Yet another calendar year has come to an end. Overall, it wasn’t great for me; but that’s ok, there’s a new year around the corner!

I wasn’t even able to post a lot on the blog, just a few random scribbles here’n'there. Of these few, here are the Top 10 of this year.

The best part of my online activity this year was the Project 365!

Before I list the Top 10, take a look at the lists from the last couple of years:

Top 10 posts of 2009.

Top 10 posts of 2010.

And now, the list for 2011:

1. Telangana agitation – The Bad: The actual face of the agitation at the time. This post outlines few things that come to my mind those tag the agitation as bad. Some serious concerns, some pun intended and of course a little sarcasm too! More than the post itself, the comments and discussion is what matters more on this page.
2. Telangana agitation – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: An introductory post for the Telangana agitation series. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are also individually on the top 10 list. This post was my attempt to examine the agitation from those different angles.
3. Telangana agitation – The Good: While the agitation itself was mostly bad/ ugly, I forced myself to understand and see if there is any ‘good’ in it. A few reasons protesters quoted for why we need a separate state are discussed here.
4. Close call with phishing on facebook: A close encounter that almost made me give out the credit card number to the ‘disguised’ friend on facebook. If you face a similar situation, please be more careful!
5. Hampta Pass Trek – Reality Check: A wonderful experience in The Himalayas! A reality check to anyone else who’s dreaming of the trek. What to carry, how is it there, good things, not so good experiences, cold, water, energy levels, scenery, photography, etc are discussed in detail.
6. Telangana agitation – The Ugly: In a nutshell, the agitation that changed the face of Hyderabad, to Ugly! This the THE actual post I intended to write about the agitation. Vandalism, mob mentality, bandhs, traffic issues and impact to common man are all discussed here.
7. Review – LG Customer Care: Feedback to the LG team after a terrible experience with their service that took 22 days to fix a broken refrigerator. For the record, it broke twice in two months after that repair too!
8. The Airport Bhoot: A funny incident that left us awestruck all night in the Hyderabad airport. May be it’s the time of the night, or may be there really is a bhoot, but our experience IS something I couldn’t resist sharing.
9. Pearl YAMAHA – Feedback about your service: An escalation to the Yamaha Motors India about their service centers in Hyderabad. You gotta let people/ organizations know when there is a scope for improvement!
10. Project 365: While the post itself on the blog received quite a good amount of traffic, the independent site where I post ‘pic of the day’ received quite a good response. Head to the site and check the clicks for yourself!

If you have enjoyed any other post and that’s not in the list above, please let me know in the comments!

I say, not bad!

This was my new year resolution for this year: 2011: Leave airtel and quit Orkut.

If you do the math in 3 secs, it would come to 50% complete. Let me explain a little further and make it 75%!

Leaving airtel was half of it; and the orkut quitting was the other half. I already wrote multiple times about airtel here, here and here.

I just deleted orkut account moments ago and immediately started composing this post, so that’s 50% complete already! (I know I should have deleted the thing a long time ago, but I had thought I already deleted it, until somebody sent a scrap two days ago. AND, I confirmed there is no way to change login email before I deleted, one of my primary reasons. Of course, copy-pasted the few testimonials I had in there.)

Coming to the other half: leaving airtel. I use(d) two services from airtel: mobile and broadband. So, 25% contribution each towards my resolution.

Now, I’ve cancelled the mobile connection very early in 2011 and moved to DoCoMo. So, another 25% of my total resolution target is complete.

The remaining 25% is incomplete. And here are the reasons:

• There isn’t any other provider in my location to offer broadband connection.
• When I told airtel my problems and requested to cancel, they offered a new plan at discounted price for a quarter. Nice gesture!
• Didn’t want to be stupid and cancel the connection anyway when I have no alternative!

So, that’s my progress!

75% complete.

What about you?

Dear @HDFC_Bank,

Normally when I write a post with an intent to get to somebody, I spend some time, do a little home work, have a point and then roll it out.

Am doing this post in a hurry; because, you know, you’re trying hard to assist me on twitter but are unable to.

If you remember this tweet, read on for the response.

While I already replied to the tweet immediately and we’ve been having a disconnected conversation over twitter, this is just a sample to let you understand what I’m referring to, when I say “issues”. I repeat, it’s plural.

And, no kidding, but the terrible service you provide deserves more than 140 chars.

Story background:

A while ago, I contacted your branch where I unfortunately have my salary/ savings account. I requested them to stop an ECS request from Reliance Capital. I was surprised to know that I couldn’t do that! I have no control over my account? I didn’t dare to ask if I can at least block cheques anytime in the future; I kinda know what you’ll say.

Hold on for a moment now. I know you’re thinking “there is a way to stop ECS, all you have to do is get a declaration from Reliance Capital that requests you to cancel the ECS”. Now, take a deep breath and try to understand what’s going on in my mind.

If I come to you with a request to block a cheque (hypothetically, because a cheque is stolen, let’s say), you want me to find the cheque and submit it to you in original, along with my address proof, original passport, valid VISA, telephone bill, ration card, Voter ID card, 2 color passport-size photographs, and, may be my office ID card in original?

Think about it- if I can convince Reliance to cancel the ECS, why the heck would I come to you again and request you to cancel/ dishonor the request? I’m sure you have your dumb policies and bunch of forms at your finger tips, but can you at least get into my mind for a moment and look at the situation?

Here is an email that made me aware of your policy.

Current issue sample:

Again, this is not one of my primary concerns right now, however, as I told you, showing you a sample of why I hate HDFC so much and trying hard, in every way possible to kick you out of my life.

Your recent messages to me on twitter were talking about me visiting the branch to address the situation.

Well, that’s been on for about 6 months now and may be you call it “Retail Asset Branch” to sound/ read good on websites, but I refer to it as “Headquarters, Organized Crime, HDFC”.

Anyways, unable to bear with your pathetic Customer Service, being not in a position to explain every Tom, Dick and Harry, what assistance I need, and simply fed up with HDFC because no one can help me as it’s never “something you can take care of” (there’s always somebody else to address the concern and he/ she has not surfaced in 6 months!), AND more than all of these, not willing to pay huge penalties that arise due to your inability to solve a problem & you impose a fine everytime your kids need new school shoes, I chose to finally visit the “Headquarters”, and you wouldn’t believe, foreclosed the loan with credit card! *Sigh!*

That sounds pathetic even to read it, haan? I did it. Because, that’s how much I hate you now.

But, that’s not the point here, take a look at the letter below I received when I paid the total outstanding to foreclose the loan (yes, school shoes included).

Now, you tell me what do I do with this next ECS that’s referred to here. If I contact the branch, they will want a declaration from the “Headquarters” a.k.a Retail Asset Branch, with cancellation request.

While am not planning to deal with the “Headquarters” now, they gave me a letter that the loan is completely closed! AND STILL, you’re thinking of an ECS presentation.

The loan guy wants me to stop the ECS but the bank account guy won’t allow me to do it. For heaven’s sake, both are part of the same dumb organization!

Let me remind you again, immediately, that both these (the loan fellow and the bank fellow) are from HDFC. If you’re unable to stand on one word within your organization, imagine my plight to deal with HDFC and Reliance Capital in combination! By the way, if I have not mentioned already, they’re your tough competition for Customer Service; they rock as much as you do, but more on that later.

As I said, I don’t even have patience to explain all other such issues with HDFC. I understand you’ve charged me on my loan, as well as Savings account in the name of penalties because two divisions within your own organization don’t understand/ work with each other; but who can put a price on kids’ shoes, huh?

Thank you for all the attempts you did/ are making to address my concerns. Just to let you know the status: the reps who called me so far are useless; they ate up lot of my valuable time; and charged me heavy penalties on top of that.

I’ll pay for the uniforms too, could you please, please leave me alone?!!

Additional recommended reading: http://viveeonline.com/blog/category/hdfc-suck-cess-stories/

To: serviceindia@lge.com
Subject:  Review – LG Customer Care
Ref: RNA 111001029811 and RNA 111008006827

Dear LG,

Life’s good, in general. But then, I bought an LG refrigerator. I bet you know the implications after that. If you don’t, read my story here.

Grab a big cup of coffee, take a deep breath, relax and then read on.

Given my experience with your Customer Care in the last three weeks, I’m sure you don’t give a damn about my story. But again, I believe in the process of feedback, and it’s my duty to let you know where you suck. Whether you want to stop sucking is your choice.

Jumping right into the story, I bought a refrigerator in May 2010. I don’t care what the model number is, as I have just one at home. This appliance worked good for more than a year, and then gave up. The warranty was for the first year, so everyone knows it doesn’t create any problems during that period. My piece (I paid for it!) was kind enough to wait for 4 months after the 1 year warranty period to crash.

The compressor is the part that’s broken. Well, other than the fuse and a bulb, this is the only spare part I know in a refrigerator. I understand this is one such part for which you really can’t guess the life duration. For example, the one in my parents’ refrigerator is still good and it’s been about 5 years. Thank goodness it was not an LG appliance! And, I know my neighbor’s ALLWYN that’s been running good since the 1990s.

Technology sometimes goes bad and I can digest that. However, how you deal with the problem and restore services is important too. You failed here, with my refrigerator, and hence the story.

It crashed on Sep 30, 2011, in the late evening. I reported the problem on 1st October, Saturday, around noon. The first ticket was created: RNA 111001029811.

By the way, please update your Service Center numbers in the booklet you give along with appliances. When I called those numbers before reaching out to the toll free number, the housewives were not at all happy to receive ‘repair’ calls.

A executive on the toll free number took the necessary details and gave me the ticket number. He promised a technician’s visit in the following 24 hours. On Sunday, Oct 2nd, a technician did show up around 4.00 pm. He did some basic troubleshooting and concluded that the electric circuit of the flat was faulty, AND refrigerator was perfectly alright. Bad ‘issue identification’.

He told me that the voltage was around 255V and the normal expected is 240V max. I believed his conclusion, to start with. And then I wondered how all the other electric stuff is working perfectly alright. I checked the voltage in few other flats in the same apartment building. All flats showed same reading and everybody else’s refrigerators are working without any problem. Moreover, it’s been the same setup for a few years now; nothing was changed around the day this appliance crashed!

I did just one other step to rule the electricity incorrect voltage option. I got a voltage stabilizer, confirmed that it’s output is 240V and then connected the refrigerator. Well, it didn’t work.

• Vikram (91600 18835) is the technician. He didn’t know what the problem was, obviously.

When I called him later that day and told the result of my troubleshooting, he assured he will send another technician and check the appliance out. He did not send any technician on Monday as promised. He either did not answer my calls, or disconnected them, all day.

Tuesday, around 10.00 am I received a call. The technician (sorry, he didn’t give his name, and I didn’t save his number) said he wants to check the appliance out and that he had only 2-3 hours at hand. He insisted that the refrigerator be checked before 1.00 pm. I was already in office by the time he called and asked him if he can visit in the evening. Another reason I requested for evening slot is- we have a 2 hour power cut window in the morning. He said yes for evening check-up, and disappeared. Hope he is safe somewhere.

Vikram was the first one to help me realize that LG folks suck at handling phone calls. Either it’s no answer (36 out of 48 times) or rejecting calls (the remaining 12 times). And then this Tuesday mystery technician confirmed that practice. I had many others at many levels who proved this time and again, but I’ll come to it as the story progresses.

That week, second half of it, I was out of town for 2 days on account of Dasara. No calls by anyone, by the way. I too did not call anyone as I was not home anyway. When I came back on Saturday, dialed your toll free number to hear a pleasant surprise – that the ticket was closed! The executive had no clue why the ticket was closed. He confidently confirmed that there is nothing he could do because the ticket was closed.

Later in the story I realized that the toll free executives can do nothing even when the ticket is open. They just tell you that, well, it’s open!

Anyway, I had to disconnect the call, call again and request that a new ticket be open. And hence the new reference number: RNA 111008006827.

Once this ticket was open, the same story was told; technician’s visit in 24 hours.

After a week’s time, the story was back to square one!

Of course I was very uncomfortable with the way my first ticket was handled. I asked the executive to escalate the call to any supervisor or manager on the floor to inquire.

A week, and zero progress is bad.
And, having no clue about what happened is worse; isn’t that why ticket logging is used?
Closing the ticket without resolving the problem, and without even communicating to the customer is the worst.
You guys are a little beyond that.

As usual and as expected, the technician told me that supervisors were busy, and managers were not available at that moment. Everybody knows what that means! When I insisted, he offered a callback from a supervisor. It was around 10.00 pm and I told him that they can call me even at 2.00 am that night as I wanted to address this on high priority. He confirmed that the supervisor would call in 30 mins time, max. Well, that bugger never called.

• Hiten Chitroda is the executive who promised the callback. Not sure if he actually put in a word to his supervisor, but I never received the call. Either he, or his supervisor are bad for missing a commitment.

The technician showed up for the second ticket too, the next day. I told him the first visit’s story and goof up. He did his own troubleshooting with the appliance for a while. He finally confirmed that the compressor needs replacement. As the compressor has the 5 year warranty, I just have to pay for the gas plus the service charges, according to him (INR 1100 + INR 330).

The next steps were same as well, as the initial ticket workflow; another technician would come and replace the part. He left me waiting for the next day.

Another standard practice of you guys, may be, I never received the call. At the fag end of the day, I started calling this technician who visited my place and confirmed the compressor replacement. After a dozen trials or so, he finally answered the call. He told me he had put in an ‘order’ for the part and it will be replaced as soon as it arrives.

You guys repair refrigerators and you don’t have a single compressor, the only major part in the unit, available? Shame on you!

He told me on a Monday that it might take a day or two. He also said that the maximum time it could take is 4 days. Being practical, I was prepared for 5 days. It would be a weekend then and I can be available at home for the repair too. I was internally betting with myself that the part would IN NO WAY come before the weekend. You didn’t let me down! It took more than 2 weeks!

He ordered the part on 10th and it should be in by 14th max. As you know your efficiency, it wasn’t in.

And this fellow wouldn’t answer the calls. 10, 20, 30 calls but no answer. The ratio is same: 3 in every 4 calls go unanswered. The remaining 1 will be rejected. You should be having a very strict policy adherence to telephone etiquette across the company. Very consistent!

• Kamalakar (91600 18822) is the technician who said he ordered the part and never got back. He is bad because he failed to live up to the commitment and did not even care to answer the calls to let me know the status.

So, I had no choice but call the toll free number. That has become my Saturday routine by then. Instead of having a Budweiser while watching a movie, I would normally sit with a cup of coffee in front of the telephone.

The executive who answered the call, as usual, had no information. All they can see is a Boolean Value I guess. He confirmed that the ticket was open and that’s it. He didn’t know anything else.

I didn’t make a note of the executive’s name but he was kind enough to transfer the call to a supervisor, Krishna.

I was little relieved that the ‘dealing’ is happening at the next level. I was hoping that someone in a supervisor’s role would be more responsible. So, I requested Krishna to look into a few things:
i) The way the first ticket was handled
ii) The status on the second ticket
iii) The reason why I did not receive a callback from supervisor as promised
iv) The best approach and course of action to fix my appliance.

After about 10 minutes on hold, this is what he got back with:
i) No idea
ii) Still open
iii) No clue
iv) Call somebody else

When I told him that [forget about being supervisor] he need not even work for LG to get back with those responses, he made a few commitments. He’s got to have some strategy to get me off the phone of course!

He told me he will organize a conference call with the executive to inquire about the ‘supervisor callback’ situation. He never did. He told me he will organize a conference call with the Hyderabad Service Center to find out the status and speed up the process. He never did. He did provide another number to call. She apparently is the ‘Customer Care Officer’. Enter Rajitha. Well, just the name. She never entered the picture herself.

• Krishna, supervisor is bad because of the above. His list of faux pas is too irritating even to summarize again!

I was told I can contact Rajitha anytime after 10.00 am. So, I started calling her after 10.30 am, just in case. I called her every 15 minutes for about 15-30 times. I think she too attended your ‘topper of the batch’ telephone etiquette program; either she did not answer the calls, or she rejected the calls. When you get a chance, please appraise her of her performance. How often do you find somebody who can implement your policies to the letter?

• Rajitha (97039 18969), Customer Care Officer, is bad because she doesn’t know how to use cell phone.

Phew, back to toll free number!

After the regular 10-12 minutes initial IVR stuff and irritating so called music, got the executive. Asked for a supervisor and got Naveen this time.

Of all the losers I dealt with at LG, this was the only person I thought had an intention to help. I mean, he was normal. I guess he missed your Customer Care and Telephone Etiquette training programs. Good for him!

He apologized for all that has happened and gave me another number to call. He also said he will ask Krishna to call me and follow up on his promises but you already know Krishna took the etiquette training, so he never called. Fair enough.

• Naveen is normal. Thanks Naveen for your good intentions.

The number I received from Naveen was for Madhuri. I don’t know what the heck she is, but I can assure that she too was part of your telephone etiquette program.

After dialing about 16-18 times continuously, she picked up the call. She had food in her mouth and she told me something that I understood as ‘will call you back after lunch’. It was around 3.00 pm then. Waited till 4.30 pm but no call back. I called her again, another 12-14 times. She answered the call after that, with food still in her mouth. I guessed she was still eating. Not able to explain why she did not call back, she handed over the phone to a Shailaja.

Shailaja asked for the ticket number and I was hoping that she would have an answer. Well, apparently she has access to the same database the toll free guys look into. Therefore, the update she was able to provide was that the ticket was still open, and that it will be closed when the appliance is repaired. Yeah right, a major breakthrough!

• Madhuri (90527 11311) and Shailaja don’t need a phone. And, they shouldn’t be talking to customers!

Well, back to the toll free number. With a few requests and about 15-20 minutes on hold, I was able to get through to the only person I can talk to – Naveen. This time, he too felt bad about the long delay and the eating Madhuri/ unhelpful Shailaja. So, he gave me the mobile number of the ASM (not quite sure but I think it stands for Area Service Manager) Venkata Sai Krishna.

This ASM guy is apparently the head of one of the three Service Centers you have in Hyderabad; Head of the Service Center my case was unfortunately forwarded to; Or, unfortunately the Service Center that covers my area of the city. Unfortunate in every way.

Surprisingly, he answered my call within 8-10 trials around 11.00 am. I was so happy when he answered the call and told me that he’ll look into the matter and call me back in ten minutes. If a ticket can get the attention of the Head of the Service Station, it ought to be addressed fairly, right?

Out of respect for his position, I didn’t bother him all day. But then, he never called back. I tried the next day. That time, probably he remembered he worked for LG and he had some telephone etiquette to adhere to; he started either ignoring calls, and once in a while rejecting them.

This guy also uses one of those outdated smart phones which send an SMS when you reject the call. “I will call you back as soon as possible”. You should be well aware of this move. Isn’t it listed in your FAQs for the etiquette?? Of course he won’t call and he knows it!

Meanwhile, the next day, on 19th Oct, Wednesday, I received a call from a technician named Swamy around 1.00 pm. He said he had the compressor with him right then and he could come and install it. I was in office at the moment so I asked if he could come around 4 or 5 pm. He gladly agreed and I was so happy that, finally, the part has arrived and the problem would be fixed by the end of the day! I just didn’t know what kinda guy Swamy was.

I received no call from Swamy so I started calling him back. It took 49 calls to talk to him. He said he was roaming around with some other work and he could come and fix it early next day.

We fixed an appointment: 20th Oct, Thursday, 8.00 am.

I don’t know which module in your telephone etiquette covers this aspect but Swamy was able to do something that nobody I interacted with so far couldn’t do it: switch off the mobile phone!

I tried for ASM’s number to find out the story. Well, he answered after 10-12 trials and told me that the part has just arrived and it would be replaced the next day, Friday.

I asked how come Swamy told me he was ready with the part on Wednesday. Well, he didn’t have a clue. He wanted to check with Swamy but you know, if and when he switches on his mobile phone. According to the policy, how long should the technician keep the phone turned off to avoid customers?

• Swamy (83746 53637) is bad because he didn’t repair it on the day he promised. He failed to live up to the commitment and ignored 48 calls in one evening. Worst part, he kept his phone switched off all next day with no update.

Friday passed by and no repair was done. So, started dialing ASM’s number again. This time, I was not going to give up. I got a big cup of coffee and sat comfortably to test his patience. Well, he eventually gave up and after sending out a few “will call you back” text messages, he answered the call. He introduced me to another person, Srilatha.

• Venkata Sai Krishna (99854 87556) is bad because either he is unaware of what his Center does, or he has no staff to do the repair work he assigns, or the technicians don’t give a rat’s ass and ignore this head. I pity this guy.

Srilatha made all the promises like any other person I spoke with. A technician would come early in the morning and repair it. Another appointment fixed: Saturday, 22nd October, 8.00 am. You know who the technician is? Swamy! Hehehe…

I challenged her that the technician won’t come at 8.00. She wanted a 30 minutes buffer time, just in case. So, as per the arrangement, I would wait till 8.30 and if the technician doesn’t show up, I will check with her.

What do you think? I had to call her at 8.31 am.

It only took 3 calls to get her on line.

I don’t know what magic she did. Technician finally showed up at 9.20 am and was done by 11.00 am.

• Srilatha (90527 11211) did her best I guess. I shouldn’t mind the few hours delay given that I spent 22 days following up with your dumbass representatives, more than a couple of hours each day!

I asked him while he was working why he didn’t answer the 48 calls on Wednesday. He murmured something that sounded like ‘phone was left at home’. And I asked him why his phone was switched off while I was trying to reach him on Thursday while I was waiting at home. He told me he was sent to training! Enough already!

Hehehe… Swamy is already following your telephone etiquette policy to the letter; he doesn’t answer any calls until you try for 48 times. He doesn’t need any training! So don’t all the other folks who worked on my tickets. They are as perfect as you need them!

The only person you might be able to ruin is Naveen. He is good and you might not like him like that. Screw with his intentions to be helpful and you will be 100% consistent!

*Sigh!*

That’s my story. You should have a clear understanding of where all you suck and how much. As mentioned before, whether or not you might want to stop sucking is upto you!

P.S.: You should actually be buying me a new refrigerator for my time and effort. For being your freelance business consultant, doing your process review and also conducting a performance appraisal for your employees. But not LG appliance though, buy me a Whirlpool, may be!

Or a vacuum cleaner, if you manufacture one. As you suck so much, that is the best product you can make. The more it sucks, the better! Literally!

One more thing-

I heard you guys just released a 3D phone. Is it true? If yes, think again! You can’t fix a refrigerator and the technology has been around for a century now. Do you really need to work on a 3D phone now? Really??

Shame on you!

Yours neverlovingly,
Viv.

Crossing a water stream

More than a month after the trek, it occurred to me that I didn’t blog about the experience. Bharani is working on the travelogue; so let me list a quick, top 10 noteworthy points (in random order) from the trek – The Reality Check.

1. Ease of the trek: Many sources we checked with indicated that this is a very easy trek. This list includes a few websites [of the companies] that organize treks, few people who have been on treks before, etc. Either we were too excited to listen to, or may be we were never told so, but the truth is: it’s not an easy trek. Well, easiest of all the treks in The Himalayas, but not an easy one in general.

   There were more than few instances when we were thankful that the initially planned 12+ group didn’t make it. For the three of us who could make it, our ego was our strength (Shiva- Well said!). If you have to do it, what other options do you have, other than doing it?? Unless you have that passion for adventure, there are fair chances that you will get pissed off and be mad at everything and everyone around!

   If somebody is keeping score: You need prior experience to enjoy this trek. It’s not a cake walk. It’s rock walk!
   
   

2. Trek essentials (What to carry?): I was a fool and I took more stuff than necessary; I thought that’s one way to boost my self-confidence and feel that nothing can go wrong. However, the principle here is – the lighter the better. We were told that the backpack should be around 7 kgs (or less). Mine was more than 10 kgs and it was on my shoulders for 5 days through plains, rocks, boulders, steep ascents, slippery descents, water streams etc.

   Clothes- 2 full sleeve T-shirts, 2 tracks (at least 1 synthetic), 1 winter jacket (cold) and 1 wind-cheater (rain), and few pairs of inner-wear  is enough. Not mandatory, but if this will be your first time in low temperatures, grab a pair of thermal inners, like I did.
   Accessories – Trekking shoes (Woodland worked awesome for me), 2 pairs of socks, sun glasses with 100% UV protection, a sun cap, a woollen cap (or a skull cap/ bandana), 2 bottles for water and an LED torch (preferably with a head band to keep your hands free).
   Toiletries – Tooth paste, tooth brush, sun screen, wet wipes/ tissue papers, toilet paper, ear buds, mouth wash, etc. Get as small packets as possible to reduce weight. If they can last for 1 week, you have more than enough.
   Medical kit – Your regular medicines should be fine (Crocin, brufen, gauge/ bandage cloth, band-aids, Dettol/ Savlon, cotton, etc). I just needed 2-3 combiflam tablets all throughout. Teams that organize the trips typically carry the AMS specific medication.
   Finally, a supportive rucksack/ backpack (60 ltrs.) to hold all this stuff, and a poncho (rain cover) for it.
   
   

3. Temperature: This was my first time below 9 °C (or whatever was minimum in Hyderabad in the last 10 or so years). I guess the least we had on the trek was at night, at the campsite after Day 4 trek. It was 4°C. Just to be safe and more comfortable, I wore the thermal inners just that night, but my buddies were all normal. So, depending on how much cold temperatures you’ve survived before, this could be a big deal, or nothing to you.

   Days were usually hot. So, just a T-shirt and tracks will work fine. However, sun glasses and cap are mandatory. Sun screen also is recommended (we used it too).
   
   

4. Sleeping bag: This was my first time experience with many things. Camping was the major one, and sleeping bag was the next biggest. After Day 1, I was very uncomfortable that night in the bag and was tossing and turning (at least, trying to toss and turn) until morning. Damn, you can’t even fold your legs properly! Anyways, the adrenaline kept us going the next day even with less sleep. Also, the trekking company we hired, Trek The Himalayas provided us the tents and sleeping bags.

   By day 4,  I mastered the art of sleeping in the bag and was a pro! Full sound sleep.
   
   

5. Nature calls:This was one of the most uncomfortable aspects on our mind. Been out in the open hundreds of times and it’s inevitable when you travel a lot, or take long road trips. But we always carry water and that’s good. However, we were told we need to use toilet paper on the trek and water would not be available. I’ve used toilet paper a few times in the past and I was not happy about it.

   The truth is- our trek was along the water stream all through. Now it makes sense, and it didn’t occur before the trek to us, but we do need water to drink, to cook and to wash the dishes/ plates etc. Carrying that much water is practically insane. So, all our camping sites will of course be near a stream. I can’t express how comfortable it made me feel when we realized we had water!

   Our trekking company pitched ‘toilet tents’ at every camp site. So, in plain terms, a small tent for privacy, inside which, a deep hole is dug. Every time anyone uses the ‘toilet’, you ‘flush’ it (or cover it up) with the loose mud available from digging the hole and it’s ready for the next one.

   We preferred out in the open. It might mean, sometime or the other, exposing your ass to a big patch of ice , but the comfort of having water and not having to use the toilet paper takes higher precedence. Of the two bottles I recommended, 1 is for drinking water and 2 is for this. We also always promptly filled the bottles after use and carried it in the back pack.
   
   

6. Water: As we are appreciating  the availability of water, let’s talk a little more. True that water is available and it made us very happy; but the fact is, it’s terribly cold. The worst I felt all through the trek was when I had to wash the plates! Be it breakfast or dinner, food consumption was quick as it’s served hot. But the moment we touch water to wash the plates/ glasses, we lost our hands. We have to look at the utensils and clean them as feeling will be gone in 2 secs. Afternoons were little better. Sometimes, it was even packed lunch; so a quick bite, throw packing in garbage and quick hand dip in water was not bad.

   We did ask our trek leaders why we were asked to wash plates when we even had assistance. We did have a couple of them to take care of all the cooking, tent materials, horses and stuff. They told us calmly on the last day: “This is one of the things which you will remember for a long time about this trek.” Yeah, I will!

   Morning face wash was real quick too! Brushing wasn’t an issue but if you want to spill water on your face, you better be ready with a towel in the other hand. When we delayed the towel-wipe for more than 3-4 seconds, we needed more than couple of minutes to reclaim our face skin sense. Not very pleasant I say! Also, one of the questions we had before we started the trek was about taking shower. After we touched the water the first time, hell with shower, we didn’t even want to eat; because that again means washing hands/ plates/ glasses!
   
   

7.  Alcohol and smoking: Strictly not advisable. We had a few in our group who had a good time every night, but that’s a very risky business at high altitudes! Am glad that none in our group had any AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) or similar complications on our trek, but we did hear from our leaders, very fatal stories of incidents that took place on their previous treks.

   According to their flashback, some were carried back to the previous day’s altitude, and one person died apparently of AMS. As you know, freakin’ AMS has no medical way of knowing beforehand if anyone can possibly suffer from the condition. And there is nothing that can be done after it happens, other than getting back to previous day’s altitude and waiting there for things to get normal. And, alcohol/ smoking reduces the oxygen processing capacity of the body and can lead to AMS. Very very risky business where emergency means, people carrying you on their shoulders for a day or two to get to the nearest clinic/ medical center!
   
   

8. Keep walking: Saying no to alcohol and thinking of Johnny Walker doesn’t seem right? Well, that’s what is most of the trek; keep walkin’! Terrain was different for sure; plains, small rocks, boulders (toughest), water streams (coldest), loose mud at the descent time (scary!), etc. However, best way to get going is just to keep walking.

   We kinda learnt a few tips along the way. Drinking water is of course the first. Keep sipping water every now and then. Target was to have 3-5 liters of water everyday. It was cold and I barely touched water during the night, so was taking bigger sips during the day to keep up with the requirement.

   Maintaining steady pace was another trick. Find a buddy or two with your pace and just keep walking. Trek leaders would take care of the rest of the herd, and it was mostly us ahead; Bharani, Shiva and I together. We found that slow pace, but steady pace was better than the fast run-and-take-rest pace. Syncing breathing with foot steps was pretty helpful too; left right left right with in out in out/ out in out in.
   
   

9. Photography: As Chase Jarvis says, “The Best Camera is the One That’s With You“. For me, the primary camera for the trek was my iPhone 4. It worked great and am pretty happy with pictures. However, as there wasn’t any recharging provision (or phone signal, for that matter), the battery was dead at the end of Day 3. Then came out an SLR, my secondary camera.

   SLR might any day be a better camera than the one in-built in a phone, if you know how to put it to good use. However, with a decent piece like an iPhone, I won’t miss SLR much. Images are clean, sharp and colors are good. If I had an option to recharge the iPhone battery, I would have not carried an SLR. I learnt just a day before we started that there are solar chargers for iPhone. Not the 7 day warranty ones on eBay but real authentic branded ones on Amazon. Have to shop for one for future use. That could have saved SLR’s weight on my back!

   But again, there were moments when we had a beautiful sight in front of us and a quick photograph is not going to communicate the feel to others who were not present there. Those are the moments and places that should be experienced and not looked at as part of a slide show. Sometimes, we just had to put the camera off and savor the beauty and serenity of nature. We were trekkers more and photographers less sometimes!
   
   

10. Acclimatization: All my life so far, I was told to cover my ears and keep the feet warm if it’s terribly cold weather. On this trek, for the purpose of getting accustomed to the higher altitudes, I learned otherwise about covering ears. Our trek leader insisted that we cover our head (with skull cap/ sun cap/ bandana) but keep the ears open, as that helps us in getting acclimatize. Nothing specific about feet (shoes/ just socks/ open sandals/ flip flops, all were accepted).

    Also, no afternoon naps. We stopped around 3pm or so on Day 2 because terrain was tough that day; a mix of steep ascents, boulders, crossing a water stream of freezing temperature, etc. We were obviously tired and the idea of getting into the tent and lying down was simply irresistible. However, that was against the acclimatization. So, he kept us occupied with snacks, tea, card games and stuff but did not allow to doze off even for a minute.

    I had a mild headache two days in a row because of altitude change. Trek leader said that’s perfectly normal and advised to walk it off, but I preferred a normal headache pill to be active and move around. A nap works fine for mild headache but as that was in the not-to-do list, I had to swallow some mild medication.
    
    

• (Bonus) Clouds:There’s this strange feeling about clouds; sometimes we were right inside the cloud and some other times, even above the clouds! And, this not in an airplane but on normal ground at high altitudes. It feels so good and so different. We did touch, pass through and experience clouds more than few times.

  Ignorantly of course, we hoped the sky would be clear at night so that we can take a ‘long exposure’ shot of beautiful sky with stars. Where else, if not in The Himalayas, would we find such a pollution free climate? But then, on Day 2, when our wish was granted, our ignorance was gone. Without the clouds in the sky, the heat on the ground escaped so fast, that we were shivering inside the tent. Temperature was not very low but little breeze made it worse. Forget about the ‘long exposure’ composition, at 7.30 pm, we had a serious discussion in the tent about what to tell everyone as a reason to skip dinner! We thought, no stepping out whatsoever!

  Damn, we had to step out for dinner that night anyway, struggling hard to hold the plate steady with shivering hands. Chewing was easy though – our jaws were chattering anyway! And on top of that, we washed the plates too!

A long planned adventure finally came true in July 2011 – Trekking in The Himalayas!

Bharani is working on the travelogue; stay tuned to experience the magic!

Meanwhile, here are the images from the trip. The images are hosted outside my regular gallery so am explicitly posting this link on the blog for your convenience.

Go to Hampta Pass Trek images.

I know I’ve used ‘booth’ in my previous post but realised later that ‘bhoot’ is better. Just the spelling -adapting to the correct one in this post.

So, you know what happened at the airport that night. If you need a quick recall of events, read the previous post first.

Up to date? Let’s continue.

We lost three documents: parking ticket, car registration (RC) and my driver’s license; in that order.

Let me tell you what happened to those docs in the reverse order. First, my license.

A week or two before that day, a policeman stopped me for verification over a weekend ride to the supermarket. I was on bike with Bharani. They check every Saturday or Sunday in our regular Miyapur-Bachupally route. I had the bike’s RC and driver’s license in my wallet. When the policeman reluctantly asked for ‘papers’, I patiently got down the bike, opened the seat section to access the documents compartment and handed over the ‘papers’. Those were NOT the papers he was looking for. They were bike papers of course but the ones that I need to get the RC at RTA. RC was already made so they were practically useless. I seriously don’t know what he checked but after flipping through them for a while, demanded for license. I had to open my wallet and show him the card. When trying to put it back, the card slipped out of my hands and fell in one of those gaps under the seat as it was still open.

After trying to reach for it a minute, thought I’ll look into it after getting home and we moved on. The driver’s license remained in the bike and I never got to it. I even completely forgot about it and was roaming around confidently in the city even without carrying a license! And, that day, I drove to airport too, not knowing that my driver’s licence was no longer in my wallet. So, that’s about the license. I hope it’s still there in the bike somewhere!

Next is what? Oh, RC.

This cannot be a forgotten or ‘missed it elsewhere’ case as I held the card in my own hands to verify the registration number and stuff while heading to the parking office in the airport. But then, it was missing in less than a minute.

Few days after that incident, while on our way home from office (we carpool), Venkat was waiting in the car while I got down to get some milk/ groceries/ something. Venkat is the one who was with me in airport when I parked the car, lost the ticket and when all the bhoot drama happened. It was his license we used to get out of the situation.

While waiting, he bent down a little to take a look at that coffee cup storage area one more time. There was a small gap into which he slid a finger and fiddled a little. He apparently felt something like a card and pulled it out. Viola! RC!!

One of my habits while driving is: I don’t hold anything in hands. I wear a seat belt and use hands just for steering or the gear shaft and that’s it. If I have to handle any toll tickets, money, phones, I do that real quick and pass them on to the navigator. If not, my next preference is to dump them in the front seat or the cup holder area and address it later. I think I left it in the cup holder area that night too. But I still don’t understand how it got stuck in a small gap, deep inside under the dashboard, huh! I tell you it’s the airport bhoot!

First one with driver’s license was completely my forgetfulness, I agree. Even later, Bharani reminded me of the bike incident and I did not recollect it on my own.

The second one was ok-ok. If the document was technically existing in the car, it’s our ineffective search. However, there is no way it can be hidden so discretely in that small gap under the dashboard. This hiding part, I blame on, the airport bhoot. So, RC fiasco was in partnership.

The last document we still are yet to talk about – parking ticket? There is nothing to talk about it. The bhoot took it and it was never found.

End of story.

It’s not the English booth, like the telephone booth.

It’s the Hindi booth, like the Ram Gopal Varma’s movie. Telugu lo – deyyam!

We’ve seen it live in Hyderabad International Airport. Well, not literally seeing with our eyes per se, but experienced it. I couldn’t stop laughing all night in spite of being in trouble.

It was about 10 days ago, a Saturday night. One of our friends’ was leaving to US and we went to drop him off at the airport.

We started at home around midnight. We did have good time in reserve for the flight. We headed directly to the terminal first. After a couple of them got down with luggage at the ‘departures’ terminal, we looked for parking. We were two in the car.

We entered the parking area, took the parking ticket and parked the car. We then discussed whether to carry the parking ticket with us or leave it in the car.

We decided to leave it in the car. If neither of us two come for the car again, there would be a confusion. So, we were sure to leave the ticket with the car. We placed it on the storage area near the gear knob (near the cup holder and stuff) and locked the car.

We went up to the terminal, had something to eat at Mc Donald’s, said goodbye to our friend, clicked a few pictures around and also looked at some movie shooting going on for a few minutes. It was good time all the while, but also early hours of Sunday; we wanted to head home.

We came to pick up the car from parking.

Surprise! Parking ticket is missing!!

Normally, we would wonder whether we left it in the car or took it with us. But, as we explicitly discussed it, we were damn sure it should be in the car. Except the fact that, it was not there!

I have an iPhone and my friend has a HTC Desire. We both switched on the LED lights on mobiles and searched the car. Completely. We moved the seats around too, but couldn’t find the damn ticket!

To look into some hard-to-reach places, we even switched on the phones’ video camera with LED light ON and checked. No trace of the ticket.

Again, we know it’s not in our wallet or pockets because we both explicitly discussed and left it in the car. Even then – we emptied our pockets and scanned through our wallets. You never know!

But the ticket was not to be found.

I personally thought someone got into our car.

Two reasons for my doubt: One, the glove box was open when we got to the car. We wouldn’t normally keep the glove bog open because it’s tough to even get down that way. So, it was my suspicion that somebody broke into the car and looked around for any valuables. Two, there was a sweater we left in the front seat. Normally kept just in one seat when we got down. It was ‘thrown’ over the two seats when we came later.  That still strengthened my doubt that they were ‘looking around’.

However, am not sure now. Why would a thief leave a wonderful sweater but take the parking ticket?

But again, we thought, he/ she took nothing but the ticket was blown away when the doors were open. Fair enough. So, the thief was a good one; we lost nothing we noticed. Or, may be there was no thief.

That doesn’t change the fact though. The parking ticket was not to be found.

We repeated the process. Searched the car. Complete car. Again. And then pockets, wallets and surroundings. No ticket.

The laughs had already started. Hysterical laughs. We know we are not stupid but the ticket was not there. No reasoning seemed right.

We finally took the car out of the parking area and headed to the parking exit. Told the attendant that the ticket was lost.

He explained the process: We have to show them the car registration certificate, driver’s licence and pay Rs 350. That formality should be completed at the Parking Office on the other end.

I always carry Driver’s License in my wallet. So, if I have the Registration ID in the car, I can pay them the fine and get the hell out of there.

Looked at few documents in the car and found the RC. I was holding it in my hand to make sure that’s the right ID. It was the right card I needed. I confirmed the registration number twice to be very sure. Kool. We headed to the Parking Office.

It was less than a minute. We got down and one officer came around to inquire what the problem was. Explained that the parking ticket was lost and we were there to pay the fine.

He asked for the RC and the license.

Surprise! RC is missing!!

I couldn’t just believe it! I had held it in my hand a minute ago. It’s not an exaggeration, I am talking about 60 secs here! But, the fact  is – it’s gone.

We did the drill again. Car search, pocket search, LED light camera search. Even the parking officer couldn’t believe it. He too assisted in moving the seats around and searching the complete car, one more time. But no luck. No parking ticket, no RC.

Howzzat??

I asked the officer if there was a ‘booth’ around. He laughed too and suggested we search one more time. Another round of drill, in vain.

He probably felt bad for our luck that night. He approached me and told that just License would do for the moment. He said he can let me go without the RC because he was witnessing the situation and he didn’t think it was fake. Good that he actually believed us! Nice fella!

So, while still wondering where the parking ticket had gone and thinking about even more surprising vanish act of the RC, I walked right behind the parking officer. And at the same time, I was also taking out my wallet for Driver’s License.

Ready for another surprise? Bam! There’s no license in my wallet!

I was no longer sure what was going on. Parking ticket fiasco- fine, it’s weird but I give it to you. But then, RC and License is too much. Too-bloody-much I say!

We used friend’s driver’s licence (his was still available in the wallet ) and got the hell out of there as quickly as we could.

We were puzzled, we were laughing, joking around and all that on the way home, at 3 am. But we did not know where the booth came from and why it took our documents!

A few days after that, the mystery was resolved. Not completely, but a good start. Will continue the resolved mystery in the next post.

It was 11:30 pm and having just completed my mango picture and dinner last night, I was relaxing on the couch, watching ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on my desktop. Few minutes into the sitcom, my iPhone beeped and showed an alert about some comment on one of my facebook Notes.

Laptop wasn’t very far – so while still following Ray’s comedy on big screen, opened facebook on laptop to review the comment. I then moved on to email in another tab and was browsing through without any particular intent.

Then I saw one of my old colleagues initiate a chat conversation on facebook. It’s been a long time I spoke with her and was a little surprised to receive a message at that hour. She started with regular pleasantries like ‘how u doing?’ and ‘what u upto?’ stuff. Everything was fine with me, and I told her so.

When I asked her the same questions back, response wasn’t as expected. She said things were not good at her end. I thought it’s the regular “missing-India” kinda complaints I receive from many people I know who live outside India.

This situation was different.

She told me they had a worst vacation ever. I assumed something did not go as planned and so she was still feeling bad about it. May be it was a couple of weeks ago or so, I thought.

As our conversation progressed further, she explained that she got stranded in Scotland at the moment. Based on the fine language she was using and calm composure she maintained, it did not appear right. But if she is on facebook, catching up with a long lost colleague, she’s possibly held up at an airport, bored, with an Internet kiosk or something. Why not?

I inquired if it was a flight delay. She said they were mugged at gun point and were stolen of cash, credit cards and phones. A story like this, fiction or real is in general associated with phishing. So, I paused the show I was watching, and started thinking about the live situation. I sat upright and took a moment to scroll up and read the complete conversation again, just to make sure I got it right.

Few questions ran through my mind, some sensible and some cautious.

Is this a real person talking to me? I mean, I know her as a colleague so I know she is a real person. But, is she the one who is actually chatting with me at the moment? Is she in a situation where she could use some help? If yes, I ought to help in any way I could. May be I can buy her flight tickets so she could reach home! But, wait. What if her account is hacked and if this is a phishing attempt?

There is one more clue left to judge if this is an authentic trouble situation or phishing – asking for sensitive information like bank or credit card details. That will help me decide to some extent. Asking for help is understood; asking for credit card number and related details is suspicious!

This friend of mine is a Telugu girl, currently staying in US with her husband. Just a habit I guess, chatting was in English all the while. I continued the chat after the mugging story, but in Telugu. If she is who I think she is, I know she speaks good Telugu and should not be any problem in discussing the situation further. I got prepared to help her (of course) but only after at least one confirmation of her authenticity. However, what if she is hesitating to ask for help because we haven’t spoken in years? I myself asked her if she needs any help, in Telugu. As soon as I sent a few sentences in Telugu, she went offline.

I was a little worried and confused at the same time. What if she was my colleague, really in trouble and lost connection due to some technical problem. I was waiting for her to come online again so that I can try to get her out of there. My idea probably was to book flight tickets online, Scotland to US, using my credit card and let them print/ access it there.

I was reminding myself to NOT disclose the card details. Getting flight tickets for someone who lost everything in a foreign land is a good help. As the card is physically with me, even if I share the card number and other details, they have to book online too. So, why not I book online from here and let them access the tickets from there?

If it’s a phishing attempt, they wouldn’t benefit much from a ‘Scotland to US’ airplane ticket, do they? They would need my card details so that they can buy something else. Yes, that was my move. If this is a genuine situation, once she comes online, I would confirm the necessary details and book her tickets online.

But there was a second thread that started in my head when she went offline. May be that’s someone who hacked her account and was phishing! He/ she logged off because they couldn’t continue the conversation in a foreign language!

Anyway, she was offline. I did not know which way to go – shall I wait for her to come online and help her get home? Or, go to bed considering that as a close call to phishing on facebook? I resumed Ray’s comedy and was glancing at facebook page once in a while to see if she shows online. Another 10 mins or so for the episode to come to an end. If I don’t see her online by then, I would go to sleep. Fixed.

10 mins passed and Ray’s sitcom show was over. Have to hit bed. But the first thread didn’t allow me to sleep. I wrote a big note on her wall before I logged off. It was a request to all her friends to help her if they see her online on facebook or get in touch by any other means elsewhere. I also sent her a message with my mobile number if she needs to wake me up.

After a little tossing and turning in bed, sat up again and logged into all messengers on iPhone. Unless something’s final on this drama, how can I go to normal sleep?

Luckily, she was online on Yahoo!

I sent her a “hi” and “u ther?” real quick.

She responded ok but was asking my whereabouts. May be she forgot my Yahoo ID. I login to yahoo only once every season.

Reminded about our encounter a moment ago on facebook and asked if she really needs help.

She was stunned too. A little more conversation helped us realize that her facebook was hacked. And the worst, part – she was not aware of it!

I was online until she reset her password for facebook, showed her the initial phishing chat conversation, deleted the help request on her wall and logged off.

All has ended well. It was a close call but no information was disclosed to the phisherman. Moreover, there isn’t an old friend stranded in Scotland, mugged at gunpoint, looking for help. What a relief!

Anyway, that was my personal story. But, here are a few more threats with facebook in general, FYI.

I am not sure but I think this is the code used by hackers to chat as the account holder. I like the comment number 0 on that page:

“This one should be so simple to prevent – it relies on a user actually copy and pasting in a command they don’t understand.

The downside is – “enough people are stupid enough” so it spreads.”

Take care fellas!

P365 site on iPhone. Looking kool, eh?

Yes!

Take a photo a day.

All year. 365 days.

Normally, such projects are started on New Year’s day; kinda New Year resolution I guess. But, what the heck?

After pondering over it for a long time, I’ve finally decided to get on now. What if it’s not Jan 1st, let me start 365 days from today!

So, there’s this setup now.

Ya, a new location just for the Project 365 stuff.

http://p365.viveeonline.com

You can grab the RSS feed, subscribe to email or bookmark it and check everyday. Your preference!

You can also click “Project 365″ link on this blog to get there. See on top? Along with Home, About and stuff? That’s the one!

If we are friends on facebook, you will also see my images everyday in your News Feed. Posting it there as Notes. I actually created a separate page on facebook too just for P365 but looks like it’s not working as expected. We’ll see.

Add me on facebook.

I would prefer you check out the daily image on P365 blog itself as I designed it to be clean and black. Also, on facebook Notes, image kinda looks small And all that stuff around which I consider a little distracting. But as I said before – your preference!

Please do add comments to pass on your feedback. Because, this project is not a show off! It’s a legitimate learning technique. Either you add feedback/ comments on facebook or the P365 blog, am pulling all of them to blog for the record. Ya, that’s working now.

Oh, by the way – my camera for now is iPhone4. Most of the images you see will be from this device which also doubles as phone and many other things for me. So, it’s kinda always available for me to take pictures. If the ‘learning for the day’ is a post processing thing (for example, adding stuff in Photoshop), I might use an old picture too for that day clicked by a different camera.

All in all, let me get started with this. I’m excited!

If you got something to say, drop in a comment for me.