Nepal Trip

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single click. – Jame Zu.

Another journey into the unknown, fueled by my misfired neurons that very often leaves my readers; I used the plural for readers, because I’m sure that there are some poor souls out there who have nothing better to do in life than to spend time reading my travel log.

So this all started many months ago, I wanted to take a trip, I didn’t know where, nor did I care. I just didn’t want to spend my birthday in Bombay and wanted to just get away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Suggestions flew from all angles; I took each suggestion, studied it carefully and then made an informed choice. Well whom am I kidding, I just checked how much each suggested trip would cost me, and how difficult it would be to get there and chose the one that I could plan, or a better operative word would be ‘book’ with the help of a couple of clicks.

Dharamsala, Shimla, Leh, Port Blair and a few other names. – Checked too expensive for an Indian visit. So I looked at International travel, with a visa on arrival, criteria.

I learned that as an Indian citizen I can visit 55 countries without a hassle most in south East Asia, a British citizen can go to 188 countries without a problem, getting back to the search I found Kenya which was in the list of 55 countries. I checked the airfare and it was 24K, not bad for an overseas trip. So I was all set to book my tickets when I realized that my passport was expiring in May. I needed a passport that was valid for a minimum of 6 months.

So Kenya was now on the back burner. I needed to find another place quickly. A couple of people suggested Nepal, so I thought what the heck let’s do it. I checked the airfare -19K, click, click type type…enter – Ticket booked.

Now, you should know if you already don’t that I am a last minute packer and I just hate planning, so if you’re nodding in agreement, you are the other person who has nothing better to do in life than to spend time reading this. So getting back to the blog, I packed an hour before and headed to the airport.

I wanted to convert some more INR into USD, but apparently the Bombay Airport has a few departments that do not follow the 24/7 schedule Forex exchange being one of them. I had no other choice but to convert it in Delhi. I was seated at 18D aisle, I was happy I had the entire row to myself; well that happiness was cut short. In popped a lady in her mid-30’s who had apparently decided to carry her entire make up kit on her face, she had false eyelashes and thick layer of every shade you can imagine. She looked like a walking pallet for a suffering makeup artist. 

On board we also had the talkathon – 2 women different rows having the most animated conversations for 2hours non-stop, the sad part it was not even interesting, other than that, the flight was smooth, and I reached Delhi on time.

The Delhi airport is massive times 10. It’s swanky and every 50meters they have these cool looking vending machines. I was thirsty so I thought I’d get a bottle of water. I punched in the code, No response, I did it a couple of times however the same result. I got my money back and went to another one – I fed the machine my money and waited… I saw the empty row get activated and then the machine thanked me for making a purchase, so I quenched my thirst with this bottle of Ghost water, it was so clear, that the water and the bottle was invisible.

I didn’t attempt to buy anymore invisible stuff; I walked and walked and walked some more until I came to the International transfer area. I headed to the Forex exchange counter and handed the guy my passport and ticket and gave him 20K INR and asked for USD, “Sorry sir, you can’t get USD if you’re going to Nepal” He politely changed all my 500 and 1000’s into 2 fat 100 rupee bundles.

Boarding pass in hand I walked another 8miles to the other end of the airport. I was tired and 2kgs lighter when I finally arrived. Immigration was a treat, the officer felt offended and disappointed that I didn’t speak Punjabi. I could care less.

I was directed to terminal 7B, which was a mile away, literally a mile away, I walked and walked and passed all the possible stores you can imagine. The duty Free section was huge. I saw a Mercedes and clicked a snap of it, and then I waited to board the flight.  I saw one very nervous passenger; probably it was his 1^st flight. He buckled himself so tightly I was afraid he’d pass out, and when the plane hit some turbulence his eyes shot wide open and he gripped the seat handles.

I don’t know why but people generally think that if they strap themselves tightly it’s safer, now if the plane was going to crash, I’m sure that the all so robust seat belts wouldn't prevent certain death.

I've never understood why planes have floatation devices installed, how many lives in the airline history have been saved due to these so called life jackets.

You’re in the air 35000+ feet, now if you’re going to crash, you got to be lucky to be over water and you need to hope that the pilot is as skilled as Chelsey Sullenberger. I expect people to know who he is, so if you don’t Google it.

If you don’t have water in sight, well you got to hope your, so called life jacket, magically transforms into a parachute. Now seriously wouldn’t you be far safer if they installed parachutes. I don’t know why, no one has thought of that.

The flight to Nepal was absolutely awesome, very picturesque, it’s a pity I didn’t have a point in shoot camera, I had to make do with the BlackBerry. I got a few fuzzy snaps of the Himalayas. Tip: ask for the window seat on the right hand side when flying to Nepal, you will get to see the Himalayas.

The temperature at Nepal was a beautiful 10degrees C, the airport was small and pretty disorganized. Tip:- An Indian can stand in any queue, just filled the disembarkation card for foreigners, (white one), Nepalese (Yellow), pretty racist huh?

I waited in the queue to get through immigration and then after a long wait, I proceeded to customs, since I had only a carry-on bag, my baggage was not checked and I just breezed through the green channel.

Outside the airport I got myself a Nepal Sim card (130 INR + 1 Photo) and then got a taxi, I asked him to take me to a hotel that was in the range of 400 – 500 rupees and he took me to Brihaspati – I asked the guy, how much the room cost and he told me to check it first.

The room I was shown was absolutely amazing, so I went down and told him I would take it. He did some calculations and told me it was 2400 INR, WOW, for 5 days, I was brought down to reality when he told me it was for one day. I flatly refused it was way out of my budget, He looked at the cab driver and then at me. I could sense his irritation with the cab driver, but he politely told me he had another room.

I was tired and would have taken anything at this point, to my surprise, the room was pretty good, barring the flat LED TV and a sofa, and it had everything that was important to me, a place to sleep and a clean toilet.

It was 1200 per day + taxes (something I found out later) I paid him in advance and headed up to my room, I had a shower and then I ordered for some chicken kolapuri, 2 parathas, and a Jeera rice. A meal fit for a king, at least in my books.

I spent the rest of the afternoon editing snaps and then I took a couple of short naps from 4pm to 10pm. I had a shower and then went down to the restaurant and ordered chicken biryani. I know so typical of me.

The next day I got up early at 7am, I was feeling too lazy to get out of bed, but I was in a new country and I wanted to make the most of my trip, so I showered and got dressed and headed to explore the city, I walked about 2 kms and I reached this beautiful café KTM Espresso it was near the Ducati showroom. The place was exquisite and posh. I had an awesome breakfast, bacon and cheese croissant and a hot chocolate.

Post breakfast, I walked and took a few turns and voila right in front of me, my hotel, however that’s not where I intended to reach. I headed to the hotel to charge my camera and then after an hour I went to the Garden of Dreams, it was about 20 minutes away. I went wild clicking snaps from every possible angle. It’s a park and most couples go there. I was the odd man out.

I spent about two hours over there and then I went to a travel agent to check for bus tickets to Pokhara, the local bus is around 500 NPR and the slightly better private bus is around 1100NPR, I chose the slightly better bus.

I was not sure if I wanted go to Pokhara the next day and told the lady that I would call in the evening, I went shopping in and around Kathmandu and stopped by for lunch at Sherpa Mall, I bought a Jacket and then after a light unintended very expensive snack at the Annapurna restaurant. I went back to the hotel at 5pm, on my way back I had decided that I was going to check out and go to Pokhara the next day. I called up the travel agent and got the last seat on the bus, literally the last seat.

I got up at 6am the next day and went to the bus stand. The bus was on time and we were on our way to Pokhara, I was seated next to a Swiss couple we never introduced ourselves, and its good we didn’t. We started to chat about Bombay and how busy it was. I compared it to New York and they nodded in agreement. They asked me about places to visit and I was bored so I thought I’d spice up and make Bombay seem more interesting. 

I started with facts and embellished the truth in the middle and ended with a flat out lie. So in the beginning I told them that some of the places that should see were ‘The Gate Way Of India’, ‘Leopold’s Café’, Kala Godha, Marine Drive, Bandra (oh how could I forget promoting Bandra) and the National Park in Borivali.

I also told them an interesting story about how Juhu Beach got its name, a story most people don’t know. Commander Juju Whu came to Bombay in the 17^th century and was given a stretch of land by the British, along the coast line as a token of appreciation for the services he rendered in the form of hand to hand combat training for the British troops. In time Juju Whu was known as Juhu. 

I also spoke about the Mithi River and compared it to the Seine in Paris. They were spellbound and were looking to Visit Bombay on their next trip.

The bus stopped at a really nice Resort Riverside Spring – they provided us a buffet lunch which was really nice, now that’s the difference between the regular bus and the slightly better one. We made a few stops and by 3pm we reached Pokhara.

Pokhara was as beautiful as I imagined it to be and trust me I have a good imagination. It’s surrounded by mountains, and the air absolutely clean and untainted. The temperature during the day is around 4 to 5 degrees and in the evening it drops to 1 degree. Tip: - If you arrive by bus, the lake is only 5 mins away and unless you have heavy luggage, do not take the taxi. I paid 100INR for a 3min ride.

The taxi guy took me to the 1^st hotel on the block literally the 1^st hotel – U and I, however it was only I and ME. The lady who runs the hotel told me it would be 500NPR a day Inc taxes, however I’m sure you can get it for 400. I was tired so I didn’t argue. The room was decent; it had 2 beds and a large Bathroom. I needed a place to sleep and a clean loo and that’s all that mattered to me. Spending 1100NPR on a plush place was not required.

I had a quick shower and then I got my camera and headed out. I clicked about a million snaps of the lake and the 7 hills, however no sign of the Himalayas, the place was packed with tourist shops and restaurants, I walked the length and breadth of the lake, or so I thought. I dined at a nice place Bella Napoli. The food was OK.

Later that evening I went back to the hotel and I thought I would get myself acclimatized to the Pokhara temperature. So I decided to have a cold shower, and the best way to do it was to just turn on the shower and stand under it and in time I would be used to cold or so I imagined. I stood under the shower and turned the tap on …a total shutdown, every molecule in my body was frozen solid instantly. I could have sworn that if I needed to use the restroom, I would poop ice-cubes, I stuck to hot showers from then on.

15^th March – Well, yeah my birthday. Whoopee ME. I got up late – very late around 12:30pm, I had a shower and I went to the lake. I hired a cycle for the whole day or 5hours (300NPR) I scouted the area and discovered more hotels and restaurants further down the road. I was going to go further, when thunder rumbled in the distant the sunny skies was now overcast with dark clouds, I rode as fast as I could back to the cycle shop and returned the bike, as soon as I did that the rain came pouring down, and to make it more exciting it started to rain hail stones, well that’s some solid blessings I received on my birthday.

It rained for about 2hours, and then as quickly as it started the skies were blue again. I rode back to the stores and got myself a wet proof bag. I stopped by at ‘Once Upon A Time’ restaurant for lunch a very nice place and great food. Post lunch I went back to a travel agent and checked for the fares to Kathmandu via air. I was pleasantly surprised when the guy told me it was only 2600NPR (1600INR), that meant that I could spend an extra day in Pokhara, and avoid the hassle of checking into a hotel for a couple of hours and then going to the airport the next day. The Pokhara airport was only 4kms away and I had a 7:30am flight.

At around 6pm I went back to the hotel and dozed off, I guess it was the earliest I’ve ever gone to sleep on a holiday. I got up intermittently to check my messages and then around 9pm I was dead to the world.

Friday 16^th March, was a bright blue sunny day, I took a stroll down by the lake, and what do you know? On my right the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas; it was hidden the previous day with thick cloud cover. I snapped away until I had my fill and then took the by-lanes of the village and found some really nice hotels. I walked for about 8kilometers and headed up to the trekkers trail, where all the paragliding happened and then I clicked some more snaps of the place and took the local bus back, the bus is the best means of transport and its cheap (10NPR).

I went to a nice place ‘Gurkhas’ for lunch and then after some shopping for souvenirs I went back to the hotel. I spent the evening editing snaps and then I packed my bags and paid the hotel bill. I set my alarm for 5:40am.

I didn’t have dinner, I just went to sleep, in all the excitement of coming back to Bombay I didn’t really sleep. I was up before my alarm rang and I had a quick wash, as the water was freezing. I started my long walk to the airport as no taxis were available, but it did not matter as the walk was very pleasant and in no time I was at the airport.

Pokhara airport is small, very small, and its roof top restaurant, has a breath taking view of the Himalayas and the airfield. So there again I clicked some more snaps of the Himalayas and when I had my fill I packed my camera and waited for departure.

My travel agent told me that I had to pay the airport tax of 200NPR and charged me at his office, TIP:- the airport tax has to be paid at the airport and not to the travel agent. When flying from Pokhara to Kathmandu, make sure your 1^st inline at the departure gate and when they start to open the boarding doors, run to the plane and sit on the left hand side of the aircraft. You will get an amazing view of the Himalayas. Well I was a bit too late and had to make do with just enjoying the view from the other side.

The flight to Kathmandu was nice, and I was in an aircraft filled with shutter crazy Chinese (South Asians) I thought I clicked a lot of snaps, well the small Chinese woman beat me by a terabyte, She would click anything that moved and didn’t move. She clicked a snap of the sign that said NO CAMERAS ALLOWED, PHOTOGRAPHY PROHIBITED. She clicked snaps of every Nepali national, the flight attendant, the pilot, the plane and the tourist on-board.

When we reach Kathmandu she started clicking away, the door, the check in counter, the baggage conveyor belt, the customs, the bomb squad dog, the escalator, and the list goes on and on. I’m sure that in a couple of months in some remote part of China, you will see a replica of Nepal, Pokhara and the airport. Some ingenious idea of a theme park, I’m pretty sure you will also see wax works museum of all the passengers on flight 702 and possibly a replica of yours truly.

I checked in at Kathmandu and waited to head to Delhi. I thought everything would be boring and uneventful until I reached Bombay, however I never fail to find some way to create unusual situations for myself.

I discovered that all Nepalese traveling overseas have pinch of rice pasted on their foreheads. I presume that they are either smuggling rice to India, or maybe that's their way of ensuring they always have something to eat in case they get hungry on-board.

So everything was peaceful since I last updated my story, until I had to board the flight back to Delhi, in my enthusiasm to help an old lady fill her disembarkation form, I left my passport and ticket on my seat, and when I got back it was gone. A million thoughts ran through my mind, “Terminal”, “Jailed Abroad” and other no so amusing scenarios. Then after a few minutes, I heard my name on the PA system. They had found my passport. Yeah I was finally heading back to India.

The flight was absolutely smooth, great landing, I reached Delhi Terminal 3 and headed to security check and the I got some alcohol for my Manager from duty free and then I was approached by a guy from the Forex exchange he asked me to buy 2 more bottles of  Chivas Regal, I was hesitant, but I complied. Unfortunately for him they had already stamped my ticket.

The poor dejected fellow just walked away like a lost puppy. I breezed through customs and then headed to get my connecting flight to Bombay. I went to the transit terminal and I was in for a rude shock I had to go to terminal 1 which was on the other side of nowhere. I had to leave the airport catch a bus and head 6+kms to the old airport. I finally reached and then I was advised that I had to put the booze in the bag and check it in. So I packed my clothes around the bottles and sealed the bag. I got my boarding pass and got the bag checked in.

All my troubles that I experience just a while ago was washed away by Sudhir Kumar, a very kind GO-Air assistant, he plastered my bag with handle with care stickers and called the Go0-Air crew to make sure my bag was safe.

I wrote a long letter of appreciation and thanked him for going that extra mile. He was beaming with delight. I finally got my boarding pass and walked into the airport. Delhi Terminal 1 isn’t that bad; I went to the café section and ordered some food from KFC. Then I waited for my flight to Bombay.

Some things I learned on my trip to Nepal are that we take life in general for granted. Things that we experience day in and day out are forgotten and unappreciated. We focus more on the have not than the haves. Life isn’t complicated, we just spend too much time trying to change things and in the bargain often make a whole mess of things. People, nature, and relationships, both professional and personal are also undervalued.

I learned we need to cherish everything we have, because you never know one day it will be gone. So take some time out while reading this and go and tell someone you really care about how you feel about them. When you step outside, take time to appreciate your surroundings and the natural beauty we have all around us, lastly and most of all thank God for giving you 5 lovely senses that enable you to appreciate all these things. 

Our lives are enriched with beauty all around us, we need to value it. At the moment I’m at 38000Ft and I can see a million lights blanket the city of Mumbai, every light gleams brilliantly and signifies life, hope and dreams. As the pilot starts to prepare for the final descent, the thought of coming ‘Home’ injects a sense of comfort and peace. So I bid you farewell, until I decide to take my next trip into the unknown, and hopefully not alone. Nepal Snaps

Jaipur Trip

It was a warm Saturday morning and I woke up feeling just ten cents short of a million, I was eager to get out of Mumbai. My break from work had just started and I didn’t want to waste a single minute of it.

So after a quick shower and a scrumptious breakfast, my edgy fingers tapped away furiously looking for holiday packages across India and internationally.

I had initially thought of just packing my bags and heading to the airport, however, I wanted to get a better deal online. I didn't want to be too fool hardy and risk spending, the little I had saved.

So after a few quick taps and clicks, I was heading for Sri Lanka, I entered my credit card details and was about to click ‘process payment’ when sanity struck me and I decided to check the cost of the hotels.
Well thank God, I was born with some intelligence, I was relieved that I waited. The hotels were out of my budget and I wouldn’t want to go to a different country and have no money to spend on shopping.

So Sri Lanka, was put on the back burner and I decided to go local. Cochin was my next destination, a beautiful place, affordable hotels, and very romantic, I was all set to finalize the deal, when I started to think, Beautiful place, pretty romantic, and I am going alone. It would have been too depressing.

So another destination thrown into the bin, time was running out and almost half the day was over. I had to decide, so after another quick search I checked the deals on Jaipur. I got a good deal on the air tickets and the hotel I selected wasn’t too bad, Well so I thought.

I decided the more I thought about the pros and cons of my trip, the longer it would take for me to decide and I would land up at Little Flower staring at the ceiling, until my vacation got over.
So without further thought I clicked ‘Process payment,’ the moment I hit that key, I knew that there was no turning back and I would have to make the most of it.

So I packed my bag, net book, camera, and clothes, and checked to see if I had everything in order. It took me 10 mins to pack and 3mins to do a quick check. I got dressed and headed for the airport.
I engaged a rickshaw and I was on my way. My rickshaw driver presumed I was getting late and he spared no effort in getting me there in less than 15mins.

I am sure that Schumacher would have been very proud of his driving skills. He swerved, cut and zipped and zoomed through traffic lights and within an inch of other cars. He cut through traffic like a surgeon on steroids. Well, I must give him credit, I did enjoy the ride. I was hoping that this would not be the only excitement or highlight of my trip.

It’s been over a year since I went to the airport, the domestic airport is pretty swanky, I was impressed; I checked in and waited for my flight.

G8 111, echoed on the intercom and I got up and heading to the boarding gate. After screening your carry on, at security check, they also check your bags thoroughly before you board the aircraft. They ask you to open your bags and they look through everything. I just don’t understand why they can't do it earlier.
A very attractive lady, probably in her mid-thirties had her bag opened and out popped some racy lingerie, much to the amusement of the other passengers. She didn’t seem too fazed by the incident. I put her down as a frequent flier.

I boarded the aircraft and a couple of minutes later I was on my way, as the plane flew higher, I sat back and thought to myself ‘this is it’ in a couple of hours I would be in Jaipur, no plan, alone and 5days to make the most of this trip.

2hours later I was over Jaipur, it was a smooth landing and as the plane grew to a halt I switched on my handset. Low and behold not a single message, I guess no one missed me; The Jaipur airport is absolutely stunning. I was amazed how advanced they got since I last came to the pink city.
I went to the prepaid taxi stand and got my ride, I soaked in the architecture and scenery and after an hour I reached my hotel.

I checked in, had a shower and headed out to get something to eat; I went to the Kebab Palace, awesome food great service. Then I took a rickshaw back to my hotel. Day one was uneventful, I changed and headed for a shower and crashed.

Sunday was a better day, I woke up at noon and headed for brunch, I stopped at a local café and after a quick bite I went to Jal Mahal only to find it closed for renovations. I travelled by the Jaipur local transport bus.

I could write a whole new chapter on my experience, but I’ll cut to the chase and try and summarize to the best of my ability, well I learn t over the last couple of days, on the travel etiquette of a foreigner in Jaipur, I refer to myself as a foreigner, cause the only thing different about them and I, is the colour of our skin and accent to some extent.

So back to the Jaipur bus, it comes in various sizes large, medium and small, but you don’t get fries with that. Large – like the Ac buses sans Ac, we have in Bombay they are known as the Jaipur Transport bus; however to me I know them as the stealth express or the invisible beast, because this bus magically appeared only once I boarded the small bus and would disappear as soon as I alighted.

The medium bus, as large as a regular school, or Goa bus and Small, you will find a lot of these guys running around, the most easy to catch and I’m guessing the cheapest.

So I get into this small bus aka sardine express and it’s empty and I’m thinking to myself this is not so bad, until a couple of seconds later the bus is filled to capacity, and I don’t mean the Virar local capacity, a Virar local would be a much better option.

So now that the bus is filled, and I am assuming we are going to be on our way, when I hear, the conductor yell out, now to the locals or disguised locals I’m guessing he was calling out the following destinations, however to me it seemed like he was saying, let’s see how many people we can pack into this bus.

What is worse than traveling by a packed bus, is traveling by a packed bus filled with people who believe on expressing their flatulence freely with flair.

I learned a very short time to breathe every 4mins; I believe I cleared SCUBA training level 2. I wanted to contact the Guinness Book of World records and show them how you could squeeze 50 people in a mid-size bus.

I am 5.7 and very lean, however my head almost touched the roof of the bus. So you can imagine how spacious it was, at one point I felt I was practicing for a part in the black swan, I had just about enough place for the little toe on my right foot, and I managed to sustain this balancing act for half an hour until I was spewed out onto the street.

For some inexplicable reason throughout my trip, I noticed that people of Jaipur wanted to go everywhere I went. Because every time I would board and empty bus, it would get full in seconds and when I got off, everyone else also decided to get off. It happened too often to be a coincidence. I guess the people of Jaipur love me.

The people in Jaipur are pretty friendly and help you find your way. I tried to blend in by trying to imitate the Jaipuri accent, but I was as inconspicuous as a Chinese in Nigeria. So I stuck to my Bombay Hindi, mixed with English. In the evening I decided to go to a new place. I walked about 2kms and finally found a non-vegetarian restaurant, not too fancy but the food was good.

Day 3 started off well, No Monday Blues, what a relief. I got up 6am, heaved a sigh of relief and went back to sleep. I woke up at noon and after a quick refreshing shower I headed to the shopping square also known as the big square, or badi chopar. I browsed around but didn’t find anything appealing. So I headed to the holiday inn and had lunch over there. After lunch I went to the arts and crafts gallery and picked up 2 wooden boxes with ceramic drawers painted by blind one armed Rajasthani workers, well I'm just kidding, they had both their arms.

I visited the Havaa Mahal, clicked a few snaps and headed back, I took the sardine express and reached the hotel drenched with sweat and accompanied by 50 different odours from all parts of Jaipur and Rajasthan. I had the longest ever shower and changed into a new set of clothes.

In the evening I went to the Raj Palace for dinner, the place was exquisite, the food was served in gold rimmed plates and the silverware was actually pure silver. After a scrumptious meal, I took a rickshaw back to the hotel.

Day 4, I got up at noon and went to the city palace, I clicked a few snaps, and then I headed to an art shop, and got some souvenirs for my team, I knew I was getting taken for a ride, but I was in no mood to bargain. I was just tired and wanted to head back to the hotel. Day 4 was a pretty lazy day. I spent the evening packing my bags and I did a quick check on what I spent. I went to sleep early.

Day 5, the final day in Jaipur, I got up a 10am, I settled the bills and I was on my way to the airport. I hitched a ride with Thomas a Spaniard who was also heading to the airport. We started chatting along the way and I learned that he was in India for 3months. I was really hungry so I stopped at the Marriott for breakfast and paid my share of the fare to Thomas.

The breakfast was absolutely amazing; I ate to my heart’s content and was happy that it was 50% cheaper than Mumbai. I decided to walk the 2.5km stretch to the airport, as I was stuffed and needed some exercise.

The walk was very pleasant as the skies were overcast. At the airport I met a fellow traveler Jagdish from Gujarat; a very friendly fellow. He introduced himself as “Myself Jagdish, you can say me Jag”, You say your name please”.

Jag probably thought I was listening very intently to every word he was saying, and he was right, I was because I was trying to decipher what he was trying to say. Some sentences like “I was shutter last night, as I wet in thunder rain” ,“my house have father, camel and mother” and the best one “Camel is my brother”,
He’s got one kinky father, I thought to myself. Well Jag had to leave as he was taking the spice jet to Bombay. I was leaving an hour later via Go Air.

I learn t a lot from this trip, as I do from most of my solo trips. Looking forward to many more trips across India and the world, hopefully I’ll have company next time.

Euro Trip 2008

My trips are never dull or boring for the audience, and always have a moral to the story. I should start charging for all the valuable advice I provide in this essay. So let's begin.

It was the 13th of April 2008, a calm Sunday morning; I had packed the previous night. All set to go to Moscow and then on to Turkey.

I checked if everything was in order and I checked and rechecked the list. I charged all my devices, camera, electric shaver, I carried my chargers and I also call up hutch to get international roaming activated.

The check list was complete and I was very satisfied. I left at 3am, I hired a Meru cab, and I reached the airport, and was greeted with a lot of smiles. As soon as I arrived things started to move quickly in less than an hour I had checked in and gone through immigration and was all set to board the plane.

I usually click snaps from the plane, but since this was a night flight I did not bother. I boarded the plane and I was seated next to a lady, who was very nervous.

She would get up every hour like a cuckoo bird and go to the loo and since I had the aisle, I had to get up.

I managed to train myself to sleep for 55mins and then wake up for the lady to use the restroom. It was a 7.5 flight and towards the end of it we were synchronized.

I reach Moscow, I was all set to leave the plane I switched on my cell phone and I got connected to beeline the local service provider, I went through customs and I wondered what I would do for 14 hours.

I sat down at a local cafe and ordered an orange juice and packet of chips; I then decided to text message my family and a few of my friends that I had reached. I typed out a message and clicked send.

"Message Failed" I looked at my phone and there was no network, so I switched off the phone and went through manual settings and looked for network. "No network Found" I must have tried it 100-200 times, and it did not work. So I had no phone no way to contact anyone.

I walked around the airport a couple of times and after about 3 hours, I felt qualified to be an airport guide.

The clothes, food, souvenirs were apparently made by, "out of work celebrities" as the quality sucked and they were way overpriced.

A bottle of coke cost $5, a T-shirt cost only $25 and I am talking about the cheap stuff.

Moscow is boring as there is nothing to do, I spent 14hours at the airport and I found out ways to improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.

There are no money exchange points in Moscow and if you want to buy something from a local vendor at the airport, they only accept Rubles you cannot as they do not accept Dollars or Euros, so you are forced to go to the big restaurants.

If you are traveling via Moscow always carry at least 3000 rubles approximately INR 5000, 
Make sure that you go to the loo on the plane, as the toilets are filthy, thinking about it no wonder that lady was going to the loo so often. 

If you know a little Russian, just be happy and do not show off. 

I always seem to provide valuable lessons for people. However I've learnt the hard way.

I walked around the airport again and visited every shop, it's the 1st time I just window shopped. Things were just too expensive.

After circling the airport a million times, I started to make myself useful by helping lost passengers find their gates, or immigration. 

I did this for a couple of hours and then I decided to go for dinner.

After a frightfully expensive dinner chicken nuggets and fries, oh let not forget the coke ($60)

I stared at the departure board, it was almost 11pm, I was about to fall asleep, when I saw Istanbul 2am.

The flight to Istanbul was short, and uneventful...

Atatürk Airport was nice, much cleaner, but I did not want hang around too much as I wanted to get to the hotel as quickly as possible, so I rushed to get my bag...

I waited... and waited and waited some more ....for my luggage to arrive, nothing. I went and spoke to some airport staff and they checked my ticket.

My luggage was still in Moscow! aargh all I had was a bag filled with shoes, a track pant and a tshirt.

I met a very friendly Indian couple on their honeymoon, we started to talk and we realized that we were staying at the same hotel "Umay"

I offered to give them a lift... the husband didn't seem too pleased, I guess he was already in the honeymoon mood, and probably wanted some action as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately his newly wed wife was already sitting in the car, he was left with no choice but to accept. If looks could kill, I'm sure I would have never made it back.

The hotel was clean, I unpacked my handbag, I had a shower and changed into my ... yeah you guessed it " A track pant and a tshirt"

I was scheduled to go on some some cruise, I honestly didn't care, as my camera and everything I owned was sitting in Russia, I guess my bags didn't want to come.

So I was alone, without a camera, admiring the beauty around me...

I headed back to my hotel after a quick tour...as I entered the hotel I felt a sharp pain around my left shoulder and it got worse.

I went up to my room and now the pain was unbearable. I had no clue what to do. I just sat for a while, until I got used to the pain.

I changed in my shorts and went to sleep. I did not get up for dinner. The next day the pain had subsided and I was happy. 

I tried to mix and match, with whatever I had and went out, I bought some key chains and went out to a local cafe.

The people in Turkey are friendly and make the effort to help you. After a quick lunch I went back to my hotel.

So strange but true, I felt that same sharp pain as I entered the hotel. This time the pain was now tenfold.

I did not make it to my room, I waited in the lobby for some time, trying to shrug off the pain. I could not take it anymore.

I had no travel insurance and I did not want to take a chance. I called my travel agent and got a flight booked for that evening.

I packed my bag and left for the airport. I did not have to wait for a long time. I do not remember boarding, I only remember landing in Russia and waiting for my flight back home.

I reached Bombay and I was just happy to back home.

For all those who love to travel ....get travel insurance.

Till then Adios!

THAILAND THRILLER

My trip to Bangkok was packed with a lot of "life lessons," and I'm glad I learned from it.

My flight was smooth; there were only 30 of us on the plane, so after take-off, we could sit anywhere. I arrived at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:30 a.m. and started my journey to Visa control.

I filled in my application and was about to submit my Visa when the guy asked me how much money I had. I told him I had USD 200 and a credit card. He said, "NOT ENOUGH, you need a minimum of USD 300 or TBH 10,000." I had about 15K in Indian currency, but INR is as good as toilet paper. I didn't have any more money, so I tried to withdraw TBH 5000 from my credit cards, but for some reason, it didn't work. (I later found out that ICICI systems were down that day.) I was in a fix; my tour operator hadn't told me I needed a certain amount of cash with me.

I walked around the airport for about 2.5 hours, trying every ATM and exchange point to see if any of my other cards would work, but no luck.

I felt like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal"!

I finally went back to the Visa control area and sat down, trying to figure out a way to make it out of the airport. Then I saw two Indians walking. I approached them and explained the situation, telling them I needed TBH 4000 for 10 minutes and would return the money as soon as I got my Visa. They had arrived from the UAE and didn't have any money with them either, but one of them withdrew TBH 24,000 from his credit card and gave me TBH 4000. I got my Visa processed, and after immigration check, I gave him his money back and also gave him TBH 200 for his help.

I finally got out of the airport at 10 a.m. I went to the meeting point, and no one was there. I met another tour operator and asked them to call my tour operator (I didn't have my international roaming activated, so I couldn't make or receive any calls). Finally, this lady said she would take care of everything and guided me to the bus. I sat down in the bus, relieved that this episode was finally over, and decided to click a snap of the airport... but my camera was not there.

OH NO, I had left it at Visa Control in all that commotion (to get a visa, you need a snap, and I had placed my camera down at the photo booth). I rushed back through the airport, through security and customs, and was out of breath. I told them I had left my camera. They asked me to describe it, and I GOT IT BACK!!!! WHEW!

I then rushed back to the bus, my legs aching from running all the way, and finally got into the bus. I clicked a snap of myself to remind me of this experience. After a 4-hour ride, I reached Pattaya, checked in, had a bath, and took a short nap. Around 3 p.m., I went to KFC for lunch. In Pattaya and Bangkok, they mostly have seafood and stuff I can't even pronounce, so I stuck to things I was familiar with. After lunch, I went to the shopping mall and just browsed around. I found some nice pencils with "Pattaya" written on them. I tried to bargain and paid 400 baht for 10 pencils, feeling proud of my bargaining skills as she had quoted 300 baht for 5. My happiness was short-lived when I went to the shopping mall and saw similar pencils for 90 baht (5). Damn, no more shopping on the street. I didn't find anything interesting, so I went to Starbucks and then back to my hotel. After another bath, I took another short nap.

In the evening, I went to Burger King, and NO, I didn't have a burger there. I had the same thing: 1 coke, fries, and chicken. Then I took a walk by the sea, snapped a few photos of the area and myself, and headed back to the hotel. I had another bath and finally called it a night.

As you will notice from the snaps and my narration of the trip, I had A LOT OF TIME on my hands. Looking on the positive side, I got plenty of sleep and had a lot of baths. I clicked every possible angle of my room and rearranged the mini bar so that everything would be in order. Anyway, this story does not end here... I know you must be thinking, "I wish it did." ...but prepare to be bored.

OK, so where did I stop... ah yes, the next day I went down for breakfast. It was supposed to be a buffet, so I was happy as the buffets I had back home were excellent with a wide variety.

I gave the busboy/waiter my coupon, and I sure did see a lot of variety, but none that I liked. They had rice and noodles for breakfast??? And eggs that still seemed to have some life in them. There were a few other dishes that seemed so fresh they were almost alive. They can surely claim that the food is fresh, and you can see it. So I settled for toast and tasteless butter, and a glass of juice (some juice). It was purple and sweet; I have no idea what I had.  

After a scrumptious breakfast I went back to the lobby as I was supposed to get a tour of Coral Island. I asked the receptionist what time it would be, and very confidently, she told me it was at 10 a.m. So I went back to my room, and yes, you guessed it, I had a bath. At 9:30 a.m., I went back to the lobby.

I waited, and it was 10:30, no phone call or pick-up. I checked with them again. That same very confident receptionist was as confused as a toddler in a university. Her expression stated that I had asked her to explain E = mc². I waited in the reception till 1 p.m. and then went back to my room. After another bath, I went back to the shopping mall. I picked up some keychains and souvenirs for my team, and after a lot of browsing and a quick bite at McDonald's, I went back to my hotel.

I spent the next day at the shopping mall, just sightseeing as I hadn't carried enough cash and didn't want to exhaust my credit card for fear of being stranded. So one more day in Pattaya, doing absolutely nothing. In fact, the only difference between doing nothing at home and doing nothing in a foreign country is that it costs a whole lot more.

The only English channel on TV was HBO, so I watched movies I would have never ever watched. I also tuned into the Thai news channel. You can imagine how desperate I was for entertainment.

The next day, I was supposed to leave for Bangkok from Pattaya. I was pleasantly surprised that my tour operator had left a message for me, telling me that I would get a pick-up at 11 a.m.

So the next day, I didn't bother to go and have the exquisite breakfast. I decided to go to KFC and then to Starbucks. I got up at 6 a.m., had a bath, and set out to eat my last meal in Thailand. I came back, had another bath, packed my bags, and checked out at 10 a.m. I waited and waited and waited some more… at 11:30, still no sign of this guy. I thought to myself, "Oh not again, what a disaster!!!!"

Then, out of the blue, like a ray of hope, I heard someone call out my room number. WOW!!!! YEAH... finally!!!!

I later discovered that the guy/driver was there at 11 a.m., but he was looking out for a Chinese man???? (I'm sure you’re confused) So was I.

They had distorted my name; I was now "Jeng Bong," far from James Barnett. So after a 4-hour ride, I arrived in Bangkok, where everything was Bang this and Bang that.

I stayed at the Hotel Unico Leela, a nice hotel; however, the corridors were only 3 feet wide. I clicked a few more snaps of my room, rearranged the mini bar, and had baths. In the afternoon, I went to Starbucks and then headed back to my hotel. Bangkok is more commercialized, with huge buildings and really busy streets.

I received a call from the main tour operator asking for some documents, so I told them they could collect them in the evening. At around 7 p.m., they arrived, looking around as if searching for someone. I approached them and introduced myself as James. They told me they thought I was British, as they had spoken to me over the phone and didn't realize I was Indian.

I then mentioned that I hadn't received the Coral Island tour. The tour operator apologized and offered to make it up by giving me another event, like an underwater world show or something.

The next day, I got a tour of the Buddhist temples. I am guessing that tour guide assigned to me was assigned last minute as she struggled to communicate, the only English words she knew were  “Look, see, there, here, wait, come, stay, I’ll be back, and thank you.” We mostly communicated through sign language. She however was very polite.

The Temple Tour was supposed to last three hours, but everything looked alike, so I managed to finish the entire tour in under 45 minutes.

There was a huge statue of Buddha made of 18k gold, which was awesome. Then there was an even bigger statue of the Reclining Buddha. I clicked some snaps there. This was the first place where someone else clicked a snap of me, as I was alone the other times.

I bought a cup of coins, made a wish, and dropped one coin in each bowl. Since we had plenty of time to spare, she took me to the Gems Gallery.

The Gems Gallery was nice; they showed me how they polish the stones and cut the gems, etc. Again, it was “all see, no buy.”

The tour of the Temples and Gems was done, and my tour guide had no idea what to do next. We had plenty of time and nowhere to go. I sensed she was also bored, so I told her I wanted to go back to my hotel.

She was happy as she got to go home half-day. I skipped the underwater tour as I wanted to spend some time shopping. I went back to my hotel, had a shower and walked to the nearest super mall.

I hadn't shaved in four days, and people kept mistaking me for someone from the Middle East.  They spoke to me in Arabic and kept giving me menus in Arabic.

The street where I stayed was surrounded by Eastern, European, and Indian restaurants—really nice.

I went to this massive shopping complex with nine levels. The ninth level was the food court, where I ate, and then I went down to each level. I saw some really nice things. The electronics were 40% cheaper than in India, but since I was carrying only one bag and didn't want to check in any luggage (to avoid waiting at the airport when I got back), I headed back to the hotel.

I stopped by 7-Eleven to get a packet of chips. All fish-flavored, no regular chips. Finally, I found a packet of regular chips. Whew!

I spent the evening packing all that I had bought (really little) neatly, then went out to dinner. After a bath, I went to sleep.

On the last day, I had a quick breakfast. This time, there were also fruits, so I had that. I checked out of my room and waited for my pick-up.

I went through customs, and surprisingly, they didn't bother to check my bags or search me (the regular security check).

That's all.

It was an experience for me. I'm sure it could have been better with some company.

Again, looking on the positive side, I did what I said I was going to do. I learned some very important lessons and got to see a new country. So no complaints.

Looking back at what happened, it wouldn't have been so exciting if everything had gone smoothly. That's what I keep telling myself.