So I'm back from Kolkata or Calcutta, as it used to be and will ever be for some, like me. It was a crowded trip, with remembrance services, weddings, school and college reunions interspersed with sporadic maintenance shopping. ( I'll have to explain that some other day, that "maintenance" thing.) It was three…
Introductory Passage Yes, I do realize that Normandy is not in Paris and so, technically and pedantically speaking, the Punjabi can't be in Paris if he is in Normandy. You are quite right. Wrong, too. For it is entirely possible that he was in Paris when he wrote the Normandy Notes. In actual…
Due to the overwhelming response from the 4 readers who took time off to read this Tale of a Traumatic Travel Trip, The SloWord has been goaded into producing a Boxed Set. Which really means that my career as a writer is over, Boxed Sets coming after the Casino circuit, on a career…
< There are some who have waited patiently for me to finish so they can start reading. For them, I say, tsk tsk, but here it is, the final installment of the series that started with Part 1 and then went from Part 2 to Part 3. It continued with Part 4 and…
<Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6> So there you have it folks!I was safe and sound, on the ground, repeating over and over "Thank god for terra firma, the more firmer, the less terror". What? You have no idea what I'm talking about, you say? Well,…
It was indeed a DH6 Twin Otter coming in to land, the first of the two. The chaos meter in the check-in area went up past 11. An enterprising and resourceful type ran out behind the terminal building. There was the sound of breaking glass, a brief moment of silence, then he appeared through the office door clutching papers in his hands. Thirty seconds later boarding passes were being issued at break neck speed for both the flights simultaneously.
Sunday morning came bright early and at 8:59 am I was at Everest Travels. <Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 here to get that background> Less than 5 minutes later I was sitting in the private office of the manager. "S... Tobacco picked it up. Your ticket is with them.",…
<The story so far: Our hero, tempted by the prospects of bagging bushels of bullion, has bribed and begged his way into Nepal, without any photo id at all and no passport. He stands now inside the arrivals terminal at Tribhuvan International Airport with wuthering wit and seething senses. Part 1 : Part…
<Read Part I and Part 2> As I walked across the tarmac to the terminal building, I clutched my briefcase a little tighter. Visions of Nepali jails flashed before my eyes in a strange collection of images from various Hollywood movies. All too soon, I was facing a customs officer. Pleading no knowledge…
When I left you hanging in Part 1, I was approaching the departure gate at Calcutta airport. I was headed out on the flight to Kathmandu, Nepal. I had no passport or any other form of photo id. In short nothing to prove I was who I said I was. The gate…