City of Angels, Etc, Etc, Etc

Bangkok City, from Wat Arun, with the Menam (River) Chao Phraya in view. The thimble-shaped structure on the right, is called a ‘prang’, a common architectural feature of Thai temples, adopted from the Cambodians.

Sawadee-khap! Might as well chuck in more photos while I’m at it. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, or just Krung Thep as Bangkok is commonly called by Thais, means the City of Angels in Thai. That’s not all. ‘Krung Thep’ I learnt, is just a fraction of the full Thai name, which is actually 65 syllables long (or 169 letters long if translated into English, yeah I actually counted it in Wikipedia!) It currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest place name, never knew that huh?

Come to think of it, it’s not unusual for Thais to pronounce ‘Krung Thep’ as just ‘Kung Thep’, without the R sound. Very peculiar language, Thai. They have R’s but they seldom pronounce it, and most people go by their nicknames instead of their given names. The place name, Phra Rama III, will just be ‘Pha-Lam-Sam’ – i.e. Pha (Phra) Lam (Rama) Sam (three in Thai). Suvarnabhumi Airport is pronounced ‘Su-wana-phum’, my name is pronounced something like ‘Kelly’, Michael becomes ‘Mai-khen’, and the English word ‘breakfast’ commonly comes out as ‘begfet’.

The ‘City of Angels’ describes Bangkok pretty well in my opinion. Especially since there’re so many temples all over the city, and they’re all decorated with weird mythical beings. Here’s a sample: -


A common image of Bangkok - a line of Garudas standing on 2-Tailed Serpents at the Wat Phra Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Grand Palace, Bangkok


Half-human half-chicken beings at the Grand Palace


Buddha figurines guarding the temple, Grand Palace, Bangkok


One of the many murals lining the corridors around the Grand Palace – we hung around for quite a long time here, taking a rest from our sun tanning session (and charging our camera battery – there’re power sockets all over the compound, ok? And nobody stopped us. Luckily it ain’t Singapore, or I bet you, we’d have been fined!)






More views of the Grand Palace, Bangkok


Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), beside the Menam Chao Phraya




Close-up views of Wat Arun showing the level of detail on the structure


Papa and son at Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha


Another view of Wat Pho – Wat Pho is known to be the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. We (yours truly and Anu) had a beautiful massage session at the massage centre inside the temple compound, while Justin slept nicely. (It was air-conditioned, not expensive, and we wanted to avoid the ‘extra services’ linked with seedier-looking massage centres outside).


Our hotel at the Khao San Road area, Bangkok’s backpacker area – forgot the name, budget hotel with a small but clean room with air-con, hot water and a useful safe. Pretty nice place in a very lively section of the city. Had dinner here with dear ol’ cousin Alan, and his Thai wife, Jib but did not remember to snap any photos! This was Jib’s first time ever to Khao San Road, and she’s from Bangkok! Amazing huh?


Khao San Road (nope, don’t have a better picture) – the famous (or more like infamous) backpacker ghetto of Thailand, where you can get anything – yeah, fried worms and insects, if that’s your choice of food (but no photographs allowed, unless you pay a small fee), and your choice of degrees, certificates, (I swore I even saw ID’s and passports!) for a fee (nope, photos of the advertising billboard are not allowed, not even with a fee).

Not Another Coup?

Road scenes, Bangkok, Thailand

What’s the problem with Thailand? 12 military coups in 8 decades, that’s what the news say. But I kinda see this one coming, with the long standoff between the yellow and the red shirts. I dunno how else they’re gonna settle this without some sort of intervention, military or King. Anyway, let’s hope it returns to normal soon. They’re our neighbours, my cousin brother and family live there (in Bangkok), and it’s one of our more frequent destinations.

Here’re some pictures of Bangkok, or Krung Thep, in Thai (i.e. City of Angels), in a more peaceful time. …I’m back to my picture-posting days. The Company secured 2 big projects (and 2 small projects) last month, now everything here is like a frantic rush!


Family photo at the Grand Palace, Bangkok – I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve been here before, but this is Anu’s and Justin’s first time. As usual, we got ourselves a super sun tan by the end of the day








More scenes from the Grand Palace


Anu, at Jim Thompson’s House – Jim Thompson was an American architect, entrepreneur and ex-military man whom people claim, ‘single-handedly saved the Thai Silk industry from extinction’ in the years following the Second World War. He made Bangkok his home, set up the Thai Silk Company and built a traditional Thai mansion made up of a number of interconnected houses, beside one of Bangkok’s many ‘khlong’ (canals). His home served as his headquarters, and a place for potential buyers to view his silk fabrics. It also showcased his vast antique collection. In 1967, while on a holiday in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, he disappeared without a trace, after going out for a stroll. He was never seen again. His home is now a Museum, and houses a gift shop and a retail store for the silk company he founded. It’s an interesting house, made up almost completely of wood, with slanting Thai styled windows and doors, and hosts an interesting collection of curios and furniture. It’ll be more wonderful if we could take pictures of the house interior though.


The River Taxi Station at Pratunam, a busy ‘khlong’ (canal) in the middle of Bangkok – we took a river taxi from Jim Thompson’s House back to this area near our hotel


Central World, Bangkok, opposite the hotel where we were staying in


A Buddhist shrine (I think it’s the Erawan Shrine), at a busy junction near where we stayed – shrines like this are common all over Bangkok, and you’ll see them by the side of the road, in front of 5-Star hotels, by prestigious commercial buildings, inside Shopping Malls, etc


A ‘chedi’ (stupa) in front of the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall




Siam Ocean World in the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall, reputedly the largest aquarium in South East Asia

A Rat Ate My Backpack

Stupid rat!

Recently made a 3 week trip back to Malaysia and India. Visited both our families, wife’s and mine. Took advantage of Justin’s school Spring Break holidays. It’s now or after the birth of our second child, as when Justin breaks for summer, it’d be too late (and too big) for Anu to fly.


Anu and Justin, at the brand new international airport at Mumbai, India, about to board the plane back to Dubai

Nothing much happened. Had a string of tasks lined up, so it was like a friggin errand trip.

In Malaysia, we visited families in Butterworth, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, …OK, just a li'l bit of KL. We spent a total of ONE night in KL, and went back to Ipoh the next day… short of time, plus the family in KL’s caught up in some sort of a family crisis then. Got some flak from Anu and Jipek for making them sit so long in the car for the trip to KL. Justin didn’t seem to mind though. Managed to watch ONE movie with dad and mom, Captain America, in Butterworth. And visited ONE friend, Ajit’s family, in Ipoh.


Justin at the 1919 Restaurant, Ipoh – that plate of rice, with steamed tofu in soy sauce, was the fastest Justin finished a plate of rice, ever, in his four years of existence


Justin, his ‘chau ko-po’ and Bear-Bear, the toy dog, OK, it’s real


More scenes from Jack’s house at Kota Kemuning, Selangor – that Chinese character on the wall happens to be one of Justin’s name, Xin.


In front of Jack’s house, Kota Kemuning


Anu at a Chinese restaurant in Gurney Plaza, Penang


Water feature at the Ipoh Swimming Club

In Silchar, I found that my trusty old backpack (rucksack, whatever) from my university days in the UK, a Mountaincraft backpack with a lifetime warranty, has become a pile of shreds and tatters, compliments of a bloody rat. Half of the straps bitten off, holes all over. This backpack has been with me since 1994! Has travelled with me in like 2 dozen countries in Europe and Asia. Felt like I’ve lost an old friend… RIP backpack, may the rat end up the same way as you did.

Pesky rat also munched big holes in our bank passbooks, and ate some insurance receipts. We hope that’s all it ate. Also discovered that termites made a nest out of Justin’s Mothercare cot. But luckily termites don’t have teeth like friggin rats do. So cot is still intact, save for some tiny little holes. Gave it away to Anu’s sister’s newborn daughter, Mahie.

Silchar was dusty hot when we arrived, no problems with me as I’m used to dry weather. Besides, there’re less mosquitoes when it’s like that. A day plus later, Silchar had a hailstorm (or more like a series of hailstorms) that blew off signboards and uprooted trees, and Ta-Da! …no friggin power for 24 hours (ok, …almost). We were in Fulertal, so we spent our time chilling out in the Barak River… Hailstorm fell two betel nut trees in our Silchar house compound, but no damage to the house. And that’s about it folks!


Hailstorm in progress, Itkhola, Silchar, Assam – ‘antiquated’ version, made with my blackberry phone, easy process, especially with the amount of rickshaws around in Silchar


Caught by the camera – Justin sabotaging the cake, on the occasion of Anu’s sister’s wedding anniversary. Justin’s not a big fan of cakes, but he likes messing with it, and everyone’s too busy to notice


Taking a dip in the Barak River, Fulertal – Justin with his mama (uncle) and maiju (aunt), Anu’s brother and sis-in-law

Oh, and a congratulatory note to the people of India for voting in a strong government. It’s about time they got rid of the ineffective and corruption-tainted present government of theirs. Let’s hope things get better now.

The Cast of Daund

And here’s the rest of the cast of Daund – heroes, baddies and onlookers, all together. The people who made it possible, the ones who made it hell, and the ones who made it hmm… interesting. But, that’s all part of the challenge! What would the experience be, if it wasn’t for these people.


The Consultants and the Client, at the Four Seasons Winery in Roti Village, about 20 mins drive, off our project road – from left, Francesco Bafaro (Material Engineer), Andrea Wolski (a representative from the Client), Warren Tan our Project Director, Dr Deokate (a representative of the winery, with a doctorate in viticulture – i.e. study of grapes and wine), CL Chong (Deputy Project Director / Structures Head IJM), and Hermann Berlot (Team Leader).

Our staff: -


Project Manager, Vijay Kumar, at Wirtgen’s function in Bhandgaon


Temple Busters of IJM – from left, Sunil Tiwari, Korra Ravi and Promod Misra, in front of a temple in Ravangaon, just before the demolition – Run, if you’re a temple, mosque or religious structure!

More Client and Consultants: -


Tree Planting Campaign at a school in Khadki – clockwise, from left, Faruque (with safety vest – Safety Officer IJM), Pramod Kumar (in light blue, with longish hair – Admin Manager IJM), School Headmaster (man with white hair), Yours Truly, Sanjay Kalbhor (village elder), Anand Kale (Client’s Safety Manager), Sunil Verma (chequered shirt – Resident Engineer), Mohanadoss (man planting tree on the right – a Client’s representative)


Wouldn’t you believe it? Yours truly, giving a speech at the school! From left, Umesh Kshirsagar (Admin Officer IJM), yours truly ahem, Paresh Galankar (Deputy Safety Manager IJM), Pramod Kumar (Admin Manager IJM) and the class teacher

The high and mighty subcontractors: -


The Brothers Gadhoke of Jitendra Singh Group, bloody rich! Diamond rings, Breitling watches, solid gold bangles, fancy cars, nothing unusual to them


A K Mallick of Kolkata, provider of our trucks (some of ‘em anyway)

The politicians: -


Marriage hall inauguration, a function hosted by the main political party of Daund, the NCP (National Congress Party, nope this ain’t the same as the Indian National Congress, the ruling party in India at the moment). The ones I can name: Supriya Sule (lady in blue making speech, current Member of Parliament, daughter of Sharad Pawar, the NCP supremo and current Agriculture Minister of India (pictured in the banner with the red turban)); Ramesh Thorat (in the middle, slightly raised, holding spectacles, also pictured in the banner second from top left, the current state assemblyman of Daund constituency); Rahul Kul (bespectacled man in the middle, just to the left of the two men in white caps, also pictured in the banner, on the bottom left corner, Chairman of Patas Sugar Factory, ex-assembly man and arch-rival of Ramesh Thorat); Rahul Khapre (sitting on the right of yours truly, friend and owner of a quarry in Bhandgaon). Getting Ramesh Thorat and Rahul Kul together in one function is nothing short of a miracle as the two go at each other like cats and dogs, and they’re both from the same party!! Funny politics in India.


A billboard commemorating Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena Party chief, and de facto ruler of Mumbai, on his passing away in November 2012 (see earlier post ‘Two Deaths about Mumbai’). The entire state of Maharashtra ground to a halt on his funeral! Anyone caught working, was beaten up! Two million people plus loads of VIPs attended a funeral held in a Mumbai public park fit for a king! And the most amazing thing is that he held no official posts at all! Incredible, huh?


Yours truly, sporting a Maharashtrian cap, in the middle of a god damned divider! From left, name forgotten tree-planting subcon, Siddu Chinchali (IJM’s Deputy Highway Manager), a Field Engineer of our Consultant, yours truly, and Rahul Bhalerao (Leader of the Dalits (Untouchables) of South Maharashtra) in an inauguration of the tree planting work at our Project

The common folks: -


Chicken sellers of Patas


A shepherd beside the Railway Bridge


Shepherds and their flock of sheep, at our half dug rock hill at KM69


A local roadside restaurant in Kurkumbh, near our office

There’re a lot more people that I don’t have photos of, or I’d have put them in here as well. The likes of Rakshit Jain, the driving force behind our Client, the local goons, the village big shots, the wily mediators, the activists like Umesh Parge, the sand mafia, the crooks (whom I shall not name), the cops, the politicians, the Girim Village cartels, the quarry cartel of Bhandgaon Village, the high profile subcontractors, the odd gun-toting electrical subcontractor, the horde of smile-in-your-face and stab-you-in-the-back personalities, just to name a few. See? Working in this place has all the excitement of a gangster and political drama huh?