Penang, located at the western end of the Malayan peninsula was a place I had unheard of. Its historical salience lay in its strategic location at the crossroads of oceanic trade routes, thus attracting people from places beyond its domains. My ignorance notwithstanding, the historic city of Georgetown which is a small island on the Strait of Malacca, graciously hosted me back in 2014 and 2015 when I had to travel there for business.
Category Archives: Travel
Memories of ‘Songkran’
One of the most vivid memories I have from Thailand is of the festival called ‘Songkran’ which signifies the Thai New Year. Songkran coincides with the harvest festivals celebrated across several cultures in South Asia and South-East Asia. In India, it is celebrated in different regions around the same time and goes by the names Ugadi, Vishu, Baisakhi etc. What sets the celebration apart, however, is that it has become a tourist attraction seeing participation of both natives and foreigners in large numbers.
A Shanghai trip
My first visit to Shanghai in 2014 was rather brief with just a week of stay there. I was working in Bangkok at the time and the business trip ended too soon before I could make the best use of the time. However my second trip in September the same year was rather long and I got a good opportunity to explore the city and neighboring places.
Mahesh MS 