Greetings from Pune, India
Howdee Friends,
How time flies! Its been a week a Pune, India and I've only managed to accessed the Internet at the hotel as there was a Internet Connection 'blackout' from the City. (sorry Steffie, I know its been a week since I made my move on scrabulous) Yesterday, my room experienced power cuts
three times so you can imagine the inconveniences the people here have to put up with.
Let me explain.. Pune (some pronounce it PU NA or PU NEH...no pun intended....haha....serious...) is 160 miles from Mumbai and is located in the hills. Power blackouts are a common problem and my hotel is has several back up generators. Thank God!
Anyway, I am really enjoying my time here in India....starting with the 5 hour SIA BUSINESS CLASS flight here... DIG THAT!!! yeah! It's my first time flying business and its an awesome experience. The Changi Business lounge serves food 24-7 and I helped myself to a free flow of Cognac, Beer and other stuff before my early morning flight. Imagine drinking at 630am. Totally surreal! On the plane, you can be assured of a free flow of champagne and you can prob guessed what I drank.. haha. Flying business is great! Priority baggage services, you are the first to get off the plane, stewardess adress you by name, seats are fully reclinable (which is an impt factor) etc etc.
Well, after a delightful flight I arrived at Mumbai airport. The atmosphere at Mumbai was bleak. During the landing, you can actually see kilometres of slums surrounding the airport. Poverty is a seriously a problem here and heartwrenching. Along the way to Pune, children as young as 6 years old knock on car windows begging for a day's meal. The squatters lining the streets paint a picture of the lowest classes of Indian society spriraling into an abyss of poverty. And poverty is tangible here. You can see it, you can smell it, you can FEEL it. Naked children playing in the drains, taking a shit on the streets. Teenagers, roaming the streets with a look of despair and hopelessness in their eyes. Their only pleasure seems to be kite flying and this could symbolize a subconcious or a hope that they can rise to the skies away from the cycle of poverty. How lucky we are to be Singaporeans. The plight of the Sub Castes are very very real.
The 3 hour drive in the Toyota Innova SUV was indeed an eye opening experience. Pune, reputed to be the cleanest city in India is maybe, at best 10 years away from becoming Singapore. There is till much to work on here. The roads have no dividers and travelling is a scary affair. Imagine heavy traffic at high speeds going both ways.
On a lighter note, the hotel, just 5 mins away from my office is cosy, comfortable and the service standards here is probably better than that of Shangri La in Singapore. The Indian cuisine is unique and exciting. Flavourful bursts of spices in every bite. Beer is cheap too and I got the tried the Paan which is a kind of candy wrapped in Betel leaves. (makes your mouth all bloody red) The music in the hotel is great too! cos they're playing all my favourite music, from Jimi Hendrix to Oasis.
Work is tough here as I have to wake up at 530am everyday and I leave only around 630pm so its a 13 hour day week for me till Sat. My Indian colleagues are a terribly intelligent bunch of people. All of them have a Masters degree, at least... haha and they are a nice friendly bunch too.
OK my internet connection is gonna terminate.
Miss you guys and I can't wait to get home although I'm somewhat living like a king here. haha.
Catch ya'll soon.
LOTSA LURVE
How time flies! Its been a week a Pune, India and I've only managed to accessed the Internet at the hotel as there was a Internet Connection 'blackout' from the City. (sorry Steffie, I know its been a week since I made my move on scrabulous) Yesterday, my room experienced power cuts
three times so you can imagine the inconveniences the people here have to put up with.
Let me explain.. Pune (some pronounce it PU NA or PU NEH...no pun intended....haha....serious...) is 160 miles from Mumbai and is located in the hills. Power blackouts are a common problem and my hotel is has several back up generators. Thank God!
Anyway, I am really enjoying my time here in India....starting with the 5 hour SIA BUSINESS CLASS flight here... DIG THAT!!! yeah! It's my first time flying business and its an awesome experience. The Changi Business lounge serves food 24-7 and I helped myself to a free flow of Cognac, Beer and other stuff before my early morning flight. Imagine drinking at 630am. Totally surreal! On the plane, you can be assured of a free flow of champagne and you can prob guessed what I drank.. haha. Flying business is great! Priority baggage services, you are the first to get off the plane, stewardess adress you by name, seats are fully reclinable (which is an impt factor) etc etc.
Well, after a delightful flight I arrived at Mumbai airport. The atmosphere at Mumbai was bleak. During the landing, you can actually see kilometres of slums surrounding the airport. Poverty is a seriously a problem here and heartwrenching. Along the way to Pune, children as young as 6 years old knock on car windows begging for a day's meal. The squatters lining the streets paint a picture of the lowest classes of Indian society spriraling into an abyss of poverty. And poverty is tangible here. You can see it, you can smell it, you can FEEL it. Naked children playing in the drains, taking a shit on the streets. Teenagers, roaming the streets with a look of despair and hopelessness in their eyes. Their only pleasure seems to be kite flying and this could symbolize a subconcious or a hope that they can rise to the skies away from the cycle of poverty. How lucky we are to be Singaporeans. The plight of the Sub Castes are very very real.
The 3 hour drive in the Toyota Innova SUV was indeed an eye opening experience. Pune, reputed to be the cleanest city in India is maybe, at best 10 years away from becoming Singapore. There is till much to work on here. The roads have no dividers and travelling is a scary affair. Imagine heavy traffic at high speeds going both ways.
On a lighter note, the hotel, just 5 mins away from my office is cosy, comfortable and the service standards here is probably better than that of Shangri La in Singapore. The Indian cuisine is unique and exciting. Flavourful bursts of spices in every bite. Beer is cheap too and I got the tried the Paan which is a kind of candy wrapped in Betel leaves. (makes your mouth all bloody red) The music in the hotel is great too! cos they're playing all my favourite music, from Jimi Hendrix to Oasis.
Work is tough here as I have to wake up at 530am everyday and I leave only around 630pm so its a 13 hour day week for me till Sat. My Indian colleagues are a terribly intelligent bunch of people. All of them have a Masters degree, at least... haha and they are a nice friendly bunch too.
OK my internet connection is gonna terminate.
Miss you guys and I can't wait to get home although I'm somewhat living like a king here. haha.
Catch ya'll soon.
LOTSA LURVE