I have a habit of developing tools that help myself out of situations in life that I might have to face again. Like this one for the times when I don’t know what to do. And this one when I feel really really down.

Here are three videos that I stumbled upon, over time that gives me that nudge, when I toss over and hit a wall, that tells me to keep pushing and someday soon the wall will come down. All three of them gives me goosebumps every single time, and I am right back on track!

“Success has been and continued to be defined as getting up one more time than you have been knocked down”

*Goosebumps*

The Salt That Makes Chicken Tastes Better! is a post from: The Kuttappi

When I was in high school I used to do 15 km spells now and then and last March I brought my bicycle to Cochin doing an awesome 38.7 kilometres in 2 hours. I wasn’t hoping to see me up and walking the next day, but surprisingly 39 kms didn’t touch me anywhere. I wanted more.

2011 was an awesome year for me, and I wanted to do something legendary to end the year and cycling challenge topped my list. So this 31st, me and my friend Tison Philip, we decided to go cycling to a city called Alleppey.

The idea was to do a minimum of 100 kms. We packed our bags the previous night:

• A bottle each of water with ORS dissolved to beat de-hydration
• Sunscreen lotion
• A bottle each of 330 ml Red Bull. I wanted to see if I could do this without Red Bull so we decided to keep it to a minimum. Last time, I couldn’t really see any effect of Red Bull.
• Camera and Phone with GPS

The plan was to start really early so as to do as much as we can before the sun gets a chance to burn our skin. We woke up at 4:30, did what we had to do, had Banana’s for breakfast and we were all set by 5:30. We got off exactly at 5:35 a.m.

Breakfast

It was drizzling when we started. It hadn’t rained for a long time, so we were not expecting rains at all and not prepared for it either. The roads were almost clear and we did the first 1.5 hours just riding, it was smooth and we were just warming up.

First Stop at around 25 kms (as per Google My Tracks on my phone) and at that point our Top speed was 24 kmph and average speed at 14.5 kmph.

Next stop, at 34 km for a quick breakfast of Eggs and Coffee. It was time to deviate from the National Highway 47 to a State Highway; we had plans to visit major tourist spots on the way and not just riding.

There was a historic church on the way, named Arthunkal Church at a place called Arthunkal. Its a beautiful church with beach sand in front of it and lots of open spaces. When we reached the church, we had covered 43 kms already. We spent about 30 minutes there and started from there at around 9:45. By the time we started again it was raining pretty heavily and we were all wet. Tison had come up with an ingenious idea to properly pack our backpacks in carry bags and still wear it on our shoulders.

First 43 Kms of the Ride.

Arthunkal Church

Me In Front of Arthunkal Church

(Google My Tracks started malfunctioning from there. The data showed that our maximum speed at 265 kmph. And GPS was sucking up the battery of my Galaxy S2. I checked the route we had to then take to our destination and it said 22 kms from there.)

Next 22 Kms

The rain made the trip even more exciting. We were wet all the time. And it was cloudy all day, so we never had to use the sunscreen. The only downside was we couldn’t take pictures. I managed to get some with my phone, but by the time we reached Alleppey it was raining so bad that the phone got wet and I stuck it up in my backpack. I had carried my DSLR too, which never got a chance to come out.

Our next destination was Mararikulam Beach. We bought Bananas on the way, and went all the way to the beach. Its a beautiful place to be. It was almost empty mostly because it was raining. There were fishermen working on the beach. We also found a great home stay nearby, the cost per night is just 1500 INR and the beach is so close by that it looks like a private beach. Awesome place to be in on a rainy day! Am going there again sometime.

Mararikulam Beach

Red Bull on the Beach

(Later when we were at Alleppey looking for a Toddy shop to have our lunch, one guy told us that we should have tried the Toddy shops at Mararikulam. He said they are awesome. We missed that.)

After about an hour of riding we finally reached Alleppey. 65kms! It was about 11:30 and we went to the beach first. Then when we got really hungry we decided to have lunch. We had Toddy, Tapioca and Fish curry. Awesomeness in a plate! cheap.

Alleppey Beach

Me on Alleppey Beach

Rain Proofing of Backpacks

Lunch called in for a rest and we found a place under a Banyan tree. It was still raining pretty good.

The way back was tedious; we chased back the exact same route. Honestly, there were times when one of us was so tired that we couldn’t move a bit but then the other one kept pushing. We were a great team.

I never really got to know the effect of Red Bull until this day. When I was so tired and couldn’t move a bit, half a bottle of Red Bull would boost everything. One shot would last for the next 30 to 45 minutes.

We did spells of 20 minutes of cycling and then a 5 minute break. My seat was so hard that my butt was seriously hurt. At the point of writing i.e. now, I still have little pain down there esp. when passing over a hump or a bump on my bike.

We were so exhausted that we could actually feel even small rising of the roads that otherwise we wouldn’t notice at all. While climbing up a bridge my leg would start burning up right from my feet up my thigh till my hips; sometimes I couldn’t make it to the top of the climb.

But we still made it, pushed ourselves over and over and had shots of Red Bull and with regular breaks. We got home at around 8:15 covering 130 kms and so much fun! Got rid of our sandy dirty clothes, bathed and fell into the bed. It was time for New Year Celebrations to begin!

We woke up the next day and on contrary to what all our friends said, we were perfectly okay. I am quite happy with myself considering that for the past 5 months I had been sitting on a desk all day long with very little physical activity. Yayy!

More Photos of the Ride

2011 was the Best Year Ever!

The midnight of 2010 December 31′st I was in the Tata Jagriti Yatra, in the train, travelling somewhere from the South to the North. I was sick and spent the night wearing a monkeys cap, watching others dance and occasionally coming over to squeeze the boob on my cap From there, the year went to the heights of awesomeness.

• 2011 started with a bang, the Tata Jagriti Yatra.
• Trip to Mysore with Aswin and Sajay in February.
• Cycling to Cochin, 38.7 kms in 2 hours.
• Weekend Getaway to Ooty on the first week of April with the @Ayruz team.
• Thenmala Trip with @TheAnand in April.
• Day out in Trivandrum, again with @TheAnand in April
• Being a CEO in May!
• BarCamp Bangalore 10 and spending the weekend at Bangalore as a tourist.
• The famous Indonesian Getaway in August!
• Road Trip to Bangalore again with @TheAnand and Tony in October!
• Ending the Year with a bang. Cycling till Ass Bleeds

Best Year ever! Hope I get to say that every year

Resolution Desk

Every year I make a huge list of New Year Resolutions and usually I never beat any. This year, I just had three and I beat them all!

• Learn Swimming: I did learn it. I am not beach or ocean ready yet, but I am not afraid of water anymore, and I can keep myself afloat for a while. That’s something.
• Take Passport and use it: The Indonesian Trip. When I took this resolution my choice of country was Malaysia, but life has its ways I guess.
• Set-up a passive income source: Well, when I wrote this down, I had a different set of ideas. But lately my Blog Million Clues has turned into a passive income source. Adsense and Affiliates are working well and the need for money made me figure out more ways to make money out of it. Necessity is definitely the  mother of all inventions.

Having done them all, I have made a slightly bigger and more challenging list for 2012:

• Learn a New Language.
• Learn Web Design from basics and perfect what I know.
• Sky Dive
• Use my DSLR to take one picture a day. Either upload a picture a day, or upload 7 pictures over the weekend!
• Move from Cochin, too bored of this city, its mosquitoes, dust and traffic.
• Read 5 Books

I wish you a very Happy New Year! Gingalala….

130 Kms of Cycling: Perfect End for an Awesome Year! is a post from: The Kuttappi

Its time that I told you about her. About the girl I fell in love with. I have been hinting you about her for a while, only if you were Tom Riddle’s Diary, you would have already asked me. Let me tell you.

It was a cold Easter eve, 11th March 2009, and I was all set to go to church for the mass that night. That was the time when I was an addict on twitter, so I spent the hours before church that evening online, as usual. I was part of a little gang that included @cheth, @venksh and @dharshana, we were talking about Google Adsense over a hashtag #AdsenseTalk.

The talk really caught on because many people could relate to it and it was about making money online. Everyone loves making money on the internet, though only some actually do. Anyways, people started joining in with the hashtag and eventually it became the top trending topic that night. That is one thing.

More importantly, somewhere in between, a girl got in from somewhere. From that night I remember, she was funny and used to tweet so much and she had some friends too with her. I remember talking to a guy and he said, he is gonna crash (I didn’t know what that meant at that time, but I thought he actually crashed, cuz I never heard from him after that ).

There is one more thing that I remember, when she was signing off, she DM-ed me saying Good Night or said something and called me “Bro” I remember asking her, how come I am already your bro? and she said something like.. I don’t know, what did you say?

Her name is Milana Ryan (@rm1l – FB). I wish I knew what she would turn into for me, I could have recorded every memory, but then that is how life works I guess. You never know.

Here is a thing with me. I have made lots of friends online, actually I have made more friends by meeting them online first rather than meeting them offline. But these friends never stay, esp. the ones that I haven’t met. What do you have to talk to someone when you barely know the person but his/her profile picture and a name?

But somehow the friends I made from Indonesia stayed for long. Oh, btw, Milana is Indonesian. My first friend I made online was @DevyPrameswari, this was in 2005 or 2006 I think, we met on Morange and is still in great contact. There are more – @TengkuDewi @JustDiii @Agnes_Novi @TheoNatalie. I have more friends in Indonesia than in any other country (after India of course, you dumb ass ). There is something about them.

So what was special about Milana? I never got bored of her, even after talking and tweeting day in and day out. And it was so easy talking to her, she would somehow make sure that we are in contact often and I didn’t have to think too much to find ideas to talk (which I really suck at). It just worked and it was beautiful.

Soon, I started looking forward to her and she did many little things for me to keep me interested, little tweets here and there, a poke or two; She always made me feel special. One of the BIG little things she did was make me this video on my birthday last year. And I just loved that video, have seen in a zillion times and every time I smile or cry.

And this and that and this and that, I had a crush on her. I tried to put it down, take it slow, I didn’t want to screw up a friendship, but it just wont go. And then I told her about it and last August I flew to Indonesia. We met, got to know each other better and fell in love so bad. We had a great time. And that’s the love story so far.

Lucky me, I know her as a friend, then as my best friend, and then most importantly I am now knowing her as my lover.

Pictures and Story of the Trip: This Way!

And Its Her Birthday Today!

Its the first after we are together and I know how important this is. But sad, I can’t be with her. If there was a chance, I would be on a flight as I write this, showing up in front of her as a surprize!

“Honey.. Wish you a very Happy Birthday. Remember the promise I gave you, and do trust me on that. I have put together a Video for you. Its our story. I hope you love it and watch it over and over whenever you miss me.”

“I also created a group card for you: HERE!”

“I love you!”

So Dear Diary, that’s the story so far. More will happen and I am sure I will write pages and pages on you with the moments we have and the moments we share. Until then, keep my GF safe. Keep her happy whenever she visits you!

The Milana Ryan is a post from: The Kuttappi

But somehow I never cared about it so much, and whenever someone say that my nails are too small, I would gladly reply with, “Yeah! I bite them all”.

But things changed when I became a CEO and started signing papers. This stuck me once when I was at the bank and was signing a bunch of papers for the account opening. You know, my start-up was registered as a Private Limited, which on itself is a big deal (simply for the matter that it costs anywhere between 20,000 INR and 30,000 just for the registration). And there at the bank, esp. with someone watching over my signatures,  I looked very immature. Yeah! I didn’t have the moustache that I have now to look mature

And that was about the time when I was drawn the the “Fingers Looking Good” nails So I told her one day that I am going to quit biting nails. And I did, haven’t bitten a single nail ever since.

So How Did I Do It?

1. I made a commitment, I told someone that I am going to do it. It’s one of my ways of committing to myself. My ego is big enough to force me to keep my word, even though breaking that word wouldn’t mean much.
2. I cut my nails really really really short, so that I won’t have anything to bite even if I had to. Now you can’t beat that.
3. I always carried my nail cutter in my bag ever since and whenever I feel like biting a nail, I cut the nail again then and there, really short. That works.

Eventually, over time, I lost that instinct to bite my nails. I still do carry a cute nail cutter (which she gifted me) in my bag all the time. My nails have grown in size a bit, but there is still a long way to go.

If you still bite nails, shame on you.

How I Quit Biting Nails. And So You Can Too! is a post from: The Kuttappi

I bet you know the obvious reason for my trip to Indonesia, but the idea of a foreign travel was in my mind since the Feb of 2010 when a friend of mine went to Malaysia for a week’s visit and he said its not that expensive. I was afraid of foreign travel.

• Foreign travels are expensive.
• You have to do an air travel, and airports have security checks. I have heard of airport security holding back people for no reason. (In fact, a friend of my dad was held at some airport in the middle east for over a week).
• I never actually completed the passport application (I have some confusing with my address, different house names); wrong passport details would end me up in trouble.

Things look different now.

The trip involved some serious money. It even started before the trip, I literally had to start from zero. Purchase of clothes, travel accessories, suit case. And I pulled it off quite well, bought the things I always wanted, like the Samsonite Cosmolite Suitcase and 50mm Canon lens. I paid for the trip right out of my pocket and that makes me feel real good about it. It was the first time I work on a fixed target (both in terms of money and time) on this scale.

Foreign travel is expensive, but not as expensive as I thought. Most Asian countries are pretty much the same as Indian cities in terms of living expenses or so am I told.

Air Travel is no big deal. Just make sure that you are not carrying anything illegal (and that includes flowers, seeds, fruits etc, which I didn’t know at that time so I took a flower from here all the way to Jakarta ) and there is nothing to worry about. Keep your eyes open, talk to strangers, don’t trust them though. Keep your money safe.

There was an incident. When I was back in Mumbai after the journey, customs officers asked me too many questions about my baggage. My dad later told me that it could be because of the expensive looking suitcase, and I was dressed in a Kurta and I might have looked suspicious.

The passport application had to be done. And I did it. When I landed in Jakarta, the airport security guy was looking at the picture in my passport and my face multiple times, and it gave me a scare. But that was it.

All these fears are now gone. The trip was a great success on a personal level, I tell myself out of pride, “Dude, you went to Indonesia by yourself, you are awesome!”. And I can do it again. It’s one of the things that blogging taught me, If you can do it once, you can do it again and again.

Enjoy your weekend!

p.s: It was the first time I throw money on myself and I believe it has improved my quality of life, made me more demanding, which is good in a way. The experience was great, it has given me a different perspective of life.

What The Indonesian Trip Did To My Untold Fears is a post from: The Kuttappi

The day started as early as 4 in the morning for me with @theAnand, @BinnyVA and @jluSujith travelling in Anand’s car, cruising at speeds close to 90 kmph, thanks to the empty early morning roads. We had breakfast on the way and reached the campus at 9:30. As expected, @praseed3point14 was already at the venue.

Its my second time at IIM-K for a barcamp. The campus is spread over around 265 acres (I think) and its awesome!

View From the Venue

The turn out was really low, and we were told that a train from Cochin reaches at 10:45, so we waited for them, but in the meantime the real essence of barcamp happened. We started discussing random things starting with career advice, dating advice, then went to technology and other interests.

I took a break and took the opportunity to explore the campus a bit with Binny and Sujith. When we returned, the hall was full. magic. Praseed Pai was already talking. His session titled “IITs & IIMs – Are they (still) Socially Relevant ?” spurred discussions. He pointed out that students who miss admission to IIT or IIM are also equally or even more capable than the ones that get it, but still the society gives undue importance to IIT and IIM passouts.

Praseed was followed by Hari K T, with his session on “Integrating FB”. He explained how to connect with FB using its Graph API.

I was the next in line. After fixing some technical issues with the projector and fixing a crashed presentation (thanks to my Technical team lead @BinnyVA) I started off with my Presentation – “How to Print Dollars with Your PC”. When I was in college I have spent so many hours trying to make a buck online but it took me 3 years to succeed. I wanted to give them some easy quick ways to make money online. I wasn’t teaching them fishing, I gave them some fishes.

The presentation went well, it was taken well too! Here are my slides:

After lunch, Shwetank from Opera took his session, “HTML 5 and Beyond”. What interested me was the beyond part of the presentation where he gave demo of stuffs that Opera is working on. Like using the device orientation and the gyroscope to control variables on screen. He gave a sneak peak into the future of what the internet experience will look like. Future is waiting!

Shwetank on Stage

Now it was time for extempore sessions. Binny gave a talk on his latest project MADapp. And Praseed recommened some of the books he have read.

When it was time, we took the group shot and said our good byes. In total it was an elegant clean event. Nothing was wrong.

My day was no where near over. On our way back to Cochin, we spotted a carnival (somewhere on the way) and went in. We went on rides and had a crazy evening before I slept off like a dead man in the car.

Next thing I know, I am home and dinner was there. I think Anand paid for it. Danks!

BarCamp Kerala 11 at IIM-K – A Memoir is a post from: The Kuttappi

Obvious Questions:

Why did you go?
Well, in Airport Customs Terms, Purpose of visit was a social visit. Meeting Friends and leisure. It was on my new year resolution this year to Get my Passport and to use it. I had been trying to get a Passport since I was 18, but each time I would give up since I had some complication in my address. But this time I did it!

Why Indonesia?
I don’t know if its me or them, but the friends I have from Indonesia seem to stick. I have made friends from various parts of the world, but most of them never stayed. Visiting Indonesia was in my Bucket List and hence it was my first choice. (Nah, you know I am lying

And how long did you stay?
12 days. Reached Jakarta on 11th August. Visited Jakarta, Bali and Bandung. Returned from Jakarta on 23rd August.

The Pre-Vacation

This was the first time I leave the country, and the second time getting on a plane, I was so excited right from the start. Here is the thing, I wanted to pay for the whole trip by myself, and that’s what happened. So the trip was a huge success even before it started.

As opposed to popular belief, being a CEO of a start-up is not high paying in financial terms. I had to make full use of my 24 hours aggressively going after freelance projects and other things I used to do when I was in college to meet the target. This was the first time I work for money. Oh, am not saying that I don’t otherwise work for money, I do! I love making money but this time I had a target in mind. And I well exceeded that!

So the day came, on 9th of August, I flew to Mumbai. There were two intentions visiting Mumbai. First, my flight to Jakarta was from Mumbai. I was flying on Air Asia, and yes, they have service from Cochin. But when you book if you are flying from Cochin, it takes you Kaula Lumpur first and you have to book the next flight as a separate booking. But if you are flying from Mumbai, you have option to book it as a through flight. Flying from Cochin was much cheaper, but I choose Mumbai to be on the safer side.

So I reached Mumbai, took a rickshaw to the nearest railway station. I was in Mumbai last December for the Tata Jagriti Yatra, so I was quite familiar with their Metro Rail system (but I ended up travelling in the First Class of the metro on the cheaper ticket and didn’t realize that until later, luckily there was no checking that day ). I had to get the metro to Virar, thats where my friend Sumit lives. I would be spending my time in Mumbai with him. His parents are very guest-friendly and treated me so well. I really hope I get a chance to give them back someday.

Me and Sumit

Here is the second reason to visit Mumbai. Sumit had started a shop that sells Idli’s and I wanted to see it. They have about 12 different varieties of idli’s and I got to try one. I said, the girl who marries Sumit is so lucky, cuz he is such a good cook

Virar is quite far from Mumbai but just like Mumbai, its a mess. I went out the second morning to take print outs of my Boarding pass and I should say, once or twice I got terrified. I even felt like there were people following me, maybe I was being paranoid because I had cash with me as dollars in my pocket which I couldn’t afford to loose. I survived.

When it was the time for me to go to the Airport, Sumit dropped me at the station, then took the metro again and a rickshaw to the Airport. On the way I brought a pink rose, I wanted to buy something for that someone from India. The rickshaw wala charged me around Rs 200 for what appeared like a Rs 50 trip. I was a tourist there, I had little choice but to pay.

Up Above The Sky So High..

The Air Asia flight to  Kaula Lumpur took off at about 11 that night, the 10th of August. The view of Mumbai is awesome at night, too bad I left my camera in my bag.

I was in my seat and then this thing happens.. a cute girl sits right next to me. I was like, okay, this is interesting, you know.. I should say hi. Now then she says, Hi and I was like. .dood, today is your lucky day.

Twist in the story, she asks me, are you travelling alone? I said yes. Then, Could you please exchange seat with my bf? *play the dumb background music now*.

I slept off in my new seat, sitting right next to an old guy. I reached KL by around 5 in the morning next day. I walked down the flight and touched an international soil for the first time. After the formalities, and making sure that my luggage would be transported to the next flight, I was waiting near the gates and then it happens. When the time comes, you have to leave behind your everything and attend the call.. The Nature Call..

I wanted to be ready for something when I reach Jakarta, so I had carried necessary stuffs in my back pack. I went to the rest room (they have it really clean) and answered the call, brush and got ready and it was time for the next flight.

Two hours later I landed on the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Spot-Light On. Action

Here she comes.. Milana Ryan. Among the reasons for choosing Indonesia, I purposefully missed one and that is Milana Ryan. If you do not have a smile on your face by now, then you do not know yet. Will make you smile later

She was picking me up at the Airport. So here I was just outside at the arrival and here comes taxi drivers with their offers, its the same everyone. I told one guy that someone will come pick me up and then he offered me his phone, I knew that was a trap and said No. I was looking for a public phone and this guy wont leave me. He took me to a security guard and made the guard give me his phone. I took it and called Milana and she said she will be here in 30 mins. Now this guy wanted tip and I said I don’t have your money. He said dollars would do. I had no intention to pay him, so I said a NO right on his face and he was insulted. Tourists do have rights, you know?

Now I found a way to get rid of the Taxi wala’s. Stand still at one spot. The moment you start rolling your luggage they will come after you, but if you just stay, you are invisible to their preying eyes.

I waited and waited and texted and waited. She was stuck in traffic. I ran out of my credit on my phone and so I decided to look for a public phone. Went to the money changer and got some change, and made the call. She said she was at the airport and then it happened.

I came out of the public phone booth and there she was with a big smile! We met! (whoops!) Then she took me to my hotel.

Jakarta! Bali! Bandung!

Jakarta is beautiful with big wide roads and huge sky scrapers and cross roads. They have something at every junction, statues, waterfalls and beautiful structures. We met our mutual friends, @TengkuDewi, @DevyPrameswari and Amal, @JustDiii, @Agnes_Novi and @TheoNatalie over the next three days before leaving to Bali.

Bali is a tourist hot spot. You see tourists everywhere, babes in bikinis, guys with surfing boards, young and old. Bali has a lot of Hindu architecture though out and mostly everywhere feels like the ocean.

Bandung is a cold city. Its the capital of Java Island and is just 3 hours away from Jakarta.

The events of the story where intentionally truncated to protect the privacy of its actors. Here is some trivia:

• Before the trip, everyone told me that things would be really cheap over there. Guys, Indians are the cheapest. Nothing is cheap in Indonesia, except for Petrol (INR 22) and Diesel (INR 15). Maybe I didn’t look where I should be looking. But if you got bucks, then they got stuffs that you will love to take back home.
• Jakarta is the Capital of Indonesia, Bandung, the capital of Java Island and Bali is a tourist hot spot. The country looks clean and developed.
• People in Indonesia looked happy to me, in the malls and on the streets. And they have a sense of respect for each other. Like, when I was in Jakarta in a mall, I found some people gently giving me a bow when we made eye contact. And when in Bandung, the drivers slow down the cars for me to pass by. Things like that rarely happens in Cochin.
• They talk too much. I went to the Bank with Milana in Jakarta and she was talking to the clerk and they talked for like 2-3 minutes. All they said was fill up this form No one talks in Banks here in India, its like everything is understood.
• They have a common language called Bahasa throughout Indonesia. They do have different languages in different islands, like Balinese in Bali, but everyone knows Bahasa. So if you learn Bahasa, you can survive everywhere.
• Taxi is expensive in Indonesia. A 10km ride can cost you INR 500 in Bali (this is an approximate). They have metered taxi’s so at least you can know that you are not being cheated.
• Mercedes Benz is taxi there, of course its more expensive. Toyota Camry is the more popular cheaper one.
• I tried some of their dishes. One thing in common, unlike south Indian dishes where each item is served separately in different bowls, they have everything in a single bowl. They sure know how to cook!
• If you don’t wake up early enough, you will miss the complimentary morning Breakfast at the hotel

Starbucks!

I do have a bucket list and this trip cleared off many from it. Visiting friends in Indonesia was one of them.

We met Devy at a Starbucks in a mall in Jakarta and I wanted to try something original, this being my first time at Starbucks. I ordered the Strongest coffee they had and I got it served in a tinie tiny test-tube It sucked big time, tasted like I dont know.. who would drink that?

On the last day of the trip, I had something else from Bandung and that tasted more like coffee. Check!

Chickkkkenn at KFC!

I had my first KFC in Bali. Well, there is KFC in Cochin but I never got  a chance to have one. It had to come from Bali, who would have thought that? Chicken tastes the same everywhere, just awesome! Interestingly KFC costs the same as in India.

In Bahasa, Chicken is Ayam. There was a lot of KFC involved in the trip and one lady was kind enough to give me a whole sheet of KFC stickers!

Things I Learnt About Flying Abroad

• Flying to Mumbai (from Cochin) and then to Jakarta was a bad idea. First it cost you to fly to Mumbai. Then the distance to Jakarta from Mumbai is more than the distance from Cochin, so the flight charges are more. I could have saved about 15,000 rupees if I had flown to Kaula Lumpur (all Air Asia flights fly to Kaula Lumpur first) and then if I had booked a connection flight separately to Jakarta.
• Air Travel is cheap within India if you book well in advance, thanks to the Cheap Flights. I flew to Mumbai in Spice Jet (about Spice Jet, they are cheap and they are cheap. I am told that its better than many other cheap flights, but I should try Kingfisher next time). It costs be INR 4800 for flight from Cochin to Mumbai and back. thats just 2400 one side and the total flight including the time spent at airport is about 2.5 hours. Travelling by 2nd class A/C train takes 36 hours and costs 1600-1800 bucks. When you consider the time saved, plus you are flying, plus you arrive fresh, plus you don’t have to use those smelly toilets, flying is a better option.
• Air Asia is cheaper than most other flights, but they are actually really good. Okay, now my frame of reference is obviously Spice Jet since I haven’t tried any other airlines. Still, you know when something is good right? I would really recommend Air Asia. I am told that if you are planning a vacation, keep checking their website for offers at least 6 months in advance and sometimes they give you terrific deals. I have heard the story of a guy who paid a little over INR 5,000 for flight up and down to Australia from Cochin.
• Flights can be really cold at night, and Air Asia charges you pretty well for Blankets and neck support. It’s good if you can bring your own Blanket and that inflatable Neck support. I had wondered why Flights advertised Flat Beds in their Business class so much, c’mon its a flight. But once you are up in the air, it can get pretty un-comfortable.
• There is nothing to be worried about the formalities at the airport. You need your ticket and Passport to get past the guard at the entrance. Next walk to the counter for your specific flight and they will guide you from there. No big deal, just go with the flow.
• Tourist Visa for Indonesia was Visa-On-Arrival. Pay the amount (it was $25 for 30 days) and you get the visa. Again, No big deal.
• When you fill in the Arrival Form, there is a Departure From with it too. You will get it sealed from the Emigration. KEEP IT SAFE. You will need it while you leave the country. And no one will tell you to keep it till you leave. I was collecting everything including boarding passes, and hence I had it with me. On my way back from Jakarta the officer asked me for it and I couldn’t find it at first. So I asked him is it that important? and he replied, You cannot leave this airport without that!
• Telephone charges are the lowest in India I think. Even local calls are expensive ( as compared to Indian rates) in Indonesia. A call from Indonesia to India would cost INR 120 from mobile. (If you call Indonesia mobile from Airtel in Kerala, its INR 6.40 or 10 depending on your SIM). Airtel has roaming in Indonesia, its INR 100 per minute for incoming. Good thing is, SMS incoming is free. SMS outgoing costs INR 25 to India or Indonesia.
• When you buy dollars, get some change, as in 5$ bills. I had 1$ and I exchanged them at the airport for-ex to make local calls.
• Do not use the Money Changer at the airport. Their conversion rates are always lower than the outside rates. Go to a local bank or you could find Money Changers in the malls and other public places. They give better conversion rates.

Photos

The Indonesian Trip was an experience of a lifetime. If I say anything more, It would be an understatement.

From Indonesia with Love is a post from: The Kuttappi

Out-li-er

1. something that is situated away from our classed differently from a main or related body.
2. a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample.

Outliers is the story of People who have achieved immense success and the connection of their Success to their own talents, their time of birth and their family history. The book shows how one’s success is closely dependent on his surroundings, the people he is with and the time in history he is born and most importantly his family.

There are not many thing that you can change on your path to Success. Most of them have been already decided. Probably by the time you are reading this, you already have a career and if you think of it most of your decisions in life were based on your interaction with your family, and your immediate surroundings. The only thing you can change is your surroundings. And that will make most of the difference.

One Single take away from Outliers: It takes 10,000 hours to be an expert at anything you do and being an expert at it (whether it be playing Piano, or sketching your neighbour) depends much on your willingness to constantly challenge yourself and much less on your inborn talents and skills. If you are willing to put in that effort, and identify the opportunity for your big break and take the risk to take the plunge, you are on your way to be an Outlier.

Do your thing!

Buy the Book: on Amazon.

Book Recommendation : Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell is a post from: The Kuttappi

The greatest of all would be living away from home. I never had to stay away from home for a considerably long time during school or college days, but soon after college I moved to Cochin. Stayed at two places so far, so far so good.

Among the stuffs I got involved with: SSH was a big failure, sitting at home and working is not for me. Then I got involved with Smiley Card which was my attempt to get offline, but I ended up being a failure. But it was worth it, made me realize I was not an offline guy which contradicted what I thought about myself before. And taught me a lot of Life Lessons.

Following which, I went to start a venture with which I am right now. So far so good, its a Get Rich or Go Broke plan! Thats the fun part

Being free from college routine let me travel a lot, of which the Tata Jagriti Yatra was the greatest of all! Btw, registration for TJY 2011 are open, this way -> jagritiyatra.com

Now busy writing the story for next year!

Looking back! is a post from: The Kuttappi

Somehow, I wanted to see the city. I have had many chances to go there, but it never happened, so when I had to go there for some paper-work for my start-up, I made it a point to go out and see the city.

It happened on last 27th, the month of April, with @theAnand.

We set off in an early morning passenger train to Trivandrum, reached by around 10. The official stuffs was done in an hour and we were off to see the city.

Rickshaw Wala!

Kerala Legislative Assembly

At the Zoo

At the Zoo Again

We spent most of the day at the zoo, and later when it was dark, we went to eat. Had awesome chicken from a place called ‘Zam Zam’. More pics..

Later, we missed our trains back home, slept in the Waiting room and came back to Cochin in a early early morning train.

p.s: Later this week, I went to Trivandrum again

Day out in Trivandrum! is a post from: The Kuttappi