Author Archives: admin

A Day at the Customs

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Our shipment (furniture and household items from the US) arrived about a month back at Nhava Sheva Port, Mumbai. The shipping company advised us to be present at the time of Clearing (though not mandatory). So we planned in such a way that we would be in Mumbai at the time of shipment arrival.

It was a door to door move; from Atlanta, US to Pune, India. We had about half a container full of household items and furniture. It took us over a year to scale down from a 3000 sq ft house to a moderate 2-3 bedroom apt. Why did we do it? It is a topic for some other day. 🙂

The customs department (like many Govt bodies) in India has a reputation for not letting anybody go without a bribe. We spoke to some friends and relatives that had connections. All advised and agreed that it would be better to bribe for a hassle free experience. Brinda and I were not very keen on the same. So we decided that we would personally visit the port and meet the customs dept. This also gave us an opportunity to inspect and make sure we received all of our items.

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Brussels means Business

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The title of this post says it all. This is the feeling I got during a recent trip to Brussels. I knew it is the capital of the European Union but wasn’t expecting it to be so vibrant.

I didn’t get any sense of slowdown (in terms of economy) while I was in Brussels. This city is hustling and bustling with all kinds of business activities. The construction of new buildings and restoration work is in full swing.

The city is also orderly and clean unlike some of the other European cities. The only issue was that we visited Brussels after Brugge.. 🙂 so didn’t find that many opportunities for photography. I settled with few pics and focused on being there and enjoying the moment (rather than the photography).

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A City called Brugge

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I have to thank Payal, Brinda’s friend who highly recommended Brugge. We had no idea that such a charming place existed in Belgium. This world heritage city is about an hour train ride from Brussels. It is also known as Venice of the North.

We got a good feeling about this city as soon as we got off the train and our trip also ended on the same note. It had pretty much everything that we were looking for. It was a real get away for us as we hadn’t seen anything like it in the US, Asia or Australia.

Brugge is perfect for relaxing or taking a break from busy life where you can be just yourself and don’t want to be bothered by anybody.

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Toastmasters International – A World-Class Organization

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I’m sure many of you have heard of Toastmasters International by now. No, it is not a Golf tournament as one of my colleagues at UPS thought it to be. 🙂 It is a worldwide organization dedicated for improving Public Speaking, Listening and the Leadership skills.

Since most of the Fortune 500 companies have local Toastmasters clubs, I also had an opportunity to be part of Toastmasters at UPS. I found the experience so enriching that I’m planning to be associated with it (one way or another) till the rest of my life. The organization is not just about improving our public speaking or presentation skills, it also helps us grow in many aspects.

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Spiritual India in a Belgian Castle

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I had promised at the time of starting this blog that I would share with you our travels to some unique and interesting places, so here is the first one.

Radhadesh, “Spiritual India in Belgian Ardennes” has been on my mind for the last few years. Visiting a castle in the European countryside with all the spiritual goodness around it, what’s there not to like about it?

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