Amazing India

[Razz R]

As you age, you have to do some things just for the pure pleasure of doing it..to give you an example. the last car purchase i made was in 2010.. i bought a brand new car @ that time.. put close to 210k miles on it.. it was still going strong.. to the point where my kids started saying we want to try and get into some sorta record books for the amount of miles.. it was fully paid off and generally a good car.. for the longest period of time i was like, car is functional what i have is perfectly good - why do i need to get a new car.. until i went and got a new car last year.. it is pleasurable and is loaded with all kinds of things, that have changed int the last 15 years..as you grow older, sometimes you just need to splurge.. not because you need it or want it, because you can.. and you also are not going to take all those savings and market gains with you when you go.. so go ahead and give yourself license to splurge, buy that nice car or apartment with fancy amenities in a nice neighborhood if it makes you feel good.. it doesn't always boil down to what makes sense.. sometimes you just have to live a little..

[SAPPORO]

Currently in Bangalore - it's a financial sin to buy an apartment in India especially if it's for short term. I was at a 1.75 Cr 3 bedroom apartment on the 11th floor in a nice society from Brigade buiilders. There are multiple identical rental apartments available in the same society for 50K per month. Good that a lot of NRIs have already committed the financial sin!

yes rentals in India are always cheaper than the monthly mortgage. So financially it doesn't make much sense to buy for short period of let's say 1month. But 6months is not short period and you are always at the mercy of landlord. You are always limited by the personalization that you do to a rental property. Basically you pay for your convenience and to have your own space. Not everything in life is about p&l statement. In addition, 10% appreciation plus 5% rental will give you 15% returns on your investment at the very least in long term. So nothing to lose really.

When I used 'Short term') I meant the number of years that Dicky needs a place to live in India and not the number of months he plans to stay in a year.
One can knock themselves out in buying the most expensive property that they can afford, if they are long-term residents in India. No point in getting tangled up in an expensive purchase for NRIs especially close to retirement and God forbid if the property outlasts the NRI owners, all bets are off. The rental yield is barely 3% and it's moot since Dicky cannot rent it out for 6 months in a year. The appreciation usually only matches inflation in good times and it would be eaten up in transaction costs and exchange rate depreciation. Not to mention the hassle in buying, maintaining and selling RE in India. Been there and done that!
There are thousands of apartments available to rent in nice communities for a fraction of the costs to own and one can always get a long-term lease.

[SAPPORO]

Excited about my week-long trip to Rajasthan starting tomorrow. Staying in a couple of fancy palaces away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
It's tempting to be part of Maha Kumbh as well even though I am not religious since it's once in a 144-year event. Not sure about the logistics to pull it off.

[Returning_Indian]

I recently went to a wedding event. I didn't know the couple or their parents. Just knew grandfather who was insistent that we come. I have been rebelling against my mother's wish for me to participate in social events for a long time. She would insist that I attend but my rebellion would get the best of me and I would skip. This time I made a decision to attend this wedding which is from extended-extended family relation. My wife was also happy to attend as she gets to dress up. It was better than lazy Sunday watching reels and ott. It was certainly good break. I also met all the relatives there that I haven't in long time and was wanting to. Now I can visit them individually and build relationships.

Now I have said to my wife a blanket yes from my side to attend all events in India. There is no point of shifting back it one wants to stay isolated. You can live in west if you want isolation. Social life is what India offers and I plan to make best of it. Moreover, building relationship is something I have not done for a long time and intend to do for time to come. One can always correct their past mistakes.

I usually love food made by halwai in India. Not the fancy five star types but typical Indian wedding food. It has a different flavour to it and you can only find it if you go to a wedding in tier 2-3 type areas. Hence, food in Delhi/NCR wedding is a big disappointment. The flavor is missing. In an attempt to become fancy, we are losing our generational wealth of taste. Good thing is that our village is still traditional and has lot such cooks where generational work is still going on. Ofcourse I avoided paneer like plague and stuck to pulses. North Indians need to stop serving south Indian food in their weddings or invite some good south Indian cooks, it's horribly done otherwise. Dosa is like cheela made from rice/dal.

[Returning_Indian]

Excited about my week-long trip to Rajasthan starting tomorrow. Staying in a couple of fancy palaces away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
It's tempting to be part of Maha Kumbh as well even though I am not religious since it's once in a 144-year event. Not sure about the logistics to pull it off.

Road trip in Rajasthan is a good memory from back when I shifted from US. I think 2014. Highways in Delhi NCR were horrible at the time. Plagued with inefficiencies from govt. But Rajasthan highways were excellent. Never found much traffic. Further interior I went better it got. I got to see the real culture, ones you see in typical Indian tv shows. Landscape was just fascinating to me. Lot of nothingness. Ofcourse scenery started to change once we started to move towards Jaisalmer. Architecture started to change. Everything was made from typical rajashthani stone. It was simply amazing. Trees changed to desert types. Highways were single lane but you wouldn't see the car for miles and miles. Ofcourse your jaw just drops once you reach the desert. There were some archeology sites which were fabulous. And ofcourse with Rajasthan there are always stories in these old places about ghost or some lady taking revenge. Jaisalmer was different. I am sure it must be lot more chaotic now with all the tourism boom. There is a fort where people live inside the fort. I loved it. Met an amazing couple who ran their restaurant inside the fort. Such authentic food.

Pushkar was super awesome. We stayed at a hotel which was marvelous. Individually owned and top ranked on tripadvisor. He had a full time artist in house who would paint every single wall in the hotel with amazing artistry. Even the ceiling. It was like sleeping in an art cave. Rooftop of the hotel was mine blowing. They had excellent restaurant, superb weather and view. It gave me an experience as if living in a palace.

Jaipur is not my favorite but my wife loves it. Bapu market is her favorite place to go shopping in typical Indian way. It has some amazing food I ever had. Some hole in the wall shop with amazing taste. We also found some very very old shop where we purchased typical rajashthani blankets and some other clothing. On another trip I stayed near jal Mahal. It was a nice hotel and food was also very good.

Jodhpur was average as there was just one fort and rest of the city has also developed like typical Indian city. Didn't feel any culture there.

I also liked hospitality in Rajasthan. It was less commercial than northern areas. People are less encroaching into your private space. Had chronicled my entire trip in previous r2i forum. It's kinda sad that's gone.

I am yet to visit Udaipur and Mt. Abu. That I have heard is top place to visit as it's very organized and clean. There are lot of stories also. Rajasthan offers lot of stories about revenge, royals dying, female sacrifices etc etc. ofcourse Bollywood has only helped with mesmerizing picturization of their culture.

[SAPPORO]

I recently went to a wedding event. I didn't know the couple or their parents. Just knew grandfather who was insistent that we come. I have been rebelling against my mother's wish for me to participate in social events for a long time. She would insist that I attend but my rebellion would get the best of me and I would skip. This time I made a decision to attend this wedding which is from extended-extended family relation. My wife was also happy to attend as she gets to dress up. It was better than lazy Sunday watching reels and ott. It was certainly good break. I also met all the relatives there that I haven't in long time and was wanting to. Now I can visit them individually and build relationships.

Now I have said to my wife a blanket yes from my side to attend all events in India. There is no point of shifting back it one wants to stay isolated. You can live in west if you want isolation. Social life is what India offers and I plan to make best of it. Moreover, building relationship is something I have not done for a long time and intend to do for time to come. One can always correct their past mistakes.

I usually love food made by halwai in India. Not the fancy five star types but typical Indian wedding food. It has a different flavour to it and you can only find it if you go to a wedding in tier 2-3 type areas. Hence, food in Delhi/NCR wedding is a big disappointment. The flavor is missing. In an attempt to become fancy, we are losing our generational wealth of taste. Good thing is that our village is still traditional and has lot such cooks where generational work is still going on. Ofcourse I avoided paneer like plague and stuck to pulses. North Indians need to stop serving south Indian food in their weddings or invite some good south Indian cooks, it's horribly done otherwise. Dosa is like cheela made from rice/dal.

Hanging out relatives is a double-edged sword. I have been visiting relatives every day in my visit. There is always gossip and bickering between the paternal and maternal relatives. There are also many https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiyazhagan moments wherein they recognize you and you don't recognize them! Food served is pretty much the same, but the awkwardness comes after eating on what to do with the plate and where to wash hands and how to dry my hands since everyone follows varying levels of "madi" (cleanliness) It's not as easy as washing your own plate and putting it in the dish rack.

[Returning_Indian]

Recently went to Dwarka in Delhi. Was pleasantly surprised to see the cleanliness, greenery, proper footpaths, huge parks and well maintained with proper lighting, hardly any trash on streets etc etc.

Felt really bad for the dump (Gurgaon) that is being maintained by Gurgaon municipality. It is such a rich municipality with so much money collected but hardly any public services that work properly. There are hardly any trees, relatively, and so much dust everywhere. Trash lying on streets. Cows roaming. Stray dogs in abundance. Because of dust, any rain and it forms slug everywhere. Potholes on streets. I am not even talking about yearly adventure of converting city into Venice during rains (due to water logging) but atleast give some basic cleanliness.

With example of Delhi it does show that things can be achieved within India as well. It's a matter of will and proper governance.

[SAPPORO]

My DW and I ended up giving video testimonials for the dental practice upon request. I noted in the testimonials that I might have been one of the most scared people that their practice has seen since I remember dental procedures to be painful and scary from my experiences in the US. But they did an excellent job to make it painless and wrapped up everything within a week like magic whereas it would have taken months of waiting and costed many times more in the US. I recommend the practice yada yada...

As luck would have it, the next day after I recorded this testimonial, I started feeling extreme sensitivity in some spots and it was too late to go back since I was returning to the US. I guess I am going to be their repeat customer later this year.

[SAPPORO]

I visited a retirement home for "super seniors" in a nondescript suburb of Coimbatore and was quite impressed with the cleanliness and the services they provide. Even though the relative I was visiting was sharing the room with someone bedridden, there were no bad smells. They have 3-4 nurses around the clock although they are nursing students that are completing their mandatory six-month internship, and they have a doctor that does not live too far from there. They serve decent food as well. The all-in cost is only around 20K per month.

[SAPPORO]

Watched https://www.netflix.com/title/81436662 - good advert for the Indian medical industry!

https://india-itinerary.com/2025/01/31/ ... is-he-now/