Hello Team BHP !!

[VSG12777]

Hi everyone,

I am Venkat from Chennai - married in 2003 and left my job to go to Melbourne, Australia to do my MBA at Deakin University. We loved Melbourne .... but somehow my wife and I decided to come back to Chennai instead of applying for a PR and staying on there, looking for a job etc.

Well we are now doing the same thing here. Perhaps we would try getting a PR at a later stage. We just arrived 10 days back or so. I have focussed on Online Business / Information Systems in my MBA. My graduation ceremony was held at Penang, Malaysia and my parents came there to attend it. It was fabulous.

I found Team BHP on Google one day ... actually my wife found it and had bookmarked it on Firefox for me !! Since then, I have been surfing the website, getting loads of information in the process. It is just fabulous. I hope to learn a lot more from all of you !! Keep up the great work.

As for cars, we have a 1998 Daewoo Cielo GLX (Canterbury Green Metallic) which has run only about 27,000 kms and a 1993 Maruti 800 with A/C (Silver Grey Metallic) which has run about 35,000 kms. Yup - our usage isn't that much.

Well my dad was the head of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore - we were there from 1980 to about 1993 when he retired and we all came back to Chennai to settle down. All my schooling was done in S'pore till about 10th std. I did my B.A. Economics at A.M. Jain College here in Chennai and then worked for Brigade Corp. India Pvt Ltd as a Technical Customer Support Executive for Compaq / HP (USA). Support was by email and chat.

Well, I love cars and now I have started liking bikes too. My love of cars has been since I was about 3 years old, as my mom says I could identify the different brands and models of cars even at that age !!

I learnt how to drive by just observing my dad when he drove in Singapore .... my mom says I used to watch his feet movements and hand coordination with the gear shifting etc. Once we came to Chennai, one fine day in 1994 I just took the car out and drove it ..... I did manage to drive the Maruti 800 over a partially open manhole cover in the process though !! It cost more than 500 bucks to get that fixed .... I guess the silencer was damaged .... the car started sounding like a diesel one !!!

I drove many different types of cars at Melbourne and really miss the variety of cars here and the excellent roads in Melbourne, especially the freeways, where the speed limit is 100 kmph - just turn on the cruise control at 100 and keep going mate !! On interstate highways, the limit is 110, but people usually do 115-120 kmph ..... cos there is some aerial patrolling in some areas ... gotta be careful !!

I also have a Hero Honda CBZ (Disc) which I acquired in June 2001. I just now got alloys and nice fat 120/80 tyres for the rear fitted .... road grip is now amazing at high speeds with not much difference in the mileage. I get a cool 44-45 kmpl with normal city riding.

Well that's about it for the intro .... sorry for such a long one !!!

Warm regards,
Venkat

[its.me.ankur]

welcome to the team bhp buddy

[VSG12777]

Thanks !! I am already having a great time on this forum reading all the information ..... I have some car queries which I am gonna post probably tomorrow sometime. Till then ... bye bye !!

[dsinz]

Hey Venkat!
Welcome to T-BHP. Enjoy your stay!
Cheers
K

[GTO]

Well my dad was the head of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore -

Wow, thats a truly honourable position. NUS is the most distinguished university in this side of the world!

Welcome to the Team-BHP, Venkat. All the best with your post-MBA career.

[Dippy]

Hello. Welcome to Team BHP. Thats one of the nicest intros in a long time

[VSG12777]

Thanks everyone ... ya GTO .... we all really miss S'pore after coming back here. My wife and I miss Melbourne but not as much as the whole family misses Singapore. Last year when my wife and I came to Chennai for a visit, I made sure that we stayed at S'pore for 3 days and I showed her around .... my old school, a small tour of NUS, our old houses etc. She was amazed that I remembered the routes and places so well even after almost 13 years. That trip was really something. I am planning another trip with my parents soon to S'pore, and we all would be able to go around the city. The city has become so technology savvy now .... it is really unbelievable.

Regards,
Venkat

[ranjit]

Venkat...welcome...to TBHP and also back to India...I know how you feel...but here, amongst friends, you'll keep smilin' !

[esteem_lover]

hi venkat,
welcome to t-bhp. Good luck on your career. hope chennai serves you well since you have given up melbourne & have come down here. i have also been in singapore for a while in the nineties. stayed in yishun 727. the public transport there is one of the best in the world. the buses (mercs, scania, nissan) were all just terrific. hope you have a great time here in T-BHP.
cheers

[raj_aryan4411]

hi Venkat..welcome to team Bhp buddy.......
Enjoy ur stay....and Keep driving...

[VSG12777]

Well well ... ESTEEM LOVER ... Yishun eh ?? We used to stay on Dunearn Rd in Bukit Timah .... I went to Ghim Moh Secondary School and Swiss Cottage Primary School .... my sisters were at National Junior College and Raffles Junior Colleges respectively. Yes; the public transport is just excellent. Especially the MRT system - it now goes right upto the Changi International Airport ... amazing.

[kurmist]

Hi Venkat, welcome to Team BHP. Well, we have something in common here....I have also done my MBA from Melbourne (Melbourne Business School), but passed out way back in 1996....like you, returned back to India, as I felt this was where the future was going to be. Have never regretted that decision.

BTW have you driven on the Great Ocean Road? IMO that is one of THE BEST driving roads anywhere in the world. Have done it a number of times in cars / on bikes and everytime the fun factor just kept on increasing.

[VSG12777]

Hey Kurmist, cool to know you did your MBA at Melbourne too. Melb Business School eh ... is it at Univ of Melb ? So were you at the Burnley campus ??

As for the Great Ocean Rd, of course !! That's one of the best roads to drive on. I've done the same thing too ... driven there on a variety of cars .... including a souped up Nissan Patrol 2005 model with a 4.8 litre V8 and 5 speed automatic, hyge wheels, extra wide tyres etc. Man ... that was one mean machine .... the way it handled those curves at speeds of 70 and 80 kmph was just awesome. I have also driven a nice Honda Prelude 2002 model, with upsized wheels and tyres ... this belonged to one of my Chinese friends (he was from Hong Kong) - we went together to upgrade everything in the car starting from the entertainment system, tyres, wheels, installation of a turbocharger (which the Honda Specialist Tuner took care of), special air filter and so many other things. I am not too technical with all those things, but as far as car stereo systems and general car test driving go, I can spot defects very easily like slight vibration from speakers, minor rattling noises etc. This chap wanted to test out the car and he wanted to go on the Great Ocean Rd .... so we drove there and got back within a day while my wife was hanging out with another few of her friends !!

My wife and I have gone alone on that road too .... it was our honeymooner's drive, as we had got married in June 2003, arrived in Melb around end of Juny 2003 and we went to this place in about Aug 2003 .... couldn't wait too long. Like other couples, we didn't go anywhere else for our honeymoon, cos we kept saying Melbourne was our long 3-year honeymoon destination !! When we both went together, I rented a Holden Astra Convertible which was quite a nice car with cruise control, ABS, 2.2 litre engine, 6 speed manual etc. It was a limited edition which had just been launched and I got it from Thrifty Car Rental on Elizabeth St in the city. The car was fantastic and we really enjoyed that day's outing.

We also visited Warnambool etc. We just decided to combine it. We packed a lot of food, picked up drinks along the way etc and had fun. Plus, we had not celebrated my b'day (12 July 1977) or hers (24 Aug 1978) .... so this trip was for all of these occasions put together .... it was a bit expensive but what the hell .... we don't keep doing these things anyway.

And at that time, petrol (91 Octane ordinary unleaded) was only around 90-92 cents per litre .... I used discount coupons from Coles to fill up at Coles Express stations, for 4 cents per litre discount .... so it actually came to around 88 cents per litre .... super cheap fuel.

However, those were the good times. Just before I came back to Chennai, fuel prices were around the $1.35 per litre mark. Unbelievable.

[lamborghini]

Hey bro,
welcome aboard and enjoy your stay here.
Nice and really informative intro.
Cheers

[VSG12777]

Hey thanks Lambo .... good to get such appreciation for my intro from almost everyone !!