Friday, 27 June 2008
swati.kapol.romir.tandon
let us share the joys we have while romir tandon, our younger daughter's son, is in canada with his parents. while a few photographs are given hereunder, for full album please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/SwatiKapolRomirTandon
Thursday, 26 June 2008
barking, havering and redbridge hospitals
barking, havering and redbridge hospitals: normally hospital is not a place to be on the itinerary of a tourist, and, therefore, is not expected to be a part of the memoir of a journey. however, mr vivek mai khare (mr khare, father-in-law of ashwini, and his wife ms mohini khare are also on tour to uk at the invitation of ashwini and shagun) got ill due to some infection. he had to contact the accident and emergency department of the barking, havering and redbridge hospitals at the old church, which is about one kilometer from our residence. when the treatment did not respond despite one week treatment as out-patient, he was admitted to the hospital on 19th june, 2008. he is being discharged today, the 26th june, 2008, and will need further treatment either in uk or when he returns to india. hence, this story on this blog.
uk has got a very good social security system and free medical facilities to a very large extent is available to its citizens and the persons on work permit. the tourists are not covered but are given emergency treatment. persons over 60 years of age are allowed free medicine even as out patient. once emergency is over, the treatment has to be paid for. therefore, it is advisable for tourists to have insurance cover.
the medical facilities are run as part of the national health scheme. nhs trust has been formed to manage the hospitals. patients have to be routed to the hospital through their general practitioners, who are private doctors working for the nhs. only in case of accident and emergency the patients can approach the hospital directly. therefore, the hospitals here are running twenty-four hour emergency. when gp's are not available as their clinics have closed, the patients are coming to the a&e department of the hospital and getting temporary treatment and are thereafter advised to go to the gp's unless they are admitted to the hospital in the meantime.
on arrival to the hospital, the patients are first enrolled and then referred to the triage nurse, who decides about the nature of emergency and accordingly divided into several groups like minor, majors and children. this facilitates severe emergencies to be tackled first. accidents and ailments requiring immediate attention like cardiac problem are labour pains are separately dealt with. that is why there is a separate entrances for maternity cases and accident cases.
ambulances and police vehicles have exclusive access to such entrances.
the cleanliness of the hospital is superb. this has been outsourced. they use lot of mechanical devices for sweeping, wet scrubbing, etc. in case of wet scrubbing, the water is automatically collected leaving the floor completely dry. the toilets are checked for their cleanliness at given intervals. the toilets are kept completely dry with the use of paper towels. glasses are also cleaned regularly. all the floors have eithr venyle flooring or carpet tiles.
beds of the patients are of very high quality and all arrangements have been made for oxygen supply and other needs of the patient. in a general ward, only four patients are kept in a room.
visitors are allowed only during 1430 hrs to 1930 hrs. there can be only two visitors at a time with the patients. the nurse-in-charge is able to enforce the discipline.
the patients are given food from the hospital. for the purpose, the hospital has an arrangement from a hotel. a menu card is given to the patient every day in the evening and he can choose the menu as per advice of the dietician. the breakfast, lunch and super is served at the appointed time. the super is interestingly served at arount 1730 hrs. tea, coffee, milk, ovaltine, chocolate drinks are, however, served every two hours. the patient can demand it as and when he likes but not after 1900 hrs.
i have found that the most of the visitors to the hospitals were children or the aged. no patient had any worry on his face. he was sure of getting the best possible treatment at no cost. the doctor will always first talk about the sickness to the patient only, if he is conscious. only with his consent, he will speak about his health to his family members or the outsiders. the patient's privacy is fully respected. the patients and their family members do not forget to place a thank you card at the desk of the doctor and at the nurse station.
special tv telephone and mobile phone facility are available in the hospital and can be availed through the nurse. newspaper is also vended through mobile trolley. pay phones and cold drink and chocolate vending machines are installed outside every ward. there is a food court, a restaurant and shop for general utilities on the ground floor just near the main entrance. an information desk manned by several persons is also there.
uk has got a very good social security system and free medical facilities to a very large extent is available to its citizens and the persons on work permit. the tourists are not covered but are given emergency treatment. persons over 60 years of age are allowed free medicine even as out patient. once emergency is over, the treatment has to be paid for. therefore, it is advisable for tourists to have insurance cover.
the medical facilities are run as part of the national health scheme. nhs trust has been formed to manage the hospitals. patients have to be routed to the hospital through their general practitioners, who are private doctors working for the nhs. only in case of accident and emergency the patients can approach the hospital directly. therefore, the hospitals here are running twenty-four hour emergency. when gp's are not available as their clinics have closed, the patients are coming to the a&e department of the hospital and getting temporary treatment and are thereafter advised to go to the gp's unless they are admitted to the hospital in the meantime.
on arrival to the hospital, the patients are first enrolled and then referred to the triage nurse, who decides about the nature of emergency and accordingly divided into several groups like minor, majors and children. this facilitates severe emergencies to be tackled first. accidents and ailments requiring immediate attention like cardiac problem are labour pains are separately dealt with. that is why there is a separate entrances for maternity cases and accident cases.
ambulances and police vehicles have exclusive access to such entrances.
the cleanliness of the hospital is superb. this has been outsourced. they use lot of mechanical devices for sweeping, wet scrubbing, etc. in case of wet scrubbing, the water is automatically collected leaving the floor completely dry. the toilets are checked for their cleanliness at given intervals. the toilets are kept completely dry with the use of paper towels. glasses are also cleaned regularly. all the floors have eithr venyle flooring or carpet tiles.
beds of the patients are of very high quality and all arrangements have been made for oxygen supply and other needs of the patient. in a general ward, only four patients are kept in a room.
visitors are allowed only during 1430 hrs to 1930 hrs. there can be only two visitors at a time with the patients. the nurse-in-charge is able to enforce the discipline.
the patients are given food from the hospital. for the purpose, the hospital has an arrangement from a hotel. a menu card is given to the patient every day in the evening and he can choose the menu as per advice of the dietician. the breakfast, lunch and super is served at the appointed time. the super is interestingly served at arount 1730 hrs. tea, coffee, milk, ovaltine, chocolate drinks are, however, served every two hours. the patient can demand it as and when he likes but not after 1900 hrs.
i have found that the most of the visitors to the hospitals were children or the aged. no patient had any worry on his face. he was sure of getting the best possible treatment at no cost. the doctor will always first talk about the sickness to the patient only, if he is conscious. only with his consent, he will speak about his health to his family members or the outsiders. the patient's privacy is fully respected. the patients and their family members do not forget to place a thank you card at the desk of the doctor and at the nurse station.
special tv telephone and mobile phone facility are available in the hospital and can be availed through the nurse. newspaper is also vended through mobile trolley. pay phones and cold drink and chocolate vending machines are installed outside every ward. there is a food court, a restaurant and shop for general utilities on the ground floor just near the main entrance. an information desk manned by several persons is also there.
Friday, 13 June 2008
ashwini and shagun's rented flat:
I wish to let you have an understanding of the design and construction of the flat where we are staying in uk. it is flat number 40, malt house place, romford, rm1 1ar, essex, uk. it is in an area called brewery, where many malls and shops, including several banks, are located. the railway station is just 3 to 5 minute walk. several bus stops are also within the same distance. just moving out of the building gets you in the market area. so you never feel staying at a lonely place. there is a public library also at about 7 minute walk distance. nearest hospital is about a mile away. the area has a lot of restaurants and pubs. so on friday evenings it is mostly visited by the youngsters. as told earlier a local market of street vendors is also held on wedenesdays, fridays and saturdays.
the flat's construction is also unique in some respects as compared to my experience back home. the outer walls of the building is built of bricks but all inner walls are hollow and made of gypsum board with a gap of about four inches. there is no provision for ceiling fans. however, during summer people do feel need of a fan and, therefore, pedastal or table or wall mounted fans are being sold in the market. there is a provision for heating of the flat. such units are called radiators. all door and window frames have a groove fitted with a lining to stop dust. kitchen and drawing room are just one big hall. kitchen has an integrated unit to house oven, stove, heating unit, refrigerator, washing machine, cloth drying unit, chimney and shelves and drawers for storage. only one room has a niche for the cabinet. kitchen top is not made of marble or granite stone but some other material which has been laminated. its surface has to be protected from heated utensils. bath rooms are so built that they can be kept dry. the bath area has bath tub. the bath area is so protected by a sliding glass partition that during bath the water does not spill out. walls along the tub are lined with ceramic tiles. there is no open drain outlet. the bath room has venyle flooring. only wash basin has a water tap. one has to use toilet paper for personal hygeine after passing stool. special cotton rugs are used in the bath room to kept the area completely dry. all joints around utensil sinks, wash basins, toilet seats and bath tubs have been waterproofed by a special sealant. all rooms including bath rooms are fitted with radiators for heating. barring a small area adjacent to the kitchen unit and bath rooms, the whole floor is carpeted. all rooms have at least one side (excepting six inches from the floor level and six inches below the ceiling level and inclusive of doors and windows on that wall) fully glazed. it allows natural light as well as heat in plenty from the sunrays. one more thing, there are two panels of glass with a hollow space in between in each frame. the balcony is a steel fabrication hanging by iron ropes fixed to the wall. the bath room has exhaust fan probably of six inch dia and protected by grill on both ends of the duct. the rpm of the exhaust fan is quite high because one toilet, which does not have even a window, does not suffocate. the exhaust fan and the electric bulb in all bath rooms have a common switch. all electrical sockets for plugs along with the relative switches as also cable, telephone and broadband sockets are fixed on the walls at the height of two and half feet. the switches for the electric bulbs are fixed on the walls at the height of four and half feet. the plug tops have rectangular legs. a remarkable featire is that none of the flats has an intercom facility. there is a common area duly covered by wooden partitions where garbage trollies are kept. these trollies are carried to the truck and hooked therewith. the truck will lift the trolly and empty it. the building is maintained by a third party and its car parking area is administered by another third party. the flat is duplex type and a round wooden staircase connects the room on the upper floor. in uk people have an option to choose service providers for electricity, gas and telephone. the competition among service providers has ensured quality of service. water quality is so good that there is no need to have water purifier.
the building has enough of parking area with each flat having one slot. but there is no provision for parking of the guest's car. they will have to park their cars at a public car parking facility and pay for it.) the parking slots in the building are generally embedded with a foldable pole. the pole can be raised upward and locked after the owner has taken out his car.
you are invited to have a look in and around our residence at
http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/RomfordEastLondonUkResidence
natural history museum:
the museum deals with the birth of earth, its place in the solar system, evolution of life on the earth, place of human beings in this evolution, earthquakes and their role in widening our knowledge about the earth's inside, minerals and their uses, atmosphere and ecology, need for conserving natural resources for our future generations, global warming and saving the earth as we see it today. the museum has a piece of earth brought from the moon in its rare collections. also visit http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ . For my favourite photographs , please visit
victoria and albert museum:
the museum is the world's greatest museum of art and design. it has galleries devoted to items of artistic and designer values from asia (covering china, islamic middle east, jakplan, korea, south asia and south-east asia) and europe each. the third gallery houses items based on the material and technique used and covers architecture, ceramics, glass, silver, iron, textiles, fashion, jewellery, prints, paintings, photography, musical instruments, etc. the fourth galllery is devoted to twentieth century articles including industrial products like typewriter, radio, transistor, laptop, which have value in terms of their design and art. shahjehan's wine cap and a sculpture of buddha's head were worth seeing. though present day technology does not have much space for the artwork, the gallery devoted to fashion clothing seemed too short of space and products. a remarkable absence in the fashion gallery was bra and bikini, history of which is not too old. of course, a gent's underwear was on display. also visit http://www.vam.ac.uk/ . my favourite photographs at http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/VictoriaAlbertMuseum
I wish to let you have an understanding of the design and construction of the flat where we are staying in uk. it is flat number 40, malt house place, romford, rm1 1ar, essex, uk. it is in an area called brewery, where many malls and shops, including several banks, are located. the railway station is just 3 to 5 minute walk. several bus stops are also within the same distance. just moving out of the building gets you in the market area. so you never feel staying at a lonely place. there is a public library also at about 7 minute walk distance. nearest hospital is about a mile away. the area has a lot of restaurants and pubs. so on friday evenings it is mostly visited by the youngsters. as told earlier a local market of street vendors is also held on wedenesdays, fridays and saturdays.
the flat's construction is also unique in some respects as compared to my experience back home. the outer walls of the building is built of bricks but all inner walls are hollow and made of gypsum board with a gap of about four inches. there is no provision for ceiling fans. however, during summer people do feel need of a fan and, therefore, pedastal or table or wall mounted fans are being sold in the market. there is a provision for heating of the flat. such units are called radiators. all door and window frames have a groove fitted with a lining to stop dust. kitchen and drawing room are just one big hall. kitchen has an integrated unit to house oven, stove, heating unit, refrigerator, washing machine, cloth drying unit, chimney and shelves and drawers for storage. only one room has a niche for the cabinet. kitchen top is not made of marble or granite stone but some other material which has been laminated. its surface has to be protected from heated utensils. bath rooms are so built that they can be kept dry. the bath area has bath tub. the bath area is so protected by a sliding glass partition that during bath the water does not spill out. walls along the tub are lined with ceramic tiles. there is no open drain outlet. the bath room has venyle flooring. only wash basin has a water tap. one has to use toilet paper for personal hygeine after passing stool. special cotton rugs are used in the bath room to kept the area completely dry. all joints around utensil sinks, wash basins, toilet seats and bath tubs have been waterproofed by a special sealant. all rooms including bath rooms are fitted with radiators for heating. barring a small area adjacent to the kitchen unit and bath rooms, the whole floor is carpeted. all rooms have at least one side (excepting six inches from the floor level and six inches below the ceiling level and inclusive of doors and windows on that wall) fully glazed. it allows natural light as well as heat in plenty from the sunrays. one more thing, there are two panels of glass with a hollow space in between in each frame. the balcony is a steel fabrication hanging by iron ropes fixed to the wall. the bath room has exhaust fan probably of six inch dia and protected by grill on both ends of the duct. the rpm of the exhaust fan is quite high because one toilet, which does not have even a window, does not suffocate. the exhaust fan and the electric bulb in all bath rooms have a common switch. all electrical sockets for plugs along with the relative switches as also cable, telephone and broadband sockets are fixed on the walls at the height of two and half feet. the switches for the electric bulbs are fixed on the walls at the height of four and half feet. the plug tops have rectangular legs. a remarkable featire is that none of the flats has an intercom facility. there is a common area duly covered by wooden partitions where garbage trollies are kept. these trollies are carried to the truck and hooked therewith. the truck will lift the trolly and empty it. the building is maintained by a third party and its car parking area is administered by another third party. the flat is duplex type and a round wooden staircase connects the room on the upper floor. in uk people have an option to choose service providers for electricity, gas and telephone. the competition among service providers has ensured quality of service. water quality is so good that there is no need to have water purifier.
the building has enough of parking area with each flat having one slot. but there is no provision for parking of the guest's car. they will have to park their cars at a public car parking facility and pay for it.) the parking slots in the building are generally embedded with a foldable pole. the pole can be raised upward and locked after the owner has taken out his car.
you are invited to have a look in and around our residence at
http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/RomfordEastLondonUkResidence
natural history museum:
the museum deals with the birth of earth, its place in the solar system, evolution of life on the earth, place of human beings in this evolution, earthquakes and their role in widening our knowledge about the earth's inside, minerals and their uses, atmosphere and ecology, need for conserving natural resources for our future generations, global warming and saving the earth as we see it today. the museum has a piece of earth brought from the moon in its rare collections. also visit http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ . For my favourite photographs , please visit
victoria and albert museum:
the museum is the world's greatest museum of art and design. it has galleries devoted to items of artistic and designer values from asia (covering china, islamic middle east, jakplan, korea, south asia and south-east asia) and europe each. the third gallery houses items based on the material and technique used and covers architecture, ceramics, glass, silver, iron, textiles, fashion, jewellery, prints, paintings, photography, musical instruments, etc. the fourth galllery is devoted to twentieth century articles including industrial products like typewriter, radio, transistor, laptop, which have value in terms of their design and art. shahjehan's wine cap and a sculpture of buddha's head were worth seeing. though present day technology does not have much space for the artwork, the gallery devoted to fashion clothing seemed too short of space and products. a remarkable absence in the fashion gallery was bra and bikini, history of which is not too old. of course, a gent's underwear was on display. also visit http://www.vam.ac.uk/ . my favourite photographs at http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/VictoriaAlbertMuseum
Monday, 9 June 2008
london aquarium:
london aquarium has its own speciality. it has different sections devoted to each ocean and the sea animals found in it. secondly, the fish tanks are very large and so the number of fish in each tank is also very large. each tank has a display showing a map of the world with marking of the seas where that kind of fish is found.
various kinds of fish have been named on the basis of their similarity with another object, e.g., wolffish, starfish, dogfish, etc. moonjelly fish was a special attraction because of its appearance. in fact it looked more like a bubble increasing and decreasing in its size rather than a normal tail type fish. it has no heart, no brain, no blood, no gills. however, its smell and taste senses are very strong. another fish, which i particularly noticed was anableps, which is four eyed and swims at the surface level of the water in the tank. it can see ahead of it as well as below, and, therefore, it can protect itself from attack from the predators.
the aquarium also had a section devoted to the rainforests of the world and the tribes living there. these tribals were able to meet their needs by working for just a few hours a day. their children were having much fun and freedom and were able to learn the skills necessary for their adult life much the same way. should we call them 'backward' just because they did not use money or electricity or such other things, which we are accustomed to use? don't these tribals have a right to their lifestyle? protecting rainforests is necessary not only to protect the freedom of the tribals living there but also for its contribution to the world's climate and its rich flora and fauna. we depend on the rainforests for most of the medicinal plants.
for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/Aquarium
river thames:
the river thames flows through the heart of london city. the history of london is woven around the riven thames. the bridges built across the river, the castle, the wharfs/ves, the churches, the residences of the bishops, the westminster (the british parliament) etc take the visitors into the long history of london city. the recent constructions like british airways' london eye and the glazed multi storeyed buildings tell the story of engineering and technology.
river thames has pucca embankments and very wide walkways on its both sides. it has piers for the large motorised boats. even a wartime ship 'belfast' is also parked as a memorial.
on the south bank of the river you will find artistes entertaining the visitors. someone has painted his or her body and put on peculiar dresses, sometimes standing like a statue. another group is there playing instrumental music or just singing on the tunes of a recorded music. someone is displaying his or her skill in playing with five rings around the body or playing with five crystal balls, which move on various parts of the body. they just entertain the passersby and feel happy with whatever you give them in appreciation of their performance. it must be a dying art here also because with the advent of cinema and particularly television, you will not find even "natas" or snakecharmers in india having any substantial income to make a bare living. of course, the social security system in uk must be of much help to these performers.
for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/ThamesRiverSouthBankWalkway
the civilisation at its best: degree of civilisation of a person or a society is best measured by the degree of sensitivity towards the needs of another person or society. this is best displayed here when you pass through the roads. construction of footpaths on both sides of the road is the first recognition of a right of a person to walk. london does not have many walkers on foot but even then you will find eight feet to twenty feet wide footpaths. if a road has only two lanes, one for up and the other for down journey, no motorist will overtake you even if the other lane is empty. if it is a red light, every vehicle stops and waits for green signal. even if a person is half way crossing the road on foot, the vehicles will not move till he has crossed the road inspite of green signal. if a lane is for bus only, no other motor vehicle will run on that lane. if a bus is sharing a lane with other vehicles and the bus has stopped on the space earmarked for it (which generally happens on a two lane road), the following vehicle will either stop behind the bus or carefully overtake it provided the other lane is empty. parking space for bus is carved by cutting down the width of the footpath only if the footpath is wide enough. no motorist blows a horn. if a motorist has blown a horn, be sure you have violated the traffic rules. a motorist coming from a subsidiary road will wait and give first right of passage to the vehicles coming from his right side on the main road. you will not find a vehicle stopping on the roadside to obstruct the lane. parking spaced are marked at some places and for that there is clear indication on the motor lanes. there are markings on subsidiary roads, where you can take left as well as right turn. if you listen a sound of continuous siren, be sure to slow down and be on the left side of the lane so that an ambulance or a police vehicle may overtake you. if you are near a crossing, you need stopping so that an ambulance or police vehicle, which might be coming from a side which has red signal, may pass through. generally at circular crossings where five or more roads meet, a triangular is formed where you may be tempted to overtake the vehicle on your left, but here you won't falter.
hi - bye-bye - sorry - thank you: enter any shop and reach a counter, the person at the counter will say 'hi' to welcome you. what a pleasing experience! you should not fail to respond by saying 'hi'. once your job is done, naturally you are expected to say 'thank you'. this is not obligatory for you but you would definitely like to thank the person who has served you. even if you fail, the other party won't fail you and you will hear the sweet words 'bye-bye' pronounced as 'bai-bai'. if there are many persons to be served, you will automatically go and stand in a queu. and again here, you will find that only one person is near the counter and the next person in the queu is at least four to five feet away (isn't it too far away?) if someone on the street happens to come just in your way, the other person will say 'sorry'. in case it is you not the other person who has come in the way, the other person will say 'sorry' without waiting for you to apologise.
london aquarium has its own speciality. it has different sections devoted to each ocean and the sea animals found in it. secondly, the fish tanks are very large and so the number of fish in each tank is also very large. each tank has a display showing a map of the world with marking of the seas where that kind of fish is found.
various kinds of fish have been named on the basis of their similarity with another object, e.g., wolffish, starfish, dogfish, etc. moonjelly fish was a special attraction because of its appearance. in fact it looked more like a bubble increasing and decreasing in its size rather than a normal tail type fish. it has no heart, no brain, no blood, no gills. however, its smell and taste senses are very strong. another fish, which i particularly noticed was anableps, which is four eyed and swims at the surface level of the water in the tank. it can see ahead of it as well as below, and, therefore, it can protect itself from attack from the predators.the aquarium also had a section devoted to the rainforests of the world and the tribes living there. these tribals were able to meet their needs by working for just a few hours a day. their children were having much fun and freedom and were able to learn the skills necessary for their adult life much the same way. should we call them 'backward' just because they did not use money or electricity or such other things, which we are accustomed to use? don't these tribals have a right to their lifestyle? protecting rainforests is necessary not only to protect the freedom of the tribals living there but also for its contribution to the world's climate and its rich flora and fauna. we depend on the rainforests for most of the medicinal plants.
for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/Aquarium
river thames:
the river thames flows through the heart of london city. the history of london is woven around the riven thames. the bridges built across the river, the castle, the wharfs/ves, the churches, the residences of the bishops, the westminster (the british parliament) etc take the visitors into the long history of london city. the recent constructions like british airways' london eye and the glazed multi storeyed buildings tell the story of engineering and technology.
river thames has pucca embankments and very wide walkways on its both sides. it has piers for the large motorised boats. even a wartime ship 'belfast' is also parked as a memorial.
on the south bank of the river you will find artistes entertaining the visitors. someone has painted his or her body and put on peculiar dresses, sometimes standing like a statue. another group is there playing instrumental music or just singing on the tunes of a recorded music. someone is displaying his or her skill in playing with five rings around the body or playing with five crystal balls, which move on various parts of the body. they just entertain the passersby and feel happy with whatever you give them in appreciation of their performance. it must be a dying art here also because with the advent of cinema and particularly television, you will not find even "natas" or snakecharmers in india having any substantial income to make a bare living. of course, the social security system in uk must be of much help to these performers.
for my favourite photographs, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/mlkesarwani/ThamesRiverSouthBankWalkway
the civilisation at its best: degree of civilisation of a person or a society is best measured by the degree of sensitivity towards the needs of another person or society. this is best displayed here when you pass through the roads. construction of footpaths on both sides of the road is the first recognition of a right of a person to walk. london does not have many walkers on foot but even then you will find eight feet to twenty feet wide footpaths. if a road has only two lanes, one for up and the other for down journey, no motorist will overtake you even if the other lane is empty. if it is a red light, every vehicle stops and waits for green signal. even if a person is half way crossing the road on foot, the vehicles will not move till he has crossed the road inspite of green signal. if a lane is for bus only, no other motor vehicle will run on that lane. if a bus is sharing a lane with other vehicles and the bus has stopped on the space earmarked for it (which generally happens on a two lane road), the following vehicle will either stop behind the bus or carefully overtake it provided the other lane is empty. parking space for bus is carved by cutting down the width of the footpath only if the footpath is wide enough. no motorist blows a horn. if a motorist has blown a horn, be sure you have violated the traffic rules. a motorist coming from a subsidiary road will wait and give first right of passage to the vehicles coming from his right side on the main road. you will not find a vehicle stopping on the roadside to obstruct the lane. parking spaced are marked at some places and for that there is clear indication on the motor lanes. there are markings on subsidiary roads, where you can take left as well as right turn. if you listen a sound of continuous siren, be sure to slow down and be on the left side of the lane so that an ambulance or a police vehicle may overtake you. if you are near a crossing, you need stopping so that an ambulance or police vehicle, which might be coming from a side which has red signal, may pass through. generally at circular crossings where five or more roads meet, a triangular is formed where you may be tempted to overtake the vehicle on your left, but here you won't falter.
hi - bye-bye - sorry - thank you: enter any shop and reach a counter, the person at the counter will say 'hi' to welcome you. what a pleasing experience! you should not fail to respond by saying 'hi'. once your job is done, naturally you are expected to say 'thank you'. this is not obligatory for you but you would definitely like to thank the person who has served you. even if you fail, the other party won't fail you and you will hear the sweet words 'bye-bye' pronounced as 'bai-bai'. if there are many persons to be served, you will automatically go and stand in a queu. and again here, you will find that only one person is near the counter and the next person in the queu is at least four to five feet away (isn't it too far away?) if someone on the street happens to come just in your way, the other person will say 'sorry'. in case it is you not the other person who has come in the way, the other person will say 'sorry' without waiting for you to apologise.
automated teller machines (ATMs): ATMs are very popular here. they can be seen outside the bank branch buildings as well as at other places. the machines are generally fixed as a hole in the wall. at a branch, i saw several ATMs in a hall meant for the customers. you can transact banking (such as withdrawing money or transferring money) as well as non-banking (like investing in mutual funds) transactions.
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