Welcome 2011

Happy New year Wishes

The Best Break I had from work

It was one of those good , just long enough breaks that I had. Although I was wired all the time , I was under no pressure to respond , call etc., and this was probably due to the fact , that most of the world was closed down at the this time and hence it was the best time to be away from work. It also showed how global our dependencies are and the need to plan your vacation to suit global needs. But the balance has to happen to match local needs through the year as well and that is going to be a huge challenge. For the moment ,enjoyed the 10 day break from coming to office ( including two week ends )

I did travel out and also spend equal time at home just doing nothing. And just doing nothing was not at all easy but to be honest , I did try not to do anything.

The travel out was fantastic. I covered close to around 1400 Kms .Went to Coorg . Used the Chennai - Bangalore - Mysore - Coorg road . It was a pleasant surprise to see the condition of the roads and the infrastructure improvement . I did not encounter potholes at all except for a 500 metre stretch as we entered Coorg ( Madikere ) . The Chennai Bangalore route gets congested as we cross Krishnagiri and get in to Hosur where there are too many trucks on the road. The Bangalore Mysore road although done well is simply not enough to take the traffic. The Mysore Coorg road is great as of now with little traffic. Also , good eateries have come up on the roads enroute, with the result , you get quality food with good washrooms facilities as well. I did not do the entire journey at one stretch opting to break at Mysore while going and at Bangalore while coming back.

The Mahindra Resort at Coorg was outstanding .. Well laid out , great rooms , good but expansive and expensive food , enough play area and plenty of activities for the kids . The weather was nice during the day and it turned to being slightly cold towards the evening . Went to the Dubarey Camp , where we as a family did a river crossing . It was not one of those easy things to do with a kid around but we managed amidst screams , laughter and tension with a gang of unknown people who all did the crossing with us. That was one fun event that we relished on the trip

More time was spent at the resort as we had gone to Coorg earlier and covered all spots of interest.

Mysore and Srirangapatna were interesting as well. We did the normal spots. The Brindavan gardens, the Chamundi hills and the most interesting one to my daughter -- the Mysore Place.At Srirangapatna, we were joined by my BIL who for inexplicable reasons found routes that did not help him to get to Coorg.

I must mention the Hotel Shivali ( MTR ) on the way back from Srirangapatna to Bangalore -- Fantastic stuff they have -- We planned to have tea at this place and ended up eating "Madhur vadai" , BiseBelabath, Rava idly and so on.. Amazing quality and taste and if you are foodie , look at this joint when you travel on this route.

Rest of the week was quiet . Caught up with old friends who come down to Chennai, ate slept , watched TV and did nothing . !!

The Ashes

England did a remarkable turnaround from their third test defeat to retain the Ashes. Aussies woes continued. A side that makes less than 100 runs in its first innings has no hope of making a match in a Test. Aussies did exactly that. They were bundled out and then on a pitch that did not look unfriendly except to the Aussies, England piled up runs and agony and in the second innings facing a huge deficit, Aussies showed no resilience and handed over the match and the Ashes to England. Well done England. The Barmy army would be proud of their team.

Ponting is not playing in the final test due to aggravation of his finder injury with which he played the fourth test but I think he is being edged out …

England looks a very strong team with one handicap .. Paul Collingwood who acceptsthat he is and has already said the fifth test may be his last. I am waiting for similar announcements

Ricky.. Are you listening ?

The Indian Victory at Durban

The Durban test was interesting as wickets fell like nine pins.cored. If one thought India ended up with a poor first innings score, South Africa beat them by scoring lesser. Key differentiators to the Indian victory were VVS Laxman in batting and the impactful bowling of Zaheer. VVS was a class act. On a pitch where no batsmen could read the bounce and the swing and the seam movement, VVS played a great knock that proved to be a winning knock. India continue to stay on the top of the rankings with this victory. Not a easy achievement by Dhoni and his men