APAC and the beginning of Bachelorhood 4.0!

The global nomad travels again. Not to the US or Europe,but this time to APAC.Enroute to Australia on an assignment for my organisation. I am sure this stint is going to be one of the best  from a professional and personal standpoint. I will give it my best shot - to bring in growth and streamline operations in my role.

The wait at Bangkok airport is instrumental in me getting back to blogging through this short blog! I am spending almost 6 hours in Thailand,without enjoying the beautiful country - by being just at the airport! What a pity! Will explore it some time.

Bachelorhood 4.0 begins today - May 29th, till Wifey joins me! Till then so - long!

Mumbai Musings – Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are seen everywhere. Try buying half a kilo of tomatoes and the shopkeeper will put those in a plastic bag while giving it to you. You will end up putting this plastic bag holding tomatoes in another bigger bag – which will again have other groceries. There are high chances that this bigger bag might also be made of plastic. In short, the plastic bags are everywhere and we use them very leniently, just because they are available aplenty for free.

With the chants of environmentalists reaching the ears of the governing bodies world over, small initiatives taken in different parts of the world will help curb this menace of over consumption of plastic bags. In India,  one of the very good initiatives we have in shops all over Mumbai (and i hope its the same in other states and cities as well)  is that you cannot get plastic bags for free. The bigger plastic bags, which hold a lot of items are no longer free and you need to pay for them either at the grocer’s store or even at the cloth shop. You end up paying anywhere between Rs. 1/- to Rs.20/- to the shop owner , depending on the size of the plastic bag you ask the shop keeper. Though this initiative is adding onto the margins of shopkeepers (they no longer print plastic bags for free as it is a revenue generating opportunity now) but also helps consumers plan to shop by brining their own cloth/ jute bags or unused plastic bags at their house which now are being re-used.

Though i did not find any statistical measure that measures the reduction in the number of plastic bags consumed in India, i am sure this would be a substantial number. The reason is we Indians like anything that is freely available. If we have to pay for a plastic bag, we will as well plan and save that money and use it somewhere else! I rememeber in Norway as well we had to pay a miniscule NOK 1/- or NOK 2/- for plastic bags at KIWI, RIMI or Coop. I hope UK follows on India and Norway’s footsteps. The likes of TESCO’s, Sainsbury’s, M&S Food,  Morrisons still give out tonnes of free plastic bags to millions of Brits! It will help to charge money – maybe GBP 0.10 or GBP 0.2 per bag and help Brits  “TO STAY CALM and CARRY THEIR OWN PLASTIC BAGS”!

Mumbai Musings

It is about three weeks now that we are back in aamchi Mumbai. The soaring heat in Mumbai was initially too hot to handle for us pseudo Brits (since we got accustomed to the rain and cold of Britain in the last 16 months). However,  since we have been born and brought up in this great city, all it takes is a little over two weeks to stop fretting and start enjoying the heat!

Summer time is the time for Mangoes, Coconut Water, Kokam Serbet, lot of buttermilk / chaas, Neera, Aam Panah and a host of other coolants and local food that helps keep the body cool, when the sun bakes you mercilessly at 35 degrees celcius for nine hours a day, with no weekends off!

These experiences always unravel a part of you that was perhaps lost in your memories for a long time.   

The people watching,  bumper to bumper traffic, autorickshaws driving you from one point to the other, the AC buses chugging strongly under heavy sunlight all make you feel at home in your own country. 

In spite of the hurdles or challenges – the overall optimism in people, the confidence and energy they bring to their everyday lives is indeed an eye opener if you are looking for any motivation in life.

Back in Mumbai!

So yet another trip in the life of this “global nomad” comes to an end. Last week – on April 13^th,  me and wifey landed in Mumbai after spending a year and a half in England. What a feeling to come back to your homeland! Nothing feels more welcoming than the feeling of familiarity of people, place, food, culture – in spite of somethings which you don’t really like about your homeland. But, also – such is life and life is such! The incongruities of life are what that make our experiences more richer and help us enjoy life to the fullest! 

Will continue updating you folks on interesting happenings in and around Mumbai via this blog!

Europe Trips: Italy: An Italian Sojourn Part 6

In continuation to the previous blog, I pencil down a few more things from my list of must recommended things to do in Venice. The last but not the least is of course a walk around Venice – which is described further in detail.

5. Visit to Piazza San Marco:

Your visit would be incomplete without visit to Piazza San Marco which commemorates St. Mark, Venice’s Patron saint.

St Mark with Lion winged Angel

Piazza San Marco, the heart of Venice is dominated by 16th and 17th century arcaded buildings. It is dominated by Basilica di San Marco, the Campanile. The basilica was built to house the body of St. Mark, Venice’s patron saint. It is one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. 

Basilica and Campanile

Near the Piazza San Marco, you will also see Doge’s Palace or Palazzo Ducale – an opulent complex of state rooms, courtyards and corridors that was the seat of the Venetian government in the Republic’s heyday. The Doge's Palace has Venetian Gothic style architecture and looks absolutely spectacular on a bright sunny day.

Doge's Palace - view from Grand Canal

Doge's Palace - another view

The famous things to watch on the outside also include Ponte de Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) which leads across a canal to the prison cells.

We chose to hang out outside of San Marco and Doge’s Palace than visit it from inside and we wanted to soak in the atmosphere and rich scenery around it. Also we were well heeled from our earlier visits to St Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel and other museums, so gave the inside visit a miss. We invested the time that was saved to explore more of Venice by walk and water – the things which the city has been most famous for.

6. Venice in Walk – exploring the Calle’s, little shops:

The magic of Venice is captured best by its blue waters, busy and colourful life and historic buildings on both sides of the Grand Canal, the water waves and trails left by vaporetti’s and gondola’s criss crossing the waters. The rustic charm of this city is also underlined by the narrow alleys/lanes – called calle’s which will magically lead you from one piazza (or a square) to the other. 

As you enter these narrow calle’s, you will leave behind one scenic place, walk through a tunnel for 10 steps and emerge out to probably find a pristine church on one corner or a shop selling Venetian antiques, masks on the other. 

The island itself is not huge, so you can choose a route to walk around and do it comfortably. If you are looking to mark specific places to see while on this route, one recommendation is to walk from Piazzale Roma to St Marks Square and around (probably a 30 minute walk with stops). 

In between you can take your own detours to some of the places like the Venetian Ghetto or the narrowest Calle (which is just 53cm wide) called Calle Varisco. Do drop in all the small shops that sell everything from tourist souvenirs to handicrafts made out of Murano Glass or the very famous – Venetian Masks. 

We enjoyed the walk around the Venetian Ghettos - an area of Venice in which Jews were compelled to live under the Venetian Republic. It is still a center of Jewish life in the city. There are a couple of synagogues around as well. 

The fliers lying in our hotel room recommended us a couple of places in and around the hotel - mostly museums. But one small description that definitely raised our eyebrows and which still looked offbeat enough is a walk to the narrowest calle in Venice – Calle Varisco. We  lost our way a little back. To add to it, the map was not being exactly helpful, but still we weren’t disappointed to find this narrow alley connecting one part of the city to another. Ideally people should walk through it, but barring sunlight air and probably small animals – i don’t see anything passing this narrow gap! 

Explore the Venetian magic not only during daylight, but also at night. There are small cafes and bars open all the time – some of them open – playing loud Venetian music open air – under the pretext of luring customers. We got drunk in one of such drink bars – Fruilala – sitting on a bar stool, soaking in the atmosphere, Venetian music – enjoying some creative cocktails dished out by our bartender. Little did we care that the menu card did not have prices next to the name of the drinks we ordered. After a few swigs down, when your head starts feeling light and you start enjoying life – there comes the bill that reminds you that “Nice to enjoy, but from the next time do check the prices before ordering”! However i will not ruin the evening with this, but it was indeed a time well spent. Ohh and did i forget to mention – don’t miss sipping the special drink of Venice – Apertif or Spritz as they call it – with olives. It is wonderful!

Venice is known by various names – Venezia, “City of Tunnels”, “City of Masks”, “The Floating City”. You will associate the deeper connection that the city has with these names once you visit this magical city. Do remember - when it’s time for you to leave this mystical city – you will promise to return back. But deep down inside your hearts, you will know that the Venice trip was something special – almost like a dream you didn’t want to wake up from. You will carry Venice in your hearts and memories to your grave!

Europe Trips: Italy: An Italian Sojourn Part 5

Venice:

One of Italy’s most visited regions, Veneto in the country’s northeast was independent for centuries until 1797, when Napoleon invaded. It then bounced among French, Austrian and Italian domination. Bordered by some of Europe’s most beautiful elements (the Adriatic Sea to its east, Lake Garda to its west, the Dolomites to its north, and the Po River to its south), Veneto is known for agriculturally rich valleys flowing down from Alps and for important cities like Venice, Verona and Padua.

Venice, unarguably is the jewel in the crown of Veneto. Venezia, as it is known in Italian is an archipelago sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals (177) and linked by bridges (409). You will not even realize you are treading over these smaller islands as you enjoy Venice on foot – climbing through one of those 409 bridges and criss crossing across the calle’s. The canals serve as the highways for Venice and can be tamed by Vaporettis (water buses), Gondolas (private boats), Private Water Taxi’s. The other option is to walk across this island and soak in its mesmerizing, rustic and colourful charm. Venice is no wonder Europe’s largest urban car free area. Though there is a train station and bus station and other connections to mainland, major part of Venice is still best covered on foot or by water transportation.

It would be criminal waste of money and time if one doesn’t visit Italy, while in Europe and most of all rule out Venice in his trip. A lot of folks do cover Rome and Venice as separate trips (of 3 days each) from the UK/ other countries – but makes sense to combine it all Rome+ Pisa+ Venice (and if you have some energy a dash of Florence) to soak in as much as you can of this wonderful country!

Some of the best experiences/ things to do in Venice:

1. Grand Canal Tour: The Grand Canal/ Canal Grande’ is Venice’s main canal or the main superhighway for its water transportation. It is like the Motorways (M) of the UK or Interstate (I) of the US. The Grand Canal has the Santa Lucia railway station on one end and Saint Marks Basin at the other end. A good idea to do the grand canal tour is to take vaporetti No. 1 starting from the stop outside Piazza Roma or from the Santa Lucia Station all the way upto St. Marks Sqaure. Many tourists also explore parts of the Grand Canal by gondola.

As you cross the Grand Canal, you will pass through over 170 buildings on either sides – which have been built anywhere between the 13th and the 18th centuries. It`s a colourful and busy spectacle.

The gondola’s, vaporetti’s and other modes of water transportation add a dash of life to this colourful spectacle. You will definitely step back in time as you go through this scenic tour and remember that while you experience your journey, you are experiencing a journey which has not changed much in the last few centuries except for the noise!

Santa Maria della Salute / Basilica of St Mary of Health seen in the background during the Grand Canal tour in the picture below

St Marks Bell tower and Doge's Palace

The Grand Canal tour is recommended not only during the day, but also in evening and at night – when the lights come out and bring a different sense of spirit and mystery to this wonderful city.

Museo di Storia Naturale at night along Grand Canal

Grand Canal in the evening

2. Island hopping to one of the lagoon islands – Murano, Burano or Torcello: If you want to escape the crowds of Venice and go to smaller offbeat locations – escaping the crowds, enjoying a longer ride on the vaporetti and soaking in the blues of the water and architecture of the Venetian churches, buildings from a distance – this is the best thing to do.

Murano island has long been famous for the Italian Murano glass. Many of its glass factories offer tours and demonstrations. We decided to skip this as we had our share of museums in the last two weeks across Paris, Rome, Vatican City and Florence!

Murano Island at a distance

Burano island is a 40 minute boat ride from Venice (by vaporetti no. 12) and more interesting of these three. I did enough reading on the internet the night before we covered this part of our Venice itenary and was blown over by this tiny island – with its brilliantly painted houses. When we visited this island, we enjoyed our time here totally. This island is famous for its traditional handicraft – gossamer-fine lace and also has a school for lacemaking! Thi island also has a leaning tower (just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa) – which now i call the Leaning Tower of Burano!

Burano island and the leaning tower from a distance

If you travel 5 more minutes beyond Burano, you can reach Torcello, which had Venice’s earliest settlement. However a malarial outbreak did decimate the population of this island some years back, but it still has some amazing churches.

Your vaporetti pass (which is typically valid for 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours and so on) also covers visits to these islands. So you cover these at no extra cost!

3. Gondola Ride: Venice is probably most remembered for a Gondola – the famous Venetian boat, with a boat-clad Gondolier manoeuvring it through the tides on the Grand Canal as one enjoys a romantic moment with his partner. Thanks to movies, travel documentaries and the lure for feeling romantic amongst the minds of our wifes and girlfriends, this is one ride; you would as well do once in your life time! A gondola ride can typically cost average of 80 Euros or upwards for about 40 minutes depending on the time of the day and mood of the gondolier! We negotiated this fair price (which is still expensive) and were one of the last customers of our Gondolier, who was known by the name of Thomas. Thomas was not one of the chatty gondoliers unless he was provoked onto a conversation (thanks to the inquisitive me), but a professional at his job. He made our ride enjoyable and helped us experience the sunset on the Grand Canal and the narrow canals of Venice with some deft manoeuvring of his Gondola. One of the famous songs - Do Labzon Ki Hai from the Bollywood movie The Great Gambler starring Indian movie star Amitabh Bachchan is shot in Venice. They did have a Gondolier who sang some of the verses of this song in Italia, which was indeed soothing! I wish Thomas could dish out something similar in those 40 minutes!

Exploring the Venetian canals

Exploring the "City of Bridges" on a Gondola

Romantic experience - sunset over Venice while on Gondola ride!

4. Famous Bridges of Venice: 

Venice is also known as “City of Bridges” as it is home to over 400+ bridges criss crossing and connecting the 100+ islands in this beautiful and mystical archipelago. Some of the famous bridges of Venice span across the Grand Canal and you would pass through them as you take the Grand Canal Tour. There are four such bridges - Ponte di Rialto, Ponte dell'Accademia, Ponte degli Scalzi and Ponte della Costituzione

The most oldest and famous of these four bridges is the Ponte di Rialto or Rialto Bridge. As you can see, it looks equally splendid – day or night. It has been standing there, since 1591, a little over 430 years!

Rialto Bridge

Ponte degli Scalzi

Ponte della Costituzione is the most recent one commissioned in 2008, which connects Santa Lucia station to Piazzale Roma Bus Terminal area – amid protests by politicians and general public. Though this bridge is required for ease of access to the bus terminals and the wider mainland from the Venetian island, it has been an eyesore as compared to the other beautiful bridges.

Ponte della Costituzione

Rest is covered in the next blog! Time for a break :)