Delhi

Now I am in Delhi, India for another work "mission". I will spend my Raya holiday here working.

I miss home since arrived here last Saturday.

Anyway, I managed to snap some photos here to share. More stories later.

Of food and security in Chennai

I was away since Sunday afternoon, returned only on Friday morning. That Sunday morning I ran in the adidas King of the Road half marathon. Then I took a night flight to Chennai, India for a business trip. In total I had 4 trips to India since December 2008.

It was my first time in Chennai. My previous trips were all to Delhi. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu state, the biggest city in south India. The weather was quite hot and humid. Luckily I spent most of my time there indoor.

The food in Chennai is similar to those found in Indian restaurant in Malaysia, particularly in Brickfields KL. It is spicy, Chettinad style served with banana leaf, instead of plate. You can find vegetarian food quite easily here too. I like the Chennai filtered coffee, served with two stainless steel containers, for you to "tarik", as seen below. You can find this in Brickfield, KL too.

Chennai filtered coffee.

I also enjoyed the orignal roti canai, paratha, in Chennai. Seen below is the potato paratha.

Paratha, the original "roti canai". Ever wonder where's the word "canai" came from?

One thing I found out that in India was the security measures were tight. In public places like shopping malls and some offices, there was a metal detector and X-ray scanner installed at every entrance.

Metal detector at the entrance of a shopping mall, Spencer Plaza in Chennai.

These security detectors and scanners were installed in the hotel that I was staying. After passing through the metal detector, then a security guard will body-search you some more.

The X-ray scanner at the hotel that I was staying.

All the baggage and luggage will be required to pass through the scanner. The security was tight, it was necessary from the Indian government point of view. Since the bombing in Mumbai, the security in India became a big concern. People in big cities were living in fear of being bombed again. The tightened security was a necessary measure.

To give you a view of how tight the security was, everyday I went through the metal detector at least once, maximum three times. At one time when I was in Delhi, I was body-searched twice at one entrance to a shopping mall. The feeling was similar to being molested, physically and mentally.

It made me think how lucky I am to live in Malaysia. I hope I will not have to pass through a metal detector entering hotels and shopping malls in Malaysia, ever.

Blow honk? Honk please

The trucks in India are really well decorated. I think the drivers really spent lots of time to make their vehicles so "good-looking".

I also noticed behind the trucks there were always a sign that said "Blow honk" or "Honk please". Looks like honking is something that is encouraged in India. In this case, I was told that truck drivers would like the drivers behind to honk first before overtaking. But as far as I observed, there were not many occasions drivers honk before overtaking.

Anyway, please enjoy the photos here.

Honk if you love noise

In India, one of the culture shocks is on the way to the "guest house" from the airport. As for most foreigners, the first impression is between the airport and hotel. Even before I was in the car, I can hear a lot of honking sound on the road. Once on the road, I could hear a lot more honking. I could sense that they were honking for the right of way. Most Indian drivers were driving with their own styles. What I meant was, they do not follow the the lanes and pay no attention to the dashed line marking the lanes. Some drivers, e.g. lorry drivers were driving slowly in the fast lane.

Also, in India, you can see many other vehicles on the roads, even unmotorised vehicles such as three-wheelers bicycles (for the purpose of transporting goods), ox-pulled two wheelers, and even camels on the roads.

For most drivers, they have to navigate through the busy roads during rush hours and deal with all those unmotorised vehicles and inconsiderate drivers. Honking became a norm, a show of frustration, and an unnecessary source of pollution. City of Delhi even declared 1 Jan 2009 as "No Honking Day", in the effort to reduce honking in the city.

I know I am too nice of a driver to survive on roads in India.

Buy X Get Y Free

While I was in India, I noticed that the retailers have many ways to attract customers. The common way is to offer discount or rebate. Another way is to offer free items. We all know the Manglish, "Buy 1 Free 1" in some department stores and retail shops.

In India, I saw this, you may see this in Malaysia.



I also captured this sign here:





Well, "Buy 2 Get 2 Free" you may still find it in Malaysia. What about this:

There you have it. You walk into a shop, planning to buy one or two underwears, but could end up having 12 in the bag.

Taj Mahal

One of the Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. I got a chance to visit this magnificent site on Christmas day. See this photo that I took with my DSLR.



The whole structure was made with marbles and it was decorated with beautiful art works, plant motif, lotus designs, calligraphy script from the Qur'an. The main building was built on a octagonal layout and it is perfectly symmetry. Work started in 1632 and it took 22 years to finish. The main gate of the Taj Mahal has 22 small domes on top that signified the number of years it took to build.


Between the main gate and the Taj Mahal, there is this beautiful garden, with pool the reflect the magnificent structure.



Then there is the masjid at the side of the Taj Mahal. Every Friday, Taj Mahal is closed for visitors because of the Friday prayer for local Muslims.



A place worth visiting. You have to be there to appreciate its beauty. Simply magnificent.