6 – Monday Morning Consultant | Rishi Sankar: Ah Trini Travelogue / Ah Trini Traveller

Corbeaux doh eat sponge cake … Johnny Walker Black and Trinis

1 - All Trinidad Posts, 2 - All Tobago Posts, 2012, 6 - Monday Morning Consultant, Trinidad 3 Responses »

May 082012

This morning while in the line to head to the US, I met a Trini and we chatted and followed the typical Trini social script, then he invited me to his house for a drink … no problem, right? He mentioned that he had a 1.75L bottle of Johnny Walker Black, we could polish off with Coconut Water. So this got me to thinking about Trinis and Scotch!

Trinis have an affectation for scotch, you’ll note I don’t use the word affection. This is because the unofficial drink of the Trini masses is Johnny Walker Black and coconut water. I do love a freshly chopped Coconut from the cooler, I really cannot stand the taste of coconut in anything else … and if the coconut water isn’t fresh, it immediately starts oxidizing. I don’t put much stock in the “moldiness” of it, however I do put stock in the fact that the older the coconut water, the more rancid it tastes.

In Trinidad, the official drink of Trinidadian men as long as I’ve been able to remember, is Johnny Walker Black and coconut water. I don’t know how people can stomach this shitty drink … for example in Trinidad, you will actually see people going to a fete to drink Johnny Walker Blue Label with coconut water. Anyone with a taste for decent scotch will pass on a Black and Coconut water … but this goes back to Trinis and their affectation for scotch.

We make great rum back home … Angostura 1919 or 1824 are very good rums that go well with cola or even coconut water, yet the desire to seem “uppity” or “bourge” (short for bourgeouise) has driven the middle class non-intelligensia to scotch because of that class connotation. There are even songs about Johnny Walker and coconut water, of course by Rikki Jai.

Even worse, is the drinking of Johnny Walker Red Label … it is akin to drinking paint thinner, but the review is basically that you always mix this and not sip it. I’m ok with Johnny Red … because no one ever claims it to be good, but the painting of Black to be good is also quite insane to a Single Malt drinker.

Then again, I’m not really the greatest fan of Johnny Walker Blue Label either

I’ve endured many a marathon drinking session watching people drink Johnny Walker Black and Coconut water … in fact, I even offered my younger brother samples of two very good peaty Single Malts : Lagavulin 16 and Oban 14, which are quite decent by anyone’s palate, but he pronounced it undrinkable … in fact, his words were “this tastes like shit!!” … proving yet again a Trini Proverb …

“You can take an ass to water, but you can’t make him drink!

Here is an awesome Trinidadian rationale about why we love Johnny Walker Black by a Disgruntled Trini (Note the Trini lingo in here)

Reason being is because Trinis are a set of waggonist

most if not everyone break out with rum and coke
but somebody tell yuh that Johhny is the real thing and convince you that Johnny is the real scene
you didn’t find out for yourself it was not a natural progression it was just waggonist behavior

In the big scheme of things Johnie Walker is cheap scotch that is not world ranked and in truth and in fact Johnie Walker Red is more popular but is hardly seen in Trinidad. Secondly Trinis is the only people that does drink Johnie and Coconut and Johnie and _______.

My folks recently went to Scotland and they said they did not even see Johnie Walker. When they went out to drink Scotch the glass was warmed and you drank it neat.

I guess it is the power of advertising that makes people feel that Johnie Walker is the epitome of Scotch. What does real piss me off is the Corbeaux and sponge cake attitude of Trinis. The people who does go party and rum shop and drink rum and beers and will never buy Johnie Walker for themselves weather it be for monetary or some other reason. Those same people as they reach in a wedding or buy a padna house the fuss thing they reaching for is the Johnie Walker and will drink it till they vomit.

I do love the phrase Corbeaux and Sponge Cake … since it means that it does not matter how well intentioned the act, the individual is incapable of appreciating something for what it is.

Anyway … here’s hoping that your next drink will be a good one …. and here is my Shameless plug for Glenfiddich Explorers for 24 hours in Barcelona or Palau

I made Chicken Soup and I’m happy to be home … some thoughts on long term travel

2012, 4 - Consulting Lifestyle, 6 - Monday Morning Consultant 1 Response »

Apr 032012

After the last couple of years of working and travelling, I’ve met a lot of people on the road. Typically, once I’ve told them about where and how much I’ve travelled, I get responses and questions in the following ilk

“Man, that is fantastic, I wish I could do that”
“You’re so lucky to be able to do that”
“You must have the best job in the world”
“Does work pay for your travelling? How can I get a job like that?”

To most people, they think that I have the best job in the world. Essentially, I get paid to travel and I happen to work on the side (Well this is the way I tend to look at things, even though the reality of 70hr work weeks with three day weekend trips is much closer to the truth). Of course, who wouldn’t want to get paid to travel the world? Right?

That being said, most people with those response above, also only think about the good side. To most non consultants, I’ve stopped trying to explain what I do for a living and I’ve also basically stopped explaining why I travel. Now, I rarely ever mention it when I meet people unless I know the person is extremely interested in travelling. My lifestyle isn’t all roses and I hate the gushing. The grass is always greener on the other side.

When I first started really travelling a couple years ago, I did it with selfish and rather shallow desires in mind:

I wanted to meet tons of girls
Have fantastic adventures, while tango-ing and salsa-ing to the next location
Have tons of useless stuff to talk even more about
Did I mention meet crazy travelling girls on the road??

Then it evolved into trying to be a travel writer. I wanted my name in guidebooks … to be an expert at something … for people to say that I was an expert at “XYZ Pigeon Shooting” or something else. Of course, after speaking and chatting with guidebook authors and travel writers, I quickly realized that for the vast majority of them, it was a life of penury and considerable struggle. It dawned on me that their jobs weren’t these phenomenal jet setting adventures that I visualized but instead it was a melange of long hours, tight deadlines, last minute travelling and demanding micro managers aka Editors. That vision quickly changed to say the least.

There is a great quote by Susan Sontag that goes like this :

Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other.

I think when you travel for a long time, the same can be said about long-term travel. There are many wonderful things I’ve learned while travelling but it does provide a paradox of sorts. Nowhere else will you learn as much about yourself as when you’re in a tiny cafe in Morocco or any country, surrounded by laughter and strangers, completely alone yet with everyone. Long term travel is a very lonely existence in many ways.

Being on the road offers you the chance to see new places, experience new cultures, make new friends, and learn about yourself. However being on the road also means that your relationships will suffer … whether it’s with your BFF, partner, parents or just regular day to day friends.

These days when I’m on the road, I really have no inclination on meeting people anymore. There was a time where I was excited to meet as many people as I could … listen and learn from their stories and experiences. I’m done with the general phase now. I’ve learned that every hello comes with a goodbye. You meet new people and they can be friends with you for a day, week, month or years … but as a traveller, you will naturally have to say goodbye, because you’ll be on to your next destination, as will they.

One becomes numb to new people, since it’s just another useless entry into your Facebook friend list … someone who might be a great contact, if you ever cross paths again. Despite the best intentions and Facebook, you know that 95% of the people you say goodbye to, you’ll never see again. Your life is filled with 24-hour friends who made that brief stop over great, but are soon gone. Who wants a life filled with that?

I’m also tired of a lot of things … which is sad. So many things have become yet another “one of those ..”. I’ve gotten

Waterfalled Out in Iceland
Templed out in Thailand, Cambodia, Italy … blah blah
Churched out in Mexico
Hiked out in Morocco
Island-ed out in the Caribbean
Fished out in the Maldives …

Yes!!! I know these are #FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS!!

That 100th church, 100th waterfall, 40th hostel, 800th bus ride, 600th bar… it’s not the same after a while. It loses its charm and luster. Travel becomes unexciting. Ask any traveler - at some point, they hit that point where they are sick of traveling. They just need a few days or weeks to recharge their batteries. After all these years, I move a lot slower than I used to. I’m in no rush now. If I want to spend 12 hours out sightseeing, I can, but I tend to be out for a few hours and just relax the rest of the time. After all, I’ll be wherever I am for a while. Slow travel is better travel, and it fights the “just another” syndrome. But even still, travel can become exhausting, and there are times you never want to see anything with the word “historic” in front of it ever again. Some days I just want to spend a week in front of my computer watching moves and TV.

Long-term travel takes a certain type of person to enjoy. You need to be independent, you need to be able to spend lots of time alone, you need to be flexible, and you need to be able to deal with constant change. Eventually, I’ll find the answers. I don’t think people can move forever unless they are trying to escape something.

For now, I’ll just continue enjoying the process of making my Chicken Soup at home.

8 types of travellers that I’ve seen in the airport

4 - Consulting Lifestyle, 6 - Monday Morning Consultant 2 Responses »

Feb 102012

As a frequent flyer, I spend a LOT of time in airports. Travelling is cool when you actually get somewhere, but the process of actually getting to where you want to be, can be a mind blowingly frustrating or boring experience. So I have a great game you can play when you’re stuck in the airport with nothing to do because of crappy weather in <Insert your large airport of choice> you have very few things to choose from unless you’re in Hong Kong or Heathrow.

From my gazillions of hours spent in airports, I’ve found 6 types of people who are roaming the airports.

Broke and/or stranded traveller
The funny thing is that there are actually travel bloggers who sleep in airports to save money on a hotel. Good for them! They think that suffering travel martyrdom by sleeping on a disgusting, filthy, shitty airport floor gives them travel cred … then good for them. There’s even websites that can help with sleeping in an airport. There are some pros and cons to this … and hence these people’s madness

Pros of Sleeping in Airports

It’s free. NUFF SAID
It’s quick and no transfer/travel time to the airport. You don’t have to transfer buses and metros, since you’re sleeping at the gate bitch!
There’s places to find food, gadgets and magazines. You can eat, read and surf on your phone all day while waiting on the dirty carpets/floors.. There are multiple restaurants and shopping arcades at most airports. Some even have fitness rooms, salons and spa services.

Cons of Sleeping in Airports

No Comfort : Have you tried sleeping on a park bench or an airport chair.
There’s no realsecurity … sleeping in a public place has its risks. You shouldn’t attempt this if you have kids … if you can’t pay for a hotel for your kids, then you should head immediately for sterilization.
If you’re in a small country or the Caribbean … not all airports are open 24 hours. Some smaller airports close for the night after the last flight arrives. God help you if you’re in Vietnam and you get kicked out of the aiport at 2 a.m., you might have to sell your soul to find a taxi that won’t rape you on price.

The Veteran Business Traveller (VBT)
Since I’m a business traveller, this is the type of traveller I see more often than not and I’ve noticed two sub species of them

The first type travel with a briefcase and a newspaper only
The second type travel with an overnight case.

When a flight is delayed, trying to find a working spot in one of the executive lounges can be like an obstacle course. The front desk counter staff also become nasty Nazi types … god forbid that flights be delayed and you bring in a guest into the lounge with you.
Business travellers generally act like they’ve never left the office. Headphones plugged into iPhone or Blackberries running conference calls, while typing emails and ignoring everyone around them while they are always too loud and generally annoying everyone else around them. They’re always in a suit, which annoys me because it is counter intuitive. Wearing a suit gets you perceptually better treatment (front desk staff will attempt to listen to you), wearing a suit is the mark of the neophyte business traveller. The more clothes you wear, the more you have take off to get through a line.

Hippy backpacker traveller
You know the type … typically douchy male wearing a sarong and some white chick looking like a “pastafarian”. God I hate this type of traveller … I think I hate them more than dairy, which I hate a lot. They think that suffering and being poor for the sake of experience maks them better than the VBT. They’re typically associated with the Broke/Stranded traveller. This type of traveller can be found in sarong and headphones sipping on fair trade tea trying not stroke their balls. They go out of the way to look blase about being in an airport, because it’s a necessary evil on their self actualization journey. God I hate them hard! Ironically, you’ll see one of these pulling out a iPhone to text their friends or facebook, even though they’ve made a vow of poverty by studying Latin or English Literature or other useless shit in university.
Wide eyed, Overexcited Traveller (WOT)
They’re so excited to be out of the house and going somewhere different that they will take a picture of everything, up to the shit they took in the airport toilet, since it will be part of the slideshow that they post on facebook, to their friends who will be jealous of them.To be fair, it’s rather nice to be excited about travelling and maybe I’m a little jaded with all these miles on the road. The problem is when I’m stuck being these people, and for some reason I just happen to always be stuck behind or around the Asian Overexcited travellerThis sub species is even more annoying, since they have group travel traits.If you’re ever been around an asian tour bus that drops everyone off for the same pictures etc, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you have 500 photos of air planes parked at the airport gate you are an Overexcited Traveller.
The Gift Shop Traveller
Walk into duty free and you will probably see these traveller with tons of bags. You can be sure that they’re going to buy tons of useless souvenirs and knick knacks to remember every moment of their trip. I’ve almost always found that these travellers are couples Like the overexcited traveller these travellers will always have a partner.
Can’t travel without my posse travellers
Typically, this is a sports team or family reunion or bachelor/bachelorette party type situation. They’re all wearing the same outfit, with different names and all within a pack at the airport. I generally like this type of traveller, since they’re wide eyed and bushy tailed about being with their people and there is always an alpha dog that project manages the entire affair so that the group is controlled. This is not to be confused ever with an Asian tour delegation …
Technocratic power seeker traveller (TPS)
You know this type of traveller. They’re going to be on the ground or a chair, next to a plug/socket/wall outlet. They will have 12 devices hooked up to a USB hub to ensure max connectivity and WiFi access. I’m VERY VERY guilty of being this type of traveller. I make hotel choices based on WiFi speed.TPS travellers are like drug addicts, especially if they are not also business travellers (since all lounges have free WiFi). You will see many TPS travellers just outside the doors of business lounges, since they are trying to tap into that precious supply of free reliable internet. I’ve skipped out on food and drink (but never the use of a bathroom – since I can check facebook on the throne) and so do other TPS travellers, so they can update facebook and twitter with their rants about how airport, airlines, airline food and lack of airline WiFi sucks.
Super New Anxious Traveller (SNAT)
They check everything. What time the plane is? The distance to the airport? Weather conditions. Economic reports? Donkey killing rate in Laos? You want a weird negative fact about a place and these types of traveller will give it to you. If you ask them if they’ve actually been to the country that they’re afraid of, they will create a diversion … Ninja Smoke Bomb or impromptu earthquake … anything to avoid actually answering that question.

American Express has a great tool to find out more about the type of trips you can take, you should try taking the Nextpedition survey to find what type of traveller you are : http://www.nextpedition.com/travel-profiler/quiz.

I had the following profile

Gastronaut^SM

Everybody loves to travel with a Gastronaut. Whether regaling your mates with tales of yesteryear over a pint or just mulling over a snifter of brandy by the fire, you’re always good company. And, with an insatiable appetite for history, you bring more to the dinner party than snappy threads and a bottle of vino. You bring tasty lore and witty repartee.
Histocrat^SM

Oh great and wise, wandering Histocrat. When others can’t remember the name of that guy, who did that thing, on that date, you do. Because you know all. And, are determined to have been everywhere. You’ve been to the ancient city and studied the forbidden scrolls. You dominate trivia. Intimidate professors. You even know where to get the best sushi. And, if you don’t, your smartphone does.
Technologian^SM

Can you hear the world beckoning, Technologian? Is it the wind or the call of the wild inviting you to frolic with the other woodland creatures? But, first you must find them. Grab your GPS. Don your kinetic-powered, moisture-wicking threads. And, go forth to play amongst the ancient pines with your high-tech toys.

Monday Morning Consultant – Westin Verasa Napa review

2012, 6 - Monday Morning Consultant, USA 2 Responses »

Jan 062012

Monday Morning Consultant – Westin Verasa Napa review

After a long day of Jelly Beans, Wine and Napa touring, it is definitely a perk to be a decent hotel. Our choice, this time was the Westin Verasa Napa (Gotta use some of those 200K SPG points I have). Once again, my loyalty has been rewarded with yet another Cash and Points stay at [... Click here to keep on reading this article]

Good food and great service, does a meal make! [Saltlik Calgary review]

2011, 4 - Consulting Lifestyle, 6 - Monday Morning Consultant, Canada No Responses »

Jan 012012

Good food and great service, does a meal make! [Saltlik Calgary review]

So after the crapshit service of Chicago Chophouse, we decided to stay closer to the Hyatt and the Marriott and to the Mechanical Horse – so it was off to Saltlik Steakhouse. The list of downtown steakhouses on the list are as follows (with review) CHARCUT Roast House Saltlik Steakhouse Palomino Smokehouse The Bank Restaurant [... Click here to keep on reading this article]

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GastronautSM

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TechnologianSM

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Histocrat^SM

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