Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Mar 27, 2014

Strange experience with Money

Today we were out in the city and at various junctions had very strange experiences with people who wanted money from us for some or the other reason. :)

We reach Cafe Coffee Day for a sharing session at Bandra Kurla Complex. After not finding a shade to park under, we just parked the e2o along with the other parked cars. This security guy came up to us out of no where and asked for some chai pani. He was threatening us that it will be our loss if we don't pay, and the municipal tow car will come and take away the vehicle. I was convinced and willing to pay him the little buck that he was expecting from us but these guys was firm enough to not pay. No rules were broken nor was the car parked in a wrong way. After a brief exchange of words and re-threatening him, we moved on without paying. I was left thinking how the world can twist you a certain way if we ourselves are not sure of our actions.

It reminded us of an incident that happened with us in the pay and park at Colaba where I argued with the guy for charging me 100 Rs instead of 20Rs which was printed in the receipt. He took 20Rs but did something to the car's functioning that left me stranded for quite sometime on the road in the night, just a few inches away from the car park.

After a good round of coffee, we headed towards Juhu Beach for the evening walk. These days, a new business of photography has started on the beach. Vendor guys come up with their SLR cameras and they click instant pictures for a price. We had our own camera, so we asked the guy to just click a picture for us.. Having done the same earlier, we knew these guys don't mind clicking digital pics. Its easy money for them. He did a good job. We paid him well but he wasn't satisfied. Wanting to guilt us, he just threw the money on the sand and walked away. We didn't pick it up nor did we turn to see if he did.

Its a strange world and money has strangely taken over all of us. Come to think of it, this piece of paper drives people's moods and emotions, may be even lives. What say?

Feb 28, 2014

Eco Points

"The secret to living healthy is consistency" they say. Driving in the fast lane all the time is not only unhealthy for us but also for the car.

Gone are the days when I want to slam the accelerator and race with another vehicle coz by driving sensibly I am not only saving my battery life in the longer run but also earns me eco points. Each time when we drive with an efficiency of 90 WH/KM or less, we earn an eco point. Mahindra says, as we accumulate eco points we should stay tuned for some surprises from them coz its their way of affirming that nice drivers win always.. ;) Check out the website screen capture below.

We have earned eco points by travelling both short distances and long. So it takes an average of the entire days ride. Speed range has been upto 70 kms as well, so it doesn't mean we have to drive slow. It just takes a little extra effort to know the e2o better. E20 owners can check the tips and tricks on their personal logins.


Mumbai is the perfect place to drive this vehicle thanks to the amazing flyovers. So when we go downhill it regenerates.. The traffic jams are no longer a terror coz each time I brake it goes to "regen". hahahaha! We have at times travelled 32kms and consumed only 26% of battery as a result of this amazing feature of regeneration of power. Its amazing how this car has changed our perspective about travelling on Mumbai roads.

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I look up to this e2o user - Mr Kamlesh Mallick from Pune. His e2o -"Eva" is 6 months old and has travelled more than 5000 kms.. It helps to know one who experiments like we do. He has earned a remarkable 79 points from his drive so far. An eco-friendly, consistent driver...







Nov 13, 2009

Article

Article from "The Pulse" - Gold's Gym Magazine October 2009



Re-living the moment has its own merits, it not only feels good but I can also share some good moments, experiences with you all...
So, it was the 17th May 2009 morning, when cyclist from Gold's Gym headed for a race. We were 15 cyclist and 20+ supporting team members. We were to start from Gold's Gym Bandra and reach Hotel Trident at Nariman Point ( famous for the recent hijack attack) and returned back.

Driving Directions
Link:


The group.



There were 7 Pitstops on the way where cyclist could stop if they could not go any further and return when the group would return... Support team of 3 members each were standing at these pit-stops to provide water, energy drinks, bananas or any kind of aid required. we were accompanied and lead by cars and trainers on the bikes...

We started at 6am in the morning, cycling our way through, surprising the people on the road including the policemen who were taken aback by the "spardha (race)".. The road in the morning was clear and the atmosphere pleasant..
We were all very excited about making it to the destination. Most of us had gear bikes..The other girl in the group backed off at the bandra signal itself.. I had participated for the sheer fun of it and wanted to test how
far I could make it.. Didnt know I was in for some cool surprises...

The peddar road stretch..

The entire journey was great till we reached Peddar road which is an uphill. Everybody struggled to get through for it was steep. Having gears in the cycle helped us a lot.. some with great muscle strength found it better to go on higher gear (more strength- less pedalling) whereas going on a lower gear just helped me glide through (faster pedalling with very little effort). Thanks to the training I had got from Raphae the day before.

The one who came first.



Reached Trident where a team of trainers were waiting for us. They made us stretch, lie down on the rocks and watch the clear sky.. that was new, coz had never done something like that before.. it was meant to cool us down for the trip back.. we were actually ready after the 5 mins meditation trick. and headed back to our very own destination... going back seemed easier for the peddar road stretch was crossed at the beginning of the journey.

All of us reached back safe and sound... the person to arrive first completed the 42kms in 2:05:00.. while I reached in 2:15:00.

I never believed I could go that far, but making it back and in decent time made me feel great...

Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did, writing about it..

Jan 12, 2009

Trip down the memory Lane

Pune trip.. Woah! we started on 10th morning. reached there safe and sound. Got the room that we always book - the fourth floor room which over looks the FC road down till the end, the hills and greenary across.. thats one of the locations we can always be found in - yes the room at Sheetal hotel. Its just awesome.. can just spend the day there.. three sided huge windows and wonderful lighting.. anyways.. coming off from it.. got the mere necessary things done that Aziza wanted.. ate and made merry.. it was a full moon so enjoyed the rays and had "chandani talks" as we called it.

Got up 6 in the morning.. got ready, packed and 
left for race cource and the uncertainties that lay ahead. 
The race course, though we have it in mumbai too was one of the places I have never gone before to.. huge ground with enthusiast on the horses, riding on the court with so much zeal. They were practicing and keeping the horses in shape.. the condition
 of both the animals and the riders look good.
 I am guessing they make a good living off it. would love to watch a game once in the midst of all the gambling, bets and people with high status and the aura that they carry along with them.

Then we further went around places that we had memories attached to..Sajid maamu lived there for a few years and Raphae, Yasir were born there so there was a lot to see and refresh memories from.. the by lanes, the houses, the people, the habits, the war, the shruwbery biscuits, the budhani's wafers and the shopping at M.G Road.

   Went to the gardens, visited the fountain which was the most relaxing thing in the evening coz by then we had a long day driving and walking around the streets and visiting places.. the sound of the water, the fresh leaves, the ducks and the entire sight of being amidst the greenery was very refreshing... I was kind of charged again.. ehehe!

The experience at the parvati parbat was kind of a big realization of how much stamina i had lost and how much i need to gain back... 108 steep steps to a beautiful temple and being the highest peak led us to see the hole curvature of city and beyond. Beautiful and terrifying both LOL!

All was great.. at 8:30 accelerated to leave pune for mumbai... with Farah having driven the entire day... she was looking forward to an autopilot drive to mumbai.... with speed limits to catch up on, the ghats to glide through and the breaks to depend on. :) as we started approaching the expressway out of pune, the ride got smoother and people started feeling the comfort of the AC. I had to shift my support from talks to the wonderful, songs on my phone. Raphae being next to me gave all directions and a few guidelines to take into consideration on the ghats.... no breaking was something that i felt was unusual on the ghats but when i approached them I understood what exactly he meant..

Driving the entire way in the center lane was smooth, maintained an average of 80kms / hr to reach back to mumbai within 2 1/2 hrs. The experience at the ghats was different than the normal drive though the express way and the tunnels have cut down the steep slope and low gear concepts. The lonavla ghats were a little tricky with having to experience slope with curves and overtaking on both the sides :). All was an experience to remember and first time night drive certificate to carry ahead for more of such travel in the near future..

Hats off to the HCC team for having built the highways taking into consideration the speed limits, the turns and the night vision problems that drivers face while driving... Its a road that I recommend for vacation and long drives on a full moon..

Thats it from me.. writing with a heart filled with excitement and fun... getting back to the concrete world and its worries is undesirable but required.. I would love to stay and create a life in pune.
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Farah
"Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them."