Mumbai

BBC live broadcast of this terror attack occupied most of the airing time since yesterday night.

Just recall my short stay in Mumbai in Jan-06. The city has not much to offer to the tourists. The hostel where I was staying was just a stone’s throw from this landmark Taj Mahal Hotel (which was targeted in this attack). Offering the panoramic views of Arabian Sea and the Gateway Of India, the hotel was apparently frequented by the riches and elites. Elegantly dressed guests hopping in and out from the big luxurious cars, world famous fashion brand like LV and Gucci have their products displayed on the windows…

A few km away, the Chowpatty beach is lively at night. Locals spend their leisure evening strolling along the beach. The water is seriously polluted (but no awful stink), swimming is not recommended. A small food court to serve some snacks, a mini manually operated London Eye (ferries wheel) to cheer the kids, vendors are selling tea, groundnuts, corns… people is just satisfied to enjoy a serene evening hangout.

(manually operated ferries wheel)

On my way back to the hotel, an uniformed young man tried to strike a conversation with me. He managed only a few English words. Only I knew that he was asking me to snap a photo of him with my digital camera (such case happened quite common in India, especially in the rural area), with the beautiful night view as background. Technically it was not easy in the night time, to please him, I snapped one (of course no background can be seen).

Not far away… some homeless people were preparing their sleep on the bench, under the chilly starry nights… not only old folks, kids too… shivering. What an eye-sore in the city, and the Taj Mahal Hotel was just like a complete different world.

The grand Victoria Railway Station buidling was huge… I had never seen a public toilet with so many urinals. The sea of passengers flooded every corner. Somehow there was lacking of discipline and control in this railway station. Very often the overloaded wagons force some passengers hanging outside of the trains. For the convenience to the foreigners, we were allowed to enter the railway station before the office opening hour, and foreigners were allocated separate windows to buy train ticket. This saved lots of hassle to queue up with the locals.

Thailand Political Unrest (again…)

Ever since the Thai people succeeded to topple their Ex-Prime Minister Thaksin from the office, Thai people seemed to gain good experience in organizing massive protest. They are calling for a change, crying foul of corrupted politics… The unstable political situation has shaken foreign investors’ confidence.

After the successful temporarily occupying Government House some months ago, the opposition party is launching another wave of protest and besieging the Parliament and the airport. This morning news said Bangkok Airport is closed, and all flight schedules are cancelled. I hope it won’t affect my flight back home next week because it is scheduled to stop over in Bangkok before en-routing to Kuala Lumpur.

Yoga Ban

A top Islamic cleric in Malaysia said may ban yoga for Malaysian Muslims, saying the practice is engaging “Hindu religious elements” during exercise which is contradicting Islam and eroding their Islamic faith. Obviously they have no clue at all what is yoga, but somehow relates this exercise which is nothing more than a physical healthy pursuit to the religion threat.

How I Wish…

Came to Skopje last Friday, I don’t want to, but I have to leave Bulgaria for a few days due to the expiry of my working permit. I stay in a small family-run hotel (I always oppose to spend >EUR100 for a night in a 5-star hotel, even though on company cost), my room is <20m2,>

C’est la vie

The main construction works of this project have been completed now, our office starts retrenching manpower. 2 colleagues have left this week, a few more will follow, including me (within the next 3 weeks). Office is getting roomier gradually. A mix feeling of joy (going home), sadness (goodbye to colleagues) and uncertainty (next job) is emerging in the office. That’s the nature of our freelance contract – job’s done, bye bye with a handshake from the employer “Thanks for your works, we appreciate your efforts!”

Racial Issue

Extracted from Malaysiakini, showing the protest of some racial fanatic against the nomination of a Chinese woman as the head of a state institution linked to the economic management and development of the state of Selangor, the PKNS, of which the post has been traditionally assigned to Malay.

Congo Unrest + Rwanda

The plight of tens of thousands refugees fled eastern Congo has concerned me a bit… traced back to the Rwandan Genocide incident in 1994 when mass killing of Rwanda's Tutsis by Hutu militia. This unrest has provoked the tense between these 2 tribes again. Recently we are discussing about the project in Rwanda. I was told Rwanda is like Switzerland in Africa, in which aspect I have no idea. If the unrest is worsening I really have to think twice to work there, though I wish to see gorilla and visit the nearby Serengati (Tanzania).

Wider Spread

For the first time the Chinese government acknowledged the abuse of Melamine is found infiltrated into wider sectors, mainly on the animal feeds. Eggs are found contaminated, chicken too of course, fish and pig and all poultries are highly risked. What should we eat then? Turn to vegetarian? Worried about overdosed pesticide? What about genetic modified crops?

US Presidential Election

A big show. Both candidates have been campaigning months, traveling to almost every state, giving speeches repeatedly, debating opponent’s policy… the whole campaign is consuming billion of dollars. This election aptly boosts the weak economy in the US amid of financial crisis. I didn’t pay attention on what they have promised… I think Obama will win. Do you observe that when McCain is giving speech, he likes to stamp the podium with his fists?

Youngest F1 Champion

The nail biting F1 race in Brazil was trully entertaining. The last 2 rounds had almost sunk my heart when Vettel surpassed and pushed Hamilton to the 6th position, which he would barely lost his driver champion crown to Massa. Fantastic, at the last corner of the last round, Hamilton managed to overtake Glock in a split second, this clip was not clear on the live telecast. Ferrari team was jumping wild and screaming loud, the frame suddenly turned quiet when the screen showed Hamilton was back to 5th position again which granted him just additional 1 point to claim the driver champion title. Yahoo!!! The atmosphere of disappointment immediately enveloped the Ferrari camp… I keep laughing till now…