Flash Boys - Impact of a "flash" in trading world

This is my 3rd book from Michael Lewis. Michel has an ability to talk about finances, economics and investments in a language that is easily understandable including its finer nuances.

Michael Lewis is back with its dark stories within the financial & investment community, this time focusing on the "high-frequency" trading firm. The first thing that hits you is "speed". The power of milli, micro, nano seconds. Well, how much can happen in a second... you may ask? But then you realize entire busines models (and of course "billions") are being built around these. High Frequency Trading firms or simply put HFTs survive on sophisticated (read complex) algorithms that play on arbitrage of speed. It is estimated that as of 2009, HFT accounted for 60-73% of all US equity trading volume, with that number falling to approximately 50% in 2012. The ability to race first to the stock exchange and read the data better than others thus playing to your advantage. You might think what's wrong with that. It's not wrong as long as you play speed to your advantage only. Once you start using it to hurt others, you are on a borderline of unethical & immoral practices.

One of the most brilliant example often used in the book is that even if you trade with yourself, a HFT will come in between, buy from you and sell you back at a higher price simply because the speed with which your trade should have happened is biased towards HFTs.

Michael first establishes the basics, then the wrongs and then start building up the chracaters who are trying to clean the system. It is also interesting that Michael & the "good" characters clearly indicate that they are not in this only for "high moral grounds". They are in here still to make money but on good & fair principles. So you are not reading about some saints but investors who should do their jobns properly in the interest of the people whose money they represent. Flash Boys is about the founders of 'Investors Exchange' or IEX. They deviated from the normal practice and instead of being pushing towards "speed" intentionally introducesda "lead time" to deter the high frequency trading algorithms. They additionally decided not to give anyone unfair advantage for instance Refusing to pay for order flow or no colocation to any specific broker etc.

It covers the founders Brad Katsuyama, Ronan, Schwall, etc and their search for more people who believes in the same philosphy. It traces their journey to the breakeven point of 50 mn trades (which they achieved in 6 months of opening).

As per wiki, they now trade around 200mn daily accounting for just over 1.4% market share.
The novel is an excellent read. Well, we always know that the investment world is not a fair world and a bit of gambling is involved. What this novel further highlights is the extent of gambling and corrupt practices involved. HFTs without taking any position in any stock have been making billions. The high-frequency trader Virtu Financial disclosed in March 2014 that during five years it made profit 1277 out of 1278 days, losing money just one day. No wonder, because you are never trading fairly but exploiting the weaknesses of others. Kudos to Michael for also naming the people involved. I am a bit surprised that no one filed any lawsuit considering so many big wall street firms have been named & shamed. At least, the day after the book's release FBI announced an investigation into high frequency trading, in particular about possible front running, market manipulation, and insider trading. On May 1, the SEC announced a $4.5 million fine for the New York Stock Exchange and two affiliated exchanges, on charges related to Lewis's book. The exchanges neither admitted, nor denied the charges.

So at least some good came out of it. By the way, the book boosted the trade over IEX by as much as 40% (quoting an article from barrons.com)

What remained unclear to me is the sudden motivation change of Golman Sachs. Till the last chapter, they are shown as the bad boys and then suddenly they have a change in heart... difficult to believe.

3 days in Catania

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Though it is within Italy, Sicilians love to have their own independent culture & identity. We recently spent a few days on the east coast of Sicily with a base in Catania.

There are lots of tourism websites which list a host of tourist attractions. When you have limited days in hand, often the overload of information on tourist websites can leave you more confused about what to see and do. Here’s hoping that a real experienced itinerary might benefit some fellow travelers who plan to enjoy this UNESCO world heritage site.

DAY 1: Tour of Catania City

Most of Catania city attractions are within walking distance. So I would not recommend using any public transport or buying any travel card.

Catania is called "The City of the Elephant". Hence it makes sense to start your day with a visit to Piazza Duomo, or what is also referred to as the square of the ‘Elephant Fountain’. This is the central square of Catania and always crowded with tourists and tour guides. With lots of restaurants and cafés around this place, the square has a relaxed touristic atmosphere. You may like to spend some time here enjoying the local delicacies in one of the cafes. The key attraction “Elephant Fountain” is built from lava rocks and dates back to Roman era. Seemingly elephants had a worthy contribution to the history of those times, as they were used to defend the city. Hence they have become a symbol of the city.

The Piazza also hosts the Cathedral of Sant’Agata, a beautiful Roman Catholic Cathedral with a rich history.

Piazza Duomo serves as the entrance to the main shopping street, Via Etnea. Approx. 3kms long, Via Etnea can become your central axis of tourism in Catania. The street has all the famous shopping chains, many cafes & restaurants and lots of churches. It is always busy with tourists.

Next to Piazza Duomo, you can start with the university compound and then move further up to Piazza Stesicoro which contains the ruins of Roman amphitheater. While this might not look like a spectacular sight if you have been to Rome or other parts of Italy, it is still worth spending some time here. The same square also hosts the marble monument of Vincenzo Bellini. Vincenzo Bellini, born in Catania was a famous Italian composer from the early 19^th century. The monument is has seven steps symbolizing the 7 musical notes. On the four sides of the column are his 4 famous works: Norma, I Puritani, La Sonnambula and Il Pirata.

Continue walking north till you hit Villa Bellini, which is a beautiful garden. You may like to go up and have wonderful views from the top.

There are many attractions which are not directly at Via Etnea but on perpendicular streets like Via Vittoria Emmanuelle and Via Antonio di Sangiuliano. Both streets have old buildings and many cafes / restaurants. One such attraction is theTeatro Massimo Bellini, the opera house which performs all of Bellini's work. After an earthquake destruction, it took almost 200 years to build it.

Similarly, on the other side of Via Etnea is Via Crociferi connecting Vittoria Emmanuelle and Via Antonio di Sangiuliano. This road has many churches and museums in old baroque architecture.
From the Elephant Fountain, if you move south, you can see the busy food & fish markets. Further down is the Castello Ursino which also houses the Museo Civico. This has an entrance fee and we didn’t go inside.

Based on your pace, Catania can be easily covered within a day with sufficient time to relax for food, coffee or the delicious Gelato ice creams.

DAY 2: Mt Etna

Reserve the second day to explore the tallest active volcano on the European continent (3300m+). It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps and included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Mt Etna has the longest period of documented eruptions in the world. The last eruption was as close as in May 2015. However the last disruptive explosion was in Apr 2014 which also generated impressive night pictures and affected flight traffic.

There are multiple ways to reach Mt Etna. The cheapest being the public transport. The bus AST departs from Piazza Papa Giovanni XXIII at 8.15, and arrive at the Rifugio Sapienza in Nicolosi.

Please note irrespective of your means (bus, car, private tour), Rifugio Sapienza remains the base which is approx. 2000m. From here, you need to take a cable car (approx. €30 per person) to a height of 2500m. And for enthusiastic folks, you can hike further up or take a 4x4 for another 33€.

We took a tourist bus service to Rifugio Sapienza simply because of the time convenience. Rifugio Sapienza has The Silvestri Craters, which are no longer active but are the most visited. They are easily accessible, and hence worked better for us as we had a stroller with us. These craters will provide you with impressive landscape and visually demonstrate the power of volcanic destruction. 15-20 mins before reaching the base, you can start seeing beds of lava rocks which provides a very clear impression of how the lava rivers would have flown. You may feel as if you are visiting a coal mine because all you can see is black sand & rocks.

You can easily spend a couple of hours going around the crater. Especially look at the color of stones which varies depending upon how old the rock is. The darker the stone, the more recent it is. If you wish to hike, there are some other craters nearby however the level of hike is tough and not advisable with little children or with strollers.

There are some restaurants nearby and shops offering tastings of a variety of flavored honey.

If you are not going up, you can easily be back to Catania in the afternoon to enjoy a relaxing dinner or the fun-filled night life. Going up will easily consume additional 3-4 hrs.

DAY 3: Taormina

Taormina is a beautiful town, approx. 1 hr. from Catania. It is definitely more touristy than Catania. Taormina can be reached by trains or buses. However please note the train station in Taormina, Taormina-Giardini is 2km below the town centre. Hence the bus option is preferable. There are 2 bus services that connect Taormina – Interbus & Etna.

We took the Etna bus from Piazza Michelangelo. However I believe it comes from Via Liberta. The journey time was approx. 50 mins. The bus drops you at Via Luigi Pirandello and costed us €8.50 return.

Taormina has primarily 2 parts to explore: the charming town center on the hill and the sea side beaches below. There is a cable car that can take you up and down if you don’t fancy the 2 kms exhausting uphill walk.
Walk from Via Luigi Pirandello bus stop for approx. 10 mins to the entrance to town center called Porta Messina. From Porta Messina, take Via Teatro Greco to reach your first stop - Teatro Greco. This is an ancient Greek theatre built in 7^th century BC. The entrance is 8€. The walls of the theater and some seats are still preserved. Interestingly, concerts are still conducted in the theater. To me, at least the current concerts spoil the ancient looks of the monument but everyone is obviously entitled to his or her opinion.

From Teatro Greco, walk back to Palazzo Corvaia and connect to Corso Umberto. Here you can find the Santa Caterina Church and also the tourist office. There was also a museum here which we didn’t visit. Take Corso Umberto and walk to Porta Catania. This is their main street with lot of old beautiful buildings, piazzas, lovely terrace based romantic restaurants, boutique shops and art galleries. There are so many small alleyways here that you will instantly fall in love with this part of the town.

Just before the Porta Catania, there is a small road that takes you to their public gardens called “Giardino Pubblico”. Please note it’s approximately 15-20 mins walk. Alternate and faster option is to take stairs from Palazzo Corvaia.

The public gardens are beautiful with less tourists. There are also some statues commemorating Siciliy’s efforts in WW II. There are some pagoda-style structures made of bricks and edged with lava stone, parts of which are in ruins but adds to a bit of different character to the gardens. You can easily spend some relaxing time in the gardens. Take the other exit out and walk back to Cable car stop. The city tour has ended and now is the time to hit the beach.

While there are multiple beaches, we visited the most famous one – Isola Bella. Isola Bella is a rocky beach and to add to the attraction has some rocky caves and grotto like structure. You can walk through the water to reach these structures. The property is classified as a nature reserve. There are lot of restaurants on the beach which offers beds, lounge chairs or sofas to sit & relax. Have some drinks and unwind.
Please note Isola Bella is several steps down from the road. We had a pram and hence it was a bit of a stretch taking it up & down. The steps are lined up with hawkers selling things, including lava artifacts.

You might need to take the cable car up again to catch your return bus. It usually leaves at :15 & :45. However still enquire about the return timings once you reach there.

Hope the above itinerary was useful and you can enjoy the richness of the city and its nearby surroundings. Catania gives a perfect mix of culture, heritage, beaches, mountains and lots of sunshine (which Europeans treat with a lot of luxury). And did I mention, the food is truly amazing. Especially try the local delicacies which include Arancini (rice balls with various kinds of stuffings), Sicilian cookies, Granita (flavored ice based desert made without milk) and last but not the least: Cassatella di Sant'Agata, a “cassata” desert.

Please note: we actually spent 4 days in Catania. The 4^th day was relaxing with some friends and in the evening a visit to the local fishing village of Acitrezza. If you need more information on the visit, feel free to write to me. The trip was done in June 2015.

 

Why we do not have an option but to vote for BJP this time

Disclaimer: This is neither a paid news piece nor I am a sycophant of the BJP. My only credentials of writing this article is that I am an informed and an educated electorate who holds interest in Indian politics, aspires for a better India and loves to write. This article is just about the available choices to the normal voter like me and the best possible option among them.

The next elections are not far and going by the current uncertainty might be sooner than later. Despite more than 100 parties in the Indian political system, we as a voter still do not have any major choices. In such a scenario, the only way to vote is by exclusion. Lets look at the available options first. We have only 2 national parties and a plethora of regional parties.

The 2 national parties are Congress (no justification needed for this) and BJP. BJP, apart from Congress is the only political party which has a presence or had a decent presence across the country, be it Karnataka in south, Gujarat in west, Madhya Pradesh in center, UP, delhi, Punjab & Uttarakhand in North and Bihar in West. Its also the only political party apart from Congress who has the potential to reach 3 digit mark in the Indian parliament.

Before we dispute between Congress and BJP, lets look at the regional options and why I dont consider them worthy to vote for.

Firstly, we as a voter should learn to distinguish between local, regional and national issues. I dont mind voting for regional parties in assembly elections, municipal elections or panchayat elections but when it comes to Parliament, my suggestion is that we move beyond our local issues. A clear differentiation is important and needed in our federal structure.

Now the only credible regional parties which are worth mentioning here are SP, BSP, TMC, JD(U), DMK, AIADMK and may be the Senas. The problem with these parties is that almost all these parties are confined to 1 or max 2 states. So a DMK will have no interest in the development of even its neighbour Karnataka, forget the Northern states. Same can be easily said for any of the UP parties like SP or BSP. The point I am making is that they were and will be concerned only about their states or their limited vote banks be it Dalits, Tamils, Muslims, etc.

Secondly, all these parties are one-man (or woman) show. You remove the leader like Mulayam, Mayawati, Karunanidhi, Mamta, Jayalalitha and you have nothing left in there. Third, none of these leaders have any clue on any national issues. Do you forsee any of these leaders speaking about Indian foreign policy on any international platform? The only time you see these leaders in Delhi is when they need something for their state or when they have something to negotiate in return to save the existing government.

Needless to add, none of these leaders are 'clean' or 'strong' enough to warrant any exception to my arguments.

Having excluded the regional parties from my selection process, we are down to only Congress and BJP. With these two options, I suggest BJP. Why do I say that?

Congress has been given sufficient chances. In last 60 years of independence, Congress has ruled for around 50 years including the last 10 years. If we vote Congress back to power, we are effectively sending a message that we are least bothered about the enormous corruption that happened in last 5 years alone. We are immune to one of the most ineffectual PM. No PM in Indian history has faced as much flak including from international press as Manmohan Singh. He lacks leadership skill and he cant make his own decisions. He let his own partymen, his own coalition partner and his own party leader take over his decision making power. Net net, the message we send is that we are happy living in our own cocoon shelf and nothing bothers us anymore.

Having said that I dont advocate everything in BJP or all its policies. But the biggest reason for voting them is CHANGE. We need change. We need to witness a different way of functionining. We need some fresh faces in the government. We need some different policies. Whether they work or not, only the future can tell but a change is necessary to shake the current inertia and to instil confidence back in the minds of normal citizens who would like to vote. For a democracy to function normally, my belief is a churn is needed. If the current party is not performing, give the alternative a chance.

Whenever BJP's name is discussed, media automatically shifts the focus to who will lead. As per me, it doesnt matter if the party is led by Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Advani or the current favorite Narendra Modi. All have their own pluses and minuses. All are intelligent, qualified, good administrators and obviously great orators. Whether they are fit to be a PM, I honestly dont know and I bet neither do you. On the media's favorite debate of Narendra vs Rahul, my take is its not just about an inidividual. Whether Rahul is good or bad, he has the same party behind him. If he couldnt change the scenario till now, there is no point in discussing his aspirations of what he might do in future. Most important, he is untested. He has never led any ministry, any state or any team of national importance. At least within Modi and other BJP candidates, you have past experience to give some confidence.

With this, I rest my argument and let you decide. But I would like to state one final note before you make a decision: In an Indian political climate, I believe its important to give one party a clear mandate else we have the numerous issues that get associated with 'coalition dharma' which I am sure you have heard and witnessed enough in last 10-15 years be it bartering, buying/selling of MPs, fake usage of CBIs, begging bowls etc. So while you vote for regional parties during your assembly elections, please think of the nation first when you vote for parliamentary elections. A hung parliament only helps the 'kingmakers' and not the king.

Happy Voting and Let the 'better' party win.

Winning formula and the bhed chal in Bollywood

With the success of ‘Wanted’ in 2009, it seemed Salman Khan found a hit formula. His immediately family went on to encash the formula by putting in a systematic round robin policy. One member after another got in the queue and started producing movies with amazing pace and similarity. So we had ‘Dabanng’ in 2010 by Arbaaz Khan, ‘Ready’ in 2011 by Sohail Khan, ‘Bodyguard’ in 2011 by Alvira Khan. Arbaaz Khan’s turn came back in 2012 with the sequel of ‘Dabangg’ as ‘Dabangg 2’. Sohail Khan is now making ‘Mental’ for next year and last I heard Atul Agnihotri (Alvira’s husband and Salman’s brother in law) is working on his next film with Salman titled ‘O Teri’. The strength of the formula can be judged simply by the fact that none of these producers had produced a hit film before.

Well Bollywood as we have known has had a “bhed chaal”. They are always in the lookout of one such winning formula. And then all they have to do is create carbon copies. Not to be left behind, other actors quickly got in the line. So we had Ajay Devgn with ‘Singham’, ‘Son of Sardar’ and the latest ‘Himmatwala’, while the original Khiladi Kumar came back from his earlier series of disasters with ‘Rowdy Rathore’ and uniquely and very innovatively titled ‘Khiladi 786’. 

After all they were the original action heroes before Mr. Dabangg Khan took their position away.

The Producers and directors put together an assembly line production.
All movies were openly (and at least this time honestly) inspired by the south Indian movie industry. Needless to say in such assembly line scenarios, the story is the least important part. Mr. Javed and Mr. Gulzar can keep fighting for their royalty rights at the Film Writers Association but who needs a script these days to make money.

At the end of the day aren’t all movies just about good vs evil and in the end the good one triumphs. The importance in this assembly line was to have a strong and vicious evil guy (or a group of them depending upon the budget of producer) and to match the capability of the evilness, create a hero so powerful who with his breath can blow them away. The hero here need not be the all goody goody but just one level better than the evil one. So in the spare time, when he is not kicking or creating holes in the evil guys, he is freely allowed to eve-tease, take bribe, slap his brother or father, and so on.

He obviously is a merry guy and needs to sing and dance. The dance is inspired by day to day activities. So if the buckle of your belt doesn’t fit and you have to adjust it up and down, it can become a classical dance step. If you have itch down there and an itch guard has not been effective, we can still hide it away by declaring it another dance step. An item number was must which can then be sponsored by the likes of Zandus or the Fevicols. After all, Bollywood is an equal opportunity employer and hence an opportunity must be given to other “actresses” in bollywood, sometimes to members of our own family (read Malaika Arora Khan). In all this jamboree, the real actress need not have any role except flutter her eyelashes and be saved by the superhero. Well if you are paid well, I guess the roles can always take a back seat. No wonder we had usually the likes of Sonakshi and Asin as actress in most of these movies, who otherwise might not have even got an item number.

A side kick was irrelevant because we have the all encompassing hero who can fill that gap as well. The dialogues were a mix of one-liners with little relevance in the movie but to be remembered by the audience after they leave the theatre and use it in their colleges or in their next round of eve teasing. So we had some good ones like “Mujh par ek ehsan karna ki mujh par koi ehsan na karna” or “Zindagi mein teen cheez kabhi underestimate mat karna. I, ME & Myself” and some not so good ones like “mein kutta hun or yeh meri kuttiya hai..."

The stunts were so strong and realistic that the likes of Einstein and Newtons might be turning up in their graves wondering about the 2.0 version of their laws on Relativity and gravity. Even our own Rajnikanth was in real danger of his throne of “The Superpower and Almighty” being snatched away. The punch had power which was inspired by Sunny Deol’s “dhai kilo ka haath” and Complan energy drinks (I am still wondering why none of the energy drinks have filed a RTI to know the strength behind such heros). With heros like these, who needs movies like Superman, Spiderman and Batman.

Well the good news is or at least was that all these assembly line movies went on to become major blockbusters, the new so – called “100 crore club”. Well there are so many "zeroes" in this club, who wouldn’t get excited?

Usually such formula movies last till the first flop and hopefully this bhed chaal will break now that we have one flop in Mr. Know It All Sajid Khan’s Himmatwala.

By the way the very fact that this trend lasted for 4 years with so many block busters speaks volumes about the expectation of audience these days from our movies.

1 day in Trier – the oldest city in Germany dating back to the Roman era

Having spent a day in Trier, Germany, I thought of putting up this short blog for any prospective travellers. Trier is a small city situated on the beautiful Moselle river and borders Luxembourg. Considered as the oldest city of Germany, Trier has many historical buildings dating back to as early as 2nd century in the Roman era.

Listed below is a simple itinerary to cover the Top 5 tourist attractions in approximately 4-5 hours. The starting point is Trier Hauptbahnhof. Walking out of Trier hbf, take the straight road Theodor-Heusse-Allee. A 5 mins walk will lead you to the biggest tourist attraction – the Porta Nigra.

Porta Nigra is considered as one of the 4 ancient Roman gates and the only one to have survived. It was built in 2nd century and the reason why it survived is because a hermit named Simeon took this place as its home. It was built from white sandstone but over a period of time, either because of pollution or from corrosion by insects, the place looks almost black. There are 3 floors. While most of it is in ruins, the passageways and the chapel still carries a lot of historical carvings to create a great impression. It also gives beautiful photo opportunities. As per wiki, it is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site. The entrance fee is 3 €. Adjacent to this attraction is a museum which we didn’t visit.

The attraction is right opposite Mercure Hotel for those who want to stay overnight. However, there are other cheaper options also available in the city. Behind Porta Nigra, start walking on the Simeonstrasse towards the city center. The hauptmarkt is a beautiful central square which has a nice fountain in the middle. On one side is the St. Gangolf Church which has a really nice rococo based architecture entrance. Take a left from the square and you reach the large Trierer Dom.

Trier cathedral is a Roman Catholic church and is home to the Holy Tunic, a garment with a recorded history back to the 12th century, in Catholic tradition said to be the robe Jesus was wearing when he died. Unfortunately the robe is generally not available for public viewing. The entrance is free. Next to the dom is the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), which is one of the most important early Gothic cathedrals in Germany.

Cross the church of our lady and keep walking on the same street Liebfrauenstrasse and you will reach Konstantinplatz.

Konstantin Basilica might not be the usual tourist paradise as it is not very spectacular to look at. But it carries great historical background as it is the largest surviving single-room structure from Roman times. The entrance is free. If you examine closely, you can also witness the ancient mechanism of floor and wall heating system as initially it was supposed to have two walls with a gap in between.

The Electoral Palace is directly next to the Basilika and is a beautiful rococo palace. However it can only be seen from outside. The garden overlooking though small is quite nice with lot of sculptures.

Follow the garden and go straight to Imperial Baths or Kaiserthermen. The entrance is actually direct opposite but because of lack of signs, most tourists end up taking a circular path all around the baths. If you do that, don’t worry, it will still give you amazing views of the Baths from all angles. The baths are supposed to be 1600 years old and built by Romans. You can see the cold, warm and hot bathing sections. Interestingly a lot was planned as per the info booklet but as the baths were never finished, they were never really used for the intended purpose.  However its fun to walk through the underground rooms. The entrance fee is 3 €.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum is adjacent to the baths. However we decided to give it a miss. You can also take the Olewiger strasse from the baths and within 5 mins reach the old Amphitheater. Again we didn’t have that much time and so had to miss that one as well. From imperial baths, we took the opposite road Ostallee and went towards the Barbarathermen. Barbarathermen are even older than Imperial baths and are closed to the public. However you can see them from an external viewing platform. As the place is mostly in ruins, there is not much that you would be able to make out. From here, you can see the Roman bridge or walk back into the city.

This itinerary should not take you more than 4-5 hours depending upon how much time you spend on each individual attraction. Most eating places are in the main central square.

I hope you find the travelogue useful and enjoy your time in this city which is still holding on to its ancient roots.

3 days in Salzburg

We recently spent 3 days in Salzburg, Austria. With so many tourism websites online, it usually becomes an information overload and it is difficult to shortlist what to visit and what not to. So I thought of putting together a real experienced itinerary.

Please note these 3 days were spent in winter season towards the end of December. Someone visiting in summer might need to modify a bit due to increased day light timings.

Before moving on to sightseeing, I would recommend purchasing a Salzburg card. Salzburg card costs 30 euros for 48 hours (or 35 euros for 72 hours). We purchased it at the Salzburg station. However I believe it’s available at almost all major tourist information centers / hotels. The card validity starts from the time of its first usage. (more information on: http://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/salzburg_card)

Day 1

Start your trip with Hohensalzburg Fortress at the Festungsberg mountain: There is a cable car from the “festungsbahn” stop right behind the Dom. Salzburg card covers the cable car and the entry inside the fortress. There are two ways to explore the castle – A & B. Both are covered by the card and both are worth doing. While B covers the interiors and you get to see the state room and museum; A is a walking guide tour of the exteriors and the highest point on the fortress. From that point, you get a very good view of the city. Keep approximately 3 hours for this attraction. Some side information: The fortress is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Look out for the evolution of castle in Walking trip A as each Archbishop developed the castle during its reign. Also don’t miss the Golden Room where the entire hall was decorated by either gold tapestries or had gold buttons in the ceiling.

Come down and see the Dom: Once you come back (again by the cable car), you can go inside the Dom. The Salzburg Cathedral is a 17th century baroque cathedral and is grand and beautiful. Don’t miss the cathedral excavations in the basement which sometimes have an art exhibition going on. Keep approximately 1 hr for this. Entry is free.  Some side information: Mozart was baptized in the cathedral. Also the cathedral was destroyed by s single bomb in second world war and took almost 15 years to restore.

Visit the Residenz in front of the Dom: Alongside with the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Dom, the Residenz Palace is probably the most important historic building of Salzburg. Within Residenz place, you can see the rooms in all its original glory and also visit the paintings in the Gallery section. Depending upon how much time you want to spend in the galleries, you can keep around 2 hours for the Palace. (Ticket price is covered in Salzburg card).

In between for lunch, you can either eat at the numerous stalls at the Altermarkt area or there is a nice cosy place called MyIndigo at the river near Rathaus bus stop. This place serves quick lunch and I would highly recommend it. There are also some 2-3 vegetarian options.

Move onto Mozart’s Geburthaus. Visit the rooms and the museum inside the house. The place shows the early years of Mozart and the room where he was born. Also covered are the stage models of his performances. (Ticket price is covered in Salzburg card). Side information: The Mozart family lived on the third floor of the "Hagenauer House" at Getreidegasse 9 for twenty-six years, from 1747 to 1773.

With this, you have covered the 4 most important and visited places in Salzburg. If you still have some energy left, you can close your day by a visit to either the Salzburg museum or the Panorama museum just alongside the Dom next to Mozart’s statue. While I didn’t get to visit either, I understand the Salzburg Museum offers interesting insight into the city's history, offering changing exhibitions. Panorama Museum offers wonderful views of the landscaping of Salzburg. As per their official site: You can stand on the visitors’ platform and marvel at the gigantic round painting (26-meter circumference) of the historic city of Salzburg and its environs. Telescopes allow visitors to take a closer look at the attractions and details from the everyday life of Salzburg's residents 200 years ago. Please keep in mind in winters, almost all attractions close at 5pm. Hence not much can be covered in a day. In summers, you have the luxury of time and light by your side

In the night just stroll along the many streets in old market and enjoy the lights and touristy atmosphere. There is usually an ice skating rink (very reasonable) right next to Mozart’s statue and alongside are many Glühwein stalls. So either you can have your dinner there or at one of the many interesting restaurants in the vicinity.

Day 2

Start your day early as today you would be visiting the mountains and experience some snow. If you fancy skiing, then this is your day.

Take bus 25 or 28 to Untersbergbahn. The bus can be taken either from Mirabell platz or Rathaus. (by the way the local transport is covered in Salzburg card). Mt. Untersberg is the nearest mountain from the Salzburg city. The journey time is approx 25 mins. From the bus stop, there is a cable car to the top of the range. The cable journey takes you up by around 1.3kms and takes approx 10-12 minutes. If you are visiting in winters, then this is the closest place to see snow and ski. Although it is not a professional ski resort but lot of people bring their gear and ski here. Alternately, you can just enjoy walking on the snow. You can trek on the snow up towards some interesting sights. Look for the large crosses and follow the path laid out for you. Beyond a certain point, the actual path stops and people take their own risk to venture further. There are also supposed to be some ice caves for the more adventure trekkers. You can keep easily 4 hours for Untersberg.

On the way back, stop at Schloss Hellbrunn / Anif Zoo. Depending upon your interest, you can visit the Schloss Hellbrunn or the zoo. In winters, the palace is closed. But in summers, the biggest attraction here are the trick fountains which are surely to make you wet. Both attractions are a part of your card. (in case of shortage of time, these both can be skipped).

We didn’t visit the zoo but around 1200 animals of 140 different  species live there including lions, white rhinoceros, and vultures.

Then take the same bus and stop at Mirabell gardens. Spend some time in the beautiful gardens. Look out for the view to the fortress from one end of the garden. It is spectacular. The Palace of Mirabell is also a popular location for weddings. (again if you are short of time, you can skip it).

Just in front of Mirabell Place, is the Mozart wohnhaus which was the living quarters of Mozart. If you have covered Mozart’s geburthaus, then you can skip this although the information here is equally enticing.

Alternately, take the elevators at Mönchsberg, Gstättengasse 13. There are 3 elevators that take you to the top of Mönchsberg hill. From there, you get another view of the Salzburg city and the Hohensalzburg fortress. There is also a museum up there (Museum der Moderne) however we didn’t get time to see this. There is a restaurant at the top where you can sit down and have a coffee / drink while enjoying the panoramic views of the city.

In the night, once again see the beautiful criss crossing lanes and the lit city by the river. You can also visit the Franziskanerkirche which is another beautiful church near the Dom.

Day 3

Once again you will need to start the day early as today we will see some natural wonders, the mountains, valleys, lakes and the salt mines.

Take bus 840 from Rathaus or Mirabell platz or Hauptabahnhof towards Berchtesgaden. The place is in Germany but closer to Salzburg. The day ticket will cost you 9.5 euros but it is still worth it. Unfortunately the Salzburg card doesn’t work. Please keep in mind that the frequency of this bus is very low (on weekends once in an hr; so plan accordingly).

Get down at “Salzbergwerk” bus stop which is 2 stops before Berchtesgaden. (overall journey time around 30-35mins) In winters, the salt mines open at 11am however a big queue starts forming an hr before that. So its best to reach early. Prior to entering, you are given miners’ clothing which increases the experience quotient. The tour underground takes approx. 1 hour. You are first taken through a train deep inside the mountains. From there, a light show is shown and then you slide down to the lower levels (which for some is the most thrilling part in the overall tour). You are guided on how salt was extracted and hydrated. In the end, is a wonderful experience of moving in a wooden boat in pitch darkness from one end to another deep inside the mountains. I would strongly recommend this tour if you have never been inside a mine before. The audio guide is available in English. Salzburg card gives 20% discount.

From there, either take a bus or walk to Berchtesgaden hauptbahnhof (around 15 mins walk). Take bus 841 to Lake Königssee. Alternately in summers, you can visit Obersalzwerg for Eagle’s nest however in winters its closed. Lake Königssee is located amidst the steep rock faces of the Watzmann mountain range. A boat trip on Lake Königssee is the highlight here. St. Batholomä church is also located by Lake Königssee and is at one end of the boating trip.

Depending upon how much time you have, you may decide to extend / decrease your stay at Berchtesgaden. This is an area that alone can be sufficient for a 3 day tour.

Take bus 840 back to close a memorable trip to wonderful holidays in Salzburg.

There are lot of other attractions that are worth visiting like the Museum of Natural History which has a really nice aquarium. Depending upon how compact you want your schedule to be, you may decide to increase or decrease the attractions. The above listed are some of the places that I could cover and found worth visiting. Salzburg is a small city and most of it can be covered on foot.

I hope you find the travelogue useful.

Don 2 - A big disappointment

The trailer of Don2 was one of the most promising trailers we have seen in recent times. It was slick and stylish. But unfortunately the movie is not even 50% of what the trailer promised.

I was not a huge fan of Don 1 but there were lot of things in the previous version that had impressed me including the direction, performances and overall styling. Overall the movie was decent and worth once a watch.

However, not much can be said about Don 2.

First, the movie lacks a story line. A famous gangster like Don has been brought down to a simple conman who wants to commit one of the biggest bank robberies in Europe. Movies on bank robberies have been created so many times that I wonder if there will be a new and original idea to rob a bank this time. And Alas there was nothing new. In fact the robbery shown in Don 2 is pale in comparison to many others seen even in Hindi movies earlier. It lacks credibility. Its a band of crooks stealing with guns, grenades and hostages. Lot of technicalities discussed but nothing used in execution.

It’s also a wonder that such a dreaded gangster will have such poor skilled enemies. That they can hope to kill him with a local hitman.

The story and direction has so many flaws that you really wonder this is the same director who gave us Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya and even Don 1 (Guess Farhan didn’t have to worry about story in Don 1 as it was a remake with a simple twist in the end).

Coming to performances: Shahrukh Khan though acted well looks similar to so many of his previous performances. He has his trademark smirk through out the movie which I believe he should now patent it. The smirk and the laugh was considered overacting in the past but I think now its part of his persona.

Boman Irani and Om Puri such acting stalwarts reduced to paupers is a major disappointment. Priyanka Chopra has so much potential to be a true “Junglee billi” but the director decided to tame her to be a domestic cat. Its beyond me that a girl can still love someone who was responsible for killing her brother and had deceived her so many times. The romantic plot was poor and absolutely unnecessary. It makes her character extremely weak. Lara Dutta has no role whatsoever. You can take her out and nothing will change.

All the rest have been intentionally chosen as weak characters to make Don look strong.

There are hardly any songs to talk about. The background score is a continuation of Don 1 and hence mixes well with the scenes. Some of the dialogues are very good but the issue is you have heard almost all of them in the trailers in the previous few weeks that the novelty factor is totally lost. The only plus point was the stylised locations and the cinematography. The starting scene in Thailand has been shot very well.

Overall, I will rate the movie between 2 and 2.5 stars depending upon how much expectation you go with. Unfortunately, for me this was one of the most anticipated movies of this year and disappointingly falls flat.

A note: If the price for 3D is substantially higher than 2D version, you can safely opt for 2D as there are not many 3D effects in the movie.