Nikola Tesla airport and a city almost like Chennai.

7-Oct-2009, 1:30AM Serbian time :

Reached the hotel an hour ago. Ours was probably the last flight into the Nikola Tesla
airport, which I presume is the major (and only) airport of Serbia. The airport was
practically empty when we walked out after collecting our baggage. A quick google
search revealed to me that Nikola Tesla was one of the big scientists of Serbia.

The first thing we did was to change some USD into the local currency, which is the
Royal Serbian Dinar. At an exchange rate of 1$ = 62.5 RSD, it is a pretty weak
currency, weaker than the Indian Rupee, but not as much as the Japanese Yen.

Anyway, a helpful lady at the Alpha Bank helps us convert some of our dollars into
RSD and we go find ourselves a taxi to take us to the hotel. Like auto-rickshaw guys
in Chennai solicit customers at airports / railway stations, a taxi driver approaches
us. I am wary, but there are no other taxis around and we ask him to drop us.

I see that it is a pretty new Mercedes Benz C-class station wagon. Its been a long
time since I was in a Merc-taxi and it feels good. The guy zooms out of the airport
and the car rapidly picks up speed. The road is kinda like at Chennai, a little bumpy
at times, but more or less motorable. I have a feeling that the guy is doing some
serious speeds, but when I lean over and look at the speedo, I am shocked to see
that he is doing a cool 165kmph.

Only once in my life, I have done that speed - on the awesome Coimbatore byepass
built by L&T and it did not just feel safe in my Baleno. But in the Benz, I hardly felt
the speed. As he drives along, he points out important places to us - the bridge over
the river Sava, an Arena (stadium), the main street of Belgrade, a famous beer-bar
near our hotel etc. Along the way, I can see apartments like back home.

This city does not seem to have fully recovered from the ravages of war and there
is lots to be done before it can be like any other European city. But I am sure the
government must be doing what is needed and it is just a matter of time before
the face of this city also changes.

He drops us at the hotel, wishes us a pleasant stay in his country & tells us that "we are
his guests first and only then his customers". I am damn impressed. The first impression
of this city is definitely good.

There are definitely quite some cons to my job (like with any other job), but I gotta give
it credit for one thing - helping me see the world, without spending a dime of my own. To
be frank, when I was young, I never imagined that one day, I would be getting to visit the
USA or Japan or Serbia or Belgium. I sure am glad I opted for a job in the s/w industry.