australians love india

AUSTRALIA's Test captain Ricky Ponting yesterday defended a decision to tour India despite recent terrorist bomb attacks, saying players had been given the green light by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and independent security experts.

Speaking in Canberra to promote Cricket Australia's in2cricket game to encourage more children to leave their computers and wield the willow, Ponting said the decision was not taken lightly.

His comments followed an outburst from Pakistan alleging favouritism by Cricket Australia in proceeding with a tour of India after twice refusing to tour Pakistan this year because of safety and security concerns.

"Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have obviously been in very close contact with Cricket Australia over the last few days," Ponting said. "As we all know and has been outlined already, these are very different circumstances between India and Pakistan right at the moment and Cricket Australia has made that very clear.

"As captain of the side and as a player, right at the moment I am very comfortable to go on the advice of Cricket Australia and the players' association."

While troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds will not be flying out with the team on Sunday after being sent home from a one-day series in Darwin a fortnight ago for another breach of team discipline, Ponting was encouraged by news his star player was keen to return.

"I actually think there were some really positive signs over the last couple of days with Andrew," Ponting said.

"He's fronted the media and admitted that there's some room for improvement in certain parts of his life."tp://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24362352-5001505,00.html

this could happen to you

SCAMS:  Major airports, train stations and tourist sites are often used by scam artists looking to prey on visitors, often by creating a distraction.  Taxi drivers and others, including train porters, may solicit travelers with "come-on" offers of cheap transportation and/or hotels.  Travelers accepting such offers have frequently found themselves the victims of scams, including offers to assist with "necessary" transfers to the domestic airport, disproportionately expensive hotel rooms, unwanted "tours," unwelcome "purchases," and even threats to the traveler when the tourists try to decline to pay.  There have been several disturbing reports of tourists being held hostage on houseboats in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, and forced to pay thousands of dollars in the face of threats of violence against the traveler and his/her family members.

Travelers should exercise care when hiring transportation and/or guides and use only well-known travel agents to book trips.  Some scam artists have lured travelers by displaying their name on a sign when they leave the airport.  Another popular scam is to drop money or to squirt something on the clothing of an unsuspecting traveler and during the distraction to rob them of their valuables.  Individual tourists have also been given drugged drinks or tainted food to make them more vulnerable to theft, particularly at train stations.  Even food or drink purchased in front of the traveler from a canteen or vendor could be tainted.  To protect against robbery of personal belongings, it is best not to accept food or drink from strangers.

Some vendors sell rugs or other expensive items that may not be of the quality promised.  Travelers should deal only with reputable businesses and should not hand over credit cards or money unless they are certain that goods being shipped to them are the goods they purchased.  If a deal sounds too good to be true, it is best avoided.  Most Indian states have official tourism bureaus set up to handle travelers' complaints.

Travelers should be aware of a number of other scams that have been perpetrated against foreign travelers, particularly in Goa, Jaipur, and Agra.  The scams generally target younger travelers and involve suggestions that money can be made by privately transporting gems or gold (both of which can result in arrest) or by taking delivery abroad of expensive carpets, supposedly while avoiding customs duties.  The scam artists describe profits that can be made upon delivery of the goods, and require the traveler to pay a "deposit" as part of the transaction.  The items are always fake, and if they were real, the traveler could be subject to arrest.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html

disclaimer: the writer is a tourism graduate with great experience in tourism and hospitality industry.

delhi rocked by serial blasts

i am writing this on a sad note.today 13th september 2008,at 6:15pm,delhi rocked by serial blasts.the group claiminig the blasts,is called indian mujahaideen.blasts were of low intensity and up till now 5 people are dead and more than 50 injuried.

i stay near cp and was going to take a walk in connaught place for my evening walk.but changed my plan and stayed in the house for a change .

suddenly a cousin called telling about the blasts.what a shame for these bastards,taking innocent lives and killing people.

the blasts took place in three places connaught place,greater kailash and gaffar market of karol bagh.

but we indains are very strong and our spirits cant be defeated by these bastards.delhi police has warned people not to go near dustbins,coz the bombs have been planted in dustbins and autorickshaws.