Exploring Airport Lounge

This again goes in my collection of 'FIRST TIME'. I'll create a separate bucket and add all my first times there. Well, there are actually two incidents that happened which I want to mention here. It's 7:53 pm now and my flight is at 8:50pm. I am at Chennai airport in one of the lounges that accept Ola Select. Since I have a very short time I'll write to the point and expect this post to be a short one.

The story goes like this - Wednesday 24th April I was traveling to Bangalore with two of my teammates. We get to Chennai airport and visit one of the lounges. Now depending on what kind of debit/credit card you are using, you get some number of free access per month into this lounges. Both of my colleague's cards got accepted but mine didn't. I have a Jet Privilege card and so it got rejected, you all know what is happening with Jet now. So, one solution was my friends go to the lounge and I go somewhere else and it was a fair deal. But then suddenly the receptionist said that they accept OLA select too. I was not aware of the details but decided to go for it. See, on Wednesday I was at Chennai airport, then on 25th I was supposed to be in Bangalore (flying back to Chennai) and today 27th I was supposed to be at the Chennai airport. The OLA select has various plans and I went for a monthly plan (750 Rs). I made the calculation described earlier, ie in the one month period (24th April - 24th May), I 'll be at airports 4 times. So I go for it and it turned out to be a really great deal. Turns out that OLA select users get some benefits in the cab pricing too, so far I am all good with OLA Select. Try it once if you haven't so far. Recommended for frequent flyers. Also, if you have availed this facility, then please share your story. Currently, I am enjoying F1 qualification on my  Lappi and also blogging.

The second story (I have less 10 mins to write). I came to the airport early to enjoy the Lounge and know more about it. But as soon as I started blogging, I got a call from SpiceJet GroundStaff asking me to report at the check-in counter. Basically, there was something in my bag vibrating and making noise too. I wondered if kindle ever vibrated. Then in a few mins, I realized it was my trimmer. My trimmer has a lock switch, if I turn it on, then the machine doesn't get on. I forgot to turn that switch on and my trimmer was on one side of the bag, accidentally the ON button got pressed and it started vibrating. I went there and took the necessary action. Once check-in is done we proceed for the security check. Now I had to do the reverse. So som SpiceJet guy came and escorted me to the counter. Before leaving out of the security check-in area, my boarding pass was canceled. So I had to scan my bag again after adjusting the trimmer and go through the security check again. It is all done now and almost time to leave.

I'll be in Bombay till 5th May, Sunday. Let m know if anyone wants to catch up. Also, do expect one more blog by Mid May. Thanks and Happy Flying Everyone !!!

Road Trip to Pondicherry

9 pm Saturday, after the ofice, me and my friends decide to go to Pondicherry by booking a self drive car. We have been planning a short one day right from the start of the month, many yes and no and finally we made the car booking. It was going to be my first experience with a self drive car drive. This was the time when I was still getting used to driving and this was my primary motivation to go for the trip. Rohan and Ajinkya steped in for the trip too, without whom I wouldn't have started off this trip. One funny thing about self drive - when self drive concept was first launched in India, I used to hear about it a lot from friends. I used to think that self drive means it will drive itself, meaning an autonomous vehicle. I was like Wow !! India has a high tech car fleet and I wondered why Tesla and other companies were fighting so hard over autonomous vehicles technology. It was afte couple of months that I realised the actually meaning of the term Self Drive.

No, getting into the details about current trip. We planned a single day trip to Pondicherry. 300 kms approx total journey. We booked Ford EcoSport from Revv (Similar to Zoomcar) from 4 am in the morning to 10 pm. We were not sure about weather to start the trip at 4 am or 6 am. Anyway, we booked from 4 am and the car was to be delivered near our society by the company. Surprisingly the Delivery man called at 10 pm and he was ready to deliver it by 12am. We were more than happy to take it early without any extra charges but we were sure to start our trip at 4 am.

Midnight - He came and he delivered. We took it and went for a 15 kms spin in our area just to get the feel of the car. That 15 kms was enough to make us change our decision. We decided to leave at 1:30 am. Now, we idn't had any rooms booked and we searched few online. Most of them had 11 am checkout time, which was suitable for us. Atlast we thought we will reach Pondi and then search. None of us had our mobile phones charged above 50 %. Parents were obviously worried because of many reasons but finally we both came to agreement and I left.

Rohan told he will drive to Pondi since it was night time and Ajinky and I were very much okay with it. So off we went. There are many routes to Pondi from Mahindra World City. Two famous one are - one from Chengalpattu and ECr road and other one was via Tindivanum. We crossed the Chengalpattu and in the excitement or what I don't know, we missed the Chengalpattu turn. We were determined to go through ECR and so we found a new route and we all were travelling on it for the first time. Only Google to our rescue. The new route was very remote and felt like a forest region. On one on the road except us for plenty of kms. At times it became less of fun trip since there was nothing aroud us for several kms. Finally we joined the ECR road and all was good from then.

We reached at around 3:30 4 am. I made few calls to see if can get any cheap rooms for few hours. Btw we had reached some beach by this time. It was all dark and we were not sure how close we were to the wters. We parked the car somewhere close and started searching for options. I was damn sleepy but my friends seemed to be immune to it. After half an hour of fruitful attempts we decided to sleep in the car itself. Car off, windows down, seats reclined. I had put an alarm to wake us at 5:15am so that we didn't miss the SunRise. We were chatting and also trying to sleep. It was cool and brezzy night filled with wavy sounds. We doxed off in another half an hour and had 30 mins of sleep before the alarm went off. It was the Best and most Refreshing Nap of the year. My friends too experienced the same. I was no more sleepy and the rising Sun filled us with New energy. We were on the beach till 7 am.

Now, morning time, we all were hungry and needed something to fill our stomach. It was not easy to find a hotel for breakfast. It was after 15-20 km of driving in the city that we found some place to eat. Also, by now I had taken over the steering wheel. I felt confident that I can drive mid-size cars too. Anyway, we were the first customers for the day at that hotel and got our food really quick. It was only 7:30am by the time we finished. An hour of driving more and we were at Zuca. Its a nice Chocolate shop, recommend you guys to visit. It is little on the expensive side but worth it. Some more driving here and there by Ajinkya and me and finally we were ayt Promenade. We had decided to have Lunch at Xtasy cafe and then go home. We were somewhat tired now. We reached promenade, roamed here and there and what not, just to realise that it was only 11:30am. The cafe opened at 12:30pm. That day we realised how slow the time goes when you actually have nothing to do.

It was getting impossible to kill time and we decided to go to Mahabalipura. It is between Pondicherry and mahindra World City. That was to be our Lunch spot. We reached by 1 pm, had some lunch and were heading back home by 2:30 pm. We didn't know our trip would end so fast. I drover almost 120 kms on my way back. It was a fine mixture of Good and Bad driving HAHAHAHA !!! Many of the things I did for the first time on that trip. Like Night road trip in a car and then sleeping off in it. Driving a mid-size car and that too for such a long distance. I was feeling little sleepy but I didn't tell my friends. They would have never let me touch the driving wheel if I had told them this.

Currently I am at Chennai airport and waiting for my flight to take me to Bombay. It is les than 48hour Mumbai trip. I always wanted to do this - have a very short trip to hometown. I am excited to meet my friends and something related to Cars too. Next post will have the details about my new adventure - Click here to read next post. Do let me know about your Self Drive and Night Ride experiences.

Recommended Reading -

Car Drives so Far

One From the Bar

Bangalore Trips

Flying from Chennai to Bangalore in SpiceJet 3426 and this is the first time that I am flying in a twin propeller aircraft. I had a plan to meet one of my friends in Bangalore before going to Bombay. I booked my Bombay ticket long back. I was planning to travel to Bangalore by bus but due to some reasons my plan changed and I booked a flight. Today morning only I came to know that it is propeller aircraft, 80 seaters.

I am seated in row 8 and there are a total of 20 rows. Two seats on side of the aisle. I thought I'll get a good view of the wings but I was wrong. I am very much ahead of leading edge of the wing. On my immediate right is the propeller blade rotating at a very high end. All the aerodynamic flow goes for a toss once the wind hits the blade, as a result, there is a lot of noise at my location and vibration too. It is okay for a short flight like this one.

My flight to Bombay from Bangalore is at 7:30, means I have more than 4 hours to spare/waste at airport. It has been a long time that I last wrote a blog and I had planned to write one post while waiting at airport. It would be about my four visits in Bangalore and some memories/incidents leading up to the trip. I started writing early, as I said I am in flight and writing. You can see the view from my seat.

Trip One - 2010 - KJ Somaiya Engg college Industrial Visit

In engineering college, we have these long Industrial visits. It's actually industrial visits plus some fun and all. Our trip comprised of going to Bellary first. There we had 3 days Jindal plant visit. It is close to Bangalore. From there we came to Bangalore - ISRO visit, then Ooty to chill and back to Bombay. It was during this trip that I first went to Amoeba, MG road, Bangalore and played Bowling. It was a thrilling experience, especially when you get a Strike !!! All my friends were good and we had a fun time there. Remember, this was also the first time that I went away from my family for such a long trip and at such a far distance.

Leading to the trip - there was some fight I college regarding which faculty will come with us and will girls be a part of this. In the end management won and only boys went. This left a bitter taste before the start of trip. Everything was sorted out at last and it was a good trip.

Trip Two - 2011 - Virtual Baja, Mahindra

I never imagined I'll end with Mahindra as my first job, but it is good I got I to Mahindra Chennai. More on my job in some another post. Baja - an event organized by Mahindra (along with few more) for college students. In this, a team has to build an off road vehicle under certain rules and regulations and then the car is evaluated for different performance measures. Few measures are braking distance, acceleration, etc and if your vehicle has passed all tests it will go for some endurance race on an off track terrain. Fuck, what kind of braking was that. We have landed in Bangalore. Post to be continued later.

Bangalore Airport

I get down and walk into washroom and there is a housekeeping staff guy greeting you Namaste. The placement of tissue papers and the dustbin is just amazing. Then you walk in and you see so many charging points everywhere. Then there are side tables where people can keep their coffee mugs and all. Plus you have separate tables where you can use your laptops and charge it. If required you can also access the free wifi. I am currently on one such table. The tables are placed in such a way that you will be facing the aircrafts and runway. The cleanliness is too good and as mentioned the staff is very supportive.

Back to where I left off - Baja. Before we can compete in actual car event, we need to present our design and business case to the jury. If they agree, then we will go ahead in building the vehicle and then compete. So, I was in Bangalore for virtual Baja. Out of 25 people team, only 5 can visit and present in Virtual Baja. Initially, I wasn't sure of going. As always I showed some typically Sandy behavior, but at the end I decided to go. That is how I ended up in Bangalore. I don't remember the college name and all. I do remember visiting few places after the event. Some temples and gardens and what not. I went to MG road but didn't get a chance to play because of the huge crowd. Overall it was a good trip.

Trip Three - 2017 - LSDyna Conference

LSDyna - In my company we use LSDyna solver (mostly explicit) for our day to day simulations. There was one conference in Bangalore to update about new releases and have a client connect. It was on 27th or 28th April and I was in Bombay until 25th April. I was very skeptically about my nominations. I thought I won't get a chance to go but luckily I was nominated and I made it. We went by company cab - Xylo, 5 people from Chennai.

A day before the conference we had our own companies annual communication meet. It is supposed to be a grand event and no one likes to miss it out. In order to make to Bangalore before 12, we needed to start from Chennai by 6. So, that is what we did. We missed the second half of our meet and left early. That was the first time I went through Bangalore highways. They are wide and clear and flat. You can easily go at 100+ for 2 hours.

After reaching Bangalore, it took us half an hour to search our guest house. We reached and we all were tired. Now, next day event was at 9am and the location was just 15 kms from our guest house. So max to max 40 mins, but no, it took us more than 90 mins and that's when I experienced the infamous Bangalore Traffic. In my previous trip I may have the traffic, I don't recall much. I was too busy enjoying the journey with my friends back then. Here, we had a target time and we were racing against clock. Credits to the corporate rules and regulations, we were supposed to be in the office the next day of our conference. We left at around 6 and expecting to be home at 11. We trusted our driver since it is almost a weekly routine for them. Not this time, he missed one turn on the national highway and we landed in Salem. I am not sure about actual distance between cities but we traveled 180 kms more between Bangalore and Chennai as compared to the direct route. We reached post 1 am.

Now, let me go back one more week, I was not in the best shape of my health. I was having a cold, cough and some breathing issues. This extended trip just worsened my condition. There were just 4 of us while coming back from Bangalore and I took the last seat to doze off. It was not easy and I was not able to sleep. Either it was getting too cold at back or it was suffocating, depending on AC setting. There was no balance between the two cases. The conference was good for me. A week before the conference they had showcased something similar in our office which I had missed because of my Bombay trip. I write automation scripts for my team for Oasys Suite. Now, Arup is the company which distributes Oasys and LSDyna licenses to us. As a result, I was able to meet of the members of Arup's coding and automation team. Overall I would rate this trip very hectic.

Trip Four - Today - Not Sure What to Name

This trip to Bangalore is like Medal/Trophy on my Wall of Fame. Wall of Fame of what? Well, you can call it as Sandy's Crazy Adventures. I can write a chapter if not book on my Crazy Adventures and Tasks. Let me just focus for a brief moment on the current trip. I just saw the start of my post and you guys already know why I am at Bangalore. Why this is crazy - seriously, there was no need to take such a step to meet a friend. Some lesson learnt though. A similar lesson was learned last March during Holi. Not similar but exactly same lesson and it repeated that again and so I say Crazy.

That should be all for you guys as of now. It is around 5:30 now and so 90 mins more to spare at the airport.

Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith

7 am in the morning !!
Coffee shop is some 30 metres away from. People are all over the places have some hot coffee while chatting with their friends and colleagues. Televisions lined up and playing news channel so that people of every age group can watch or atleast pretend to watch.
There are people having coffee without any colleagues and there are few people chatting without coffee. I am surrounded by human beings of each possible type.
30 year old someone is busy on phone discussing about his today's presentation. Then there is a 14 year boy holding his not so smart phone near his ear for almost 10 mins now, i wonder what is he discussing about and with whom. May be his new world changing idea or his recent achievement in last week's school sports meet. Boy looks much more energetic than the guy next to me who is discussing about office work.


Apart from coffee house, there is a toy shop, purse shop and what not. there is also a gift shop selling all the costliest items in the world at a premium rate. Not to forget my favorite book shops. I was actually standing in front of one of the book shop for good 5 mins starring at the shelf. i was looking at different book covers and doing a mental check about which book I read, which ones are in my bucket list and which are ones that I hearing it for the first time.
Subconsciously I was taking a note of all the free space available in the display and filling it up with new launches yet to be come. Reading - there are few newspaper racks having all the latest happenings of the world. For a change, I am not reading a newspaper today. A new gang of three friends just came in my line of sight, reminds me of Dil Chahta hai.

7 am in the morning, people in this age can't be imagined without smart phone. There is a guy and a girl at different locations busy clicking selfies. So yeah, selfies are now so much gender specific. I am trying my best to get into atleast one of the picture. Some are busy chatting on phone, while very few are playing games. I can also see some people struggling to get their phone charged at free power outlets. Some are busy updating today's presentation on lappy. Some Gen-Z, current generation, guys are busy watching old but funny episodes of friends.  I watched Friends last year assuming that it will help me improve my English for so called CAT exam for MBA.
People are anxious, majority of them look happy and few look neutral. Few look confuse and are running up and down and asking for help at inquiry counter.

7:30 am in the morning. This is all what is happening on my left hand side. If I see straight, I see Milestone kind of numbers reading 4, 5, 6 to infinity. Housekeeping staff busy cleaning the floors and seats. There is a good amount of security, let me not get into detail of it. There are screens showing timetables of today's schedule. Some advertisement boards for smart phones. The ceiling is made up of tubes forming a truss and covered with thin metal sheets.
On the right there are people wearing reflective jackets and busy doing their work. Looks like its very routine job for them. There are buses, trucks, road train, fuel tank and AERO-PLANES. Yes, i am at the airport. A plane just came in at the terminal where I am sitting. looks majestic and let me not delve into the beauty of the plane. Travellers and baggage getting off loaded at one end, at the other end there is a long queue of passengers waiting to board the same aircraft.

What am I doing here. I am at Chennai domestic airport waiting for my Mumbai flight. this is one of my routine visits at home. A long routine visit.

Leap of Faith - This was my FB status a month ago when I was at the same place and going Mumbai for Holi. The title seems catchy and you may or may not find a direct relation between title and post content. For me, Leap Of Faith, this is what is constantly running in my mind.
That trip was planned just two weeks before the departure for some special reason. I was trying to dive into an unknown territory and hoping that I would get results that I had dreamt of for so long. I am really glad that my manager approved my last minute short trip. I enjoyed my trip at home. The only issue is I wasn't able to accomplish the task that I had planned. That was a good learning lesson for me. May there was really no need to go for that impromptu visit, anyway, past is past - can't change it.
This time again I am trying to accomplish the same task. It is matter of trying and trying till I get there. There was a phase after the last trip that I gave up on my dreams. Somehow, after some encouragement from books and stories. Strong motivation from my friends, I am back to where I was a month ago. This time with a stronger sense of purpose and a deeper conviction. I am trying to dive into the unknown in a hope that all my past good and evil deeds will form a net and catch me.

8am in the morning - My English, i can't find proper words. This may well turn out to be yet another crazy step/chapter in my life book, but I have decided to go for it. There are lot of things that I have done in the past which I shouldn't have. Some were non-logical, some were crazy some were pure stupid. Those past actions give me strength to take my next future crazy step and I am proud of it. They say ask and don't be afraid of rejection. Just a change of seating location for me at the airport. So, there are some personal leap of faith and some professional. Three months have already gone by 2017, there hasn't been much of difference in my life as seen from outside. I tried miracle morning, continued for 50 days and then again went back to being old me by not being consistent.
But let me tell you, there is some change in my attitude from the inside. Have read around 7 books in last three months. Many more books to read in next three months. 100 days of running challenge is also going to start from April end. So, lot of activities lined up.

My flight just came in and it is time for me to board. See you guys later.

Please do leave your feedback and comments below.