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Yearly Archives: 2015
And the BAFTA Award goes to…
We landed in London on Friday morning and managed to fit in a couple ageless pubs in Ealing, train, tube and taxi travels, a touristy wander around Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, St Martin-in-the-Fields, saw part of an opera at Trafalgar Square, skirted the edge of China Town, chowed down on fab Caribbean cuisine and rum at Dub Pub in Covent Garden…
However one of the highlights was a stop most tourists miss… the hallowed halls of BAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television. (more…)
Sisterhood of the world!
Just before our big trip to Canada and the UK, the super cool “Sisterhood of the world” award swung my way thanks to Travelgirl47 !
So a huge shout out to Jenn and now what follows is…
- I get to answer a few burning questions from Jenn
- Then nominate some more fabulous sister bloggers and….
- And ask them some questions too!
Simple, eh? (more…)
The Sounds of Silence… London, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto vs Mumbai
Asia can be a sensory cacophony… Mumbai means living with an everyday decibel level that you just come to accept. Even the background sounds that fade from consciousness are ever present – crows, pigeons, hawkers, traffic, construction, music or TVs blaring, animated conversations at all hours… there is always something day or night.
Average noise levels of our city are at least triple that of your normal North American city. Throw in a festival or two and you can see decibel levels of 140 and above (let’s just say that far worse than jumbo jets taking off!)
If in doubt, check out some of the articles in AcuosticBlok on the Rising Noise Pollution in Mumbai. (more…)
Happy Canada Day!!
For the first time in 13 years, I’m actually in Canada on Canada Day!
We are celebrating at my partner’s sister’s home in Toronto (ok – actually Brampton) with folks dropping by all day and evening. What better way than to celebrate with family and friends?
#ExploreCanada, Vancouver 2015 (Everyday Asia)
For all you Canadians in Canada and abroad – enjoy your Canada Day celebrations!
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Whisky Lady – June joy
Believe it or not, Whisky Lady is celebrating 6 months of publishing whisky tasting adventures!
June developments included:
- Tasting session treats from Ireland, USA and Scotland
- A trip to Singapore with three whisky sampling stops
- Jaunt to London, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto with one more stop to come in London before returning home to Mumbai
Celebration time!
We landed in Vancouver a few days ago and were hosted by the closest I have to a brother and his partner of 18 years. Even though he was full-on with organising the upcoming Pride events, my adopted brother still threw us a fabulous BBQ gathering of friends and made time to hang and enjoy. That’s love, that’s family.
It isn’t to say friends haven’t struggled, but growing up gay in Canada is an entirely different proposition than in other parts of the world where public marriages and very closeted private encounters is a survival mechanism. Where being honest with yourself about whom you love is illegal. That’s not love.
So today – let’s celebrate that our LGBTTQ friends south of the border finally have the right to not only love who they want, but can even commit through marriage to their partner if they so chose.
I only hope that one of these days, India (and other countries) will finally take a step forward and decriminalize same-sex love. Then take another step forward and recognise gay partnerships on the same footing as heterosexual ones.
After all – all you need is love!
Love in Tokyo, July 2014 (Everyday Asia)
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So long, farewell!
As we prepared our home for the demolition gang, completed last-minute shopping, we struggled with the internet… Yes… living in Mumbai you cannot rely on having one internet alone!
You would think having easy access to four options (yeah that’s 1..2..3..4…) would be enough:
- My so-called ‘high speed’ internet has been down for two days and counting…
- My partner’s slow but steady MTNL internet was sorta kinda working but now has gone from barely functioning to not…
- Our recently re-charged data card isn’t compatible with my MacBook Air…
- So I’m on my back-up to the back-up to the back-up… using my phone as a ‘hot spot’… however the signal keeps dashing off leaving me intermittently ‘high and dry’ as the city drowns in monsoon floods
Because ultimately the monsoon is the real culprit in this equation. And the poor drainage conditions in this city that leads to regular flooding, damaging cable connections and more.
I’m not sure how often I will post over the coming weeks while we trot around the globe to London, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and back to London… so quick before I lose this precious connection… ciao for now and catch you in a bit!
Looking to London, then Van-Groovy… then Winterpeg… T.O. and back to Big Ben!
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You know you are in trouble when…
We all know that when construction folks say “It is a 5 days job” it is likely to be more. It is practically a universal phenomenon that unexpected developments occur in any major project.
In India, you can reliably double the time so I wasn’t surprised when “5 days” work in our bedroom stretched to two weeks. What was amusing to discover was the different definition of “done.” According to the contractor, “finished” looks like this… (more…)
“We don’t want your money!” Indian mutual fund cos deny Canadians because of the Americans
After the agonising effort to get my address dutifully updated with various mutual fund countries in India, I was slapped with a rude rebuff.
I can no longer invest in India.
It used to be that someone in my circumstances living long-term in India could invest in mutual funds. Which makes sense given this is my country of residence, where I’ve earned most of my money in the last 12 years, where all my global income is taxable.
It would be logical, therefore, that what little savings I have should be invested here. Right?
Wrong. 
I won’t go into all the details, but it has something to do with FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Which on the face of it is for Americans. To make sure that Americans or those with direct interests in the US are properly paying their American taxes.
But wait – I’m Canadian. I’ve never worked in the US. I’ve never held property in the US. Frankly other than a few short visits, rarely am ever IN the US. And Canada even has an intergovernmental agreement with the US to fairly cover off these matters.
What does that have to do with India?
Well… heck if I know but apparently it does.
As I understand it, most Indian Mutual Fund companies didn’t register with the IRS by the Jan 2015 deadline. Which means they’ve simply decided to avoid any new investments from not only US citizens but Canadian as well!
Last time I checked, Canada was not the 51st American state. Except, apparently, according to the Indian mutual fund industry… 
I accidentally discovered this when I went to make an on-line switch. It was declined.
Further investigation revealed I’ve fallen down some bizarre global tax rabbit-hole. I made several efforts to find a solution, explaining to no avail repeatedly that I’m not actually American, have zero interests in the US, that my tax jurisdiction is India… nix! None will touch my money as they don’t want to get into trouble with the Americans.
Naturally, there were – ahem – creative suggestions on how to get around this. I won’t name names… but let’s just say I was encouraged to lie about my nationality to get around the restriction. Sorry, but I’m not about to do that.
So… anyone want my money??
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Passport power… cross-border crossing from different countries
I wonder if there will ever come a day when the double standard of differential access to countries will cease?
I recently stumbled across an interesting info graphic by Rosie Spinks for GOOD Magazine. (see also a modified version below)
Rosie Spinks infographic in Good Magazine
It poses the question, how powerful is your passport?
I never take for granted the privilege of possessing a Canadian passport or the opportunity to make India my adopted home.
However, just to put into perspective:
- Canada has visa-free access to 170 countries around the world
- Whereas India has visa-free access to only 52 countries
With a partner possessing an Indian passport, I witness regularly first-hand the additional steps required – most recently as he renewed his UK tourist visa for our upcoming Canada – UK trip.
Cross-border crossings for me are easy. For him, even though clearly he travels internationally regularly for work and pleasure, it is not so straightforward. I can take an impromptu trip to Amsterdam, whereas he cannot and most travel requires advance planning with visa applications.
So far, we are able to navigate these matters, however it breaks my heart to hear of stories where couples with different countries of origin, struggle… when love goes global, governments do not always agree!
I ask you then, what is your passport power? If you have someone else in your life, does your partner / spouse / significant other possess a different passport? How does that impact your lives?
Would love to hear your stories and invite guest posts – just drop me a line at info[at]everydayasia.com.
Here is a version modified by move hub that may be a bit easier to read online:
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