Captive Adaptations

Today for the first time I travelled in a Japanese bullet train on the JR rail. The Shinkansen series of bullet trains are definitely an excellent mode of transport. I travelled on the Tokaido Shinkansen which runs form Kyoto-Tokyo in less then 2.5 hours. The speeds that the Tokaido Shinkansen can reach is over 300 km/hr.

The Kyoto-Tokyo leg of the Tokaido Shinkansen is also the first shinkansen line that was operational. We have nearly 3-4 such trains every hour, and the network of these lines, the accuracy and timing that is still maintained in reaching destinations, the real time graphical display are definitely something that will stick in my memory for quite sometime.

I have many things to discover and learn here, as there are various network of rails, the subways, the express lines and shinkansen’s. All in all right from my trip from Osaka to Kyoto and from Kyoto to Tokyo the JR Expressways, and the JR lines have captured my imagination, and have left me wanting for more !. Can’t we replicate this in India ? I am sure it will decongest all our cities and rid us of the brutal daily commute pains.

I am in Bangkok’s new international airport, on my way to Japan and on to US. For the next 2 months I will be doing a lot of traveling and will learn a little more about time !. Yes, you heard it right !. I believe in that concept. As one travels, one happens to experience and see different times/era/ages. People tend to adapt to changes at their own pace, and hence retain many of the cultural memes that have been passed on to them. This is mostly true in Asia, where civilizations have existed for more than 3000 years, and this rich culture and tradition can easily be experienced in some of the practices that exist in people even today.

Unlike the Western world, which due to its relatively new history, appears uniform through out, because people think in similar ways, act in the same way, and believe in the same set of articles of faith, there is much more diversity in the Asian region.

At Suvaranabhumi, we find lots of evidence of influence of the Hindu culture and tradition. The name “Suvarnabhumi” means “Land of Gold” in many Indian Languages. Also, the depiction of the “Samudra Manthan” with huge statues at the airport is one main attraction, and the airport has a great blend of modernity and mythology. I must say I am begining to like Suvarnabhumi, there are many improvements I can notice compared to the last time I was here 2 months ago, exactly on the day it was opened for commercial flights, i.e, on Sep 28th.

As for the improvements, for starters I am having free internet access on wifi, on a very decent economy lounge, which was non-existent last time I was around. I will blog on many more findings of Suvarnabhumi and my travel in general later, so fasten your seat belts as I plan to publish a flurry of posts on my blog. Yes, I have re-started my plans to blog regularly. Not Again !