I am ashamed to say that we Indians have no civic sense, responsibility or duty towards society. It is beyond my thinking how even so called ‘educated’ people can be so ignorant or probably they choose to be ignorant.
The other day I was told by someone who landed at Mumbai international airport, how Indians pounced upon a trail of trolleys coming their way, just to be the first in race to collect baggage.
There are many fronts where we behave worse than animals but today I am talking about only cleanliness …

While traveling within India I mostly travel by air to major cities but whenever I get a chance to go by train, I grab the opportunity. There are several reasons to do that which I’ll speak of some other time. Here I am talking about something else.
I have noticed that Gujaratis have very strong family ties. They are much more bonded than any other. I’ll tell you my reasoning.

I very frequently travel from Mumbai to northern part of India and the train passes through Gujarat. Come Surat, there would be …

Every picture tells a story……

Girl in a train.

Overhearing happens quite easily without our knowledge. While traveling in Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to Delhi I happened to overhear the following conversation. Yup.
Now don’t preach about it being a bad habit but then what can you do since they were sitting right in front of you ?
Two Gujarati men discussing Indian economy. Actually only one. The other one was patiently lending him an ear.
1st person – Indian currency kachro che. FD mein bhi nahi daal sakte, only nationalized banks.
Mannu bechara accountant tha, usko gaddi pe baitha diya. Wo kya …

A few days back there was a massive earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. The place now looks very deserted. While Christchurch slowly started to rebuild & coming back to normal, most travellers from all over the world assumed that all of New Zealand was a disaster zone. The result was some more jolts to the country in the form of declining tourism which comprises around 10% of New Zealand’s economy.

If you ask me, I would say New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been …

During my backpacking trip to Thailand, one day while I was chatting with a few locals, the name of Bamboo Island popped up. I was anyway exploring the possibilities of visiting some new places, so I decided to go there.
Travelling without any agenda or destination in mind, gives you freedom to choose your pace & place. There is no hurry to rush into things.
Bought a ticket from a tour agent for THB 1500 and off I went to this very small island. Koh Phai (Bamboo Island) as it is known …

The children of Batad village could not have impressed me more. They are tech savvy, fashion conscious, speak English and fond of latest English songs. All of them possess mobile phones as well.

Batad is a relatively tiny village in the mountains of Northern Luzon in the Philippines. Its big brother next door, Banaue (pronounced as banawe or बनावे) is the one you hear more about around Manila.
From a four year old to a teenager, they all are comfortable with English language unlike in the capital Manila. They are very poor …