Mumbai - Wee-kipedia

Mumbai is the largest city in India. It is the 2nd most populous city behind Shanghai. Along with suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it has a population of 19 million. It is a commercial and entertainment hub of India. It contributes 5% of India GDP.

Did not get the chance to visit the proper Mumbai as the business contact was based in Navi (new) Mumbai. However on the last day, few hours before the flight, managed to visit the Film City. No access to any indoor filming (inside some warehouse type buildings) but managed to witness the construction of a fortress (pic, left). According to the worker, it's for a TV serial, a Ramayana based ancient war epic!

At the edge of the Film City, captured the signage "Leopards Territory". The local said the leopards will be out roaming from 12 midnite to 6 am. He even showed us the rocky area where the leopards supposedly 'lepak'. Not sure if our beastly Mat Rempits get their cues from these beasts!

Public transport is a plenty. Local rickshaws (pic, right), taxis, buses, trains etc are everywhere. The drivers who horn the loudest get the right of the way! Yes, everyone horns. Horn at the junction, horn before overtaking, horn to get the other motorists to give way!

Managed to get some Punjabi suits and leather handbags for the wife. Not forgetting her fav fruit, mango. She is grinning from ear to ear, till today! Now, she is keeping her fingers cross that I travel there more often! She has already started compiling the colours and shapes of future purchases!

Spain & Sodomy

Ole!Ole! Espana. BMW! Best Man Wins, or in this case best team wins. They truly deserved to lift Euro 2008. No more doing a Greece! Now, what am I watching till mid August? Wimbledon? Nay, perhaps monitoring the local politic scene is a better choice, as it enters the knockout stage.

Same old game called sodomy! As a spectator, can't do much but just hoping the final is not drag into August, as not to distract the new footie season. Good thing is that no need to wake up in the wee hours. Just keep our fingers cross, it's a fair game, even though fiery tackles and play acting are cropping up. Not too sure how long the referee is going to keep the red card.

Hope everyone embrace the ethos RESPECT. BMW!

Alive & Kicking in Mumbai

Landed in wrong part of Mumbai. Partner is based in Navi (new) Mumbai not the Bollywood end of Mumbai. Additionally, being holed up in office working with Sanjay, Sandeep and Sunil. So there is no way of celebrity sighting. Aiyah!

Food wise - superb. Have my fair share of briyani, mutton, roti, curry, tea, aftermint etc.

It is monsoon season (June to August), so it has been raining every now and then. Traffic is terrible. As a metropolitan, obviously it is huge, so travelling from 1 office to another take more than an hour. KL traffic is nothing!

Lots of cricket coverage on TV. At last count, yesterday night, there was 4 channels showing cricket matches. Cricket is like a religion here. The players are multi millionaire and demi-god. Exactly 25 years ago (1983) today, India won its only cricket World Cup in England. In the press and TV, there were so many coverages and footages on the historic triumph.

India was not among the favourites and against all odds, the great West Indies team was beaten in the final. This victory changed the landscape of the cricket scene in India, forever!

Bollywood

Schedule to fly into Bollywood tonight. Serious works with the Indian counterpart for the next few days. First trip to Mumbai. Previously visited Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Mixed feeling though. Now very 'domesticated' unlike swinging bachelor days when every opportunity to travel is savoured! Gonna miss home! Yeah, big baby like me gonna miss the wife and kids! As usual, gonna enjoy the food. Briyani, mutton, sweet deserts etc.

If time permits, will love to get some Punjabi suits and a cricket bat! As an added bonus, maybe a date with Aishwarya Rai! He!He!

Will be back in the blog next week. Will post some photos.

Sports Day

Last Friday attended daughter's Sports Day. Due to lack of playing field, the event was held in Selayang Stadium. Just imagine, a 7 years old girl, who was a greenhorn, made her running debut in the running track as compared to her parents who raced barefooted in muddy school field. The other thing worth noting was that they conducted their opening ceremony reherseal just before the actual do!

My girl was excited the past week but was also worried that she could not finish her race. She was the first runner for Green House in 4x80 m relay. She kept asking how far she needed to run. The funny thing was the training was conducted next to the canteen thus not the actual distance was covered. To cut the story short, all went well as they emerged triumphant. What a great race - all newbies making their debuts. It was a great start and boosted her confidence to indulge in sports!

I will encourage her to take part actively in sports as it builds character. All work and no play make LiVen a dull girl! Study Hard, Play Hard!

pic - on your mark..