The Misadventures in this Adventurous Trip!

Every time, man thinks that he has become the most powerful being on this planet, nature has its way of telling the person who is the boss! Who said reaching the mountains was easy? Every mountain comes with its own story of adventure, surprise, excitement and many other emotions. 

Last month, that is the month of Aug’16, I got a chance to visit two mountainous areas in two different countries – The Highlands of Scotland and the Cliffs of Moher of Ireland. Technically, both are not mountains that I had to trek or climb, but yet the view and the experience was just like that of a mountain. 

Taking a flight to India and then a car to the highlands should seem like very normal and easy but like I said at the beginning, mountains will test you, your patience, your perseverance, your passion before they reveal themselves to you. So what really happened and how did my story unfold?

Let me begin from the time I left India. I was flying on an Emirates flight, which had a stop over in Dubai and just two days before my flight was when Emirates had a crash landing in Dubai, which was in the news all over the world. Do you see the similarities? I am flying the same airline from the same country (India) to the same country (Dubai), where one of the planes of the airline had crash landed! But I wasn’t changing my plans because of this incident so I decided to go ahead.

Changing of flights at Dubai airport was hassle free and I was amazed that the airport seemed absolutely calm, two days after such a big event. Little did I know that there was a storm that was brewing at the back end of the airport, which we would only get to know about much later. From Dubai, I landed at Glasgow airport and kept waiting for my luggage at the conveyor belt. From ten minutes to half an hour to an hour and there was no sign of my luggage. And then I saw a few other passengers from my flight filling up a form at a temporary table that had been set up at the airport. On going there, I got to know that about 200 bags had not been loaded at the Dubai airport due to the ongoing chaos and so people were filling their baggage details so that the airline could get in touch with them once their bags would arrive. Obviously, I was one of the victims! So here I was, in Glasgow for just three days with no clothes, no toiletries and no other items that I had carried. I was sure that I would get my baggage in a day but that was not to be! Multiple calls and follow ups later also, the authorities weren’t able to locate my baggage. The day I was supposed to leave for the Highlands is the day I decided to go to the airport to the Emirates counter to inquire about my bags once again but they had no trace of it. What that meant was that I couldn’t hire a car to drive into the highlands and at the last minute, I had to take a bus to reach my hotel in the Highlands with still no trace of my baggage.

The bus ride was smooth except the rains that were coming. I kept thinking to myself that how would I go to my hotel from the bus stop in this rain. Since I had not managed to get a hotel in the main town of Glencoe, I had booked a hotel in another town called Crianlarich, which was about an hour’s drive from Glencoe, which I thought could be covered easily since I would have a car. As soon as the bus reached Crianlarich Bus stop, I got off and right in front of the bus stop was my hotel. Now that seemed like a good sign till I realized that all of Crianlarich town was this hotel plus a few houses! That isn’t the best of places for a solo traveler, but then what choice did I have. 

The next morning, I took the city bus and got off at the entry point of one of the National Parks. I realized that I was one of the first ones to arrive at the pier and there was no one in site. I soaked in the beauty, took a few pictures and by the time I was done was when a few tourists started arriving. I decided to stay back and spend more time with people around. Soon I realized that most of them had come in huge groups and were a part of the tourist buses that had come in from Glasgow. I decided to try my luck and requested many bus drivers to add me to the tour so that I could also see the other sites along with some company. Unfortunately, either the buses were full or they did not have a policy to add one more passenger in the middle of their tour. With no other choice, I once again took the local bus and decided to go all the way to Glasgow and get off there. I enjoyed the sights of many mountains as the bus drove to Glasgow, got off and took a lovely walk in the town of Glasgow, enjoyed a hot chocolate in one of the cafes and spent a couple of hours before the same bus was to pick me from here and drop me back to my hotel. 

Now if you are thinking that what happened to my luggage all this while, then here are the details:

a. My calls to Emirates call centre continued throughout the day.

b. I had done a bit of shopping in Glasgow to manage clothes once my baggage didn’t arrive for more than 2 days. 

c. Emirates finally located my luggage and sent it to my hotel in Crianlarich a day before I was leaving Scotland!

But then again, these were not the only mountains that I was visiting. So the next set of mountains brought its own set of challenges. I flew from Edinburgh to Dublin and landed with the intention of hiring a car and driving to the countryside and spending a few days there. For some reason, there weren’t any small cars available and I did not want to pay a bomb for a bigger car for a single person. I decided to use the RyanAir website to book a car as I had flown through them and they were offering me an option. Once the booking had been done, payment had been made is when I got a mail that said ‘Your booking is being processed. We will let you know once it gets confirmed. It may take anywhere from 15 minutes to 24 hours.’ Ouch! That was not what I was expecting. I kept waiting at the airport for a confirmatory mail for two hours but when I couldn’t see a ray of hope, I decided to approach the RyanAir counter to seek help. They were kind enough to give me the Customer Service number, which I called. They regretted that the booking hadn’t happened as no car was available, but they could book me on another car after half an hour, but I had would have to pay more than what I was paying earlier. With no other choice in hand, I decided to go ahead with whatever I could get. 

I got a nippy little hatchback of Volkswagen and I went off to continue my trip. After driving about 100 km, I decided to take a break and pulled myself into one of the food courts that come on the highway. On coming back in the car, I realized that my car was not getting into reverse gear. Now that was not good! I tried changing the gear multiple times but to no avail. Finally, I saw a young man passing by and I asked him if he could help me with this problem. He got into the car and was able to put the car in reverse within seconds. He then told me that there was a particular way in which this car would go in reverse gear. I heaved a sigh of relief. 

Going ahead, another 50 km down the road is when I reached the toll plaza. Due to some miscommunication, I thought that all tolls on my hired car has been paid and so I decided to drive through the unmanned toll plaza but the boom barrier did not open. Now I couldn’t figure how to operate the toll machine. Thankfully, there was an old gentleman in his car right behind me who told me about the Assistance button that I had to press and speak to toll help. After about ten minutes, a toll assistant came to my rescue, explained to me how it works and then I was able to move forward. 

It took me 5 hours to reach my hotel near Cliffs of Moher and I was so relieved that I finally made it. 

On reading this, you must be thinking that this trip must have been so much of a hassle and pain for me. Let me tell you that once you see the beauty that nature has kept in store for us, all these hassles and pain just go away as you realize that the world is so beautiful and one has to take some efforts to witness this beauty. As the old adage goes ‘No pain, no gain’ and these pictures below will prove that!

Perspectives of Before and After

I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

The nano-seconds between each count seemed like they had their own long life. I could hear the whirring of the fan, the sound of the foot-steps coming from the wooden corridor at the far corner from where I was lying, and even the pouring of water from the clay pot that was kept outside my room.

“How is this even possible?” I said to myself. When I can see everyone very clearly, how is it that they are not able to see me trying to call out to them. I had just heard the doctor tell his team “He is no more”. The electronic cardiogram that was buzzing had also stopped making any sound.

“Six, Five, Four, Three, Two…” I could hear conversations that went like “How should we inform his family?”, “His case wasn’t complicated. How did this happen.”, “Maybe he came with a heart ailment and it just got amplified during the course of the treatment.”. One nurse said “I will start finishing the formalities for a Death Certificate to be issued.”

Beep, beep, beep. The electro cardiogram comes to life again. A flush of activity ensues with many footsteps that rush into the room. A nurse rushes out to call the senior doctor. The doctor rushes in with a look of shock on his face. He quickly checks my pulse rate and my breathing. He asks the nurse to hand over some injection, which he injects in my stomach. I do not feel any sensation or pain. A straight jab into my stomach and I do not feel anything? Is it the effect of anesthesia?

“Sir, we forgot to give anesthesia to him.” says a junior doctor. The senior doctor looks at him with cross eyes “I was called into this suddenly. But what were you doing? You should have pointed this out before I put in the injection. It’s good that he is still unconscious. This is nothing less than miraculous. Call the press and turn it into a fabulous story of how I saved this man from the jaws of death by using my skills and my years of experience. It will be beneficial for our hospital as well and the Dean and the Trust will be very happy. A hospital in the middle of two cities is anyway not the most popular hospital. Atleast, this will get us some publicity.”

“But Sir, you had declared him dead. He has come to life on his own.” Chipped in the junior doctor once again. The senior doctor gets livid now and says “This is the problem with you newbies. You do not understand anything of the corporate hospital world and then you wonder that why your career is not going anywhere. Just do as I say and stop putting your brains to everything.”

I do not remember anything after that. I woke up the next morning and there was glucose being given to me intravenously. There was a nurse monitoring my pulse rate. She looked at me and said “Good Morning Mr. Jonathan. How are you feeling now? You are a very lucky man to be alive today.”

I said “Thank You Nancy. I think God wanted that. Dr. Gandhi and his team have done a great job.”

Nancy turned pale. It seemed as if she had seen a ghost. She started stuttering “Uh uh h..hh…how do you know my name, and the names of everyone else? You were brought in unconscious and you only gained consciousness today.”

Now it was my turn to get surprised and shocked. “I don’t know. But I remember all the names that were being discussed in this room while I was being treated.”

Nancy got scared. She kept the medicine tray that she was holding aside and rushed out of the room. ‘What was going on? If I was unconscious, how did I know all the names?’ I tried thinking but I couldn’t figure out a reason. Did I just have a near-death experience? I had read about people going through it, but never believed in it.

I switched on the television set. There he was. Looking smug with the stethoscope, precariously dangling on his white coat. These were his quotes:

“Jonathan was brought in, under a very severe condition. A lot of blood had been lost and he was unconscious. Two hospitals had refused taking him in as it was a police case, but the minute I saw him, without bothering about protocols, I asked my team to bring him into the operation theatre. The operation lasted for six hours. It was a complex operation, but with the help of my team, we were able to save Jonathan and now he is completely out of danger. The only problem is that the accident was so severe that Jonathan’s spinal cord has broken at multiple places and he has been paralysed from waist down, and hence he won’t be able to walk again”

I knew that all of this wasn’t true. I remembered the night quite clearly. I was being driven in his Rolls Royce by my driver on the Jaipur-Delhi highway, when the truck came from the right side. The headlights of the truck at that speed were blinding enough for the driver to just freeze. All I could do was just stare at the headlights rushing towards me. Within seconds, I felt my body being thrown to one side, my spine making a sound of a crack, my head hitting the window and then I think I lost consciousness.

A tear rolled down my cheek on realizing that I won’t be able to walk again. My entire life till date flashed before my eyes – growing up in the bylanes of Sultanpur, a small village in Delhi, doing odd jobs to help my family make ends meet, attending night school to get educated and get out of this misery, my first job as a waiter, working hard and rising through the ranks to the manager level, taking a hefty loan to buy my first small hotel to setting up a chain of hotels to now having establishing the hotel chain globally.

Life had been a roller coaster ride for me and today, it seemed as if the roller coaster is turning upside down and all that I had accumulated so far was falling to the ground.

My hunger for success was so huge that I had committed all my life to become more and more successful. My job was my passion. So much so that I never found the time to find love, to get married or to have kids. Today, as I heard those words ring in his ears “He won’t be able to walk again”, I wanted someone’s shoulder to cry on, someone’s hand to hold. I hadn’t felt lonelier in my life than today. I did not want this to happen to me. I had not bargained for this. I had not worked so hard to reach this stage. Why was life being so unfair to me? What will I do now?

This was the moment when I felt that I could either let my hotel empire wither away or turn this empire into something that generations would remember me for. I had to have a purpose in life. In an instant, I knew what I will do. I will make my hotel chain the ‘Best Hotel Chain for the Disabled’.

It was an eye-opener for me when I started visiting my own properties on a wheel chair after a few months. I realized that the hotel properties that I was so proud of were not user friendly for the disabled at all. We did not have proper ramps across the property; we did not have assistance in the rooms and bathrooms so that the disabled could do their tasks properly and without any help. Some of our restaurants had a few steps to climb, making them completely inaccessible to the disabled. We identified 41 different issues that needed to be fixed across all my properties and it took six months and a lot of money to get these issues fixed as some of them meant reconstruction and changes in layout. I had to convince the Board to see the value behind these expenses. I remember that while the Board understood my own personal condition, they were still debating the merit of carrying out all these changes. I sealed the decision in my favour when I reminded all of them that if our ethos was all about giving the best service to our guests, then there were no reason for us to distinguish our guests. There shouldn’t be a guest who comes to our hotel and feels like he was not taken care of.

While we kept making changes to our layout to make it more comfortable and friendly for the disabled, people did not notice these changes for a while. Our moment of truth came when we had renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking visiting India and staying at one of our hotel properties. He and his entire team were amazed with the attention to detail that we had given to every possible problem that a disabled person faces. In one of the interviews that Professor Hawking gave to the media, he mentioned that how he has traveled the world but no other hotel property comes close to the one where he stayed in India when it comes to taking care of all the needs of a disabled person.

I couldn’t have got a bigger endorsement than this. It just proved to me that we are doing something right. There was no stopping after that and our list of guests who were disabled just shot up significantly. It was not that these people were not travelling or not staying in hotels, but till then they would just stay in any hotel as all the hotel chains had the same problems. But now, they knew that there was one hotel chain that would take care of them. With more and more guests, word of mouth of the hotel started increasing further and it has reached a stage where we are operating with 95% occupancy for most part of the year. We now have a policy where we always prioritise and accommodate guests who are disabled over other guests as we understand that other guests can go and stay in some other hotel as well. We do not like to refuse to any of our guests, but when a choice has to be made, we know who will get the first preference.

I spend most of my time in one or the other of my property and when guests come and meet me personally and thank me, I feel a sense of accomplishment and success that I had never felt before. When they see me on a wheel-chair, they realize how I am able to empathize their predicament and hence offer services like no other hotel. I believe that God had a plan for me and he wanted me to go through this so that I can improve the lives of so many others.

With this, Jonathan ended his speech that he was giving on receiving the award of ‘Best Hotel Chain of India’ and he got a rousing, standing ovation from each and every one present there.

Short Story: Radhika's Dilemma

‘Ladies’ man’ were the two words that came to Radhika’s mind after getting out of his room on the 37th floor. After heaving a sigh of relief, Radhika went back to her duties.

Radhika had been working at Hotel SpringCity as a Manager for the the last five years. SpringCity was Mumbai’s Island Paradise, a stately 7 star hotel, in the middle of the Arabian Sea. With its 87 floors, 706 rooms and 87 suites, its clientele fittingly ranged from the wealthy, the glamorous and the glitterati the world over. They converged to its lovely rooms whenever they were in the financial capital of India. So bumping into European royalty, corporate leaders, or International film stars was almost a given here.  Jestin Langford, a celebrated Investment Banker was one of them.

Jestin Langford was a regular at SpringCity. He visited India once a month to service his Indian HNIs and to put together the strategies for their mergers and acquisitions. A suave New Yorker, he was a Harvard product, working for America’s number one investment bank – A.L. Stinsons. SpringCity served as his base of operations, due to its proximity to his client’s tony offices at Nariman Point, making his 37^th floor suite indispensable.

Being a regular to Maximum City, Jestin knew all the hot-spots as he strongly believed that a city has not been lived-in truly if one has not seen what it has to offer as its night life. He was clear whenever he was out partying with his clients – to never discuss work. Jestin was an enviable mover on the floor, having learnt salsa for nine years. His lithe body pulsating under strobe lights made Indian women swoon and lust after his agile body.

Radhika was the face of Hotel SpringCity, knowing each regular by name, occupation down to their likes and dislikes. She considered it as an integral part of customer relationship management. There had been instances in the past where a guest was disappointed on not being given the service that was promised and it would take only 10 minutes for Radhika to pacify the guest. A charming personality aside, she was a pleasure to talk to.

Radhika had met Jestin for the first time three years back, at the Front Desk while he checked-in. At first glance Radhika was awe-struck by Jestin;  6’2, debonair, a man with blue eyes, looking dapper in a slim-fit Italian cut-suit. As he greeted Radhika, and asked her for the keys to his suite, a story had begun to brew. But there was something about Jestin that looked familiar. She could not put a finger on it. As soon as she handed over the key, Jestin came a little closer to her and said “Thank you very much. You are a very pretty lady.” Radhika blushed, managing a feeble “Thank You.”

By his next visit, Radhika researched Jestin as part of her responsibility. She would notice sexily dressed women coming to pick Jestin for his evening parties, whenever he was here. While she never discussed him along with the other staff of the hotel, in her mind, she had formed an image of Jestin as that of a ladies man.

Radhika was a 30 year old Mumbai girl, brought up in Bandra. Blessed with beauty, over the years, lots of people had tried to cajole her to enter beauty contests but she was clear with what she wanted to do. After her graduation, she went on to do her Hotel Management course from Switzerland. Upon completing her course, Radhika landed a job at SpringCity - the kind of job opportunity she was looking for. Over the years, her dedication, great customer service and charming personality had earned her the responsibility of Manager of the hotel.

While in Switzerland, Radhika met Steven, a student from an exchange programme, for the first time in the college library a week upon his arrival. They both wanted the same book and co-incidentally asked the librarian about the book at the same time. Both looked at each other and smiled. Steven then introduced himself as some instant sparks begun to fly. Radhika took the responsibility of showing Steven around – the Alps, Interlaken, Jungfra. After their fifth meeting, Steven invited Radhika to one of the college parties which he had organized. Radhika went, dressed in a short-red dress with a plunging neckline, which accentuated her assets nicely. Lot of guys vied for her attention but she was smitten by Steven as much as he was and both of them did not leave each other through the party.

After a couple of Grey Goose shots, they decided to hit the dance floor, and they danced through the night. After the party, Steven took Radhika to the university lawn and under the stars, they kissed each other. Radhika did not know whether it was the vodka or Steven, but she just could not control herself and she gave in. When did passion turn into possession and instantly into obsession, she did not know. The dew on the grass blades merged with the sweat on their bodies and the grass below them got completely crushed with the throbbing, the pushing and the biting that took place between the two. Radhika knew that this is a kind of love-making that one can experience only once in a life time. Steven and Radhika became a couple for the next two weeks that Steven was there. On the day he was leaving, Steven promised Radhika to call from New York, but he never did.

“Can you please send the manager to my room?” Jestin hollered in the phone to the front-desk.

Radhika was immediately called for and apprised of the situation. Jestin’s suite had a different wine bottle than what he drank regularly and this had upset him. So Radhika had to go placate the situation. She entered Jestin’s room along with a bottle of his favourite wine   and a personalized apology card. Jestin’s anger vanished as soon as he saw Radhika but pretended to be really cross and said “I am a regular guest for years now and the hotel does not even remember my most basic requirement?” “I apologize on behalf of Hotel SpringCity for the inconvenience that you have gone through Mr. Langford. This mistake has happened due to a new intern. Let me offer you this apology card and also your bottle of wine as compliments from the hotel and an assurance that you will not get a chance to complain again.”

Jestin showed that he has cooled down and said “That’s ok..Radhika right? I guess I over-reacted for such a small thing when I know that you guys have taken great care of me always.  It’s just that today has been a bad day. We missed out on two deals and I had put my heart and soul for the last few months in preparing it and so I was disappointed. Anyways, would you like to join me for a glass of wine? I could do with some company today.” Radhika was taken aback by this offer but she kept a calm face and said “Thank you Mr. Langford for the offer, but I am on duty and so I cannot drink with a guest.” “That is my bad luck then. Maybe some other time? Hey, how about on a day when you are off-duty? We can catch up for dinner outside SpringCity. What do you say?” asked Jestin. Radhika turned red on hearing this as no other guest had ever asked her out before this. She said “I am sorry Mr. Langford, but that won’t be possible. Now I would like to take your leave.” With this, Radhika left his room quickly on the 37^th floor, and her mind just kept saying “Ladies man.”

Two days later, Jestin met Radhika in the elevator and he candidly asked “Is not going out for dinner with guests a policy of the hotel or yours?” Radhika was a bit stumped by this straight-forwardness and replied “Well, Mr. Langford, I am uncomfortable going out with someone who is a guest in our hotel.” “Let me tell you, I do that all the time with my clients and I don’t feel awkward about it because after business hours it’s not about protocol with clients anymore. I am leaving tomorrow. It would be great if I can meet you at the Thai Pavilion tonight by 9. I hope that is fine with you?” “After a minute of silence, Radhika finally said “OK, lets meet at 9”.

Throughout the day, Radhika was cursing herself to have agreed for dinner. Thoughts kept clogging her mind with questions like “Why did you say a yes knowing that he is a guest and also knowing  the kind of person he is?” Thrice in the day, she thought of calling him and telling him that the dinner was off but she thought that would be rude and could not muster the courage to do that.

At 7.30 pm, Radhika ended her day and headed home. She kept thinking what would she wear, how should she come across to him, he should not get any wrong message. After 15 minutes of going through her wardrobe, she finally said to herself “What the heck. He will be gone in a day. I might as well dress myself and enjoy my dinner.” She took out a lovely black strapless dress and her mother’s vintage pearls. She tied her black high heels, and suddenly felt like a diva. She reached the Thai Pavilion at 9.15 and Jestin was there waiting for her, dressed in a monogrammed black blazer, looking absolutely irresistible. He came to her and said “So you sizzle not only in a Sari, but everything you wear. Thank you very much for coming.” Radhika managed a slight smile and said “Thank you Mr. Langford.” He turned around and said “Please don’t make me feel like a 75 year old man out for dinner with a young girl. Call me Jestin.”

Jestin had booked one of the best tables at the restaurant overlooking the beautiful Arabian sea. He pulled her chair and allowed her to sit before sitting himself. “What would you like to drink?” He asked. “A glass of Sauvignon Blanc please”. “That’s a good choice Radhika.” They sat there for three hours telling one another their stories, their dreams and aspirations. To an outsider they would have seemed to be old friends reuniting after decades.

Finally, she said “I need to go now. It’s getting late” and he gallantly offered to drop her home. He made her slid into his black BMW, which he always used whenever he was in India. Just a little before reaching her place, he stopped the car, looked at her and said “I must tell you that I have never seen anyone more beautiful than you in my life.” Being slightly tipsy, Radhika managed to say “You must be saying this to every woman you go out with. I have noticed different women coming to pick you at the hotel. You are a ladies man.” “Well, I appreciate that you have noticed me going out, but let me tell you that all these women are clients thinking that going out with me will help them in their business. There is nothing else beyond that.” Having said that, he leaned in closer and kissed her lightly on her lips. “I fell for you the day I saw you Radhika, but I just did not know whether it would be appropriate to ask you out. I thought yesterday’s wine incident is a good opportunity to call the manager as I knew that would you.” He smiled, leaned in and kissed her again and this time she reciprocated with a longing kiss and blurted out ‘So both of us need to thank that intern for goofing-up” as they continued kissing. 

Suddenly, Jestin’s mobile rang and the name that flashed on screen said – Steven Langford- Brother.