Bangkok

This was the most impromptu overseas trip I might have ever planned. There was some discussion about the long weekend and then one thing led to the other. Finally we decided we should go to Bangkok in 1 week if the tickets are not so costly. It’s the Christmas time and we didn't expect the tickets to be cheap. So ‘not so costly’ was all we could wish. As it turned out, our wish was granted and the tickets were booked by the next day. (Thanks to LCC!)

The moment we arrived in Bangkok we whisked straight away to Pattaya. The plan was to stay 3 nights in Pattaya and 1 night in Bangkok. It turned out to be just fine. Bangkok doesn't offer much and one night is what it takes to see most of the tourist spots in Bangkok.

For the beginners Pattaya layout may be little confusing. But one day is all you need to figure out the routes. It’s very easy to navigate through all the soi’s (lanes). We covered most of the Pattaya on foot and didn't even need to hire a taxi or tuk-tuk.

On the first day we went to the ‘Flight of the Gibbon’ which was quite different and I have never done that anywhere before. It was in the forest where we need to use the cables to move from one treetop to the other.

On the second, we went to Mini Siam. As the name says it has the size down versions of all the important monuments in the world. From there we headed to Tiger Zoo where we had tamed Tigers, Elephants and Crocs. We finished the day with the Tiffany show, a dance show by the transgenders (who look like women). The dance for the song in Devdas ‘doola re doola’ was simply awesome.

Pattaya is all about night life. There are some soi’s which are overindulged in calmness and some soi’s partying all night. And if that is not sufficient there is the ‘walking street’ which caters to all needs till the wee hours.

From Pattaya we headed back to Bangkok on the third day. We visited some temples such as Wat Po and Wat Arun. We took the Chao Praya boat line and did some street shopping. We could not visit the floating market as we ran out of money and time.

It could be quite a long time before I could go for an overseas holiday trip. All I can say is I covered most of the South East Asian countries. Time to change holiday zone :) Overall I recommend Pattaya but not Bangkok. Bangkok is not only expensive but also boring. Of course both Pattaya and Bangkok are no where near to Phuket. Go to Pattaya only if have seen Phuket.

My first full-Marathon

I am a finisher of 42.195 KM in 4 hours 48 minutes. Yikes. My month long preparation culminates into an amazing run. It was not perfect per se. Nevertheless, I feel I did really well for the training I went through.

As I reported here I continued my training till Nov 30^th. Unlike my training in 2009 this training was shorter and less painful. There were no swollen shins and blackened toe nails, probably because of the shorter duration. If it were for a 3 month duration I am sure I would have cracked the 4.30 mark.

The marathon started at 5am. Never before had I run at that time of the day and it was refreshing and pulsating to run with a sea of fellow marathoners. I finished the first 10km by 57 min and the next 10km by 1 hr 57 min. Impressed by my performance I continued with much more determination and reached the 30K mark by 3 hours 10min. Realizing that the sun is not yet out I smiled for myself. Suddenly 42 K in 4 hr 30 min seems very much possible. Then as I continued to take strides my very old problem resurfaced ( This and this ). I am still not sure why exactly this problem is happening. The only trouble I face during a long distance run is the calf muscle cramp: my right calf muscle. The only answer can be lack of training. For this and this my calf muscle gave up at about 18km. Fortunately, for the full marathon it gave up after 30 probably because of the better training. And having my lessons learnt during those two runs I immediately stopped and stretched whenever I felt the cramp in my calf muscle. But eventually with some muscle rub I crossed the finish line with a big grin on my face. I can’t wait for my next marathon in May.

When the rain never stopped

When the SIMI was asked how the weather was outside it was not kidding that Singapore is always either sunny or rainy. Of late that reached new heights. Never before had I seen a place rain every day for more than three weeks until now. The cycle started on 12^th November. From that day onwards it has been raining every evening till date. Initially it brought much needed respite from the humidity but overtime it has become so predictable and annoying that hardly anything can be planned in the evening. Even my marathon training schedule has to be altered according to the weather conditions. So according to the pattern I had to choose the stadium where I can train without interruption. But as of now I am thoroughly enjoying the pattern.

P.S: Edited. Pattern stopped on 4^th December : (

Marathon Training

I finally started my first marathon training for the Singapore Marathon in December. Things got really hectic and following a rigorous training schedule is anything but easy. So had to prioritize my activities and delay my training. And I had a super run after a long hiatus. Had a strange feeling when I touched the finish line. Sometimes simple little things really do matter (blame the endorphin). My ultimate goal is to finish a marathon in 4hours. But with the current situation a 4 hour marathon would only be wishful thinking. I would be happy if I can see it off in 4.5 hours. I hope I can continue my training provided my leg will hold on till I finish the main race. Can't wait to run my first marathon. Super Exited.

A Slam Less year

So now that's official. A slam less year for the once mighty Federer. Now there will be questions raised again about Roger's future. Whatever is the answer lets face it. He is no longer the emperor he was. He turned 30. Yes he is old enough to compete with players in their early twenties. 5- setter were once Roger's strength. After watching yesterdays match I felt like 5-setters are too much to handle for him. Suddenly the 178-0 record seems less convincing. The back to back two set lead defeats paint a grimmer picture.

But the silver lining is Federer is to be blamed for today's loss. He was always up in the game. With 2-0 lead he should have easily wrapped up the game. At 5-3 and 40-15 an ace could have changed the whole equation and there would not have been all these hang-up-the-boots talk. Though Federer might not do a 3 slam year he can at least add one slam and make the tally to 17. The forehand is still powerful and service is unquestionable. Only the fitness level can determine his success in the future grand slam events.

So the question again: is it time to write him off? May be yes or may be no. I hope this is probably the rough patch in his career. Next year will be the deciding factor whether Roger still has any gas left out in him. Till then all I can say is win or loss RF rocks. At 30 you may not see the Djo's and the Rafa's hitting powerful forehands and lurking around in the semi finals.

Independence day 2011

When was the last time you sung the national anthem? Probably you might have heard the tune being played out in sports events. This time I-day fell on Monday. I some how managed to find time to go to the embassy in the morning. As always the crowd turned up in large numbers which I did not expect in the first place. The events were packed with kids from various Indian International schools. Since I need to get back to the work I could not stay back to enjoy the events organised. But sung the National anthem like a proud Indian. Getting chocked up is the part of the ritual I face every year. Happy Independence day to all Indians!

Blog Hibernation

My blog with 101 posts is too old now(akin to 101 yrs) and is purposefully being neglected or hibernated. Of late I have been into lots of writing stuff and I , neither a writer by profession nor a writer by passion, is finding it extremely energy sapping and mind wrenching to put more words on the blogger slate. Needless to say my current post is just some random filling with no significance whatsoever.

The days are passing by and the clock ticking is freaking me out. Days and nights are merging. Hope I will get through this stage unhurt. What the heck I am a warrior!

Wedding Bells.

My friends are in a hurry and one after the other is getting hitched.Being away from the home didn't help in making my presence felt at all the weddings. All the weddings were given a miss until this. Well this was also almost skipped. Then everything happened in a jiffy and I couldn't resist booking the ticket, which almost burned a hole in my pocket. Its one of noname13.c guys, so I fell for it at last. Eventually I was on the plane thinking when was the last time I made such a short trip to India. There was none. That may make it first of many trips. But I wish there will not be any more short trips.

It been years since I attended a wedding. And its the first of any of my friends wedding I attended. So I was really looking forward filled with lots of mixed feelings. One great thing about the wedding is the reunion opportunities it provides. Met Aditi after nearly 4 years. Shameless as it can get. I have been to India 4 times in 4 years but could manage to meet her only now. Hope I need not wait 4 more years for the next meet.

The wedding was a bash. Simple and sweet. May the couple spends rest of the life happily together. Despite so many differences I am sure they will ultimately reach a common path complementing each other. That's the magic of marriage. Finally, I learned the hard fact one again that I cannot sing any song more than 4 lines taken in any language. How in the world people remember the lyrics!!

The sleepless and drunken nights finally took its toll after I returned to Singapore. My record of not being sick since moving to Singapore is finally broken. Alas ,a one day fever was enough to make me sad that my defense mechanism was finally breached. A Toast to the Happy couple. Happy married life :)

I turn 25!!

I turn 25 today or rather I am 300 months old!!A quarter of a century on the earth! As always birthday was well spent with the family. Hopefully I will become wiser and better person this year.

And yes this is Memories third birthday :) Incidentally this is my 100th post on Memories. Hope there will be more posts in the coming year though the situation looks bleak. So a three deck brownie to celebrate all the events.Woohoo. Cheerios.

Sgcares

Of late I have been associated with the philanthropic organisation called Sgcares. Every time I associate myself with new events I feel there is so much people can do for the less fortunate people. The feeling of giving back to the society was not the only criteria which influenced me in taking up the activities. But some events are really an eye opener and they are the things which keeps you reminding how little yet significant role you can be in the development of some other person.

I had the chance to teach in the yesterdays activity. I taught before and I have no qualms in saying that I prefer teaching intelligent students to less intelligent ones. The students didn't seem interested and I being very tired didn't give any thought for the next one hour. I just wanted to give my level best without expecting anything from this student. What surprised me is how quick she is in understanding and how interested is she in learning. The moment I started teaching I knew given proper schooling facilities she can be extremely successful. And for the next one hour it didn't matter how noisy my surroundings were. Only thing that mattered is how much I can cover in that period. The session wasn't long enough in terms of time but it did provide a meaningful experience. Somethings are just meant to be experienced.

PassionRun 25Km

My finishing timing in the marathons is going from bad to worse as years are passing by. The reason is because of the inadequate training. The first time I ran I practised rigorously sticking to the schedule without any breaks. Rain or shine my run would not be missed. But during the subsequent marathons I was busy and could not make any schedule and practice runs. And the result: awful finishing times.

This is the longest run I participated so far. 25Km. The tract is flat not having the flyovers like the Singapore marathon. In spite of that I could not finish within the target time. I finished in around 2H: 55M. I didn't train much for this event. But I wanted to finish in 2H: 30M which was reasonable target for my preparation. Everything was on target till I reached the 17km run. The inadequate training had its affect. Cramps started to develop similar to the one I had in SCSM in 2010. But because of the prior experience I some how managed this time and reached the finishing line.

The moral of the story: Train hard if you have some unrealistic target

A Trip To Langkawi

This is the trip which I wanted it to be very memorable. Memorable because there might not be an overseas trip with my whole family in the near future. The place not only was a let down but also led to some not-so-pleasant memories.

Firstly, I may have been expecting something more of Langkawi than what it has to offer. What I expected to see was the pristine blue water in lines with the Phuket. But what I seen was nothing close to that. It was the normal beach water everywhere. I was later told that pristine blue water is quite a distance far from the shores of Langkawi and needs a whole day trip. Duh!!.What a let down.

The trip started with some rip off at the airport. We were charged 60 % extra than the usual taxi fare. I would have cursed the guy had it not been for the taxi driver he sent, who was very friendly and a great guide for the entire half day. He showed the whole city within half day, covering all the important places including the famous Cable Car and the Eagle Square. I didn't realize until then that Langkawi can be covered in lesser time than one can cover Singapore. So finally ended the day at the Cenang beach which is supposed to be the most popular beach in Langkawi. But to my surprise the beach was occupied by approx 100 people. Dejected with the crowd and the surroundings we took tickets for the next day Island hopping, hoping it to be a better experience.

Things didn't change the next day and the island hopping was no better than the previous day places except for the speed boat experience. We were taken to the nearby islands and which were some 20 min apart from each other and from the mainland. The islands were just like normal places with no-so-great shores. Pregnant Maiden Island was the better among the 3 islands. The best part of this hopping was the eagle watching. Somewhere in between the islands is the place where most of the brown eagles reside. A wild life photographer would have loved this site. The eagles would occasionally fly over us and would drop to the surface of the water as if it just caught a fish from the surface. It was so fast that it was difficult to ascertain whether it caught or missed its prey.

Finally came back to the Cenang beach and wanted to add little adventure to the so far boring trip. We decided to do some Parasailing and after some deliberations zeroed in a colorful parachute and decided to give a shot. May be we should not have done that. But as always nothing is predictable and the most unanticipated thing happened. Some how during the course my sister ankle bone got fractured. She might have not enjoyed the sailing considering the agonizing pain in her ankle. The doctor back home conformed that there is a fracture.

While booking the tickets I was in a dilemma whether to stay for 2.5 days or 1.5 days. I am glad that I sticked to 1.5 days. This place has nothing to offer and the price you pay is not worth it.

Cricket and The Others(Sport)

These days you come across any Indian media be it on air, online or print the one news you probably will not miss is Cricket. Thanks to Indian Cricket success at the world cup this may well have reached all time heights surpassing even the CWG drama. With all the flashy, latest news, latest interviews and expert opinions the public is constantly bombarded with gigabytes of information making it difficult to decipher even by its standards. My twitter time line is flooded with #WC2011 tag, my FB page is decorated with ‘Bleed Blue’ badges. Contrary I haven’t seen any in-depth articles on the ongoing Miami Masters, where Indian Express Lee-Hesh won the finals. Team India has become synonymous with Indian cricket team where it could have as well mean Indian Hockey team or Soccer team. Take the blame media.

Cricket is a religion in India and there are many priests than it can accommodate. It doesn’t need any resources for the game to flourish. The BCCI already announced cash prizes for the players. There was no real need for the respective states to announce cash prizes from the tax payer’s money. Delhi govt just blown 6 crores, 2 for capt and 4 Cr for their state players. Some people getting land from the state governments and this is just the tip of the iceberg and more is yet to come. The same mistake is done over and over again; concentrating the entire money in Cricket and giving the other games peanuts or in some cases worse than that. Celebrity endorsements make the matter worse. Its really hurts when you see a CWG medal winner getting a clerical job with the Railways where as a cricket player linked to match fixing and selling the country ends up winning an MP seat.

This country cannot produce finest athletes if the current situation prevails. It can never give a Roger Federer (at least Hewitt) or Pele or Phelps. It cannot rest on the past laurels (read Sachin). Today if I ask a kid to explain cricket to a person of non-cricket playing nation he can easily be a substitute for ‘cricket for dummies’ book. Yet if I ask him the number of players in hockey or soccer he may put an apologetic face.

I wonder where were Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi at the time of recent National Games or last years Hockey world cup. Didn’t they have the moral obligation to attend the match? It’s just 1hour game after all unlike cricket. To make things easier it was held in Delhi and they could have easily squeezed it in their busy schedule. They could have made a difference with their presence. While the PM was too busy to attend the National games he not only visited cricket world cup but also invited his Pak counterpart. Bias I say. In fact India Sports Ministry is a farce. The ministry should make it compulsory that at least 10% of the sponsorship money cricket gets should be diverted to the other sports. Traditional media should be made to limit cricket coverage and increase other sports coverage. The onus is on the government to make other sports popular. Conducting a CWG event once in 2 decades doesn’t help other games to flourish.

With all due respect to cricket and Indian cricket team, I would prefer an Olympic gold to Cricket world cup. I understand that I would be chastised for making this statement and I am speaking only for a minority of people but as a person who believes in the overall health of the country’s sports future I am left with nothing but to make this statement. Nothing wrong in aspiring to win cricket world cup or excelling in that sport. Things would have been much better if Cricket success and other sports success are not mutually exclusive.

P. S: I am proud that India won the world cup. But if this is at the cost of other sports then I may have to feel less proud.

The art of waiting

Whenever I schedule to meet somebody most of the time it will be me who would end up waiting for the other person/persons. Through out my undergrad it was me always showing up first at the venue. Of course having personal vehicle always helps to make sure you are not late. But then that is only a small incentive. That incentive would not count if you don’t start from your place at the right time. And nothing irks me more than saying ‘Indian timing’ word. It was you who didn’t start at the right time and then blaming the whole system.

Being late is no problem if it doesn’t exceed 30 mins. Beyond that it doesn’t make any sense for excuses. Once in a while blaming traffic can be taken into consideration. I cannot fathom what makes people say excuses all the time. The only way I get this is either they don’t care the other person or they are least bothered to be on time. Of course apologies do galore all the time. But any kind of apologies cannot nullify my lost time. Time lost is lost. Being late shows how unimportant or unwanted the other person is.

I just loathe the thought of waiting for people for long time. There were times when I lost my cool thereby effecting relationships. I am yet to learn the art of waiting. And when you are short of time (my recent India trip) these kinds of things really get worse. Meeting time was scheduled at 9 but people turn up at lunch time. As usual some story comes up. You wouldn’t do this for any exam right? Then why should this be any different from that. Because you don’t give a damn. Period.

Incredible India 2011

Super busy. Two words in which I can describe my India trip. It may seem long considering I was there for almost 3 weeks and most guys would say it is more than enough. Well a trip to India is never long. You always end up feeling less satisfied and having some tasks unaccomplished. There is always some emptiness that envelopes you after the trip and the feeling of back to normalcy (boredom, routine whatever). You keep telling yourselves that everything is ok and this is how it is supposed to be. You are glad that everything is back in place now. But in the end you know your lying and cheating yourselves. Finally you feel you won but you find yourself standing at the loosing side. Well something’s don’t change.

Most of my days were spent with my family and relatives. We visited record number of holy places. This is the first time I visited so many places at a go. Shirdi, Kanipakam,Sripuram, Tirupathi, Alivelu Mangapuram and Kalahasti in that order. Normally I would have been bowled over by this time but thank fully the company was good enough to survive. Sripuram deserves a special mention. It not about the gold plating but about the way the temple is managed. The surroundings were impeccable to say the least. I didn't occur to me that a holy place can be as clean as a resort. Shirdi and Tirupathi are far behind in comparison with this temple. Shirdi in particular is facing the effects of commercialization.

Each time I visit my relatives I feel I still don’t know a lot about them. Every time I spend time with them I end up knowing something new. These relations sometimes get thorny but in the end I am left will loads of memories to cherish. It would have been more enjoyable had all my relatives been there. Sure enough next time all of them will (must) be there but I doubt there will be enough time for all these. But that would altogether be a new experience. One thing is for sure. I started appreciating these relationships.

Hyderabad is changing a lot. Plenty of new malls (includes S. India’s biggest mall) and lots of new places to hang out. Ambiance of some restaurants kept me wondering where I am in. Met most of my friends back in Hyderabad. Some are busy, some are trying to be busy and some are pretending to be not busy. Also priorities change over time and one should only expect the least. All is well.

Happy New Year 2011!!

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade. Hope this New Year brings all the happiness, peace, good health, and prosperity. Leave the negativity and embrace 2011 with optimism coupled with greater courage to face the new challenges ahead. God bless!