1. Booking on SpiceJet is so easy on the Net..and the cost is just about half that of Jet Airways. I am impressed with the clean aircraft (esp toilets!) and the on-time record. Long live healthy competition, without which we would be paying for overpriced bad service on unfriendly Indian Airlines!

2. I still LOVE looking at cities from the air. By chance I got a window seat which gave me a grandstand view of central Bangalore as we took off. The pilot actually did a circuit over Richmond Town/Cubbon Park and I could spot Vidhan Soudha, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Ulsoor Lake, and so on….it was paisa vasool in the first ten minutes of the flight! The return flight the next day was just as good, as I saw the same sight basking in the late evening sunshine….ah, Bangalore, I will always love you.

3.When we landed in Pune I rejoiced in the sight of all the fighter aircraft that share the airport with the civilian craft…just as I got out, a Sukhoi was taking off. I had no hurry…I waited on the tarmac, watched the powerful jet scream into the sky, and walked in the terminal building smiling….

1. Bhosle Nagar is a lovely, green area of Pune. Went for an evening walk on the ridge in the VAMNICOM (institute of Co Operative Management)…and watched several bulbuls, hoopoes, a kingfisher, and two eagles…and a beautiful sunset, too.

2. Friends….we met for drinks and went on to dinner (the restaurant was nice but the food wasn’t…the Dhaba at the Pride Hotel, Best Western ,which I hereby rename the Worst Western.) we had a very nice time. Friends are the greatest treasure on earth.

3. Went to see an authentic Paithani saree…the fact that each stitch is woven without even a card is amazing. My friend has ordered a saree which costs 24 thousand rupees and will take 9 months to make. …But I don’t know if this craftsmanship is actually worth it. If I were to buy a saree like that, Murphy’s Law would mandate that I spilt haldi or coffee (or both) on it the first time I wore it….

4. Koregaon Park is another area of Pune that I really like. The Ashram people have made a beautiful park out of a waste-carrying canal.

5. Lovely flight back…got 3 seats to myself and enjoyed a nice nap for almost all of the hour that the flight takes (who wants those 2 biscuits that SpiceJet gives us?) Enjoyed the auto ride down the Indira-Nagar Koramangala Ring road very much indeed.

Life is full of great moments…if you have health and a healthy bank balance, it can be just wonderful!