So, as it happened BCG deemed good to send me on a 2-day training to Kuala Lumpur (Hey ! I am a okay enough employee, I guess :-)) and as is the norm, Tanya and I converted it into a weekend trip with 2 days in Langkawi and she doing the shopping on the training days in KL (so tough to plan, nahin :) ?). And as with all things Ranjan, this also deserved to be blogged and here I am with the 10-pointer (seems like the iPad - iPhone analogy of consulting's 3-pointers :-)):

1. Langkawi is Goa on steroids minus the hullabaloo :), cleaner, lusher surroundings equipped with much better infrastructure. And if you are into sea-food, it doesn't get better than this !

2. In all my times abroad, I found Malaysia as the most liveable city - I actually will proactively try to get a 6-month types assignment there, lets see !

3. It being a Islamic city is very high on infrastructure, systems and discipline - keeps the city nice, clean and beautiful.

4. But, despite being Islamic, it is still very open with all possible westernized accoutrements possible and allowed (kind of Turkey, but I guess, even better :)).

5. The standard of living is quite high - the tourists in Malaysia were even-stevens between foreigners and natives - a surefire indicator of prosperity.

6. Electronics, clothes et al are costlier than India - but cosmetics are almost 1/4th the price - way to go, biwi :-).

7. They call a door "Pintu" in Malaya - I could not politely inquire what did Pappu mean :) ?

8. Malaysians are inherently polite people, but some of their expressions (like Okay, Okay with both palms held outwards) might appear rude to Indians, but they don't mean it :-).

9. We went to this place in Langkawi where the new "Don"'s end scene (the one with Shahrukh latkofying from the bridge) was shot - the air there is sharp and fast - fantastic place !

10. And here is the fun fact - AirAsia is offering DEL - KL return fare at ~8k / person starting Sep 1st. Its a wonderful opportunity to go and have fun :-). Try it !

Ranjan