My first trip abroad
Hi all... Its been a long time since I thought of writing my own blogs.. Finally got time to write... actually had plenty of time to write.. but was a bit lazy. I was highly inspired by my friend Megarajan who used to write his blogs.. check http://indhiya-suttrum-vaaliban.blogspot.com for more details :) I am starting with my first abroad trip went in April 2004.. writing now in Jan 2006 :) Looking at the topic "First abroad trip", don't think I had gone abroad many a times.. I had been twice to Israel so far. But atleast I am gifted to get this opportunity as many wouldnt have got this opportunity.
ok here goes my first blog....
It was a dream come true for me to get a chance to go abroad. During the 1st quarter of 2004, many of my colleagues from other team got the onsite opportunity. So I was eagerly waiting for my chance and finally got it. I had never travelled in air before and got a chance to travel in flight before this trip for my Visa interview in Delhi. planning to write a separate blog for my Delhi trip.
Israel, the country known for its armed forces is one among the top nations having powerful armed forces. Always in news for its fight against the Palesteninans and its neighbour countries. When I was asked if I am interested to go there., never thought of second opinion., immediately said I am happy to go there :) All I had in my mind was to see a foreign country atleast :)
When the travel itenary was given to me, I was more happy since I had to travel through Muscat, Bahrain, Amman and finally to Telaviv,Israel. I can see three countries :) Since it is Israel, I got lot of cautions like what to do, what not to do.. and I was strictly told not to go out anywhere, not to use public transport, blah.. blah.. all I can do is go to office, come back to hotel.. thats it :( I was even told to clean shave which I am lazy to do :) most sad thing is to shave my moustache as well. This is because they might mistaken me as a muslim/palestenian. whoops donno when all these things will stop. So I took my moustache off and got ready to go.
April 11, 2004 is my journey date. Morning 7.35 is my flight time. Gayatri, my lead is coming along with me. She had already travelled to US. So it was a bit comfortable since she knows the procedures. I started as early as 3.00 'O clock in the morning from my house. too much enthu :). I told my parents to sleep at my home itself and no need to come to airport. basically, we dont like publicity and avoid crowd :p. My parents were so happy that their son is going to a foreign country. I am proud that I made them happy :) It was just a two weeks trip anyways.. but makes no difference. hmm.. ok enuf of senti... then we got into the flight and reached Telaviv airport finally through Bahrain and Amman.
At the Telaviv airport,(Telaviv is the commercial capital of Israel and Jerusalem is the political capital) we were received by the escort arranged by our customers in Israel and we got a VIP service. So no need to go for all checking. hmm I too was a VIP one day :) We got accomodation in a Five star hotel. Dan accadia is the hotel we stayed which is at Herzliya, Israel. Check out http://www.danhotels.com/danSite/hotelBrochures/eng/AC.pdf . So I too had stayed in a 5* hotel in my lifetime :) My office there is located at Netanya which is a different city. In Israel, all the cities are connected together and the whole Israel will be less than our Kerala in size. But still its a developed nation. Like our vadapalani, KK nagar, they wil have each region as a separate city itself.
The time we went is a peak season in Israel. Summer is considered the season time there and the hotel room's rent are much high there. MY room rent itself is around 135 US$ per day after 50% discount :) Israel currency is called Sheqels, they used to represent as NIS. 1 NIS is approximately 10 rupees. The cost of living in Israel is extremely high and its higher than US. So, going and staying there in our money is hardly possible. Thanks to HCL :)
Here are some of the pics taken there..
The very next day we were taken by our Israel Manager Doron to a place near our Hotel called Marina :) This is the place where you can see a lot of boats, ships, etc. Myself and Gayatri took a snap there which you see above.
We went to a kids shop with Shiri, our colleauge at customer site and Moron, her room mate. (The one who shaved her head is Moron and the other one is Shiri). Shiri became close when I was there. She is a native of Telaviv. In general there was a opinion that Israel people are very tough guys and so and so.. but all my opinions got changed when I got to know many people there. Their communication in English might make you feel that they talk roughly, but that is their way of speaking. Their mother tongue is Hebrew. Only if we learn Hebrew, we can understand their actual way of speech :) So, to me they are very friendly like any other people in the world. In fact I feel they are better than US people in a way in my opinion. They dont strictly follow any rules or formalities like the US people do. I felt a lot like home when it comes to dressing, table manners, etc. To give an example, in an official meeting, one of the engineers was sitting on top of a chair and one go out in the middle of the meeting to take/bring coffee.. :)
The above picture was taken at an Indian restaurant called Indira at Telaviv. you can see Doron, myself, Gayatri, Daphna(sitting opp. to me), Shiri and an Indian girl keeping hands on my shoulder. She was working at that restaurant and was happy to see Indians over there. That reminds me of the food we had taken there. We had a very tough time in identifying the right food there. Being vegetarians, you will always have tough time in any part of the world other than the sub-continent. They consider fish as Veg, egg as veg, etc. Thank god I can take Egg and was able to survive with that. If you ask for a veg. salad, all they bring is a bunch of green leaves :) . We could able to find some good food as well like Falafel, which was tasting like our Masal vadai. Noodles was also available there, the long noodles called Spaghetti, which I was struggling to take in fork to eat. I didnt know that Spaghetti was also available in our country.. poor gk.. all we take is masal dosa in our restaurants :). And everywhere they eat in fork only, even if you get rice.
The above pic was taken at Shiri's home. We went there and cooked our Dinner with some of the Indian spices we could able to get in the supermarket there. Gayatri made some food which was ok types with less spicy. When Shiri and Moron took the food, they felt as if they were eating very spicy food though it was not spicy at all for us. I was able to help out Shiri in eating with her hands which they dont use much :) Moron was also very friendly and moved closely.
Daphna, the girl whom I know for quite sometime through mails and chat(official :) ). She is a cute and sweet girl to move along with. The person whom I like the most at our client office. Lots of reason to like her.. she likes Indian food, she had been to Chennai once for her official trip to HCL. She is also a veg. and her husband is NV. She told that she used to cook NV for her husband by wearing gloves :) She is a very lovable character. I used to talk to her for hours when I was there for two weeks. Heard that she used to keep lots of baloons and gifts at her friend's desk on their birthdays and also heard that she was helping the charity by organizing within the client site like collecting waste materials and all.. Now(jan 2006) that she is in maternity leave and she is a mother of a cute kid :)
The above pic was taken at a kids shop, the same shop displayed at the top.
Gayatri, Shiri and me chit chatting...
The above picture was taken at Bahrain airport. The scene behind me was a wonderful thign simulating fishing.
The swimming pool was part of our Dan accadia hotel. I didnt know swimming and never got a chance to swim in. made my mind that the next time when I go to any hotel like this, I should be able to swim :)
The beach you see here is the Mediterranean sea, which is adjacent to our hotel. We can see the beauty through the room window if you stay in Dan accadia.
a Local market in Israel. This was taken at a place called Jaffa. This market was supposed to be cheap, however when I compared with Indian price, it was no where near.
My room :) Never stayed in such a clean room...
Charlie's angels :) .. The one standing next to me is Adi, one of the beautiful girls there in the office and she is very smart too. Believe me, she looks more beautiful in person than in this photo. She too is now(jan 2006) a mother of a very very cute kid. The one next to Adi is Mirel, the blonde lady:) I didnt get much opportunity to talk with her. and the last one is our friend Shiri..
@ Telaviv beach...
with Doron.. he was just back from Gym after working out.. we gathered for a teleconf.
Doron again...
ok here goes my first blog....
It was a dream come true for me to get a chance to go abroad. During the 1st quarter of 2004, many of my colleagues from other team got the onsite opportunity. So I was eagerly waiting for my chance and finally got it. I had never travelled in air before and got a chance to travel in flight before this trip for my Visa interview in Delhi. planning to write a separate blog for my Delhi trip.
Israel, the country known for its armed forces is one among the top nations having powerful armed forces. Always in news for its fight against the Palesteninans and its neighbour countries. When I was asked if I am interested to go there., never thought of second opinion., immediately said I am happy to go there :) All I had in my mind was to see a foreign country atleast :)
When the travel itenary was given to me, I was more happy since I had to travel through Muscat, Bahrain, Amman and finally to Telaviv,Israel. I can see three countries :) Since it is Israel, I got lot of cautions like what to do, what not to do.. and I was strictly told not to go out anywhere, not to use public transport, blah.. blah.. all I can do is go to office, come back to hotel.. thats it :( I was even told to clean shave which I am lazy to do :) most sad thing is to shave my moustache as well. This is because they might mistaken me as a muslim/palestenian. whoops donno when all these things will stop. So I took my moustache off and got ready to go.
April 11, 2004 is my journey date. Morning 7.35 is my flight time. Gayatri, my lead is coming along with me. She had already travelled to US. So it was a bit comfortable since she knows the procedures. I started as early as 3.00 'O clock in the morning from my house. too much enthu :). I told my parents to sleep at my home itself and no need to come to airport. basically, we dont like publicity and avoid crowd :p. My parents were so happy that their son is going to a foreign country. I am proud that I made them happy :) It was just a two weeks trip anyways.. but makes no difference. hmm.. ok enuf of senti... then we got into the flight and reached Telaviv airport finally through Bahrain and Amman.
At the Telaviv airport,(Telaviv is the commercial capital of Israel and Jerusalem is the political capital) we were received by the escort arranged by our customers in Israel and we got a VIP service. So no need to go for all checking. hmm I too was a VIP one day :) We got accomodation in a Five star hotel. Dan accadia is the hotel we stayed which is at Herzliya, Israel. Check out http://www.danhotels.com/danSite/hotelBrochures/eng/AC.pdf . So I too had stayed in a 5* hotel in my lifetime :) My office there is located at Netanya which is a different city. In Israel, all the cities are connected together and the whole Israel will be less than our Kerala in size. But still its a developed nation. Like our vadapalani, KK nagar, they wil have each region as a separate city itself.
The time we went is a peak season in Israel. Summer is considered the season time there and the hotel room's rent are much high there. MY room rent itself is around 135 US$ per day after 50% discount :) Israel currency is called Sheqels, they used to represent as NIS. 1 NIS is approximately 10 rupees. The cost of living in Israel is extremely high and its higher than US. So, going and staying there in our money is hardly possible. Thanks to HCL :)
Here are some of the pics taken there..
The very next day we were taken by our Israel Manager Doron to a place near our Hotel called Marina :) This is the place where you can see a lot of boats, ships, etc. Myself and Gayatri took a snap there which you see above.
We went to a kids shop with Shiri, our colleauge at customer site and Moron, her room mate. (The one who shaved her head is Moron and the other one is Shiri). Shiri became close when I was there. She is a native of Telaviv. In general there was a opinion that Israel people are very tough guys and so and so.. but all my opinions got changed when I got to know many people there. Their communication in English might make you feel that they talk roughly, but that is their way of speaking. Their mother tongue is Hebrew. Only if we learn Hebrew, we can understand their actual way of speech :) So, to me they are very friendly like any other people in the world. In fact I feel they are better than US people in a way in my opinion. They dont strictly follow any rules or formalities like the US people do. I felt a lot like home when it comes to dressing, table manners, etc. To give an example, in an official meeting, one of the engineers was sitting on top of a chair and one go out in the middle of the meeting to take/bring coffee.. :)
The above picture was taken at an Indian restaurant called Indira at Telaviv. you can see Doron, myself, Gayatri, Daphna(sitting opp. to me), Shiri and an Indian girl keeping hands on my shoulder. She was working at that restaurant and was happy to see Indians over there. That reminds me of the food we had taken there. We had a very tough time in identifying the right food there. Being vegetarians, you will always have tough time in any part of the world other than the sub-continent. They consider fish as Veg, egg as veg, etc. Thank god I can take Egg and was able to survive with that. If you ask for a veg. salad, all they bring is a bunch of green leaves :) . We could able to find some good food as well like Falafel, which was tasting like our Masal vadai. Noodles was also available there, the long noodles called Spaghetti, which I was struggling to take in fork to eat. I didnt know that Spaghetti was also available in our country.. poor gk.. all we take is masal dosa in our restaurants :). And everywhere they eat in fork only, even if you get rice.
The above pic was taken at Shiri's home. We went there and cooked our Dinner with some of the Indian spices we could able to get in the supermarket there. Gayatri made some food which was ok types with less spicy. When Shiri and Moron took the food, they felt as if they were eating very spicy food though it was not spicy at all for us. I was able to help out Shiri in eating with her hands which they dont use much :) Moron was also very friendly and moved closely.
The above pic was taken at a kids shop, the same shop displayed at the top.
Gayatri, Shiri and me chit chatting...
The swimming pool was part of our Dan accadia hotel. I didnt know swimming and never got a chance to swim in. made my mind that the next time when I go to any hotel like this, I should be able to swim :)
a Local market in Israel. This was taken at a place called Jaffa. This market was supposed to be cheap, however when I compared with Indian price, it was no where near.
Charlie's angels :) .. The one standing next to me is Adi, one of the beautiful girls there in the office and she is very smart too. Believe me, she looks more beautiful in person than in this photo. She too is now(jan 2006) a mother of a very very cute kid. The one next to Adi is Mirel, the blonde lady:) I didnt get much opportunity to talk with her. and the last one is our friend Shiri..
@ Telaviv beach... 
with Doron.. he was just back from Gym after working out.. we gathered for a teleconf.
Doron again... This was taken at the Telaviv report on returning. That was a small flight for Telaviv to Amman(Jordan), which is a very short trip of 45 minutes. In Amman, we had to stay overnight since the next flight to Bahrain was in the next day morning. We had like more than 8 hours in between. When we reached Bahrain, we felt like home.. could able to see lot of Indians, that too south Indians.. In Amman, Jordan the airport was not in good standard and lot of people were starring at us. That was a kind of uncomfortable especially in the onward journey when we had to sit in airport for around five hours. While returning we could able to find the transit hotel to stay, else would have had a tough time again. Bahrain airport was quite good, but had just 2 hrs for transit. Finally returned to Chennai on 24th april after two weeks trip...
so that is it with my first blog
Here are few more blogs involving me written by my friend Mega...
The first one starts with a normal weekend outing to Marina.. however, we didnt know the shock news awaiting the next day morning... read this blog to know more....
http://indhiya-suttrum-vaaliban.blogspot.com/2005/05/weekend-gone-sour.html
The second one is on our trip to Halebid and Belur in Karnataka.. the architectural marvels.. read more...http://indhiya-suttrum-vaaliban.blogspot.com/2005/07/halebid-belur-trip.html
The third one is our Wayanad trip. It's our HCL annual trip...
http://indhiya-suttrum-vaaliban.blogspot.com/2005/06/wayanad-trip.html
and the fourth one is our Munnar trip with our college friends..
http://indhiya-suttrum-vaaliban.blogspot.com/2005/09/munnar-trip.html
Enjoy reading...
with love,
Senthil
JAIHIND
posted by Senthil Babu @ 9:36 AM
3 Comments:
At 9:40 PM,
Subbaraman said…
mottai, kalakku...
At 3:38 AM,
Megarajan said…
dei senthilbabu ,
blog supera irukku .. continue doing.
ana veena enakku publicity koduthitte...
unakku thaan theriyume , namakku intha veen vilambaram ellam pudikathunnu... :-)
At 9:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
enna mottai,
engalomo pora ..
enna ennamo panra..
ithellam yar motta..
sema figurea irukku
summa kalakkura..
ok .. ok... nadakkattum , nadakkattum
nalla iru
Post a Comment
<< Home