Raju's Wanderings

When I was in Dubai this time, I had the opportunity to do a whirlwind 1.5 day trip to the Sultanate of Oman, an overnight journey by bus. Oman is really ancient. There have been human fossils dated back to over 100,000 years found in the area. But in recorded history, probably the earliest mention is of Ptolemy, who spoke of a harbor in the gulf region hidden on all sides by mountains. Today's Oman is Islamic but with one major difference from some of the other Gulf countries. Over 75% of the population are Ibadi, a schism predating the Shia-Sunni division. Religiously, they don’t bother much if you are Christian or Jewish. In fact, there’s even a Shiva Temple out there. But freedom stops there. In Oman, you can’t express yourself freely, or even assemble together. The only challenge to the reigning dynasty in two centuries of the Islamic Sultanate came from the left. After suppressing the Dhofar rebellion by a group of leftists in 1970,  Sultan Qaboos, the new sult...

To visit a East European country, part of the Iron Curtain countries, was always a dream. The Czech Republic was close to Austria and Germany, and I had the opportunity to visit Prague for two days. There is a phenomenon called Post Communism. Each of the countries earlier under communism, still suffers from different symptoms to varying degrees. Corruption, Cronyism, Culture shock are the three major symptoms. A view of  Prague: Ancient and Modern at the same time. When I see China, Russia, Vietnam, and now Czechia, the tale is all too familiar. A confusion of regulated market economics with prosperity, extreme corruption, control of the government by oligarchs,  denouncing every older generation communist as a criminal, all are characteristics of post communism. The one symptom that Czechia doesn't show is the rise of a Resurgent Religious Right wing which is surprising since it was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century. Today's Czech citizen is l...