Published inThe Shortform·Nov 25Japanese Elevators Don’t Have The 4th Floor Button. Here’s Why.Tetraphobia in East-Asian Countries — The number “4” in Japanese pronounced shi – 四 sounds similar to the Kanji 死 (also shi) whose meaning is death. The Japanese thus believe the number 4 to be associated with death. While studying Japanese, I stumbled across this and realized they take this superstition seriously. Wikipedia terms this as Tetraphobia. Henceforth you’ll find apartment and hospital elevators skipping floor numbers 4, 14, and 24.Short Form1 min readShort Form1 min read
Published inWhen Places Speak·Nov 22A Message from Saigon City, VietnanBlend of monotonous and vibrant lives — The capital city, Hanoi, lies in Northern Vietnam. While people adore it, the real popular kid in the country has always been Ho Chi Minh City – more popular among travelers and history fanatics as Saigon. Long ago, Saigon saw its days of glory being the capital of South Vietnam…Travel Writing4 min readTravel Writing4 min read
Published inGlobetrotters·Nov 14I met an Indonesian Lady in Himachal, IndiaAnd she wasn’t a tourist — I had a year-long dream of traveling the Himalayas solo. The circumstances changed towards the end of my college, and I had a strong obligation to bring friends along. I didn’t mind it. But many things didn’t turn out the way I imagined them. More than the infamous destinations we…Asia4 min readAsia4 min read
Published inWhen Places Speak·Nov 8A Message from the Dearest Part of Himachal PradeshTourism Overview from Manali’s POV — Himachal Pradesh, a northern state of India that touches the Himalayan mountain range, is famous worldwide. Locally, it’s well-known as a vacation spot. Somewhere amidst it is Manali — the popular kid amidst the popular region. Manali sees a few million people bustling in every year. While her neighboring villages…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Published inThe Shortform·Nov 1The Most Expensive Coffee is made from a Cat’s DungYou’ve heard it before. Here’s the story — In Indonesian, Kopi Luwak means civet coffee and the Asian Palm Civet plays a key role in this process. Coffee cherries eaten by the Palm Civet are only partially digested and these feces are used for the Kopi Luwak. Now — why? You see, coffee beans are only seeds of…Short Form1 min readShort Form1 min read
Nov 1Life in Bangalore can never get MonotonousIt is not the ‘soulless’ work culture — it is YOU. After living almost half a decade in Bangalore (or Bengaluru), I traveled to Vietnam for two weeks and then directly flew to Singapore, then Indonesia to stay a couple of months with my family. Before long, I was obliged…City Living4 min readCity Living4 min read
Published inGlobetrotters·Oct 23Wildlife Camouflaged in a Squint’s ReachWhy Mandai Zoo will always be worth it — The Singapore Zoo, also called the Mandai Zoo, is by far one of the highest-rated places to visit in Singapore. Their website is all over the colorful range of species they hold. To date, I’ve heard everyone talking about how amazing the Singapore Zoo is but no one actually discussing…Singapore Zoo6 min readSingapore Zoo6 min read
Oct 8The Biggest Lie about Vietnam on Social MediaAn Unpopular Opinion on Ba Na Hills Ba Na Hills in Vietnam… is simply not worth the time. Spend an extra night in Hoi An if you’ve got one. Before someone starts hurling out words now, hear me out. If you have got Da Nang on your whole Vietnam itinerary…Vietnam4 min readVietnam4 min read
Published inGlobetrotters·Sep 26Member-onlyWalls that Suffered the Dark Days of SaigonStories of the Independence Palace, Vietnam — Never paid much attention to museums before, me. Temples are a far thought. The Independence Palace in Ho Chi Minh City shouldn’t have been very different. Though reluctant, we couldn’t miss one of the “must-visits” in Saigon, and so we went. But right from the start – from the life-size…Vietnam War4 min readVietnam War4 min read
Published inJaponica Publication·Sep 17How My Native Tongue Proved an Efficient Tool to Learn JapaneseJapanese Grammar was Easier to Learn by Avoiding Translating Through English — It would be too much to say I have learned the Japanese language — and definitely far from true. I am on my last touches of learning the N4 level. Though far from fluency, this article is about how to learn. There are tons of tips out there on learning…Japan4 min readJapan4 min read
