Adieu Africa, good bye Johannesburg !

It's 12:53 AM of the 3rd of April, 2010 here, right now. It's cold tonight. There's light breeze. The building diagonally opposite to my home is illuminated just the way it was on 8th of October, 2009. The roads are empty too, just like they were back then. How am I feeling? I'm cold, feelingless and sad. Jo'burg feels like it's a part of me. These roads, these walls, the flowers, the air here, I've fallen in love with these. I was looking at the road right in front of Berkeley Square. It's wet and it looks good. No voices can be heard, except the ones in my home. The home is illuminated... nearly all the lights are on. It's so quiet outside. I went out on a drive tonight, but couldn't go far because the car was out of fuel. Money, battery, memory and now fuel too. Whenever something good is gonna happen, something finishes. But I felt good that I could see that well-lit area tonight. I want to go out on a long drive tonight. I'll probably get the car refueled and go on a drive. It's my last night in Jo'burg, so I should go. Don't know when I'll come back here. Maybe months, maybe years, and maybe even decades. Don't know. Am sad. I had some very good times here. It has changed me quite a lot. I'm remembering the days before I came here... so many times I went back to Ludhiana, to get the clearance certificate. There was excitement, there was eagerness. Tonight I'm calm and composed. I cried a few hours back. Bitterly. I'm done with my packing. My luggage is ~4 kg above 30 kg limit. Yesterday I was remembering some huge mistakes that I did in life. I have so many things still to do. I wanna do helicopter ride, I couldn't see Soweto. But I had some lovely time at Dullstroom, Drakensberg, Hazyview, Graskop and Cape Town. I have learnt a lot here. I'm already so sleepy. How am I gonna go on a drive, I wonder? Tomorrow at this time I'll be in the flight, somewhere over Africa. I still remember the first tourist place I visited - Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve - on 10th October last year. A smile comes to my face whenever I think about it. The roads were new, the place was new. I would feel so good looking at hills and mountains around.

Sorry for the break. It's 2:24 AM now. I'm just back from a drive along Jo'burg's skyline. There's a particular road on the way back from the airport, on the right side of which Jo'burg's beautiful skyline can be seen at night. I've been to O.R. Tambo airport at least 10 times now, and each time on the way back to home, I get speechless when I look at Jo'burg's skyline. I loved watching it today. We took a wrong turn, which lead us into Hillbrow, perhaps the most dangerous area of Jo'burg. We didn't have a GPS, and we reached very close to the Hillbrow Tower. I had gotten quite alert and scared as we went deeper into Hillbrow. There were a few guys on the road. Ultimately we managed to get out of the area. But I am happy because I've been gazing at the Hillbrow Tower for 6 months now, and today I got so close to it.

I'm sleepy again. But I don't wanna sleep.

I'm remembering the first flight which brought me to Jo'burg. I remember very clearly that as we were nearing Johannesburg, I could start seeing orange colored lights on the ground. We had guessed that this should be Johannesburg. That feeling of new and unknown was something I can probably never forget. I don't think I will ever get that feeling ever again, because Johannesburg was the first time I came to an all new world. I remember clearly how I was feeling while inside the taxi which took me to home. I was looking at shops all around me, and thinking that I'm in an all new world. It can't be described in words. It just can't be described. It can only be felt. And it's entrenched in me. Every time I think of it, I feel good. I still remember the first time I entered the home. The first time I was looking out of my room's window. It was so quiet that night. A few cars passed every few mintues. It was an all new world then.

Whenever I think of the word 'Johannesburg', I feel good. Don't know why. I feel so proud. So connected. I want to keep writing. But sooner or later I'll have to press the 'Publish Post' button. But I'm feeling good as I write this post. Soon I'll sleep for the last time at 302, Riviera Mansions. Shit. It's such a bad feeling. Really, am I sleeping here for the last time? Let me click a few photos which'll make me smile, later. Feels almost like my college days. Tomorrow night's sleep? In A340. The night after that? ATS Greens. Lot of movement. Where is peace?

I'll miss you, Johannesburg. A lot. Don't know why I'm in so much love.

God proposes, Man disposes!

Even as I write this, I can't believe that this has actually happened.

We were at the Drakensberg mountains a couple of weeks back, hiking our way to the top of a peak. We were a group of ~25-30 people (five of us from India, and the rest from other parts of the world), among whom were two pretty young ladies on a holiday to South Africa - one a Canadian named Annie, and the other from Colombia. The latter's name was Anna Maria, and one of my friends (with all respect due to my good friend, let's call him Faggot for this post) started circling around her as soon as we started our gruesome hike to the top, helping her in clicking her own photos, crossing the river, etc. After hours of diligent work, they only became what can be called one step behind friends (Event1). The day passed soon, and we came back to our camp. We headed back for Johannesburg the next day, and their story ended here, seemingly.

Luck had something else in the store, however. Two weeks later, we were at Cape Town, staying at Long Street Backpackers. On the second day of our trip, me and Faggot went to a nearby Internet cafe, to get the photos and videos on our cameras' memory cards burnt to a DVD. And then the height of coincidence happened - there was Anna Maria at the very same time on the very same date in the very same Internet cafe of the very same city (Event2)! As I was busy surfing the Internet (yawn...), my friend struck a conversation with her, and managed to exchange phone numbers. Before parting ways, Anna asked my friend to meet her at the V&A Waterfront, at seven in the evening (Event3)! What more could've Faggot asked for! We left the cafe and came back to our room, and everyone was excited that Faggot was gonna go on a date with a Colombian chick this evening. Luck had something else in the store, however. When the clock struck 19:00 hours, Mr. Faggot was busy gulping Indian food at a restaurant in Cape Town, fully cognizant that Miss Maria had summoned him for a date! It's unbelievable that he screwed up this opportunity-of-a-lifetime... (Event4)

Not the end of the story, however. We were back in Johannesburg on 22-Mar-10, and on Thursday, the height of coincidence happened a second time. Miss Maria SMSed Mr. Faggot that she would be in Johannesburg (Event5) on Friday, and that they should meet up and do something (Event6). We were all dumbstruck at what was going on, and we pushed Faggot to not screw it up this time. Anyways, I slept over the weekend, and on Monday (i.e., today), when I asked another of my friends as to whether Faggot had gone to meet Anna Maria, I was left speechless as I heard that he did not (Event7).

Let me assign a probability each to Event1 through Event7, based on my subjective judgment. Event1= 0.75; Event2= 0.001; Event3= 0.02; Event4= 0.001; Event5= 0.001; Event6= 0.02; Event7= 0.001

Using basic rules of probability, the probability of this chain of events is 0.0000000000000003, meaning that the impossible happened.

I still can't believe that he actually didn't go, twice. I told him just this - dude you'll bitterly, bitterly regret this a few years down the line...

Carlton Centre, the shame of Africa?

The Carlton Centre - a 50-floors, 223 meters tall skyscraper in the CBD area of Johannesburg - is considered as an object of pride in South Africa. I remember a cheerful man who emphatically uttered "Top of Africa!" at us, as we were about to enter the skyscraper last November. For good reason, as this is the tallest building in whole of the continent of Africa.

Some of the photos I clicked on 7-Nov-09. More here, here, and here

I, however, am of a different opinion, especially after having seen both Dubai and Cairo last December. Buildings (much) taller than the Carlton Centre are commonplace in Dubai - a tiny emirate of UAE. And here we are talking of a large continent with 53 countries, with an area ~7,400 times the area of Dubai (the emirate). The grimness of the situation becomes more clear when one realizes that the Cairo Tower - a mere 187 meter tall tower in Cairo - counts among the tallest structures in Africa, and that the Carlton Centre doesn't count among the 100 tallest buildings in the world.

I would rather call Carlton Centre the shame of Africa, or a reminder for Africa - an engineering and symbolic achievement for sure, but a stark reminder of what all still needs to be done. African people should be proud of it, but whenever they look at this skyscraper, they should also remind themselves that their billion-strong continent has just one of these megastructures...

Remembering the days when I used to play Holi

It's Holi today. And I'm remembering those days when I used to play Holi as a kid, studying in school. A few days before this one-of-the-best festivals, I used to buy a few packets of balloons ("gubbaare"), some amount of dry color ("rang" or "gulaal"), and one or more pichkaris. I also used to buy some amount of semi-permanent colors ("pakke rang"), and sometimes also the large-sized balloons (the ones you inflate with air).

I used to wake early to start filling the balloons (each balloon was precious - I remember counting the balloons to make sure that a packet which claimed 50 balloons indeed had as many), and used to dip them in a bucket full of water (to slow the outward flow of water). After this was done, all of the arsenal was carefully placed just behind the gate (in the behra, or verandah), and I used to venture out of the gate, looking for my prey. I frequently used to team-up with some of my friends, and we used to together attack others.

And it would happen sometimes that we would be hit with eggs or grease, by elder guys on bikes. Sometimes someone would overturn my bucket (and I would do the same sometimes).

I also remember the time when I would come back home, all colored and drenched, and mummy would ask me to rush straight to the bathroom. I remember using shampoo to remove color from my hair.

All that is past now. It's been years since I played Holi this way. I don't even have a picture of me-a-kid playing Holi. And as I sit here at my office in Jo'burg, I'm remembering those beautiful days when I played Holi, and I'm missing them.

763 meters below the earth...

It was a great day today. Today, we went to the Cullinan Diamond Mine to do an underground tour. We were thinking of doing this for many days, and we finally came here today. I was a bit nervous initially about going deep down a live, working mine, and that too to a depth of 763 meters (~2,503 feet). I was not 100% confident about the safety of this tour, but after our guide informed us that there had been only three fatal accidents at this mine since 1903, I felt more assured. After a brief walk on the surface, the guide took us down via the industrial lift, and when we reached down and he opened the gate, I was both delighted and surprised to see this:

It looked like caves, like tunnels, and it felt deep. It took some time for this feeling to get down that we're thousands of feet below the earth's surface, and if something happens, there's probably no rescue.

We stayed there for over 2 hours (mostly walking from one place to the other), watching machines, the ore, the equipment, the workers, etc., accompanied by a super-experienced guide with decades of first-hand experience in coal, diamond, gold, and platinum mining.

It was a nice and memorable experience, good learning, and I'm glad that I went.

Me in the 'Level 763' safety suit, 763 meters deep down

Will the US bomb Punjab?

I've seen this dream many times - perhaps 3-4 times. Each time I wake up clung tightly to whatever is near me, shivering. Today I woke up about 2-3 minutes back, my arms clung tightly to my sheet. The dream goes this way:

1. I'm at my home, along with my family
2. I start seeing black-gray colored fighter jets in the sky outside
3. We're aware that these are US jets
4. They're flying too low, with the base of their fuselage open, revealing shining orange missiles (this isn't always seen)
5. A few of them pass too low - ~2 meters over my home - and I'm looking at them, and just as I'm fearing the worse, I realize that the fighters dropped bombs on my home's roof-top
6. Simultaneously, other jets bomb the other homes in our colony
7. There's chaos everywhere. Brick and mortar is falling. There's debris around. There are large holes in the ceilings
8. After a few minutes, the bombing stops. The jets can no longer be seen in this sky. People start to come out of their homes
9. The dream usually breaks somewhere here

I don't know why I see this (and other similar dreams) often. Will the US ever actually bomb this part of Punjab?

Self-applause for commendable first-ever-time performance on an ice-skating rink

I'm happy that I performed quite-well at Northgate Mall's ice-skating rink today, especially considering that it was my life's first ever hour of ice-skating... :)

Slight nervousness on watching people flying effortlessly on the rink

I struggled quite a bit initially, but picked up pace soon, and in no time I was swiftly gliding on the rink.

And lo, I'm flying too...

Disclaimer (lolz): I fell down real-hard on the ice multiple times (~7 times in total), to the amusement of many, and had my bones compressed in this process. But never mind...

Update (Early morning, 15-Feb-10):I just went to Bing, and its wallpaper shows ice-skating :)

A death at Riviera Mansions, Johannesburg, SA

Someone died at Riviera Mansions today. As I had heard during my childhood time about American/European culture, there were few people to be seen (<10).The event was a quiet affair, and unlike in India, no screams could be heard. It was sad to think that someone died, but the event did confirm what I had heard years back.

A thank-you to Emirates airline!

//All time-values mentioned are local times in respective cities
 
On 3-Jan-10, EK 511 was to depart from DEL at around 11 AM. However, due to thick fog (and other reasons), the flight couldn't depart until late evening, and this made it impossible for us to board the connecting flight to JNB (EK 765), that departs from DXB at around 2:40 PM. We reached Dubai around 7:30 PM, and were relieved to know that Emirates was going to provide us with overnight stay at a hotel, and that we shall now be boarding EK 765 the next day.

In lieu of the delay and the 'inconvenience' caused to us, what all did Emirates provide us?

1. Overnight stay at Capitol Hotel (individual rooms for all)
2. Dinner and breakfast
   
3. Transfers from and to the DXB airport
4. Three minutes of international calling per person
5. A 24-hour visa for Dubai!!

As I had very freshly been to Dubai on a 4-day holiday, I knew the importance and value of this visa pretty well! This is my golden second chance to see things that I wanted to but couldn't, I thought. I must make the most of it, I told myself. So after enjoying a nice dinner at Capitol, I quickly went to sleep and woke up early the next day and swiftly got ready. As none of my friends had visited Dubai previously, they too were excited about this golden opportunity they had unexpectedly got.

Since EK 765 departs DXB near 2:40 PM, we had about 5 hours to see Dubai. In these five hours, we saw the following (in this order) - Dubaitaxi, Dubai Metro, Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai Snow Park, Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach, The Dubai Mall, Burj Dubai (now Burj Khalifa), and of course, Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. For me, this opportunity meant that I fulfilled my wishes of traveling third time in the Dubai Metro, and of spending a good amount of time on the Jumeirah Beach - things I had wanted to but couldn't do on my first visit...

Why does Wikipedia say that A340's service ceiling is 39,000 feet?

There was more to come, for me :). As I was about to board the magnificent A340-500, I was notified that my ticket (and only my ticket) had been upgraded for free to Business Class! I was pleasantly surprised, and had a delightful experience getting a taste of the Business Class journey...

Thank you Emirates!

A (short) visit to an Emirates call center

Today I went to the Sandton City office of Emirates, to inquire something about my Apr'10 flight. One of the staff members came up to me and asked if I mind going directly to the call-center to have my issue resolved, as the number of customers was more than the number of computer-terminals they had in that office, and her intent was to have my query answered faster.

I readily agreed.

Through various corridors, passages, stairs and doors, she took me to the Emirates call center, and had me seated besides her near one of the terminals. In ~10 minutes, all my queries had been solved.

This was my first visit to a call-center - a world-class one at that - and I'm glad that today I finally got to see one from inside. It made me understand first-hand how a call center looks like, how are individuals seated, what type of computer-software is used, and so on.