~~Global city~~

I was reading an article on how Global the city is. Importance were given for economic,political,cultural and infrastructural issues.
And they were ranked accordingly. Here are some of the rankings

New York city - Alpha++
Mumbai,Chicago - Alpha
Boston- Beta
Chennai - Gamma+
Philadelphia - Gamma
Doha, San Diego - Gamma-

Good to know many people are living in global cities :)

~~Quote I liked~~

"New York is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal, its politics are used to frighten children, its traffic is madness, its competition is murderous. But there is one thing about it -- once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough."
John Steinbeck

Sheila its always easy when somebody rightly puts whats in the heart :))

~~Osama dead -Cost America paid~~

I heard the news Osama Bin Laden was killed by the American troops after 10 long years of witch hunt. It was good to hear Obama giving a wonderful speech uplifting the patriotic spirits of the entire nation.

But at what cost it took to acheive this goal ? Did America paid too much for it ?. In 911 attack around 3000 people died but to kill Osama and destroy Al queda, America started the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Around 7000 soldiers have been killed in these two wars and around 50000 have been injured. The cost of running the war in Afganistan is $400,225,824,340 and the cost of running it in Iraq was $787,878,147,208 totaling upto almost 1.2 trillion dollars. It may be heroic to say American troops killed Osama Bin Laden and would surely sealed the chance of Obama winning the reelection in 2012 but the economic burden that this whole operation have put in America will transfer the cost of the war to the next generation. I cant help thinking how mighty Americans were in 2001 compared to China and after a decade things have turned. Anyways its would interesting to see the US strategy in Afghanistan after Osama. Soon they exit the better it is for them.

~~China's progress~~

I was reading the Sunday column in New York Times by Nick Kristof where he talks about how China has progress. The below few lines from the column quotes how the country has progressed in last two decades.


 When I lived in China in the 1980s and ’90s, there was always an awkward economic imbalance between me and my Chinese friends. I had a car, and they had bicycles. I paid for our meals together because I was so much better off.

Now there’s a new imbalance: Some of those same people ride around in chauffeured limousines while I get around in taxis. They take me to fancy restaurants whose prices give me headaches.


China is one fine example what will happen to country's progress if economic reforms were properly implemented. One of my Chinese class mate used to joke its easy to run the country when everybody shuts up does their work. But this decade will be most challenging one for them as they have to fight both the increasing inflation and fixed exchange rate.

~~Memories: kochi days~~

When I was browsing my mail box came across this picture , the picture was taken during my good old days in Cochin. It was yet another weekend we went a country club some 30 kms outside the city. The swimming pool was the best part of the club as we can order hot pakodas and bhajis while we were swimming in the water. We spent more time eating than swimming.

I think we had to jump many times to perfect this shot either we weren't synchronised in our jump or the photographer was late or early in taking the picture but it was worth the tries to get the final outcome.

~~want to apply for this job~~

I was looking through few job sites , I came across this gem anybody want to apply ?

We don’t care about that accounting or biology class you took! We care about YOUR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AND CREATIVITY! Tell us what makes YOU deserve this experience of a lifetime?

In your cover letter, please make sure to answer following questions:
1) What is one country you have always wanted to travel to and why?
2) Where in the world have you traveled to, what exciting/ enriching activities did you do there? For example, a school trip to or being a part of a study abroad program and learning about the business culture and history of the country.
3) Why should we select you to be the Ultimate Triptrotter?
4) Do you consider yourself to be a global citizen? How do you fare in reacting with people of different cultures? Remember, the most original answers will get the most brownie points!
5) How many countries have you traveled to? How many languages do you speak?
6) How many countries have you been to?
7) What is your favorite country?
8) What type of traveler are you: active/luxury/backpacker?

- Submit a "travel resume" to us in the form of a cover letter, a resume, or best of all, a video answering the questions above and more!

Remember, this is your travel resume so feel free to be creative in expressing why you deserve to be the ultimate triptrotter! 

~~things lost~~

    Its was one such day I had a presentation I had to hurry up to the college. One small thing I forgot to zipup the front pouch of my back pack. I saw that it was wide open only after I reached my college. Normally I dont keep much stuffs in there but there were two things in there. One was my mouse which I can live without it, other was my guest tickets for graduation :(

Edit:
I normally used to keep the camera in the front pouch but fortunately I forgot to take it to the class but I was sad I couldn't take any pictures. My Korean bro just sent me a mail with the pic below, I never knew he took pics :)