Best Funny Stories: Travel

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Sabtu, 12 Maret 2011

Hot Towels - Oshibori

You might have experienced being offered a Hot Towel. This is commonly done when you travel on an air plane. Or when you have a dinner or a lunch at a restaurant.

I always wondered about the idea behind offering a Hot Towel in such situations. Was it supposed to make you feel fresh? Or was it just to help you wipe your hands? Or was it for something else?

I have found myself happily accepting these when offered during the travel - but only when I want to stay wide awake during the flight. I usually politely refuse them when I want to catch up with sleep.

What exactly is a Hot Towel? It's a piece of cloth - virgin white in color. It's slightly moist or even a bit wet, wrung and wrapped in a roll. This is what gives it a ultra fresh look.

A set of hot towels are carefully stacked up on a tray before being offered to the customers. And the person offering the towel picks it up with a tong, when it opens up and lands up in the hands of the person taking it.

A bit of internet search reveals that Hot Towels have been a Japanese tradition. Known as the Oshibori, these have been offered in Japanese restaurants and bars - both in Japan and across the world.

Common human sense has made the offering of a cold towel in warm weather an off shoot idea of such Hot Towels. Hot towels continue to remain popular - in the winter, and sometimes in the warm weather too.

So next time you are offered one, have a thought about the Oshibori.

Minggu, 27 Februari 2011

Between Him and Me

He was seated there - reading a book. His thoughts were engaged in the book. What was so special about the book which had him hooked? And made him ignore the cutest, prettiest girl in the near vicinity?

Was it something more interesting? Or was it the simple fact - that he hadn't spotted me yet? If he hadn't spotted me yet - he better do so soon. Otherwise I thought I would raise a hue and cry. And then he wouldn't have any option but to oblige.

But before that could happen, his eyes met my eyes. And we caught on to each other. Like we had known ourselves for long. It would surprise you if I tell you that this was our first meeting. Yet, we exchanged the broadest of the smiles.

He was one of those flirtatious kinds. Right from the moment he had his eyes transfixed on me, he started blowing sweet kisses at me. All in the sight of the glaring public. I was the only person on his mind right now. His book had lost the race. And I was loving all the attention I was getting.

I sat next to him. This made him all the more happy. I think he didn't think he would be lucky enough to get the pleasure of the company of a lovely lady like me.

He held my small, petite hand. I beamed with pride. His smile was getting bigger and bigger. And he blew one more big, sweet kiss at me. I blushed.

Over the next one hour, he talked to me with his eyes - making a lot of gestures and faces. And I too responded back to him with my lovely blue eyes. I was keeping him engaged and I think he was loving it. And I was loving all the love he was showering on me.

And after being showered with such flattery for more than an hour, I dozed off.

And when my eyes opened a couple of hours later, I saw him looking at me - staring at me with love. His affection was noticable. So was his warmth. This made me wonder - had he slept through the time I was asleep? Or was he just sitting there - looking at me, taking care of me?

I read his mind. I knew he was taking a bright, lovely picture of me - to keep it in his heart and mind forever. We were going to part ways soon - and he knew that we wouldn't be meeting again, ever. The thought had burdened his heart heavily. But there was little he could do.

Time flies and does not wait for any soul. And before you knew, it was time to say good bye. Good Bye with a heavy heart. We exchanged names. I knew he would remember me and my name. He knew I wouldn't rememeber him and his name.

The reason was simple. He was 27. I was just six. Just six months old.

Selasa, 24 Agustus 2010

Traffic Jams

Traffic Jams - These days, it is the most common things in cities and towns.

You must have experienced one on the way to the office. Or one on the way back home. Or one when you are on the way to do something urgent and important.

But these traffic jams give you a sense of hopelessness. When the vehicles in these jams don't move, you feel your life has stopped moving. Needless to say, it results in sheer frustration.

A strong explosion in the number of vehicles on the road - two wheelers, four wheelers et all - is one of the strong reasons for such common traffic jams.

And with the current rainy season in India, the situation has already compounded. Add poor infrastructure to this position, then you are in a lose-lose situation.

Well, what can you do if you are caught in such a jam?

If you are a passenger, them possibly you can sleep, or read, or talk, or listen to music, or do similar such things. But if you are vehicle driver, you wouldn't have any such options. All you can do is focus on the road - and just hope that the traffic moves quickly.

I remember this one particular incident with a colleague who was on the way to an airport on his way back to India.

In-spite of starting for the airport a decent four and a half hours before the flight time, he was unable to reach the airport on time. He reached the airport just 10 minutes before the flight departure - but then it was too late to check in and board.

What must have compounded his frustration that day was the fact that he managed to return back to the hotel from the airport in just under 30 minutes.

This incident was in the city of Moscow, the capital of Russia, which also earns the tag of the traffic jam capital of the world.

The situation in India too isn't all that good too - with major cities across India facing similar problems. The issue is more prevalent during the hours when most people go to office and return from office.

A lack of effective mass rapid transit systems in most cities is a contributing factor for such traffic jams.

But if these kinds of jams were tormenting, then my thoughts go out to those drivers in China who are now caught in a jam of their life.

It would stun you - vehicles have been caught in a traffic jam in China for more than 100 kilometers.

And for how much time?

For 9 days.

Can you believe that??

Yes. For nine long days, these vehicles, these humble drivers have been caught in a traffic jam.

Check out this news article to read more.

Needless to say, the drivers have been exploited in this traffic jam. The infrastructure has been found lacking.

And considering the fact that it is happening in the most populous country on earth shows you a sign of the coming times.

And if some news reports have to be beleived, this traffic jam has earned the tag of being the worst ever traffic jam.

All that we can do now is pray that the jam is resolved at the earliest. And the authorities in China take adequate steps to ensure that such a thing does not ever happen.

And for the rest of the countries - somethings can be learned from this incident to prevent such an occurence in our own nations.

Sabtu, 26 Juni 2010

Cellar Heights

You must have heard about the Figure of Speech - Antithesis.

Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition.

At school, when they teach you this figure of speech, the most common example which is quoted is - Man proposes, God disposes.

It does convey the idea completely.

But recently, on a vacation at the Kanha National Park in Central India, the name of a location in the jungle bought back memories of this figure of speech.

In pursuit of the elusive Tiger, the driver and the guide of the Jeep Safari referred to a place called - Cellar Heights.

The name stood out.

The opposition of these two two words was stark.

And the creativity of the person who gave the name to this place was simply amazing.

I was so hooked on to this word that the thoughts of the tiger which was supposedly spotted in Cellar Heights were often left on the back burner.

Sabtu, 22 Mei 2010

A Bad Year For Flying

It has been a terrible year for flying.

There have been several horrific air plane crashes in the past one year - making air travelers extremely apprehensive about flying.

It all started approximately 1 year back.

On 1st June 2009, an Air France Jet crashed in the middle of the Atlantic. It was on its way from Rio in Brazil to Paris in France. The flight is supposed to have crashed in severe turbulence caused by a thunderstorm.

All 228 people on board died - making it one of the worst crashes in aviation history.

In the same month, on 30th June 2009, a Yemenia Airway flight crashed into the Indian Ocean while attempting a second landing at the Hahaya airport in Moroni, Comoros. 153 people were on board. A 14 year old girl was the only survivor.

Just 15 days later, a Caspian Airlines plane crashed near Tehran just after take off - killing all 168 people on board

Only God knew what was happening - three horrible crashes in a span of 45 days.

The new year 2010 also began with a disaster. On 25th Jan 2010, an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea killing 90 precious lives.

Three months later, on 10th April 2010, a Polish Military plane crashed in Russia as it attempted landing in dense fog. All people on board, 96 to count, died in this accident. The then Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were also killed. Many top people from the Polish political spectrum were also killed.

If all of this was not enough, just a month later, on 12th May - an Afriqiyah Airways flight crashed while landing at the Tripoli Internation Airport in Libya. 103 people on board died. A Dutch boy was the lone survivor.

Just a few days back, a plane crashed in Afganistan killing all 44 people on board.

This made me feel really bad - thinking about the several air crashes which we had over the last one year.

And today, an Air India air plane crashed in the South Indian City of Mangalore just after landing. 166 people were on board and only 8 survived.

All in all it has been a terrible year for air travelers.So many people have lost lives in this tragic accidents.

I strongly hope and pray that flights, crews, and travelers are more lucky and fortunate going ahead - so that their flights take off and land safely. Hope suitable measures are taken to minimize the risk for such horrible air accident.

Sabtu, 15 Mei 2010

Gateway of India - Bombay

Bombay (a.k.a. Mumbai) is a city on the western coast of India.

A city of dreams. People from across India come to Bombay with the aim of making it big. And some of them manage it. Bombay gets the best out of it's people.

It is "the" biggest money spinner for India - this makes it the commercial capital of India.

It is the second most populous city in India - with a population of approximately 22 Million.

With all this, you must have made up an image of Bombay - or Mumbai as it is known now - an image of a cosmopolitan city, with skyscrapers, mass rapid transit systems, flashy cars, clean roads et all.

But then - Bombay is only a limited version of all of this.

You should also have a look at how Bombay was - just 80 years back.

Catch this interesting video from YouTube.

And if you are interested in having a look at similar travel film archives on cities across the world, have a look at this channel for YouTube.

Jumat, 07 Mei 2010

Victory Day in Russia

65 years ago, after six years of World War 2, the Nazi Germans surrendered to The Soviets in Eastern Europe, signaling the end of the War.

This moment came on the evening of 8th May,1945. Thus came the end of the Great Patriotic War for the Russians.

Since then, 9th May - every year - is being considered as "Victory Day" to mark the victory of the Soviet Army over the Allied Forces.

Check out this website which is dedicated to the Soviet Victory Day.

To mark this event, ceremonial military parades are organized throughout Russia and the ex-USSR countries.

The one which attracts the most eyeballs is the one in Red Square, Moscow, Russia.

Red Square is the central square in Moscow, surrounded by The Kremlin , The St. Basil's Cathedral and the State Department Store (also known as the GUM mall). Quite an interesting combination, I would say.

In what is a first for the Victory Day parade, the American troops will march along with the Russian Army.

What made the Russians invite the Americans in one of their most important parades and national holidays?

Well, if some officials are to be believed, it was the fact that the Americans were a part of the "Anti-Hitler coalition". Although the reasoning is justified, it does have its own critics.
Hope these things don't overshadow the actual mega parade.

This website offers an interesting question and answer information on the V Day parade.

A great archived video of the first Victory Day parade can be seen here - courtesy YouTube

Minggu, 28 Maret 2010

Russia Changes Time Zones

Well, as you all might have known, Russia is the largest country in the world by landmass.

It was spread across 11 time zones and looked something like below!!

But things changed today early morning with the orders of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev!!

Russia took a major decision of cutting down on the number of time zones in the country!! With this decision, Russia will have 9 time zones!!

There are certain pro's to this decision - as highlighted by Medvedev himself.

Medvedev said the change would help some far-flung regions have more efficient communications with the central authorities, ease travel and even improve the country's international position.

"It's possible that this could also aid the strengthening of Russia's position as a link in the global information infrastructure," he said at a meeting this month with ministers and regional leaders.

And certain con's as highlighted by people's concerns!!

According to Russia's energy officials, the abolition of the daylight saving time would increase the country's energy consumption by 4.5 billion kWatt/hour which translates to about $85 million of extra spending.

"In winter, school kids would be walking back home in darkness, while we adults would barely see any sunlight after we finish work."

The Russian's also are looking at reducing the number of time zones to 5 from the current 9, a change which will have a major impact on the social fabric of the country!!!

Rabu, 14 Oktober 2009

Hrvatski

Being in Zagreb, Croatia for the last few weeks, I have been listening to and reading a bit of Croatian (or Hrvatski) - This was necessary to travel around the city!!

The language is almost similar to English - with only a few words different!! Its the national language of a few countries - Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina among them.

Learn the basics of Hrvatski here!! This site is quite useful!!

And a brief snapshot of some of the Croatian alphabets and tips for pronouncing them!!

Selasa, 13 Oktober 2009

Adriatic Sea

Looking for Croatia on the world map, it was a pleasant surprise to know that it was bordered by the Adriatic Sea!!

Now, I had never heard of Adriatic Sea... neither did they teach us about her in the geography classes!!

Probably, thats because the Adriatic Sea is considered as an extension of the Mediterranean Sea!! It surrounded by Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania!!

The word Adria probably derives from the Illyrian word adur meaning "water" or "sea"!!

As it is with all seas, its extremely beautiful!!

Visiting the beautiful beaches of the Adriatic Sea is considered as a good holiday by many Italians and Croats!!

Senin, 17 Agustus 2009

Travel Tales

By God's grace, I have traveled to some really wonderful places - across India and the World!!

Here is a glimpse of some pictures (some of which i may not have taken) - but are here because they depict the beauty and magic of the place in the best possible way.

Starting with Shanghai, China. - Here's a view of Shanghai and its magnificent Pearl Tower situated on the bank of the Huangpu River.

Then to Mauritius, a great country with amazing beaches and superb blue water!!

A voyage to Russia - to the eastern city of Moscow. Got a glimpse of the famous Red Square, The Kremlin and The St. Basil's Cathedral.

And to the Indian cities of Nainital and Agra.

And here's a quote which summarizes it all

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey." - Pat Conroy