http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 06 Sep 2006 21:38:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This could well be a politically incorrect post, and maybe admitting to more than I would in real life. Oh what the heck! thats what anonymous blogs are for. So, I am sitting in a hugely lavish boardroom, with a wonderful view over Amsterdam, with five big men in black ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/09/06/they-call-it-identity-dissonance/ I am not sure what is the connection between elephants and Onam, but this should remind that I should advertise Thrissur pooram sometime - btw, its an event you have to experience at least once in your lifetime. Wish everyone a very happy Onam, and next year, we should invite Mahabali ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/09/05/happy-onam/ I find myself in London today! For the very first time!! Considering my sight seeing is limited to cab rides from airport to office to hotel to office and back to airport, I am in no position to write a lot about it. But it being my first trip ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/09/05/london-thoughts/ East or west, Home is the best. Is it really? Readers of this blog and my previous one would know that I have, many a time, talked about missing my family, my home country, and everything related to it - nothing special, just your typical expat rant. The reasons are ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/09/02/why-am-i-still-here/ I was trying to book tickets to India, and guess what! on top of the taxes, they charge you September 11 security charges! Really, why does Heathrow charge Sep 11 charges - what happened in UK on any Sep 11? As an aside, if anyone knows any cheap ways to get ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/28/sep-11-security-charge/ The silverware glistened in the golden light from the elaborate chandelier that hung from the ceiling. She looked up to admire the sixteenth century painting that was beyond the light. A slow breeze from the sea side, and the waiter rushed to hand her a pashmina, which she really wouldn’t ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/27/the-obsession/ Continuing from the last post on Rouen, lets get on with the walking tour around the city. A short walk from the Notre Dame cathedral will bring you to the L’aître Saint-Maclou. But on the way, be sure to observe the beautiful half-timbered houses (below). The houses are characteristic of this ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/26/in-and-around-rouen-ii/ The Sep 06 issue of National Geographic Traveler has a comprehensive listing of classic travel books. As they say: A good travel book has wings and the ability to transport us, word by word, tale by tale. It introduces us to the people and places that make travel—and, one could argue, ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/25/travel-tales-galore/ From “artists” who can make 30 paintings a day to those who can transform a masterpiece to a likeness of your loved one, China is fast claiming to be “The McDonalds of the Art World”: Some five million oil paintings are produced in Dafen every year. Between 8,000 and 10,000 painters ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/24/after-nike-shoes-its-van-goghs/ S&I started out on late Friday afternoon, around 5:30 pm, and thanks to the horrendous Friday evening Amsterdam traffic, reached Rouen, our first stop, around 1am. Despite the occasional drizzle and the emails I had to send out from my car before I left the Netherlands, it was a beautiful ... http://dutchdiary.blogsome.com/2006/08/23/in-and-around-rouen-i/