Travelogue 1
Hey guys...in Changi Airport (Singapore). long transit break (8 hours!!), free internet, and no Y!/MSN-messenger...enough motivation to blog!!
snippets from the last few days:
ACT 1...Indonesian Consulate in NYC, T - 2 days
Karthik: I need the visa tomorrow sir. Leaving day after (saturday). please, can i get it.
Visa officer: No. two days minimum for a visa.
....
...
...
10 mins later, friend calls visa officer form Delaware.
Friend: Calling from Univ of Delaware. we need Karthik to go to Indonesia on Saturday. Make sure you give it to him, or else we will have to tal to Washington (Emabassy).
Visa Officer misunderstands friend...thinks she is from the embassy at Washington (!!!)
Visa officer: Mr. Karthik, someone called for you from Washington and said u applied for the visa last week, and u have ur application in ur hands!!
Me: I don't know who it was sir.
Visa officer (peeing in his pants): OK, Ok. come back at 3 and collect your visa (!!)
I go back to the consulate at 2 (nothing better to do)
Visa Officer (calls me and says) : here is ur visa (!!!)
....
...
Karthik super happy...all the visa guys scared of mega-well-connected Karthik.
ACT 2...Minneapolis to Tokyo
Got down from the Phily-Minneapolis flight...ran to the Minneapolis-Tokyo counter... just made it. doors shut...Take off!!
On the flight.
The guy sitting next to me was reading a book on 'Suicide, depression...'. And was underlining every second line in that book. 2 hours later. he was taking notes/writing an essay....looked like a psycho!! Karthik squirms.
ACT 3...Tokyo to Simhapura
met a PhD in Industrial Management or something..ethnic indian from Malaysia. told me about the huge anti-indian bias in Malaysia..about how they don't get jobs, seat in univs...in short, another case of minority bullied by majority.
just before 'de-planing' (disembarking)
Announcement on the flight PA system: Someone stole a small red back-pack. will the person who stole it please meet one of the stewards/stewardesses.
Everyone on the flight starts laughing
Info: Found out later that, one of the stewards 'took' it thinking it was his!!!!
ACT 4 - In Changi, Simhapura
went to pee. saw the usual stuff....wash basins, sinks, dryers... but, to one side following four toilet cubicles was something I hadn't seen in atleast 2 and a half years - had the words 'Please place feet properly on the squatting pan' on the cubicle door!!HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH. yes, the indian shit pot. in full glory on an elevated platform with its own cubicle. hurray to shit-pots!!
Saw a Kyocera-Yashica 3012 digicam on display in the duty free (not in the US markets yet). was love at first sight. toyed with the idea of buying it for 45 mins. did research, found nothing online!!! went back and was wondering how i could find out if the thing was worth the price (144 US $). Brain wave... checked the canon power shot A410 price on display (190 US$). went back online...checked price. was 50 dollars less in the US (thanks to Amazon!!). decided the Yahica was forbidden love. moved on. :(
a few minutes later.
lady passing by (looked indian): .....'D' nappatha naal (D-44) enga irruke?
a look of having understood exactly what she said wafts across my face(hurray Vellore!!)
Me: nappatha naal andha pakka irruke. moddala neera ponga, apparam you will see it.
(yes, my tamil broke down; yes, it was far from perfect; but too all u tamilians, she understood me perfectly well!!!)
yay!! karthik happy again. goes running to the free internet tables to start blogging.
Universal Laughter!!
The End
Epilogue
Yes, dammit, I am excited. Indonesia, HERE....I....COME!!!
snippets from the last few days:
ACT 1...Indonesian Consulate in NYC, T - 2 days
Karthik: I need the visa tomorrow sir. Leaving day after (saturday). please, can i get it.
Visa officer: No. two days minimum for a visa.
....
...
...
10 mins later, friend calls visa officer form Delaware.
Friend: Calling from Univ of Delaware. we need Karthik to go to Indonesia on Saturday. Make sure you give it to him, or else we will have to tal to Washington (Emabassy).
Visa Officer misunderstands friend...thinks she is from the embassy at Washington (!!!)
Visa officer: Mr. Karthik, someone called for you from Washington and said u applied for the visa last week, and u have ur application in ur hands!!
Me: I don't know who it was sir.
Visa officer (peeing in his pants): OK, Ok. come back at 3 and collect your visa (!!)
I go back to the consulate at 2 (nothing better to do)
Visa Officer (calls me and says) : here is ur visa (!!!)
....
...
Karthik super happy...all the visa guys scared of mega-well-connected Karthik.
ACT 2...Minneapolis to Tokyo
Got down from the Phily-Minneapolis flight...ran to the Minneapolis-Tokyo counter... just made it. doors shut...Take off!!
On the flight.
The guy sitting next to me was reading a book on 'Suicide, depression...'. And was underlining every second line in that book. 2 hours later. he was taking notes/writing an essay....looked like a psycho!! Karthik squirms.
ACT 3...Tokyo to Simhapura
met a PhD in Industrial Management or something..ethnic indian from Malaysia. told me about the huge anti-indian bias in Malaysia..about how they don't get jobs, seat in univs...in short, another case of minority bullied by majority.
just before 'de-planing' (disembarking)
Announcement on the flight PA system: Someone stole a small red back-pack. will the person who stole it please meet one of the stewards/stewardesses.
Everyone on the flight starts laughing
Info: Found out later that, one of the stewards 'took' it thinking it was his!!!!
ACT 4 - In Changi, Simhapura
went to pee. saw the usual stuff....wash basins, sinks, dryers... but, to one side following four toilet cubicles was something I hadn't seen in atleast 2 and a half years - had the words 'Please place feet properly on the squatting pan' on the cubicle door!!HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH. yes, the indian shit pot. in full glory on an elevated platform with its own cubicle. hurray to shit-pots!!
Saw a Kyocera-Yashica 3012 digicam on display in the duty free (not in the US markets yet). was love at first sight. toyed with the idea of buying it for 45 mins. did research, found nothing online!!! went back and was wondering how i could find out if the thing was worth the price (144 US $). Brain wave... checked the canon power shot A410 price on display (190 US$). went back online...checked price. was 50 dollars less in the US (thanks to Amazon!!). decided the Yahica was forbidden love. moved on. :(
a few minutes later.
lady passing by (looked indian): .....'D' nappatha naal (D-44) enga irruke?
a look of having understood exactly what she said wafts across my face(hurray Vellore!!)
Me: nappatha naal andha pakka irruke. moddala neera ponga, apparam you will see it.
(yes, my tamil broke down; yes, it was far from perfect; but too all u tamilians, she understood me perfectly well!!!)
yay!! karthik happy again. goes running to the free internet tables to start blogging.
Universal Laughter!!
The End
Epilogue
Yes, dammit, I am excited. Indonesia, HERE....I....COME!!!
posted by karthik durvasula | 3:04 PM
3 Comments:
Good fun your trip turning out to be! Any more incidents durin the rest of the journey?
and good that u took back something useful from Vellore! :-D
:)...finally a post worth commenting on. Have a good trip and have safe sex(preferably with women).
Dude with connections (r should i say Branches;))everywhere :)
I guess the shrub is out of question, so try and catch a saplin or something and have fun :D
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