@rgumental @dvisor

For many Indians, Bangkok/Thailand would be one of their first few travels abroad, but we had consciously skipped the same as it is quite accessible from all parts of India. In a quickly planned 4 day itinerary at Bangkok, we skipped many of the usual beaches and safari spots and picked one destination themed by one of the landmark movies in Hollywood history - "The Bridge on the River Kwai". Nestled in the Thailand - Burma border in the province of Kanchanaburi, along the deep ravines and inaccessible gorges, River Kwai itself is a treat to watch. An estimated 1L plus prisoners of war, natives etc perished making the Thailand Burma railway line during the Japanese occupation of South East Asia in World War II.  Bridge on the River Kwai is a movie set in that story backdrop (though, it was shot in Srilanka! ).  This movie won seven Academy Awards in 1958 including the Best Picture, Director, Actor (Alec Guinness) , Screenplay & Cinematography .  While it is fictionali...

As we stepped off the high-speed Afrosiyob train from Tashkent , our guide greeted us in Samarkand an—a city as ancient as Rome, once a vital crossroads on the Silk Road, and a true melting pot of civilizations. This is Samarkand: enigmatic, storied, and endlessly fascinating. We checked in to our hotel, Hotel Samaria Resorts & Spa, near Registan Square Silk Road Trade Routes converging @Sogdiana / Samarkand The Silk Road’s Heart: Sogdiana and Samarkand The Silk Road conjures images of caravans winding through mountains and deserts, and Samarkand—once known as Sogdiana—was where many of these routes converged. I expected a city as bustling as Alexandria , but Samarkand surprised me with its neatness, spaciousness, and welcoming atmosphere. The influence of Soviet rule is still visible in the city’s broad avenues and enduring infrastructure. Many medical and technical institutes from Soviet times continue to thrive, and during our stay, we dined at a restaurant run by Indian studen...

The very name of Tashkent resonates with mysteries and conspiracy theories for India, connected with our erstwhile Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's death.  The city had a bit of an obscure feeling as we landed on a Saturday early morning. In a congested airport terminal filled with a cacophony of languages from across the world, it took a bit of time to converse properly toning down the pace of speech and bridging the language barrier as we changed currencies, took a local SIM (e-SIM didnt work!) took a taxi and left for our  hotel, in a quaint corner of Tashkent - Ateca Hotel Suites   That spell of unfamiliarity was broken on the very next day morning as we met an Indian origin couple from Silicon valley in our hotel lobby.  Our first day's guide Ruslan made us quite home with his confident communications and confident style taking us through the central monuments such as Amir Timur museum, Chorsu market and the iconic TV tower.  Timur / Tamerlane is a nati...

  "He is not a God. He is just a human. He had his fair share of mistakes and successes" - Remarked our guide Tony about Chiang Kai Shek, when I asked about the criticisms exhibited against him in the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial hall and museum in Taipei.   Chiang Kai Shek with Gandhiji For long I had wondered how two regions separated by a narrow strait , has common cultural ancestries could evolve into totally different systems. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial hall was the answer to that. It is hard to imagine some museums inside China criticizing Mao /Deng so openly. Given all the openness of Japan and sporadic apologies of some politicians, they are yet to acknowledge publicly about its atrocities in Nanking and elsewhere during the war.   Chiang Kai Shek museum describes his role in defeating Japan in WWII as well as details on how his actions in the post-war Taiwan contributed to the murder of many citizens.   Criticisms against Chiang Kai Shek in his mem...

This was actually my second trip to Doha. The first was during the time when Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup 2022 back in 2010 . I still remember the cacophony of Vuvuzelas (made famous during the 2010  WC in South Africa) when the bid result was announced back then . I had wished back then that I could come back to see the tournament in 2022.  Two World Cups and 12 years later, we made it.  Back in 2010 in Doha, Messi had scored to win an exhibition match between Brazil and Argentina. Fitting to that, the cup went to Argentina after a thrilling final. We went to see a pre-quarter match between Portugal & Switzerland.  The match was a goal fest, the festive atmosphere at Lusail was indeed an experience.  The fact that World Cup was in Middle East also gave a good opportunity for lot of Indians to see it.  We stayed at hotel Radisson Blu , where Japanese football team also stayed Much has been written about World Cup in different contexts. I choo...