While walking to office early this morning, I could not prevent myself from glancing at (not in a bad way!)  the small kids who are probably on their first day at school. While some of them were cheerful and excited with  large smiles on their faces and brand new bags on their backs, a few of them were sulking and cheerless. I was just like these ones.

After hearing all my stories during the past years, I am sure that as a kid, I had grown a strong hatred for the word “school”. I hated it so much that my parents even had to temporarily stop sending me to kindergarten/pre-primary school for the first few months. Later on, I was somewhat like literally dragged to school everyday while I kept crying all the way. Things did not went smooth either at that time as I started talking (real words/sentences) quite late in my childhood as compared to other kids of the same age.

Today, when I hear small kids of 2-3 years talking and nearly behaving like much mature ones (and even handling mobile phones/cameras!), I say wow. Unfortunately, I do not remember much of my childhood but perhaps you will be able to share how were your first days at school?

Let’s see if your memory is better than mine!

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As I mentioned in the previous post, I moved my flight to Dubai much earlier than planned since I had already completed all my jobs in China.

Unlike the rest of the stay, my first hours in Dubai were not so pleasing. I had to wait for 2 hours in the lobby of the Ibis Hotel (Deira City Centre) before checking in and above that, the hotel was not up to my expectations. Internet in the room had to be paid per hour (stupid fact in 2011!) and a few other issues like my telephone line working after 2days. Cheaper hotels in China were far more better than this one.

After 2hours of rest, I set out to explore Dubai. I walked around for some 10minutes and asked a taxi to drive me to the Dubai Mall, some 10-15 minutes away.

After a quick glance around and walking by the hundreds of shops, I spent some minutes admiring the huge aquarium there, full of marine life, including fishes of different species and even sharks (and some divers too lol).

Superb set-up inside the gold souk of the Dubai Mall :

Next came the the highest structure of the world, the Burj Khalifa (829.84m), and similarly, one of the longest pictures used on this blog

I returned back to the hotel for some sleep, after which I moved to the famous Gold Souk (Souk = Arabic word for market). I ended my day wandering in another mall, the Deira City Centre, only 50m from the hotel. I mostly looked around the tech shops to have a glance at the latest devices and their prices.

No need to say that the malls were already in Christmas mode.

On Day 2, I walked some twenty minutes to the Creek Park where I spent over 3-4hours. Over there, you can feel real familial life, socialization and kids running everywhere. Even grown ups were all excited and full of energy, unlike in the urbanized and materialistic-like atmosphere prevailing in the city center.

Creek Park is also the place to go if you want to enjoy a top view of this part of Dubai, from the Dubai Cable Car, which goes up to a highest point of 30m and a total of 2.8kms if am not mistaken.

I had some good time, though alone but I regret having missed the 11am session in the Dolphinaterium. I could not wait for the next one at 3pm since I had to leave for the evening Safari in the desert.

Overall, the safari outing is a nice experience, not to be missed at any cost. After a 55km drive, we reached the actual meeting point and that’s where the vehicles started driving and moving in all directions.

You really don’t imagine the thrill until you spot one of the other vehicles adventuring into the sand dunes. After the dune bashing, all vehicles drove to the camp, welcomed by some tea/coffee and some snacks, accompagnied by lovely music and warm lights.

After a first session of the dubai’s famous belly dancing, we had dinner followed by a few other dance performances.

I have compiled a few small videos that I have shot. If ever you are watching the video below, please do not put your volume to the max, the sound is not so great unfortunately.

Back to the hotel at around 21hrs, I guess that I emptied nearly over a few handfuls of sand from my shoes (and even pockets!) before quickly falling asleep.

For Day 3, I had purchased a Big Bus Tour ticket.

Present in different countries, the Big Bus Tours’ concept is as follows : You pay for a ticket. You board on any of their buses which drive along a specific journey in the country. You can hop in and out at any of the stops as many times as you wish. For example, on reaching a shopping mall or museum, you can get down, visit the area and wait for the next bus. Additionally, you can plug in a provided earphone and listen to commentaries about Dubai and the buildings you cross by as the bus drives along its journey.

On that last day, I visited nearly all the areas on the map while enjoying the sight-seeing, up from the open floor of the bus. In the evening once back at the hotel, after a short rest and a shower, I took a taxi to the Dubai Mall to end this short stay in the UAE.

I checked out at around midnight, reached the vast airport, completed all the paper works, wandered for nearly 1 hour in the huge duty free area and took the flight back home. Welcomed by a cloudy and rainy weather, I was glad to be back to the motherland, which was much greener than when I left it.

And since we are back talking about Mauritius, let me remind you that there’s the December edition of the “Guess Where?” game going on from the 21st-24th December 2011.

Take up the challenge and guess where the 2 pictures have been shot!

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Hello everyone!

You simply can not imagine how I missed blogging during the past one and half weeks. No writing, no comments approval or responding, no daily sharing of news and posts. Bref, it was purely some unexpected holidays. And I am back!

Coming back to today’s title, I initially planned to write it as “English? No English!” because that’s probably the most common interaction I had with the Chinese population. Language is a real problem. Very few (I really put much emphasis on the word few) people actually can understand and talk English.

On the other hand, I learnt a few Chinese keywords/phrases by heart, like

• “Chudi Chudi laaa” – Give some discount
• “Tuuuu XXX” – Go to place XXX

Despite not being able to interact properly, the one week in China went on smoothly. I was there mostly to buy household items and furniture in the Guangzhou district and more specifically in Fo Shan. Once all items in my to-do-list were cleared, I moved my flight and had some nice time in Dubai for 3 days.

During the last week, I appreciated the country, the people and the culture. I should say that (most) Chinese are nice, welcoming and helpful (when both sides can understand each other).

The one-stop country

You should know that nothing is impossible in this country. They manufacture absolutely everything. Just name it! All types of markets exist : Furniture, curtains, electrical appliances, hotel equipment, ceramic tiles, sanitary wares. There are a few addresses which you should know else you will land up looking for something in the wrong place.

Let’s say that you need to set up a hotel. Just walk in with your money. You get everything from the room door mat to the staff uniform and the kitchen equipment. Absolutely everything you need in a hotel, except customers.

China is really a shopping paradise and girls, You will be the most happiest persons there, believe me. Imagine whole streets over several hundred meters, selling only shoes, garments, bags and other things you crave upon!

On my last day there, I landed into some sort of wholesale market street (above) with over tons of people. I never seen so much people in a so little place.

Bargaining

Bargaining is a must in this country. A very common fact : When quoting you the price for the very first time, many among them say “Last last 200 rmb”. What does this mean? He is offering you the item at the lowest price of 200 rmb (or yuan) and is not giving you the opportunity of look for good deals.

Just bargain a few seconds with him, and he will quote you another “last last” price. Discounts can sometimes be incredible when you take a large number of items.

Food

One promise that I could not keep. Prior my departure, I said that I really wanted to taste (most of) the food there. But the majority of times, I simply could not stand that particular smell at some food stalls or road-side restaurants.

Eventually, I found myself eating Mac Do or KFC most of the time (And above that, I even lost 2kgs!)

There is good food available too and much affordable. For example, I had really enjoyed a hot pot feast of shrimps and octopus for only 50rmb (roughly ~ Rs250). And on the last day there, I had another superb dinner in an Indian restaurant, named Daawat. Finger licking good for100rmb (abt Rs500).

Driving

Simply amazed by the drivers. I would award them with the title : “Best of the Worst Drivers 2011″.

The rules and regulations of the road : You can do absolutely everything.

While driving on the leftmost lane of a 5 lanes road, taking the right most lane is simply a matter of seconds. They just drive in. The car coming in that lane will just brake and all of the times, the vehicles are separated by only a few cms. Yet, I have seen practically no signs of accidents and very few scratches on vehicles in general. So if just like me, you think that some Mauritians don’t know how to drive, you should admire the Chinese (If am not mistaken, Indian drivers are like that too.)

Things to be careful of

Dishonesty, fake notes and brand piracy are some major problems in the country.  You should always be on guard while being there, especially if you are carrying money and valuable items. Always be careful when dealing with money. And avoid going for cheap items, they might be tempting but you will end up with a useless and defective product. I even feared buying a laptop there or a tablet as planned.

You know Playboy right? What about PianoBoy and PizzaBoy, side by side?

To sum up, I would say that the trip to China was a nice experience and ready to land there again!

Once again, glad to be writing back again and keep tuned for that post about Dubai.

Also, big thanks to Kiran, Satchin, Rajul and everyone from the family
ps : The blog post finally got its title from a Bollywood movie.

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Yes, I wanted exactly the same look you have on your face right now, glaring at your screen and saying

“WTF?”!

As you have read a few weeks back, I had decided to be adventurous by bidding my farewell to DCDM Consulting to join TheoFinance (or Teotys, as you wish), a member of Crédit Agricole Group. That was for the news headline** of today.

To my ex-DCDMC-colleagues : You have won. Please send my share (of you know what)!

What’s in for the future? Right now, I have absolutely no idea, or perhaps, yes. I might work for my own. I will think about that later on. I just want some long holidays. Honestly, I really need them!

Youpiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Mo ene chomeur now

(**and please don’t ask why…) 

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Right now, you should normally start cursing and shouting at me, but please give me a few seconds to say why I did this. Some of you have probably noticed my birthday being displayed as 22nd August 2011 on Facebook. Many rushed to my wall to leave a few words. Some txt’ed/gave me a call me or even came to meet me.

Really, thanks to all of you. Some of you said really good things lol.

But, unfortunately, this was only a kind of experiment : I wanted to see how many among you actually remember

• my date of birth or
• remember having wished me only a few months ago (5 months to be exact *last year’s post*) or
• use the “See friendship” link.

Facebook has made “birthday” wishing some kind of daily routine. You log in early every morning. You see your friend’s name in the birthday section or your news feeds showing your common friends commenting on his status. Facebook has kindda spoiled the fun. Sure, it helps a lot in connecting people but today’s example clearly shows how much you really know your friends and vice versa.

Sometimes it might be useful to click on the “See friendship” link to view any interactions you had with your friend. Everything is displayed, from wall posts to photo tags and also, if you wished him/her on an earlier date

For example, CarrotMadman6 wished me twice this year and most of you fell in the same trap xD

Ok, you can now swear me now. As for me, I had a nice time, smiling at each and every wishes sent to me. Also, so glad that so many people actually care about me and filled my FB wall with all those wishes.

This has probably been one of my biggest jokes you actively participated.

Update :

Of course, big thanks to all those who remembered my birthday and did not wish me on the 22nd August 2011. True friends indeed

Take it cool. Chill!

Don’t forget the “Recommend” or “Share” buttons

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*facepalm*

Sounds funny? NO! Put yourself in my shoes. You will also find it awkward and irritating!

Very often, I am surprised how often people misspell my name. Worst, how can you type my name wrong when you are on my blog?

My name is written everywhere, from the address bar to the bottom part of the page, without forgetting the large banner, the sidebar and so many places more. I could even write my name on your face if the technology allowed me to! pff.

Are you blind? Do you have any other health/ eye sight issues that transform the “V” into a “W” or eat up the “Y” or insert additional letters?

Very often, I get comments or mails addressed to some Yashwin, Ashwin, Ashvin.

Sorry but I don’t reply to mails/comments not addressed to me and if ever I sent you the link to this blog article, then you seriously have to think twice before talking to me the next time.

A quote to end the article :
Remember and use people’s names when you talk to them. 
A person’s name is uniquely sweet sound to them (Robin Sharma)

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Disclaimer : What follows might be a boring story. The blog post remained in my draft section for at least 2 months. Time to either delete it or publish it. So, I decided to go with the second option.

Some weeks back, I found myself in a pretty unusual situation when I once left home for a small evening jogging trip. It was already 630pm when I noticed that it was already time to run back home through the sugar cane fields from the beach of Pointe aux Piments to Triolet. In fact, I was a bit careless since I left home quite late on that day, not taking into consideration that the sun went down much earlier than usual.

When I reached the sugarcane fields, it was nearly pitch-dark. No moon light, rocky roads, tall sugar cane plants nearly reaching harvest time, no street lightings (of course, since I was right into the fields).

I took out my mobile to switch on the camera’s flash and guess what? “BATTERY LOW!” Damn!

I had 2 options :

• Return back to the main road and walk back home (Several kms, most probably some 45mins walk)
• Continue through the sugar cane fields (nearly a straight line) and get home in about 10-15mins.

Fortunately, I knew the path by heart and I could find my way back, even in the dark. I was so relieved when I gradually saw small lights at the other end. And then, I could hear dogs barking and a few minutes later, they were barking at me. I was so happy to be (nearly) back home.

No, I do not suffer from nyctophobia but I can tell you, that was one of my most freaking experiences ever!

What about you? Are you afraid of the dark, or any other phobias?

btw, if you need a list of different phobias, have a look here on wikipedia.

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Helloooooooooo!

I have a good news for you

Introduced on the photoblog a week ago, I have the pleasure to announce that the blog now uses the Disqus commenting system. As from today, you will feel a different experience here, an enhanced one with a more powerful commenting system. Isn’t that great?

What is it more exactly?

Let’s put it simple : My blog now outsources the Comments Section to Disqus.
A slightly longer way to say the same thing : Disqus replaces the default commenting system of wordpress (the blogging platform) by handling the comments section as well as adding additional features.

What does this mean for you?

As you scroll down below, you will notice the new comments section layout. Here are a few interesting features that you can now benefit from :

• Reply to comments without the page having to load again.
• Like and Share comments
• Threaded comments (Much easier to follow, especially when replying to others)
• Upload photos
• Login the comments section using your twitter, Facebook, Google or Openid credentials.
• Better email notifications
• Optimized for mobile phones

You can now choose to login using your Facebook and Google accounts for example. Don’t worry, you can also opt to post anonymously.

For info, the Disqus platform will create some sort of profile for you. This allows you to see where you commented lastly, but also, this will allow other people to view what you said on my blogs or on other platforms where you have been to.

btw, you are highly encouraged to create upload a picture of yours on the profile

Your wish is now true

Many among the regular readers have been asking me for Disqus and also, the possibility to like comments. Hope that as from today, your experience on the web will be enhanced and more pleasing.

Many thanks for reading my blog

Enjoy and have a nice Friday + Weekend!

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This is a personal blog nah? As compared to old times, I tend to put less personal info on the pages here, but today, I will just drop a few words…

Dhaneesha and myself went for a catamaran cruise to the northern islands. Had a great time there, together with the other tourists and the crew. We got on board the catamaran at around 9am, sailed towards Coin de Mire (Gunner’s Quoin), Ile aux Gabriel and Ile Plate. I really enjoyed snorkeling on Ile aux Gabriel and even more at Coin de Mire. Diving from the catamaran was exciting. No burning sun but a more or less cloudy sky with a few showers of rain. So for us, Mauritians, the weather was lovely since we did not get burn nor much sun tanning

The crew was really lively and nice with all of us. Greatly recommend the guys at Passion Océane!

Pens down.

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After approximately 20years, a wedding ceremony was organised in our yard. The atmosphere over here was special, everyone getting excited as the great day was approaching.

The planning started about 1 year ago, and I can say that it was really a great deal of organisation. Just to quote a few ;

• Rental of the tent, decorations and lightning, chairs, tables, kitchen utensils
• Writing down the list of guests and going round the island to invite each one of them personally
• Making space for parking area for guests
• Food and catering

The event live on Facebook

Grab my Vivaz Pro, Compose, press the shutter button and upload the shot on Facebook through the wifi broadcasted at home.

Over 40 pictures were uploaded to this album which you can view by clicking on this link : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=330712&id=518093312&l=4f28b968c1

A unique wedding ceremony

Everything went on smoothly, except some rush on Friday nite. We welcomed more than 700 guests at our home and the place quickly became overcrowded, especially at the peak time. We ran out of space and some guests needed to wait for quite some time before being able to enjoy the “7 currys”.

We tried our best to make things move fast but we know that a few people were not able to have a complete “7-currys”  on their banana leaf. But one thing for sure, everyone enjoyed this superb food. No one complained about the food, for all the mentioned days

Playing the national anthem

Talking about good things, we did planned a few exceptional moments. For example : Since the wedding ceremony was held on the 12th March, the independence day of the Republic of Mauritius, we played our national anthem just before the wedding ceremony started. Have a look at the last few seconds on the youtube video :

New vid

Update 11 April 2011

I now have a longer video of the National anthem. Here it goes :

end of update
My cousins Deepa and Neha marched right in front of the guests waiving large flags while the DJ played the national anthem. Everyone stood up, smiling at this original idea. I think that all of us did feel proud upon this accomplishment.

Coming back to the “Saffran” on Friday nite, we had live performances of singers and dancers. At 11pm, we had more than 100 people enjoying the performances.

And on the Chawtaree, we had live karaoke. No comments.

The best for the end

And now, I am going to reveal something which will certainly surprise 90% of you…

During all these days, I received loads of messages and comments on Facebook. The number of Facebook likes grew with time. Everyone was congratulating Dhaneesha and myself for the wedding.

I really enjoyed reading all those comments and at each time, I smiled to myself because…

It was not my wedding, but that of my sister Dakshinee

Most of you have been pwned! haha lol

At no instant, I mentioned that I was the one getting married. All the pictures uploaded showed everything behind the planning and organisation, etc. Only a few friends (including some bloggers too) got the email invitation (with google maps indications) and knew exactly who was getting married lol

Happy married life to the newly wed couple!

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