May 2007 archive

Traffic Mafia in Delhi

Thursday, 24 May 2007 | Journal

When I went for a coffee with one of the guys in our Delhi office, for whatever reason we started talking about some things related to traffic in Delhi. I’ve previously written about the endless honking that everybody seems to do in Delhi, I’ve also said that nobody really pays any attention to the traffic police according to our Indian staff. But it gets worse ….

When we left, ‘the guy from our office’ handed somebody in the parking lot a 10 rupee note. It was paid parking. So, always curious and still the little that always wants to know ‘why’, I asked him how exactly the paid parking worked. He told me these people collected fees in certain semi official parking areas. They basically claimed the land as ‘their parking space’ and so you would have to pay them. No meters here, just a guy who comes to you and collects the (I believe it is a flat) fee. And what if you refuse to pay? He will signal his ‘colleagues’ and they will bang on your car as you drive by and sometimes even throw stones at it. I guess the dent that will leave in your car is well worth paying those 10 rupees.

An even ‘funnier’ story involves an even bigger dent. Now this does not happen as often anymore I was told, but was quite common until recently. You would be happily driving down a little street and then all of a sudden a car would be driving towards you with no driver inside. It would crash into the side of your car, leaving that big dent I just mentioned. First instinct? Get out of the car and try to figure out what the F&#K just happened. Right? Wrong! Biggest mistake you can make. If you do that, all the car doors unlock automatically, leaving it open for thieves to come inside and grab your laptop and whatever else you have in there. Guess what? That was their plan all along.

How is that for ‘different culture’ …. !

Just like a real vacation

Monday, 21 May 2007 | Journal

And there I am again, seat 27C and less than an hour to go before I land at Bangkok Suvanabhumi Airport. I’ll have a coffee, grab a taxi and go home. Take a shower, shave, put on a suit and go to the office. And at 3pm, I leave again to catch a plane to India. Back to work!

Not particularly looking forward to going back to work, but I think we all feel like that after a holiday. And a holiday it was, even though I did not sit at the beach and sip cocktails I had a lot of fun running around the country and seeing my friends and family. Being back in the Netherlands made me realize I really did make the right decision in moving away. It also underlined that I really only miss my friends and family and nothing else about the Netherlands.

The way things are looking at the moment, I’ll be in Asia for a while.

But I’ll be back in the Netherlands in a few weeks time.

Do I bring it or not

Sunday, 20 May 2007 | Journal

Most of you are aware of my coffee snobbery. I like a good espresso as do many others, but I get a little snobby about it at times. Bangkok is not a place to expect a lot of good espresso, there is the mediocre quality of Starbucks all’round but I have yet to find places where I can get consistent good quality espresso. I knew this going in and figured there was not much I could do and I just accepted it.

In a box, upstairs in a storage room in my fathers house, sits my beloved espresso machine. It is one of the very best espresso home espresso machines money can buy and I have always loved using it. If I was home in the evening, I would pull myself a nice espresso and on the weekends I would use it for a cappuccino with breakfast. Not high volume, but the act of making the espresso and enjoying the high quality result was what it was all about for me. I guess you can compare it to someone who has a love for wine and has all kinds of tools to make that experience the best it can be. The machine has been idle for over a year now, ever since I moved out of my condo in Amsterdam.

It looks like I’ll be in Bangkok for a few years, so I’ve started considering moving the machine to Bangkok and putting it back into operation. I’m still not quite sure what I should do about it …

• With my ‘typical day’ as it is right now in Bangkok, I would most likely only use the machine on the weekends if I placed it at home. Then again, if I put it in my office it would save some Starbucks money and use it at least daily.
• I could instead buy a new, smaller and lighter machine in Bangkok and save myself the hassle. On the other hand, it would feel like a mediocre solution to me.
• If I were to move to another country, something I plan on doing in a few years time, moving a 40kg setup (espresso machine, grinder, etc.) will be all but convenient.
• I have no idea about having it serviced, but I’m sure I could find a shop that can service it once a year and replace rubber parts or whatever needs to be done. Plenty of espresso machines in Bangkok, so there will certainly be someone who fixes them!
• If I don’t bring it, it will be sitting idle in a box. Selling is not an option (I won’t get anything for it, people who want a machine of this quality will want a new machine) and so it would just sit there until I move back to Holland or really settle somewhere.

It basically comes down to the burden of having to drag it with me when i move from country to country vs. the joys of making my own espresso the right way.

It hurts to hurt

When I had dinner with my parents and brother on Sunday evening, my mom asked how I felt about my stay in Asia. Or rather, she asked me what my plans were for the future and how long I thought I was going to stay in Asia. I explained that I think I made the right decision in making this move, especially now that I have a job and things seem to have landed quite nicely, but even without I still think it was the right thing for me. And I told her that as long as nothing required me to be here (in the Netherlands), I did not see myself moving anytime soon. Not for the next few years at least.

When I left Eindhoven on Sunday morning, my parents and brother came to the train station to say goodbye. After we did, my mother gave me a small note which she had made the night before about that statement I had made over dinner. She wrote to me how she felt when I visited her this week and that she is still proud of me for having made this move, but that it also made her sad to hear what I told her - that I was not planning on coming back anytime soon.

When I left the Netherlands, it was again difficult to say goodbye to Kim and Given. They had taken me to the airport and we said goodbye. But it was very obvious all three of us (last time it was only Kim and me, Given had no clue what was happening) were stunned by emotions and sad to have to say goodbye … even if it was only for a few weeks with me being back in a few weeks time.

It hurts to have to hurt people. It hurt to read I hurt my mother. It hurt to see how much I hurt Kim. It hurt to learn that to live the dream I’ve had for so long, there is no way around this hurting the people I love. Makes you feel selfish and wonder if it is all worth it. But I also know they all support me and would not want it otherwise, which is where I find my comfort.

But still, it hurts.

Visiting friends and family

Thursday, 17 May 2007 | Journal

This week has been a week where besides some formalities and of course the most important event, the wedding, my time has been mostly spent visiting my family and friends. In doing that, I learned something I somehow already knew - I don’t miss the Netherlands, but I do miss my family and friends.

It was great to see those of you that I saw again. I’m really sorry I didn’t have time to visit everyone, but a week is such a short time. Visiting ‘the girls’ was of course something that cant be done in a few hours and also visiting my family took a few days. As a result, there was not much time left to see others. In the future I’m sure, but also … what happened to all those promises of coming to Thailand to visit me there!?

When I arrived in Eindhoven on Sunday, my dad came to pick me up from the train station. We went to a Thai restaurant where I had dinner with him, my mother and my brother. It was great to see them again, although I had seen my father and brother a few months ago. There was no need for talk about what had been going on in my life, what had been going on their life. Because of the telephone and especially the internet, we were all pretty much up to date on current affairs. So instead, we talked about some issues in depth. Related to Thailand and my life there, but also to cultures and how they are different. Or simply making jokes, my brother and I have a tendency to get very annoying when we are together! And over the next few days, I saw quite a lot of all of them and also went to visit my grandparents.

Seeing friends throughout the week was really nice as well. Even though we’re thousands of miles apart and don’t talk as much as we perhaps would like to, it turns out I have real friends. Of course I already knew that, but these meets simply proved that again because we simply picked up where I left.

I guess you could say that this has been a theme throughout the past week. Because everyone was reasonably updated on what was going on in each others life, there was no need to catch up. And so it really was as if I was never gone. With all, the girls but also family and friends, it felt like I had never gone. That is, until I left again.

Being back in the Netherlands

A few weeks ago Frank & Marn were in Bangkok and of course we all had drinks together. One of the things that came up for discussion was this (then upcoming) trip to the Netherlands. I wondered out loud what it would be like for me to be back in Holland, how I would experience things, how I would feel, etc. To be honest, I expected I was in for a ‘shock’ and things would feel strange to me. It has been nothing like that.

From the moment I arrived at Schiphol airport, nothing has felt strange to me but it actually feels exactly the opposite - all too familiar. I guess it makes sense, I’ve lived here my entire life and so how could 8 months make everything that goes on here make things feel strange? Did not happen. Instead, it feels like I never really left. Everything here is still the same, the people look the same, (inter)act the same, talk the same, everything works the same way. The trains look the same and are oh so familiar to me, the tastes of food are the same, the beds I’ve slept in are the same, everything is pretty much just like it has been for many years.

One thing that is different is the way I perceive myself in this context. While my entire life I was a part of this thing called the ‘Dutch society’, I don’t perceive myself to be part of it anymore. While in the past I could get extremely worked up about bad service for example (and believe me, there is plenty of that in Thailand too but it is of a different kind), I now just shrug and go ‘its Holland, what did you expect?’. What I now also realize is that I felt the same kind of detachment in the months leading up to my departure.

I’m still Dutch, but no longer part of Dutch society.

Back with the girls

Sunday, 13 May 2007 | Journal

For whatever reason, the flight over to Holland was not as comfortable as I remembered Evergreen class to be. I think the cabins are due for a refurbishment or something! Or maybe the fact that my ticket was 100 euro more expensive than it previously was just spoiled my mood pre flight. I don’t know. Anyway, I had some food, I tried to sleep a bit, I wrote a bunch of emails for work and I read a little. And ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amsterdam!

All my stuff was with me in the cabin, so I breezed right past the luggage belts and out of the terminal exit. Upon walking through the doors, my eyes panned from left to right and as they reached the far right corner I saw a little girl was already running towards me. She jumped into my arms and wouldnt let go for at least a minute. When I left the Netherlands in September last year, I always thought she would soon move on with her life and perhaps not forget me but certainly not feel as much an attachment to me. I certainly did not expect her to run and jump into my arms. I guess I was wrong.

And as if I had never left, Given held my hand as we walked through the airport. We had a coffee, went to the car and spent 2 whole days together. The plan was to go to the zoo, but the weather here is horrible and so we didn’t really do a whole lot except hang out and run some errands. I didn’t care, the important thing for me was to spend some time with them and I didn’t really care where we would be spending that time. On Saturday night Kim and I went out together and the next morning was mothers day, which has always been a special day for ‘the three of us’. After breakfast, I had to leave though and got into a train to Eindhoven to see my parents and my brother.

We had a great weekend together, somewhat like I had never left really. And so it was all the more painful when I told Given during breakfast I was going to go away for a few days (I’ll be back next weekend prior to my return back to Bangkok) and she broke down in tears. She didn’t want me to go away and the fact that I was going to be back in a few days was not going to change that. It all makes me wonder what it will be like when I leave next Sunday, when I left last year she of course had no idea I was going to be gone for such a long time. This time when I leave, when I will board “the green airplane with the star” again, she will know what that means. Not something I particularly look forward to, this morning was hard enough and she only started to accept my departure when I told her I had to go see my mommy too on Mothers day. That made it okay for me to go.

I don't need much

Tuesday, 8 May 2007 | Off-topic

Although I really like my job, it is quite demanding and when I have finishes writing 63 (!) emails on a weekend I have a coffee and wonder what I will do with the rest of my weekend … which will by that time be reduced to half a day. I start thinking about those times before I was working and how much I enjoyed not having to do anything. So somehow, I need to make that possible.

I need 2 million euro.

Lets say you gross an average of 5% yield on that kind of money. Perhaps a little on the high side, but not at all a ridiculous number. Those 2 million would then split into two parts. The first half will give you enough to make the amount grow to compensate for the loss in value (due to inflation) that typically happens every year, up to about 2.5% inflation. The second half would gross about 50.000 euro income every year, which translates into about 4.000 euro per month to spend on travelling, shopping, etc. That kind of money makes for a comfortable life I would say.

Now all I need is the plan to make those 2 million. Please submit your business proposals to me by email!

Lots of people

Monday, 7 May 2007 | Life in Asia

During my visit to India this week (second visit, many more to come) I had a meeting in a place called Ghaziabad. It was quite a ride from my hotel, but when travelling in a foreign country there is always something interesting in the scenery that passes by the car window. As was the case this time.

What struck me most is that during the hour and a half drive it seemed there was never more than perhaps a few hundred meters without houses. And I certainly (I checked) had left Delhi. I discussed this with the people I was visiting and they said I had landed in Ghaziabad, which was a very small village in their minds. Outside looked nothing like a village in my book, it was a crowded street full of honking cars, people walking, business being done, gossip exchanged, cows grazing the garbage, etc. Nothing like the quiet and serene idea I have when you think about a village. The word village takes on a whole new meaning when you look at these levels of activity, I guess you have to look at it in context.

And it all makes sense. People always go on about China having so many people, but India is almost as big (the difference is only 192 million people) with 1.1 billion people. The country is a lot smaller than China though, which means a lot more people per square kilometer. To be exact (I looked it up), India has about 3 times as many people per square kilometer than China. And when you figure that out, it starts making sense there are people everywhere you turn.

Thai AND Japanese flight attendants...

Tuesday, 1 May 2007 | Journal

Once again in an airplane seat, I’m on my way to India again for work. I doubt this time I will get to see a whole lot, as there is quite a lot of stuff going on at work I don’t think I’ll have the time to see anything but the hotel and the office. The evenings I will try to get some downtime which is very much needed and also be preparing my trip to Holland.

This is the first time I’ve flown Thai Airways. As you know, I always fly EVA Airways to and from Amsterdam. Thai Airways is quite expensive and most destinations can be flown to on cheaper airlines, but to India it is actually a good deal. I was looking forward to this experience, as Thai is know for its excellent service and generally recognized as one of the 4 great Asian airlines (the other ones are Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines (???) and Singapore Airlines. These are all national carriers (Cathay being the Hong Kong ‘national’ carrier) and I it has always surprised me how the big (national) carriers from the west differ so much from those in the east. I never got the chance to confirm this personally, but now I can.

When I checked in, I asked for a seat with extra space for my legs. I told the lady I didn’t care where she put me, just that I would like to have that extra space. It pays to be friendly and flexible, the person in front of me requested an exit seat and was told these were no longer available. When I asked, she picked up the phone to check something and then assigned me seat 47H - an exit-isle seat, my favorite! Woohoo!

Upon boarding, I was greeted by a breathtaking staff. Dressed in their beautiful outfits (the only ones I like more than this, are those worn by the staff of Vietnam Airlines) and each and every one being absolutely stunning, I knew I was in for a nice flight. What was interesting is that usually when the safety procedures are presented I just have a quick check where the nearest emergency exit and life vest are located, but don’t pay much attention otherwise. The video they showed here was a very nicely produced one with that silky Thai feeling. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it. No, not so much because of the girls in it, just because it was a really nice video. No, really, it was, I promise!

The only thing I did not like as much was the food. 90% of those on the plane are Indian and I guess it only speaks for Thai Airways that they cater to their clientele. But I was actually looking forward to some nice Thai food and instead was served Indian food. Good thing I had good Thai food last night :-)

Thai Airways markets with the slogan “Smooth As Silk”. Confirmed.

Post flight addition:
This just keeps getting better, this is the Japan Airlines crew hotel. I’m surrounded by Japanese flight attendants! Man, I’m a lucky guy.