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On Dhaka and Takas
Quite contrary to Biman’s public record and reputation, a half hour flight on Biman from Kolkata landed us safely and on time (kinda) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I’m put up at a nice hotel for now, paid for by the NGO I’m working for. Work starts proper tomorrow morning, and for the next foreseeable week it’s [...]
You Could Forgive the Monsoon
I’m a Singapore girl, through and through. We spend so much time wondering what makes us uniquely Singaporean, but I’ll tell you what it is: you’re half city girl and half small town; you never really know things like extreme cold or extreme heat, and monsoon to you is just that hair salon Channel 8 [...]
What It’s Like
We’ve set up a little office in one of the most expensive rooms here on Sudder Street (800 rupees; A/C, marbled bathroom floor, huge, bright room), basically waiting it out for something to happen (like for Canon to send the cameras over from Delhi) before we can move out into the field. With our PowerBooks [...]
RIP, Singapore Serf
I received the shocking message via email, that the Knight of Pentacles had passed away in Perth. I read his site with more than a passing interest, seeing in his travails and choices somebody whose opinions and beliefs on many issues (especially on the country, freedom and migration) I shared. While I never had the [...]
Sane on Sudder St
The plan was for Peter to get to Calcutta before I got there, so we could meet, get some supplies, and fly out to the Northeast immediately. As luck would have it, he ran into problems in Delhi with Canon not fixing his 1Ds Mk II properly (that bloody err99 problem), and I wound up [...]
While I’m Gone
Please attend: Shirlyn’s (of The UnXpected fame) concert at the Esplanade (link) on the 28th of July The Indignation events (calendar here – no, I’m not reading this year as 1. I’m not here 2. I haven’t written poetry in ages). Have a happy pride month for me. Back to the dispatches. I got out of the train at [...]
Airtel GPRS
On a prepaid card that cost 4 dollars to apply, and 8 to start talking and messaging, a SMS to an Airtel message robot to activate, and 20 rupees a day (less than a dollar) to use, unlimited data (or so Airtel tells me).. On a wonderfully bright 2.4 inch screen on a new phone [...]
Home is Wherever You Beat Customs
The flight was just as what every flight should be: nondescript, dark (it was 3 am), uneventful. But for some screaming babies of the usual sort, I slept soundly through the flight. I managed to be the first to get off the plane, join the queue for immigration, and only when I got to the [...]
Making Nokia N73 Work With iSync
IGNORE EVERYTHING HERE AND UPDATE TO 10.4.9. SYNCS NATIVELY NOW, AND REMEMBER TO REMOVE THIS PLUGIN. NOTICE Edited 1 October: There is a better solution. The method described here is outdated. A last minute revelation: following a hint I found, I have managed to figure out how to add iSync support for the new Nokia N73. It’s fairly [...]
Big Break
I’m going back to South Asia this weekend, as I’ve been alluding to. Tomorrow night, to be specific. To the remote bits of Northeast India, and possibly Bangladesh. I’m not nuts, I’m just like everyone else, chasing money — ‘cept in this case, I do that by chasing the monsoon, and then chasing leprosy. That [...]