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22 October, 2015

Worst Airports in Asia

Here are the Top 10 Worst Airports in Asia based on overall airport experience as determined by voters in our 2015 Airport Survey:

1. Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal (KTM)

Though Kathmandu's only international airport gathered ample criticism over the past year, it is important to remember that the country itself has been under considerable pressure. In March 2015, a Turkish Airlines flight overshot the runway and skidded off the tarmac, closing the runway for several days. More severely, in April 2015 a devastating earthquake hit the country. The airport struggled to repair their sole runway and restore a flight schedule amidst a national emergency in an already struggling nation. Given this, voters had understandably poor experiences at the airport, particularly within the domestic terminal. Said to resemble a bus station, the terminal is most remembered for the poor state of its restrooms. The good news is that KTM is currently re-building the much-loathed domestic terminal. Officially, the terminal was set to be completed by the end of 2013 but recent events have stalled the official opening. See also Worst Airports in the World. 

2. Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan (TAS) 

Tashkent International Airport acts as the primary airport for Central Asia. In spite of a few recent upgrades to the departures area, the queues and crowds at TAS continue to be a frustrating experience. Though queues at security are to be expected, TAS boasts remarkable queues at all stages of the airport experience from check-in through to baggage collection. Worsening the situation is that these queues are often chaotic-verging-on-aggressive, and lack any form of crowd control. Travellers should be prepared to quite literally defend their spot in the mob from pushy passengers. After security, there are chairs in climate-controlled rooms, but securing one is of course, another story. See also Worst Airports in the World. 

3. Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan (KBL)

Given the current political state of Afghanistan, we're reluctant to criticize Kabul's international airport too heavily. KBL's international terminal has undergone a number of renovations over the last decade, making it a little more friendly to travellers. The domestic terminal does however leave much to be desired. Voters complain about overall cleanliness, a lack of comfort and the accountability of staff – but again, given the violence that often affects the airport directly, we understand that there are more significant concerns. See also Worst Airports in the World.

4. Ho Chi Minh City Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, Vietnam (SGN)

Ho Chi Minh City's international airport is also climbing on our worst airports in Asia list. Formerly the 8th worst airport in the region, SGN's status has deteriorated further thanks to allegations of corruption. Numerous survey respondents reported that customs officers ask for bribes in order to move through the process faster, and those that declined paying quickly faced problems with their paperwork. Other complaints include poor Wi-Fi signals, dirty bathrooms and limited selection of restaurants. If visiting this airport, be sure to keep your valuables hidden and some small cash on hand – and consider filling up at the nearby Burger King before entering the terminal itself. See also Worst Airports in the World.

5. Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Pakistan (ISB)

It would seem some improvements have been made at Islamabad Airport, given that in 2014 it was voted the worst airport in Asia. In December 2014 the airport's unofficial Twitter account made mention that the airport was working to improve the 'guest experience'. Since then they have upgraded the bathrooms, opened a new lounge and increased the number of check-in and immigration counters. The airport has also been working away on a much anticipated and much needed new terminal, which is set to be open towards the end of 2016. Until then, the existing terminals are still in need of a good scrub, and crowd control continues to be a problem. Staff have a ways to go in terms of providing a welcoming experience to guests, and improvements might begin with cracking down on corruption. See also Worst Airports in the World.

6. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China (CAN

As the second busiest airport in China and the 16th busiest airport in the world, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is holding steady with its 6th place ranking on the worst airports in Asia list. The airport has continued to frustrate travellers by failing to provide them with any form of activities, clean bathrooms and water fountains. The entire airport is reputed to smell like cigarettes, and Wi-Fi is only provided to people with a Chinese mobile plan. Signage and helpful staff are also in short supply, leaving many utterly confused with where their flight is departing from. The only consolation prize at CAN is that there is some comfortable seating around the food court. But, you will have to ward off hawkers and touts if you'd like to get some rest.

7. Chennai (Madras) International Airport, India (MAA)

Survey respondents who travelled to Chennai international airport are divided as to whether the baggage handling or the unclean bathrooms are the worst part of the experience. Baggage-wise, complaints begin with the sheer amount of time it takes for your bags to disembark from the plane. Once you have them, it is then unlikely that you'll find a working trolley or helpful staff – in spite of there being so many of them wandering around. Bathroom-wise, problems tend to stem from the leaking faucets, the dirty floors and the never-scrubbed toilets. This is all particularly remarkable given that the airport added a new terminal and a series of renovations in 2012.

8. Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines (MNL) 

Ever-contentious Manila International Airport seems to have permanently shed its title of Worst Airport in the World, which it held steadily from 2011 to 2013. Rehabilitation efforts have helped decongest and clean up Terminal 1, and the introduction of things like the Wings Transit Lounge in Terminal 3 have helped make things more comfortable, albeit for a price. That said, things like leaking ceilings in Terminal 1 and collapsing floors in Terminal 2 show there is still room for improvement. Passengers remain annoyed by the poor customer service, the long queues, the sub-par food selection, the lack of restrooms and the crowded seating areas. There is definitely a long way to go but we're thrilled to see improvements come along bit by bit. 

9. Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh (DAC)

Dhaka's international airport has received a number of aesthetic and technical improvements over the last five years; however, voter complaints suggest that much more is needed. From broken trolleys to broken toilets with a lack of toilet paper, much of DAC sits in disrepair. Mosquitos act as the official welcoming party at the airport, given that staff seem uninterested in serving the travellers passing through. The good news is that in spite of much misery, the food options are decent and the private lounges ease many sorrows. There is also the occasional Wi-Fi signal that you can catch, and showers that you can pay to use. 

10. Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka (CMB) 

Sri Lanka's primary airport is criticized for dirt and corruption. Bathrooms are, like in many other terminals on this list, remarkably unclean and under-stocked with soap and tissues. The stench of the bathrooms reportedly has an ability to radiate out behind the doors, infusing the terminal more broadly. Voters also complained about long queues for immigration, created by seemingly disorganized staff. They were also irritated by a number of pushy porters hoping to carry luggage. That said, CMB is said to be better than many other small Asian airports, given that it is easy enough to navigate, and offers conveniences like local SIM card purchase inside the terminal. 

15 October, 2015

Amazing Hair & Skin Benefits, Uses of Shikakai - Acacia Concinna

SHIKAKAI FOR HAIR: 

1. Shikakai Shampoo:

                                  Homemade shikakai shampoo can be done very easily, if you have the ingredients at home. The shampoo is made with natural ingredients and it doesn't have any harsh chemicals in it. This shikakai shampoo leaves the hair soft and silky. All the ingredients for this shampoo are already dried, so you can buy them in bulk, store and use it year round. The ingredients for this homemade shampoo are shikakai, soap nuts and dried amla (gooseberries). We call dried amla "Nelli mulli" in Tamil. To make this herbal shampoo, take out the seeds from soap nuts and soak it along with shikakai and dried gooseberries, the previous night. The next day boil them, till they turn soft and you will see foam forming on top. Strain this liquid, cool and wash your hair with this herbal shampoo. Soap nut is an excellent cleanser and shikakai has been used for centuries for hair wash in India. Dried gooseberries condition the hair leaving it soft. This home made shampoo will not lather like the regular surfactant based shampoos, but it will cleanse the hair well. To completely remove the oil from the hair, use this shampoo twice.

2. Shikakai Hair Pack:
                              
                                    Hair packs made with shikakai are very good in treating dandruff and treating scalp related diseases. However, if you are formulating your own recipes with shikakai powder, make sure to include a conditioning agent. I love to include yogurt, as it is great for hair too. To make the hair pack, ground shikakai powder can be mixed with yogurt and neem leaf powder into a thick paste and applied on the scalp. Wait for 15 to 20 minutes before washing it off.

3. Shikakai Hair Wash Powder:

                                        Traditionally, for our oil bath, after massaging our hair with this massage oil, we have our hair wash with a mixture of arappu powder and shikakai powder. We have arappu tree in the farm and we usually collect the leaves, sun dry and powder it for the whole year's use. Good quality arappu powder made with tender leaves, cleans well and it is easy to wash the hair only with it. But store bought arappu is usually not that good and it is getting increasingly hard to get good quality arappu. If we buy arappu from the shops, we usually mix it with home made shikakai powder. Even older people will find it easier to apply/ wash their hair with arappu, if it is mixed with shikakai powder, as arappu mixture is pasty. We never use shikakai powder alone, as it can be a bit drying, especially if it is used without the oil massage. It is always mixed with arappu powder. Shikakai cleans the hair well and produces good lather, though not like surfactant based shampoos. This shikakai blends prevents hair loss and promotes hair growth, if used regularly. Make shikakai powder for hair wash, during the hot summer months. It should be sun dried till crisp. If you are making it in small quantities, powder it in a dry mixer after sun drying it well.

 SHIKAKAI FOR SKIN:

4. Shikakai Body Wash:

                                I know for some of you using shikakai on the skin might sound weird, but it does wonders, especially if you are prone to skin related diseases. To make the body wash, first collect rice kanji. Rice kanji is made by boiling rice with a little bit of excess water than needed. Once the rice is cooked, strain some the excess water, we call it rice kanji. Let the kanji cool and mix it with good quality shikakai powder and use it as a body wash for your skin. if you want it to smell good, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to it. You will notice a nice difference in your skin.

5. Shikakai for Treating Scabies:

                                         We make an antiseptic wash for scabies using shikakai. To make the wash, first soak turmeric in hot water and rub it into a paste. Take a long piece of shikakai and burn it directly in the fire, till it turns dark. Wait for it cool and grind it into a fine powder. Mix both ground turmeric paste and ground shikakai powder with boiled water. Strain and use as a antiseptic wash on the affected area. Both shikakai and turmeric have anti fungal, anti microbial and anti bacterial properties, that makes this an effective wash for scabies. Please consult a doctor, if the condition is very, very severe. You can read the full post here.

6. For Cuts & Wounds in the Scalp.
     
                      For small wounds on the scalp,  first burn a small piece of shikakai in direct fire. Make sure to burn a long piece, else you will hurt your hand when it burns. Better still burn it using a tong, cool and powder it finely in a mortar and pestle. Grind a small piece of turmeric, fresh neem leaves and the ground shikakai powder to a smooth paste. Grind it using boiled water and apply on the scalp, wait for 10 minutes before washing it off. This remedy is only for minor cuts and wounds on the scalp 

What is Nava Pashanam?


Nava paashanam is one of the most acclaimed Siddha elixirs known to mankind. Nava means nine and Paashanam means poisonous substance. In the destiny of human being, a dark hour has been written, a dark age, where people will suffer and die from many diseases never even known to mankind.  Foreseeing this impending doom, the Siddhas had assigned the Siddhar Bogar to develop a process by which people who embrace God in the form of Lord Muruga will be redeemed of their afflictions and be able to survive this dark phase. 

Bhakti is one of the strongest method to embrace God and people go to temples to do pooja to appease, beg forgiveness, show love, surrender themselves or for other spiritual goals. At time of great trouble when people loose hope in their own limited powers, they turn to God and to temples of God.  In temples people do pooja. So Siddhar  Bogar decided to create a very strong idol of lord muruga that would withstand the kali yuga to provide enough healing elixir to humans in the form of nava passhanam. He combined together nine different kinds of poisonous substances used in Siddha medicine (In Siddha medicine Paashanams are processed using very complex herbo-mineral physiochemical processes to render them medicinal and remove the poisonous nature) to generate super strong medicinal composite qualifying the two major criterias, durability and medicinal action. These two properties together gave an idol that had a sustained release of curative levels of the nava paashana into any abhisheka (A rituial of bathing the idol with milk, special fruits mixtures etc) used on it.  Anybody who would consume the abhiskeam done on the lords idol will get medicinal amounts of nava pashaanam and hence be cured of illness.


The depth and range of healing will depend on the persons surrender to Lord Murugan because, the Nava Paashanam is a Spiritual medicine prepared in a yogic process of potentiation with cosmic energy, achieved only by a sage of Siddhar Bogars perfection. Nava Paashanam will influence (a) the five sheaths (or koshas), (b) the nava grahas, and (c) the pancha boothas , of humans. It will also control the effect of nava grahas  and negate malicious planetary effects on the human system. Humanity has never witnessed any single medicinal preparation that could achieve this kind of total effect. Hence, the range and scope of its application in medicine and spiritual processes need not be elaborated but simply described in one word, as an elixir for all diseases, be it of the body, mind or spirit. 



நவபாஷாணம் சித்தரியல் முறைப்படி அணுக்களை பிரித்து, மீண்டும் சேர்ப்பதை நவபாஷாணம் கட்டுதல் என்கிறார்கள். இதில் அடங்கியிருக்கும் ஒன்பது பஷாணங்கள்.... 1.சாதிலிங்கம். 2.மனோசிலை 3.காந்தம்,4.காரம் 5.கந்தகம் 6.பூரம் 7.வெள்ளை பாஷாணம் 8.கௌரி பாஷாணம் 9.தொட்டி பாஷாணம்

இந்த நவ பாஷாணத்தின் தன்மையில் நவகிரகங்களின் குணங்கள் ஒத்துள்ளன என்று கூறப்படுகிறது. .நவபாஷாண கட்டு என்பது சித்தர்களால் மட்டுமே சாத்தியமான விஷயமாகும்.பழனி முருகன் சிலைக்கு அபிஷேகம் செய்த நீரை / தீர்த்தம் பருகுவதால் (அ) சாப்பிட்டால் தீராத நோய்களும் கூட தீர்ந்துவிடும் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது




Read more at: http://tamil.boldsky.com/insync/pulse/2015/do-you-know-what-is-navapaasaanam-009530.html#slide54649

02 October, 2015

கர்மவீரர் காமராஜரின் 40வது நினைவு தினம்!

ஆட்சி அதிகாரத்தை மக்கள் நலனுக்காகவே பயன்படுத்தவேண்டும் என்பதை 1954 ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் 1963 ஆம் ஆண்டுவரை தமிழக முதல்வராய் 9 ஆண்டு காலம் பதவியில் இருந்து பறைசாற்றியவர் காமராஜர். காங்கிரஸ் கட்சியில் முக்கியப் பொறுப்பை வகித்ததோடு, புகழ்பெற்ற தலைவராகவும் விளங்கினார் காமராஜர். அவரது 40வது நினைவு தினம் இன்று அனுசரிக்கப்படுகிறது. 

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