Japan - Country in Far East Asia in another planet :)

Japan, a country in far east Asia, was always on my travel list for many years. I always felt Germany was the most organized and structured country wrt public transportation but Japan has surpassed all my expectations and they are on a different planet. I made this trip as a lone backpacker similar to what I did when I was a student in Europe. I traveled in different combinations to various countries in the world with my wife, as a family, with friends but this trip alone after almost 14 years was a true bliss and I did a lot of soul searchin during this trip. 

What amazed me was their discipline, cleanliness, orderliness and politeness (bowing down everytime) in spite of their big population density. Tokyo being the most populated city in the world and I have neve seen such a clean city in my life anywhere in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the food there being a meat eater (Rice, Noodles, Dumplings, Goza, Shrimps, Soups etc ) and they drink a lot similar to Europeans. 

Had a chance to travel to Nikko, which is around 200 kms from Tokyo. Nikko was long a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship, and as a result, many important temples and shrines are located there. Two shrines and one temple, Nikko Tosho-Gu, Rinno-ji, and Futarasan Jinja, comprise a world-renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site. I was shell shocked with the cleanliness of Nikko station which looked like a toy station to me. The hair pin bends to the top of Nikko was breathtaking and there is a huge waterfall and lake on the top. It's a small cozy picturesque town away from the buzzling Tokyo. 

Kamakura has Historic spots, seasonal flowers and foliage, and gourmet food in the ancient capital, easily accessible from Tokyo. Less than an hour south of Tokyo is Kamakura, once the political capital of Japan, famous for its temples and literary heritage, as well as its beaches and hiking trails. Had a good dip in the pacific but I must say the waves in Chennai beach are way higher than in the pacific.

Also made good Japanese friends on this trip when I was in one of the restaurants. I made a road trip to Mount Fuji with my Japanese friends, one of the sacred mountains for Japanese people. It is the tallest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia and is known for its graceful conical form.  We had a great lunch in a traditional Japanese restaurant with the BBQ fire and lovely food and drinks. 

I decoded the success story of Japan. Two main things: No religion and No muti parties. I think they cracked the essence of life after the second world war concentrating on science, technology, development, infrastructure, sports, culture, arts and not focusing on religion, destruction and internal politics. Great country and a must see country on the planet earth. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Cricket - Umpiring/Commentating 2023

Cricket is a sport which I always enjoyed right from my childhood days. During the summer break, I had a chance to do umpiring for the European Cricket League at St. Gallen. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially judging Leg Before Wicket is never an easy task which looked so easy when we watch it in the television. Umpiring is never an easy task where you are always under the pressure from the bowlers, fielders and more importanly scrutinized in the television with the live commentary. 

Also had a chance to do commentary for some of the games  which I enjoyed thoroughly. The most important aspect of the commentary is to make sure you are not overlapping with your fellow commentator. Thanks to European Cricket League which gives great advertisement and development of Cricket in Europe where Football is the number one sport.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Odisha, India

Having traveled to different parts of India during my childhood, somehow Odisha was missing in my list. Thanks to my dad who taught me the art of traveling to various places due to his association with Indian Railways. I recently visited this beautiful state of Odisha, India’s best kept secret. I must say the domestic flight transportation in India has improved a lot in the last decade. There is a direct flight from Chennai to Bhubaneshwar, the capital city of Odisha. Bhubaneswar is an ancient city in India’s eastern state of Odisha, formerly Orissa. Some of the notable places to visit in Bhubaneswar are Lingaraj Temple, RajaRani Temple, Kedaragouri Temple, Mukteswara-Siddheswar Temple, ISKCON temple.

Puri is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. The great Jagannath temple in Puri is a must visit. Had a great time on the beaches of Puri which are quite similar to the Chennai beaches. The Eco treat in Odisha is giving a lot of fun activities on the beach like big motor bikes, speed boat and parasailing. I had a chance to do Parasailing for the first time in my life and it was a great experience.

Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia and second largest coastal lagoon in the world, spread over the Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 square kilometres. Had a good boating ride in Chilika lake for about 3 hours.

I was really amazed by the popularity of Naveen Patnaik, the son of Biju Patnaik who have been ruling the state of Odisha for the past three decades. I could see lot of development activities which has happened in this state because of him. Most importantly, Odisha has been the main sponsor for Indian Hockey team and they have built wonderful stadiums in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela. I certainly loved the warmth of Odisha people and it was a trip to remember in my life.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Hogenakkal/Yercaud

Having rubbed shoulders with Prabu for more than a decade, it was a rewarding experience to meet Prabu and his family in his hometown Dharmapuri. The Hogenakkal waterfalls was in my bucket list to visit for a long time. Hogenakkal Falls is a waterfall in South India on the Kaveri river on the border between Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and Chamrajnagar district of Karnataka and It is located 46 km from Dharmapuri. We had a good boating experience with thunderous waterfalls and the weather was very pleasant. The oil massage and after bath in the waterfalls was a treat to the body. 

We went to Yercaud the next day and stayed in one of the beautiful picturesque cottages. The hair pin bends, the boat ride, the sweet coffee, amazing food in the hill station, the pleasant weather added great memories to our trip. Thanks to Prabu for the great hospitality and for creating great memories in his own den.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

 

Tada Falls, India

Recently I had a chance to visit Tada falls with my father. It takes around 2.5 hours to reach from the Chennai suburbs. You can park the Vehicle near Tada falls parking lot and follow the trail to trek to the Tada falls. Total trek is almost of 10 km through rough patches and rocky terrains. Novice hikers can trek along a 3 km long trail one way that snakes along a clear stream of water. Mid-level trekkers can go further up, climbing the boulders to reach the base of the falls. Though the trail can be a little exhausting, there are multiple water pools along the trail and the area has good green cover making it a pleasant hike.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Balaji's visit - Paris/CH 2023

Similar to the path of doing higher studies in Germany, my college friend Balaji did his higher studies in France and became a French citizen and is living in Paris for close to two decades. We have been in touch for long time but never found a time to meet each other. Its better later than never. Finally I had a chance to meet Balaji after nearly two decades in his own den Paris. He picked me up in Paris and showed all the must see places in Paris given the fact I have visited Paris already twice. It was a great catch up kindling all the old college memories and most importantly he visited me with his family in Switzerland. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Chennai Marathon 2022 /2023

Chennai Marathon has become an annual event in my calendar. Running in the the beautiful beach stretch from Naiper bridge, following the light house, Adyar river, Madhya Kailash and finally reaching the Central Polytechnic grounds is a great experience for a Chennaite. The number of runners has been increasing from year to year and Thanks to the Chennai runners and other NGO organizations, volunteers who played a vital role in conducting this mega event in Chennai successfully. Thanks to Praveen, Mani who accomodated in 2023 edition and Periappa, Swarna, Kalai in 2024 edition. Its a perfect reunion with the friends in Chennai after a long time.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Women's Dreilaender Indoor Cricket Tournament 2023

Gloomy days, gets darker in the evening, November days.. how to get rid of it.. Yes Cricket!! The Dreilaender Women's Indoor Cricket tournament was held in the huge gorgeous Halle Matte Magden on November 12th 2023. Four teams participated in this tournament.

1. Swiss Girls East

2. Swiss Girls West

3. Basel SuperNovas

4. A1 Sports Club - Women

All the teams played against each other with a round robin of three matches. After all the matches, below were the points table

Teams              Played Won Lost Tied Points

Swiss Girls East     3        2     0      1       10

Basel SuperNovas 3        2     1       0       8

A1 Sports Club       3        1      1       1       6

Swiss Girls West    3        0     3      0       0

The last match was a thriller between A1 Sports Club and Swiss Girls East and it ended up in a tie. Based on the points table, Swiss Girls East were the winners, Basel SuperNovas were the runners and A1 Sports Club took the 3rd prize.

Indian Association Basel and A1 Sports Club take this opportunity to thank the four teams who represented the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Indoor Women's Cricket tournament and making it a successful one. It was Diwali day and all the players made fireworks with the bat and ball inside the indoor hall.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Men's Dreilaender Indoor Cricket Tournament 2023

The Dreilaender Men's Indoor Cricket tournament was held in the huge gorgeous Halle Matte Magden on November 12th 2023. Four teams participated in this tournament.

1. Zurich Mavericks

2. Novartis Cricket Club

3. Roche Cricket Club

4. A1 Sports Club

All the teams played against each other with a round robin of three matches. After all the matches, below were the points table

Teams                    Played Won Lost Points NRR

Roche Cricket Club 3          3      0       12   2.04

Zurick Mavericks     3          1      2         4    0.65

Novartis Cricket Club 3       1      2        4    -0.93

A1 Sports Club          3         1      2        4   -1.90

After the league matches, Roche Cricket Club topped the table and qualified for the finals. All the other teams ended up with the same points. Super over was played between Zurick Mavericks, Novartis Cricket Club and A1 Sports Club which also resulted with each team winning one match. Finally, Net RunRate was used to rank the teams. The 3rd place match was played between Novartis Cricket Club and A1 Sports Club where A1 Sports Club bagged the 3rd prize. The final match was played between Roche Cricket Club and Zurick Mavericks. 

In the finals, Ben Stokes' moment came where Roche needed just one wicket and Zurick Mavericks needed 4 runs. Unfortunately the ball hit the non striker's bat, got deflected and went to six. It was not intentional from the non striker and certainly six was awarded. Thats the beauty of this sport where there can be always one winner and one runner. Zurick Mavericks won the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Men's Indoor Cricket Tournament and Roche Cricket Club were the runners.

Indian Association Basel and A1 Sports Club take this opportunity to thank the four teams who represented the 2023rd edition of Dreilaender Indoor Men's Cricket tournament and making it a successful one. It was a Diwali day and all the players made fireworks with the bat and ball inside the indoor hall.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Sachseln, Switzerland

Junior Chamber International (JCI) hosted the members from JCI Hungary in Switzerland. Thanks to Julia who organized a trip to Sachseln. Sachseln is a village and municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Sachseln, the municipality includes the hamlets of Edisried, Ewil and Flüeli-Ranft. Sachseln is located directly on Lake Sarnen, surrounded by lovely mountains. Älggialp forms the geographic centre of Switzerland. The weather was sunny in the first half and cloudy in the second half of the trekking. It was a wonderful trekking trip with various trials. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Maennerchor Magden

Singing has never been my hobby and I always admire the solo and choral singers. Recently I joined Maennerchor (Male Chor) club to get the basics of singing and more importantly to improve my Swiss German. It has been a fascinating experience with warmly accepted members. We already performed couple of outings once during the Swiss National Day and the other on Culture Day festival in Magden. Thanks to Maennerchor Magden verein for accepting me besides being a beginner in singing. We also did a boating trip in Interlaken and had a awesome buffet in the ship.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Angela Torsten visit 2023

It's been a ritual that we visit Angela and Torsten every year. Either we go to Chemnitz or they come to visit us in Switzerland. They visited us for the VaterTag long weekend. We had a chance to go trekking with them and visit the waterfalls nearby in Seeberg. Seeberg is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The lake Burgäschisee is located on the border with Aeschi. We also did the trekking to Sonneberg tower which is located near to my home. Angela and Torsten have shown the Sachsen beauty and it was our turn to show them the beauty of Switzerland. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

European Parliament, Strausbourg

Recently I had a chance to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg via my Junior Chamber International organization. Completed in 1999, the official seat of the European Parliament offers tours & interactive exhibits. The European Parliament currently represents about 450 million European citizens. It has 705 Members, elected for 5-year terms. It holds legislative, budgetary and political supervisory powers. The European Parliament is the largest parliamentary assembly elected by direct universal suffrage in the world. An architectural gem Designed by Architecture Studio, the huge glass-and-metal building, which has housed the European Parliament since 1999, is very impressive. It is one of Strasbourg’s architectural gems. Beautifully reflected in the water, its huge glass façade, measuring 13,000 sq. metres, symbolises the democratic transparency of the European Union.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Recently visited Amsterdam for a Validation University conference and presented on the latest ChatGPT topic here as well. Have visited Amsterdam as a student, with the family and friends and its a city which you can never get bored, always happening place. Amsterdam being the capital of Netherlands, the most populated has got one of the best public transportation system. I always teach my son, the three names refer to the same country: Dutch, Holland, Netherlands. Dutch is very linguistic and they speak very good English, German and of course their own language Dutch. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Diwali events 2023

Being the Master of Ceremony has been my real satisfying hobby. Recently had a chance to do compering in German in the Diwali fest conducted by Indian Association Wettingen in 2023 and also in 2023. Thanks to my school events which helped to remove the stage fear and enjoy these events to the fullest. Thanks to Indian Association Wettingen for conducting these Diwali events which gives a great opportunity to the young kids to showcase their talent of singing, dancing and playing various musical instruments.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Badminton

Badminton is a sport which I used to play when I was young but never persisted with it after that. Recently took this sport and played on every Friday evenings as a hobby sport with my friends especially playing with a feather cock is a pleasant experience. Recently participated in the Indian Association Wettingen Badminton tournament in doubles category with my friend Neel Das. Not even in the wildest of dreams I anticipated to clear the first round but we ended up as runners. Neel is an exceptional player and I just had to support him and send the ball to the other side of the court. Even when I visit India, I am playing regularly in the evenings with my school friend. It's a great stress buster with amazing movements and takes away the negative emotions.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. With various Universities,young population and start up culture, Dublin is known for its vibe for technological advancements. Had a chance to present in GMP Validation University in Dublin in the year 2022. The guided tour to Guiness and the scientific way of making Whiskey is a must. Took the hop on hop off bus tour to see the various places in Dublin. Also, I had a chance to meet Venkatesh Kannan, my college friend and it was a reunion after more than a decade. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Lugano, Switzerland

Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region. Its Swiss-Mediterranean mix of cultures is closely related to that of Italy’s northern Lombardy region. This mix is reflected in its architecture and cuisine. The city stands on the northern shore of glacial Lake Lugano, surrounded by mountains. Its main square, Piazza della Riforma, is ringed with pastel-colored, neoclassical palazzi.I had a chance to visit my friend and Professor Patrick Eugster in Lugano and we had a great intellectual talks, cooked nice Indian food and discussed various scientific, political topics.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

ClearWaters, Florida

Clearwater is a city in Florida's Tampa Bay area known for sunny weather and gulf coast beaches. Clearwater Beach, on a barrier island, is a 3-mile stretch of white sand backed by hotels and restaurants. Injured dolphins and sea turtles are rehabilitated at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. At the city's Spectrum Field, the Phillies pro baseball team plays spring training games. Had a chance to present on the latest advanced topic ChatGPT in the conference over there. No doubt why Florida is referred as Sunshine state of USA. Having born and brought up in Chennai, Florida is very close to my hometown with beautiful beaches, sun shine and tropical weather.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Research Triangle Park, Durham

Having worked and travelled in US, never had a chance to visit the state North Carolina. Had a chance to present in GxP Technology summit in Research Triangle Park in Durham. It was a perfect scenic location with lush green meadows but also with major IT companies having their presence there. Founded in 1959 and located at the center of three Tier-1 research universities, RTP is North Carolina's premier global innovation center. The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Anish Karate

Anish's new hobby has been Karate in recent times and he meticulously goes for the training and shows very good interest in this sport. He recently obtained an Orange belt, takes part in various competitions during the weekends. Karate Japanese pronunciation also karate-do, is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints, and vital-point strikes are also taught.[3] A karate practitioner is called a karate-ka.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Pfingstmontag 2023

Hiking and grilling are the two most important activities which you can associate when you live near the forest and alpine areas. We had a great Pfingstmontag 2023 with Anish friend Tamino and his family. We started our hike and went to Sonneburg and grilled in the most picturesque location on the way. The weather stayed absolutely fine and it was a perfect quality time spent with good friends.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Vogelpark Steinen, Blackforest

Vatertag 2023 was well spent by visiting the Vogelpark Steinen in the blackforest area. The eagle/bird show is a must where one can see the wonderful display of the trained birds obeying to the command of the master. The fascinating part was feeding the monkeys and they were well trained and they just took the food only when offered. Another feather in the hat was the birds sitting on our hands, head and toes. It's a perfect picnic spot for the kids and a must see place in Schwarzwald.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Roche 125 years Celebration

In May 2022, Roche as an organization celebrated 125 years of its anniversary. It was a huge celebration, one on Friday evening and another one with the family on Saturday with two different slots. After two years of no celebration during the pandemic 2020 and 2021, it was fascinating to see flocks of people coming together for the celebrations. Another great Christmas celebration happened in winter 2022 which was also missing for the two years. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Camping in Interlaken

Camping once a year has been a tradition now and we spontaneously decided to camp in the Interlaken. Ratheesh and Prabu came all the way from Hamburg and it was a great experience for them to go camping with my Basel friends. Interlaken is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, and the main transport gateway to the mountains and lakes of that region.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Anita's firm Summer event 2022

Anita’s summer event 2022 was a memorable one. All the members who attended the event were divided in to four teams and each teams has to produce a movie based on a story. I really loved this task since I am used to this in my school days. The story was Oma’s leckerli. The underworld guy kidnapped Don’s wife and he requested only for Leckerli but in the end the Don only provided Laderach chocolates and the grandmother who was supposed to stay home secretly came to the spot and hit the underworld guy. It was very professional with the editing and with the costumes. I thoroughly enjoyed this day with all the filming from various teams and afterwards with good food and drinks.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Stoos 2023

Anita’s annual company event in the scenic picturesque Stoos is something we don't want to miss anytime and it's always blocked in my calendar way before some months. It's so ideal that Anish has semester day off on Friday, we hit the slopes with less people thereby making it a long weekend. Stoos has amazing ski slopes, with sun shine, blue skies and snow capped mountains it was indeed a heaven. Skiing is a sport which kept me at bay for long time but there goes a saying its better late than never.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Nice/Monaco - France

 Nice is the capital of the French Riviera. The city was founded by the Greeks in the third century BC and to this day, traces of ancient civilization can be found here. After the great la Belle Epoque, Nice today is a multicultural and cosmopolitan city. The city and the region are visited by about 10 million tourists each year. Entertainment can be found here at any time of the year, although the main season lasts from May to the end of September. The marineland in Nice is a must visit.

Monaco officially the Principality of Monaco,is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by France to the north, east and west. The principality is home to 38,682 residents, of whom 9,486 are Monégasque nationals it is widely recognised as one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world. The official language of the principality is French. In addition, Monégasque (a dialect of Ligurian), English and Italian are spoken and understood by many residents.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Cannes/Toulon - France

Cannes is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is known for its association with the rich and famous, its luxury hotels and restaurants, and for several conferences. Its a picturesque city with beautiful beaches and a must see place in the south of France.

I really liked the city of Toulon. Toulon is an important centre for naval construction, fishing, wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, and electronic equipment. The cable car to the top gives the panoramic view of the city. The weather stayed absolutely fine and it was a day to remember.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S