In April 1998, there was a Xomox World Sales Conference in Lindau, Germany and I was invited for the Conference.
I remember sitting in the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge at Chennai Airport on 25th Apr 1998 and watching Sachin Tendulkar take Shane Warne to the cleaners in an India-Australia ODI played at Sharjah.
I reached Frankfurt in the morning on a Sunday and took a connecting flight to Friedrichshafen.
Wolfgang Schlett, the Asia-Pacific Sales Director met me at the airport and drove me down to Lindau. It was springtime and the weather was very pleasant.The first shoots of flowers were already coming up.
After I had freshened up Wolfgang took me to his home for lunch.We sat on the lawn with a tall glass of beer.Bob Neal from Xomox, Cincinnati was already there and we exchanged plenty of stories.
The Conference was held over two days on 27th and 28th Apr and I remember making a passionate plea to all the Country Offices to buy more from India.
On 28th Apr evening, we drove across the border ( just 4 km from Lindau) into Austria and had dinner in a restaurant up in the Austrian Alps.It was amazing.We had a panoramic view of Switzerland ( across Lake Constance), Germany and Austria. The restaurant's decor was the 1800s style--- all tables and chairs made of timber. The waiters were dressed in lederhosen and everyone was supposed to eat with their hands.Every now and then, someone proposed a toast. We were supposed to shout "Gesundheit!" and down our drink in one go.
On 29th Apr morning, I flew from Friedrichshafen to Amsterdam via Frankfurt.A Xomox Netherlands Sales Engineer met me at the Airport and took me to the Xomox Office which was near Rotterdam.On the way, we stopped over for lunch at a restaurant which had a lovely salad bar.We went past The Hague on our way to Rotterdam.Rotterdam is one of the biggest ports in Europe and Shell has one of the world's biggest petrochemical complexes in Rotterdam.
We visited the offices of Lummus in The Hague and then I was dropped off at the home of Sridhar. Sridhar's wife is Hema, sister of Uma ( who is married to Suresh ( Australia)--- Latha's brother).
This was the first time I was experiencing summer outside of India and I wasn't prepared for the long summer days even though I had heard of them.Netherlands is further up north , so the days were even longer. I remember Sridhar came back from Office at around 6 PM and we were sitting and talking. Hema and Sridhar were waiting for me to say that I was ready for Dinner, but the sun outside made it appear as though it was just 4 PM in India.I looked at my watch and was shocked to see that it was 9.30 PM!!!
I quickly apologized for keeping them waiting and we sat down for dinner. Sridhar told me that , in summer, they actually pull dark curtains across the windows to shut out the sunlight--- otherwise, they wouldn't get sleep.
Through sheer serendipity, I was in Netherlands at the right time.April 30th was the Queen's birthday and therefore a national holiday.Also, this was the tulip season.
Sridhar and the whole family took me on a visit to Kinderdijk to see the windmills
From there, we went to Madurodam where they have a miniature city.
Then we visited Delft to see the pottery.
We also visited Scheveningen to see an amazing sand sculpture.
Netherlands is a very small country and it is possible to cover the whole country in 3 hours end to end.
People were out in full force in all the towns and the entire country was decked up in Orange. The Dutch ruling family is from the House of Orange( Oran-ye- as it is pronounced) and Orange is the national colour.
After we came back home, Sridhar specially drove me to Keukenhof to see the tulips. They were in full bloom and were a sight to behold.
I was supposed to visit Amsterdam on 1st May.Hema and Sridhar were staying around 40 kms away.On 1st May early morning, Sridhar sat down with his computer. One hour later he came and handed over to me a full set of sheets .They included train timings to Amsterdam and back, route maps to various tourist attractions in Amsterdam, details of an Amsterdam tour etc etc. That was the first time I realized the power of the Internet.
Hema and Sridhar had two daughters and I offered to take one or both of them with me to Amsterdam. Hema hurriedly said that I would enjoy Amsterdam more if I went alone. I realized the wisdom of her words only later.
I took the train and got off at Amsterdam Centraal.In front of the station was a huge plaza called
Damrak.This is an avenue between Centraal Station and Dam Square.
While strolling along Damrak, I came across the Sex Museum.The Dutch are very liberal when it comes to sex.The red-light area is a huge tourist attraction and is always filled with tourists staring wide-eyed at the many "attractions" on display.Now I could understand why Hema insisted that I go in alone to Amsterdam.
I then strolled along to the Rijksmuseum to specially see Rembrandt's "Night Watch". I had read an article about this painting in Reader's Digest when I was a young kid and seeing the painting in person was a wish fulfilled.
I then took a boat ride on Amsterdam's canals.This is a must do when visiting Amsterdam, if only to see the amazing houses lining the canals.
They are painted in bright colours and some of them are just 6 ft across!!! You will also be shown the house where Anne Frank stayed and wrote her famous Diary during World War 2..
Two other images of Holland linger in my mind.One, it is a nation of cyclists.Most people travel by cycle and they even carry these cycles when travelling by train.They also go from town to town on cycles. The fact that Holland is a flat country helps.
The second image is of the cattle. Holland is a world leader in dairy farming.The Dutch cows and heifers are huge and look well fed.
After this eventful trip to Germany and Holland, I returned to Chennai on 2nd May.
In November of that year, I and a colleague of mine attended the Asia-Pacific Sales Conference in Phuket. Phuket is a seaside resort on the Indian Ocean.We had people from Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia for the Conference.From Phuket, I travelled to Singapore and then on to Jakarta. Akhila was in Jakarta and by a happy coincidence , I was in Jakarta during Rummy's and Akhila's birthdays on 26th and 27th Nov. I gave Rummy 1 Lakh Rupiahs ( about 3000 INR) for her birthday and told her to tell everyone that I gave 1 Lakh for her birthday ( without specifying whether it was Rupiahs or Rupees).
On Akhila's birthday, we all went to a restaurant for dinner and were joined by Vasuki, Prakash and their kids.
Other than these two trips, 1998 was pretty uneventful.
I remember sitting in the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge at Chennai Airport on 25th Apr 1998 and watching Sachin Tendulkar take Shane Warne to the cleaners in an India-Australia ODI played at Sharjah.
I reached Frankfurt in the morning on a Sunday and took a connecting flight to Friedrichshafen.
Wolfgang Schlett, the Asia-Pacific Sales Director met me at the airport and drove me down to Lindau. It was springtime and the weather was very pleasant.The first shoots of flowers were already coming up.
After I had freshened up Wolfgang took me to his home for lunch.We sat on the lawn with a tall glass of beer.Bob Neal from Xomox, Cincinnati was already there and we exchanged plenty of stories.
The Conference was held over two days on 27th and 28th Apr and I remember making a passionate plea to all the Country Offices to buy more from India.
On 28th Apr evening, we drove across the border ( just 4 km from Lindau) into Austria and had dinner in a restaurant up in the Austrian Alps.It was amazing.We had a panoramic view of Switzerland ( across Lake Constance), Germany and Austria. The restaurant's decor was the 1800s style--- all tables and chairs made of timber. The waiters were dressed in lederhosen and everyone was supposed to eat with their hands.Every now and then, someone proposed a toast. We were supposed to shout "Gesundheit!" and down our drink in one go.
On 29th Apr morning, I flew from Friedrichshafen to Amsterdam via Frankfurt.A Xomox Netherlands Sales Engineer met me at the Airport and took me to the Xomox Office which was near Rotterdam.On the way, we stopped over for lunch at a restaurant which had a lovely salad bar.We went past The Hague on our way to Rotterdam.Rotterdam is one of the biggest ports in Europe and Shell has one of the world's biggest petrochemical complexes in Rotterdam.
We visited the offices of Lummus in The Hague and then I was dropped off at the home of Sridhar. Sridhar's wife is Hema, sister of Uma ( who is married to Suresh ( Australia)--- Latha's brother).
This was the first time I was experiencing summer outside of India and I wasn't prepared for the long summer days even though I had heard of them.Netherlands is further up north , so the days were even longer. I remember Sridhar came back from Office at around 6 PM and we were sitting and talking. Hema and Sridhar were waiting for me to say that I was ready for Dinner, but the sun outside made it appear as though it was just 4 PM in India.I looked at my watch and was shocked to see that it was 9.30 PM!!!
I quickly apologized for keeping them waiting and we sat down for dinner. Sridhar told me that , in summer, they actually pull dark curtains across the windows to shut out the sunlight--- otherwise, they wouldn't get sleep.
Through sheer serendipity, I was in Netherlands at the right time.April 30th was the Queen's birthday and therefore a national holiday.Also, this was the tulip season.
Sridhar and the whole family took me on a visit to Kinderdijk to see the windmills
From there, we went to Madurodam where they have a miniature city.
Then we visited Delft to see the pottery.
We also visited Scheveningen to see an amazing sand sculpture.
Netherlands is a very small country and it is possible to cover the whole country in 3 hours end to end.
People were out in full force in all the towns and the entire country was decked up in Orange. The Dutch ruling family is from the House of Orange( Oran-ye- as it is pronounced) and Orange is the national colour.
After we came back home, Sridhar specially drove me to Keukenhof to see the tulips. They were in full bloom and were a sight to behold.
I was supposed to visit Amsterdam on 1st May.Hema and Sridhar were staying around 40 kms away.On 1st May early morning, Sridhar sat down with his computer. One hour later he came and handed over to me a full set of sheets .They included train timings to Amsterdam and back, route maps to various tourist attractions in Amsterdam, details of an Amsterdam tour etc etc. That was the first time I realized the power of the Internet.
Hema and Sridhar had two daughters and I offered to take one or both of them with me to Amsterdam. Hema hurriedly said that I would enjoy Amsterdam more if I went alone. I realized the wisdom of her words only later.
I took the train and got off at Amsterdam Centraal.In front of the station was a huge plaza called
Damrak.This is an avenue between Centraal Station and Dam Square.
While strolling along Damrak, I came across the Sex Museum.The Dutch are very liberal when it comes to sex.The red-light area is a huge tourist attraction and is always filled with tourists staring wide-eyed at the many "attractions" on display.Now I could understand why Hema insisted that I go in alone to Amsterdam.
I then strolled along to the Rijksmuseum to specially see Rembrandt's "Night Watch". I had read an article about this painting in Reader's Digest when I was a young kid and seeing the painting in person was a wish fulfilled.
I then took a boat ride on Amsterdam's canals.This is a must do when visiting Amsterdam, if only to see the amazing houses lining the canals.
They are painted in bright colours and some of them are just 6 ft across!!! You will also be shown the house where Anne Frank stayed and wrote her famous Diary during World War 2..
Two other images of Holland linger in my mind.One, it is a nation of cyclists.Most people travel by cycle and they even carry these cycles when travelling by train.They also go from town to town on cycles. The fact that Holland is a flat country helps.
The second image is of the cattle. Holland is a world leader in dairy farming.The Dutch cows and heifers are huge and look well fed.
After this eventful trip to Germany and Holland, I returned to Chennai on 2nd May.
In November of that year, I and a colleague of mine attended the Asia-Pacific Sales Conference in Phuket. Phuket is a seaside resort on the Indian Ocean.We had people from Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia for the Conference.From Phuket, I travelled to Singapore and then on to Jakarta. Akhila was in Jakarta and by a happy coincidence , I was in Jakarta during Rummy's and Akhila's birthdays on 26th and 27th Nov. I gave Rummy 1 Lakh Rupiahs ( about 3000 INR) for her birthday and told her to tell everyone that I gave 1 Lakh for her birthday ( without specifying whether it was Rupiahs or Rupees).
On Akhila's birthday, we all went to a restaurant for dinner and were joined by Vasuki, Prakash and their kids.
Other than these two trips, 1998 was pretty uneventful.
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