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Tokyo Day 3 / Shanghai Day 1 – Travel time!
My July 2014 Tokyo Chapter closed uneventfully with the usual travel routine of wake-up, breakfast, check-out, flight and off to my next stop – Shanghai – with an extra bonus!!
Tokyo Day 3
Thanks to the practical and sound advice of a very knowledgeable traveler, I booked my flight out of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and entered China at Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport. (more…)
Tokyo Day 2 – Work, Water + Whisky
After an interesting though less ambitious Day 1 than planned… welcome to Tokyo Day 2!
I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after a good dose of snnnnnz!
Work
After all the pre-program warnings about needing to meticulously prepare (with impeccable timing!), I found it rather amusing that we could not access the room early to set-up and the projector didn’t work! Tried a few combinations with my laptop, another participant’s laptop and then efforts to get another projector were initiated… (more…)
Tokyo Day 1 – Wandering around Shinjuku Nichō
I promised a few more details and pics of my Japan trip… so here goes!
Before I left Mumbai, I consulted with a friend who lives in Tokyo for what to do in my ONE free day… His advice was:
- Airport to hotel only long enough to check-in and dump bags
- Head straight to Tsukiji – Fish Market – noting that while I would miss the really active early morning, even the outer edge is remarkable
- Walk to the Hamarikyu Gardens and have the maccha green tea
- Take a boat from there to the Asakusa Kannon temple
- Catch the subway back to the Hotel
- Nap (he’s done enough overnight Tokyo – Mumbai trips to know!)
- Go to the Robo Bar for the evening’s entertainment
It sounded ambitious but amusing.
And the reality? Far from the recommendations! (more…)
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
What fun! This weekend was the ‘Indian Premier’ of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with a special viewing for cast n crew. (more…)
Whirlwind work trip – Tokyo chapter
In July 2014 I went on this crazy whirlwind work trip that took me from Jakarta to Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo then Shanghai back to KL and home to Mumbai for a short bit before heading off again to Jakarta!
Thanks to still having mobility issues at that time, I could not explore with my usual verve and vigour… instead hobbled carefully along with my trusty cane.
While short, it was a fabulous trip and when hosting our February Japanese themed whisky tasting session, was reminded of how much I enjoyed those couple of days in Japan. (more…)
Silencing “India’s Daughter”
Quickly before yet another version of India’s Daughter was blocked, I watched the documentary lest I be tempted to comment on something without actually seeing it.
I needn’t have panicked I’d miss the opportunity… like rabbits, as soon as one is blocked, another link pops out of another YouTube hole.
Banning “India’s Daughter” on YouTube
Social media and mass media alike are abuzz with reactions to the decision to not permit showing the BBC “India’s Daughter” documentary in India. And catapulted its viewing via YouTube in a way a mere airing on BBC TV alone could never have accomplished. (more…)
Bleeping ‘Bombay’?
My partner’s play Bombay Jazz is on Sunday and the press is paying attention!
But I noticed a funny little caveat at the end of an article “When Jazz Hit Mumbai” that came out yesterday in Mid-Day…
Note: Mumbai has been referred to as Bombay to retain flow of historic events.
Then proceeded to pepper throughout the article:
… Mumbai (Bombay, then) …
To someone from outside India, it seems rather schizophrenic – Mumbai vs Bombay!? (more…)
How to have a hippy princess holiday!
Sometimes a gal just needs to release her inner hippy child to cavort with her princess streak to enjoy a few fabulous days of bliss in Goa!
How… you ask?
Fly Business Class
In footloose fancy free hippy mode, decide to fly last-minute, pack only a small bag of comfy casual clothes but…
Then out pops the princess with business class for a mere 1 hour flight (ok one was a première seat sale practically the same price as eco & the other was eco bumped up with a nearly expiring upgrade voucher… why waste, eh?) (more…)
Personalising Bombay’s Paparazzi – Fahad Samar’s Flash Point
When you think ‘paparazzi‘, you think of mad shutter bugs hounding celebrities going about their everyday activities…
However Mumbai’s breed are rather more civilised. “Please sir… just one more sir! Thank you sir!”
Before I met my partner, I was completely oblivious of Mumbai’s paparazzi.
With him, I discovered there is often a warm symbiotic relationship between photographer and photographee. What isn’t captured on camera are the greetings by name, teasing exchanges and general camaraderie. (more…)
Makar sakranti / pongal feast
You know it is makar sakranti when every street corner in Mumbai is bursting with kites.
Known as makar sakranti in Maharashtra and pongal in Tamil Nadu, it is a time to celebrate the end of winter with flying kites and feasting!
It is also a time to get rid of the old and welcome the new. (more…)
Everyday Asia 