All about my travel experiences, the excitement, challenge, experiments and the sweet memories!
Saturday, August 20, 2016
My cup of coffee
Chattrapathi Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai... Malindo Air check in counter
First there is a sotta thalayan cutting the queue, rushing from the side and almost crashed the trolley onto the bum of another kannadi kaaran. Finally the airline staff got him back onto the line. He was just plain ignorant.
Then there is the middle aged cowboy with his elderly mom. Cowboy is a Indian guy with a huge tummy, spotting a bushy moustache like overgrown grass by the banks of Kaveri river, wearing a Dallas hat, with a white mobile phone tucked away in the back pocket of his faded jeans with a earphone wire going onto one ear like a FBI agent and wearing Nike!! In summary he looks like a clown out of a Amir Khan movie. And more so while he tries hard to take selfie while smiling broadly!!
The sotta thalayan now completed check in. Carefully packs his passport into a husky plastic bag, pushes it into the large front pocket of his brown bush jacket, puts on a black cap and is now loitering around the waiting area.
I have all this time because my ticket was booked using a Malaysian credit card and they need 30 mins to verify!! Another complicated Indian procedure to curb money laundering??
Friday, August 12, 2016
Sugoi Deira City Centre
Today I came to Sugoi at Deira for my lunch of teriyaki chicken and fried rice with miso soup... and my weekly people watching hobby.
There's a guy on the next table with a kid calling his mother in law and asking her to move her buts and get to the food court sometime today. His wife is sitting on another sofa table at a distance. They fought over the mother in law's punctuality??
And there are 2 Filipino guys handling 2 very young kids. One kid walking on the table between the plates of noodle from the Fujiyama stall. And another trying to play Pokemon around the food court. Third behaving well. Now one of the guys are trying to make milk!!
Ah and the mother in law just arrived. Now the wife is missing!! She must have gone to Carrefour.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Flight AI581
Today's eavesdropping on Air India flight AI581 from Mumbai to Kozhikodu. Mohan on seat 3A was excitedly speaking to his "buddy" on next seat about the freedom he enjoys in America.
Mohan is 73 yrs old. Went to USA in 1975 to complete his MBA in Ohio State University. And settled down there. He landed in Mumbai last night from New York via London while his baggage is still in transit somewhere!!
An aircraft engineer who used to work with Air India and has trained many pilots on aircraft mechanics. That's his glorious young days.
He was in St Petersburg, Russia last month. So now started reading about those who amassed wealth during the Soviet Union split. His story has slowly drifted to the Aryan invasion of India and how Andra Pradesh resisted the move south hence preserving the Dravidian culture in south!
His newfound buddy took some selfie after their vegetarian breakfast on flight.
As we landed in Kozhikodu and got on the bus at the tarmac, a lady of similar age started talking to him. Both were trying to figure out if they've met in Mumbai in the 70s!!! His old flame???
Friday, June 24, 2016
Culinary curses
Monday, June 6, 2016
Start of Ramadan in UAE
Today is the start of Ramadan 6 June 2016 and I woke up to the morning of silence outside the window. No pedestrian and no cars.
The Ibis World Trade Centre closes it's restaurants but breakfast for me was at the Novotel adjacent to the other entrance to World Trade Centre.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Today's notes from Deira City Centre
Having my long awaited lunch of One Rack Rib with BBQ sauce. On the table across the aisle, there are 3 ladies and one of them is a really chubby Hawaii girl... and I mean really really chubby.
Her meal was 4 pcs of mini kids burger. Arrrgh you can imagine how little it looks in her hands. And she went on completing the assault on the burgers, stuffed some fries in her mouth and continued talking with the fries dangling to the music of her speech.
As she completed the mulching and gulping her drinks she started yawning!! And now she is sitting looking bored waiting for the others who are leaner in size to finish their meals at the usual 70kg human speed.
With a grrr look she has just ordered desert. I am losing my patience as I have finished my meal and I need to get to the theatre to catch the movie "Me before you" at 350pm. Seats are running out so I better run.
Exciting trail from Malappuram (Kerala) to Coimbatore (Tamilnadu)
Let me take you through one of my adventures ... near Pallakad en-route from Malappuram to Coimbatore. We just concluded our trip to some schools in North Kerala and were crossing over to Tamilnadu on this day. I had with me Kumara Raj (who was then the Sr Manager of INTI International University) and also my colleague Vikraman.
The toddy shop located near Pallakad |
As usual this was one of those unassuming shops tucked away in the midst of some paddy fields and most of its patrons were locals wearing the standard "lungi" and topless .... or a singlet. When we arrived well over-dressed in our jeans and T-shirts we certainly attracted a lot of attention.
For a start we looked like we were some misplaced tourists! Joseph's native Malayalam saved the day as his greeting and explanation solved the mystery of the lost tourists in a local toddy shop! The owner understood that these are just some "monkeys" from Malaysia trying to experiment with his toddy.
Tapioca |
In combination with the tapioca the usual spicy fried chicken, pepper beef, mutton liver fry and toddy was available. Of course bottled water was NOT available ... it can be procured free from the nearby river according to the worker!
The spicy presentation of the day |
Digging through the spicy spread, we amused ourselves watching the locals drink toddy and munch on the food just like snacks. The positioning of food was as a compliment to the drink ... not as a meal.
Personally, I enjoyed every bit of the food. Took a sip of the toddy but was too worried of a possible "tornado" in my digestive tract so did not continue too far. Taste of the toddy was pretty neat and smooth ... I must say it was not at all stinky like how I was made to believe.
My grandpa from my dad's side was a toddy harvester and he took his trade all the way to Malaysia and harvested toddy at Wessington Estate in Johore ... now it is called Simpang Renggam Estate belonging to Sime Darby Plantations. He must have been one of the "culprits" who contributed to the many toddy drinker's economic problems by supplying toddy to the nearby shops.
Coming back to Pallakad, this was a licensed toddy shop i.e. approved by the government and a license plate is hung outside the shop.
Kumara with the club members |
The owner was not at all amused whether we got there in necktie and coat ... or with a half tied "lungi" or even without any dress. To him all that matters was whether we drink ... and pay! He gave a mild smile to show his happiness that we have travelled some 2,508 kilometres to taste his toddy ... knowing very well that we may never come back regardless of whether the toddy was sweet, sour, spoilt or killed the friendly bacteria in our stomachs. He knew very well that we are just "guest actors" on our way.
The licensed owner of the shop |
With that he wanted to be in a photo with us ... and there you go, a shot with the supporting artistes of the Pallakad Toddy Trail.
The two guys who were sure that we are film-makers out there to confirm the shooting location! |
Toddy price list ... 1 litre costs 40 Indian Rupees (less than USD1.00 at that time) |
A lady gathering her harvest of the day |
Swaying coconut trees |
Sprawling green fields far into the horizon |
Paddy grains |
Advisers of President Obama discussing "World Grain Price Index" with their "lungis" half tied. |
The real contributors to the well being of the crop |
I would not mind taking the same drive again some other time in the future ... hoping that the same toddy shop is still there with our supporters waiting for the film to be shot in that location!
An awesome Malaysian dinner in Dubai ... Noodle Bowl
Friday, June 3, 2016
My perspective of Dubai
Window attractions @Elevation Burger, Dubai
The Filipino cleaner sprayed the nearby table and bent over to wipe. As he peeped through the window he saw 3 young Filipino girls trying to read the signage.
So now he switched from the half cleaned table to the window. Started wiping the window without spray. Only the hand working like a Nissan windshield wiper on intermittent mode... swinging one wipe every 5 seconds while watching the girls.
As the girls moved towards the door he too quickly switched his cleaning to the door. While the hand wipes the door the eye is waiting for the girls to walk in.
And now he opened the door gladly, smiling broadly and inviting them in! There is a long streak on the door glass - the dirt picked up from the window!!
The girls are here for a walk in interview. Now he is going to work overtime!! Or until the boss spot the dirt track on the door.