On my way from the Prague airport to the city of Prague, I sat on a bus next to a man wearing a suit and tie. “Here for business?”, I asked. “European Space Agency meeting”, he replied. Those were the days of Brexit, so, I had to ask, “What’s the language of ESA now?”.
While traveling in the streets of Cairo or Qahira/क़ाहिरा, I came across a group of Indians who didn’t look like tourists.
My flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco was overbooked. There was a generous voucher to take for a volunteer who was willing to take the next flight. The next flight was scheduled for the next day in the morning! I wondered why not take a bus through the California hinterlands instead. So, I volunteered. At the bus station’s waiting area, an Indian-looking man walked towards me. Before I could say something, he asked me in Hindi where I was from....
An American’s experience in Luxor made me write this. The story is long and vivid, but the core theme is how she and many other foreigners were duped into buying and then selling properties losing money in the process.
I had just landed in the Czech Republic. I was taking a bus from Prague airport to the city. The man sitting next to me was dressed in formal. He was here to attend a meeting of the ESA, European Space Agency. I asked, “What language is the meeting in?”. “English”, he replied, nonchalantly.
The Tijuana border (between the US and Mexico) is one of the busiest land crossings in the world.
गाँव में रहने वाला लड़का घर में “नींबू-पानी” पीता है । शहर में जाता है तो उसको “शिकंजी” बोलने लगता है । फिर फ़ाइव-स्टार होटेल में जाता है, और “लेमोनेड” ऑर्डर करता है । विदेश-यात्रा पर जाता है, तो उसी नींबू-पानी को “व़र्जिन-मोहीतो” कहना सीख जाता है । - कुमार विश्वास
I stared at the clothing in the souvenir shop. " Cancún" is written on the cap. “Cancún” is written on the chest. Cancún written on the derrière. In myriad fonts and sizes. I wondered who buys all these souvenirs. I have occasionally purchased souvenir clothing in the past. But it is usually lower quality, overpriced, and seems to give a garish look. Then this guy steps into the shop.
An expensive place full of tourists is considered a popular destination. While an inexpensive place full of tourists will be called a crowded one. An expensive place lacking tourists is termed an exclusive destination. While an inexpensive place lacking tourists is considered deserted. It is never about other tourists, it is always about how much you spent.
A new Indian restaurant had opened within walking distance of where we live. We, actually, discovered it on the day of its inauguration ( Muhurta). The owner politely told us to come back the next day. We did. We were fifth in the queue on a long line outside the restaurant. A phone call came in from an acquaintance. The call was a good way to pass an hour-long wait. We would have certainly left the queue otherwise.