AB's Tour

I saw Amitabh and the gang (Aishwarya, Preety and Madhuri to be exact) along with the B crew of Abhishek and others in Oakland last night - and had a good time. Unfortunately I was up in the peanut gallery - and this wasn't a show quite designed for large audiences. But the overall effect of being with 1000 plus other Indians that grew up seeing Big A movies and humming those songs in the shower was great. It was also interesting to see the size of the Indian-American population all in one place at one time in this part of the world. And I took my mother with me who is visiting from India, and is an avid follower of Indian movies, since my wife was traveling (and who doesn't care much for Indian movies) - and that in itself was nice since it was a great mother son outing. The takeaway is this though - need to get more plugged in - and find some smaller size more private Bollywood events next time, this could be a lot more fun in the right setting.

Weekend in Santa Cruz

Sand. Its the ultimate sport. For my sons anyway. They can roll in it, play in it, throw it, sift it, form things with it, mix water with it that they get over hundreds of bucket runs to the crashing waves - its amazing to see just how long pure simple sand can hold their attention. Particularly given the number of sports, games, shows, computer programs and toys they get exposed to. We were in Santa Cruz this weekend - and they sure got their fill of it. I am happy they are growing up on the Coast.

Japanese dining in Singapore

I was in Singapore this week. As if in response to the comments I had made on this very blog earlier, my colleagues took me to Cherry Garden at the Mandarin Oriental. In turn, allow me to formally retract my earlier comment about Japanese dining in Singapore being no good. The Cherry Garden was really nice. And of the four meals we did, including the grilled seafood at the outdoor Newton Circus Hawkers Market, upscale American at Desire at the Scarlet Hotel, and hip Indonesian at Indochine next to the Asian Museum, this was by far the best. If you are looking for a nice Japanese meal, sans the additional flight to Japan, this is the place to go to in SIN. Incidentally the photograph above is from our offices in Singapore - the Fullerton can be seen in the foreground close to the mouth of the Singapore river.

Hong Kong in July

Hong Kong is always the best in the post shower early mornings. The day isn't hot yet, the nights humidity just released in a downpour, the rain appears to have freshly cleaned out the streets, and the cloudy morning soothingly lures you into the noise of yet another productive day. This photograph was taken at Kai Tak on a comfortably warm but fresh July morning.

Growth Story in India

As many of my Indian colleagues do, I often wonder what it would be like to live in India. My wife is convinced that I wouldn't be able to cope with the shift in lifestyle, and I for the most part, agree. And thus, she believes we will not be moving any time soon. Lifestyle notwithstanding, one thing is for sure, the pace and energy in India today is unmatched - and for the transferrable executive an amazing work experience awaits. I recently had the opportunity to prepare and review a "Why and How" India Strategy Deck with senior executives from a top ten global software company. One of the slides - reproduced here without the template, frames it well. Careers are often more about catching the right waves than swimming harder. Its clear India is one in the making and this is the year to make the decision to ride it or pass it for the next one. I for one, need to start getting my head around renewable energy.

Fathers Day in Half Moon Bay

“Walk a little slower, Daddy,” said the child so small.
“I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
sometimes they’re hard to see;
so walk a little slower, Daddy, for you are leading me.
Someday when I’m all grown up, you’re what I meant to be:
then I will have a little child who’ll want to follow me.”

Bengaluru's new airport

I flew though India's newest and fanciest airport this week. Compared to DEL and BOM, and the previous BLR, this is very impressive - open, airy, and brightly lit. And its well set for retail and food choices - in the domestic departures area I spotted a Illy in addition to the Barista, and there were a couple of food places you could easily eat at. The single runway didn't cause any noticeable delays or flight backups, and contrary to what I had been told, getting in and out to the city was easy (I landed around late in the night and left around noon).

Air India and Kingfisher are now both starting non-stop SFO - BLR flights. The latter is the better option, since Air India business class is normally filled up with freebie tickets and free upgrades for every possible government employee, and (based on my one and only flight on Air India when I had to take the only available option to Kenya) you would be better off in the cargo bay than traveling the back of the bus. Its more than 8,700 miles over the Arctic Circle, so getting a good seat is going to be really important.

BLR is a preview of Indian air travel to come, and thanks to privatization and capital markets, India is getting ready to fly.

Room with a View

The sun rises over the bay as seen from my kids bedrooms. Memorial Day Weekend, 2008

Outdoor breakfast in Tokyo

I eschew "American breakfasts" when I travel. Normally this means three genetically engineered and over-hormonal massive eggs with greasy sausage and toast of mostly questionable origin. And across the world, hotels are proud and happy to accommodate the needs of the traveling hordes by cleaning their menus of creative and unique local favorites all to be replaced with what else - the all too consistent American buffet breakfast. Now I like consistency myself - particularly a Starbucks Latte for breakfast when its otherwise too early for me to experiment, but I like consistency only if I can enjoy it.

This morning's was the perfect experience. I went walking/running around the embassies and quiet residential streets in Akasaka. From there I went to the Starbucks in Ark Hills and got the exact drink I expected (albeit with a courteous style sadly uncommon to where I live). And taking it to the Ark Outdoor Courtyard, I sat down to enjoy my breakfast. The courtyard was being setup for a rose festival and a week of lunchtime concerts. For the twenty minutes I was there, I sat amongst workers wheeling out and setting up the rose displays, probably a hundred varieties in brilliant colors. The beauty of the flowers, the smell in the air, the work ethic of the movers, the attentive arrangement of the gardeners, on a warm sunny Tokyo morning - all juxtaposed against a brilliantly consistent coffee - the same as if I were home - made this an experience one I would look to have again and again. Here are a few photos of the flowers, sans café ... Enjoy.

Pudong or Puxi ?

China is developing at an astonishing rate. The first time I went to Shanghai, I remember looking at a map before the trip to figure out which bank of the Huangpu I should stay on. Mission Impossible 5, the movie partially shot in Shanghai was releasing that month, and if you have seen the movie, you know the Shanghai footage in it and will understand my interest at the time. I picked the Puxi side and every time I have gone since, I look around to see what new skyscrapers are changing the skyline. And the development has been consistently sight numbing.


This time walking into the just opened brand new Terminal 3 at Beijing International Capital Airport was entirely jaw dropping. As airports go (second home for me), this one is at an entirely new level - in size, scale, layout, planning, and service. Similarly the fast changing skyline of the (new) financial district or the brand new Singapore style Airport Expressway was new this time from before. The Olympic Games are coming and boy will China be ready. All in all, around the world, I have never seen development of this scale at this pace (I haven't been to Dubai, though cant imagine it coming close).

That said, there is the darker ecological impact side of this development. I remember musing over the hazy skies in the Bay Area over a weekend a few years ago when the dust storms were blowing sand off the Gobi clear across the Pacific and into the Bay Area, thanks to the severe deforestation around Mongolia. This time I got to experience the sandstorm up close - standing in it, small particles of dust or sand hit your face (or other exposed parts of your body) and prick where they land. Its a unique experience - standing in a strong winds while having hundreds of sharp pings all over your face.

The world is getting to be a small place. As Tom Cruise makes the jump in the movie, its easy for the Shanghai skyline to fill up your family room screen in THX. Unfortunately its just as easy for the sands of Gobi to show up right at your doorstep.