Rafi Ali Khan

'The Kingdom on the Brink: An unCaNNy Presentation

I had eagerly waited to watch this program ever since the ads "The Kingdom on the Brink - a CNN Presentation" started to run on CNN during the last few days of the American 2004 elections. And like most programs that I intent to watch, I was sure I would miss this one as well. Incidentally that was not to be the case. I caught up with the program at the said time and watched it till the end. The documentary sadly to say, has a skeptical and pessimistic approach and to can it right it was a uncanny presentation, which is not what you would call responsible journalism. Do we viewers have a choice any more? The ads building the curiosity of an explosive story waiting to be told to a country which chooses freedom of electing their leader, of a kingdom where people had no such freedom. When CNN talks about the brink, we are expected to believe on a horizon, people with stubbed urges and the want to cross-over, which demanded world viewership (but sadly it was a one directional perspective). The story of the yet another oppressed people by its own government, who can only find a voice with the most powerful news media in the world and hope to be heard.

I sat there in the office apartment at downtown Chicago and watched as the story unfolded on TV. In the light of the american adventure at the voting booths (this time around) on November 2nd 2004, I could relate to how media & journalism plays a drumbeat role and yet not necessarily being heard by its audience. The king makers of the media can not really touch the emotional side of the American people which voted Bush back into term. The controversial interviews and debates between vocal opposites created pyrotechnics on the screen. In most cases concluding that it was up to the viewers to choose their perspective on issues while all through the news channels chose to voice aloud the perspective of a single party as the news channels themselves accord loyalty towards democrats or republicans.

Its no surprise that it did not go down to change the minds of the American people? Were they bound by beliefs that they have always voted republican or democrat and would continue to vote republican or democrat? They would go on to support the small big boy from Texas, cause he was the one being pushed against the wall for being, saying and doing what every American wanted after 9/11. In hindsight, Bush was a big mistake, a folly, a misadventure that America had borne for 4 years. Wasn’t it time America got a fresh start or then again was it time to give the rash boy from Texas a fresh start. Truly, it speaks volumes of the compassion of the American people to concord and stand up for its president.

I’m not an anti Bush, a pro Kerry or an independent supporter. Maybe that is what gives me a clear view to see all sides of the story. I did not get carried away by the republicans, the democrats nor develop sympathy for Nadir who seemed insignificant with no political cloud backing him up and brushed away unheard in this land of opportunity. It is not necessarily true that this is the land of opportunity or is it best said, the land of the opportunist. The republicans took every opportunity to taint the democrats and vice versa. The media did not bother the American people with knowing more about who the independents were since they didn’t deem them high profile and worthy of American viewership or their own air time and advertisement benefits and that’s also a canny truth. The day America chooses a capable independent candidate as her president, will I and the world be truly convinced that it is freedom and not money power or political divide that influences America at the voting booth.

What does this have to do with Saudi Arabia? Well just that the documentary and the presenter spoke only to the democrats of the kingdom who cant sit well with the republican rule. But truly amazing is that the documentary is in parts a factual representation of the country we only knew as the birth place of Osama bin laden and the breeding ground of Muslim extremists. What astonishes me is that this is a recycle of other perspective story-telling similar to the ones aired before on Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria or Libya. How can the American media put negative perspectives to its audience while America considers Saudi Arabia today, as in the past Iraq, an ally? Is this not dirty standard on the part of American media, to speak ill of a friend nation, and if not, do tell us the story of why America politically acknowledges the country as an ally. Political gains do definitely take precedence over social misdoings when America’s monetary interests are concerned.

Are the motive and the truth so distractively apart or is it tasked by the political scenario or judgemental reporting as need be. The documentary makes believe that the country is run by villainous characters that do not oblige to speak on camera like when (then) prince Abdullah turned you away as if he has something to hide. But when the foreign affairs minister prince Faisal who is the man friday for such tasks sits down to chat with CNN, speaking to him appeared insignificant to the most powerful media’s journalist. In all fairness, (then) prince Abdullah was born into the job and not obliged to give comments to media, when there are others given the responsibility.

In America there are over 50 million people who are oppressed and do believe that the government in power should not exist. But there are 56 million who believe it should. See how easy the balance can turn when you put both perspectives together. A single standing percentage will comprehend to the common mind, the republican mind, the democratic mind, the human mind, the free mind, that there can be opposition without oppression. Opposition is only equal to oppressed in the minds that seek to create it. So have 50 million Americans been oppressed, and another 100 million who did not vote, too scared to do so? Give us the whole picture. Almost 50% of Americans did not vote, they did not seem to care who was at the center, given a chance to make a difference, they still don’t care. Which is in fact true of people all around the world, whether you call it dictatorially ruled or under monarchies. In India about 300 million people don’t vote. Pakistan, an American ally is under military rule and US condemn it but overlooks it as a no matter. Double standards only mean hypocrisy. They simply don’t care as it does not affect them and no nation and its politics is ever free of corruption.

Knowing America and knowing an American are two different things, and a large majority of Americans are genuinly good people and the same inference should be allocated to other countries and country men. The notorious behavior of Hitler during the world war does not speak of the characters of the Germans and nor does the Neo Nazis speak of individual Germans.

The voice of the Saudi teen in the documentary who if he walks up to a girl (who for all reason may feel harassed by him) and the fact that the religious police in the country took him aside and reprimanded him be the gut of the report. Americans value culture and so too should the culture of closed societies where respect for the other person is to strictly to keep your hands to yourself and not see whether it can get hold of another hand. These societies do encourage marriage but not courtship before marriage and they live happily ever after too. Why is this so difficult to comprehend? Does not the country of America have laws against adultery? But then the law has a hole which allows consenting adults to share the same bed, even though it may not be under wedlock. Moral issues are always high on American agenda this year of voting but the moral limits set aside by different cultures are different and does not necessarily constitute violation of living a happy life.

Saudi Arabia is no exception, the laws of the land have been laid down and death punishment by hanging or slicing of the throat seems much offensive when shown without the context for which the criminals are executed. The death punishment in America is to execute criminals in the gas chambers or by lethal injection. In every country innocents do suffer but that is just outright stupid to say that all are innocent. American jails are filled with criminals from rapist to murderers and condemning them to rot in jail for their crimes. A few of the convicted may truly be innocent but the facts were against them. In a closed society its difficult to get hold of the facts, but if facts be told, the trial must have been convened within the bounts of fair trial and not tarnished by political agendas. It must be mapped against the law of the country. If the law of the country says, you get a drunk ticket 3 times and your license will be cancelled, thats what it means. If the law of the country is, death to drug trafficker then thats the law. Does not the amerian law hold that "Ignorance is not the equivalent of innocence".

Also maybe the Americans should be told that Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world not to have any tax on their people. So what they earn they keep and the government does not take anything from them. They are left on their own as long as they keep to the laws of the land. If that’s not fair living what is? I am not a saudi but i still stand up to it, as i will stand up to the laws of america even though i am not an american. The truth is we must respect one another in the true sense and not despise one another. The democrats of the kingdom spoke and sadly there were no republicans interviewed to set straight the sufferings, but the uncanny truth is that we are all just victims of politics, not countries, not people but politics. The politics of the media, the politics of the people who can raise their voice and the politics of the power mongers.

"The king of good times", as their motto goes, so does the Airline. I have been flying since i was 6 years old (tagging on with my parents ofcourse) and have travelled on all domestic and a variety of international airliners (including European and US) over the past 23 years and i have never been more thrilled on any airlines, more so a domestic airline as i was when i flew down from Goa to Bangalore this summer on the KingFisher airline. I had flown down to Goa in an Air Deccan. The deccan is good in its own way, rates and hassle free online booking, sector connectivity, promt sms intimation on delays, cancellation, transfer etc. But i think it was just the contrast in the experience which must have accentuated the thrill i had when i flew back on the King. I dont believe that anyone needs to wait hand and foot on me to give me a good experience so even the bad news of flight delays by Air Deccan given with an apology is acceptable to me as i never travel on just-in-time trips. So sometimes even with a 4 hour delay i have never missed a meeting and that way they have transported me on time, everytime. Cost wise both ways on Air Deccan is lesser than one way on Indian Airlines (Bangalore-Trivandrum) and if i had taken ground transport (short sectors) at 3/4 the cost, it would have taken 12-14 hours to reach so a couple of hours knocked off at the airport is not so bad after all.

Getting back to the topic of my first experience with the King. I had flown down to goa in an Air Deccan which was delayed by 2 hours (intimated to us in the morning itself) for an afternoon flight and a 1 hour delay at the airport. The free seating on air deccan is quite interesting and i so far have never seen anyone fight for a seat. But the cabin was hot and we had to sit in the plane for 10 mins before it hit the runway and everyone had started to sweat because of the scorching heat outside on that particular friday afternoon. Everything else was smooth sailing and nothing to write home about.

On our way back, we had booked the King as it was falling in the same price range as the Air Deccan and wanted to check it out as well. The King also got delayed by 2 hours which we were intimated over phone, but that gave us time to have a no-rush lunch at the Bagga beach before heading for the airport. The minute we arrived at the airport and headed for the King Fisher counter, and identified as potential King Fisher travellers, the service begins. There were King’s men to help us with unloading the bags from the car. The lady at the counter was very courteous and handed us our e-tickets based on the PNR in a jiffy, we had excellent service and choice of seats at the check-in counter. We boarded an airbus with lavish designer color-coordinated interiors and the best part was that the cabin was chilled and sweet smelling; such a pleasure after 2 and half days of hot sweaty Goa sun. We were just amazingly glad that we had not booked our return on Air Deccan. (Also because that day’s Air Deccan we were told had got cancelled.)

But the experience just doesnt stop there. Every seat has inflight entertainment screen, we got a pouch with King Fisher goodies and a menu card on what was to be served onboard. The hostesses on our aisle were stunning; infact and i could see everyone around me had "Tamanna" in their eyes. Even my lady friend with me did not object to me admiring her beauty, though she asked me not to over do it. No, its not that i have a loose eyes (well sometimes) but maybe the sun got to me and if there is one thing that air travel has ensured in the past (and not excepting the early days of Air India & Indian Airlines) is the beauties that serve the travellers on their flight. Back then beauty was associated with Air hostesses and not "go-on become a model". Anyways, too much on that, lets just say they complimented the entire King Fisher charm. The captain apologised for the delay in the most honest sounding tone. The entertainment onboard kept us occupied till the choice of meals arrived and an hour and a half later landed at bangalore. It was one of the best experience i have ever had and standing up to both the Srilankan and the Emirates. (King Fisher did not win the Asia’s best new aircraft award for nothing)

All said, i dont intend to say everyone go jump on a King Fisher, as we indians are cost sensitive. So take the best route and the right price and if you can choose the King over the Pawns, then you can come back and tell everyone the good times you have had, flying onboard the King of Good Times.

Well i just want to pile up on all the other reviews (http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Hathway_Cable-925000334.html) on the pathetic service that Hathway provides. I thought it was an area problem but it seems people subscribing to Hathway from all over bangalore and other places face the same service, which is very disheartening especially coming from one of India’s early players to setup broadband internet services.

I had problems from the start. Hathway did not offer thier service in my sector (HSR Layout Sector-3) but promised they were starting their services from the 1st of Jan 2006. So i signed up in the begining of December after falling for the flyers placed in my mailbox. January came and nothing seemed to be moving, and after frantic calls to customer services, i was informed that i would now have to wait till February for the service to kick off. By March i was out of options but to wait it out for whenever it comes. I later learned that my friend who lives in the neighbourhood had got his connection; he had subscribed to it much later. Now, that told me atleast that the service had started in the area. So frantic calls to the manager, customer service, on an every day basis finally saw rewards and i got my connection towards the end of March. Was i relieved? Not for too long. The connection kept breaking and would not come back for several days to weeks and calls didnt make sense as i got the same standard replies. Why was i living up with such pathetic service? Just one answer, lack of other providers in the area. The day another vendor (even with a Pan wala sized shop opens up and says i will provide you internet, i am gonna go with them) and ditch Hathway for life.

The connection goes down every other week only to resurface for another couple of days before dying on me again. It was down again most part of June and the entire length of July. I called up and demanded very politely a refund on my account and cancel the service. She went "Please sir, please give us one more chance", i felt miserable having put her in such a state for her to feel harrassed and requesting for a chance (as if it were her fault). I assured her, i was not upset with her but only with the service and that Airtel broadband was arriving soon in the area and I only inteneded to switch players. "No sir, please, please give me one more chance", she went on. I said, sure take your chance. I shouldnt have melted then, i guess she is just trained to do so, or it may have been her first day on the job. Whichever, never melt is the moral of that story.

Finally August 2006 and repeated calls to the customer care (standard call center answers later) which i was not going to buy anymore, i told the customer care that unless he puts me on to his manager, i was not going to let him off the hook. I subscribe for a 6 month package and i have only used less than 30% of my account which shows how much ontime i have had in the past 4 months and 2 months to go before i have to pay for another 6 months package. If in 8 months (from january when they started offering service) they cannot stabilize a connection, then what good are they serving. Their department and primary bread and butter product (Broadband - internet) was taking a beating and they (customer services) kept giving out false promises that i would be contacted by their technical team in 30 mins. 30 days later and their 30 minutes didnt arrive, i demanded that i speak to a manager or supervisor. I dont pay Hathway to stick a cable through my window and place a modem on my desk. I pay for the green led against the "Online" to be lit up. He tells me to mail at "bangalorehelpdesk@..." I asked him if he was kidding me, i am not able to connect to the internet and he wants me to mail? From where? Knocking on my neighbours door wouldnt help, coz his connection was down as well. "If my phone is not working, how can you tell me, please call up someone, instead of helping me out yourself i asked?"

I asked him if customer service, ever followed up with the technical team to find out if they have responded to a particular complaint id which they have booked before closing the status of that complaint? He said they dont? I asked him on what basis do you then close a customer complaint and he had no replies. After 15 minutes of grilling, a supervisor, or manager stepped in and promised me that the technicians would come down to my place to investigate the problem. The techinical team came down an hour later and rectified the problem in 10 mins. A loose connection in the connection area box near my place. Now the internet is back on full swing but i dont think its really safe to get my hopes up just again. But i just knew that i had to put my review here before the net goes down again.


Pros: HalfWAY (it only works half the time)
Cons: HathDEY (it doesnt work at all)

Well there are a million blogs out there talking about Goa and what a great place it is. This was my first trip (3 days - 2 nights) to goa (also this is my first ever attempt at writing blog as well - i am just lazy; people!) so will talk more about me coz its my blog and i want me in it from the start. Travelling is not my favourite past time, i dont want to see all the name-people-animal-things of the world. I dont want to feel the experience, i am better of lazing around where ever i am. And i think nothing can really be so fascinating to take my breath away (except members of the opposite sex). So this blog wont really talk about travelling and oogling at goa but more about lazing in goa. This blog is dedicated to all my fellow lazy bones and couch potatoes than the travellers out there.

So before i tell you about Goa, the fun and the beach i must tell you about the trips dos and donts. Well first of all, take as little clothes and accessories as possible so as to keep your luggage light and make sure your friends do as well, so you dont have to carry their luggage. Make sure you leave behind all your formal dress, shoes, jackets etc coz every day in goa is a sun-day. Carry a couple of shorts, boxers, t-shirts and sandals/chappel. (If you plan on clubbing, i dont know if there is a dress code, but you can buy the code in the Goa, so dont fret.) Dont think swim wear is very suggestive for a crowded beach except for the i-want-a-tan outsiders. (lets be modest and keep decorum). But do carry swim wear if the resort you are put up at has a pool (again skinny dipping is not advisable). What else? what else? hmmm advicable for the girls/woman folk should carry a lot of black shorts/black t-shirts as the water makes most clothes see through; so just to be on the modest side, you never know who is letching at you (incidently we guys did go top bare and gave our t-shirts) Thats it, you are ready to go-goa. Oh yeah, dont forget to take your friends, its no fun without them.

Why am i giving out gyaan here instead of telling you about my time in Goa, well i'm preparing you luggage and all to take you along with me, how else will you see what i got to see, if you dont travel with me. I dont want you to imagine things but rather would like to take you there and show it to you (but ofcourse, through my view point) But for the lazy bones out there, i am sure this is as best way to travel to goa. Had i read my post before, my trip would have been complete and i wouldnt have gone in the first place ;-)

Fly Down
Leave on a friday, take the day off if you must. Well how to get there? Fly down, i dont believe in losing valuable hours for a couple of thousand bucks. And if you are coming with me, then you have no other choice. After all time is money and flying down is money well spend especially with low fare airlines like Air deccan and KingFisher. (KingFisher is the better choice - love the hostesses). And be sure to fly back atleast, coz you are gonna be so tired after all the fun on the beach that you just want to get back home and a 12 hour drive back wont be really welcoming, but a 1 hour chilled flight with gorgeous hostesses is a welcome treat (I am talking KingFisher guys, all you on Air deccan can unbuckle and jump).

Stay
Now dont wait to get there to decide where you are going to stay. Best is to figure it out using online search (google duh!) local agents etc and actually do booking in advance so that you dont have to end up living out on the beach. We checked into a nice place called the Paradise Village (photo above), the outside is fancy but the rooms are basic, though it boasts of all the facilities. But all in all this place had an old Goa charm to it and i liked that about the place. The people were very friendly and the Calangute beach is just 200 ft away, so you can take an early morning walk (wake me up when you are back from your walk) on one of the two best beaches of Goa. (Calangute and Baga - according to me and everyone else who told me so).

Moving Around
Once in goa, you can either rent a bike for a day at (150-250 bucks for 24 hours) or spend a little more money if there are 4 of you or more and rent a car (800-1200 bucks for 24 days). If its a friday, they usually will try and hook you in for 48 hours at (2000 bucks) but you can always negotiate. Just check with the reception at the hotel/resort and they will have all the contacts. Car with an AC is best, coz it gets really hot in the afternoons and you can put on the AC for a while just as you get into the car. Plus, whats good about the car is you can load her up with your shopping, spare clothes, water and your friends. Also it helps when you want to go on long drives to various parts of the city which are tourist spots. And a car really carries you safely and comfortably than a bike, though bike is advicable for new couples who want to get cosier, i guess thats what they call it. (Shouldnt they just stay back in the hotel) Enough said on that, just get the car dude!

















Friday
Now part of the fun of Goa is the beaches, really?? Yeah wise cracks, it is!!! You know this blog is begining to get tiring, better hit the couch, its more thinking about the goa part as much as its about the getting to goa and having fun and now to write about it, its all tiring. But since i made that effort to get to goa, im going to make that effort to write as well. But maybe i should just fast forward and give you just snippets of details here. The food on the beach is awesome, loved the crabs and the prawn at Brittos (on Baga beach).

What else! Loved the beach and the time in the water, though i lost a perfectly good pair of shades when the wave splashed me face first into the water. I tried to dive to look for it, but the salt wouldnt let me open my eyes and it was vain hunting for it using my feet. I think the wave had already pushed me offset by a couple of feets before i got back on my feet. I am sure some dolphin or other sea creature is look cool wearning those shades now (ref. Shark Tales). What was i doing wearing shades on the beach? Isnt the beach a good place to wear one? One good place not to wear them is when you get into the water, but next time when ever there is a next time, i will get one of those strings to hold it to my head. :-) Never say never wear shades in the water. Its all part of the fun and most importantly my kind of fun. There are some water sports like a speed ski ride and parasending, banana rides etc at the beach, so depending on your budget (make sure you bargain) and want for thrill you can choose to hop on for a fun ride. Parasending has its own share of fun and for those who want to just get up and fly, there is no better alternative than this, though the rides are damn short. The strap that holds the butt, so that you can sit as you hover over the ground slipped and before i knew it, my ass was on the line. I had to use my arms to pull myself up, else the feeling was you are going to slip right through and fall, the landing part where you have to pull one side to bring the chute towards the beach is really tiring, but wow, you just learned navigating on air. For 1k its got its perks but i know you can get a ride at half the price but only if i had bargained, but didnt have time as it was almost sunset.

Get back to the room, freshen up (means take a bath) and relax for a while just to build your apetite again for dinner. Drive down to a nice restaurant for some goan sea delicacies. (We had a good friend who had recently shifted to goa for guiding us to the choice restaurant). It was a place called "Starlight" something. (I am telling you, i cant remember names) I had tons of crabs and i kept biting my teeth into crab shells after crab shells to get a little flesh. I must confess, its true, men do go to any lengths for a little flesh.

Well there you have it, then you get back and sleep it all off. What? Thats it. "I want my money back", you scream. Well thats it for the first day, remember you arrived around Friday mid afternoon in goa. Take rest, have a bath, go to the beaches then get some dinner before you sleep it off and promise yourself and everyone else that you will wake up early for a morning walk on the beach. If you are with friends who understand the meaning of morning, then you better take your ass out of bed by 6.00 am and brush up and fresh up for the walk. (And i call them friends :-( )

Saturday
Take a sleepy morning stroll on the Calangute beach which is fairly close to the resort and you build a perfect apettite for a sumptuous breafast (courtesy of the resort). Well this is the time when the fishermen who have gone into the sea early bring back their boats to the shore, and if you are in luck; as we were, we actually saw the painstaking task of hauling a boat bach to its resting position on the beach. They place small pieces of wood pipes on the sand and pull and push the boat back up. Infact they are open to helping hands. So go and go "hursa, hursa". (The photo is misguiding - as its an evening shot not a morning one but you get the picture right)

After breakfast, take a quick bath and you are ready for the next day. Are you ready??

Well if so let me continue, i hate unsatisfied readers. Well if you have come as far as goa, you must visit the Aguada fort, its a nice historic structure and the view of the water is splendid. Though if you reach there in the afternoon, the hot sun will scorch down on you, but the lemonade stalls outside will put some spirit (non alcoholic - dont get excited) back into you. Then as you head back, you stop by at this small boating dock and at 500 bucks a boat, they take you into the ocean and show you the dolphins. Er eh ok dolphin; ok the fins of the dolphins. Well, whatever, you get to see something fishy creature break open the water and dive back in. Ofcourse they dont jump into the air and dive back in like you see on tv. But the dolphins are known to do so only in the morning told the boat guide (Guess there are other species who appreciate a morning walk/dive). You get to pass by the Aguada jail and see quite a bit as the boat ride last almost 30-45 mins, then its back to the shores. Its more fun, if you and the gang have your own boat and dont have to pile on with other wannabe dolphin seekers. Most importantly, keep shouting out to the dolphins thats the only way they surface. (atleast it worked for us ;-))

Another place you can go down to is Panjim or Panaji as its called. Here you find one of the most polished and (irnonically) most deserted of beaches, the "i dont remember its name" beach. Ok ok, i will find out the name for you, let me google it. Aaah yes, the Miramar beach and what i like about it is that is a good stretch of driving and on the right you get to see the beach through out. They use this location in movies and song videos i was told, but then again, only managed to see the shooting for some telugu song album even though we were told Ajay devgan was in gao and staying at the marriot. Then off to dona paula, why? coz you want your money's worth right. There is not much here, but then again, goa didnt promise you a whole load except a lot of water. But still places you must atleast stop by for what its worth, the name tags that these places have earned over the years! And one more such beach is the anjuna beach which is a good visit if you just want to see for yourself what all the hue and cry is about.

If you visit Goa in the off season, be sure not to hope for many party scenes happening or migrating foreign birds to feast your eyes on. So evening time, get back to the beach and just enjoy the water yet again. Go back to the rooms, freshen up for a quite evening dinner. The evenings are best spend at beach side restaurants having sea food delicacies. Shrimps, prawns and enough of crabs i had to tell myself. Now where are we? We are at this lively place called the something "Lobo" (i am so bad at remembering names) ok ok, will google for it. Couldnt find it, but this is somewhere on the beach, so if you stroll from one side to the other, you cant miss it (its less than 5 km i promise you, hee hee.) Anyway, they had a live band playing some interesting songs and also took some request from the diners. Most of the crowd sang to the theme music of pehla nash; me too, i sing well especially in a crowd O;-). It was a cool windy night, so good for a long stroll and better still to sit back on the beach and just talk (not lazy, tired here). So that was the choice thing to do. So sit around, look at the moon over the waters and just talk about whatever comes to your mind. Doesnt need to make sense coz you will forget anything sensible later anyways. In a way its a bit romantic as well (in a pictorial way), but then its all about the company i guess. When you have good friends with whom you bond well, it makes it better and you dont feel left out even if you just sit and not say a word.

Back to the resort, back to the room all tired and ready for a good night sleep after taking promises from everyone that there is not going to be any morning walk the next day and you will only get up only just in time for breakfast.

Sunday
Well have your breakfast, pack your bags, return the keys, return the car and you are ready to leave by around 10 am coz the flight is usually around 2 pm and the airport is a good 1 hour drive from Calangute to Vasco da Gama (its where the airport is, wow i remebered the name, does Goa have natural healing for forgetfullness?).

Its good to have someone with a car in goa to spend the last few hours in goa. Incidentally our old friend (the one who shifted to goa and the one who has promised me tons of on-season photographs) was all ever-willing to show us around the last bits of goa we missed out on. (But only after his bhaiya told him to change the battery of the car that was otherwise dead for the 2 days we were there).

Then we drove to some places and then some more places. (How do I know the names, "mein tho goa mein naya hoon". Ok so no healing powers in Goa). After which we were on our way to the airport that we decided to head back to Brittos (on baga beach) to meet some relatives of our friend. Luckily when we sat down for a quick sip, we were told by the airlines that the Kingfisher flight would be delayed by 2 hours. So we had time for lunch, no crabs please, but prawns are still welcome. After a long lunch, we headed back to the airport.

The airport has a white smoke lounge, so cool huh! I havent seen that in any other airports across India. The kingfisher experience deserves another blog (especially because of the hot hostess) but you know when you go up in the sky you usually come down to earth in a short time. So landed back in bangalore soon enough; cab home and just hugged the bed straight away.

Good night. Back to office on Monday morning.