Istanbul, the year 2006
Istanbul, the year 2006, a time when GPS was not actively used like now. On the weekend I asked the hotel reception … Is there a place where I can see Tulip flowers? The answer was ..yes, 15 minutes walk from here you will find a Park …. I started walking, after some time I found a board ‘ Oto Park >> ‘ .. followed the way and finally reached a closed area with many Cars parked. I asked a person there where is the Oto Park ? he said this is ‘Oto Park.’ In the Turkish language, ‘Oto Park’ is Car Park, Parking lot … ????
Trip to Nice and Sophia Antipolis, the year 2007
This was a period I was not all flexible in trying different food styles, and I had the company of a few more who were looking for food options. The hotel advised us that just 10 minutes drive there is a Carrefour and near to that we will find a global fast food outlet. So we have rented a small car, but after some time we have realized that the GPS in the car is not working. We did not have smartphones with maps like now, and we have started to follow the “Carrefour” board we have noticed. After 25 minutes also we didn’t reach the place … When we contacted a resident only we came to know that “Carrefour” in French means “Crossroads” and many Roundabouts you can see “Carrefour” board.
Madrid, the year 2010
The incident happened during my trip to Madrid, just a few months after the Football World Cup. I am not a vegetarian but very selective regarding Non-Veg food. We had a team dinner in Madrid. Just before the dinner, along with Juice, Mocktails, etc., they have served Olives, Onion Rings, etc. I like the Onion Rings, even though it was harder inside than the ones available here. When they took the empty plates, I heard them mentioning the name ‘Calamari’; I asked the person sitting next to me, what is Calamari? He explained that what I ate as Onion Rings was Calamari. I visualized Squids and ‘Paul the Octopus,’ the World Cup football prediction star.
15 minutes in the hotel corridor
This incident happened in early 2000, a period when I was only familiar with Normal Keys or Insertable Cards to enter the Hotel room. As always, the receptionist gave me the entry card in an envelope with a key card. I reached the room door, tried every method I knew to open the door, and even tried entering the card in the door spaces, but I couldn’t succeed. I was ashamed to return to reception if I was the only one unfamiliar with the process. Lucky, I found a room boy coming, and I asked him; he just swiped, and that was the first time I had experienced Smart Swipe Card Key ????