We landed in Delhi at 12:45 am yesterday. A full 2 hours behind schedule. Our flight from Baroda was delayed due the standard reason "late arrival of the aircraft". I mean how stupid does that reason sound? And its the same reason every airline dishes out for the delays.
Fortunately we were informed of the delay over SMS and we used up the time to catch up on some shop talk with colleagues over a few drinks. Baroda was also cold but we were warned that Delhi would be worse.
12:45 is not that bad a time to reach a metro, but it is horrible if you need to drive another hour to get to your destination, in our case, Faridabad. A colleague of mine took nearly 2 hours in the morning the previous day and I was praying we would take less. Fortunately there was no traffic and we zoomed into Faridabad and reached the hotel at 1:30 to be welcomed by our colleagues who were up & about with their 3rd round of drinks. I had a cup of tea and crashed into bed at 2:30.
I am getting to Delhi after nearly 2 years and the changes are amazing. The roads are really wide (which still results in traffic jams, I am told. Thankfully I saw those roads in the wee hours of the morning sans any traffic), the metro work is in full swing and from what I understand it will eventually be the lifeline of the city, there are still enough trees lining the roads and the winters are nice & cold.
Gurgaon on the other hand is still seeing so much construction & the infrastructure is inadequate. Public transport is woeful and the traffic sense is still absent. So you are damned if you are in your own vehicle and damned if you aren't.
I also happened to drive on the newly opened toll expressway from Gurgaon into Delhi. Its an awesome piece of engineering with lovely signages but the exit points are crowded beyond belief. It took me 45 mins to traverse a road which would have otherwise taken about 10 mins & I ended up reaching the airport 15 mins before the departure time. Fully convinced that I would miss the flight, I was relieved like hell when my check in was accepted at the Kingfisher counter.
Ironically I landed in Mumbai at 12:45 am (same time as Delhi the previous day) which was an hour behind schedule thanks to air traffic congestion at Mumbai airport. Whether its air or road, traffic problems are here to stay.
On a totally different note, the food on Kingfisher is exquisite!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Peacock Bay, NDA, Pune
We took off for Pune last weekend and drove down the Expressway. After the usual stop for vada pav & chai and another for petrol top up we finally made our way to my friend Arun's house in IAT, Pune. Institute of Armament Technology is near the Khadakvasla Dam and is quite a pain to get to, especially if you are wading through peak traffic. But all the pain of driving melts within minutes of arriving as the surroundings are absolutely stunning. Lush green areas, lovely roads, cute houses and most importantly no mobile connectivity.
Arun & Mugdha are the folks who got Snehal & me introduced and the rest is history. We are eternally grateful to this lovely couple who set things rolling for us. Ironically all of us could never be together ever sicne I met Snehal. Since they moved to Pune recently it was a good time to catch up. We talked for quite a while over some Royal Stag 7 Smirnoff and after polishing off a lovely dinner, we crashed into bed at 2 in the morning.
We were chaperoned around the campus & then the sprawling NDA campus in the morning. It was my first time inside the NDA campus and boy was it amazing. We also made our way to Peacock bay where the cadets practice various activities like sailing, surfing etc. They have some amazing equipment here right from sail boats, surf boards to water scooters.
We also had a lovely time lazing on the verandah which overlooked a small patch of green and sipping hot tea. Ideal holiday environment.
We are planning to make another visit soon.
Arun & Mugdha are the folks who got Snehal & me introduced and the rest is history. We are eternally grateful to this lovely couple who set things rolling for us. Ironically all of us could never be together ever sicne I met Snehal. Since they moved to Pune recently it was a good time to catch up. We talked for quite a while over some Royal Stag 7 Smirnoff and after polishing off a lovely dinner, we crashed into bed at 2 in the morning.
We were chaperoned around the campus & then the sprawling NDA campus in the morning. It was my first time inside the NDA campus and boy was it amazing. We also made our way to Peacock bay where the cadets practice various activities like sailing, surfing etc. They have some amazing equipment here right from sail boats, surf boards to water scooters.
We also had a lovely time lazing on the verandah which overlooked a small patch of green and sipping hot tea. Ideal holiday environment.
We are planning to make another visit soon.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Happy New Year
The Engg college gang had planned to meet up at Durshet Forest Lodge for New Years. Durshet is about a 85 kms drive from Mumbai & just 15 kms from the first toll naka on the Expressway.
Snehal, MJ & me drove in my car. We were joined by 3 other families. To say we had a good time would be an understatement. The kids, even though they were only 2 girls, had a swell time too. Snehal & me even won a prize in the New Years eve function. It was crazy.
Our poison was a bottle of Glenlivet which was pretty good. Given the chill in the air, the single malt was perfect.
The place is very rustic but very homely. All the staff are very helpful and went out of the way to help us. The food was finger licking good. Though the main fare was mostly vegeterian we were more than pleased. Definitely a place we could go some other time.
Happy New Year everyone!
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