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Indian passport remains weak, as per Henley’s 2021 index, India has visa-free access to only 59 countries and that excludes the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Schengen zone. Before ruminating on that, it is worth asking why China, which is 5 times richer than India in terms of per capita GDP is not doing significantly better either. The island countries of the Caribbean with a population of less than a million have better access than China. Even war-torn Venezuela has a better passport including visa-free access to Western Europe. ...

I’m a big of serverless. In fact, in 2021, I believe that it should be the default choice and one should have a strong reason to deploy their own servers.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is famous for the Carlsbad cavern. While Lava Beds National Monument is famous for its labyrinth of caves, Carlsbad is famous primarily for a single huge cave. There are several small caves around that require permits and specialized gear to visit. I would highly recommend coming here early in the morning. You need to book a reservation in advance. The Carlsbad cave is huge. And while some people take the elevator, I recommend going down as well as up via the hike to have the fullest experience. It takes about 45 mins to hike up/down. And then there is a big room to explore at the bottom. There are ~50 marked stops to the bottom. Expect to spend about 3-4 hours in the cave. ...

There are several nightmare stories on the Internet regarding Google’s poor handling of payment issues related to Google Fi service. Most problems arise because people buy a phone along with Google Fi SIM. Don’t do it.

The northern part of Bengal known as Gorkhaland and Sikkim is the Nepali-speaking region of India. This part is known mostly for its mountainous beauty. If you are flying in, Bagdogra is the closest airport. The airside of this airport is congested, so, I would recommend not to check in too early. Day 1 - Bagdogra to Darjeeling We took the taxi from Bagdogra to Darjeeling. It is a risky mountainous drive and most portions of the narrow road allow only a single car, so, definitely budget 4-5 hours for this. In the evening, we checked out the local market as well as the local Mahakal temple. It is a bit of a hike and you will encounter a good local market in your journey as well. I would highly recommend trying momos here. There are tons of sellers selling veg and non-veg momos for ₹50 a plate. ...

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.

There are positive jobs and then there are double-negative jobs. Positive jobs when done well increase the revenue of the company. On the other hand, double-negative jobs when done well, prevent the loss of revenue. Consider HR, lawyer, physical/information security personnel, all are double-negative roles. If they do their job well, you won’t notice any harm. It is hard to justify spending on double-negative jobs. They don’t increase the bottom line. The shareholders question the spending. But when they don’t go well, you end up with huge losses. ...

Then Seed/Angel Series-A Series-B Series-C IPO Now

If you are planning your first trip to the Caribbean and you want to decide where to go to then this post is right for you. If you are looking for something very touristy, international, and easy to access then pick between English-speaking Belize and the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. Both of them have all the comforts of the mainland US. And are good for both singles and couples. Both are relatively cheaper than other islands I list below. While Belize is not technically an island, it has great access to the Caribbean sea. ...

Every resource that I came across tries to teach Spanish to English speakers. Those who already know Hindi/Devanagari have certain advantages. Both in terms of producing the correct Spanish pronunciation as well as being able to read/speak the Spanish language. Like Hindi, Spanish is much more phonetic and rule-based than English.