Günaydın Istanbul!

And I am back on the road again, on my way to Marrakech, in Morocco...

My journey began at Incheon last night, I just landed at Istanbul. From here I will take a flight in a few hours to Casablanca, from where I will go by road to Marrakech...

My plane - a Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 at Incheon...

Boarded and ready to go!

And we set course towards Istanbul flying over Chinese airspace...

Headed for Kazakh airspace...

...just south of Astana, and north of Almaty!

Overflying Lake Tengiz...

And we just overflew the Caspian Sea and entered Azerbaijani airspace - I was so anxious to see the Caspian Sea from the air, but it was dark...

The big news - the handover begins at the White House as Barack Obama welcomes the incoming President-elect Trump... 

And a positive news in the Financial Times on Prime Minister Modi's demonetization plan, which I have wholeheartedly supported! 

Passing over the Black Sea, entering in from Georgian airspace!

And it's still pitch dark outside...

Flying parallel to Turkey's Black Sea coastline...

Sudoku time...

Istanbul comes in sight, am back here after 1 year and 3 months...

Finals into Attaturk Airport...

And here I am at Istanbul...

Hong Kong Beckons...

And after two lovely days in Melbourne, Hong Kong beckons...

...And it's a long way to Hong Kong!

Ready to take off!

'A mile of highway will take you a mile, but a mile of runway will take you anywhere.'

That's what this photo seems to say...

Leaving Tullamarine far behind!

I completely enjoying my short visit here and I wish I can come back soon!

Up In The Air!

Exotic Tasmania isn't too far and that's on my bucket-list too...

My IFE to begin with - a number of international, Australian and Hong Kong newspapers...

And the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal have huge articles on the introduction of GST in India...

Indeed Prime Minister Modi has deftly untangled this proverbial Gordian Knot that had confounded economists and policymakers back home in India, for the last few decades!

Mapping my way on the phone, while I catch up on movies on Cathay's IFE!

Over Indonesian waters...

And I can't wait to be in magical Hong Kong in a few hours. The urban energy, that raw vibe of the city is so infectious and contagious, if I may say so. Hong Kong instantly enthrals and excites you from the moment you land here and I have felt that way ever since my first visit here in 2010!

Rise & Shine, Dubai!

This is our first morning in Dubai and we were woken up by the rising sun beaming straight into our room.

The sun rises over Business Bay, and all I can see new buildings coming up everywhere. And it is a fact that "miracle" that Dubai is today is not because of oil (it is Abu Dhabi that has oil, Dubai has practically nothing), it is because of cheap (and exploited) labour that they have been able to lure in from the Indian subcontinent...

Catching up on the news with Khaleej Times and as expected, there are reams devoted to India and the subcontinent, even Modi is a rage here...

Arabian breakfast with Khaleej Times...

Now this is what I loved about Dubai - the breakfast was awesome, I kept raving about the fresh hummus, muhhamarra, labneh and the soft cheeses and olives...

Falafels, minced lamb kebabs and sambousek with spicy Arabic black gram stew...

And what the heck? No bacon on the buffet... Ahem, not only that's haram here, I found the dips and falafels and stews far too healthy, to crave for my dose of bacon at all!

Now that's called breakfast with a view - we stared with wonder at Dubai's own "Tower of Babel" - the 828 metre, 154 storey-tall Burj Khalifa. Many would regard the Burj Khalifa as an iconic symbol of Dubai's wealth, I could only think of the curse of the skyscraper - the inexplicable link between man's towering ambitions and economic cycles...

It’s More Fun In The Philippines...

Today's trip around Manila city's historical sites was indeed interesting. 

My guide in my discovery was Malung, a middle aged Pinoy lady who showed me around the city.

And a lot of what I had felt about the pulse of Manila, over yesterday and today, was reinforced by Malung told me. It was evident that the Filipinos aren't in an ideal situation economically. They too face issues similar to what have historically had in India - philandering politicians, indifferent and corrupt bureaucracy and infrastructure that woefully hasn't kept pace with the times. 

But despite these issues, the Filipinos keep their spirits high. The whole vibe of the city was frenetic and energetic unlike the despondency I had seen in a place like Kuala Lumpur!

That's what Malung also confirmed in her conversations with me.

She was curious about India and its traditions. As expected I gathered that there was quite  bit of curiosity about the dynamism of the Modi administration and Malung hoped that Rody Duterte would evolve into the Modi of the Philippines. Frankly I am not sure about Duterte, but people do change, they do change when they assume office, some positively, some negatively. 

In Malung's questioning about India there was an underlying positive inquisitiveness which changed to abject sense of anger when I prodded her on China. The sense I got was the Filipinos deeply resented the "might is right" attitude of the Chinese when it came to the bullying going on in the South China Sea. Deep down they also didn't believe that United States would honour its often stated security commitments to the Philippines which they felt was a mere lip service.

The perception of India and China couldn't be so stark. While China is seen as a bully and is feared, India's rise as a world power is being seen positively here and it's time the Modi administration serenaded Philippines much like they are attempting with Vietnam.

On the social side, Malung's concern was on jobs. Educated Filipinos find few opportunities at home and have to head out to the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brunei and Korea for work. Most of them go as labour and household support and a tiny few as skilled or white collared workers. Filipinos are preferred for their professionalism and their English language skills (like India, almost everyone learns English here). And I agree with the fact that Filipino household helps are extremely professional as we have experienced in Songdo.

But the outflow of workers creates a social issue back home. Relationships go for a toss and that assumes significance since as a deeply devoted Roman Catholic nation they do not allow divorce under law. A legal separation is allowed but remarriage is illegal - so when people cohabitate after a legal separation the kids grow up confused. Complicating matters is the fact that that abortion is looked down upon in society.

And returning workers have settle for low paying jobs which calls for major lifestyle adjustments.

Also women workers abroad especially in the Gulf face harassment which creates an indelible scare on their psyches.

These issues sounded very familiar to what India also faces as a net exporter of manpower to the Gulf, especially Kerala where there have come to facing a social crisis.

But despite significant issues that it faces, Philippines does seem an interesting place, a delectable place as I discovered, here in the noisy food court of Robinsons Mall, with boisterous, happy Pinoy families devouring every morsel of spicy fare that this archipelago offers. And I am looking forward to the next few days here. It’s indeed more fun in the Philippines...

In Modi's Footsteps...

We had not known much about the Japan's temple city and former imperial capital, Kyoto, till our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi visited this city in 2014.

We were left amazed by the sights of Kyoto from the Prime Minister's vist and we had to have our own date with the city on this trip. So we checked out of our hotel in Osaka, had a leisurely breakfast and headed to JR Osaka to catch a suburban train to Kyoto, a short 40-minute haul.

Street art at Herbis, Osaka...

The train ride to Kyoto was pretty uneventful and we got a chance to doze off for while. And there we were in Kyoto.

The first thing - secure our travel passes from the tourist office at the station itself. The elderly gentleman who sold us the travel passes guided us on how to get to the various attractions, in his broken English that bordered more on being cute rather than funny. Man! I love Japan...

We hope to cover the length and breadth of Kyoto visiting numerous temples - some Buddhist, some Shinto - all of which are pristine and charming in their own right. And I was startled to see a video on YouTube that Hindu Gods and Godessess are venerated in Japanese temples. They have been adopted as their own and for instance Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesh and many others. Many Sanskrit mantras have also found their way into Japan, in ancient times. 

Interesting to say the least...

In fact, Mr. Yasukuni Enoki, Former Ambassador of Japan said “It is very important for the Japanese to know that in the bottom of Japanese culture, Indian culture is very firmly imprinted.”

And now we are off to our hotel across the street to dump our bags before we head out sightseeing...

A Bollywood Evening In Seoul...

There is never a better place to witness the tremendous soft power that India enjoys than to see foreigners enjoy Indian cuisine or sway to Bollywood tunes. Yesterday, we were witness to this.

We headed to Seoul to attend the annual Indian Ball - a fundraiser held after Diwali that brings together Koreans, Indians and other expatriates to join in for the festivities.

The evening began with performances by artists to the tunes of Bollywood numbers...

The menu for the night...

The starters were quite tempting...

Witnessing the performances...

She claimed to have performed for the reality show, Bigg Boss, back home in India...

Getting the audience to shake a leg...

"Make In India" was the theme of the night - Prime Minister Modi's magic is infectiously all pervasive!

There is my lovely thali...

The Americans around us were enjoying the Bollywood overdose...

Luckily, an overdose of Bollywood doesn't kill...

Jalebi, rabdi with rose petals...

Now the audience gets to shake a leg...

It was particularly pleasing to see foreigners enjoying every bit of it...

And especially Koreans going beyond K-pop and enjoying Bollywood bhangra hits in traditional Hanbok attire (see the video at 00:27)!!!!

Indeed, India's soft power was in full flow...