Sunday, December 15, 2013

Exploring the Easternmost Frontiers of the Glorious Republic

Hello All,

I have never been beyond Kolkata (Calcutta) and therefore thought of venturing out to the easternmost frontiers of India. I chose to visit Tinsukia, a place you would not find on a tourist's 'bucket list,' make that my home base and then venture further east in the days ahead. Tinsukia - which lies in the Indian state of Assam - is located 200 km west of the undisputed border (400 km from the border that the People's Republic of China lays claim to). The 400 km border that lies in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh also belongs to India and I plan to visit that place one day but that's a story for another day.

This is also the first time I am dogfooding Google Tour Builder for my travelogue given that it has released only on November 11, 2013. You can view the locations visited by me on this trip on Google Tour Builder here.

As always, you can visit www.whereissanmay.com for my previous travelogues.

Days 1 and 2: Bird Watching and the Ganges River Dolphin at the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

After landing at Dibrugarh airport, I headed out to my resort. The proximity of the border and the fact that The Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958 is in effect meant that the trip from the airport to the resort meant that one witnessed the presence of some wing of the armed forces every couple of hundred  metres from Dinjan Military Station to Chabua Air Force Station. The entire trip was pretty scenic. All you see is either tea estates or forests along the way. The resort is a quaint little place with ten rooms and the villa was comfortable with all basic amenities.

The next day I headed out to the Lohit and Dibru river as this is the season in which a lot of migratory birds from all over the world make a visit to this part of the country. I was a bit taken aback at seeing the boat. It was a creaky little row boat that could hold six people sitting in a single row. It did not look strong enough to survive even a ripple in the water. This was my first ever dedicated bird watching trip and turned out to be an amazing trip at that as I was fortunate enough to spot several migratory birds namely Gadwall, Falcated DuckEurasian Wigeon, MallardSpot-billed DuckNorthern Shoveler and the Northern Pintail. I was also able to spot several birds that are native to Assam and have also flown in from other parts of the country namely Purple SwamphenAsian OpenbillWhite-throated Kingfisher, Little EgretBar-headed GooseRuddy ShelduckGreat Egret, DarterLittle Cormorant, Little Grebe and the Common Wagtail. I got to see local Assamese folk scouting the shallow areas of the river for some sort of shell type animal that is boiled and used for self-consumption. It is not for commercial use as if a local spends the whole day scouting for the same, he will be able to harvest only 500 grams from what I was told which makes me think that given its rarity it must be a pretty expensive delicacy elsewhere. Post the bird watching, we headed out deeper in the river to catch sight of the Ganges River Dolphin. I was fortunate enough to see two dolphins, both of which enjoyed coming out of the water now and then pretty close to the boat. The final noteworthy sight was seeing a two hundred year old Banyan tree in the park which occupies an area of one bigha (14,400 square feet). We had to reach the banyan tree after going through grass that was several feet tall which offered no visibility. Reminded me of Jurassic Park. I also dropped by a local house at random on the way back by requesting the chauffeur for the same and was able to see women making sarees for self-use from raw materials gathered from the forest.

Through several conversations with the locals over these two days it was sad to hear that Assam is today home to forty-eight anti-national outfits who are preventing investment from coming in and are creating unrest in the region. For example, Big Bazaar - the largest hypermarket chain in India - set up shop in Tinsukia but due to the monthly extortion demand of INR 3,000,000 had to shut shop and move out. It was also sad to hear the locals stating that they believed that in six years time the state would be overrun by illegal immigrants and these anti-national outfits and that the political parties present there were allowing this to happen just to hold on to power.

Day 3: Digboi Refinery - the world's oldest operating oil refinery, Oil India - Home to the world's oldest continually producing oil well and Asia's oldest and biggest pioneer oil exploration and production company and Hathikuli Tea Estate - India's largest organic tea estate

On day three I headed out to Digboi which is the birthplace of the Indian oil industry and home to the world's oldest operating oil refinery. I visited the Digboi oil museum which is very well made and is home to the very first live oil well dug. the visit was extremely insightful. However, I was not satisfied with just visiting a museum and seeing depleted oil wells. I wanted to see a live oil dig and view the oil spurting out. However, all the live oil wells are situated within forests and premises guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which is a federal force and the largest industrial security force in the world. My chauffeur stated that entry into these oil fields was difficult with several layers of bureaucratic permissions required. However, I decided to try my luck and headed over to the premises of Oil India. This Oil India area is home to the world's oldest continually producing oil well. It was earlier northwestern Pennsylvania, but that area has since dried up. As expected I was stopped by the CISF personnel. I expressed my desire to view the oil wells and the CISF personnel were rather surprised that I had chosen to visit this place for a vacation and had travelled close to 3,000 km for the same. A few calls were made by the CISF personnel and I was fortunate enough to get permission to enter. After a few formalities, I entered to witness a wonderful sight. Thick forests with oil wells coming out from here and there. The vehicle was advised not to honk as the area is filled with wild elephants and they don't take too kindly to visitors. The vehicle could only go a certain distance and post that I had to walk. I was advised to carry a mirror as a leopard is on the prowl in the area and tends to attack even in broad daylight. I finally reached the local Oil India office.

The section in-charge was very polite and forthcoming and assigned me a guide to take me around. The guide's family has been working with Oil India for the past three generations. He gave me a wonderful tour by taking me to live oil wells in which I could touch, see and feel the oil coming out, showed me machines that the British had built and were still in operation, took me deep inside forests filled with lakes. Given his family's association with 'the company,' as he kept referring to Oil India, the tour was filled with tales of nostalgia such as how the British had great respect for the wildlife of the area. They took particular pain to ensure that there were water bodies for the wild animals remained pollution free and the water bodies used for the oil wells that contained chemicals remain out of reach for the animals. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. I was shown machinery which had been imported over three decades ago from the USA and still operational. It was heartwarming to see the love he had for 'the company' and the personal pain he felt was evident on his face whenever he went as intricate as showing me pipes which had been cut by thieves thereby causing leaks and how they were ill-equipped to deal with such scenarios and the loss the nation suffered as a result. Post the tour I was taken back to the area HQ where the divisional officer and the chief security officer received me, inquired whether I was an Oil India officer who had come on a special visit or was sent from the Central Government as even they found it peculiar that I chose this area for a vacation. They were very polite and we had a casual chat on how tourism in the area can be improved, the operations of the area etc. and I then headed out to visit the Ledo coal fields.

However, on the way to the Ledo coal fields a place called 'Hathikuli Tea Estate' caught my eye. The board said this was a TATA enterprise and India's largest organic tea estate. I did not even know TATA had a brand called Hathikuli as I have never seen this anywhere in India. Hence, I stopped and decided to visit the place and as they had a store, I ended up purchasing organic tea, organic green tea, organic black pepper and organic ginger powder.

By now it was 16:00 PM. The sun sets at 16:00 PM here which means it is pitch dark and seems like late night! Hence I had to give the Ledo coal fields a miss and headed back to the resort.

Day 4: Arunachal Pradesh: Viewing Buddha's Sacred Kapilavastu Relics at the Golden Pagoda and Parashuram Kund

This was the best day of the entire trip.

The next day I headed out to visit Parshuram Kund in Arunachal Pradesh which lies just 200 km west of the eastern most frontier of India (disputed by China). I passed an area in Assam called 'Cheen Patti' by the locals (line of China) as China claims that all territory beyond this belongs to them. Well if it does belong to them, I don't think I would be travelling over this area without a passport. I finally reached the border of Arunachal Pradesh. One requires an 'Inner Line Permit' which is issued by the Deputy Commissioner to enter the state. This is a security measure to regulate and keep track of movement in the area given the sensitivity of the area. I was told how when China violates the UN recognised border now and then, the area is totally shut off. I was told stories of how Chinese spies had infiltrated the area a few years back and actually build underground mobile towers to keep in contact with their country! This was later discovered when a Chinese spy was caught who revealed all. It is a bit of a shame that they are able to build underground mobile towers where as I faced difficulty in getting a mobile signal as I ventured further inwards into the state.

I was lucky enough to be in the area at this point in time as the 2,568-year-old relics of Lord Buddha were on display at the Golden Pagoda monastery at Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit district. This included four of the twenty-two pieces of the Kapilavastu relics, considered the most genuine as Buddha's Relics were found in a Chaitya in the ancient city of Kapilavastu which includes Buddha's bone fragments which I got to see. These are considered some of the most sacred relics in Budhhism. In fact when the Government of India as a special exception had allowed these sacred relics to be sent to Sri Lanka, thousands of Sri Lankans visited to worship these relics. During my visit, the Buddhist monks and volunteers were extremely friendly and went out of their way in ensuring I was given time to see all the relics and explained me about the relics as I moved along. All along Buddhist prayers were being chanted by kids and a fair was set up outside the monastery where I was able to view handicraft unique to the state.

Arunachal Pradesh is virgin beauty at its best. You just travel on and on a two-lane highway with nothing but forests on both sides and the mountains in your front. You don't get see man or machine for miles at end. After a five hour journey to cover 200 km as we had to go through mountain ranges and the ghat area, we finally reached Parashuram Kund. The place is aptly defined by a traveller who visited the place before me in his blog post, 'Untravel Festival Special: Parshuram Kund – My nightmare in heaven' so I will not go about describing the place again. 

Legend has it that when Parashuram killed his mother Renuka with an axe at the behest of his father Saint Jamadagni, the axe got stuck to his hands. Parashurama roamed all over India visiting holy places to atone for his sins but the axe remained stuck to his hands. Ultimately Parashuram came to a Kund known as Brahma Kund now in Lohit district on the advice of some sages. Parashurama took a dip in the holy water of the Kund and the axe immediately became unstuck and fell from Parashuramas hands. With a big sigh of relief and venting anger on the axe, Parashurama picked it up and threw it as far as he could into the mountains. The axe split the mountains, and the spot where it fell became the source of Lohit River. It was thus that this Kund came to be known as Prashuram Kund and now it is one of the many revered (but not so often visited) holy spots in the country.

To get an idea of the seclusion of this place along with the beauty on the way to the place and around it, I strongly recommend you see a satellite view of the place by clicking here. The place is nothing short of heaven on earth and this place is the highlight of the trip.

To get a feeling of the force of the water and the area, you can view a YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rJOjddpRU

I met the sages at the temple here and it was indeed amazing to see how in the 21st century, there are still people so content with what little they have and the deep rooted wisdom the sage had in his simple words about mothers, materialism and man. 

The sun sets as early as 15:30 PM here and when I sat for dinner at a local shack here, it was pitch dark and there was no electricity in the area at that. While heading back there was dense fog and visibility was reduced to a mere 100m, the only source of light being the cars headlights which was struggling to cut through the dense fog. I finally reached the resort at around 23:00 PM but what a day it had been!

Day 5: Tilinga Mandir and Trekking in the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary: The only wet tropical rainforest of the Republic

I headed out to visit the Tilinga Mandir in the morning. In 1965, tea garden workers noticed a 'Shiva Linga' emerge from inside a banyan tree and as a result the 'Bell Temple' was constructed here. It is indeed a truly unique sight to see the banyan tree and how its base centre is hollow with the Shiva Linga naturally occurring there. The locals have the belief that if their prayers are answered by Lord Shiva, they will come and tie a bell over here on the arms of the grand banyan tree and hence the name, 'Tilinga Mandir' aka the Bell Temple. Once a bell is tied it is never removed and hence one gets to see thousands of bells of all shapes, sizes and material hanging all over the temple.

The next visit was totally unexpected. I was actually headed out to view the Ledo coal fields that I had missed earlier. On the way, a board was spotted that said turn right to visit the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary which is 9 km away. As I later came to know, this is the country's only wet tropical rainforest. Now this sanctuary had not come up at all during my numerous questions to the locals, guides etc on other wildlife parks in the area and not had it come up when I was researching my visit to Assam. So I took the right and there was no sign post that. As I moved along the dirt roads, I kept coming across left turns and right turns and no signage! Google Maps showed none of these roads. One turn up a hill made me end up coming across an army encampment. Another turn made me reach into dense jungle foliage to the extent when the car could no longer risk going forward. After a lot of searching and precious time wasted (given how short the day here is), I finally found the office of the forest range officer. The Assam Forest Police posted there was surprised to see me as apparently no one visits this area. The inspection bungalow located here is in disuse and the rare instance when senior officers come, they stay in Tinsukia. The head of the outpost came out and I told him how I wanted to enter the sanctuary. He told me how several levels of prior permission is required to enter this sanctuary as it shares borders with Oil India, has several wild animals that are located inside and roam freely, has been home to several gunfights with anti-national elements in the past etc. He was trying to comprehend why I was visiting these far flung places of Assam as compared to the more popular and toursity destinations such as the Kaziranga National Park. However on hearing how far I had come and how this was my last day, the head was kind enough to make several phone calls to several bureaucrats over the next thirty minutes from the forest range officer to the divisional officer to the conservator of forests. It was indeed kind enough for each of the authorities contacted to grant their respective permissions without any red tape. I truly appreciate them for the same and am very grateful to them.

After the permissions were received, I was informed that I would need to be escorted by the Forest Officer and two armed guards of the Assam Forest Police. The Forest Officer came after some time and completed some paperwork formalities with me. What followed was a cute sight. Everyone was casually dressed. Given that this was now an 'Official' escort, the guards went in opened their locked cupboards, took out their official neatly pressed and newly washed uniforms, torches, boots, belts etc. They then took out their Lee Enfield .303 British Rifles, polished them till they shone, wore their caps and came out all smartly dressed. We then headed out into the sanctuary. The car could only go till a certain distance before the road ended. We then started walking with one armed guard in the front and one in the rear. While unfortunately we could not spot any animals, the trek was wonderful. These were untouched forests with no roads or modern man presence. Throughout the trek, it was a learning experience to see how the forest officer was chasing the path of the elephants to show them to me. He was able to tell the direction in which the elephants had gone by looking at the direction in which a plant had been bent. He showed me locations where many years back a huge fight had taken place between anti-national groups and the Indian armed forces, how many perished out of sickness than bullets and so on. He showed me several fruit I had never seen above. For example, there is a fruit called Otenga that cures diabetes and another called Nepaphu whose paste if put on the body cures high BP. It is indeed marvellous to see these natural creations of nature. He showed me another fruit which has three leaves and when falling from the tree comes down slowly exactly like a helicopter. Overall the trek was lovely and the greenery astounding to say the least. I was shown long teak trees that seemed to touch the sky, prized for their wood.

Given that it was now sunset we headed back and I turned back to the resort, missing the Ledo coal fields once again. No matter. There is always a next time.

Overall it was a wonderful trip. The people were very warm and friendly and the surprise on each and everyone's faces when they hear that I have travelled all the way from Hyderabad to visit these places for a vacation will be remembered by me for a long time to come. I fail to understand why people are cautious to come to this wonderful side of the country - untouched by commercialisation and materialism - full of natural beauty. I definitely intend to come back and explore more of the north east in the future.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Viewing All 3 Civilian Supersonic Aircraft

To view high--resolution image, please click on the image above
As a stroke of luck, while departing from Heathrow for Logan, I was able to see a Concorde that was once operated by British Airways. With this I have been fortunate enough to have seen all the 3 civilian supersonic aircraft to have ever been pressed into service, the others being Air France's Concorde and Aeroloft's Tupolev Tu-144, both of which I have been able to see and enter.

Friday, September 13, 2013

60 Years of India Government Mint, Kolkata (1952-2012) Commemorative Coin



To view high-resolution images, please click on the images above

The India Government Mint issued this coin set and opened bookings for the same for a period of two months in April, 2013.

The India Government Mint, Kolkata at Alipore was inaugurated by Shri C. D. Deshmukh, Minister of Finance, Government of India on March 19, 1952.

With the coinage operations shifting to the new mint at Alipore, the old mint on Strand Road was converted into a silver refinery for extraction of silver and other metals. The mint at Strand Road was finally shut in 1985.

The Alipore mint is the first mint in Asia to to successfully process pure nickel for coinage purposes.

The present daily average output of coins at the Alipore mint is approximately five to six million pieces. In addition to domestic coinage, the mint has undertaken coinage orders from several foreign countries. Besides coinage production, the Alipore mint has been producing different commemorative and development oriented coins for the last several decades. It has also worked as a centre for the issue of gold bars in exchange of unrefined gold tendered by licensed dealers.

The Alipore mint also produces medals of various types. The well equipped Medal Department has so far produced medals using gold, silver, copper and nickel. The mint produces medals for defence institutions, educational institutions and social service institutions. Production of badges, tokens and medallions for national and international film festivals is also undertaken by the mint. The mint also undertakes production of medals for civilian and military awards instituted by the Government of India such as the Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Paramvir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra to name a few.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

150th Birth Anniversary of Madan Mohan Malaviya Commemorative Coin (1861-2011)


To view high-resolution images, please click on the images above.

The India Government Mint issued this commemorative coin set and opened bookings for the same for a period of two months in April, 2013.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (1861–1946) was an Indian educationist and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement and his espousal of Hindu nationalism.

Today, he is most remembered as the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) - the largest residential university in Asia and one of the largest in the world having over 12,000 students across arts, sciences, engineering and technology - at Varanasi in 1916, of which he also remained the Vice Chancellor from 1919 to 1938. Pandit Malviya was one of the founders of Scouting in India. He also founded a highly influential English newspaper - The Leader - published from Allahabad in 1909.

Friday, June 28, 2013

150 Years of the Kuka Movement (1857-2007) Commemorative Coin


To view high-resolution images, click on the images above.

The India Government Mint issued this commemorative coin set and opened bookings for the same for a period of two months in April, 2013.

The Namdhari sect, whose followers are distinctly identified by their white attire and a typical turban, had a major role in the Indian freedom struggle, where their contribution is referred to as the Kuka movement. The second leader of the sect, Satguru Ram Singh was exiled to Burma by the British colonial government in 1872 for leading the Kuka movement, which had succeeded in enforcing civil disobedience as well as carrying out extreme actions against cow slaughter. A memorial now stands at the site where 66 Kuka freedom fighters, were killed at Malerkotla in 1872.

Friday, May 31, 2013

World Oceans Day



To view high-resolution images, please click on the images above.
World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008 and is now celebrated on 8 June each year. This special day is an opportunity to celebrate our world’s shared oceans and our personal connection to the sea, as well as to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives and the important ways people can help protect it.

The theme for World Oceans Day 2013-2014 is “Together we have the power to protect the ocean!”, which focuses on getting involved with ocean conservation in our personal lives, within our communities, and globally.

To commemorate World Oceans Day 2013, UNPA has partnered with Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P., and the classic book One Fish, Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish which inspired the creation of the stamp designs. The three stamp sheets incorporate the timeless Dr. Seuss characters within a marine life background.

SPECIAL FIRST DAY CANCELLATIONS
On 31 May 2013, special first day hand-cancellations for the “World Oceans Day” stamps were made available. The special first day hand-cancellations can be seen in the scanned FDCs' above.

Date of issue: 31 May 2013
Featured Artist: Dr. Seuss
Stamp Designer: Rorie Katz (United Nations)
Denominations: 46¢, F.s. 0,85, € 0,70
Stamp size: 40mm by 30.5mm
Sheet size: 140mm by 170mm
Stamps per sheet: 12
Printer: Lowe-Martin Group (Canada)
Process: Offset lithography
Perforation: 13.3

About Dr. Seuss
Theodor “Seuss” Geisel is quite simply one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books for children. In his lifetime, Dr. Seuss was an early advocate for conservation. While Theodor Geisel died on 24 September 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

2013 Flag Series





To view high-resolution images, please click on the images above.
Originally launched on 26 September 1980, the Flag Series was created to honour the Member States of the United Nations. The four stamps being issued on 2 May feature a new Member State, South Sudan, a new design for the Russian Federation, a new design for Cape Verde and a new design and name change for Myanmar.

SPECIAL FIRST DAY CANCELLATION
On 2 May 2013, special first day hand-cancellations for the “Flag Series” stamps were made available at the UN headquarters in New York. These special first day hand-cancellations can be seen in the scanned FDCs' above.

Date of issue: 2 May 2013
Designer: Rorie Katz (United Nations)
Denomination: $1.10
Stamp size: 29mm x 40mm
Printer: Lowe Martin Group (Canada)
Process: Offset lithography
Perforation: 13.3
Flags: Cape Verde, Myanmar, Russian Federation, South Sudan

Monday, April 15, 2013

Toronto on Bicycle during a Winter Storm+Skydiving 13,000 Feet Over Canada

Flying over Greenland
View from the room
I had the opportunity a couple of days back to travel to Canada for a short one day business trip and I wanted to make the maximum of what little free time I had while in Canada and thus the journey follows below. As always, you can visit www.whereissanmay.com for my previous travelogues.

While I usually always prefer Jet Airways for my trips, I flew Etihad Airways this time around as I was lucky enough to get a 50% off on their Pearl Business class fare, they were flying to Toronto directly from Hyderabad via Abu Dhabi and they also had the shortest travel time among all the options available. Thus, Etihad turned out to be the best choice all around.

It's always a pleasure to fly out from Hyderabad airport. Immigration was extremely quick. The Plaza Premium lounge had fantastic food as always. Among all the lounges in the country, I would say the Plaza lounge in Hyderabad has the best food. Their food even beats the food at Jet Airways' dedicated lounge in Bombay. The flight was half-an-hour late. Etihad is operating the Airbus A320 on their HYD-AUH sector but the aircraft was the older variant as there was no personal in-flight entertainment system. Audio on demand was however available. Since this is a short-haul route, there wasn't a full flat bed but the seats were very comfortable nevertheless and they reclined to a considerable extent. The seats had an in-built massage system and also had in-seat power sockets to charge your electronics but the power sockets weren't working. A welcome kit was provided which consists of a comforter, eyeshades and socks. Though non-branded, the amenities were of high quality. I miss the good old days when Jet Airways used to provide Bvlgari amenity kits on their international routes (they no longer do). The welcome drink was Lemon and Lime tea. The a-la carte breakfast menu was extensive and I chose to have the following:

Bread: Onion and olive focaccia bread with house butter
Starter: Natural yoghurt with berry compote
Mains: Sweet pancakes topped with apple compote and drizzled with maple syrup
Water: San Pellegrino Sparkling Water
Drink: Evervess Ginger Ale
Separate stainless steel cutlery was provided for each portion. Breakfast was excellent and the dental floss provided post breakfast was a nice touch. The crew was pleasant so it was a comfortable flight overall.

On landing at Abu Dhabi airport, I headed over to the Etihad lounge in Terminal 3. The lounge was small and very crowded and the food choice was extremely limited so I was not al all impressed. However, on my return journey, the Etihad lounge in Terminal 1 was fantastic but we will come to that later. All the Etihad lounges at Abu Dhabi airport have a Six senses spa with complimentary spa treatments so I headed to the spa and booked my appointment. Since there was anyways no space to sit in the lounge, I hung around the lounge and worked from there while waiting. My turn came and the spa treatment was excellent which turned out to be the saving grace in the otherwise lousy lounge.

Finally, I headed for my AUH-YYZ flight which was being operated by Etihad using a Boeing 777-300ER. The cabin was the latest design that Etihad had to offer. The Etihad Pearl Business has a 1-2-1 seat configuration. If you choose the window seat which I did, they are the most comfortable as you get plenty of storage space between your seat and the window and open space on both your sides. Plus it's like a dedicated cabin to yourself as compared to the centre two seats. The seat was enclosed in a privacy shell with a 6ft 1-inch full-flat bed and a 49-inch seat pitch. The seat width was 20.0". There was a 15-inch touch screen and remote operated entertainment screen with noise-cancelling headphones. The in-seat power sockets worked this time around. The seats had an in-built massage system. Apart from the amenities provided the previous flight, in addition, earplugs, toothbrush, hand and face cream and lotion and a pen were also provided. However, unlike Jet Airways, a pair of sleeping suit was not provided. The cabin was equipped with mood lighting to ease jet lag. Plus, each seat had it's own personal lighting and setting options. You also had the option of connecting your personal devices to the entertainment system and playing your personal media on the screen. However, I found the range of movies on the entertainment system extremely limited. You had a few stars like Lincoln and Skyfall, but overall the choice was disappointing. The sitcom choice was however slightly better with Mike and Molly, Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men being some of the shows available but the number of episodes for each were limited. Hence the in-flight entertainment choice was nowhere close to what you would find on a Jet Airways flight.

The welcome drink was Lemon and Mint. There was an extensive choice for the post-takeoff drink and I chose the Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaique France. This is said to be a well-balanced and complex Champagne as it contains grapes from exceptional terroirs which include Grands Crus of Cote des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. It also includes 20% of reserve wine to ensure the regularity of style and more than 3 years ageing. A pale yellow colour with bouquets of pear, almonds, figs and hints of orange blossom are complimented by a very fruity palate which makes this a great aperitif. The champagne was accompanied with spiced nuts. For lunch I chose:

Bread: Italian tomato and oregano filled kraftkorn bread with house butter, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Starter: Roasted tomato soup sautéed pepper garnish
Mains: Vegetable lasagna
Dessert: Warm honey-nut cake served with pomegranate syrup.
Water: San Pellegrino Sparkling Water
Drink: Etihad on it's long haul flights has a personal chef and Food and Beverage Manager. One of his roles is to suggest what distinct drink you should have with each portion of the meal above based on what you order. The choices could be Champagne, a variety of red wines, white wines or dessert wines, mocktails and cocktails etc. However, I just chose to go with the Evervess Ginger Ale again.

Lunch was fantastic and it beats the food served on Jet Airways. There is also a 'Kitchen Anytime' option on board. This is to say that you can ask the Chef to make most of the menu options for you at anytime during the flight. During the course of the flight, I also had apple pie served with vanilla and chocolate sauce, arabic baklava, potato crisps, spiced nuts, green tea with moroccan mint and chamomile tea. Each was excellent. The crew was very prompt and courteous and they ensured that your glass stayed filled with something or the other throughout the flight.

For reasons I am unaware of (in hindsight I should have asked the cabin crew), the flight did not fly in a straight line path to Toronto from Abu Dhabi but actually travelled in a semi-circle path over Greenland. This allowed me to catch a glimpse of Greenland below covered in snow with a beautiful dark blew cloudless sky (pic attached). Finally, I made it to Toronto. The day I landed in Toronto, winter had decided to make a cameo appearance and the city was getting hit with ice pellets and freezing rain and temperature was slightly below freezing. You could see ice on the plants and during my journey out of Toronto, there were even some patches of snow visible here and there. Though many flights were considerably delayed or cancelled due to the weather, my flight was only half-an-hour late and I had to catch a connecting bus so I worried I would not make it on time. However, immigration was done in a jiffy and my checked-in luggage was already on the carousel by the time I reached baggage claim and so I headed out. My work is not in Toronto but in a place at some distance from Toronto. Since it's a small place, I chose to stay in a bed and breakfast inn that is closest to work. The room was spacious and very homely. It however did not have an ensuite bathroom and I had to work across the hallway to access the bathroom assigned to my room which was a bit inconvenient. The homemade breakfast at the inn was however excellent. The owner made this fresh fruit custard with cream which was excellent.

Friday all day was at work and I headed out in the night back to Toronto. I chose the Sheraton Gateway Hotel as that is the only hotel located in Pearson International Airport with direct terminal access. My flight was leaving at 10:45pm on Saturday so essentially I had one day in Toronto. My request for a runway facing club room was graciously entertained and as a result I had a magnificent view (pic attached). As you can see, on Friday too the sky was overcast and it was continuously raining. It was like being in London.

I had to skip breakfast and head out early next morning as I had to catch a bus at 6:30am to a town called Innisfil, which is 80km north ofToronto, for my skydive. My skydive was scheduled at 7:00am but due to the weather it kept getting pushed back and finally I was able to do my skydive at around 11:00am. I spent the hours learning from the pilots and the ground crew what factors effect the skydive, cloud formations at different altitudes etc and the chats were very insightful. The last time I did a skydive in Australia, I got scared when it was time to sit on the edge of the plane and dangle your legs out and this time at around the same time, I got scared when it came to putting my legs out and sitting at the edge for the jump. In terms of differences, my skydive in Australia was in much warmer weather. Over here, as we began to ascend, it became very, very cold and it was also a bit windy. Once I jumped out and started free falling with speeds reaching as high as 194kmh, it was absolutely chilling and this made it a new experience as compared to the Australia skydive. The thrill was as great as ever. However, note I chose Innisfil for the skydive as it was the closest option available. If you have time in Canada, I recommend going to a town called Port Colborne for your skydive. This is around 150km south of Toronto  and close to the US border. If you do a skydive from there, you will have an amazing view of Lake Erie, Niagara Falls, Lake Ontario and the US border when you do your skydive.

Having completed my second skydive over a second continent, I headed over for my Toronto bicycle tour. Going slightly off tangent here, the second 't' in Toronto is silent, something I learnt while in Canada. Whenever possible, I prefer to see cities on a bicycle rather than a bus as I feel you then get to ride on and off the beaten path, get a better feel of the place and see much more of the life of the city and places that traditional tours don't cover. By the time I reached Toronto again at around 12:30pm, the winter storm was beginning to set in again. Though temperature was above freezing this time around (around 3 degrees), it was very windy and it was raining. Most of the people for the bicycle tour had therefore dropped out. Only me and one other lady from Australia had turned up. The guide hence gave us an option if we want to continue in this weather and we were like hell yes! Ready with our 7-gear ratio bicycles, we headed out to explore Toronto’s downtown core in a way that is only possible by bicycle. As always, I used an awesome app called Google MyTracks (well it's Google, so it has to be awesome, otherwise it just wouldn't be Google), to record my entire cycling route and you can view the route I took over here. You can download Google MyTracks for your Android powered device (you are using iOS or BB? Embrace the change people!) from the Google Play store here.

This was a 4.5-5 hour bicycle ride and as there were only two of us, the guide was able to show us a lot more and a lot more areas as there were less constraints as compared to a larger tour. As we headed out, the major difference when cycling in Toronto is that unlike other cities such as Tokyo, there are no dedicated bicycle lanes here or lanes within the footpath. So you essentially cycle with the traffic staying as far right as possible. Having never cycled with regular traffic before this was a bit intimidating for me in the beginning but got really enjoyable later on. A lot of times the right of the road is used by cars to park so you essentially lose your space and have to drive around and watch to your left for oncoming traffic. Another aspect is that Toronto has trams so when you have to take a left turn you have to ensure there is no tram behind you. It is pretty fun driving over the tram tracks and turning your wheel a bit to ensure your wheel does not get stuck in the tracks. It is a different experience to be cycling and have fast traffic whiz past you and startle you sometimes. But overall, the vehicles respect cyclists and give way which made the experience very pleasant. I felt that all the above factors made the bicycle tour more unique. Plus, as it was raining, there were virtually no other bicycles on the road so all throughout it was just three bicycles travelling everywhere and due to the rain, the vehicular movement always gave way and pampered us. I just had to be careful when it got windy as I had to ensure I maintain my abalance so as not to veer left into the fast vehicle lane.

We started our journey at Grange Park to view the Art Gallery of Ontario. We visited St Lawrence Market which was named the world's best food market by National Geographic in April 2012. Canada accounts for 90% of the world's mustard production and the mustard varieties available in the market were unimaginable. I ended up picking up a bottle of Curry mustard. The market was also teeming with numerous varieties of cheese with plenty of free samples. I ended up picking up some Oka cheese. Oka cheese was originally manufactured by the Trappist monks, who are located in Oka, Quebec. 

When we visited Osgoode Hall, there were these bunch of squirrels playing around. There was this baby squirrel who was super inquisitive as to why we were there and kept frolicking around our legs without fear which was pretty cute. The squirrels were extremely healthy so I guess they have no shortage of food there. Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto constructed between 1829 and 1832 in the late Georgian Palladian and Neoclassical styles. It houses the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice, and the Law Society of Upper Canada. The portico of Osgoode Hall's east wing was built at the head of Toronto's York Street to serve as a terminating vista.

We visited Royal York Hotel which is famous for being the tallest building in all of the British Empire when constructed until the construction of Canadian Bank of Commerce tower. The hotel has been the residence of choice for Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Canadian Royal Family when in Toronto. In July 2008, the Royal York installed three beehives on its 13th-floor rooftop terrace to serve its in-house garden, which already provides its nine restaurants with fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers. Three queens and their 40,000 workers provide the chefs with up to 700 pounds of honey. We visited the inside of Toronto's Union Station which is the largest and most opulent railway station in Canada. 

We also saw CN Tower which when completed in 1976, became the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of Burj Khalifa and Canton Tower in 2010. It remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, a signature icon of Toronto's skyline, and a symbol of Canada.  

We visited Sugar Beach which is triangular-shaped and built next to Redpath Sugar's refinery - the park's name references the nearby sugar refinery. This is a really unique sight as at one end you have the beach, then a industrial sugar refinery in the middle and then right next to it, high income residential properties.

Another unique sight was Baldwin Village, which has cafes spanning every world cuisine possible on a single street. The saying goes that if you don't know what to eat, you go and decide at Baldwin village.

Another interesting sight was Sherbourne Common which is the first park in Toronto that includes storm-water treatment facility. This Torontopark follows through on water efficient landscaping, while the Pavilion meets Toronto's Green Building Requirements and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Storm-water treatment facility in the Pavilion is powered by the renewable energy sources. Purified water is pushed through three concrete public art objects, each 9 metres high, into the man made water feature e.g. canal. Excess purified water is released into Lake Ontario.

We also cycled to the financial district to see Bay Street. Bay Street is the financial hub for Canada. Just as one says, I work on Wall street in the USA, a similar terminology is used in Canada. We saw Commerce Court which is a complex of four office buildings. The main tenant is the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). The buildings are a mix of Art Deco, International, and early Modernism architectural styles.

Another important visit was the Harbourfront and Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is part of the Great Lakes, consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water.

We also visited:
Cathedral Church of St. James: Home of the oldest congregation in the city. Every part of a Gothic cathedral is directly related to a “core dimension” which is used as an effort to achieve harmony and organic unity within the building where everything is linked rationally and proportionally, creating a coherent whole.
Entertainment District: Home to theatres and performing arts centres, Toronto's four major-league sports teams, and an array of cultural and family attractions. The area is also home to most of the nightclubs in Toronto.
City Hall: One of Canada's most distinctive landmarks. The City Hall is nicknamed "The Eye of the Government" because it resembles a large eye in a plan view.
Rogers Centre: The stadium will be the centrepiece of the 2015 Pan American Games as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies
Toronto Eaton Centre, which is Toronto's top tourist attraction, with around one million visitors per week.
Massey Hall: A performing arts theatre
Scotia Plaza which is Canada's third tallest building.
Hockey Hall of Fame: There was a lot of activity here as a major game was scheduled to be played on Saturday night
Chinatown
Ontario College of Art and Design

It was therefore an extremely extensive cycle ride and we covered numerous other nooks and crannies, went into obscure alleyways to see different architectural styles and hear local folklore. All in all, a brilliant ride. As we headed back to base, I was dead tired. Having missed breakfast and lunch, I quickly had a 'veggie delite' at a local Subway. Etihad offered me a complimentary pickup from the place where the bicycle tour ended to the airport. Etihad sent a Lincoln Town Car to pick me up and so it was pretty rad that I got to sit in a car that is used by various country Presidents even today. The last Lincoln to be used as a Presidential state car in the United States was a 1989 Lincoln Town Car that was commissioned for George H. W. Bush.

I headed back to the airport. The Etihad check-in attendant seemed new as she was just not able to print my boarding passes and as I later learnt, she also forgot as I would later learn to tag the baggage tag with priority handling. I was surprised to find that there was no exit immigration process (essentially there is no exit stamp on my passport). Etihad uses the Plaza Premium Lounge in Toronto. The lounge was lovely and an extensive food spread but sadly only one vegetarian dish which was really bad. Boarding was announced and I had the same cabin crew like last time which was lovely as I had got to know them and their cabin manager the last time around and put in a good word of their service. I was therefore treated to a super warm welcome and pampered all the way. The plane, though a Boeing 777-300ER, had Etihad's older seats and hence missed the nifty little add-ons seen earlier such as the additional storage spaces and the mood lighting. My entertainment screen's touchscreen was not working and the remote was erratic in operation. I however was dead tired so soon after take-off, I dozed off all the way only to wake up two hours before landing. Hence, I wasn't able to enjoy any of the culinary delights on this flight. Before take-off though, there was fresh carrot juice and fresh orange juice as the welcome drink. I wasn't keen on either so the chef made a mixture of both with some spices and the resulting mocktail was excellent.

This time around, I was in Terminal 1 and the Etihad lounge here was fantastic. It was very spacious, ample seating space, had an amazing food spread. Coincidentally, the Six Senses spa here had the same masseuse I had last time in Terminal 3, a gentleman who as I had learned from speaking to him the last time around was from Jordan and had previously worked with the Venetian in Las Vegas and Macau. The spa treatment was fantastic.

The return journey to Hyderabad was serviced by a Airbus A320 and for dinner I chose:

Bread: Onion and olive focaccia bread with house butter, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar
Starters: Decided to skip.
Mains: Beans palya served with tandoori vegetables, bhindi masala and turmeric rice

The main course was extremely average in taste and hence I couldn't even complete it. It was however served with red wine, namely George Wyndham Founder's Reserve Shiraz 2010 Langhorne Creek South Australia. George Wyndham became father of Australian Shiraz after growing the first commercial Shiraz vineyard in 1830. This deep coloured wine boasts of dark red berry fruit and plums on the nose with hints of mint and cedar oak. On the palate the blackcurrant, dark cherry and plum flavours complement the velvety tannins.

For dessert, I had mango semolina pudding with cherry compote, fresh strawberry and almond flakes. The dish was heavenly and was served with dessert wine, namely Gramps Botrytis Semillon 2008. To make this wine, the fruits are hand harvested, gently pressed, carefully fermented and oak-matured before blending and bottling. The bouquet of preserved lemon and apricot with orange rind and hints of vanilla are complemented by the freshness and the smooth viscosity on the palate.

On landing my baggage took forever to arrive (aka forgotten priority handling at Toronto). Finally my baggage did arrive and Etihad offered me a complimentary home drop in a Mercedes-Benz E Class 250CDI. Neat!

So overall a hectic but memorable trip. I really enjoyed Canada and the people were really friendly and hospitable. I do hope I get to visit the country again some day and see more of it.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

World Heritage - China







To view high-resolution images, please click on the images above.
Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Cultural heritage and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. For this year’s World Heritage stamp series, UNPA has chosen six sites in China. 

Stamp Designs:
46¢ - Mogao Caves
$1.10 - Imperial Palace - Beijing
F.s. 1,40 - Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa
F.s. 1,90 - Mount Huangshan
€ 0,70 - The Great Wall
€ 1,70 - Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor

Special First Day Cancellations:
On 11 April 2013, special first day hand-cancellations for the “World Heritage—China” stamps will be available at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Palais des Nations, Geneva, and the Vienna International Centre, Vienna. These hand-cancellations can be seen in the scanned FDCs' above.

Date of issue: 11 April 2013
Designer: Sergio Baradat (United Nations)
Photo credit: Age Fotostock, Getty Images, Masterfile, Eric Phan-Kim
Denominations: 46¢, $1.10, F.s. 1,40 F.s. 1,90, € 0,70 and € 1,70
Stamp size: 50mm x 36mm
Printer: Joh. Enschedé Security Print
Perforation: 14 x 13.75

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Definitives 2013







To view high-resolution images, click on the images above.
On 5 March 2013, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued six definitive stamps in the denominations of US$ 1.10, US$ 3.00, CHF 1.00, CHF 1.40, € 0.62 and € 2.20.

Designer: Sergio Baradat (United Nations)
Stamp size: 30mm x 40mm
Printer: Joh. Enschedé Stamps Security Printers B.V. (Netherlands)
Process: Offset Lithography
Perforation: 14 x 13.25
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