(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) WHEN THE travellers of yore â€" the Marco Polos, the Hiuen Tsangs and others â€" met up with emperors during their travel, they were showered with pearls, diamonds and ivory.
They became the emperor's royal guest, living in style until they embarked upon the next leg of their journey. For them, it was a case of an embarrassment of riches. Modern day travel brings no such joy; indeed, it is quite the reverse.
In the nineties - our second year in Dubai- my wife and I went on a very long Europe trip. Unused to such high prices, we survived several minor heart attacks at various shops and restaurants all over the continent. After managing a week on cereal and bread products, (we are vegetarians) we found ourselves outside an Indian restaurant. The menu stuck outside the door had a terrific left hand column and a terrible right hand column.
Good sense told us to make a quick getaway, but with hunger gnawing at our vitals, a throbbing headache and a debilitating fatigue brought about by the complete absence of Indian masala for over a week, we threw caution to the winds and headed in.
The tag-line for the restaurant was 'Fit for a king'. I think what they meant to say was that only a king could afford it. The meal only served as an appetizer. The portions were so small â€"with pickle sized curries- that we ended up going back to the room and ordering tomato soup (which we devoured hungrily with bread sticks that came 'free'!)
At the Lido show in France, I was stopped for not wearing a tie. I had my jacket but had forgotten my tie. We didn't have much time and couldn't afford to waste the ticket. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a nearby supermarket actually sold ties â€" of a single and awful type. So I bought it. It was then the most expensive tie I had ever worn, thick and with a huge knot. It was a complete eyesore but it helped me enter the place.
In Switzerland, I remember pulling, jerking and kicking at a luggage trolley at the airport hoping to dislodge one out from the row. After a brief, unsuccessful struggle with onlookers staring at me with open mouthed disbelief, even contempt, a kind hearted stranger pointed out to me that I would need to insert a coin, first. It is quite possible that some of the people around thought I was trying to save a Swiss Franc, doing what I was.
During my visit to Singapore, I was very conscious of the country's fetish for cleanliness and rigorous fines for littering. In a loo, I came across a sign that prescribed a 500 dollar penalty for not flushing. But having finished, I couldn't find any way to flush. Worried about hidden cameras and prosecution, I stood there, sweating and not daring to move; until a more experienced guy stood next to me, finished, swung around smartly, took a step forward and pressed a button. It was at the back!
I have this habit of taking flights in very casual clothes. Thus attired, I arrived in London one Sunday evening, years ago, with an interview fixed for Monday morning at 9 a.m. My luggage had gone missing. Being Sunday evening, most shops were closed. I found one guy winding up his pavement store and hurriedly picked up what he had. I slept in what I was wearing. The next morning I sheepishly met my interviewer in ill-fitting jeans and a white hoodie with 'I love London' written on it in red. Needless to add, I didn't get the job.
Luckily, it's not just us. Some years back, we had guests in Dubai who, showing a spirit of adventure, had decided to take a bus from Dubai to Umm Al Quwain- a service which, at that time, was being much touted in the newspapers. Their intention was to 'spend the day exploring the Emirate'. Not only did they find that they had finished all the exploring they wanted in the first hour or so, they discovered, much to their consternation, that there was no 'return' bus. They were told it plied only one way and had to take a very expensive cab ride back.
Packed as it is with delays, mishaps and confusion, twenty first century travel is guaranteed to bring to one's cheek the blush of shame.
Bhaskar's new book 'Corporate Carnival' released recently in India, is published by Harper Collins
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