Tabu’s Guide to Travelling

India on RoadI know this is something I can’t do alone but nobody else is willing to come with me! But I am sure that very soon I’...

India on Road
I know this is something I can’t do alone but nobody else is willing to come with me! But I am sure that very soon I’ll muster my courage and will explore the entire length and breadth of India in my car. That’s the best way to really explore, feel and connect with a place. A plane journey from Mumbai to Kolkata takes close to two and a half hours, which is as good as reaching Malaysia. This makes it so unreal. If you travel by road then you actually feel the distance. You come to know how far you have to go and how far you’ve come.

Pick of the Lot
The best places that I’ve been to are Kullu Manali, the tea gardens of Assam and the borders of Bhutan. I love my country and am against going abroad for a holiday. There’s so much of India that is yet to be explored. I feel more comfortable in India. I know the people, so I feel safe. Though over the years, the US has become a second home since I’ve been going there for the last 20 years.

Bare Essentials
travel very light. Experience has taught me that luggage hinders the joy of discovering a new place. I have no qualms in wearing my relatives’ or friends’ clothes if we are all going together! In my travelling bag, you’ll always find a toothbrush, keds, a book and my diary. I prefer to travel without a mobile phone.

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Money, Honey
There have been times when I have gone on holiday without even Rs 5 in my pocket. Over dependence on credit cards and traveller’s cheques is not good. Once when I was 19 years old, I was stranded in Hong Kong for a night and I couldn’t do a thing because I had no cash with me. I didn’t even have enough to call up home. It was a harrowing experience. But I learnt my lesson.

Collector’s Items
I don’t really believe in picking up momentoes because they occupy unneccesary space but I do make it a point to buy postcards of the places I’ve been to. But if there is a speciality of a place then I do pick it up. Like recently I went to Morocco and bought the long, flowing cotton jalabas which is a characteristic of that country.

Trump hikes H-1B visa fees to $100,000 a year in massive immigration overhaul

India18 min ago

President Trump has signed a proclamation increasing the H-1B visa fee to USD 100,000 per year in an effort to prevent abuse of the visa system. This will affect skilled Indian professionals, who make up the majority of H-1B visa recipients. The goal is to protect American workers while still allowing companies to hire qualified individuals.

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