Weird airport experiences

Weird airport experiences

Airports are places filled with a million emotions, not only for those travelling but for everyone there. Human emotions fill airport terminals, and these emotions are experienced in their raw state. We can easily conclude that airports are one of the happiest yet saddest places on earth.

 

For this post though, I would like us to move away from the joy and agony a little bit and focus on the weird experiences we have come across at airport terminals, especially during security searches.

This comes after a conversation I had with a couple of frequent travellers I bumped into a few weeks ago. We met at one of the cafés in Gaborone and this topic came up during our chit-chat. Experiences shared ranged from awkward moments during border security searches to confiscating of rasgullas and goldfishes and many more.

Below are some of the experiences I shared with them;

Dreadlock search/exam

Check in time at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China

So I had dreadlocks for close to seven years before I decided to shave them off  early last year just for a new look, you know. The experiences I used to have at airports always differed from one demographic to the other. I honestly never knew what to expect.

I remember in 2014 while at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai when I was checking in to return back home, I got what I still think was unnecessary attention by the airport security staff. When it was my turn to go through security search they literally paused and had all eyes on me as one of them searched me. It was like they just saw something they have never seen before (maybe dreadlocks yeah but ….. ) I was slowly becoming agitated and just when I was about to ask them if they had no work to do, one of the passengers shouted from the back of the queue “Quick! Quick! We are going to miss our flight.” That was when they woke up from their ‘dreams’ and got back to work.

The other time I had three different men from airport security carefully inspect my dreadlocks individually. During all this, they kept asking if my hair was ‘real/original’. It felt weird but I decided to keep my cool when I thought of stories about drug smugglers using the dreadlocks technique at the time.

Travel buddy; Octo-Bobo

Outside IGI T3 Airport in Delhi, India

We all have travel buddies and articles and they come in different forms and also differ from one person to the other. My travel buddy is Octo-Bobo, the yellow octopus seen on the photo above.

“Doll, toy, funny” and many other names coupled with weird looks and finger pointing are some of the things I experience when travelling with Octo-Bobo. Well, I have no idea what goes through their minds when they see me holding a bright coloured octopus across terminals and into the cabin. Air hostesses, potters, security personnel are usually amused and curious and also ask a lot of questions about my choice of a travel buddy.

During one of our travels as we checked in for our Gaborone bound KQ flight from Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi, they passed Octo-Bobo through the security scan machine about six times. I just stood there as they took turns pressing and holding poor Octo-Bobo through the machine as they spoke in Swahili. They also finally snapped out of their ‘dream’ and we proceeded to the boarding gates.

For a bit of a break down on Octo-Bobo; It was a gift specially made by a good friend of mine, Santa from Latvia. We were both living in New Delhi, India at the time and she gifted me one of these awesome artworks of her. In her facebook page she explains them as follows “Octop. is such unique and friendly creature. It makes yours house look more cozy as a interiour element, It helps you to relax after long day, It is always waiting for your hug and attention. As you see, Its not just a soft-toy, but It has its own personality and feelings.”

If you are interested in getting yourself a travel buddy like mine, you can visit the octop website by following this link .

Those are the two experiences that I thought I should share since they are quite unique.

Please feel free to share yours 🙂

Delhi only! Favourite city in the world

 

I recently had a conversation with a friend about best cities in the world and why. This conversation took place at an upmarket restaurant in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana over sun-downers. A couple of cities I have fond memories of came into mind, in no particular order; Cape Town, Maun, Mumbai, Johannesburg, Hyderabad, Francistown, Nairobi, Shanghai and before my memory sent me any further, Delhi! Delhi came to mind!
Delhi is the city I have lived in longer than my home city; Gaborone. It is a city I have hated and loved all at the same time. I keep trying to explain this and people do not get it….. unfortunately for them. I even find myself pushing limits in explaining it and I call it a “bubble’ for lack of a better word.

The first kiss
I remember it all; the day I stepped out of my flight from Abu Dhabi at Indira Gandhi airport. The noise that welcomed me as I stepped out of gate number six. My ears vibrate as I type this down, as is always the case when I re-live that moment. “Taxi! Bhaiya! Sir!” ..and a cocktail of other different words in different languages with the underlying melody as non-stop honking. That was me the first time I kissed Delhi. I’m convinced it was on the lips but I’m not sure if I enjoyed that very first kiss.
The folding of hands followed by the utterance of words “Namaste” at the lobby of Ibis Hotel in AeroCity, not so far away from the airport was a signal that the kiss was over and I had gone back into a bubble. Yes! Bubble, I was in a modern three star hotel.
At that particular juncture I did not know that I will need to live in this bubble time and again. For what reason? To escape realities of this city? Not sure. To protect my sanity? Maybe! Can you tell if you have fallen in love just from the first kiss? Maybe I had already fallen in love. I can bet a thousand Rupees these are questions that rush through the minds of foreign nationals arriving in India for the first time.

Fast forward to six months in the mix. I had already seen it all… well, almost. The daily metro commute from Malviya Nagar to Gurgaon by day. The dusty roads under construction with auto rickshaws packing over twelve men to Sikanderpur metro station. The beautiful, paved walkways of CyberHub, yuppies everywhere. These are experiences that would make me pinch myself and try to wake up from a dream, only to relaise later that it actually was far from.
I would get back into the rapid metro which will call us to attention to disembark just as I was trying to take it all in. The modernity! The sophistication! The efficiency! Goodness! Then bam! All of a sudden they were pushing me once again. Sikanderpur! Gurudronachrya!……nap!
“Agla station, Malviya Nagar hai!” were words that would prompt me I was home daily. Then the momo stands, the auto wallas, the beggars, they were all back, reminding me that there is another reality! Bless them!
That was before I started trips to Old Delhi! Goodness me! Tears would sometimes just be on a free flow. But that’s what love does right?
Sometimes it hurts, but you still stay.
Nights in hauz Khas village, Aurobindo market, Connaught Place, Vasant Kunj, Noida, Rajouri Garden. My! My! My! I think those were times for orgasm! The crescendo!
More often than not I found myself wondering if we flew out to Kinshasa, Paris, Ibiza, Bogota, Washington, Moscow, Berlin, Nairobi, Johannesburg and all these other party capitals.

At this point in time my friend is looking at me while I rumble and mumble in a laguange he definitely does not understand. Then I remembered, he has never been to India, let alone Delhi and I’m going on about these stories and I have not even afforded him a chance to ask, assuming that he understood.

“Delhi only! Delhi itself! That is my favourite city in the world.” I concluded.
After a moment of awkward silence and noticing that his glass was now empty while mine was still filled to the brim I asked to be excused and quickly rushed to the bathroom like I was about to catch the Noida bound blue line metro at Rajiv Chowk.

Picking fresh Indian minds on Independence day

 

The 15th of August marks Independence day for India, one of the most important days in the country’s calendar. The question is, what did Independence day mean to me as an expat in India? You might have guessed right, it meant taking advantage of the 50% off offers on shopping. It meant; dry day. It also meant a day off work.

Naturally, conversations around this time are around the independence of India. Thie day means  lot of different things to Indians. Male or female, old or young, Hindu or Muslim. As a Motswana who lived and worked in India at that time,  I had the chance to be part of the buzz. I decided to pick young, fresh Indian minds. I was curious to know how significant this day was to them. I wanted to know what dreams and aspirations they have for this beautiful country of theirs. I wanted to know more than dry days and offers.

In my pursuit to balance the outcome of my inquest, I had to be smart about it. In a society that is already divided according to caste, religion and other related elements, the outcome of this inquest had to inclusive.  At the end of the day I was aiming for diverse opinions. And oh boy! I discovered how united Indians really are in their diversity.

Don’t you for a moment think this was done with those university style methodologies with lots of questionnaires and intense interviews. No! I was just doing it for myself. For me to appreciate the reality that was different from what I grew up to. It had to be simple.

I initiated chit chats (as always) on the Delhi metro, on my shared auto rickshaw rides, at the local market, at the workplace, at the malls. Even at the parties and other social gatherings. Interactions and conversations varied from different set-ups. From chai breaks in the canteens to noisy pubs in Haus Khaz village and CP. Holding bottles of Kingfisher and glasses of Old Monk while Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan was playing in the background.

The beginning of conversations sometimes began with complaints about why it is a dry day, blockage of roads leading to the Red Fort, or even about trending topics on social media.

At the end of it all, outcomes are what made me see things in a different light.

One conversation with a group of ladies and gentlemen on a metro led to ‘what if the Kohinoor was discovered post-independence?’. I keep wishing I could meet that group of students from Amity University again so we could re-open the debate and talk about Lesedi La Rona.

Another short conversation with a lady at one of the pubs in south Delhi while on a queue to the bathroom was about being free to just go out at night alone and not fear being harassed or raped.

I still remember one gentlemen about my age. He mentioned he was from Maharashtra. In our discussion he talked about how there is nothing to celebrate as a university student. He said even though he was pursuing a degree at the Delhi IIT he was uncertain of his future. He kept throwing the line ”The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” throughout the conversation.

Something very interesting that I picked up from these conversations was the pride displayed by these young Indians I had the pleasure of interacting with, picking their minds. Most talked about the element of belonging in such a diverse country. That made them very happy.

They talked about how proud they are looking at what their countries has achieved since independence especially in terms of education. The inventions they are proud to call their own and proudly Indian.

The pride in the faces of those who started mentioning what their fellow Indians are doing out there in other countries. I could actually see that they are proud of their achievements.

Most even mentioned time and again how they are the biggest democracy in the world and how that is something to be proud of.

I recollect vividly a young man I met at Vishwa Vidyalaya metro station, who in the middle of our conversation quoted famous speech by Nehru while beaming with pride

”The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?”

Writing this now, a year later, I had to google it to get it verbatim because he spoke too fast for me to get it all together in one take.

As I sit comfortably at home in Gaborone, Botswana right now typing this, I cannot help but re-live those moments. I recount how colourful the shopping malls, office blocks, shops, restaurants and all are that are colourfully decorated in saffron, white and green colours. Even the auto rickshaws and chai points are usually beaming with the same. I’m quite sure this year is no different.

At the end, what I can say is that I wish all Indians a happy independence anniversary. I wish you all the success and prosperity and more in what you are doing towards making your country a better one for you and for the rest of the world.

Happy Independence day. Jai Hind!

What you won’t miss after leaving India

It’s been just over a month since I left India after living there for almost two years. I must admit that I don’t miss it yet, but I know that time will come. I mean, it’s turned out to be one of my favourite places in the world.

Part of the reason might be that I’m still on that orgy of life after traveling and living away from home. So I’m basically on that reconnection phase where I’m catching up with family and friends. Some call it paying for lost time. Yeah! That kind of thing.

So I thought why not pen down or type some of the things that make me not miss India yet?
Please note that they may differ from what others who have lived in this incredible place have experiencd depending on where they come from.
I come from a country relatively the size of France but with a population of about 2 million people. As you can imagine, the adjustment was quite unreal.

1. Random photo requests
I’m convinced that India is a photo loving nation to be honest and I admire that about them. They love capturing every moment.
The problem becomes when we are at a tourist attraction site and all of a sudden there is a shift from the focal key point to you as a foreigner.
I can assure you it’s not a good feeling get photos with everyone all the time. Fair enough they are curious and all but sometimes it would just be nice if we could enjoy our time at the tourist destinations visited and actually not feel like the main attraction. I’m not saying photo requests are unique to India but hey out of more than one billion how many will ask? Yeah! Exactly!

2. The honking
After living in a place for a long time there are some certain things that one gets used to. I promise you, you can not get used to the honking in India. And that is because there are different levels of honking. When you knew that honking was used cautionary, India will teach you otherwise.

Sometimes you will not understand.
Imagine a situation where you see there is a slowly moving traffic jam with more than 20 vehicles ahead and clearly no alternative routes and some smart drivers just keeps on honking non-stop.
Credit has to be given where it’s due though. Despite all the “organised mess” on the road, you will notice far less car accidents than expected.

If police service traffic department of our countries were policing such, the biggest contributor to the government coffers will be from charges for “driving without due care and attention.”

3. The rip-offs
There is getting ripped off elsewhere and then there is getting ripped off in India. My Goodness!

Everything comes at a price yes and one of the prices you have to pay for being in India as an outsider is paying extra, being overcharged, exploited. Situations like getting an auto rickshaw for a example where the auto-driver has this sense of entitlement and gets into a non-negotiable mood just because you’re a foreigner. You may have seen how their fellow countrymen treat them, and believe me it’s not a good sight.
Not only does it end there, it goes on to the markets where you can end up being charged ridiculously for goods or services a local may be rendered for a lesser price.

You might also be convinced that asking for a bill of payment does not deter them from ripping you off.
Let us not even get to the issue of medical bills that come with spending a night at the private hospitals. It will take forever.

4. The Pollution
Just that these are listed in no particular order but this one would have come tops perhaps.
Air pollution is such a huge challenge India is facing especially in the cities such as Delhi where I was based. There used to be times where I just missed chasing the beautiful Botswana sunsets and sunrises.

You always look forward to travelling to places outside the city especially hill stations where you can just stare at the stars non stop at night because in Delhi there is no guarantee for such.

The odd-even approach that was implemented by the Delhi government proved to be bearing results in its trial stages and I hope it gets implemented time and again because it proved to be somewhat effective.

The air pollution didn’t appear to be the only issue though, another big challenge is water pollution. Yamuna river aming others being declared as a health hazard is heartbreaking. I used to miss drinking water right from the tap like most people do in Botswana.

5. Status consciousness
A lot of Indians are status conscious, you  will come to realise this after living among them. Imagine a society that has not only been divided by religion but also by caste, skin colour and societal class to name a few.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this is unique to India but it seemed to be quite extreme.

As a foreigner you may sometimes feel spared of this consciousness because of your neutrality. Come on, they usually don’t know in which box to place you in (not to say they haven’t boxed you yet) because they did not know so much about your background and all. So you may wonder then what makes you uncomfortable sometimes. Well, it’s the fact that sometimes you just see how they treat each other because of their societal hierarchy or from which caste they come from. The didis and the bhaiyas. The rich and powerful can flex their muscles so hard that it leaves the law enforcement officials helpless. This can be seen from an incident as small as a Porsche -or any other expensive automobile-  driver deliberately delaying traffic because they are on their cellphone, without a care for the green light and a traffic cop in sight. Untouchable!

6. The fairer, the better
One of the things that are so easy to pick up in India is the obsession with fair skin. Try walk into a store for body care products and you will be seeing “fair skin” and “whitening” everywhere. Get away from that store to your house and watch TV then guess what? The same obsession followed you in the form of TV ads. Oh you think its only ads? What about Bollywood stars? It’s just on another level! The notion of fair skin being better than others is just something that you will not understand and will definitely not miss the hype once you have left. Because it’s everywhere!

India does come with its colour and uniqueness and we love it that way. What is listed above is just a few of the things that you will not miss about India after leaving.
Maybe some of them will take some time to get better, even before your next visit but hey, it’s India… and we always go back.

Hope you enjoyed reading.

Sharing Botswana music with the world

 

I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. Those are not words but those of the famous American pianist, composer and songwriter, Billy Joel. I think I will not be wrong to say most, if not all of us share the same sentiments.

One of the good people that I met during my stay in India inspired me to write this blogpost and I promised myself not to shelve it for later like I shamefully did with other posts.

Luis, from Colombia in one of our usual chats on facebook asked me to share with him some of the music from my native country, Botswana. I gladly obliged. That began a very exciting exchange, back and forth from the both of us. As you might have guessed, that included an interesting exchange of reggaeton and kwaito-kwasa genres among others.

In the middle of this exchange he discovered how much (or little) I knew about music from his country and that I also had a favourite band; Bomba Estereo of course.

I was not spared the surprised in reciprocation to find that he knew about Chama Gal’s “sekuta” and that it was one of his favourite tunes from Botswana. The beauty of music!
The entire exercise took me back to India. It was during my stay there amongst people from all over the world while so far from home that I got to appreciate music from home a little bit more.

I remember one particular incident at an after party in our apartment in India’s capital; Delhi. Following a request to bless the crowd with music from home, I shyly approached the laptop in an attempt to search for my favourite Botswana music on the already open YouTube tab.

The aim was of course not to disappoint the already charged up guests. This mixture of expats from literally all over the world were already accustomed to Yemi Alade’s “Johnny”, Wizkid’s “Show me the money” and Davido’s “Gobe” among others.Something very undeniable is how Nigerian or Naija music as it’s affectionately known has gained popularity worldwide. So as you can imagine, stakes were very high.

As I typed in “Botswana music” on the search bar I had anticipated some of those club bangers that have been locally produced. You know, the “Dancing Shoes” by Zeus, the BOMU and KORA award winning “Banyana le Basimane” by Acid. Or maybe the entire Afro Blue compilation by DJ Skizo aka Daddy Ski.

Guess what came up. Traditional music of course. Do not get me wrong, this is kind of music that I have shared and continue to share with people from across the world. It’s just the setting that was not fitting.

Despite not finding most of the music from home on YouTube after typing “Botswana music” on the search bar, the other thing was that the music videos were not of the best quality.

The other pressure was also to find some music that has some elements that I could somewhat claim not to just be distinctly African but proudly Botswana as well. (But remember they still had to be fitting for the setting at that particular time).

Because in all honesty you do not want to feed people what they seem to know when you are so far away from home. I mean those kind of sounds with a Western influence as it were.

I remember coming across some of the songs which later grew to become my personal favorites when I was away from home;

The top 5 included (in no particular order) : “Ambuye” – Dr Tawanda, “Tupundu” – Skizo,  “Banyana le Basimane” – Acid, “Sekuta” – Chama Gal and “Taku Taku” by Vee.

 

You might have noticed that the music is mid to high tempo. The reason is simple; I had to entertain guests at some parties and all.

Funny thing is that some of these songs I could not even explain what they mean or clearly articulate the lyrics. But you know what they say, music is meant to be felt from the heart.

Most of these songs I did not listen to or give them much of a chance when I was home. Something I guess happens to you when you are so far away from home.

I guess my Indian friends will also give the lovely Bollywood music a chance when they go and live away from Mahabharat for sometime. 😉

We also want to enjoy Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan, Tu Meri and Bang Bang among other tunes freely without interruption at the parties.

For those of you who would like to enjoy music from Botswana, do not despair if you may not find it on YouTube. There are platforms like http://naomiimusic.com/ where you can find all the latest music from Botswana.
Let’s share music, let’s share love!

An afternoon out in Connaught Place

Strong standing pillars hold your white painted, immaculate self up…. Your bottom  heavily stained by tobacco spits despite the clearly defined signs hanging almost everywhere “DO NOT SPIT”…
Stray dogs find your foot as their sanctuary.

This is a place said to have been constructed by the British at the time they were occupying New Delhi during colonial times.

Those with extra Rupees to spend find themselves going up several floors to explore what restaurants and high end shops have to offer.

Up there, they can watch all the action happening downstairs; traffic jams building up, men and women in both ethnic wear and western clothes move around in high pace.. amongst them beggars in torn, dirty clothes…  stray dogs, street vendors et cetera.

On the other side, still from the top what can be seen is totally amazing: central Park with lush green belt. As a centre piece there is a huge Indian flag flying atop a 207 feet tall flag pole. The flag is said to be 90 feet wide and 60 feet long and as such can be seen from different angles afar.

Youngsters are usually the ones occupying the lawns there with their friends, lovers, groups for different purposes none of which is to enjoy the ‘fresh air’ considering how the weather conditions and pollution are at right now. Chit chats and selfies to share on social media, maybe.

After these incredible views one can move from the terrace to the interiors of Connaught place to enjoy the air conditioned environment and the sounds of cutlery and glass medleys coupled with music playing, depending on the eat out place one chooses.

These spacious restaurant interiors and their terraces are quite fascinating to a person like me who gets to spend most of their time in the happening Hauz Khas village, which is located in the Southern party of the city. In comparison, CP has been planned and layed out properly with enough space, unlike the latter which I think is such a beautiful mess nonetheless.

The dining process gets underway on the inside and it’s in a restaurant with a western influence. One of those chain outlets where young,  urban professionals and their families usually flock to and get to enjoy time out from their hectic weekly schedules. Couples here, other couples over there, you know the  deal.

After a couple of hours of dining,  chatting and everything in between its now time to get home.

As I exit these white walls I find myself a target to the auto walls.
About 10 of them head towards me asking with their limited vocabulary of the Queen’s language “where you going, sir? Auto?” and no, they are not asking if I’m going to a place called ‘Auto’, they are trying to convince me to use their auto rickshaw (or tuk-tuk as they are commonly known) for my next trip.

These smart, calculative men,  usually clothed in grey uniform are probably thinking about what to bring their families upon their return home and on their bid to milk me (a foreigner), they can even set a price before I even tell them my destination. “200 Rupees only, sir.” are the words uttered by one of them.

To save myself the money, time and headache of negotiating a deal which can end up in something else I have an option of heading out in a friend’s car and join this crazy traffic or get swallowed by the grounds of CP,  navigating to gates of the well connected Delhi metro at Rajiv Chowk metro station. Fast, clean and air conditioned.. With long queues and pushing… but of course that is a totally different story for another time.

After all this I’m left with a note to myself : I should visit you more, Connaught Place ☺.