecurity and called her dad. Within no time her dad had collected all the particulars about the building and the neighbors, the construction contractor, the land ownership the previous owners etc. To his horror he found that the house has been constructed after demolishing a ladies hostel. The hostel was notorious for the suspicious deaths more than two decades ago. Unclaimed and unregistered skeletons were found in the compound when the construction had began. When the facts came out it was horrible and unbelievable. One of the reasons why the land and home came cheap was the negative publicity that it had garnered over a decade ago. However, like many things in India, this too was then forgotten and gone with the wind. Anu's dad was furious, more with him than with Satish, for letting them take this house. He was offering them a duplex in a very posh area in the city and thought he should have tried more to convince Satish. After all, his only daughter is now bearing the brunt for the mistake he and Satish had committed. It killed him to see his daughter this way - haggard and worn out. He ordered Satish to vacate this house and move into the one he has got for them. 

For Satish though, this is a matter of self-respect than it is of ego and he places his self respect beyond anyone living in this world. Had it been ego it would have been easier to forego ,than self-respect, for the love of his life. No one could understand this simply because they were not Satish. They had different ideals, different way of life, different view of the world. Anu was torn between the two most important people of her life. It was not so much black and white as it is for her father or Satish. It was all grey, she thinks with her heart and it would beat once for Satish while the other time for her dad. Anu's dad realised that this fight is only deteriorating Anu, apparently for whose welfare he was fighting it for. So he proposed a compromise, he would bring in a priest to do some ceremony to get rid of the bad spirits that is following his daughter. Though the rational part of Satish was hurt, he was ready to let go of his rationality for Anu. This was a fair and far better deal than leaving this house which would have destroyed his self-respect.

An auspicious date was fixed and the priest arrived with his cronies to perform the ceremony which costed them more than their wedding. But he did not mind as long as he was not bothered to recite any mantras. It was a business, this spiritual ceremony, and anything can be arranged as per customer's specifications. Satish was indeed not involved in this irrational activity. He had to take the day off though, which was no big deal for him. In fact it gave him the chance to witness this funny custom and make fun of it later, when everything was over. He was in his bedroom reading snow leopard by Peter Matthiessen, for the tenth time, when something caught his eye. A small glint, a shine of reflection of the sun, a twinkle. It was there just for a second and then it disappeared. Without any sudden movement he casually flipped his book to the side flung himself out of bed and went to the other room. He asked Anu to go to the bedroom to get his book and he watched from the window of the other room. He caught it again and this time he was sure from where it came. The reflection of the sun from a telephoto lens, for a trained photographer's eyes, was not difficult to catch in broad daylight. He should have taken a day off earlier, he now felt. Anu returned with the book. He made an excuse of the smoke inside the house and that he is going out for fresh air. 

When he returned, he had a broken lens and a camera in his hands; a drop of tear and blood on his knuckles. The puja had done its work! No more stalking eyes, no more worry about Anu's fear. The priest was indeed powerful! That night Satish was happy and Anu was relaxed. Anu was resting her face on his shoulder and listening to Satish who narrated the entire episode and then he said "So you can add this to the list of things only you and I know"

When we think about time scientifically it is the unit used to specify rates like the rate of change of velocity is acceleration . Philosophically, I think it is circular. Circularity of time has many takers and nature is one of them. The repeating of seasons, day & night are all examples for cyclicity of time. We also observe cyclicity of time in the stages of man's life as depicted by Shakespeare in his seven stages of life which is also incidentally described in Sanskrit vedas (Remember the Rajnikanth song about stages in life?). But when I look at an hour glass, the past is so vast (the bottom of the glass) and future is so vast (the top, of course) while the present is a tiny narrow opening with constant change. It is like everything that happens in life is compressed to a single point in time that our human brains cannot comprehend and hence is expanded by us to experience and enunciate the happenings at that point of time. I know you are wondering why am I blabbering this in a movie review. I am not blabbering! This is what happened inside me, the argument that my mind was having with itself, pulling its hair, searching for more philosophies about time and existence. This is what you will be doing after watching this great movie - Before the Rain.

The film is in three parts - Words, Faces & Pictures. Each word perfectly describes each part with both subtle and in your "face" cues. Each part portrays a love story that is affected, either directly or indirectly, by the conflict happening in the Balkan region. Except for the second part, in which the story is based in London, the other two are shot in Macedonia. The Macedonian born director & writer,  Milčo Mančevski, has done a master piece that is quite possibly one of the best movies that you never heard about! After watching the movie you might either dismiss it as a noob's directorial venture where he did not even pay heeds to editing or you might appreciate his delving deeper into the philosophy of time. One sentence "Time doesn't wait and the circle is not round", that is repeated in the movie either pictorially or verbally, is the corner stone of the movie which eliminates the doubt about the editing skills deployed in this one. 

This is one of those movies which ought to be seen with friends and later to be discussed over drinks. Many sites or so called movie buffs have discussed the genius of Nolan and his idea in Inception while a similar euphoria might be absent for this movie it has done well in international circuits. Everytime I have tried to watch this movie, which is thrice in the past week alone, I have discovered something that I had missed earlier that is obvious. When I tried to decipher the movie, with my brain that has been trained in linear thinking and sequential philiospohy of time in which one thing leads to the other, I laughed like a mad person. I won't analyse more about this movie or the cinematography or music. It will not do justice to this very well made movie to say the least. All I can say is that this movie will drive you nuts in a good positive way, make you want to travel to the shores of Adriatic and make you wonder why are such movies not screened let alone made in India!?

This is a continuation from my travelogue about Kanchanaburi . 

After a great trip to Kanchanaburi, the paradise that is almost forgotten by tourists, it was time to pack the bags and hit the road home. Have you noticed that the start of the trip is always full of energy and it gets to zero towards the end. What took like 2 seconds to reach the destination from home seems like 2 years while returning!? Well, I guess we all feel that way. But this journey back from Kanchanaburi was as eventful and adrenaline pumping as my onward journey was and hence this day turned out to be an awesome one with good lot of experiences in itself. whoever said that the journey is as important as the destination was a genius!

A pleasant surprise awaited me when I boarded the bus at Kanchanaburi which will take me to Suphanburi. The bus was loaded with Dutch, Deutsche and Brit backpacking students (Of course all girls). I could not believe this! This is the perfect platform to complete Operation Good Indian. I am just disgusted or frustrated by the foreigners who think they know all about India and Indians and pass 'smart ass' judgements. I am seriously pissed! I have been browsing the Lonely planet's thorntree forum for sometime now and the kind of image that foreigners have of India(ns) is pathetic. I just kept to myself and my book till the conductor was asking them 5THB extra than the usual 45THB. Now is the time to be the good samaritan and make my country proud! I jumped in (albeit in a less than heroic way) and asked the conductor in my master class Thai about the extra he was demanding. He explained that these ladies are going to Singburi and not Suphanburi. I got confused and asked him if this bus goes till Singburi and he said yes (or so I thought). I then explained the 5THB difference to them and they were happy. After that two of the girls were chatting with me for a few minutes and everything was silent again. Mission Good Indian accomplished!

But this does not end here for us. As it happens, the bus did not go till Singburi and the conductor pocketed the extra 5THB per passenger in his pocket. His beer for the night has been sponsored by naive farangs. I was sure by now that the girls looked at me as an accomplice to the sham. Shame on such people, be it Thais or Indians who make others look bad! But fate did not let me ponder too much on this, he had better plans. Once we alighted the bus, we saw a deserted bus station and the tuk tuk guys were literally all over us offering a ride to the best hotel. Yes, the last bus has left for the day and we were stranded in Suphanburi for the night! Though I knew that cheap taxi exists only in an utopian world, being the optimist I am I led the group (of me and the girls) inside the bus station to fend for taxi or any such alternative. Of course, it was exorbhitantly priced and we had to reject it. But the trouble was I was talking in broken Thai and the girls did not understand a bit. They only understood the outcome, which was that they cannot afford the taxi at that price. Here is a stranger who looks like he is helping but there is nothing coming out of his acts. Obviously anyone would be suspicious now and they started giving me the looks (Of course the nasty ones). 

I ignored those vile looks anyway, I had a bigger problem to worry about than their looks. I am a guy and they are girls. Obviously the whole world will be ready to help them while people will be laughing at my problem. India Vs Rest of World is over and Boys Vs Girls has started in my mind! I come out of the bus station dejected, trying to flag down a car or something! Just then I saw a familiar face. But that guy was trying to hide or at least get out of my view. My heart was jumping with joy and did a reverse somersault. I blurted out pointing my finger at him - "Hey you! you are Taxi driver from Ang thong?! I know you". He just replied with a wide eyed shake of his head. This was my lucky break and I cannot let it go, so I persisted "I know you. You take to Karaoke". Now he identifies me, "Yeah! But no taxi. Taxi in Bangkok flood!" I muttered a few expletives at the flood this time and asked him "How you go Ang Thong?" Now, to communicate to a Thai who "knows" English, you need to talk like them. It might be perceived as mocking but what the hell, it gets the job done better! So screw the grammar. Make it a lean sentence with only essential information so that his brain can process it quickly. It really helps!

Now, after this he agreed to call his friend who has a pickup truck and drop me at my colony doorstep. He is the guy who my friends and I used to hire when we felt like going to the Karaoke bars in Ang Thong for a weekend drink. So we have given him a lot of business and he better not mess with me :P We are to split the pickup truck cost, to which I happily agreed. Now, the girls were there when the negotiations were happening and have by now confirmed I am a total jerk who in the mask of helping them was trying to rip off money from them. Now that I cannot, I am just fleeing. So, after securing myself it was Mission Good Indian again. I asked my taxi driver "friend" if he has any more friends with pickup trucks to help these lovely ladies. He gave them some numbers and asked them to call. By that time our pick up truck had come. I guess the numbers had worked cause the two who chatted me in the bus were now smiling and waving. Dear Farangs/Phirangs, Indians are not bad. We stare at you because you are different just the same reason why you travel to India (and stare at her) because she is different. 

Falcon calling Mother - Operation Good Indian complete. Returning to base!

It has been three weekends and no travel! I was beginning to get antsy and was bitching about the floods that has got every frickin road out of Ang Thong closed down. But enough is enough, I am going this weekend and noone can stop me - not the floods, not the manager who refused to give the vehicle to the next town, not even the guest house manager who was paranoid about me drowning and dying in a foreign country! My friends and I had chosen Kanchanaburi for the weekend. With so many national parks, the river Kwae and cheap accommodation it is a great place to unwind after a hard working week or even a partying week. Getting to Kanchanaburi from Bangkok is a no-brainer, as is getting to most places in Thailand from Bangkok. But getting to Kanchanaburi from Ang Thong requires extensive research and mastery over google technology. By google technology, I mean your ability to vary your search string based on the output and finally hitting jackpot based on trial and error. Being an MBA and having done this for most of my projects - data research and otherwise, I can safely say I know a little something about Google tech.

After extensive research I found that the route is Ang Thong - Suphanburi - Kanchanaburi. The good thing about Thailand, though rarely documented, is the connectivity between provincial HQs. There are myriads of options at regular intervals. Only downside being they close quite early! Last transport can be as early as 5pm and after that you are stranded at the place searching for cheap shelter or cheaper taxi. Chances of getting a cheaper taxi is as much as sighting moon on a new moon day. I started very early on Saturday morning so that I can have maximum time at Kanchanaburi for the day. Cheap bus option from Ang thong took me to Suphanburi and cost me 27 THB and 60 minutes. Suphanburi has a decent bus station with eating options and a clean restroom. From suphanburi it took me 45 THB and 1.5 hours to reach Kanchanaburi. 

After a futile search, for Sam's guesthouse, on the bike taxi all along the Thamakarm road I gave up and asked the bike guy to drop me at the deathrailway. This is the site of famous bridge over the river kwae; shot into popularity by the hollywood movie of the same name. The place does have a vibe to it, especially after having read so much about it. Clicked some pics, had Thai style grilled chicken, Thai coffe and then off to War cemetry. In true backpacker style, my walk to war cemetry was broken by Sams. I had found it!! I went in, booked a room and the AC was more convincing than the noon sun. So I decided to catch a nap which also meant I will not be able to see the cemetry in this trip. Meanwhile my friends from Bangkok had arrived. After lunch we hired a taxi to take to hell fire pass, Sai Yok National park and a cave. The route to Sai Yok was scenic and had lots and lots of landscape photo op!

We finished the night with some great drinks at the cracker's aussie bar. I am always fascinated by these expats who leave their country and settle down in another country for retirement. The owner of this bar was a jolly fellow from Aussie land and we had some Brits for company as well. Man Utd was playing that night and we witnessed heated discussion about Aussie rules football vs real soccer. I tasted Malibu for the first time and fell in love with it! It was good night time and we had to start early as those guys wanted to sneak a peek at the bridge and then go to Erawan National Park. 

Next day was awesome for more than one reason (reasons in the next post). We took the 8 am bus from Kanchanaburi to Erawan and reached after an hour's ride. The journey was scenic and a little tiring. We had a 3 km trek ahead of us (both ways) to cover the entire park and see all the seven tiers of the Erawan water falls. The falls, the water, the jungle - the setting is just mesmerising and you will not repent the 200THB park entry fee. It has been well maintained as well with clear directions to each level. The hike gets a bit tricky after tier 4 and is not for casual/relaxed sauntering. While coming back I was tired and rejuvenated myself by taking a dip in the second level water fall infested by hungryfishes that will nibble at your dead skin. We were descending from the seventh level around 12pm and could see why it is a good idea to reach this place early. Tourists, Ze Germans in particular, swarm this place in huge numbers from noon. It is like the mongol hordes raiding the wealthy nations. You see hot german blondes to grandmas in their swim suits and bikinis complete with Spanish style flower on the side of their head begin to crowd the pools of the waterfall.

Painting on the wall of restaurant

After the tiring hike we headed to one of the restaurants near the bus station in Erawan. This place served the best Khao Phad Khai (chicken fried rice) that I have had till date. Maybe it is the fatigue and hunger! I also loved the paintings in the walls of this restaurant. It was time to leave and we went separate ways after reaching Kanchanaburi; my friends to Bangkok and I to Ang Thong. So time to head back home and another run of the mill week at work. But the travel bug is back with a vengence!

Even as a kid, my fascination towards the big cats was unexplainable. I have no clue why, but I think it might be due to the character of Bhagira in Jungle book. As I grew up, I was fascinated by the countries which had these big cats in large numbers. That and reading about Gandhiji's ashram in SA and colonization of African countries increased my fascination and a sense of brotherhood towards African nations. I think they will be able to understand the Indian way of life better because they have suffered the same difficulties that we Indians have suffered. This fascination and the sense of brotherhood drove me towards buying "A Rainbow in the Night: Mandela and the tumultuous birth of South Africa" at the Mumbai airport when I was waiting for my Kolkata flight almost 5 months back! 

Some books/authors try to analyze a situation from what they see now and try to behave like they are the messengers of god - giving out solutions and how the problems can be resolved. Most of the self help books fall into this category and I try to avoid them. Some books look deeper into the situation try to analyze what was the starting point, take a macro view and then drill deep into the current state of affairs. I love such books and in fact that is how even I think sometimes. Asking why is a disease that I have developed over the years and I am truly happy to have contracted it. Dominique Lapierre hits the bulls eye in this book with his approach to recording the notorious events that marked some of the dark times in South African history. The narrative is a mixture of story telling and reality TV styles. In story telling he transports you to an era where the Voortrekkers first embarked on a historic trek across Africa to find the promised land for their race. The reality TV comes into play when he describes the real life stories of some of the unsung heroes of the apartheid period. 

Success of any major movement has three very essential ingredients - A designated leader, non-designated leaders and supporters. By supporters I mean sympathisers from the other side of the table who see the rationale behind the movement. Take independence movement in India - M.K. Gandhi was the designated leader, Subramaniam Bharathiyar, The trio of Lal, Bal, Pal and many others were the non-designated leaders and there were many sympathisers from the British side who helped as well. Identifying all of these group gives you a clearer picture and is the least that humanity can do to pay respect to the movement as whole! M.K. Gandhi might be the father of the nation but without the other two ingredients he might have just been another brick in the wall! This book (don't let the title, Mandela and the tumultuous birth of South Africa, deceive you) does exactly the same. It tells you why Mandela is a celebrated leader of SA, who were the unsung heroes and who are the sympathizers who made it possible for the nation to reemerge from its ashes. By identifying the sympathizers there is one other important duty that this book or any such book performs. It eradicates the backlash of hatred and reduces stereotyping!

I always thought these designated leaders are just overhyped! I mean, they could not have achieved what they achieved without the help of others, is it not? I had a similar notion about Mandela and I held the notion for most part of the book. But during the later parts, when SA just gets rid of apartheid and grapples with the myriad problems that comes with sudden freedom, this book highlights why Mandela is a leader! Instead of writing a whole lot about it, let me just say Mandela is an awesome leader! Invictus gave me a peep into his leadership qualities and this book just seals it! When you hear an idea and think "That's so simple! I assumed that might have been tried already!", it means that is the most simplest yet most powerful idea to solve the problem. One such is the idea of doing away with courts and implementing something even more basic - a reconciliation center for the crimes committed during apartheid. Imagine, someone having the conviction and courage to think of such a bold idea! Such was the audacity of the non-designated leaders that Mandela could turn to in times of crisis. Man in point - Desmond Tutu, Nobel prize winner. How strong must a Caucasian woman (Speech therapist) be to adopt an entire black township which lacks anything that will be labelled as basic amenity in today's world. She not only adopts it but also transforms the women there to unleash the potential leaders in them. 'Mama' Helen gives us all a lesson or two about transformational leadership. Many such personalities, ideas and leaders adorn this book. 

This book will emote you, inspire you and make you think about how you treat everyone around you. It orders you to be humble, requests you to show compassion and respect to others. Any day I will recommend this book. A definite must read for any human being who can read! Regarding the downsides, I could not find any. Next time you go to a book store just grab a copy of this book and read it! It is better than the average bestseller novels and is definitely not boring like the documentary type history books. Dominique Lapierre just stormed into my list of favorite authors and I am definitely going to read all his books starting with Freedom at midnight next :)

If you want to wager with me and win, here is the secret: Show me a Julia Roberts movie and challenge me not to fall in love with her acting/character. You can even extort my entire salary at times! She is so good at what she does. Be it the struggling mother and activist in Erin Brockovich or the high flying actress in Notting Hill or the distressed lady in Eat Pray Love, Julia does it supremely well. The movie based on a book by the same name revovles around her and is another Julia Roberts treat for her fans. But is it enough for others?

Elizabeth (Liz), played by Julia Roberts, is a professionally successful PR who is struggling with her personal life. When shit happens and hits the fan, she decides to travel and travel in style. She decides a theme for her travel, Lonely Planet/Globe Trotter style - Eat. Pray. Love. The movie follows Liz in her glorious journey to rediscover herself through new experiences and learns to fall in love again. Of course she did not know what will happen during her journey and she ends her journey with a new born belief in "connecting the dots in your life" theory. 

Peeping into her past gives us a few hints to how she chooses her travel destinations. Even without the flashback or the hints the choice of her destinations is not surprising. Liz chooses to eat in Italy, pray in India and love in Bali. The choices were quite apt/obvious considering the reputation for the these places in the US where the protagonist lives. She starts in Italy where she befriends a few locals and a swedish girl. The Italy that the movie portrays is the place of dream for anyone! Beautiful Roman buildings, street side bistros and mouth watering pizzas! The concept of crossing over explained through a single beautiful sounding word "attraversiamo" is excellent! But my favourite part about Italy is the one where they explain how to learn Italian! The series of visuals that describes the so called "Body language" of Italian language and the music that accompanies will definitely put a smile on your face. 

The movie then follows Liz into one of the most vibrant countries, India, to pray and seek some serious inner peace. You would naturally expect a riot of colors, festivities to be interlaced with the whole inner peace thing. You are in for some disappointing portrayal of India!This part of the movie is the most dullest. They never really show any part of India. Almost the entire part is shot indoors in some god forsaken Ashram. Nothing much to write about except for the realization of balance that Julia attains through her recitation of Gita and meditation. There is also this old man who joins Julia in a quest to get a new life at the Ashram. I could not see any chemistry or friendship between the two and he overacts in his last scene as far as I can say. Perhaps, this is what the real Elizabeth experienced and hence is best for the movie. Perhaps, this is the best part for a few troubled souls. But I did not watch this movie to get any gyaan and I was not happy with this part. I usually do reruns of my favourite movies or parts of movies and whenever I do a rerun of this movie, I am sure I will skip this part. By now I was a little bored and paused the movie a few times to refresh facebook and Gmail (hint).

Then comes magical Bali! As Liz's friend in Bali says, "Everyone has a love affair in Bali :-)" It is here that she meets an emotional, good looking, Spanish jewellery exporter by accident (quite literally). Of course, with the Spanish accent, his charm and an exotic, excellent bossa nova version of "S' wonderful" playing in the background Felipe,played by Javier, wins over Liz. Bali, like Italy, is shown in all its glory! The lighting is just great, the colors are vibrant,music is soothing. Perfecto! Bali gets such attention from the director maybe because the whole story starts from Bali. It is here a year ago, when on work, Liz meets a fortune teller (called Ketut) and he predicts that she will return in one year to Bali to teach him English. Also, it is here in Bali that Liz truly rediscovers herself and meets some interesting and wonderful characters - like the divorced traditional Balinese physician. Julia collects & donates a hefty sum to this divorced mother so that she could start a new life. 

Cinematography and music highlights the importance of the events in any movie; more so in a travel based one. Both these aspects are good and this is one of the movies whose background score also sticks in your mind. Not in an Inception kind of way but in a very softer mode. Julia, I will say it again, has done superbly well (Yes I am prejudiced). She beautifully portrays the plight of the protagonist in the scene where she abruptly wakes up from her bed and prays to god with desperation, "Dear God, I know we have not spoken that much. But I need you now. Just tell me what to do and I will do". I am sure all of us have had such moments of desperation when having to make difficult choices and we want someone else to make the decision and make it easier for us. Who better than God to confide to, who lest assured wont divulge your plight to others and make fun of you later! Casting of the supporting actors, whose interactions and interventions can elevate or destroy (as in the case of "No one killed Jessica")the movie experience, has been good in this movie. With the exception of the Old man in Indian Ashram and the divorced physician in Bali I liked everyone else. 

Bottomline - Is it a great movie? No. But its a decent enough movie which can be watched at least once. Will I watch it again - Yes, but without the Indian part :)