Key role of HR Managers

I checked in Hotel Taj Palace, Delhi at midnight sometime in last year and the executive at the desk welcomed me.

“Sir, it’s already midnight so I kept all your documents ready, kindly sign the form and you can go to your room.

Sir, though you have booked a normal room, we have upgraded to our club room, I hope this is ok with you?" the executive smilingly told me further.

I said, “Thank you.  In the morning my friend will join me for breakfast, please book a table for two."

He said, “it's alright sir. You need not worry. Enjoy yourself”.

“Sir, breakfast will be complimentary for your friend too", he said.

“Noon is checking out time, but I want to spend more time here. Is there any issue?” I said.

“Absolutely not sir. I will do the needful. You can stay up to 4 pm tomorrow.” He said.

This gesture of the reception desk executive has made me a permanent customer of the Taj Group of hotels.

And this incident was not in isolation. My subsequent experience has always been like that.
Having stayed in many hotels, I feel there is something different in Taj, which makes it unique despite comparatively high tariffs.

Now the next question is whether it’s part of their organizational policy or something beyond that.

Here, comes the role of HR managers. A very sound HR practices must have gone into the building of work culture at Taj and therefore, their executives make the experience different.

Traditionally, the HR function was known as Personnel Management or labor-management or Workforce management but now it is re-cherished as Human Resource or Asset Management.

Many organizations though very good at innovative practices when talking about their product management but fail to recognize their most valuable assets i.e. Human Resource.
The great entrepreneur and visionary industrialist late Shri Dhirubhai always used to say, “people are biggest asset” and rightly so today RIL is India’s biggest company and a Fortune 500 company.

So what is the role an HR manager is expected to play to channelize the Human Assets?

The first and foremost important task is to recruit suitable candidates for the function. The person doesn’t need to be highly qualified or have relevant experience. A candidate with a strong desire to learn will excel even if he doesn’t have qualifications or experience.

The next best action will be to organize a structured induction program for the selected candidate whatsoever position it may be. A new employee in the organization must know about the product, services, area of operation, competition, management people, cross-functional areas, ethics policies, welfare policies, and so on.

The market is fast evolving. Artificial Intelligence is taking a big toll on manpower. New technology is replacing the outdated method of work. So instead of hard work, a Smart work concept is taking place. Therefore, periodic training programs, organizing seminars, and encouraging employees to be more participative in the overall affairs of the organization is another crucial function which HR Managers must undertake.

The high attrition means loss of many productive hours and high cost of replacement. Therefore, the periodic study on the behaviour of the employees, their satisfaction level, their money as well as the psychological requirement is a must for a growth-oriented organization. Its rightly said, “Employee doesn’t leave and company, but leave the Managers”. Therefore, HR managers must play a vital role in checking such practices.

Another area where HR Managers are challenged is to design an appropriate compensation package for each grade of employee. It's difficult to fix the same compensation for the same nature of the job, but then it’s the HR job to design packages in such a way that recruit doesn’t pose a possible threat of dissatisfaction among the existing employees. The employees' welfare measures like a good workplace, medical facilities, conducting team building programs, retirement benefits, etc are other key areas where HR Managers need to sink in.

The organization itself is nothing, without good human resources.   And therefore, a strong investment in manpower and upgrading them from time to time become the key areas for any HR Manager.

Letter to PM : Strong foundation of India

Respected Prime Minister,

My views to build India as a strong nation:

1. Primary education: Currently quality aspect is terribly ignored in primary education in India which is should be the best as this is the very foundation of the nation. Teachers are very low paid. In some states, their salaries are as low as Rs 5000 per month which is even lower than domestic help. Select the best teachers with the best remuneration. Attract talent. A movement should be done to bring the best minds to education instead of going them to join white collars jobs.

2. Basic health care: The successive governments have tried to improve health care in villages, but the budget allocation is minuscule in comparison to the requirements. Encourage establishing more medical colleges, attract students from rural areas, and let them serve villages at least for 3 years. A healthy citizen will build a healthy nation.

3. Rural Economy: We are a nation of an agricultural economy. But unfortunately, our farmer who feeds us is again one of the most neglected persons. He always toils in poverty. He is often a victim of drought or flood. If some time production is more then the market price becomes less than his cost and he has no choice but to destroy his crop. And this is practically repeated every year. It’s criminal. Let our farmers prosper. Provide him storage facility, provide him market, provide him minimum guarantee price. Our most agriculture prosperous state like Punjab is marred with migration to Canada, Australia, and US. Please check it.

4. Research and Development: The Indian taught IITiens, Engineers, doctors are serving USA. No issue. They send hard-earned dollars to us. But we rarely hear any new patent, copyright, or development to their credit. We need very strong R&D departments insulated from political interference. Encourage technocrats to work here. Pay them handsome salaries. Let the nation shine with new technology, medicines, or new methods to its credit.

5. Social security and social recognition:

There is hardly any incentive for tax compliance and therefore the rate of the direct taxpayer is abysmally low. Introduce social security measures like old-age pension, unemployment allowances, free medical care, free primary education which will deter people from tax theft. Reward the taxpayers publicly. Surely results will be tremendous.

6. Role of Babus : So far the role of bureaucrats in India has been perceived as “dadagiri”. Now reverse their role. Give them targets of employment, give them targets of productivity, give them the target of a green and clean environment. Surely, these people will work hand in hand with the industry.

Sir, these are very basic things which could be implemented. Only you require to push and engrave your name permanently in the history of India as a Revolutionist.

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KICK START ECONOMY: POST LOCKDOWN

India is going through a very perilous economic condition.    Due to complete lockdown in the country for the past 45 days, the economic activities have come to a grinding halt.  However,  with the phased relaxations announced, the business has slowly started picking up.    But this  complete closure  has given a big jolt to the overall economy and as a result, unemployment has grown manifold.  The wheels of the manufacturing sector have stopped moving and the service industry has also received a severe jolt.    But India has always shown resilience to such adversity and in fact, its right time to convert this adversity into an  opportunity. 

Today a normal businessman is grappled with innumerable compliances.  The focus is more towards inspector raj rather than devoting the time in actual productivity.  A businessman has to constantly encounter with labor inspector, GST inspector, IT inspector, Vigilance, Pollution Control Inspector, Weight and Measure Inspector, Accounting compliances, Food and Drug Inspector and compliance with a  plethora of laws.    Every inspector/officer has his own whims without any accountability.  Productivity reduces considerably in such an environment and resultant low employment.  The government will have to do conscious efforts to remove such barriers. At least for the next 12 months let the industry function without any interference or such hindrances . The positive results will far outweigh the concessions so allowed.  Further, the     Government officials should also  be made accountable for each of their actions.    Use technology, minimize human intervention. 

Judicial accountability is another subject which successive governments have  failed to address.  There is no timeframe for deciding any case.  It starts from the lower court to close at the Supreme Court,  which takes years together to reach its finality.   By that time, either the litigant or the business itself is finished.   An Independent judiciary doesn’t mean no accountability.  Justice delayed is justice denied and as such the trust of the common man has been diminishing,  which ultimately gives rise to the corruption as one explores softer options to get the things done. 

The government should establish a single-window system in each city to help the industry to be known as ‘Udyog Mitra”.  An industrialist should find all answers through “Udyog Mitra”.  The suggestion should be in writing and binding.  No other department should question once the businessman acts as per the  advice received from such  Udyog Mitras.  

Though the government has given moratorium in the payment of interest on  bank loans, that is not enough.   The liability of payment remains while there is no income.  In other words, the liabilities are piling up when the demand is uncertain.  This will surely worsen the already deteriorated situation.  If interest waiver is not possible because of the negative impact on the economy, let it be deferred for a reasonably  longer period and there shouldn’t be  any compounding of such  interest.  Yes, Central Bank should find some ways to help banks so that depositors shouldn’t suffer.

Incentives play a major role in production and productivity.  The government should declare the policy of incentives like cash subsidy, relaxation in tax liability, providing cheaper land, helping in storage,  low interest rates  to those industries  who meet the targets of production and employment. 

The “AtamaNirbhar Bharat” policy of the government will be successful not by simply slogan writing,  but by being competitive.    If China supplies  at cheaper rates, then whatsoever we may say, our movement of “Make in India” will not be successful.  For example, if a person wants to buy TV and Indian make of similar quality  is costlier than that of China, majority of  the customer will go for Chinese  make,  regardless of his  patriotism.  To be competitive, don’t leave only on the entrepreneur, incubate and help him, give him support.  Only with the State help, China’s industry could grow to the extent of World domination.  The sinister policy of China on the spread of Coronavirus has isolated it from  rest of the world.  It is  high time that we  woo  investors and make India  a  world class  manufacturing hub.  Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have always been fore-front in Industrialization.   The other States have a tremendous opportunity now and make concerted efforts to bring top-notch brands to make their State manufacturing capitals.

Infrastructure projects like road, power, hospitals, warehousing, cold storage, hospitals, schools, bridges, dams, railway lines, whose work came to a standstill in the wake of  the lockdown  should be given a booster dose.  This will provide large employment as well as high consumption of cement, steel and fuel.  This will provide the required lifeline to the other ancillary industries.

Real Estate is another industry that provides massive employment , but is  sadly  ignored by and large.   They have suffered very heavily due to the lockdown.  Projects have been further delayed.  Workforce has left the sites.  Bank defaults are there.  Real Estate industry is a consumer of cement, steel, fittings, furnishing and many allied products.  Concerted efforts should be made to revive this  industry.  Provide them moratorium in interest payment, tax payment, relief on delayed projects.  Case to  case study can be made through independent authority and efforts should be made to kick-start the stalled projects.   The courts are inundated with revenue matters.   Historically, the property registrar office is filled with corruption.    Throw away such a system.  If the passport office could be overhauled and become completely transparent, let property registration be also handled through the online system. 

Recently the government has announced a package of Rs. 20 lacs crores to revive the economy.  Now the government has to ensure that benefit reaches the needy immediately.  Corrupt practices should be dealt  with heavy hands.   Unless there is trust in the business community, and they are allowed to do business unimpeded, unemployment will keep on rising. 

There is a big migration of farm as well as other industrial workforce to their native places due to the closure of industry in urban centric places.  This idle labor force is now the biggest challenge to the government.  Without any productive employment, poverty will rise.  Concerted efforts will have to be made to relocate them where they can be gainfully employed.   A large workforce is concentrated in UP, Bihar and Rajasthan.  The affected States should help the industry and farm sector to bring them back to the work.   They must open help centers for these workers to disseminate the required information and facilitate their relocation at the respective work places.   Today, most of our labor force is equipped with SMART phones and with the use of   technology, they can be reached immediately and as per their skill, they should be immediately engaged.  All safety norms should be applied strictly so that we can fight pandemic as well.  

Pradeep Kumbhat

6.6.2020

Future of Retail Malls in India

The Shopping mall culture in India is relatively new.  It started from 2005 and now almost all major towns in India with a population of one lac or above have atleast one Mall.  Their number now stands around one thousand or so.   Gradually,   the numbers are increasing.  Some of the prominent and iconic malls of India  are Select City, Delhi, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, Elante Chandigarh, Lullu Mall, Kochi, Sarath City Capital Mall, Hyderabad, HiLite Mall, Kozikode, Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Bangalore, Phoenix Marketcity Mall, Chennai, Mantri Square Mall, Bangalore, The Forum, Bangalore. Phoenix Market city Mall, Mumbai, Great India Place, Noida, Pacific Mall, Delhi and so on.

The shopping Malls provide large employment directly and indirectly.  In Malls, the  customers enjoy more an experience rather than mere shopping.   Average customer spends minimum 3 hours in a Mall.  Besides, normally visitors in a Mall environment are mostly in groups like family or friends.  So they have multiple options of entertainment viz coffee shops, pubs, restaurant, cinema and of course shopping itself.  And as such the popularity of the good shopping complexes have grown leaps and bounds.  In case of extreme hot or extreme cold weather the shopping malls become ideal destinations for day long hangouts as these complexes are centrally air conditioned. 

After advent of modern shopping malls, there was fear that high street retail will vanish.  It was also feared and mom and pop kirana stores will also suffer badly and slowly but surely they will also be finished.  But reality is something different in India.  In fact the high street retail has also evolved, kirana stores have adopted to the new reality and they came out with new avtars of modern retail. Now the front counters have gone in stand alone shops, side counters have come up.  Customers have choice of picking up the stuff of their choice unlike earlier time where customers used to wait for shop keepers to show the options.  Most of the high street shops are centrally located.  The Kirana shops are traditionally found place close to residential colonies where customers including children can go easily and bring the stuff fast.  As against this, the big retail malls are normally found place either in new townships within city or at the outskirts of the city where huge land parcels are normally   available. 

The construction, development and running of a shopping mall poses big challenges.   In India, the land prices are exorbitantly high.  Running of an air-conditioned shopping complex is a tedious task of balancing various expenses like power, security, maintenance, parking, etc.  This adds to overall cost to the retailers. While the margins are thin, its very difficult for the retailers to sustain after bearing the cost of rent and common area maintenance expenses.   Therefore, there is very high degree of churning in the  Malls.   There are very few Malls in India which are successful and rocking.  At the same time at least 50 percent of the properties in India which were meant for Mall remained incomplete.    In Punjab alone, there are minimum 25 such properties which were started between 2006-2013 have not yet seen the light of the day.    Some Malls were initially started but subsequently failed and now they are simply vacant or underutilised.   The main reasons for their failure is very high cost of funding, poor selection of the site, dispute between landlord and developers and in some cases the developers simply ran away after feeling the heat of the market.  The vacant or under-utilised assets are national wastage and therefore, serious attempts should be made to put them to use.

Now the World-wide Pandemic of COVID 19 has forced government to lockdown the complete economy except essential services.  After two months of lockdown government of India has taken measures to open the market again.  But unfortunately, the shopping complex and multiplexes are at the last priority.  Its generally believed that these are places were virus may spread due to closed environment and fear of overcrowding.   This is where the problem has started.  Malls have their fixed expenses of maintenance.  Retailers do not have any source of income and as such they stopped payment of rent and CAM.  There is huge tussle going on between Mall owners and retailers.  Many retailers have given the notices of vacation of the premise as uncertainty of lockdown will pile up their liabilities.   Going legal way is not a solution.  The situation is extra ordinary, a pandemic, a natural calamity, a government action, forceful closure and so on.  The Court will have to go through many aspects to arrive at a decision.  This may take years together to decide.  Better, Mall owners discuss with the retailers their problems and find a solution before the situation goes out of control.

The Pandemic has opened the gate of high street retail again.  While the Malls are still closed, government has given relaxation for high street shopping albeit with certain restrictions on timing and days.  But the retailers have now realised that on high street they can at least remain afloat.  In Mall death is sure shot in case of such lockdowns. 

The COVID 19 has taught us that the life will not be same again.  Malls will be requiring adopting new methods, new technology, social distancing norms, sanitization and so on.  Even after opening, the next six months will be crucial for retailers as a few customers will find entry in the Mall.  The restaurant and Cinemas may still take longer time to get permission.  And therefore, the major entertainment factor will be missing in the Malls.  Now it’s up to the Mall management to restructure their maintenance expenses and help the retailers with rental discounts for some time.    This is the only way retailers can survive and, in the process, Mall will thrive. 

Pradeep kumbhat

30.5.2020

INDIAN ECONOMY POST LOCK-DOWN PERIOD

My views about post lock-down period in India. 

1. Economy will bounce back 

2. There will be huge surge in demand for personal vehicles viz cars and bikes 

2. People will buy life style products  viz cloths, accessories.  Huge demand will be there for mid segment branded items. 

3. Work from home will be new norms. But at the same time, huge demand will be for small offices. Working in a office environment gives lot of  psychological as well as physiological advantage. 

4. Demand for mid range housing will surge.  People will love to own their own houses instead of high rented accommodation. Owning a house gives lot of mental strength to live dignified life in a stressful situation like lock-down. 

5. Rental of commercial properties will come down atleast for next 12 months. People will shift from high rental properties to low rental properties. 

6. A wave of churning will takes place in Malls.  Developers will shift to revenue sharing models. Attempt will be made to rationalise common area maintenance charges. 

7. Deposits in Nationalised and big private banks will surge as the safety of the money will be the prime objective of the middle and upper middle class. So the interest rate will come down. 

8. Huge investment will be there in infrastructure projects thereby creating more demand in overall economy. 

9. Higher allocation in MNREGA will give rise to consumption.

10.  Demand for electronic products like laptop, computers, mobile phone will increase as more and more people have developed habit of working from home and also students will be  taking online classes. 

11. Huge investment is expected in medical colleges and pharma facilities to cope with increased demand of good medical care. Accordingly associated industries like surgical equipment, lab chemicals, furnishing facilities will also get jump. 

So no need to panic. 

AUSTRALIA TRIP DEC 2019

Australia trip

Normally our international trips are planned in the summers of India.  But this time, after lot of insistence from wife, the programme for Australia was made  in early Dec which is said to be a good time there.     Our both the sons Arpit and Kshtij also accompanied us.  Infact to spend quality time with children as another motive behind planning trip in the month of Dec when Kshitij has his winter break.  

We planned our trip for two weeks starting from 6^th Dec to 18^th dec 19 covering Melbourne, Cairn, Gold Coast and Sydney.

The  trip was finalised by  our Travel Agent Holiday Break (Mr. Luv Bassi) whereby all our ticketing, hotel stay, airport pick ups and drops and important sigh seeing were taken care of within the itinerary.  The Australian supplier was East Australia Tours, Sydney.

Melbourne:

On 6^th Dec, we boarded Cathy Pacific at 1.30 am from T-3 IGI Airport, Delhi and landed in Hongkong at 8.30 am (local time).  Our connecting flight was at 10 am and therefore, we spent quality time at HK Airport. HK is an international trading centre and with a population of around 7.4 million.  The HK Airport is having around 90 boarding gates.  Its very passengers’ friendly airport with lot of shopping options.  HK Airport also encourages discarding plastic water bottles and therefore, sufficient arrangement has been done for refilling of water bottles.

On 6^th late evening at 11.30 pm we landed in Melborne and against all warning of extreme heat, surprised the weather was pleasant and soothing.  The immigration clearance was very fast.  Our luggage was waiting for us on conveyor belt.  Our taxi (a brand-new MERC SUV) was eager to welcome the us.  Within 30 minutes we reached our Hotel, Experience Bella at South Bank, a beautiful hotel cum serviced apartment with 33 storeys.   Within no time we checked in with great smile of receptionist Mr Vansh, a day time college student (from Karnal-Haryana),

Vibrant, elegant, and multicultural, Australia's second largest metropolis Melbourne frequently tops the list of the world's most livable cities. With its tangle of hidden lane ways, tree-lined promenades, and grand Victorian buildings funded by the 1850s Gold Rush, the city has a distinctly European feel. Foodies will also find plenty to love. Famous Aussie chefs flaunt their talents here, and you can feast on everything, from Greek, Italian, and Indian cuisine to Spanish and Vietnamese fare.

The 7^th morning was meant for hop on and hop off bus tour but somehow, we missed it.    Nevertheless, our hotel was so close to Central Business District, we opted for walking tour of the main city.   Weather was cool.  It took us hardly 15 min to reach at the heart of the city, the Flinders Street while crossing the beautiful YAARA river.  This area is part of CBD where all important private and government buildings are situated including VICTORIA MARKET, a huge complex famous for its non-vegetarian raw food, cafes.  cloth and souvenir market. 

Now the next question was to take local mobile phone sim so that communication becomes easy between all the fours of us and hotels and taxis.   Knowing that at airport, SIM cards are sold at higher price, we opted for departmental store where with a mere 15 AUD, we got 45 GB data with unlimited international talks for 28 days from OPTUS telecom.  One AUD is equivalent to INR 50.00

To promote tourism and also to check the pollution the local government has introduced free Tram service in a complete grid of CBD for all the days.   So a person enjoy any number of trips without paying even a single penny.   If you want to travel beyond CBD, you have to  buy Myki Card which  has to be touched to the pad   while boarding.  This card is valid for trams, bus and  light trains.   This Card is available at all departmental stores with a minimum value of 20 AUD.  

Wandering the labyrinth of lanes and alleyways around Flinders, Collins, and Bourke Streets reveals elegant, interesting, and quirky Melbourne at its best. The jewel in the crown is the magnificent Block Arcade in Collins Street.  Several companies run guided walking tours of the lanes and alleyways.

A day trip was enough to cover the main attraction like GPO, Melbourne Town Hall, Regent Theatre, Flinders Street Station, Federation Square, Victoria Market, Fitzroy Gardens.  We also took opportunity to visit Hosier lane which is very popular among tourists for taking pictures in front of street arts created by local talented artists. 

In the evening, we went to Saint Kilda beach a beautiful sandy beach  which is around 6 km from the CBD and one of the most popular attractions in Melbourne.  It was very cold and chilly winds were blowing so it was unbearable to stay outside and took shelter of a pub but it was over crowded so we googled and found an Indian Restaurant around 400 meters from the beach.  We went there walking and straight went inside the BABUJI KA DHABA run by a Punjabi gentleman for the  past 14 years and is very popular in Melbourne. Its owner Mr. Mani met us and offered us KULFIS as a goodwill gesture after we finished our dinner. 

9.12.2019

The Great Ocean Road is an a heritage site with  243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast  between the Victorian  cities of Torquy and Allan Ford.

The road is considered a tourist attraction in the area, in which much of the road hugs coastline affectionately known as the Surf Coast, between Torquay and Cape Otway,  The road traverses rain forests, as well as beaches and cliffs composed of limestone and sandstone, which is susceptible to erosion.

The kids were adamant for self driving to cover this great road.     But I was hesitant to drive as Australian  traffic rules are very stringent and penalties are very heavy for any traffic violation.  Arpit took the steering and drove us to this great road upto Apollo Bay covering a return journey of  around 400 km.  In between we enjoyed lunch at Apollo Bay and Tea at an English Café.  While returning we found one Indian Restaurant on the way where we had our dinner.  

We were to return hired car but in Australia commercial establishments close by 6 pm so we had no choice but to park our car in a nearby commercial parking space where we had to shell out AUD 19 (Rs. 1000) a huge sum as per Indian standard

The important thing which we observed that at various places heat measuring instruments are installed which suggest likely Forest Bush Fire in the area and be careful. 

10.12.2019

This was a lazy morning.  We had to return car and therefore, took quite a good time to reach up to garage and return back to hotel.  After breakfast, we again went to CBD, but being Sunday, market was almost closed and road had deserted look.  

We were to fly to Cairn at 4 pm.  Mr. Gaurav, our taxi driver cum owner  came with a shining AUDI SUV and dropped us at Melbourne Airport.  Gaurav told that he hails from Chandigarh and came to Australia somewhere in 2005 as a student and subsequently he bought one car and started taxi service and now he owns four cars and started his own taxi business.  In Australia, it takes only one day to start a new venture for starting any light venture. 

It was Tiger Airline, a local carrier we were to fly to Cairn.   First time, I saw all check in formalities  have to be done  by yourself including handling luggage on conveyor belt.  We purchased our luggage allowance from India itself which was costing around AUD 15 per 15 kgs luggage.  But at terminal the figure went as high as AUD 60 per kg.  Extra luggage was immediately adjusted in cabin baggage and the  process of security check in sailed smoothly.  

We landed in Cairn Airport at 6.30 pm and our taxi drove us to our Hotel Cairn Colonial Resort.  By the time we came out from our room for dinner, we were informed that hotel dinner time was over so we simply ordered Indian food online but was delivered very late a 10.30 pm after much follow up. 

The Resort was very huge so enjoyed evening wandering here and there in there itself. 

Cairns is a city in Cairns region of Queensland, Australia with a population of 1.5 lac.  Its popular among the international tourists for its tropical climate, beautiful buildings, and Great Barrier Reef.  The roads are very beautifully laid with each junction decorated with large Palm Trees and decorative lights. 

11.12.2019

The whole day was reserved for Cruise Tour to Great Barrier Reef.  While we boarded cruise at 9.30 am and after a voyage of around 2 hours we were served lunch. 

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometers (1,400 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometers (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the    Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland,  Australia. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.

The cruise anchored near one Island known as Green Island where a beautiful beach resort is located with dense jungle created by seeds brought there by Sea birds dropping.  A day long activity is undertaken here including viewing coral reef through Glass boat, snuba diving, snorkeling, semi-submarine, rain forest walk, beach swimming. 

Our catamaran (cruise) sailed us back to harbor at 5.00 pm.  In the evening, we again came back to main CBD area where multi cuisine restaurants, cafes, night market located.  We purchased a few souvenirs and had our dinner at one Punjabi Restaurant and ready to come back to hotel at 10 pm.  We opted for Uber and surprisingly one Lakhwinder from Punjab again there as driver of our Uber Car.  Lakhwinder was working in a hotel as going back to home and he saw surge of Uber fare so switched over his car to taxi and came to drop us.

12.12.2019

We had sumptuous breakfast at hotel and we were ready for our next destination.  A big Toyota car with closed trolley was waiting for us to drop us at Gold Coast Airport.

The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Queensland,  approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the Brisbane.   It has a population of around 6 lacs

Today, the Gold Coast is a major tourist attraction with its sunny subtropical climate and has become widely known for its surfing beaches, high-rise dominated skyline,theme parks, night life  and rain-forest. The city is part of the nation's entertainment industry with television productions and a major film industry. City hosted Common Wealth Games in the year 2018. 

It was Jet Flight  to fly at 10 am for Gold Coast.  But due to strike by the Jet employees, our flight got delayed and started one hour late.  We landed at around 1.00 pm local time and straight away went to our Hotel, MANTRA SUNCITY, SURFERS PARADIES.    It was a huge hotel with around 300 apartments.  Some of the Apartments are permanently occupied and rest are being utilized as Serviced apartment hotel.  This hotel has three swimming pools, restaurants, gyms, and entertainment centre.  The best part is its location.  The CBD and Beach are just on a walking distance. Break fast was also quite extensive.  We reserved four days of our trip to this tiny beautiful tourist city.  We cooked our lunch in apartment and enjoyed the grub with Masala tea and coffee. After having a quick nap of around 30 min we walked down to Surfers Paradise beach just a stone throw distance from our hotel.  Fortunately, being Thursday, it was also day for night market on walking area of beach.  The locals bring their home-made products for sale out of sheer hobby.    

While kids opted for walking tour their own, we went to the  beach and met both the kids at 8 pm in the market.  We spent quite a good time on golden sandy beach where local as well as tourist were either enjoying swimming or simply having sand bath. 

We had our dinner in one Italian Restaurant and came back to our hotel by 10.30 pm.

The market was very well lit, Tram stations are brightly coloured and so is the trams themselves.  The trams and cars ply on same path.  One can enjoy the beautiful view of Trams, Buses while eating outside the restaurant. 

13.12.019

The full day was reserved for visit to Sea World, a world-famous theme park based on Marine life.  The whole park has been designed in such a way that a visitor can spend whole day enjoying rides, animal exhibits and artistic shows.  The park promote animal conservation.  They give shelter to injured wild life and also educate the visitors about conservation of wild life.  

 

While you enjoy various animals shows, a number of cafes and restaurants are available within the park where you can enjoy your lunch or any meal.    We returned at around 6 pm by bus specially arranged for visitors for Park management. 

We spent evening in hotel lobby and had our dinner at our apartment itself. 

But today being Friday evening, it was next to impossible for us to stay in room so we went to market again and explored a few pubs.  Entry was given after showing our passport.  And as expected wife  Beenu enjoyed a step by step dance with local boys and girls while I  was busy clicking pictures and sipping my lemonades.

14.12.2019

This day was meant for visiting for another theme park named as “Warner’s brothers Movie World”.  This park is famous not only for its multiple type of rides but different kinds of sets for movie making,  Many Hollywood movies have been picturized here.  In the evening all artists working in the Park takes part in the parade and greets all the visitors in the park. 

15.12.2019

We had early morning flight for Sydney.  Our hotel arranged breakfast tables at 6.00 am instead of usual 7.00 am at the request of some student guests.  

We landed in Sydney at around 11.30 am.  And our driver Mr. Puneet was waiting of us at the airport with his new Mercedes.  

Sydney Airport is again a very beautiful and large airport with lot of shopping options.  It look like a big shopping Mall.  

Our driver Puneet who had his house in Mohali was very lively and told us lot of stories about himself, his family and Australia.  He went to Australia some 20 years back as student and now he owns a taxi company.  He is also into real estate business.  This story is common among Indians and particularly among those who hails from Punjab State. 

We checked in our Hotel MANTRA ON KENT, a beautiful Serviced Apartment Hotel, located at very close to the city’s main hub, the Darling Harbour.  After settling down here, we went out.  Kids had ready list of various food items to be tasted at multiple location as Sydney is famous from pastries, cakes and coffees.  So, we went to a Mall and had best of Pastries in a Mall close to our Hotel. 

Our next food destination was a continental restaurant near Bondi beach.  So we first took Train and then bus to reach at Bondi beach.  Google helped us to find the desired location.  A scrumptious platter was served to us a much delight to the kids.   

Weather was cool and pleasant so the beach was over crowded.   It  is the most popular beach in Sydney.  It was already 5.00 pm and we again took the same route and reached at our hotel.  We took stroll at Darling harbour in the evening and used  the opportunity to enjoy our dinner at “Manjit” at huge Punjabi food restaurant on main harbour.   But it turned out to be big “no” for future.

16.12.2019

It was the day for visiting to some important theme parks like Sea World, MADAME TUSSAUDES, and Sydney Towers.  These three locations almost took our 5 hours but fortunately located very close to each other so really had no problem in exploring the same on walking tours. From Sydney Towers, one can see spectacular view of the entire city of Sydney. 

The tower stands 309 m (1,014 ft) above the Sydney's business district, located on Market Street.  The tower is open to the public, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs.

While the shopping centre at the base of the tower is run by the Westfield Group.  It’s a high end shopping Mall cum dining place too.  

Our evening was meant for SHOW BOAT cruise and dinner on deck.    Our tickets were pre booked for Indian vegetarian mail.    It was a huge boat with a capacity of more than 700 passengers.  Boat was like running theater with multi-cuisine Indian dinner and  fruit platter.  And above all, they enthralled audience with cabaret show of singers, dancers, magician and Sydney Harbour Cruising.   

17.12.2019

As per schedule, we boarded hop on hop off bus from Darling Harbour city tour.  Weather was quite good and soothing, so we opted for open top of the bus.  Bus covers around 33 important locations including Sydney Harbour bridge, Opera House, Bondi beach, St Mary’s Cathedral, Kings Cross, Sydney Towers, Circular Quay etc.

We also happened to see one Camp of Sydney Police at Kings Cross.  Surprised to see that policemen were offering free cold drinks, coffees, biscuits and gift to locals as well as tourists.  I engaged one of the officers into talk and he told me that their surveillance system is so strong that they really don’t need security guards at any of their important places like Malls, Railway stations, land marks building, etc.   Besides, this people in the country generally follow the law of the land. 

 At last we went to see the Australian National Maritime Museum,  Entry fee for each one of us was AUD 20, but worth spending. 

Many of the old submarines, ships are on display.  The important thing was that many retired Australian people were acting as volunteers and explaining the importance of each of the vessels.  Spectacularly located at the waterfront of Darling Harbour, the Maritime Museum is a distinctive indoor/outdoor attraction and great entertainment for the whole family.

The museum has one of the largest and most diverse in-water fleets in the world including cold war submarine HMAS Onslow, naval destroyer HMAS Vampire, and the stunning replica of Captain Cook's tall ship HMB Endeavour. One can explore the danger and drama of military life at sea inside the interactive Action Stations experience; a high-tech immersive journey that shows the inner workings of the Royal Australian Navy like never before.

Though we were tired by evening, but a fire to see more, compelled us to go out again.  The kids were guiding us through google map.  So we took Ferry from Circular Bay and went to Manly beach a most beautiful, clean, golden beach.  The town has also been developed as tourist friendly spot.  The market square looks so beautiful that you simply get mesmerized in the evening lights.  After every half an hour ferry service is available for Manly beach and they are very fast and very aesthetically decorated 

18.12.2019

It was a day to see good bye to Australia.  We had morning flight (Cathy Pacific) for Hongkong and from their we boarded for Delhi.  We reached Delhi by 10.20 pm (IST).

Observation:

Population of Australia is hardly 2.5 crore, equivalent to that of  Mumbai and Ahmedabad put together. But country is very safe.  People are law abiding.  Traffic rules are very stringent.  Normally people pay taxes. 

Country has free school education, free medical facility, old age pension, unemployment allowance.  We have not come across even a single beggar there.  It means social security is very strong and therefore, people don’t mind paying taxes.

Importantly, Australia is a home for many Indians particularly migrant from Punjab.  Many of the educated persons from India are working as Chef, Taxi Driver, Truck driver, hotel receptionist, sales man as these jobs give them good wage.  I was told that a truck driver get minimum wage of around AUD 80 per hour.

Australia has vibrant democracy and all its leaders are supposed to be fair.  Integrity and honesty are must  in public life.  I was told by locals that their Prime Minister can be seen in the market with bare minimum security around him.    Prime Minster’s wife use public transport, taxi for her personal use.