On the Road

Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 AP-AXM at the plane wash!

2009-05-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting sight when I visited the Expo Center last year for an exhibition.

'Maintenance' giving the aircraft a solid garden hose treatment!
This is PIA's B 720 AP-AXM. Sorry for the pillar intrusion.

A trip on Airblue's minibus! - Airbus A319 (AP-BIF)

2009-04-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Returning from Lahore, I ran into this little bus. Its Airblue's AP-BIF. Enjoy the pics.

Love the cool lighting on this almost new Airbus. Look at the passenger sign, it says "Please turn off electronic devices"

The reading lights on the new Airbuses are the best I've ever seen on any aircraft. It feels like sunlight filtering through a hole in the roof!

Recaro leather seats for the all-economy cabin. Nice!

A310 on the next gate. We are on gate 13.

This is an amazing picture.. if you can spot the bird sitting on the wing! Keep in mind that we were taxiing at around 15-18 kts at this moment when a Mynah decided to fly in and land on the wing :-)

Another pic of the big bird vs. small bird episode. :-) Right after this shot, the pilot shooed the bird off with flight control checks :-)

A view of the cabin. Very sleek!

Just landed at Karachi and about to vacate runway. You can see the Jumbos in the distance.

Parked at Karachi airport next to another A310. Gate 13 again!

Goodbye shot :-)

Canon Powershot A420 -- Playing with Colours

2007-03-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have a Canon Powershot A420 which I got for US$ 140 from a local store. It is a great budget camera for no-frills point and click shooting. What surprised me however, was that it was packed with a few features (like Colour Accent shown below) that produced images I would expect in a magazine :-) Colour Accent filters a colour of your choice and captures every other colour as black and white. See for yourself! Great camera otherwise too. Good battery life, very good picture quality and a video mode which captures video at QVGA resolution @ 30 fps. A real bang for your bucks!

Toyota Vitz / Yaris -- A Review

2007-03-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Pros
Comfortable, good ride. Spacious and open interior. Superb engine. Excellent Road grip. Very good brakes.

Cons
Noisy interior. Average acceleration (auto transmission).

Recommended
Yes

Complete Review

I got my 2002 Vitz (also known as Yaris in the U.S. and Europe) in Silver Metallic colour in Feb 2006. The car had 15000 Km on the odometer but the wear and tear suggested at least 25000. It cost me Rs. 665,000 from the dealer. The condition of the car was excellent. The exterior was mostly scratchless. The interior was above average, but with a little detailing , it improved considerably.

The car is fun to drive and quite comfortable. The steering feel and feedback is much better than other Toyotas I've driven. So are the brakes, specially with the ABS function. There is a lot of room, specially in the front. The car also feels open and airy, specially to the driver because the instrument cluster is in the center of the dashboard. It feels awkward at first but you get used to it pretty soon. The digital instrument panel is very exciting to look at, and not at all uncomfortable.

The tires I got with the car were skinny factory -fitted 155/65s, so I changed them to 175/75 Pirelli P3000s. The ride has improved considerably after that and it has also helped with the height. I should mention here that the car is pretty low for Pakistani roads. I have also installed a CNG Kit in the car (Italian Landi Renzo with Spark Advancer and Emulator). The car works surprisingly well with CNG, although it did have a few hiccups initially. The automatic transmission works well with the CNG setup. I had to get 'spacers' installed in the suspension assembly to increase height. Now it works pretty well with the high speed breakers and the deep deep pot holes :-)

The seats are very comfortable, specially in the front, with good lumbar support. The car's equipment list is long. Everything from a CD player to dual airbags. You also get power everything including power-retracting mirrors in later models. Sadly, not in mine but a feature I don't really miss. One advice for car owners in Karachi. Be careful where you park your car. My mirrors have been stolen once. I have now got my car's number sandblasted on the mirrors to prevent further attempts :-)

About fuel consumption, you can't really complain. This car has excellent fuel economy for an automatic. It gives an average of 12-13 km/ liter of petrol in city driving, with 40% of them on A/C. With the same driving conditions, it gives about 110 kms on Rs. 250 worth of CNG. Those are above average figures for an auto transmission car.

Resale value as everybody should know by now, is not that great for imported vehicles. This car has flooded the market already and that has led to really low prices lately. A car similar to mine now goes for 5.25 to 5.5 lacs. A straight loss of more than 1 lac in one year for me sadly. But the good news is, it is still a really good car to buy right now. The prices have fallen and the new value is likely to be retained as imports will be facing some sort of restriction pretty soon.

In conclusion, I think the Vitz is a great car to own in this small hatchback category. You just need to be careful when you are getting one. There is a huge choice of cars and with a little care, you can pick out the one you need. It will give you a comfortable city ride, good mileage, and lots of driving satisfaction. It is a car to buy, enjoy and keep. Great value for your money!

Back from the dead.. for real!

2007-02-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hey people. I'm back again. This time with some real things to tell and talk about.
Some photos I've taken will interest you. I am by no means a pro photographer. Just have an eye for good things that fit in a frame.
Enjoy!

There's more to come.

Back from the dead..

2005-12-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

This blog has been dead for a while. I'm going to try to revive it now. This time it will be more of a photoblog since I have a phone with a decent camera now :)
Watch this space for some innovative photoblogging!

2004-07-04T00:34:00.000-07:00

Niagara

It Starts!

2004-07-04T00:14:00.000-07:00

Ok we are here with the Blog now. The beast is waking up and I'm ready for it. Never thought I'd be able to do it but still, here I am. Lets see where it goes from here.