The Thai Air Experience

I recently got the chance to fly to Sydney and back on Thai Air. Why Thai Air? Because it was the cheapest and no one else offered fares which were anywhere close to comparison The route that was offered to me by Thai Air was Bangalore – Bangkok – Sydney – Bangkok – Bangalore.

Overall, the flight was OK. Nothing major to crib about. But still want to note a few things about Thai.

• Leg space on their Bangkok – Sydney connection. Thai deploys Boeing 777-200ER on this route. Nothing wrong with the aircraft. I have travelled on that aircraft while travelling on British Airways. It is the way that Thai Air has customized it that is the problem. Since I am generally tall, I prefer to stretch my legs forward. Thai has restricted tall people from stretching in the economy by placing a metal box under all the seats. The air hostesses informed me that the box was the back end system for the on-board entertainment. On my enquiring about whether there was a seat available without this, she kindly informed me that all seats in first class did not have this! Duh….I really didn’t need her to tell me this
• No personal entertainment on the Bangalore – Bangkok segment. This flight being only 3.5 hours, Thai thought of doing away with it. Though I was happy to stretch my legs, other passengers were complaining about this.
• The food served onboard was great. The quality and taste was fantastic. And the portion size was just right. Vegetarians though might have a problem if they have not requested for a special vegetarian meal. In the Bangkok-Sydney segment, the food choices provided were chicken or fish. There was nothing vegetarian other than the bread. Even the salad served was Crab Salad!
• Archaic Website. The website of Thai Air is still not matured. Other airlines offer a lot of services online, but Thai has clearly missed the bus.
• Language issues with the air hostesses. Most of the Thai Air hostesses are not very well versed with English. They can manage, but that is about it. Being an airline which flies to almost all the continents, they should put more focus on getting their staff comfortable with the common language.

Overall, I feel that given an option, I would prefer a Jet or a Kingfisher over Thai, primarily because of the better overall service levels. But, Thai would definitely figure in my choices because of the extremely competitive fares offered.

 

The Christmas Look!

Christmas season brings in a lot of red, green and snow. WordPress has created the perfect theme for managing the red and green. They have added an option of enabling snow on the blog to enhance the “christmasy feeling” . Thanks to WP, my blog is all decked up for Christmas! I can shamelessly admit that I am in love with WordPress.

 

Notorious Petrol Bunk Attendants of Bangalore

You start noticing it when all the petrol bunk attendants stop after filling in petrol for 200 rupees. This happens consistently, irrespective of if you have asked them to fill in petrol for 500 or 1000 or 1500. Magically, they always hear 200 and stop at that. When I noticed this, I thought that it was a problem with my pronunciation. Just to make sure that it was not a problem with my language, along with the English translation, I started blurting out “ek hazar” also. No luck. Then I learnt the Kannada for 1000 from a friend of mine. Next time onwards, I tried “Ondu savaru” along with the English and Hindi versions. Still no luck.

It was only after a loooong time that I realized that the problem was not with my pronunciation. The issue was not because of the fact that the attendants did not understand Hindi or English or Kannada. The issue was that I was always distracted when I was at a petrol bunk. I used to talk on the phone or talk to the person sitting next to me. I was rarely looking at the meter which showed me how much fuel was being dispensed into my car. And, the attendants used to capitalize on this and easily cheat me of my money. If they heard 200 and stopped at that, it means that I was cheated of Rs. 200.

I have had similar episodes with HP, Indian Oil and BP. I have had issues at petrol bunks across the city. The only exception to the rule has been Shell. I have never had an issue with the Shell pumps. I am not sure if it is the wise selection of staff, or the excellent training that is provided to them, but they have managed to amaze me with their service every single time.

After I realized that I have been taken for a ride umpteen number of times, I have started being more aware. I generally get out of the car and stand next to the fuel meter to ensure that I am not cheated once again. This however does not deter the attendants from making an attempt. They still try to distract you and make your head turn away from the meter. But, I stay foot and keep staring at the meter. A funny episode had happened at a HP petrol bunk near Cauvery Theatre. I had asked the guy to fill in 1500 worth of petrol. As expected, he stopped at 200 and told me so. Instead of telling him that I had wanted 1500 worth of petrol, I took out my wallet to pay him 200. When I was paying him the 200 bucks, is when the guy enquired “Aapko 1500 ka petrol chahiye tha na?” (Didn’t you want petrol for 1500?)! I was not sure how I should react!

Inspite of all this, I have never ever complained to anyone. Why? When you are and Indian dealing with state run PSU’s you know when to make a hue and cry. If the same thing had happened to me ever at Shell, I would have brought all hell down. But with the state run PSU’s we turn a blind eye. I recently visited the BP petrol bunk at Electronic City. They have taken automation as a tool to beat this. In their current generation of pumps, my credit card is inserted into the machine even before the petrol starts pumping. After dispensing the fuel when the nozzle is returned back to its place, the card is automatically charged for the amount. No human intervention. No hassles. Simple!

 

We are going completely High Tech!

This is an insert that I received with the Sunday newspaper. Needless to say, I was totally surprised! Which company came up with a Slaughter House Management System which provides a Animal ID to the “identified” animals??!!??

Hats off to the Indian Entrepreneurship spirit!!

Bakrid Insert

 

My Global Footprint

Ok. First off…this is not an original idea. A friend of mine has done something similar (not online though).

What is it? Had some spare time and was playing around with Google Maps when this idea struck me…I used Google maps to create a custom map. I have used push pins to show the places across the world that I have been to. Right now those pins are few and far in between…but, hopefully in a few years, I hope to light up the entire map!

My Global Footprint - Click on the image to open Google Maps

May god bless me. Amen!

 

Tieing it all together!

A major IT company based out of Bangalore mandates that men have to be in formals (with Tie) on Monday/Tuesday and formals (without Tie) on Wednesday/Thursday. They permit casuals for the rest of the week (Friday is the only day left!). It is a similar story in most of the organizations in the IT sector. I have tried hard to find a reason why employers want to force a mandatory dress code down the throats of their employees. Am still unsuccessful at nailing the reason…

Let us look at why a company would want to establish a dress code? I think the main reason would be to project a professional image to the customers, potential employees, and visitors. You wouldn’t want your customers to be in the office full of men in their gym wear and ladies in beach wear! Formal clothing does give a sense of professionalism and a serious approach towards work. One of my previous managers had told me that he works better when he is dressed in formals. So much so that even when he is working from home, he would slip into his formals, wear a shoe and then sit on the dining table with his laptop! He was of the opinion that when one is able to work better and free of any distractions when one is dressed appropriately.

So, is it necessary to have some sort of dress code in the modern day IT work place? I think Yes. Every company should have a dress code set. But this dress code should serve more as guidelines rather than a set of rules. Most employees are capable of reading the guidelines and understand what can be worn to office and what cannot be. I am kept wondering why a company makes rules about the dress code. Ties on Monday/Tuesday?!? What extra advantage can possible an organization get by enforcing that? Business formals look formal enough with or without the tie! Next I know companies would come up with a list of day wise shirt colors!

My Ideal World: I am of the strong opinion that people perform best when the workplace makes them feel comfortable. You cannot make an employee comfortable unless you let him wear something comfortable. If I am running a company, the only guideline I would provide to my employees would be to wear clothes which make them look smart, professional and to ensure that what they are wearing does not distract others in the office.

 

Will you keep a Rattle Snake as a Pet?

A Rattle Snake for a Pet?

If I ask this question to someone back home, I am pretty sure that the response would be “Are you crazy?”. The same question in US and the answer could be “Perhaps!”

People in America are spoilt for choices…And, this extends to every realm of life, including pets. I recently went to a Pet store where there are all sorts of pets up for sale. I have had dogs and cats as pets back home, but I was taken aback by looking at the range and variety of pets available in the store. There is a big choice of lizards, rats, guinea pigs, turtles, snakes etc. available off the shelf for the american to buy. Pets are sold online too. Check out Reptiles & Critters for a vast range of “exotic pets”.

An iguana is one of the ugliest creatures I have seen. It looks so repulsive, that I almost ran back into the office when I saw glanced upon one just outside the office. And, then, I got to meet a colleague who has an Iguana as a pet!

Want a Pet?

This is also a good example of the part of US that I admire the most. People here do what they want to, when they want to. No body bothers about what the other person thinks of you. You do what you have to do. People will like you if they have to. The amount of freedom that this country gives to its citizens is amazing.

 

Blackjack Anyone!

After seeing the Ocean 11 series, I always had it in my mind to visit a casino. And, what better day than the Independence day for that! My first visit to a casino was in one word, mind blowing!

Seminole Hard Rock Cafe

I had visited the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood FL last evening. The first thing that hit me is the size of their car parking. Across the 4 levels, there was enough parking space to park a zillion cars! I was truly impressed with the number of people that it managed to attract. And, to think of the perfect planning that went into making this place. Even with so many people and cars, there was no chaos at all.

Click here to see the Bing Maps birds eye view of the casino. The entire area that you see is what is the Seminole Casino. It is HUGE!

You enter the place, and discover that what was shown in Oceans 11 was not an exaggeration! Money flows here. Loads of slot machines, countless poker and blackjack tables, live bands playing awesome music, a well stocked bar, sexy girls serving booze….the list just goes on and on.

Slots

Gaming Tables

This is where I made my "fortune"!

I tried my hand at slots and got lucky! Made $100 by the time I was leaving. just could not get the hang of the table games, and so, I did not try them. Will surely go back after learning the game. By the time I left at 1 am, there were still people pouring in. The casino is open 24×7 and rightfully so. There is never a dull moment here!

 

Do you really want to begin the day with a newspaper?

Till last week, my day used to start with the newspaper. Depending on the time that I had in the morning, I read upto 2 newspapers to get myself updated on what is happening across the globe. Little did I realize before reaching the US that I was in for a rude shock. There are hardly any newspapers around here! Those who want to read the news (and I suspect there is a very small minority falling into that category!) read it online. Nobody gets the luxury of getting a hard copy delivered.

Compare that to India and you will hardly find any similarities. Everybody I know gets a newspaper at home. Even though there is good penetration of internet and broadband in cities, I don’t know anyone who goes online to get his morning dose of news. A newspaper and a cup of coffee/tea has become the Indian way of welcoming the day! If one is traveling, he/she gets free copy of the newspaper from the hotel/airport. But, that is not the case here in US.

Old habits die hard. These days, I read the online editions, and, am trying hard to make the whole experience exciting!

I googled and discovered that US is not an exception to the newspaper thing. Infact, India is an exception! There are hardly few countries that has so much newspaper readership. Read this interesting piece.

Note: These opinions are based on what I have seen in the past 1 week. If anybody feels that this is incorrect, please add a comment or mail me.

 

The First Few American Days!

I am already missing home! Not something that I should be saying…especially since it has been only 2 days for me in US! But, then, I am missing home and Bangalore and everything there. And, you know the problem is that the more you think about it, the more you start missing it. So, let me get down to writing about what I have been busy with in the last few days.

The flight from Bangalore to Philly was uneventful. British Airways was surprising! I have read quite a lot of bad reviews on the internet and was ready for pathetic service and missing baggage! But, things turned out to be fine. The flight attendants were very courteous and professional. The food too was good. The only thing that they could do is to ask people before they serve Beef. In my meal, I realized that the meat was actually beef only after finishing it. I wonder what a Chicken eating non-vegetarian Indian would have done!

I learnt my first lesson as soon as I landed in Philly airport. I searched for a pay phone since my International roaming was not yet activated. I realised that a pay phone needs coins for it to work. No coins no phone. The minimum currency I had was a $20 bill and there was no way I was getting change for that. All the shops in the international arrival section were closed…maybe because I landed on a Friday evening. After a lot of begging, the Information desk lady finally offered me her phone to call my bro/bhabhi! I made a mental note to carry change next time onwards.

Always have some of these when you travel

After my bhabhi was able to locate me, we were off to a short journey to their house in NJ. I was amazed at the kind of road infrastructure that I saw. Infact, the amazement is still there. Everytime I go out, I see those wise roads and the zipping cars. The road infra is just outta the world!

Roads of prosperity

In the 2 days after that, apart from recovering from my jet lag, we managed to spend sometime in downtown Philly and Penn’s Landing. Some pics below to do the talking…

It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's a flying advertisement!

Ben Franklin Bridge

Incredible India Advertisement on a Philly sightseeing bus!

We have moved on...Horses are only in Indian villages! Not in the cities!!

Everbody here has a car!

The only Indian?

Am headed to Boca Raton and work tomorrow morning…Will write in more later…