The missing link

Here's a walking, breathing freak of a fish we saw while canoeing near Phuket.

The lagoon we saw him (or her?) in is only accessible through a narrow tunnel full of bats. During low tide the lagoon water flows back to the sea, so this species learned how to walk (using front flippers) and breathe on the dry lagoon bed.

Hello, Darwin.

Sun setting in Khao Lak

We spent a wonderful week in all-but-deserted Khao Lak a week ago. After one week back in the office it does feel like we were there a year ago.

Our hotel was opposite to a small island lighthouse, which was accessible by foot during low tide. The locals used the opportunity to go pick up clams from the rocks.

Silly western tourist only took a moody picture.

Bike with a roll cage

I don't think there is any limit to what people will transport with the light motorcycles so popular here. Self preservation instinct just doesn't exist and/or people don't play what-if scenarios in their head before mounting the bike and taking to the road full of huge trucks, speed bumps, potholes and so on. I mean, just look at these two heroes riding with a fixed A-ladder that looks pretty heavy. They were happily riding at 70km/h along with the rest of the traffic (downhill).

If these guys did end up in an accident (and I'm certainly not hoping they would) it would probably be very interesting to try to figure out afterward what had happened.

Life, all boxed up

Our stuff was delivered a week ago and tomorrow they're supposed to take the empty boxes away. It's amazing how attached to stuff you can be. I didn't really miss a lot when the house was empty, but now that all the familiar things surround us, the place does feel a lot more like home.

I had heard horror stories about the customs process, but it was quite pain-free and didn't cost half as much as I was told to expect.

The best bit is nothing's broken. A couple of power cords are still missing and critically the other one is for the Wii console so Joona is not a happy camper about that. Come to think of it, wouldn't mind to bang the drums with Guitar Hero myself...

Itsy bitsy spider

I've only lived in the villa for what, couple of months and I've already got a sub-tenant. Fortunately this green mutant spider lives outside and rightly so - I definitely wouldn't want to share my bed with the creature - it's legs are about 5cm (2 inches) long and it's poison green color tells me it's, well, poisonous as hell to boot.

But outside on top the front porch I've no issues with him (or her?). Looks like he's doing his bit in the fight against mosquitoes and ants so he's (she's) welcome to stay. Outside.

A set of wheels to call my own

This is my Innova. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My Innova and it's driver are my best friends. They are my life. My driver must master it as I must master my life. My Innova, without me in the back seat, is useless. Without my Innova or it's driver, I am useless. We must ride my Innova true. We must drive faster than the traffic that is trying to dent us. We must pass them before they pass us. We will...

My Innova and myself know that what counts in this traffic jam is not the passes we make, the noise of our diesel engine, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the rate of progress that counts. We will find a way...

My Innova is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, my driver will learn it as a brother. He will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its dials and its folding rear seats. I will ever guard it against the ravages of monsoon weather and collision damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. My driver will keep my Innova clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

Before the Ganesha idol on the dashboard, I swear this creed. My Innova and myself are the defenders of my family. We are the masters of Bangalore roads. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until roads are ours and there is no traffic, but peace!

Royale with cheese

There's a constant queue when McDonald's opens in Whitefield mall. Had to go in and try the Maharaja meal, which seemed like the closest thing to a poultry Big Mac.

The most interesting part for me turned out to be the background soundtrack. I guess the McDonald's brand in India tries to represent western decadence, because during my brief stay I listened to "smells like teen spirit", "the wall" and "cocaine"...

No more sleeping on the floor

Now finally there's a bed to go under the mattress. Functionally this is still the same thing, but the feeling is of something a lot more organized. On the downside I was expecting a celebration of wonderful woodwork craftsmanship, but the details dont really stand up to close scrutiny. Live and learn, I guess...

Anyway the adventure of having a euro-size bed & mattress tailor-made in India has reached the finish line and I am happy to report they fit!

Power, uninterrupted

A couple of days with the broadband connection were enough to convince me I need an UPS. The backup power takes about 30-60 seconds to kick in and once the outage is over, there's another power cut when the compound is reconnected to the main power grid.

There were 3 outages during a lengthy meeting I took part in remotely on Friday. That meant that I had to drop out 6 times, wait for the router to come back online, reconnect the VPN and so on. Really annoying. Let's see if this setup works better.

It just occurred to me that people are forced to use a lot more power here because the network is so unstable and unreliable. In the western world there is concern over standby power with home electronics, but here all appliances of any value are protected with power regulators or UPSs out of necessity that consume at least 10x more juice. Not very green...

Ant eater?

I noticed today that there are a couple of really small geckos sharing the house with me. Cool!

I've had a slight ant issue that seems to be improving by the day. I wonder if it's these guys keeping the population at bay, or is it due to me squashing every ant I see? Probably it's due to the house being kept clean now, but the idea of geckos feeding on the ants is much more appealing :-).