Travel Book Logs

My long quest for a new cell phone came to an end last month when I picked up the Nokia E61i - a superb response from those remarkable Finns to the RIM Blackberry. My search took longer than expected because I found that its not enough to just have a phone - you need up to date information as well. A few years ago I had thought the laptop was the solution but a hand held device is more suitable. And for long the best solution on the market has been the Blackberry device.

Research in Motion (RIM) offers some nifty solutions for those who need this kind of connectivity. Their website lists out the devcies they have an offer, front lined by the Blackberry 8100 Pearl, the Blackberry 8300 Curve and the Blackberry 8800. If you are a business phone user this is a superb selection of devices. All supported by their famous push email service which pops your email inbox to your device. The popularity and power of this device can only be realized once you notice the sheer number of people using Blackberry devices these days. So much so that detractors have coined a term to describe the phenomenon i.e. the “Crackberry”.

And I did the give the Blackberry a try - the Blackberry 8800 . For a longtime Nokia user, the feel of the device is different. Catching a signal can be tricky. And surprisingly, though they are famous for their rugged build quality, support for repair of Blackberry devices is dismal in India at the moment. Blackberry users will tell you that once your device needs repair it usually takes a few weeks if at all you are able to qualify for authorized repair. Blackberry devices unfortunately do have issues to be solved as yet.

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If you are looking for a fine dining experience look no further than Pure at the Taj Lands End, Mumbai. This restaurant usually gets the pass as most would walk right past the entrance to the more brightly lit Masala Bay or the attractive Ming Yang further to the right. Mind you, you wouldn’t do yourself any harm by going to Ming Yang or Masala Bay as they are both great places to eat in their own right. But Pure, located on Level 1 of the lobby is a unique restaurant.

First things first - fine dining is exactly that. Its about dining on fine or choice ingredients prepared with top class care and finesse. Its for people who care about good food and can appreciate the effort that goes into preparing a top flight meal. If you are familiar with the Dining and Wine Section of the New York Times then this is the kind of place you can appreciate for a special evening. The food is 100% organic to start with and made with cutting edge techniques that bring out the best flavors. Its a signature menu topped with one of the best wine lists in the country. For more desi tastes their scotch selection is absolutely the best I have seen.

For a full fledged journey in culinary bliss I recommend the Pure Tour - a seven course meal which comes complete with your personal expert who will guide you through the experience. The Pure Tour even includes an option for scotch aficionados with recommendations on what goes best with some of their great scotch selections. Personally I found their scotch selection one of the best in India and our “guide” was more than generous with a few freebies later on in the evening. The wine selection is as good as it gets and the wine room adjacent to the main entrance is worth a peek. Wine connoisseurs are probably not going to be as impressed but given that in India we are still on the bottom of the wine curve this is a truly a good effort.

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In the latest edition of my ongoing comparisons between domestic carriers, I flew last week to Chennai and back on the new Deccan (http://www.airdeccan.net). The airline has successfully completed the transformation from Air Deccan to simply Deccan complete with new trim thanks to the new ownership.

Evidence of the new ownership can now be seen on the new website and and the online reservation system among many other changes. Yellow and blue has been replaced by Kingfisher Red. Seat numbering is another change but I never had a problem with the old arrangement. Perhaps the busy holiday season was a good reason to implement this. Another new feature is Tele Checkin (Dial area code - 39008888) Everything seems to be pretty smooth with the new transition. Over all it seems to be a big plus for Deccan passengers.

Kingfisher has placed its stamp on the airline without taking away anything from the old service. Instead we find the airline offering additional services for a very fair price. Purchased a week in advance I scored tickets for Rs 500 each + Rs 1,575 tax. Round trip cost me Rs 4,150 which is really good considering that one way on Kingfisher or Jet was about Rs 6,000 anyway. Deccan thankfully still continues to offer great value for money.

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