Bomings in Jaipur

7 bombs are said to have gone off in Jaipur. So many dead, the Indian news channels going their usual way, all cacophony, here is the discussion on Indiamike.

I have spent quite some time near Jaipur and Jauhari Bazar (Jeweler's Market) is quite a familiar place for me where I used to shop. Certain things make no sense.

Sticky Post: My Photo with Credit to Someone Else- Is it Time to Ping Again

This post is sticky for a few more days, regular posts continue below. I made it unsticky today (30/01/2008)

Compensation!

Remember that post-

Yesterday I took a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. I picked up the flight magazine (December Issue). I found that in their feature article they have taken a picture of mine with a credit to someone else. And of course there is no question of asking my permission as the credit is given to someone else. I am mad.

Well, I was promised a correction in the next issue and compensation too. Now I have not heard from then in a long while. This mishap happened in the December issue and I agree their January issue must have been in the press by the time we got talking. But now it must be time for the February issue and I have not heard from anyone. Should I wait or should I bother the editor again?

PS. This time the post remains sticky till the matter is settled.

Update (27/01/2008)- I wrote to the editor and asked what was the compensation amount.

He replied that they pay Rs. 500 per photograph normally. To me they would offer Rs. 1000. I am OK with that. I have been updating this at Indiamike too. I really liked this quote by Shakti (see message 85) when I posted the same there-

There is a much larger issue here in that corporations are becoming very casual about stealing imagery from unsuspecting photographers. If the penalty for getting caught is posting a clarification on the source and perhaps a token payment to the original photographer then there's zero incentive for them to change their practices.

So I sent it across to the editor too. Oh, well after reading the quote (I had quoted the source to the editor), the editor went mad and basically tried telling me that I was too small for them to buy pictures from me (I have no issues with that but still they ended up using one of my pictures and I thought I was the wronged party).

By this time I too was running think on patience and I told him it is probably time that I name the magazine and the airline on my blog and at Indiamike.

You would not have believed the complete change of tone in the next email from the editor. Of course, they appreciated that I did not name the magazine. Of course, they would mail me a check in a day or two. Of course, they were interested in my postal address and of course they would send me a copy of the February issue.

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET. That gives an option to mere mortals like me to write.

Update (29/01/2008) Got that check for 1000 rupees, as promised, on time. The magazine has been promised after 2nd February. Thanks a lot for all your support.

Jet Airways- Making a Customer Run from Pillar to Post

Recently came across a post on Indiamike about Jet Airways making a customer run from pillar to post. They lost the luggage and then they are not responding through customer care. I thought I will do this small post about Jet Airways to say I understand. The entire thread about the Jet Airways not responding to the complain is here. Following is a short quote-

Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself a patient person. However, my patience is being tested by Jet Airways after they lost my luggage one week ago and have offered me virtually no assistance in recovering it. Their customer "service" is truly appalling!!!! Any advice on how I can get my luggage back??

Cross posted at Blogbharti.

When You See a Picture Taken by You in an In Flight Magazine with a Credit to Someone Else!

Note: This Post is sticky for the time being. The regular posts continue below. I will be updating this post as and when I get some new information.

Update (27/12/2007): I have made this post unsticky in honor of these pictures from Prashar Lake in December (pictures courtesy Anil, my colleague).

Yesterday I took a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. I picked up the flight magazine (December Issue). I found that in their feature article they have taken a picture of mine with a credit to someone else. And of course there is no question of asking my permission as the credit is given to someone else. I am mad.

After consulting a lot of people through mail and putting the same question at Indiamike, I have written to the airline but this being end of the year I doubt I will hear back soon. I will wait for a decent period of time (say January 15 or should I wait longer?) before putting a post with the name of the airline.

Update 1 (24/12/2007): I heard from the airline and the editor who handles the work for the airline. I must say they are prompt. I wrote them over on the weekend and by Monday morning I got the reply. The editor says they got the picture from the person who they have attributed it to. According to the editor the person is one of the top travel writers in India. The editor has asked for one week's time to get back to me. So far so good.

Update 2 (25/12/2007): I had googled the author to whom the picture was attributed and I wrote a mail to him asking if he had any idea how he got the credit for the picture? I got a reply. He says he was away and an assistant sent the pictures. When one of his was not opening, the assistant simply downloaded a picture from the internet and sent it to the magazine editor that turned out to be mine. He admits there has been a mistake and says he is willing to write to the editor and also pay me out of his own pocket. I agreed to writing to the editor but of course not to paying out of pocket. Looks like the thing will settled quickly? I will now wait to hear from the editor and the airline again.

Update 3 (26/12/2007): Heard from the editor again. He says they will print a correction in the next issue and pay me for the picture. Also said they would try to put a system in place so that such incidents can be minimized. I asked if I could get a copy of the issue in which the clarification occurs. I hope I will! The editor didn't mention what they would pay I didn't ask. But I think this should be the end of the matter.

I will make this un-sticky only when I see the correction. The worst part in this whole episode is the role of chance. Had I not taken that flight with the particular airline , I would have never known about this whole stuff.

World's Highest ATM at Thegu (Sikkim, India)?

Just a little before Nathu-La (India-China border in Sikkim), at a small place called Thegu, I saw a sign saying "High Altitude ATM." It belongs to UTI Bank(Unit Trust of India) and my hunch is that the people from the Indian army are its only users. The sign gave the height of the spot as 13200 feet (4023 meter). It crossed my mind that it could be the highest ATM in the world. Because even though Leh (J&K, India) has a SBI ATM (State Bank of India) the altitude of Leh is less than Thegu at 11500 feet (3500 m).

Unfortunately, our jeep did not stop there, anyway the movement on that road is regulated so I did not even think of requesting the driver to make a stop so that I could take a picture of the ATM. But here is a good one that I found on the internet.

When I searched for world's highest ATM I got this article in Taipei Times (read under the heading India, the article is dated June 16, 2004)) saying the Thegu ATM in Sikkim is indeed the highest ATM in the world. Do you know of any ATMS higher than this?

PS. I also remember they used to close the ATM at 5.00pm in Leh in 2005! Now that is a little strange for an ATM but maybe opening it beyond 5.00pm is a 'security concern' in J&K?

Update: I had posted the same query at Indiamike. Vistet replied saying there are two ATMs at Naqu (Altitute, 4500, Tibet) and VISAs ATM Locator lists two ATM there (listed Under China, Tibet obviously is not an option). So this is probably the highest ATM for us?

Indiamike and The India Tree

Update (August 22/08/2008) Once again I do not know why the Indiamike site is not loading today. I have not been able to access it too. Hope it will start loading soon.

Update (November 14, 2006): If you have come to this blog looking for why the Indiamike site is not loading on November 14, I am equally clueless. If fact, I used the site this week for information on Sikkim. If you know something about why it is down, I would be highly obliged if you could leave a comment.

There used to be a super place to hang about for all those who love traveling in India. The place is called Indiamike. Then something happened to the forum and the owner Mike archived it. I had got so much help from Indiamike forum for planning my trips to Bharatput and Bharmour. Thank you all. (As per May 12, 2006, Indiamike is up and running again.)

Now we have a new India travel forum The India Tree and it is a relief to see many of the familiar faces around. I have to start planning the trek which we would do in June. I will soon head to The India Tree for advice now.

Update: Indiamike is up again and now we have two forums, Indiamike and Indiatree for travel lovers. I think this is good news.

Touts Touts Everywhere?

Get down at New Delhi railway station, they will flock you and they are an aggressive lot. As soon as a 2X2 bus reaches the private bus stand in Manali they start running and pasting small piece of papers on the windows to claim the occupants as their own. You go elsewhere in India and you meet them. I am talking about touts, and if you come to India, you cannot escape them.

How do tourists react to them? I found a goldmine of information about this on India Mike. From many of the responses, I can also see, the tout issue touches a raw nerve.

Some of the practical responses on the question ‘How to Deal with Touts.’

Be polite and smile, but once only.
Don't shake hands or tell them your name or where you're from.
In built up areas, if it gets bad, threatening to call the police works well.

Stop walking and remain silent ... If you are catching a taxi in Mumbai etc, after getting the right price, get them to put it in writing (keep a small book for this or a voice recorder). This works a treat and though you may have to put up with some whining, there is no sudden increase in the price at the end of your journey. It works for railway porters, rickshaw drivers too.

Only put up with what a local would. In a very touristy area like Varenassi, have some touts adopt you and the others will stay away. Have fun. Don't lose your temper.

talskeddy at India Mike

It's hard to have a catch-all rule for touts... so often you want to avoid them, but sometimes (when you're in a remote part of the country, for example) you might want to use them.

Never had I experienced anything like the touts in Delhi on my first trip to India. Oh, I was so green and they saw it right away. I could write a story just on my experiences trying to find the New Delhi Train Station reservation office for foreigners without having a map or otherwise any idea of where it was. I got sucked in by almost a dozen touts that afternoon alone. At least I can laugh about it now.

picklepak at India Mike

Wear a BIG earphone and walk 'through' people - they will think that you are listening to music - so it will discourage people from trying to make a conversation with you.

mountaingirl at India Mike

Headphones might work but some of the touts are a bit more persistent and start touching you. That really ticks me off.
I am a lot taller and bigger than the average Indian male. I look mean to them and they leave me alone in no time. I hear the Eunuchs (Chakkas) can be quite a problem to Indians. Is this true?

oldhippie at India Mike

Here are some reactions that surprised me:

Persistent and irritating touts deserve to be manhandled, not handled !!

Just joking, of course !! The best way is to ignore them. If they are shameless enough to pursue you, then join your hands and say "Maaf karo", which is the term usually used to shoo away a beggar.

The tout will be made to feel like a beggar and if that dosen't make him slink away, then he is really thick skinned and deserves a place among the rhinos of Assam !!

SHIMLA at India Mike

Taxi and auto rickshaws: My wife made the observation that if you say "No thank you sir", then 99 times out of 100, they would leave us alone. Don't know why this works. Just make sure to include the "sir" part. "No thank you" is not good enough.

04274108 at India Mike

I usually try to look pissed off and mumble things to myself and occasionally swing randomly into the air... that seems to scare the touts away

nomadelmundo at India Mike

Pretend to try and sell them something, they soon get pissed off

goangoangone at India Mike

I agree. That also works very well. Can't say that I've seen people get pissed off but many of them will turn and walk away. Don't let them go. Follow them and bargain with them until they start to run.

Also had a great time in Delhi. With this technique One rickshaw driver wanted to take us for a ride to the Jama Masjid. I told him that I would take him there for 500Rs. We haggled for a bit and I got it down to where I would take him for free. Well needless to say, I had a blast driving him around for a few blocks. I had to stop well before the mosque though because my nerves couldn't cut the traffic. Some coppers gave us some really long unapproving glances too.

So, can you see the creativity? And I have just scanned four pages of the responses available. There are many more such gems in the discussion thread and run up to 10 pages. Explore it and you will be rewarded.

H and I have shown the whole gamut of emotions in dealing with touts. We have ignored them, we have got irritated, we have felt intimidated, we have felt cheated and angry and what not. That too, when we are Indians. I wonder how it would feel to land in a foreign country and have the Paharganj/New Delhi Railway Station experience. As our traveling experience has accumulated, I feel they trouble us less. Maybe they can guess we are not so green anymore?

But two incidents stand out in mind. When we went to Bharmour in December 2005 it was the off season and there was not one tout around as we got down from the bus. We had not pre-booked anything and this lack of touts left us completely bewildered. We did not know who to ask the directions for! We took a path (there were just two roads going into the town) and reached the Chaursai Temple Complex and the local folks guided us to a hotel.

Then again, we traveled to Bharatpur in the last week of January 2006 and we arrived there at 11 in the night. There were no touts around and this was the season. One tempo guy took us around and all the guesthouse owners were sound asleep! The tempo guy did ask for a price that may have been little more than the normal fare but he did not dump us at the first guesthouse and run away. He made sure that we got a room and only then went off. We tipped him extra for his moral support. These are my two most surprising incidents where we experienced a lack of touts.