Completed Publising all my Blogs!

I have completed publishing all my earlier blogs in this website. Many of you are aware that Yahoo closed its blogging website during the recession. I had to save all my blog content and manually upload it in this website.

Not sure, how long this website retains my content. But once this decides to close, I have to shift all my blogs to another site!

Now, I have to open another site!!

Trees fallen to Glory: Published on 08 February 2009

Trees like this are remembered for the magnitude of devastation which was caused by Cyclone Nagris during May 2008. It is estimated that around 70% of the trees were destroyed by the cyclone in Yangon city.

The winds between 165- 210 Kmph shattered the whole infrastructure of southern Myanmar, and many trees and roofs are uprooted.

But the capital, Naypyidaw which is carved out of the jungle successfully escaped the disaster. Some people say that the reason for shifting the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw is the prophesy by some famous soothsayer. They told the rulers that soon a political unrest, and a natural disaster will succumb Yangon. Both became true with the political unrest in 2007, and disaster in 2008!

Sule Pagoda, Yangon: Published on 08 February 2009

This is the first place I have visited after coming to Myanmar. As you know, Myanmar is famous for its Pagoda-studded landscape, and so rightly called as 'The Land of Pagodas'.

This 'Sule Pagoda' is said to be more than 2000 years old, and the British used this landmark to plan for rebuilding the city in Grid pattern during 1880's. It is believed that the Golden dome contains a hair given by Buddha to two traveling Burmese traders. This 48 meter dome is made by pure Gold, and is used as meeting place to design the big one- Shwedagon Pagoda. Sule Pagoda was built in the typical Burmese Mon style, with four entrances facing the four compass points.

As we went around, each and every corner of this octagonal monument represented a day in the week, where people offer waters! So, if you are born on Friday, you need to go to Friday corner and offer water. Yes, I know your question. Myanmar has a belief of having 8 days a week, where Wednesday is divided into two.

The area is covered with a number of small shops of various kinds, and in the entrance it looks more commercial than spiritual. You can keep your sandals at the entrance for a fee, or carry them around in a polythene bag.

I am trying to estimate how much Gold is required to make this Pagoda... may be around 10 Tons!

My 100th Blog: Published on 06 February 2009

This is my 100th Blog!

I have started this blog on 5th December 2006 primarily to write something about my work. But, as days gone by, this blog included a bit about my personal, family, work and friends. It's hard to separate all these parts of life lol!

Yes, it took more than 26 months to complete 100 entries, meaning each blog took an average of 8 days to write. It may be a pathetic performance, but a person like me, who can't sit and write, this should be a good beginning. Another factor to consider is consistency, which reflects on times where there is no blog for many months.

My blogs vary from work life to personal life, Technical stuff to reflections around variety of issues. There is a fine balance between various kinds of blogs and the detailed breakdown is as follows:

20 Personal Blogs
21 Technical Blogs
30 Work-life Blogs
29 Reflection Blogs

I also have visitors clock, and it took two months to get my first 100 visitors, roughly 1.5 visitors a day. The flow of visitors picked up subsequently and I had 1000 visitors with in 4.5 months, which averages to 7.5 visitors a day. As of now, the visitors clock is ticking at 8167, that means over all, 10 people are visiting my blog every day!

I don't know how popular this Yahoo blog is, and how long Yahoo hosts this blog site. My biggest fear is that what happens when Yahoo shuts down this blog site!

So thanks guys, who provided constant encouragement by reading and commenting on my blogs, and kudos for Yahoo for hosting my silly writings!!

I am in Myanmar now! Published on 13 January 2009

I am so excited to see that this blog site is not blocked. The first and the biggest shock for me after my arrival is that many of the websites are blocked in this country. But it takes a little while before getting adjusted to the system here.

I had a different view of Myanmar before I came here. Yangon, is the safest city in all of SE Asia. Though its the biggest city in Myanmar, Its clean and have no traffic jams. The airport is also very modern, though it has only four 'Aero Bridges'.

The city is full of skyscrapers, and the roads with in the city are very good. Since its very expensive to own a car, there are very few cars on the road, most of them very old. There is a good and reliable public transport system, both road and train with in the city and the suburbs.

As I begin to explore the country, I will try to share them with you all frequently as long as I can. As I will be using restrictive language, you might need to read between the lines.

A European Village in the Middle of Asia: 17 November 2008

I was not able to view the city from Doi Suthep but saw the city from the flight both in the day and night, have not eaten 'Kao Soi' but have eaten chicken delicacy, have not purchased an Umbrella from 'Bo Sang', but brought some toffees from Tescos for my kids.

This is Chiang Mai and I have instantly fell in love with the city. If I had an option, this is one of the cities which I would like to live. Just reminding of an European town with cool weather all round the year, its a clean city with lush green surroundings. Though less cosmopolitan, a charming city and a perfect place for an expatriate to settle down. Located 700 Km north of Bangkok, its the fifth largest city in Thailand and is also called the 'Rose of North'

The town is set in the plains, surrounded by beautiful hills on all the sides. But they say that its the town which was continuously inhabited since the 13th century when the ancient civilization if Siam is founded. People who come there, will never like to leave. You can walk in plain cotton clothes, and feel the cool and clean breeze touching the cheeks. I bet, your hair will stand, and would instantly cuddle, if there were some one near by.

The people of Chiang Mai speak Thai, but some times a dialect called 'Kham Muang' among themselves. They have their own script, which is not being used today expect by scholars. The people are friendly and cosy with pleasant lifestyle. They try to spend time in the parks, gardens and community centers. A blend of snow white skinned Chinese and brown skinned Thai, every body enjoys life there. The mothers are running around their kids, the young are learning break dance, the old are sitting quietly looking at the infinite greenery surrounding them.

I think, I visited there at the right time, to see candles floating in the air every where. Its so exciting to spot and count the candles, I stopped after 52....Locally called 'Khom Fai', these hot air lanterns lit the night sky, competing with the bright full moon. The locals told that its a festival called 'Yi Peng', but in Bangkok they are calling as 'Loi Kratong'. As I reached my hotel, the staff are busy decorating with variety of material, and told that they are looking forward to it. They have made small ship like containers with banana leaves, decorated it with some flowers and candles before leaving into the river 'PING'.

I love Chiang Mai................

Netaji Subash Chandra Bose International airport: Published on 17 November 2008

Sitting in the NSCBI Airport, Kolkata, I feel like I fell off in the garbage from a glass house. I have just flew from spotless RGIA at Hyderabad, which have set standards in Indian Aviation Industry. Just read a large banner which reads- 'Modernization of airports with out Privatization', and it seems that there is a conference in the second week of this month in New Delhi. Surprisingly, the hand written and hand woven white cloth banner is replaced by DTP printed rexine cloth. Why not, when Advani finally started his website?

The people are crowded every where in the airport, and there are endless long queues every where. It looks like people from this side of the world are more disciplined, while in other places there will be less chances to exhibit discipline. The queue started in the entrance itself, and near x-ray, check in, security check, Immigration, and on and on.. In every counter, grim faced pawn chewing 'Officers' look at you with a question mark- Why did you come here?

The toilets are stinking, and before I got out of toilet, I got used to. Its very powerful smell, making me impotent to get angry! Immediately after the wedding, we were changing trains at Kolkata railway station on our way to Bihar. The stink is so overwhelming, and my wife collapsed instantly and became un conscious.

After the immigration, there is only one coffee vendor for some 400 people who were exhausted standing in several queues. As I went to have coffee, the vendor is very busy, and along with others I asked again and again for coffee. He was annoyed and told.. one minute sir! Yes, I didn't realize that I have to patiently wait in the queue. The vendor finally placed a paper glass under the automatic vending machine and pressed some button. The he just jumped off and brought a milk packet from the fridge. Keeping his hands every where, he tore off the polythene milk packet with the same hand. While the milk spilled all over, he poured the remaining into the coffee machine.

Meanwhile a girl came and asked for a Tea. He looked at her grudgingly and told that there is no tea. On the other side he put a large spatula into an old sugar can and poured around 50 grams of sugar into a coffee cup. The cup is then put under a steam pipe which made loud noise. Finally, an espresso coffee is made in 660 seconds manually, using an automatic vending machine.

The finest Airline- Kingfisher: Published on 17 November 2010

First time, I have ever flown in Kingfisher Airlines, which is quite a good experience. Apart from fine red clad girls, the airlines is a true competitor to Jet Airways. There was no confusion through out my journey. I have booked my ticket online, which I have received an e-ticket. I also got an SMS in my mobile informing the confirmation of my booking. As I didn't take the print out, I just threw my mobile at one of the kingfisher counters at the airport. The staff smiled and gave a print out in flat 25 seconds, by which I have gained the entry to the airport after tallying with my Driving License.

As I went near the check in counters, the staff again escorted me to appropriate counter, where I have given my ticket to the check in staff. The staff are well groomed and I have also taken a frequent flyer form which was instantly entered in their system.

The cabin is clean, and each seat have personal TV system with around 6 channels to select from, including GPS location map. The excitement came when the cabin crew brought gift wrapped Pen and ear phones for every 'Guest'. There was welcome Juice, delicious Dinner and Coffee/tea. The flight left and touched down exactly on time, and we collected checked in baggage after landing.

The fare is quite reasonable at Rs. 7,712 for a single journey refundable ticket. Right now there are only three airlines Indian, Kingfisher and Jet Airways. As there are serious efforts to have 'close' collaboration between Kingfisher and Jet Airways, the quality and the price may not sustain for a long time.

Congratulations Obama! Published on 05 November 2008

349- 162, It's a huge margin! A clear majority both in the Senate and the House of Representatives. While Obama got 52.4% votes, Mc Cain was able to garner only 46.3% of the votes.

What is interesting is that Republicans won most of the impoverished southern and central parts (Except Florida), while Democrats won the affluent north and coastal belts. Is this means that the poor wanted Mc Cain to rule them, or the influence of Evangelicals in those areas?

Any way its clear that the US, in line with the whole world needs a change, a change of not only a person, but the system. Its a celebration for many who made this change happen, but lets remember, its only a beginning!!

Spanish Designs: Published on 13 May 2010

These days, we are quite busy with designing Pipe Bridge. Out of several options, we have finally selected 'Suspension' type bridge with steel cables because the span is around 25 meters. Bridge with H-beams are ok till 15 meters or so.

While we were collecting several designs, we got a design which is drafted in Spanish. First of all, I didn't understand whether its Espanol or Francis. So I went to one of my French colleague and she told that it should be either Italian or Spanish. I fixed an appointment with a Spanish friend who works in European Union office near by. I got it translated with him, and now in the process of finalizing the concept for the Pipe Bridge.

Minnie in Taman Sari: Published on 13 May 2010

There are new attractions in Banda Aceh. Now when you go to local park with your children, Mickey and Minnie will come to play. You can talk to them, dance with them, and finally have a picture with them. But in the end, you know what happens with the children- they started pulling Minnie’s panties!

The New Hyderabad International Airport: Published on 13 May 2010

Finally, I flew in and out of the new ‘Rajiv Gandhi International Airport’ in Hyderabad during last week of April. We, the residents of Hyderabad were eagerly waiting for the inauguration of the airport, and brought some property around that.

During the introduction, there was much hype about the airport, being compared to world class airports of Singapore and Hong Kong.

For me, this is the smallest airport I have seen which are built in modern times. It’s pretty similar to Kuala Lumpur airport, but have just 7 aircraft hangers for both international and domestic. There are only two baggage belts for International and two for domestic terminals, which are of course, looks different. But, may due to the initial days, it takes an hour to get your bag!!

There are electronic feedback terminals, from which I have given my feedback, but still I am waiting for an acknowledgment through my email.

The airport is way out of the city, far from the civilization, have a steep landing angle (33 degrees) and very expensive. But its cosy, tidy and world class. The good thing is that its just the first phase of construction. Looking forward to see a ‘Aerotropolitan’ which spreads like a wild fire from the airport area!

Banda Aceh 803rd Anniversary: 13 May 2010

Banda Aceh city celebrated its 803^rd Anniversary. There were week long celebrations starting from Elephant Ride by the Governor of Aceh.

The most interesting thing is the ‘Fashion Show’. Since it’s a conservative area, all the women need to cover their head, arms and feet. So the girls in the fashion show were dressed beautifully with out violating any dress code. The head is covered with beautiful throne made out of flowers, and they look quite pretty. The girls are students of Senior High School.

Water Pressure et.,al; Published on 26 February 2007

When the water flows through the pipe, it requires sufficient pressure which is created by the elevation difference between the inlet and outlet. If the difference in elevation between the inlet and the out let is more, the water pressure will be high.

High water pressure is required to keep the pipe free from algae, silt and debris, thus prevents clogging. High pressure also increases the velocity of water, and will prevent air locks etc.,

But what do you do when you don't have the luxury of sufficient difference in elevation? that means when you have to transport water from one place to another which is in similar height?

We are exactly having the same problem here. The elevation difference between the source and the distribution point is merely 10 meters. 6 meters will be lost in building a filter and reservoir, while another 3 meters is a head loss bringing down the effective elevation difference to 1 meter. That means, water may or may not flow!

The first issue is to reduce elevation losses due to the construction of filter and reservoir. We have gained 70 cm height by building a dyke across the spring, and installed collection chamber 25 cm above the zero level. We have replaced 'slow sand filter' with 'sand screen filter' which is 25 cm below the collection chamber. We also have decreased the height of the water tank from 4 meters to 2 meters, maintaining the same volume. So, the total elevation loss till here is only 2 meters.

The second issue is head-loss. Head loss is the loss of water pressure due to the friction when the water travels from one end to the other. It depends on the type of pipe, the length of pipe, the diameter, the number of bends, joints etc.,

To minimize the head loss, we have increased the diameter of the pipe to 160 mm, used GI pipe which has less friction and used the shortest but costly route to reduce the length. This brought down the head-loss to 0.88 meters. Now we have elevation difference of 7.1 meters which is great!

Pressure in Water Piping Network: Published on 25 February 2007

We are installing piping network in a village for water supply from a near by spring. Mid way through the works, we have recognized that we don't have sufficient pressure to cater all the households. So we started panicking and trying to relocate the reservoir to another place which is better location.

Meanwhile, the contractor came to us and telling that the people are asking hefty amounts of money to allow the pipe to pass through their field. So, we are asking the contractor to increase the depth of laying the pipes. But it looks like he has to dig the trench with hand, because the excavator will not be able to come through the valley.

Will keep posted further developments!!

Crisis in Kenya: Published on 25 February 2010

The recent crisis in Kenya are an indication that no country is immune to internal conflicts. Unless the countries are governed by Justice, they are not going to stand.

Kenya is the seat of United Nations in Africa with the headquarters of UNEP as well as UNHABITAT. Its almost true that there is no International Charity with out an office in Nairobi. With such a huge international presence for several years from now, its surprising to see the most basic form of conflicts occurring with in the country. Also, the way the armed groups of people celebrating through out the country is also astonishing.

For many of us, Nairobi is the safest place in most of the impoverished Africa. Its comparatively safe and liberal with an easy access from different parts of the world. Its also grown up to be a cosmopolitan city with many facilities, cultures and religions exist. But the recent incidents show that there is little impact of all these developments in Kenyan society.

So, what brings the change??

Lamtamot Barracks: Published on 10 February 2010

Last week, I went to one of our barrack locations in a far off mountain area called 'Lamtamot'. Since the village is very remote, the barrack people did not have basic facilities for a long time. We used to supply water with tankers, and tried several futile attempts to pump water from a stream down below.

One fine day, we discovered a spring in nearby mountains, and we build a spring development structure and connected the pipes to every toilet. Now I was so happy to see clean water available in their door step 24 hours a day.

Apart from that, the barrack is so clean with gravel path ways, underground drainage and toilet and wash areas for every block of houses. This picture is taken last week, in the peak of rainy season......

Wedding in the villages: Published on 10 February 2008

We went to our village 'Antervedi Palem' in India to spend few days with our family members. There we went to a wedding in a near by village which belongs to some of our relatives. In those villages, the weddings are conducted in their own houses, where the Church Pastor comes to the house and perform wedding ceremony. They decorate the roads like this in the above picture with names of the bride and groom in local language 'Telugu'

Trip to India December 2007: Published on 10 February 2007

We went to India for Christmas and spend around a month there. We have to change 3 flights and travel for around 15 hours to reach India. We have to travel from Banda Aceh to Medan by Garuda Indonesia Airlines, Medan to Kualalumpur by Malaysian Airlines and from Kualalumpur to Hyderabad by Malaysian Airlines.

While coming back, we gave our passports to 'Sheriff Express travels' in Hyderabad for arranging travel back to Indonesia. But they messed up our visas and delayed our travel by 4 days, which caused serious problems for us.

International Community School: Published on 10 February 2008

My Son Sauriya is 6 years old now, and studies in a school called 'Bunga Matahari International School'. Since there is no school for expatriate kids in Banda Aceh, few parents got to gather and started this school in one of their houses.

We hire expatriate teachers and pay their monthly salary. Actually, its like a Kindergarten school, but now as the kids became 6 years, we have started grade-1 using American Curriculum. Over all, we follow montosseri method of teaching.

Milad 4th December: Published on 03 December 2007

Milad is the anniversary of the declaration of Achenese Independence. It is a significant date in the local political 'conflict calendar'.The Declaration of Independence of Aceh was made at Tjokkan Hill, Tiro in Pidie by Hassan di Tiro on 4 Dec 1976. 4 Dec was chosen as the date to make the declaration because it was the day after Dutch forces killed the last Head of State of Acheh, Tengku Tjhik Maat di Tiro (Hasan di Tiro's uncle) in the battle of Alue Shot, Pidie in 1911.

The declaration of Independence came to a halt in 2005 with a peace agreement brokered between Indonesian Government and GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, Free Aceh Movement).

One of the significant events on this day is hoisting ‘Bulan Bintang’ Flag (the flag of Free Aceh Movement). The police and the military met with KPA (Aceh Transitional Committee) leaders and was agreed that there would be no hoisting of the Flag. Meanwhile GAM (Free Aceh Movement) Aceh Besar planned to celebrate the ‘Milad’ with ‘Kenduri’ (ritual meal) with hundreds orphan of GAM members who died during the conflict. KPA says that there might be some activities by some individuals, but this spirit will slowly fade away.

COP-13 Starting today: Published on 03 December 2007

UNFCCC COP-13 is starting today. Our organization is participating with a global contingent consisting of 1 person from every region. The team is lead by International Climate Change Coordinator Mr. Charles Enhart, who is based in Kenya.

This year, climate Change was highlighted like never before, and 5 heads of states are expected to participate. The most dramatic participation is from the newly elected Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd. Till last week, Australia was against the climate Change negotiations under the earlier Prime Minister. But now the tables turned, and Australia came into the fold of rest of the world, mercilessly isolating USA.

The newspapers are full of Climate Change. The English news paper 'Jakarta Post' is carrying special supplement every day for these two weeks. Its even delivered free to all the hotels in Bali!

I am presently involved in making Climate Change Strategy for our organization, which I hope can finish by the end of this week.

Sauriya's 6th Birthday: 13 November 2007

I have just realized that I forgot to write about Sauriya's birthday party on 13th September at our house. All his school friends and neighbors came for the party with their families!

We had food, drinks, snacks and gifts for all the children. Sauriya also got many gifts from his friends. But, it took 2 days for us to clean the whole house!!

Syahrul's 2nd Birthday: 13 November 2007

Syahrul turned 2 yesterday, and we had a small celebration in our house. 3 neighborhood children are the guests. A small and cute cake, with two candles is the only menu for the party!

Both our children are not feeling well, so we didn't plan for any party. Last year also, we were not able to celebrate his birthday since I was away. Poor chap!!

Flood Preparedness: Published on 13 November 2007

We had the 'Flood Preparedness Meeting' called by our Governor Mr. Irwandi, in collaboration with UN. The Head of UN is from India, and is very dynamic personality. The meeting discussed about flood scenario of Aceh Province, and how to move ahead.

In Indonesia, a Government department called SATKORLAK is responsible for flood management and mitigation. The average rainfall in Aceh Province varies from 1500 mm in the east to 4500 mm in the west. Every year, around 1000 ha is being affected by the floods. Its minuscule when compared to India.

RAKORNAS: Published on 30 October 2007

We are just having an annual formal meeting with the Government of Indonesia, and Aceh program is hosting that. Its called 'RAKORNAS' meaning 'National Coordination Meeting' and in Bahasa it is 'Rapat Koordinasi Nasional'. This is the 18th National meeting which is hosted jointly by the provincial government of Aceh and CARE Aceh.

Every year, this meeting will be held in different provinces, where CARE is working. Around 10 people from Central Government ministry and Government representatives from different provinces where CARE is working, will be attending this meeting.

This meeting is according to the agreement between CARE International and Government of Indonesia. During this meeting, Government will review the plans and programs of CARE and approve its existence in the country.

Though its very useful, its so formal and a complete waste of time, and we wonder looking at the government spending this much time with every registered NGO

Kudos.. Government of Indonesia

Vist to see Elephants: Published on 23 October 2007

We went to see the elephants again, in the forest, near a village called 'Saree'. But most of the elephants are disappeared. only few big ones are still there. They are not using these elephants for a ride, since they are new, and still needs to be tamed.

It seems that the earlier elephants went some where (??) to be fed. Normally, they take the elephants into oil palm plantations to feed them with the oil palm seeds after extracting oil. Its the most nutritious food they can get in their life. They also take them to work where the require forest/ plantations to be cleared, and where trucks cannot reach. They transport them by large trucks.

Any way, Elephants got some economic sense also!!

Solid Waste Management in the City: Published on 23 October 2010

We still don't have solid waste management in place. The common practice which they adopt in most of the houses is to collect and burn. NGOs are telling that they are putting lots of efforts to do proper solid waste disposal at least in the city, but the plans are being operational only in some places.

Two major solid waste disposal sites are built and few vehicles are allotted to transport solid waste from the city. But a lot needs to happen still to make the system operational.

Trip to Penang: Published on 23 October 2010

Penang is a beautiful small island, which is part of Malasiya, and I took this picture from the flight.

I went there recently to renew my visa for Indonesia. Its near to Medan, which takes about 55 minutes by flight. From Medan, we also can go by a speed boat which takes 5- 6 hours to reach Penang.

Some of the interesting things related to history is that once there was a choice between Singapore and Penang, where finally Singapore was selected for development. Chinese traders settled in this island earlier, and built most of the city. Once it used to be a major port for the ships which enter Malakka Strait.

The main city is George Town, a small but beautiful city. Just recently they have introduced a fantastic public bus service called 'Rapid Penang' exactly like Rapid KL in Kuala Lumpur. So local travel became very cosy there.

I stayed in Sunway Hotel George town, which is just Ok. The Indonesian embassy is very cooperative there, and they issue the visa with in 24 hours. Local transport is primarily by cabs, and the cycle Rickshaw (tri wheeler Bechak) is a rare sight now a days.

There is a small 'Indian Town' with lot of Tamil immigrants setting up businesses there. We get all indian items in those shops. Next to that there is china town, and it looks more loose businesses than organised one.

Tescos have opened an out let there, and they offer free ride from the city to their shop which is around 10 Km away. (I think they need to!). There are quite a few shopping malls around the city. The main centre is 'Komtar' place, a tall building which is the main attraction.

A detailed account of our trip to "Lake Toba": Published on 23 October 2007

We packed off for a week’s holiday to Lake Toba, the biggest lake in South Asia. It’s the prettiest volcanic lake, which is created around 50,000 years ago, and termed as one of the youngest. In the middle of this lake is an island called Pulau Samosir, almost as big as Singapore, which is home to the native tribe ‘Bataks’!

First we went to Medan, the fourth largest city in Indonesia, which takes around 50 minutes by flight. The travel is by Garuda Indonesia, which is a relatively expensive and reliable airline. We brought a round trip fare from Banda Aceh- Medan for two adults, one Child and one Infant. The price calculation for the airlines in Indonesia is little interesting, and is as follows:

Total Fare= Base Fare+ Tax 10%+ Surcharge+ Passenger Fee

With that calculation, the one way fare from Banda Aceh to Medan is (All figures in Indonesian Rupiah; 1 USD= Rp 9,000)
For Adult: 295000 +29500 +10000 +60000 =365000
For Child: 222000 +22200 +10000 +60000 =314200
For Infant: 29500 +2950 +10000 +60000 =102450

We booked in Semarak hotel, which is a 3 star category, but its not up to the mark. They have offered Ramadan Package for Rp. 250,000 for standard room including Buffet breakfast and Buffet Dinner. Both are very basic.

But when we went to occupy the room, the room is very small, with no window, and looks little dingy. So we had to ask for ‘Superior Room’ for which we paid Rp. 330,000 per day. We felt like cheating. The hotel services are also not very good. We asked for pool towels, but they never brought them to the pool. The staff are also not very cooperative. How ever, we stayed for 2 nights there, since we have to do some shopping in the city.

The next day, we have to travel by road to Parapat, a small town located at the shore of the lake. Its hilly, and there are ferries to Samosir Island every hour. We booked by ‘Tobali Travels’ which offers convenient transport at Rp. 80,000 per person for a 4 hour ride. They run a 8 seated cars, which are not too bad with comfortable legroom. They came to hotel to pick us up, and then we realized that it’s not Air Conditioned! Till we cross the city, this takes about 30 minutes, its hot inside, but after that it’s Ok. They also drop us in any place we want after reaching Parapat. So it’s little convenient than taking a bus.

After reaching Parapat, we had to get down at the harbor where we have to take a boat to the island. The boat which was scheduled to come at 3:30 did not come, so we had to wait for the boat at 4:30.

The boat is very basic, with no safety flotation devices. Has some iron chairs to sit. It take 45 minutes to reach the island. On the way, its very cool with beautiful scenery every where. The island looks very near, but as we travel, it looks like its going far and far. One we reach the island, the boat goes to each important hotel and drops off the passengers! Typical water taxi!!

We were booked in Carolina Hotel which is the best in the island. There is another best, they say, but looks not very impressive. The up side of Carolina hotel is best restaurant and in expensive rooms.

The down side is that the garden is not protected for children; they may fall down into the lake while playing. So we had to watch them all the time. Another one is that there is no separate pool for the children. People who know swimming have to dive straight into the lake.

We stayed in a large twin bed room with hot water shower, bath tub and mini bar for Rp. 99,000 per day including taxes. We didn’t use the mini bar, since the climate is pleasant. The food is also very in expensive, and we spend for three day meals for 4 of us only Rp. 391,600..

The hotel has a small library which loans and sells books. It also has internet facility, laundry, massage, money changer, ticketing etc., they also rent variety of vehicles viz., Car, Mini Bus, Boat, Motor Bike, Bicycle.

We hired a car for local sight seeing, which is wonderful part of our trip. It’s a 7 hour trip around the island, which is full of un-disrupted traditional architecture, and rich culture. ‘Horas’ is the common work for greeting one another. Through out the island, the villages are dotted by majestic tombs, which are more significant than their own houses. They are big and beautifully decorated near to their houses.

We started in the morning at 9:30 towards north of the island.

Simanindo: A small village called Huta Bolon is home to one of the kings called Raja Simalungun, and his 14 wives. His home is presently converted into museum, which is very few items. Next to his house is the royal boat, which is nothing but a small canon. Near to his house is a place where they sacrifice animals and feast. There we had a show of 12 different types of Batak dances, performed by local people. The show is for 45 minutes, and at the end, they will invite people also to dance with them. The ticket to the show is Rp. 30,000 per person.

Hot Springs: The next destination is hot springs which is around 43 Km from our hotel. It is near the village called Pangururan, out side of the island. The island and the main land is connected by a small strip of land, so transportation is not a problem. The hot springs are due to calcium carbonate deposits in the hills, and they say its good for health. There is a place called- for foreigners only, and we went to bath there. The water is hotter, and we were not able to stay for long in the water.

Lumban Suhi-Suhi: It’s a village which is 33 Km away, where they make Ulos. Ulos is a traditional Batak blanket, which the people wear till today. The women make it in the village, and as soon as they see tourists, they display all their beautiful work. But they also wanted to sell them, at around 40 USD per blanket.

Ambarita: This village is 5 Km away from the hotel, which consists of stone chairs. These are 300 years old, where king Siallagan used to hold conferences and decapitated people. At the end of this area, there are souvenir shops, with no people to sell. After seeing us, two of them came and started pleading us to buy some thing. We took some clothes for the children.

Tomok: This is like the capital of this island, where a car ferry runs frequently. There is a beautifully decorated tomb which belongs to King Sidabutar. Surrounding his tomb is several souvenir shops, were we took several items for our friends.

The last visit was a drive around a peninsula called Tuk Tuk, where all the hotels are located, including our hotel. There are quite a large hotels existing, but with very low occupancy. The biggest hotel has 250 rooms.

There are also trails for walking over the mountains. The most famous place to commence walking is Ambarita to the village of Dolok (2KM), then to Lake Sidihoni (12 Km) then to Pangururan. Walking trails are also exist from Tomok- Ronggurnihuta- Lake Sidihoni- Pangururan.

We came back the same way to Medan by tobali travels, and they dropped us straight into the hotel Garuda Plaza. We were impressed by this hotel, it has every thing a hotel needs, and the room costs Rp. 300,000 per day, with excellent facilities. It’s a proper 3 star hotel, with airport pick up and drop service. There are several airlines offices in the ground floor, and shops all around.

Finally, we came back to Banda aceh tired….

Taman Sari in Banda Aceh: Published on 08 August 2007

We are slowly discovering some places for the kids in Banda Aceh!

One of the famous place is newly built ‘Taman Sari’. The meaning of Taman is garden, and it is situated not far from Grand Mosque. Its has most of the children play items like swings, climbing grid, see saw, skidding bench etc.,

But the most interesting ones are the battery powered automobiles. There are cars, Jeeps, motorcycles where children can drive them just like real! They charge Rp 5,000 for 5 minutes of drive.

Lhoknga Beach: Published on 08 August 2007

The city of Banda Aceh is in the tip of large Sumatra Island. So, when once somebody asked me where the beach is, I told him that he is right there in the beach! But since it’s almost attached to Indian Ocean, the sea will be quite rough and dangerous!!

Lhoknga beach is the one which we go often with the kids. As we were exploring different beaches, we found this place which is connected to the sea, but with a separation by a ridge which is at the sea level. This makes it look like a pool, which is connected on and off to the sea and is a perfect place for children to play. This location comes after cement factory while coming from the town of Banda Aceh.

There are small huts with chairs and some snacks and drinks on the beach, which becomes perfect place to refresh!

Mc Donalds in Hyderabad: Published on 08 August 2007

Finally Mc Donalds is in Hyderabad! My Children are enjoying in this picture with a Mc Donald’s Crown!!

After a lot of hesitation, Mc finally acknowledged that it can’t ignore fast growing Hyderabad, where the expatriate population is steadily increasing. Also, the NRI population who are slowly returning back to their homeland will be looking for hangouts such as these.

We went to this newly built outlet at Karkhana, Hyderabad. It’s well laid out with reasonable parking facilities. They are trying to attract upper middle class young families, who have recently started reaping the benefits of ‘India Shining’! But occasionally there are those people, who come to these outlets and spend a small amounts of money, which amounts to 2%- 5% of their monthly salary in one visit. Even though their incomes are low, they try to keep up their ‘status’ in the society by visiting these branded outlets.

Infant Labor!: Published on 07 August 2007

It’s not Child Labor, its Infant Labor!

This is one of the Supermarkets which Reliance Company had started in India with the brand name of ‘Reliance Fresh’. Last month, we went to visit an outlet in Bowenpalli, Hyderabad, where my second son is stacking while we were shopping!

Reliance pumped in several thousands of dollars into each location which created revolution in the traditional business circles. These outlets sell groceries, vegetables and fruits at a lesser price than the neighbor hood shops. More over, the ambience and the service is very professional. So anybody who has access to these shops will never again visit their neighborhood petty shop.

So, all these small vendors filed a petition in the court against this company and after couple of hearings, the court dismissed the petition citing no proof of violating any laws.

But, are these small vendors completely wiped off?? Not really- actually what happened is that they no more taking the customers granted. They have reduced their profit margins, and drastically improved their services. On the other hand, its evident that this company will not be able to sustain their business with lower prices, and high quality service. So, it’s back to normal…..

Finally who won the race?

Started winding up!: Published on 27 July 2007

We have started winding up! Its quite difficult to manage day to day operations while you are winding up. Almost every week, I have to call up staff, and explain that their contracts are not going to be renewed.

Its a sinking feeling! the money is reducing, severe cuts all over. We are trying to reduce as much as we can in all the programs. We are reducing the targets, reducing the portfolio etc.,

Things are quite uncertain, every day of the week, every week of the month. So things are not very exciting now a days!

Life is like that!: Published on 06 July 2007

Its a long time since I wrote here, so many things are happening now a days. I went to Hyderabad (India) for a 15 day break, spent time with family and friends there. Now back with my family!

It a horrific journey while going- I missed a flight from Singapore to Chennai due to late arrival of Qatar Airways. I was standard in the airport, and after shelling around 600 Singapore Dollars, I could travel to chennai again, to catch the next flight to Hyderabad.

The return journey was smooth, arriving perfectly on time in Banda Aceh. My family is adjusting to the new environment, and my first kid started going to school.

Life is like that!!

G-8 and Climate Change: Published on 10 June 2007

Today, as I was preparing a response as part of preparations for COP-13 (Global Climate Change Conference), the G-8 Summit ended with a passive note. US again declined to agree for setting targets to reduce Green House Gases.

But the heads of G-8 said that they were able to persuade US to start negotiating targets, which will come into force in 2012 when the present Kyoto Protocol expires. And Mr. Bush plans to organize a meeting with top 15 polluting nations to negotiate targets.

First of all, I don't understand why US have to take lead in negotiating after 2012. By that time, US will have already loose its power in the international politics. The world was able to handle climate change issue successfully with out US until now. Many industrialized countries have significantly controlled their emission levels with out US leadership. So why do we want US now?

Secondly, Mr. Bush is going and Mr. Brown is coming and the global political scenario will not be the same as of now.

Emerging economies like India and China will actively take leadership in these global negotiations. There will be much more ethical and rational political will.

in the coming days. So the world need not waste time in convincing Mr. Bush that Climate Change issue is very important for the future of mankind.

Another Tsunami: 05 June 2007

We had quite of a commotion yesterday, where people are running every where. I was travelling to another office, and the fleet told me that the vehicles are stuck some where. After a while, we heard announcements from our security that its not Tsunami, and there is no need to panic.

Another Tsunami? yes, it said. The Tsunami warning alarm started ringing during the day time (thank God!) for around 30 minutes. The sea level was already high due to full moon period. So, what next, its Tsunami. The people panicked and started running to high places and to the roads.

But after that, the concerned department (BMG) told that there is a technical problem with the alarm, which needs to be investigated!!

That reminds me of a story 'Daddy, tiger is coming!" (If you want to know this story, please write to me)

My bed is Shaking!: Published on 05 June 2007

Got up from slumber, when my bed started shaking at 3:30 AM local time. As usual, I looked at the keys hanging from the door, and they too are shaking. Ya, its an earthquake again!

I cling on to the bed, and carefully observing whether the intensity is increasing or not. The tremor has a horizontal vibration, and that's why the keys are shaking more than normal. I started coming into senses, and trying to recollect the doorway, exit door, locks, emergency stuff etc., But at after around 15 seconds the tremor stopped.

I tried to search for earth quake information by visiting USGS and BMG Indonesia websites, but they didn't have till now. But I got the first information from this website which I think feeds automatically (which might be less accurate) http://geofon.gfz-potsdam.de/db/eqinfo.php

The info they collected is from 10 locations. The epicentre is west of Banda Aceh with a magnitude of 4.9

Region: Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Magnitude:4.9
Origin time: 2007/06/05 20:32:47 UTC
Longitude:95.07°E
Latitude: 4.94°N
Focal depth:n.d.

A day of cancellations: Published on 28 May 2007

Today is a very bad day for me! A day of cancellations!!

The day started with my boss coming and CANCEL my trip to India on certain dates. So I had to start cancelling my confirmed tickets and look for new ones.

By afternoon, we had to CANCEL 12 Purchase Orders related to one of our project, because of change in cetrain plans.

In the evening, we had to CANCEL the trip of a consultant due to some technical/ political reasons.

As I was running away from the office at 5:00 PM, I was again called for a meeting regarding some staff who are creating trouble due to uncertainity of their job role. After marathon discussions, we have decided to CANCEL their employment contracts with full pay till their end of their contracts.

So finally, I reached home at 8:00 PM. After hearing all this, one of my housemates said: Good Price for holidaying in Jakarta and Bandung!!

Visit to 'Institut Teknologi Bandung': Published on 27 May 2007

Last Friday, I was in Bandung to explore a possible partnership for a Research program with ‘Bandung Institute of Technology’ (ITB- Institut TeknologiBandung). ITB is one of the country’s centers of excellence in science, technology, art and it’s the top choice among Indonesia’s high school students.

Around 15,000 students are studying under 10 schools/ Faculties in the sprawling 70 acre campus. We had discussed about doing Hydro Geological research with special reference to Saline water intrusion in the coastal areas of Aceh. We identified few research departments who can form a team and then conduct research. The preliminary visit was scheduled on 7^th of June.

Interestingly, in the biggest Muslim nation, the logo of the premier institute ITB is a Hindu deity called ‘Ganesha’. Ganesha is considered to be the lord of intelligence and the patron of art and sciences, which is apt for a premier educational institution. This shows how strong the influence of Hinduism in many parts of Indonesia. The address of the institute itself is ITB, Ganesha Road no. 10, Bandung, West Java.

The city is just 180 Km away from Jakarta which is well connected by road, air and railway line. We went by a 7 seater executive shuttle by Cititrans network which has a frequency of every 30 minutes. It exactly took 2 hours from Jakarta to Bandung on Cipularang toll road. Its very dangerous drive between 100- 120 Kmph, mostly on the narrow emergency parking lane on the extreme left. But that’s the best way to reach the destination with in two hours in just around USD 7!!

Bandung is Indonesia's fourth largest city located at around 2500 feet above sea level, surrounded by volcanic mountains. Because of its elevation, the city is cooler than most Indonesian cities with an average temperature of 23.6 through out the year. During the week ends, people from Jakarta flock this city for shopping and relaxing. So, we couldn’t get a nice hotel to stay during the week end, and I had to travel back to Jakarta immediately after completing the work in Bandung.

Workshop on 'Water and Climate': Published on 26 May 2007

I have just come back from attending an International Joint workshop on ‘Water and Climate’ which is organized jointly by four agencies:

• The State Ministry of Environment, Government of Indonesia
• The Ministry of Public Works,Government of Indonesia
• Co-operative Program on Water and Climate
• Indonesia Water Partnership

This was conducted in Jakarta during 23- 24 May, 2007. This workshop was intended to warm up the Indonesian Government in successfully preparing for the up coming COP-13 to be
held in Bali during December, 2007.

Around 300 people from different parts of the world attended this meeting. Notably, there is a large Dutch delegation which is having a partnership with Indonesian Government related
to Climate Change.

We had several discussions on the impact of Climate Change in Indonesia. Since Indonesia is a developing country (not a major polluter), its more focused on how to adapt to the changing of climate. We have also discussed about side events during COP-13, and provided some recommendations to the Ministry of Environment.

COP (Conference of Parties) is the annual Climate Change meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty produced at the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The treaty aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gas in order to combat global warming.

Since the UNFCCC entered into force on 24 March 1994, the parties (ratified Countries) have been meeting annually in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. This meeting COP- 13 will be the thirteenth meeting, which is going to be held during 3-14 December, 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. Around 10,000 participants from 189 countries are going to be attending this vital environment meeting. The Government of Indonesia already booked around 6,500 rooms for this conference.

Sub Surface Flow Constructed Wetland: Published on 21 May 2007

Today, we have organized a workshop with our Technical Program Leader (Environmental Health) for some of our staff. The topic is about Sustainable Sanitation.

We discussed sanitation at different time periods- Emergency, Transition and Long term development. We have also discussed about different designs and their advantages and disadvantages.

The major discussion was around Sub Surface Flow (SSF) Constructed Wetlands.

A subsurface flow (SSF) wetland consists of a sealed basin with a porous substrate of rock or gravel. The water level is designed to remain below the top of the substrate.

The outflow from the septic tanks is connected to the SSF constructed Wetlands, where the water is purified. SSF Wetlands require a vegetated leach field or soak pit for final disposal.

Playing with Litter: Published on 17 May 2007

We have 11 dogs! Can you believe??

My house mate brought two puppies when no body was taking care of them near our office. He fed them and took care of them well till they grew up. But the interesting thing is that both are females. We named them 'Imelda' and 'Gloria'.

After they grew up, they started having babies. One had 5 babies and another had 4 babies. They have grown up now, and making lots of noise in our yard. Couple of times, when it rains heavily, we had to wake up in the night and move them to a safer place. My house mate finally made a permanent wooden home for them.

Also, the puppies now started playing with us, its quite exciting... but boy, is hard to manage 9 puppies. Some body wanted 2 puppies today, and we gladly offered them free!! Before going off, we wanted to have picture with all the puppies, but they are running off and jumping here and there. It became quite difficult to get all of them at one place. We had several shots, and the maximum we could gather was 8, with its mother!!

I personally don't like pets and we never had pets in our home. So, I don't have an idea what breed our dogs are!! It looks just like a country dog.

In this area, Acehnese do not like dogs. They say its due to Islamic tradition of dogs and pigs being unclean. So, our security guards always complain about our dog farm. Interestingly, in our neighboring province Medan, its hard to find dogs. Because dog meat is in great demand there! Medan is full of Chinese and Bataknese tribe, who eat dog meat.

Salt-and-Pepper: Published on 17 May 2007

It's difficult to admit, but the reality is that I have already became 'Salt and Pepper'. Last time, when I went to my hairdresser, he was wondering why I was not asking for a hair dye!

Gray hair is funnily called as 'Salt and Pepper' hair which started when I was 30, but now its rampat. It looks like the gray hair reached at least 15%, and fast growing. Even my colleagues started noticing the fast growth in my gray hair. They say that its due to extreme stress we face in these emergency operations.

So, I started checking out, every other guy had gray hair, in different proportions. It gave me lots of satisfaction. My parents started graying at around 50, and for me, it started very young. But for a man its 'Crown of Glory'

Don't worry Mr. Nalli.......

Kenaikan Yesus Kristus: Published on 16 May 2007

Today is Thursday, and surprisingly I woke up at 8:00 and sitting lazily in my couch drinking coffee. Every day, I wake up by 6:00 and will be out of my house by 7:30. So, what happened today??

Oh! today is an interesting holiday called 'Kenaikan Yesus Kristus' (Ascension of Jesus Christ). Its interesting because Indonesia is the country having largest Muslim population in the world. Yet they have many holidays for Christian, Hindu and Buddhist Religions.

According to the year 2000 Census, Indonesia has 88% Muslims, 9% Christians and 2% Hindus and 1% Buddhists and others. Though with overwhelming majority, Indonesia is not an Islamic state. For the past 50 years of Independence, several Islamic groups have tried to establish Islamic state. But the majority of mainstream Muslims reject the idea.

Even during 2002, several attempts were made in the Country's parliament, but with out much success. Notably, Aceh is the only province which has a special power to implement Shari'a Laws. Most of the issues in this province are dealt through Shari'a courts.

Serious staffing Issues: Published on 16 May 2007

I am feeling very low today. HR had conducted an inspection in one of my projects, and found many staff missing from the office. Today they called up all the staff along with me to give a firm warning.

This particular project is problematic since the beginning. Its very ambitious while the staffing arrangement is minimal. For the last few weeks, we have tried hard to recruit suitable staff for this project, but in vain.

So, the staff became demotivated and started coming late, going early. They are falling sick frequently and not able to produce any thing. Though the project lack senior staff, it raises a serious question on my management skills.

I started thinking that I am too participatory and need to be more directive. Since I am sused to manage senior staff, I started managing the junior staff in a similar fashion. So they felt left out, and doesn't know what to do.

Termination of Contracts: Published on 15 May 2007

Just finished a marathon meeting with my Contractors. Presently there are 8 active contracts which are ongoing in several villages. Another few contracts are with community groups.

It started on a funny note explaining that there is no opportunity for us to work in the villages for two more months. And we had to mention that they have not followed some of the clauses, and they are liable for penalty. The contractors also cleverly mentioned that CARE also didn't follow some of the clauses.

Then we had to discuss about the way forward, proposing the issues surrounding termination of their contracts. The contractors wanted CARE to pay all the contract value because they have already invested in material and manpower.

After several rounds of negotiations, we have finally come to a conclusion that all the work which was done till now will be paid by CARE. We were happy at the conclusion of the meeting.

Now another negotiation with Community Groups is on the way....... fingers crossed!!

Grenade Attacks in Aceh: Published on 13 May 2007

There was another grenade attack last week, taking the number of grenade attacks to three. This time, it was on a spokes person of the local political party. The police have not arrested any of the culprits in all these attacks. While these attacks are a major concern, they will have little effect on ongoing peace process in Aceh.

During the peace process, the group fighting for Free Aceh (GAM) claimed to possess 840 weapons. But the Indonesian Intelligence estimated them to be much higher. Significantly, during the process they have actually surrendered a total of 1,042 weapons. But still, these sporadic incidents signify that some people still possess weapons, especially in East Aceh.

We were advised not to travel at night by vehicles, cautious near government offices military establishments etc., have multiple airborne and maritime evacuation plans, ensure all satellite phones are in working order, and so on....

But any way who cares! We all happily flaunt all those rules!!

We decided to be Honest: Published on 12 May 2007

Finally, its over. We have gathered enough courage and decided to be HONEST!!

Ya, the most difficult thing to do is to admit the mistake. We have decided to inform the staff, government, beneficiaries and the public that we did a mistake and going to rectify it.

So we formed several teams- Government liaison, press, beneficiaries communication, staff communication, contractors negotiation, fund raising, donor communication, NGO information and Technical teams.

Each team started working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with stressed faces. We have to face several groups and explain, explain, explain.......

In my department, I had to start terminating all the water and sanitation system contracts, revise the work plans for the staff, with hold awareness campaigns, promotional activities etc., Also, I had to intensify the maintenance work of Barracks, explore setting up new barracks, increase maintenance contracts etc.,

Another two weeks, we will be on our toes (some times fingers too....), planning and living on a daily basis. Just yesterday, I had to call all my project managers for an emergency meeting and cancel a 3 day workshop which is supposed to start from Monday.

Most Stressful Week: Published on 12 May 2007

It’s the most stressful week in recent times. May be, because of that, my hair is turning white. I also had to come back from office on Thursday due to 'dengue' like symptoms. A design error was detected in the houses which are being built by us. They are not meeting the standards for with standing the earthquake. Since this area lies directly on a major fault line, this issue became an important one.

So, we have to spring into action, studying the technical designs, verification in the field, talking to contractors, staff and other parties to ascertain the seriousness of the problem. We finally found out that 700 houses (yes! seven hundred!!) are in serious question. Another 1,000 houses have manageable defects.

Now, what to do?? We had senior management meetings through out this week weighing the options. One of the major issues is that around 150 people are already living in those houses which are in serious question. What do we say to all the NGOs and the Government? Who is responsible for this mess? What to say to the people? How can we get them out of the houses? Where to accommodate them?

How do we handle the people who are waiting to move to their new houses?? Oh! Boy!! No body has answers!!!

Temporary Shelter Camp in Lamtamot: Published on 05 May 2007

(Look at these children, who are jubilant every day!!)

I went to visit a temporary shelter location in a village called 'Lamtamot', near Janto (Aceh, Indonesia). There are 45 families living in that camp in IFRC temporary shelter kits. Its in the beautiful hilly surroundings. They are well settled there with their cows, goats etc., They have even started clearing the forests for cultivation.

They have water source, a lovely brook 50 meter below, which flows all over the year with a pleasant gushing sound. Since they have to walk down so deep for water, we have installed a water pump which can pump the water into two huge tanks near their shelters. But the problem still persists- who will pay for the fuel?

We are also building toilets for the camps, so that they are not required to go to the forests to relieve themselves. They already have a nice football ground for the youth, plenty of area for the cattle. But the question still continues- how long they have to wait in temporary shelters?

Acehnese Traditional Wedding: Published on 05 May 2010

Today, we went to the wedding party of one of our staff in a village called Garot, near Sigli, 130 Kms away from Banda Aceh. This is a beach town in the east coast, which is also affected by Tsunami.

Acehnese have their own wedding traditions which slightly change from east cost to west coast. The wedding takes part in three parts- engagement in the brides place, wedding in the in the mosque and the wedding party in the grooms place.

As soon as we arrived, we have to enter through a decorated arch tent, where the reception is. We signed the guest book, deposited the gift in a beautifully decorated box, received a token gift from the ushers and go to the reception area. We put some cash in the envelope as a gift and we received a key chain as a token.

Then we were escorted to the lunch place. There are separate places for men and women. We have to line up for the food, and there are many varieties to choose from. Beef, Chicken, Goat vegetable, fruits etc., its outside in a tent, so hot, and we were sweating…

We tried to ask the others when the wedding is going to happen. They told that it’s over, and we can go home. We were surprised and started calling up our other staff to know what’s happening. It seems, attendance and eating some thing are the important activities in the wedding.

Any way, we went to see the new couple, sitting inside a beautifully decorated room called ‘wedding house’. The room is decorated with blue silk cloth, drapers, and carpets on the floor. Some close family members are sitting on the floor.

The bride and the groom wore traditional Acehnese wedding clothes. The groom wore full cut black trousers and a black coat with long narrow sleeves. Both are decorated with Golden color designs. On the head there is a beautifully adorned cap called ‘Kupiah Meukeutob’.

The bride wore colorful trousers with narrow ankle, and a long sleeve top both in blue color. A sarong is decorated with gold and is tied to the waist as a belt. There are not much decorations compared to groom. But the head is beautifully adorned with an array of golden flowers called ‘Bugong Ok’. A huge necklace is cascading from the neck to the waist. Each arm has a large single golden bracelet.

The men (guests) wore Short sleeved Batik shirt, and the women wore traditional silk dress, mostly single color.

When we entered the wedding room, the bride and the groom are receiving blessings from their mothers and other close relatives. The blessing is given by dipping reeds in rice water and touching the hands and head. Later, their hands are covered with flowers. This process is repeated by all the family and friends.

After the blessings are over, we had a chance to have pictures with them, wished them and departed from that place. On the way back, we met their mom and expressed our thanks for inviting us to the wedding party.

Mandi, Cuci, Kakus: Published on 03 May 2007

Yesterday, we have completed one controversial project involving building of 16 MCK. In Indonesian its Mandi, Cuci, Kakus meaning Bath, wash and toilet. These are built in several villages of Peukan Bada Sub district.

These are built by the local government with our assistance. Each unit of MCK consists of 4 rooms with a toilet and a water tub, a place for washing including a well.

Most of the places, the construction was ok, and in two places there were some problems with quality. These facilities are meant to be used by the communities.

It's Barbeque today: Published on 03 May 2007

One of my crazy staff invited some of us for a Barbecue in his house. I am telling because, its Thursday and we have to go to office tomorrow!!

In Banda Aceh, they make simple Barbecue oven in a welding shop. First they take a truck wheel, make holes on the side, put stand with Iron angles, and cover it with a stainless steel grill. All together it costs around 50 USD. He also brought a bag full of wood coal which costs 8 USD.

The fire started at 8:00 PM and we started putting fish, beef, chicken, sausages and even carrot. We were around 10 of us, eating and chatting... guess what's the topic? Its again office politics!!

I kept on asking him, why on Thursday? why not on Friday/Saturday?.. but it seems that there is no reason.

I just came off at 10:30, feeling sleepy now.....

Do we still build houses: Published on 28 April 2007

They are slowing eating the mountain away, foot by foot and tonne by tonne. Its just next to the village, where we are building houses.

I went to determine what type of sanitation system we are going to adopt in village Rima Keuneuram, near Banda Aceh. But what I saw is a dangerous stone quarrying next to the new houses. There are excavators, blasters, huge trucks and other heavy machinary.

I asked them, what happens when the earthquake comes, The hill will collapse on the houses? They are very confident that the hill will not collapse, becuase they have already tested its strength. They have made caves and blasted the hill, but nothing happened.

But, over the years, there is going to be vast amounts of soil erosion, and the whole area will slowly become the most dangerous zone.

Do we still build houses there?