New Years Celebrations in San Diego

We finished off the year in San Diego.  Celebrated twice.  First at the 6pm children’s countdown and fireworks at Logoland, and then when it actually closed in the Pacific time zone, four hours ahead of the International Date Line.  Looking back, we used 2008 well - spent a lot of time with our kids, kept to our promise of six plus vacations – Florida, Mexico, Hawaii, Yellowstone, Palm Springs, New Zealand and San Diego, and saw our parents and friends and family a lot throughout the year.  Here’s looking to 2009 !

Yet another new airline

We flew Virgin America to San Diego with the kids.  I have travelled extensively on Virgin Atlantic, and find them to be very strong on the SFO – LON route, great on meals, exceptional on their club rooms (particularly at Heathrow).  Conveniently, they partner with SQ for mileage credit, who are a great partner for them.  This was my first experience with Virgin America though.

In a nutshell, a very positive experience.  Cool (literally – see mood lighting on aircraft above), hip (very new century convenient – purchase, check-in, bags check etc is all self/internet enabled) and just right (no idiotic frills, and wide choice of options).   There were 50 plus programming options to choose from, which the kids promptly managed to get their Mom to figure out and order programming with her credit card.  There were some 10 menu items all orderable from your in seat console and delivered right away upon ordering.  In both cases we paid for what we wanted but got exactly what we needed –didn’t have to see our kids eat high sodium pretzels and get erroneously exposed to the Simpsons !

Mumbai, after 11/26

I just returned from Mumbai - my first visit after the recent events. Much has been written up on these events and one of the most common criticisms has been that this event compared to others from the past got a disproportionally higher level of media coverage since the targeted establishments were more frequented by the affluent section of the Indian society. I suspect this is true, and in its own way it is good. I find that the more affluent Indians didn't have much of a use for or daily interaction with the government. Sure you still need a passport to travel but most affluent Indian homes make their own basic or incremental arrangements for education, medical care, utilities and security. As such there wasn't a sense of real accountability of the elected officials and government bureaucrats - the educated and economically active Indians didn't ask and the economically deprived and uneducated Indians just accepted what they got. I see this starting to change as more and more affluent Indians are starting to ask the question. What have you done
for me recently ?

Eight years ago we were hiring software engineers in Delhi and I could see for the first time these men and women truly internalized the fact that the world is their oyster. This fundamental shift in the thinking of the youth to a "I can make it happen" mindset fundamentally changed the course of events from the previous fifty years and put India on a growth curve third to none. A similar paradigm shift is in the making - one hopes will result in a truly accountable democratic government, not just the largest.

South Island, NZ

Our vacation was, as it were, a years worth of pure, absolute, total and complete delight crammed into a week. The South Island of New Zealand is an breathtakingly beautiful part of the world. And its pristine, relatively uninhabited, and pure. And given the global economic environment, NZ was actually a great value. The interest rate arbitrage game is now over as their central government reduces rates to ease the credit crunch and as a result the currency has eroded significantly. If you are into the outdoors, NZ is probably the best value today. This photo of Fjorland was taken from a low altitude aircraft close to Queenstown.

Cruising in the Akaroa Harbor

We spent the day in the water with the Hector Dolphins.  The Hectors are the rarest dolphins in the world, they are smaller and have rounded dorsal fins.  Like most dolphins, they were extremely curious and playful – and came out and spent an hour with our boat and some other divers – checking us out.  We were in the Akaroa harbor – a shallow and rich expanse of water that was formed when the crater of the volcano got flooded by sea water.  And it was a sunny, beautiful day.  And we had a great time.  If you are ever in Christchurch, this is a definite recommendation, unique geology with a wonderful history and close to get to.

Children-Friendly Vacations

We find New Zealand as a perfect destination for our kids.  First, the country is amazingly child-friendly.  Locals are laid back and friendly, there is an abundance of parks, animals and activities for the children.  In addition it is safe (no poisonous insect bites, no vaccines or other medical preparation needed).  Flights are simple from the West Coast - non stop that leaves in the night and arrives first thing in the morning, so if you tire your kids out before boarding, they are out for the duration when not hooked on to the in-seat tv/games.  And the jet lag – very much unlike traveling to Singapore or Mumbai – is manageable, for us it’s the next day and three hours back so routines aren’t thrown off terribly.  Finally, we do lots of farm stays, so the kids get an amazing exposure to something that they aren’t likely to find in the SFO Bay Area.

Sunset on the Arabian Sea

If the US is bottoming out, India still has a ways to go. There are complex and insufficient regulations, low to no transparency, a denial-oriented mindset, and no previous experiences with market crashes. October saw $24B in fx come out of India (from some $300B in reserves), the $ became as expensive as Rs 50 (up from 43 a month ago), and the commercial paper markets froze completely. The central bank has kicked in and helped bring the $ down to Rs 47 and expanded money supply to help with liquidity. But mutual fund redemptions will follow the hedge funds, and more money will trickle out before the end of the year, meanwhile lower borrowing rates from the government and decreased CRRs haven't made much of a dent in the commercial paper market. Still, one hopes its relative insularity will provide India the soft landing it deserves.

This photo is taken looking west into the Arabian Sea in Juhu, Mumbai.

India Restaurants

I was in India this week.  Had a few great meals.  Mahesh Lunch Home on Juhu Tara Road in Mumbai has the best Lobster Curry I have ever had.  Next to it the JWM’s main restaurant concocts interesting Indian fusion dishes (like the masala pasta dishes in the photograph here), though I passed, on account of the more authentic choice in the Mahesh nearby.  The Raj Pavilion at the Windsor Manor in Bangalore has fantastic Dosas, which I did repeat.  And the China House at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai has the only Peking Duck I have ever had in India.  In a nutshell food is great; the service though is still a substandard value for money – the waiters are right on top of you and desperate to help with spooning the food from dish to plate, yet totally clueless about the ingredients, preparation or the origin of the foods.

Halloween Pumpkins

We had a great Halloween this year, full buildup including standard Half Moon Bay run for pumpkin selection and all associated rides (photographed here), and into Friday for the sugar-heavy troll with equally-costumed friends through San Mateo Park for the kids.

Soccer in California

One of my son’s coaches is a Bengali from Calcutta (Kolkata) now settled in the bio-tech industry in California.  Nice to see his good old Mohan Bagan vs East Bengal spirit in coaching.  Needless to add, and independent of the coaching, my older son is really enjoying the game.