The last and the only smoke happened in the warm balcony where I stood overlooking those tall and shiny structures, defying what Issac said many moons ago. After I was done with morning ablutions, it was close to 10 in the morning and what a bright sunny day lay in front of us. It was as sunny as it ever can be. The plan for the morning was to have no-plan since there was a plan for the afternoon-to-evening. An old friend, Jogiraj dropped in and he took us around, showing us the Knowledge city, Media City, Marina complex, Lake Jummeira complex (all from the Car cabin). Finally we went to the famous Palm islands, trying to make sense out of those big structures on either side of the main trunk, while we discussed the life at the oasis and general chit-chat.

Burj was visible from many places. After that drive, we decided to spend some more time at ‘Mall of Emirates’. Some more shopping and after paying a small visit to his place, we came back, all prepared to go for ‘Desert Safari’.

Signature Shot

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My journey started from Jaipur @ 4.30am.. We (my wife) choose this time to avoid heavy traffic along the Jaipur- Delhi Route (NH8) – As I am new to North India and not sure of Delhi Road’s we thought we will need all the extra time getting out of Delhi and hit the Ghazibad Highway. Although we tried to google and find maps it wasnt as easy as we thought (Whilst in UK it was easy as Maps.co.uk would give exhaustive info)- It was not a planned trip- so couldnt make any reservations nor spent much time planning the trip !! However Help is always availble for those who seek it (remembering the lines from Harry Potter !!) 

Somehow we rolledup our sleeves and started as planned @ 4.30am **(Always go to bed early the night before t you plan to travel early hours)- with less luggage (Only one air bag of clothes and 1 backpack with cameras-Prepared our Maruti Swift for the journey and Said a loud Jai Ganesh !! and ignited the engine.
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I have got several opportunities of flying to Europe on official work. My preferred European airline is KLM because of its generous frequent flier program. One negative aspect of flying with KLM is that I have to disembark at Amsterdam and I detest the kind of immigration check that is done at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. They are so strict that sometimes I feel that they have been informed that most of the illegal immigrants enter Europe from there.

This time when I disembarked Amsterdam, I was confident that with all documentation complete and with a few visas on my passport it would be a smooth sail. When the immigration officer on the counter flipped through my passport and commented that I visit Europe quite often, I relaxed and concluded that the battle is won and soon I would be through those fearsome eyes. The officer had something else in mind. He scrutinized me with his gaze and concluded that the person in front of him did not look like a techie and so his flying frequently to Europe is suspicious. He ordered a thorough check of my hand bag. My bad luck that like many others he also did not find my face, the face of a technocrat. I enjoy being a commoner, but at places like that I don’t mind being treated a special person. But when defense minister of my country can be treated as a commoner & checked thoroughly, how can it be different for me!

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A longing for a foreign trip was the primary motivator for planning the trip to Dubai. Though Dubai only made it very late to the list of candidates but having a close friend at Dubai and the comfort of rich hospitality sort of makes it easier. Also the fact that its not too far from Delhi and would involve least hassle in terms of Visas, helped us to seal the deal. We played frugal and decided to spend only 3 days, hoping that it would be enough.

Dubai Marina
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