Dining in Delhi

Had a nice meal in Delhi, India.  This photo is at one of the restaurants at the brand new Ambiance Mall on the border of Delhi and Gurgaon.  Ambiance is four floors high, each a kilometer long and filled with high end wares from Versace to Ritu Kumar – along with a mega-theater, and assorted restaurants.  The retail business in India is getting super-hot, and the growing wealth of the middle and upper class is creating a large consumption-driven economy.  But supply-side investments are large and have to be made well ahead of demand because of infrastructure build-up lead times.  And given the declining growth projections one wonders if all will be well here.  For now though, it’s the place to be.

Autumn Colors

Flying through Europe today, autumn is here, colors are changing, days are shorter.  I think this picture captures it well.

Favorite Song

My younger son's favorite song these days, you should see him dance to this one. I spent the entire week in San Francisco, and learnt a few new tricks myslf !

Toll Road to Gurgaon

The best thing about Gurgaon, India is the road that gets you from the International Airport here. In sharp contrast to the chaos and mayhem that you see elsewhere, this one is a smooth, easy ride thanks mostly to the fact that the outside BPO hours traffic is low, there is no ongoing construction - and there is a toll to go on it. Of course that creates one small complication - the toll plaza where the (Electronic Pre Paid) Tag Only lanes are always stubbornly filled with cars that only want to pay cash. Proving that despite the advances in infrastructure Indian drivers haven't lost their good old Roadsigns-are-Meaningless mindset. Still once you are through this minor inconvenience, you will have much to thank for on your drive to Gurgaon.

Bavaria at Summers End

Bavaria is one of my favorite areas of Germany - the others are the Rhine Valley around Cologne and the Black Forest close to Freiburg driving upto Basel. And Munich is a close second to my favorite city in Germany - Berlin. I spent Saturday in Germany this past weekend, and was among other places, in Freising - a small, cozy and typical Bavarian village (and incidentally home to the Pope when he was teaching/studying). It was a nice summer day, beautiful outside with views up through to the Alps on the south and expansive bucolic countryside to the north. The fields green, and the corn was almost ready for harvesting. I am back in Germany next month and looking forward to all the fall harvest festivities at their peak. I have never driven to Salzburg from here, though that's on the list of things to do with the family, now that we have a budding musician amidst us.

A Threatened World

I drove back to the office in Canary Wharf last night after dinner. We were stopped at one of the roads leading in and checked by policemen for explosive traces on the car. It was the same sort of a test that the TSA do with chemical analysis of dust particles on the outside of carry on luggage often at airports in the United States. Except this was all around the car doors and handles. I am told this is now fairly common in the business areas in London. The photo is taken looking east from our office (note London City Airport in the distance) and shows the road leading in from the Thames that this happened on. Two thoughts, one - to the extent one is needed, this is a much better test than the old wheel the mirror under the boot that all American hotels in India now do - I am always concerned in India with the heightened and yet so easily manipulate-able security. And the other - that one is needed in the first place - and how much the world has changed in what we leave for our children from what we found it growing up.

Palm Springs over Labor Day Weekend

We spent the long weekend in Palm Springs with family friends. It was a great break for all of us - and the kids had a phenomenal time - it was the best back to school vacation they could have had. It was hot though (100F +) and dry heat - the sort you see around Delhi. But we had two convenient escapes - the pools for one. And a ride up the Arial tram to the second highest mountains in California, and a hike up at around 8,400 feet above sea level - and conveniently a good 35 degrees cooler than the valley. The children of course had a third one - the misters around town - here they are seen enjoying one in downtown Palm Springs.

Shaadi in London

I was on the Tube in London last night. The photo above is of an advertisement on the inside panes of the train. It was interesting to see Shaadi.com being advertised right next to an assorted set of cosmetics and other consumer personal products. Without access to their financials its difficult to know how the company is really doing, but they claim they are #1 in the UK, and one would hope they have managed that growth well. In hindsight what a perfect market opportunity - a large set of first and second generational Indians, stuck on a small island, lots of class and structure still in that society, highly divergent needs across generations within each family , and a fundamental, basic need that doesn't go away. In other words, a well understood and commonly articulated problem across an easily reachable large prospective audience - a marketer's perfect dream.

Yellowstone in August

There is something about animals in the wild. This week in Yellowstone we saw a few grizzlies, lots of moose, elk and other deer, and many many birds. The kids had a great time - scanning the horizon to see who would spot what first - playing a game - and rejoicing when we chanced upon the occasional beast. I recall zoos were major stops for us - in pretty much any city that we visited up through to early this year. Then there was that unfortunate accident at the SF Zoo where a tiger escaped and mauled a couple of youths. My wife promptly stopped any financial contributions to the SF Zoo and upon further reflection and deeper discussions about the state of caged animals that was prompted by this incident, we have stopped visiting zoos altogether. No wonder then, these now not common, animal encounters were all the more fun for our kids. Cant wait to take them back to Kenya and Tanzania one day....

The Grand Tetons

We spent a few days in the Grand Tetons this week - around Jackson Hole and north. It was fascinating. The Rockies are my favorite mountains in the world - spread out, accessible, and majestic. I love the Colorado Rockies north and south of Denver, my wife loves the Canadian Rockies - particularly around Jasper, and Banff. This was our first time in the Grand Tetons. There is a lot more water than I had expected - lakes and low gradient, winding rivers, and on this trip in August, the weather was absolutely spectacular. The photograph above is just off where the Snake River leaves Lake Jackson.