On The Matter Of Security Donna Kellogg complained about no security in Gachibowli, obviously she hasn't seen this:- 1. Approaching road block at Gachibowli 2, 3 and 4. Manned "bunkers" within the Stadium Complex 5. Guards on the gate, this particular one remain closed until 90 minutes before the competition starts
I think it's good that there is so much security. Maybe it's not good for the mood and it might be scary, but imagine what could happen when there really is an attack or something... cool photos abedeng
Thanks for the photos.. ..thanks for capturing & sharing the pics, Abang Din! A bit of change showing the outside atmosphere and going ons...I bet you've lost quite a few lbs after your daily exercise to and from the hotel, eh??... Btw, any pics of your place of lodging??..
Err, the Hotels had quite cheap buffets, you see, the kind you don't see in US or Singapore or Malaysia or China ...... it felt cruel, not taking advantage of them, wakakakaka. Thus a few lbs could only be lost during fasting month. I stayed at a typical cheapskate Apartment initially. I don't normally travel extravagantly unless with family. Only on my last day, I got to sleep at the Ista Hotel (courtesy of pjswift and Jen, TQ TQ). But the place is too far from the grocery stores, hence the importance of, you guessed it, cheap buffets ...... A few pics of the surroundings here. 1. My cheap apartment from afar 2-5. Developments of IT Hub near ISTA Hotel 6-12. Ista Hotel surroundings
- Wow, that's quite a distance from your apt. Was that pic taken near the stadium or half-way to the stadium? Did you actually try to walk to & from the apt?.. - How far away is the Ista Hotel to the stadium? - Yeah, lucky. They went back to S'pore and left the room for you, eh??..
Chris, why can't you believe my extreme "walking prowess"? All those years of "bouncer and load bearer training" really pays off, I tell you, could even do this during the fasting month ...... Ista to stadium is around 4 kms, same distance as my Apartment to stadium but the roads are the best in HITEC City. That's because of the main IT Hub nearby with Microsoft, CA Unicenter, Nvidia nearby. Nope, no such thing as luck. Luck doesn't move people to World Championships, and PJ and Jen ran through "many obstacles" before they got here. Just that they were unable to secure a flight on the 17th because of the players returning home, that's why they got home early.
Which hotel, Ista or my apartment? Ista is one of the newest 5-star hotels, equivalent to Novotel at HITEC City. My Apartment is equivalent to 3-stars accommodation, with free breakfast (cheap but good) and 70+ channels of satellite LCD TV. The channels are superior than even ISTA (around 30+ channels), but the area is prone to routine load shedding. Electrical power is always off around 10:30 am, only to resume around 1 hour later.
Owhh.. - 4 Kms is not too bad, but it's still quite a walk... - I meant their loss and your gain, lucky for you. Hmm, if Jen & pjswift had booked an earlier flight, why did they reserve the room til the 17th, assuming they were planning to stay til the 17th??..Or did you actually reserve a room for the last night??.. - The apt choice is not too bad considering they give free breakfast; plus it's the same distance from the Ista to the stadium. As long as it's safe and you're able to get some sleep.
4 kms is hardly considered a walk, took me only 38 minutes with notebook bag in tow, while taking some pics on camera phone. Now, a real walk is like Likas Indoor Stadium to Kota Kinabalu City after the Super Series Finals, a distance of 8-9 kms. PJ and Jen tried to change their flight to the 17th. Problem with the return flight is that it departs at 12:05 am, so it was confusing when they initially booked their return trip online on the 16th. But they were out of seats because 17th flight is full (a number of players are returning home via Singapore). Anyway, they gave me a treat at Ista by paying my board for 1 nite. Which is great (TQ again to PJ and Jen...... ) All I need is to pay for food and minibar and stuff. Thus Badzine India (avataar and davey) and I shared that room and had quite a lengthy discussion. Some of the World Championship articles you read on Badzine, were written in the cool comforts of the room. The apartment is safe, but as I said, daily electrical load shedding isn't convenient. All apartments had Gen Sets on standby but not all of them kick in during the electrical shutdown. But it is a more pleasant walk from the apartment to stadium via the back roads (that is, as long as you can see what you are stepping on). At Ista the main road is kind of bare without any interesting sights, and you might as well take advantage of the shuttle service (with military escort). Besides, I can brag that I rode escort to a World Champion pair, Juhl/Laybourn.
- Btw, did you actually walk back to your apt., at night time also, after the sessions ended??..Speaking of walking, if i get a chance to visit KL, again, i'd like to take a walk from the Mid-Valley mall to Stadium Putra!!!.. - I see. I guess Jen and pjswift didn't really want to hassle with cancelling the room and instead were generous enough to let you guys occupy it.
I walked at nite during my first day, and also at my last visit during India Open. But the area isn't well lit so you need to be careful on what you are stepping on. A lot of "business" happens on Indian roads, remember ...... The rest of the days, I had company of avataar and sometimes davey. Cancelling the room is possible without penalty, that shouldn't be a problem at the official hotel. Besides, the Ista had good business catering to Jen and pjswift's need. If they wanted to cancel and the hotel had rejected it, I would have been ready to do, ahem, serious bouncing duties against the hotel management. But they didn't cancel, so let's just state the obvious, that Jen and pjswift are truly nice folks (which is more than 100% true).