India Trip 3

Well! Due to the detour to Mumbai, we had to miss the first (1 day) conference session. Some people say that we should not mix business/work with pleasure but I am not one of them. I wanted to enjoy my trip to India.

A trip to Agra was part of the package we had taken and of course we were not going to miss that. We left our hotel early in the morning and was it cold. Brrrrr. We picked up the rest of the participants from the Grand New Delhi, where they were staying and we were on our way.

Agra is in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is about 200km south of New Delhi. However, just to get out of the city, it took us more than an hour. The traffic jam was terrible. People in KL often comment that the city traffic is the worst in the world. However, they have never been to India. I have also heard some similar comments about Penang drivers. I tell you, Penang drivers are angels as compared to the Indians. On the way, the road was packed with trucks, 3 wheelers, buses, motorbikes, scooters, bicycles and even a tractor trying to make a U turn moving about 1 cm per minute. Forget traffic rules. Oh Yes! We saw cows too. There were also numerous pedestrians crossing the road, weaving in and out between the vehicles. And it seemed that everyone who could was honking. All the trucks carried signs on their back, which you will never see in Malaysia - "Horn Please" or "Please Blow Horn". It was so amazing that we didn’t realize that 1 hour had passed before we finally reached the outskirts of the city.

Here I have to mention that the pollution was considerably lesser than I had experienced the last time I was here. This was largely due to the fact that all buses, taxis and 3 wheelers in New Delhi now runs on Compressed Petroleum Gas (CPG). Last time I was here, the pollution was so bad that blowing your nose after a walk would leave a blackish residue on your handkerchief or tissue.

Once we escaped the jam in the city, we moved faster and we were on our way to the famous monument of Love – the Taj Mahal. As we neared the city of Agra, we stopped at Emperor Akbar’s tomb at the town of Sikandra, 4 km from Agra. According to the guide, Akbar was the third and the greatest Mughal emperor. He was very successful in uniting the different religious groups in India. In fact he had wives from different religious backgrounds, including Hindu, Christian and Muslim.



The tomb was really huge and built in red sandstone and Marble. As Akbar's tomb was completed eventually by his son, Jahangir, we can see some differences betweent he architectual preferences of the two. We were awed by the architecture but according to the guide, it was nothing compared to the Taj. We didn’t stay there long as we wanted to spend more time at the Taj Mahal.

More later...

India Trip 2

We finally landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi on the 3rd (Monday). I was back in India after a period of nearly 6 years. By the time we got out of the plane it was already dark - one whole day wasted.

The first thing we realised when we got out of the plane was that it was damn cold. The temperature was hovering around 15 degree Celsius. It was cold considering that I usually keep my air con temperature of my room in Malaysia at around 18 degrees.

Another thing I noticed (or felt) after touching down on Indian soil is the smell. It’s not a bad smell or anything like that but something, which lingers in the air. Another thing you notice after you pass the customs and immigration checks is the noise - a lot of people talking, shouting + cars honking + engines running. It was chaotic. Add numerous beggars, including kids hanging on to you and begging for money, into the equation and you can understand how shocking it was for my wife. I had experienced it before but still; it was not easy to deal with the situation.

The guy who was supposed to pick us up was not there and we had to call him up. He later sent a vehicle to send us to our hotel - Ashok country resort hotel, which is quite near the airport but away from the main city centre. It was cheaper as compared to the other hotels in the city. In India they follow the dual rate policy, a lower rate for the locals and one much higher one for foreigners. Since we had taken a package, I am not really sure what the rates were.

The rooms were OK and tidy but after the hotel rooms in Malaysia and the 5 star hotel in Mumbai, it was definitely a let down. It was clear that the bed sheets had been mended several times as I noticed a number of clean stitches. However, I was thankful that the bathroom was quite clean.

We had a GREAT meal - I love North Indian food and for me a vegetarian, considereing the lack of choice of vegetarian food in Malaysia, it was paradise for me - paneer, naan, daal, mix vegetables, chutneys and more I can't remember. In the room after the meal, switched on the TV and found that they have around 20 channels. However, my wife was really tired and I had to switch it off even though I wanted to finish watching the great Hindi movie that was on. Unlike other women, my wife hates the idiot box.

More later...

India Trip 1

Started work today after my trip to India. I arrived from New Delhi on the 8th and spent a day in KL before coming back to Kedah today morning.

It was a wonderful experience and I have a lot to write about. In this post, I will give a brief summary of my overall trip and write more about my experiences in the following posts.

I was there to present a paper at the Second World Congress of the Academy for Global Business Advancement at New Delhi. My wife, who was also presenting a paper at the conference, accompanied me. In the morning of the 2nd January, I received a call from Linda at MAS who informed me that the flight was delayed by about 2 hours. Thanks Linda.

One of my colleagues and another of my wife’s colleagues who were also presenting papers there joined us at the airport. Anyway, we left KLIA around 8 pm evening. The flight to New Delhi takes around 6 hours.

When we were about to reach the Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi, the pilot announced that we won’t be able to land there because of the heavy fog and we were diverted to Sahar Airport, Mumbai – a 2 hours flight.

We were put up at the InterContinental The Grand Mumbai, a five star hotel. So we were able to pay a visit to Bollywood too. Unfortunately our passports were confisticated at the airport and we were unable to venture out of the Hotel. An Indian friend in Delhi later told us that we could have gone out without any fear, as 99% of Indians don’t carry an ID card. Well it was too late by then.

We had a nice sleep. As I mentioned before, the hotel we stayed in was a 5 star hotel and it was magnificent- like something out of the Bollywood movies. When I woke up and pulled the curtains aside, I came face to face with the reality that exists in India. Just behind the hotel was a slum area. I watched the slum residents going about with their normal activities around the houses (if I can call them that), which looked like they were about to collapse. I later learnt that the largest slum area in the world is in Mumbai. India is a land of contrasts – it is home to some of the richest people on the earth and also the poorest.



We left Mumbai and finally reached New Delhi in the late afternoon on the 3rd.

More later...

Going to India Finally

I have a few white hairs, red eyes from not enough sleep and lost weight.
Running around, pushing and pleading.

The prayers worked and YEAH! I am finally going to India with my wife.
It was a tense touch-n-go situation but I finally got the go ahead and
just received the good news a few minutes ago.

I take back all the curses, all the bad things I said as the result is
what matters.
All well that ends well.

Yes! I will be leaving KL for New Delhi with my wife on the 2nd and will
be spending 6 days and 4 nights there.

Actually its for a conference but that won't stop us from having fun.
The only sad part is that we won't be able to take Rahil. Her grand
parents will be taking care of her.

Taj Mahal here I come.

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This might have been a very different post had I not got back my passport in time.

Patience

I was really pissed off today and cursing my fate at having to depend on lazy, no sense of urgency, always-on-leave-when-you-need-them people whom you cannot fire because they don't work for you.

Reading the news about all the people who lost their loved ones and property was a sobering thought.

No matter how bad you think your life is, there are always people who are worse off.

My deepest condolences to the victims and families who lost their loved ones in the recent tragedy.

---
Listening to Patience by Guns N' Roses.

Environment and Tax

WARNING: Serious Post Ahead

The increasing urbanization, clearing of land for agriculture and exploitation of the natural resources has resulted in dwindling forest resources. Added to this is the indifferent attitude of Malaysians towards environmental issues. I guess this has partly to do with the fact that we are living in a country which lies in the tropical zone and has been blessed with abundant natual resources including flora and fauna.

While talking to some people about this issue, they would reply "what environmental problems?" Though there is no clear proof, the increasing ocurance of floods in various places in peninsular Malaysia has been linked to reduced forest cover and land clearing in the highlands and watershed areas.

So how do we go about improving people's involvement in such issues.

I guess, education plays a very important part and as maximum impact is made during childhood, we need to stress the importance of the importance of preserving the environment to our children. As emphasized in the 7th Malaysia Plan (1996-2000) "infusing formal environmental education in the school curriculum, active participation of public and private sectors including NGOs in promoting environmentally responsible practices; and broad base campaigns through mass media in encouraging life-long process of environmental education."

Another way is allow tax exemptions for donations to environmental protection organisations in the country. Please correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I know, there is no tax exemptions for donating to environmental groups in Malaysia. Maybe these organisations can lobby the govt. to allow such exemptions, which can solve their funding problems. SO they can stop whining that they don't have enough money. A win-win situation if I may say so.

As a Native American saying goes, "We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors, we are borrowing it from our children."

Red Tape

I know everybody hates red tape. Even those who follow all the rules, bureaucracy, etc., etc., hate it when they are the ones on the other side. It's bad when it is red tape + tidak apa /indifferent attitude. It's worse when combined with rude behaviour.

I am not sure whether anyone realized it, but there has been a whole shift (for the better) in the way people in various government departments deal with their customers – US. I attribute it to the new Prime Minister’s policies.

Yes. I can hear some snide remarks and comments.

Hey! Give the guy a break. He’s been in power for only a while and he has already changed the way people do things. You have to give praise when it is due.

Of course, you can hear about bad service from government servants from time to time but its not as bad as it was some years back.

And I am not joking. I recently renewed our maid’s visa. Of course I had to complete the normal procedure – mandatory health check, etc. etc., which took quite some time before I could go ahead with the actual renewal thing. I was amazed as the whole process took about 5 minutes only.

Is it me or are the people at the counter in the Immigration Dept. more friendlier now. Maybe its because they are in Kedah with its laidback lifestyle. Not sure about the situation in KL.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.