China Trains
Jul 06, 2025
We had three high-speed train rides (Beijing–Xi'an–Chongqing–Huaihua) on our recent trip to China in April this year.
As with many aspects of China, I had heard plenty of positive things about the country’s high-speed trains, with their impressive speed being a recurring highlight.
Our first train journey was from Beijing to Xi'an, covering a distance of about 1,150 km in 6 hours, with a top speed of 300 km/hr (that is Formula 1 level speed).
In contrast, the Canadian Via Rail train covers 500 km from Toronto to Montreal in 5 hours (100 km/hr).
The remarkable thing is I didn't feel it at all inside the train. It was smooth and stable. I could tell the speed from the digital displays and had some sense it was going fast from the pace at which trees, posts, and buildings were passing us. But I really felt it when we were stopped at a train station and another train zoomed past us at high speed. It was a blur. Our train shook a little. Wow!
The train stations are like airport terminals both in size and design. There is a baggage security check before you enter the station. Inside, you have open, high-ceilinged, curved roofs with no pillars, just like airports. Like most places we visited, tickets are digital. Similar to the final check at airport gates, there was a ticket and ID scan before we entered the platforms.
All three train trips departed and arrived on schedule.
The station, platform, aisle, seats, and toilets were clean and in good condition. In the train, staff were regularly coming by to collect garbage. They had both western-style and squat toilets. There was enough overhead storage for lighter bags. We kept our larger luggage bags (the ones we check in at airports) in the storage near the doors, in space in front of the first row or last row seats.
Unlike the trains in India or Canada, where you have to climb steps to get into the train car—making lifting luggage bags physically stressful—all high-speed trains we took in China were level to the platform (like subways), making entry and exit with luggage easy.
In all train cars, there was a hot water tap that dispenses boiling hot water. This was a welcome feature that let us make hot beverages to enjoy. Others used it to make cup-o-noodles.
The view of the towns and countryside from the train was enjoyable as well. What impressed me was that the roads, bridges, and buildings, whether in the city or outside, were all in good condition. I got to see small houses in villages and towns (some of them had large gates that reminded me of the tanneries in Kolkata, India). There were plenty of scenic views on the train journeys, but the ones that come to mind are the massive mountains I saw when we were close to Huaihua station (on our way to Fenghuang Ancient Town – Zhangjiajie National Park).
The scale and level of development in China is at another level compared to the two places I have lived (Kolkata, Toronto). I can't comprehend how they are able to build it and maintain it well. I hope to return to China again. The whole trip was short and hectic, but I enjoyed every bit of it.
On Sports
Jun 10, 2025
Here are some thoughts on the few sports I watch and play.
Chess
The video of Magnus Carlsen banging the table after losing to Gukesh Dommaraju in Norway Chess Round 6 got a lot of news (my brother shared it with me too). I don't know exactly what people are saying on Reddit or YouTube about it, but most probably don't like it, given chess is generally a quiet sport and chess players don't show their emotions much (remarkably, most players analyze the game with their opponents right after it ends).
Magnus immediately apologized and shook hands with Gukesh after, so all is well.
When I play chess online at lichess.org, even for an amateur like me, it can get very intense. My heart rate goes up to 125 bpm (same as when I do medium-intensity cardio exercise). I can't even imagine the pressure and intensity the pros must be going through.
Of course, Carlsen doesn't lose much, and his first loss to the current World Champion Gukesh must have upset him 10x.
I followed most games of Norway Chess 2025 and it was interesting until the last round. Magnus won the tournament but it was close (Gukesh could have won it; Fabiano was close too).
Chess is my favourite sport now. It's also the only one I play.
Hockey
Before chess, (ice) hockey was the sport I followed very closely, but since I started with chess in the middle of last year, I have not followed it as much. My favourite (hometown) team, the Maple Leafs, made the playoffs and lost in 7 games in the second round. It felt inevitable they wouldn't go far.
The team that beat them (Florida Panthers, defending Stanley Cup champions) is now in the Stanley Cup finals again, playing the Edmonton Oilers (again). The first two games were both decided in overtime (1:1), and they were both very good games. Both teams are the best in the league.
The Florida Panthers won the third game comfortably and now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. The Oilers have McDavid, so we know they will push back (last year's final between these two went to the 7th and final game).
I will watch every game, time permitting.
Formula 1
Another one I follow closely and play the simulation game on Xbox. It's the only one I also have a fantasy team in (GridRival).
After four years of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, there is some competition for the driver's championship this year, so that makes it more interesting.
The Canadian Grand Prix is this weekend, so my Sunday morning is booked. I will also try to get some practice laps on the Xbox.
Tennis
The last time I watched a long tennis match live was the Wimbledon finals (2019, I think) between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer had match points in the fifth set but Novak saved them and went on to win. That was an epic match between two of the best players in tennis history (Rafael Nadal is another one).
I wouldn't be following tennis again if not for Carlos Alcaraz. He plays every point as if it's a highlight reel point. It's a lot of fun to watch.
When I watched him lose the first set after starting off well, it looked like he wouldn't be able to match Jannik Sinner's consistent, low-fault, and powerful shots. Then he lost the second set.
I had to go make burgers for lunch so couldn't follow the match live. I was 100% certain no matter what Alcaraz did, Sinner wouldn't lose two sets and Sinner would win his first French Open and his third Grand Slam in a row.
During lunch, my son gave me an update that Sinner was up 5-3 in the fourth set. I was 1000% sure it was over.
After lunch, I didn't even check the live game, but went straight to the French Open website to read about Sinner's win but saw nothing! I quickly opened up the TV app on the iPad and, to my pleasant shock, Alcaraz had just won the fourth set (after saving three championship points!).
From there on, I was glued to the iPad till the championship-winning forehand pass down the line from Alcaraz. My heartbeat was way above resting for most of it. Wow!
These two are just 22, 23, so I am looking forward to many more of them.
Baseball
I still don't know most of the rules of baseball, but when Shohei Ohtani made the news for his jumbo contract with the LA Dodgers, it got me interested and I watched some highlights and eventually started watching playoffs on and off.
Last summer, I went to a ball game with my brother Raymond to watch the Toronto Blue Jays and that was quite an experience.
I haven't watched a full game yet but have watched highlights as Ohtani continues to hit home runs. Hope to see him pitch.
Standing Ears
May 20, 2025
I joined a small group of people from India and Canada for a 12-day trip to China in April. The group included my wife and my brother Raymond. The Chinese tour agent who booked our trip, Jenny, also accompanied us throughout the journey.
Raymond has already written his thoughts about the trip. I have an outline and a list of little notes, but I’m still procrastinating on putting them all together.
Jenny was a very helpful and friendly tour agent, so we got along very well. My sister Michelle had hired her for her own China trip before ours, which is how we got in contact with Jenny.
As you might expect with a group of nine tourists and a lively, personable tour agent, there were plenty of interesting stories—especially about Jenny’s observations of us (Chinese from India). I’ll share two memorable moments involving Raymond.
On the high-speed train from Beijing to Xi’an, we all had assigned seats. While the rest of us sat down, Raymond decided to stand behind our last row of seats and chat with us, even though his seat was in the next car.
As the train got underway, Jenny couldn’t understand why Raymond was still standing instead of sitting in his assigned seat. She asked him to take his seat and get comfortable, but he kept standing. Finally, she told him, “I paid for a sitting ticket, not a standing ticket!”
Another thing that became clear to Jenny was that my brother Raymond is quite frugal. During another train ride (this time Raymond was seated), Jenny remarked that when you look at Raymond face-to-face, you can’t see his ears. She explained that in China, there’s a saying: if you can’t see someone’s ears, you can’t get money out of them.
Perfect Days
Oct 06, 2024
In the movie Perfect Days, the main character Hirayama is on a bridge with his niece Niko somewhere in Tokyo. Niko asks something to which Hirayama says "Next time". Niko asks "And when's that exactly?".
Hirayama replies: Next time is next time. Now is now.
My sister Michelle recommended this movie and as soon I watched this clip, that phrase stayed with me. This is a movie I will watch again (watched it twice). The second time I watched it, I picked up something new, something I didn't notice the first time. It's a simple movie. No drama, no beginning, no end. Just a bit of life.
We had many visitors this summer (my father, brother, brother-in-law, cousins). We visited my wife's cousins in Vancouver*. There were hellos, then good-byes. We talked about next time, but no one knows when that will be. What we know is we had a good time together. There was a lot of eating out, some first-time activities (golf, casino), and a lot of "adda".
As we head into the fall season, it's become quieter, the days are shorter. We are heading to what feels like a long winter.
The kids are in the final years of high school and elementary school. According to this article, "75% of the time we spend with our kids in our lifetime will be spent by age 12". That feels true with my son, only time will tell how it goes with my daughter who will become a teen next year. They have their agenda (and they should), so there is less need for the parents in their lives. It will be the wife and me, and our bucket lists from here on.
I have work, chores, errands, and some hobbies. One new thing that may turn into a long-term hobby is chess. It started with my brother Robert sharing a YouTube video about India's rising chess stars. One thing led to another, and now I am reading three chess books, and playing with others online at lichess.org (lost: 6, won: 5). Many elements of chess makes for a good long-term hobby (self-study, challenge of memorising, calculating positions, stress and competitive rush playing online games). I try not to play more than a few games weekly to avoid getting too intense.
Besides chess, I am also following and watching more sports (hockey, F1, tennis, a bit of baseball). I have significantly reduced my movie and TV series watching.
I hope to write more.
*First time in Vancouver. I couldn't stop looking at the mountains. If I could turn back time, I would land in Vancouver, not Toronto. But that story is for another day.
Zoom Haiku
May 02, 2024
please stop the ding-ding someone said on a zoom call how (ding) do (ding) I? you will be muted I'll cover the agenda then end with questions hello, how do I..? wait till the end for questions but its a quick one do this, that, ok? check this, check that, very good! lets take the questions I have quick question blah-blah three minutes later sorry, please repeat I have quick question sorry, cannot hear you, bye we are out of time
On Health
Mar 10, 2024
(Written in very late December, 2023.)
During my school years (90s), I fell sick often. I remember being sick before exams (pressure?). I remember going to the pharmacy to get specific medicines for malaria because I had it many times before. Another problem I often had was a sore throat. In class 5, my sore throat problem (tonsilitis?) became so bad I had surgery to get it removed. I don't think it completely solved the problem because I continued to have a sore throat and avoided cold drinks/popsicles/ice cream. The funny thing is, after the tonsil removal, I got an ice cream to soothe the soreness from the surgery.
For reasons I still don't understand, when I moved to Canada, I didn't have the sore throat problem anymore (except when I got the flu). So, I no longer avoid cold drinks or ice.
During my school days, when I was sick, it was often a total rest situation. No school, no chores. Just bedrest. I guess the symptoms were severe, or maybe, mentally, I was unable to handle the symptoms.
It changed when I started to work in my 20s, or maybe even earlier during college when I had obligations (like giving tuition). I still fell sick, but it was no longer a do-nothing-else situation. I would still go about what I had to do. I guess that's what growing up means. I developed resilience and mental toughness, enabling me to overcome pain, weakness, and other symptoms.
For most of my working life, including the last 18 years in Canada, I have tended to take a sick day off as a rare exception. I continued to work through the symptoms. It helped that I worked from home.
I write this while being sick (flu-like symptoms) since Christmas day. So, the week between the 25th and the 1st was spent in bed watching Netflix or sleeping. Unfortunately, I had to cancel three dinner invitations.
The kids aren't allowed to skip school if they have mild symptoms (except when it's contagious). They don't like it. Often, I would make them go to school only to get a call from school that they are sick and need to go home. You can't win with kids. They will get their school to do what they can't. When she gets home, she is fine! I said "she" because, in recent memory, it's just been my daughter who's pulled this trick, not my son.
Fortunately, my kids are healthier than me.
In early 2020, when the COVID pandemic started, I fell sick again, and after a few days of trying Tylenol and not working, I finally went to the doctor's office. Dr. Raj, my family doctor, was fully clothed in quarantine attire with a face mask covered by a face shield! It was maybe March/April, we were in the first lockdown. COVID testing had just started. So Dr. Raj asked me to get it tested.
I went to a temporary portable office on the parking ground of a hospital for testing. All the nurses were similarly covered in extra layers, with masks, and face shields. The nurse inserted the swab down my nose beyond what I thought was possible. It was very uncomfortable. I was in tears. But she was gentle, calm, and friendly, and it helped. She had glasses, and I remember her telling me her glasses and face shield kept fogging all day. We don't deserve our doctors and nurses.
Days later, I got called and told that it was negative.
It was a relief, but at the same time, it was another push I needed towards getting healthier. I started doing cardio from YouTube videos from an Australian couple. Their channel is called Team Body Project, and their mantra: "Progress, not perfection" was the right message, at the right time for me. It helped me get started, and kept me doing cardio even today, some three years later.
What Happens After Death?
Jan 15, 2024
I have wondered.
As I get news of the death of another person in my father's generation, it tells me nature is slowly turning over the page for their generation, which means that my generation is next.
The most painful part is you don't get to meet them again. They are no longer part of your life, and you are no longer part of theirs.
My catholic faith tells me after death, the soul departs and stands in judgment. Depending on how we live our lives, we go to heaven, hell, or purgatory (pre-heaven). Hindus and Buddhists have different ideas of death and the existence of an afterlife.
We are all humans first, so I find it hard to believe there are different ways depending on your faith. If anyone actually came back from death and wrote a book or did a podcast, I would be happy to revise my thinking.
We have one life, and when it's over, it is over. We don't exist anymore. There is no soul, no consciousness, and we don't go anywhere. There is no "me" anymore. That's what I think.
Imagine billions of dead people hanging around in some "place"! I can't see God, who created day and night and seasons, keeping all of them around forever. It doesn't even include all other living things like dead dinosaurs.
When I think of life and death, I rewatch two videos.
First is Steve Jobs's Standford University Commencement speech, where he shared three stories from his life.
The second is Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. The ending makes me cry every time I watch it.
When its not winter, I go for walks, bicycling to the nearby cemetery. It is a pleasure to read the short stories and quotes on tombstones. I forgot the stories and the quotes, so it is time for another walk to the cemetery.
What is the meaning of life?
The Escape
Mar 22, 2023
This is a true story.
My brother shared two photos of a parrot that flew out of the cage. Ashok, the parrot's owner was watching, as Babai (another resident) was trying to make the parrot fly back.
I wrote a poem inspired by the parrot's daring escape attempt. My daughter Adele drew the picture from the original photos.
parrot wanted to explore the world
but babai brought out his merch
parrot watched babai's lungi unfurl
and it scared it off its perch
it wants to be free
it doesn't want the cage
but Ashok won't let it be
not at this stage
it tried through the dental window
but got lost inside
the screaming patient, though
got a short respite
now it's back in the cage
wondering when it will be
tired, but full of rage
when will it be free?
Podi
Mar 15, 2023
In 2004, I worked in Ernakumal, Kerala and made many train trips between my home in Kolkata and Ernakulam. I would take the Coromandel Express from Howrah (the closest train station to Kolkata) to Chennai, then switch trains to Ernakulam.
While in Chennai, I would visit my cousin Peter Tseng, then a chef at The Park, Chennai. A restaurant near his place served vegetarian thali on a big steel plate with various vegetarian dishes in small bowls and rice in the middle. The waiter would deliver the thali to the table, then return to put ghee on the rice and dal powder.
I had vegetarian thali before, but not the dal powder. The combination of the ghee and dal powder was delicious. Years later, I would remember it whenever I had vegetarian dal rice at home in Scarborough, Canada. On one of our Masala Dosa dinners at The Nilgiris restaurant on Markham Road, I noticed they were selling dal powder at the counter! I finally found my old friend.
Every time I eat dal rice (typically Wednesdays), I add ghee and dal powder to my dal rice to recreate the joy I first enjoyed in Chennai. The bag of powder lasted me a few years, but it was finally finishing.
Luckily, I met Peter on my recent India trip, and he gave me a gift bag from Chennai that included a bag of dal powder! He called the dal power "Podi" (the Tamil word).
Iced Coffee With Aeropress
Dec 30, 2022
I enjoyed drinking iced coffee this summer. It was my goto brew method (there were a few hot coffees when I was lazy or it was cool and rainy).
While I have been home-brewing hot coffee for years with the Aeropress, I only tried iced coffee last year. The cold brew method requires a dedicated accessory, more effort, and a long (overnight) brew time, so I didn't try it. Then I watched James Hoffmann's video on iced filter coffee, tried it, and enjoyed the result. It follows the Aeropress philosophy of easy, quick, practical, and great-tasting coffee.
My method is different in three ways:
- Aeropress instead of V60
- Smaller, stronger cup
- Hot-water volume varies for precision
The James Hoffmann video uses a V60 brewer, but I use Aeropress. Aeropress is more effective for strong small cups because we can use the inverted method and steep the coffee longer for better extraction.
Instead of the 15g coffee:250g water ratio, I use 14g:200g from Tim Wendelboe's Aeropress recipe. He also has an iced coffee video that follows the same method as James Hoffmann, with additional commentary on coffee bean choices that work well.
My ice cubes don't weigh 70g. I watch the scale as I drop them in to get it between 70g to 75g. The hot water volume is then adjusted such that 200g is the total weight of ice, and hot water.
The more hot water we can brew coffee with, the more coffee we extract. James Hoffmann experimented with various ratios and arrived at 40% ice as a starting point. For me, 40% or 80g of ice was a bit more, as the ice didn't fully melt when I mixed in hot coffee. At 35% or 70g, it almost completely melts. I still have to stir it a bit.
Things we need:
- Aeropress
- Scale that can weigh at 1g or even better 0.1g increments
- Kettle
- Grinder
- Coffee beans (light roasted, fruity)
- Ice cubes
- Tumbler (whiskey glass types)
- Frothing Pitcher
- One chopstick
Steps:
- Boil water (to boiling point)
- Measure 14g of beans
- Grind medium-fine (Aeropress grind)
- Invert Aeropress (link to the inverted method)
- Pour in ground coffee
- Put ~70g of ice into the pitcher
The next step depends on the actual weight of the ice. If the ice cubes weigh 75g, I pour 125g boiling water into the inverted Aeropress. For 73g of ice, it is 127g of water. This goal is to get exactly 200g of ice and hot water.
I stir the ground coffee and hot water with a chopstick to maximise the coffee extraction, and then press the plunger in as far as needed such that the water level is close to the top. I found it makes less mess this way when we flip.
Put a paper filter into the cap and lock it tight over the Aeropress. Let the coffee grounds and boiling water steep inverted for 1 to 2 mins (no need to time it).
Add 4g of sugar to the 70g of ice.
After steeping, flip over the Aeropress onto the pitcher (which has ice and sugar). I gently stir the Aeropress to capture the coffee grounds stuck to the rubber and then press the coffee through.
I remove the cap to push out the left-over coffee grounds with the filter into the waste bin, then rinse the Aeropress.
Stir the coffee in the pitcher with the chopstick to make the sugar dissolve properly (some sugar will be left).
I add 4 or 5 ice cubes into the glass tumbler to chill the coffee. These will melt a bit and dilute the coffee making the last sips weaker, but it is OK. I did think about getting one of those larger ice cube trays.
Pour out the cold coffee from the pitcher into the tumbler. By now, almost all the ice should have melted. There will still be some sugar left in the pitcher. I ignore it most of the time, but sometimes, I can't let it go, and add a bit of hot water, swirl it, and then pour that into the tumbler.
Clean up, and enjoy!