First International Trip!!

Here is a mail I wrote to my wife Archana, a day after I reached Amsterdam, hope you find it amusing:
hi.
now i m relaxed and can write a detailed story till date. Once i went in the lounge after checkin at ahmedabad, i had to wait for getting on board. from ahmedabad to mumbai, things went nice, i had lime water, fruit and juice on board. from up in the night the city lights were looking beautiful. particularly when plane weas over mumbai...jet airways did
not charged anything for extra baggage. even when the flight was in time i reached mumbai local terminal at 10:05 pm. There was heavy rush of people to reach international terminal by the airport vehicle so i asked jet staff what shd i do. they said i should take a taxi and reach the int terminal, they said that the luggage will automatically be transferred, and i just need to transfer my hand bag. so i took a taxi. taxi wale ne raste me bataya ki voh 250\- charge karega to mein utar gaya ;) aur vahin se rixa pakad li. he took me safely and was a nice guy. charged 50/- but i gave 100/-. i was well in time to reach the international terminal. went to the swiss staff, they gave me a new boarding pass for the international flight, then went to the immigration center and filled up an immigration form and gave it to an officer there. he asked me some question related to my purpose of travel etc. then he put a stamp on it. i was to pass to the security check again. which they finished in 10 minutes. then i tried to call you but i couldnt so called ilmudin on the coin phone and asked to inform you that i have reacxhed mumbai safe. soon we got a call to climb on board the international flight. they gave me a new luggage pass. It was a huge plane. there was a video screen on every seat. it took off sharp at 1:15 am. one marathi businessman uncle was beside my seat. they served vegetarian south indian food(mendu wada,chutney and namkeen sevai). i also had apple juice. later i felt cold so asked for beer. it was nice and i felt warm. after that tried to sleep but the seat was not sleepable. i thought our trains are better. on the way i saw many cities and beutiful lights from top. in the morning it was like a race between sun and the flight. all the way i just saw saffron lining on the horizon but no sun. finally landed zurich. local time 6:20am. here i really had to rush for the flight. from zurich airport i climb down a big escalator to the basement and took a train to domestic terminal. my boarding time for zurich amsterdam flight was 6:50am!! mushkil se terminal par pahucha to dekha security checking me bahut badi line hai. security walon ne shoes bhi khulvaye as there was a steel cap. main shoes haath me liye apne terminal pe bhaaga..really..it was like catching an amts bus. finally i came to know that i was the last passenger to come on board and they were waiting for me only. checked my passport and allowed me in. this was a better flight as the seat was comfortable. reached amsterdam in 1hr and 30 minutes. while on this flight i saw sun rising. and a bright day down. they served jam roll and juice on board. they also offered coffee but i didnt took. i saw so many planes flying by while i was on this flight.
at amsterdam airport they have an escalated walk way with which i came out in the luggage room. was also looking for elise. waited a lot for luggage.(ek baar to khayal aaya ke kahin ye log luggage bhool to nahin gaye...). finally luggage aaya. aur mein bahar nikla. elise was waiting out. then she helped a lot in finding things for me. we went to housing company and got the key for my flat and made the necessary payments. then got to the appartment. the appartment is really worth 295 euro per month. its great. i will write you further details in the next mail. aaj itna hi. mein thak gaya. Thats all for now.

List of vegetarian things available in France (out of Paris)

1. Dates
2. Cookies
3. Banana
4. Apple
5. Grapes
6. Milk
7. Bread
8. vegetables
9. rice
10. popcorn
11. canned corn
12. corn flakes
13. muesli
14. wheat flakes
15. honey
16. beans
17. Figs
18. Oat Meal
19. Olives
    

100+ French Words and their meaning

Here is my hundred plus strong French vocabulary so far ...

1. salut=hi
2. bonjour=hello,goodday
3. bebe=child
4. nuit=night
5. demain=tomorrow
6. au'jour'd'hui=today
7. soleil=sun
8. luna=moon
9. terrain=earth
10. solo=single
11. conjoint=spouse
12. femme=wife
13. fille=daughter
14. garcon=son
15. bon=good
16. bien=nice
17. bienvenue=welcome
18. merci=thankyou
19. beaucoup=a lot
20. bureau=office
21. rouge=red
22. jaune=yellow
23. juan=young
24. l'eau=water
25. lait=milk
26. soir=evening
27. au revoir=bye
28. etat=state
29. portable=mobile
30. disponible=available
31. cafe=coffee
32. lundi=monday
33. mardi=tuesday
34. mercredi=wednesday
35. jeudi=thursday
36. vendredi=friday
37. samedi=saturday
38. dimanche=sunday
39. noir=black
40. blanc=white
41. moteur=engine
42. lecture=to read
43. jeu=game
44. plus=more
45. dernier=previous
46. prochain=next
47. deja=already
48. nom=name,surname
49. prenom=firstname
50. homme=gentleman
51. cordialment=regards
52. votre=your
53. vous=you
54. sortie=exit
    
55. yaourt=yoghurt
    
56. nous vous=we
57. voyage=journey
58. ami=friend
59. petit=small
60. dejeuner=meal
61. anne=year
62. mois=month
63. semaine=week
64. poid=weight
65. pomme=apple
66. banane=banana
67. poivre=pepper
68. vert=green
69. miel=honey
70. horaire=schedule
71. carte=card
72. mangue=mango
73. ecrit=write
74. parle=speak
75. batiment=building
76. maison=house
77. contrat=contract
78. travail=work
79. etudiant=student
80. s'il vous plait (svp) = please
    
81. il'y a=here,there
82. magnetoscope=VCR
83. montagne=mountain
84. ognon=onion
85. bonbon=sweets
86. gateau=cake
87. resole=sorry
88. moi,mes,ma=my,mine
89. plage=beach
90. promenade=walk
91. coer=heart
92. soer=sister
93. frere=brother
    
94. pere=father
95. mere=mother
    
96. oef=egg
97. un,une=one
98. musee=meuseum
99. bas=country/land
100. monge=food/eat
101. apres=after
102. chien=dog
103. cheval=horse
104. sucre=sugar
105. venir=coming
106. monnaie=money
107. fromage=cheese
108. vin=wine
109. meme=even,same
110. aussi=also
111. sondages=polls
112. le main=hands
113. la bas=there
114. ici=here
115. 
     

Rolling a Chapati!!

Firefox 3 blues

I recently upgraded my fedora core from version 7 to version 9 and firefox 3 surprisingly came with this version. Surprise because it came way too early then its hyped release date. However, I found it was far from being stable. It just crashed all of a sudden without any apparent reason and also frozen occasionally. I wish they release a stable version in the first place by spending more time on testing rather than releasing a fragile one. That will earn them more users. Guinness records can wait.

5 things to take care of while walking on an urban street

So, here I am trying to pen down important things you need to take care of while walking on a busy urban street ...

1. Know your Ground : Thats very basic. You must be aware where you are on the road? on right side? left side? on the footpath? in the middle of the road? on the edge of road? on the parking space of the road? On a one-way street?
   
2. Control your Thoughts: Do not wander in your thoughts while you are on the road. This distraction may prove very expensive. If you are an always-thinking type guy then think something relevant. say the about the cars on the road? about how the traffic is less/more then the other day. something relevant.
   
3. Behave Predictably: Drivers usually take a cue from your movement and anticipate your next move on road. So behave in a predictable way. If you are walking do not suddenly start running or stop. keep walking. If you are showing an intention of waiting and the coming driver 'saw' it please do not change your mind.
   
4. Do not make Assumptions: On an urban road, please do not make any assumptions. Check on both sides of the road. You never know when that teenager decides to break a law or two. Apart from that there could be a police van, an ambulance or a fire-truck might appear suddenly from nowhere. So, keep an eye on every direction.
   
5. Start Early: Most of the times we rush while on the street. This may be the root cause of all problems. So make sure you have enough time before you reach your destination. Better start 10 minutes early and enjoy the walk rather then rush and stress yourself.
   

5 reasons why France is Better then NL

Now, I have spent two years in Netherlands and almost one year in France. So, from a Foreigner's point of view, I am putting on some of my observations here ... reader should note that these are subjective observations even though I have tried to keep out a natural bias that comes with ones' individual experiences ... ditto for the next post ...

1. Diverse Climate: France is a big country with quite a good diversity in climate. The weather is calm and sunny in the south on one hand and rainy and windy in the center because of the Mistral winds. Its cold towards the north. This is not the case with the Netherlands (NL). The weather is same through the country. And most of the times it is not at its best. The Dutch are probably the most critical of their own weather.
   
2. Varied Geography: France has a diverse geography. Mountains and valleys, Rivers, Beaches, plains and forests. This is not the case with NL. The whole country is more or less flat and hardly any geographical variations. There are low profile beaches but does not compare to those of France.
   
3. Food: Definitely tastier, varied and rich then that of NL. You have all kinds of pastries, sausages, cheezes and breads. This is certainly not the case with NL. Infact there is nothing like 'Dutch Cuisine' exists. They have happily borrowed this from France, Italy and Asian/South American cuisines.
   
4. Wine: Though I am not an expert on wines, I am sure there are more Varities and better French wines then their Dutch counterparts. This I can say based on my experiences and general strolls across the markets in the respective countries. Infact, French wine shops are kind-of branded in NL and one can find them aplenty in NL.
   
5. Paris: Yes, Paris. There is only one Paris and it is in France. NL has Amsterdam but it just can't compare.
   

5 Reasons Why NL is Better then France

Here are a few observations put in a casual, spontaneous style ....

1. Bicycle Culture: Yes, the Dutch are terrific bicycle lovers. On the street, bicycles makes for a serious portion of overall traffic and dedicated signals exists for bikers. Whereas in France bicycles are much rare and limitad to a few cities like Lyon and Marseilles.
   
2. Inter-Department Integration: I observed that all public departments are very well integrated in NL. So, if you update your address with the city council, for example, it gets updated at the Immigration department, the tax office and othe government offices local to your district. Information is pretty much consistent and leads to less chaos. This is certainly not a case with France. If you change your address you need to inform it separately with the proof of address to atleast 4 different departments including immigration office, social welfare office, social security office and the townhall!! And it is not guaranteed when the new address will really show up on their systems.
   
3. Tolerant and Practical Way of Life: The Dutch are famously tolerant as a society to the foreign culture.
   
4. Clean Urbanization: The whole country is urbanized. However, some observation through the countryside shows its much cleaner and healthier way of urbanizing. I once got stuck in the countryside for a few hours because of a railway fault. I found all facilities that one would typically see on Amsterdam street. These include a cybercafe, supermarket and neat parks. In France, I am now living is almost countryside in the middle of a tech park but I cant quite say the same about this place.
5. Flexible: Dutch speak Dutch and English. Minimal bureaucracy. Quick adoption to new technology. And a flexible lifestyle provided their tiny living space, the Dutch are probably the most adjusting people around.