Razzaq Mohammed

Razzaq Mohammed

I am Razzaq. I work in the energy efficiency sector. I love travelling, reading books and blogging about both. I am also a big fan of Victorian era Gothic horror; both books and movies. This website is an amalgamation of all my previous blogs (all 4 for them). It is a one stop place for all my different types of readers. Here I write about my travels, books that I have read, energy, horror, history and anything else that catches my fancy! The section 'Random thoughts' will take you to more topics there. Hope you enjoy it!

Latest posts

Rocket Boys TV Show : A Quick Review

Homi Bhabha. The father of the Indian Nuclear Program. I grew up watching his photo in our school. Having studied at an Atomic Energy Central School and being a part of the Department of Atomic Energy family, Bhabha’s presence was everywhere. His photo was displayed at a prominent point in the school where we used to attend the morning pledge. Its one of the core memories of our school days. So when my friend Suyog recommended I watch the TV Show ‘Rocket Boys’ which is about the two giants of Indian science, Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai I was excited and had it on my watch list. Read More "Rocket Boys TV Show : A Quick Review"

Four Lakes Trail Hike, Squamish, BC, Canada

Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, it started snowing. At one point I stopped in the middle of a cluster of trees and looked up. The snow was falling, it seemed, as if in slow motion. Some of the snowflakes fell on my face, immediately melting and mildly numbing the skin. Except my group of friends there was nobody around and it was all quiet and still. It felt so peaceful. As Faiz, my friend, remarked later, its for this sense of detachment from the mundane everyday life, that makes hiking so refreshing! Read More "Four Lakes Trail Hike, Squamish, BC, Canada"

Abby Grind Hike, Abbotsford, BC, Canada.

On a bright sunny February afternoon three of us did the Abby grind hike near Abbotsford. As you can guess from the name, this is the Abbotsford's grouse grind. Read More "Abby Grind Hike, Abbotsford, BC, Canada."

My Travels


I travel whenever and wherever I can. Travel for me is not the glamorous Instagram type pics. A walk in a neighboring nondescript village is also travel. Squeezing in a 3 hour sightseeing with a 20 hour journey is also travel. I do what I can with what I have. Sometimes its elaborate with week long trips. Sometimes its just a bus ride between two places. I try to enjoy whatever experiences I am privileged and lucky to experience. I have travelled a lot in my home country India. More than average I would say. Covered 15 states out of 29. Internationally I have been to only USA and Bhutan apart from my country of residence India and Canada. Presently I am based in the beautiful province of British Columbia in Canada and am trying to explore it as much as I can.

Peru

I did the 4 Day Inca Trail to Machu Pichu in this beautiful country.

Canada

I arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia in December 2018. Since then I went on a couple of multi day road trips and many day trips in BC. I also spent a year and a half in the sunny Okanagan region which gave me nice opportunity to explore the Interior regions of BC.

India

The country of my Birth, India is a country like no other. With its population of a billion people and the vast variety in landscapes and history, India is a place where even if you spend your entire lifetime in exploring it, it wont be enough. In my own limited capacity I travelled a bit in this beautiful country. I did 3 different multi day treks in the Himalayas which still remain some of the best travel experiences of my life. I visited 15 out of the 29 states.

USA

I went on two trips to the United States so far.

Bhutan

I did a multiday trek in this beautiful country.

Multi Day Trekking

Adventure activities

    Energy


    Here, I write about energy related topics.

    I began my energy career in 2013 with working in a 4 x 600 MW Subcritical thermal power plant and later worked in 2 x 660MW supercritical thermal power plant. In these positions where I gained experience in various areas including commissioning, operation, as well as energy conservation. With the climate change crisis we find ourselves in, I wanted to leave behind fossil fuel power plants and pursue a field which would make an impact in alleviating some aspect of the climate change. What better area than energy conservation and improving energy efficiency. I moved to Canada in 2018 to pursue Master of Engineering Leadership in Clean Energy Engineering program at the University of British Columbia (UBC). From 2021 I have been working in the energy efficiency sector of Canada.

    Here is a link to an Efficiency Canada feature published in 2022.

    Mentoring for new Immigrants to BC, Canada

    Are you new in BC and/or are a student looking for a job in the energy management/efficiency sector? Are you looking for any pointers from someone already in the industry? I would be happy to chat with you for 30 mins and share my thoughts and advice with you. Please fill out the form below.

    Featured

    Celebrating 15 years of my blogging journey!

    I recently completed 15 years of my blogging journey! My very first post was back in 2008, made while I was in my 12th grade. It simply had a list of names of our group of friends. I started off my blogging journey by sharing stories of the activities our group of friends did together like trips, parties etc. Later I started writing about my individual travel trips. Full story here. Since then I have come a long way. My blog (the travel one) was featured on multiple websites and platforms, I was interviewed by a top travel podcast channel, a newspaper printed my photos and best of all I received countless words of appreciation from friends and readers! Over the course of 15 years I was also fortunate to have traveled in 5 countries including India. The others being Canada, United States, Bhutan and Peru. A bit more detailed story of my blogging journey can be found here which I wrote when I had completed 400 posts in 2022.

    At this milestone point I am doing a Reader survey. It would be great if you, the reader, can fill it out! Thank you!
    Here is the link: https://forms.gle/L222WkTvgY7vG25e7

    Some of my popular travel posts:

    Some of my popular book posts:

    Rocket Boys TV Show : A Quick Review

    Homi Bhabha. The father of the Indian Nuclear Program. I grew up watching his photo in our school. Having studied at an Atomic Energy Central School and being a part of the Department of Atomic Energy family, Bhabha’s presence was everywhere. His photo was displayed at a prominent point in the school where we used to attend the morning pledge. Its one of the core memories of our school days. So when my friend Suyog recommended I watch the TV Show ‘Rocket Boys’ which is about the two giants of Indian science, Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai I was excited and had it on my watch list.

    Four Lakes Trail Hike, Squamish, BC, Canada

    Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, it started snowing. At one point I stopped in the middle of a cluster of trees and looked up. The snow was falling, it seemed, as if in slow motion. Some of the snowflakes fell on my face, immediately melting and mildly numbing the skin. Except my group of friends there was nobody around and it was all quiet and still. It felt so peaceful. As Faiz, my friend, remarked later, its for this sense of detachment from the mundane everyday life, that makes hiking so refreshing!

    How Big things get done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner || A 10 point book review

    This book talks about the factors which can make or break a project, be it a small project like a Kitchen Renovation or a mega project like building a new terminal of an airport. The author, who is an expert on troubleshooting projects which are delayed, over budget or are just in any kind of trouble, talks about why big projects routinely go over budget or over time and suggests ways those can be avoided.

    4 Days Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, Peru

    As I walked the final few steps towards the edge, the ancient mountain town of Machu Pichu appeared in view. I have watched tons of videos of the place and read countless descriptions but it did not prepare me for seeing it with my own eyes. The view was spectacular. It is not for nothing that its considered one of the wonders of the world.