cocktail

Borrowed Wheels, Big Dreams: A Reflection from Delhi’s Roads

May 24, 2016ByteSizeblogger, Blogging, Children, cocktail, daughterdiaries, destinations, disrupt, entrepreneur, fun, Happiness, India, instapassport, instatravel, latergram, Love, Metaphor, newdelhi, parents, principles, simplestuff, sit, startup, thirdworld, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

Where you stand depends on where you sit. And where you sit? That depends on how much of a foothold you have in the world.

In many places, life isn’t about luxury or choice—it’s about making the most of what’s available. It’s about hanging on, navigating bridges with borrowed wheels, hoping for the best, and moving forward anyway.

But let’s be clear—this does not mean fewer aspirations.
This does not mean fewer dreams of change.
This does not mean fewer smiles, joys, or moments of triumph.

For many, life is neither happiness nor sadness—it simply is. And there’s a quiet resilience in that truth.

The Waves Rush, Only to Dissolve: A Reflection from Pattaya

May 21, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesbeach, blogger, Blogging, cocktail, competition, destinations, disrupt, entrepreneur, fun, instapassport, instatravel, Love, materialism, Metaphor, Pattaya, sea, startup, Thailand, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust, waves

Watching the sea is strangely soothing. Maybe it’s the rhythm, the constant motion, or the way each wave races forward, trying to outdo the other—only to dissolve into nothingness at the shore.

For all their frenzy, for all their rushing, the waves end the same way—spent, quiet, forgotten.

Maybe that’s why we stand by the shore, staring at the water. To remind ourselves.

That the daily rush, the endless chasing, the competition to rise above—often leads nowhere.

That it’s okay to move, but also okay to pause.

That holding on to life lightly, but tightly is what truly matters.

And maybe, just maybe, the sea has been whispering this to us all along.

(at Pattaya, Thailand)

Perspective Changes Everything: A Reflection from the Hills of Vagamon

May 19, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesblogger, Blogging, career, cocktail, destinations, disrupt, Diversity, entrepreneur, evening, frame, fun, hill, incredibleindia, instapassport, instatravel, Kerela, Love, Metaphor, Photography, shadows, startup, sun, sunset, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, vagamon, wanderlust

It’s always about the frame. How you frame the problem changes the problem itself.

One moment, I was talking to people, standing beside them, sharing thoughts. Then came the trudge down the rolling hills—a pleasant, happy descent through Vagamon’s stunning landscape.

Thirty minutes later, I turned around.

The people I had just spoken to? Now tiny silhouettes on the horizon. The hill? A mere bump in the distance. The shifting light made them look like mannequins in a store—motionless, almost unreal.

Perspective changes everything. What looks overwhelming up close may seem insignificant from afar. What seems impossible now may, with distance, reveal new possibilities.

Try changing the frame—you might see things in a whole new way.

The Market That Moves: Maeklong and Its Famous Train

May 18, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesamazingthailand, Bangkok, blogger, Blogging, career, cocktail, destinations, disrupt, Diversity, entrepreneur, fun, instapassport, instatravel, Love, maeklong, market, Metaphor, smile, startup, Thailand, track, Train, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveltheworld, wanderlust

There are markets, and then there is Maeklong. Fresh seafood, vibrant veggies, neatly stacked produce—all arranged with remarkable precision and unexpected cleanliness for a market of this scale.

But that’s not what pulls in the tourists.

It’s the train. The iconic locomotive that cuts through the market, mere inches away from stalls. The moment arrives—the retractable awnings fold back, baskets are shifted just enough, and in a blink, the train passes. Just as quickly, life resumes.

For the tourist, it’s an unbelievable spectacle. For the locals, it’s routine. And as one vendor put it—with a knowing smile—”publicity.”

Because here, business rolls on, no matter what comes down the tracks.

(at Maeklong Railway Market – 美功铁路市场)

The Importance of Changing Tracks in Life and Work

May 17, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesautomobile, Bangkok, blogger, Blogging, camper, career, cocktail, destinations, disrupt, Diversity, entrepreneur, fun, instapassport, instatravel, Love, maeklong, market, Metaphor, startup, Thailand, track, Train, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, van, vw, wanderlust

There’s always a bit of emotion when you change tracks. A moment of hesitation. A hop, skip, and jump before you commit.

But changing tracks is necessary. Stay too long on one, and you risk becoming a ‘could have been’ story. The world moves, shifts, reinvents—and so must we.

What tracks are you changing?
How long have you been thinking about it?

Richness comes from diversity—of thought, of experience, of action. Stay rich. Keep moving.

(at Maeklong Railway Market – 美功铁路市场)

The Weight, The Why, and The Joy in Between

May 12, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesblogger, Blogging, cocktail, destinations, disrupt, entrepreneur, fun, Happiness, happy, humansoftheworld, instapassport, instatravel, Love, Metaphor, normal, ordinary, Pattaya, purpose, simpleliving, startup, Thailand, trade, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust, weight, work

It’s never about the weight—it’s about how we carry it.
It’s never about the work—it’s about why we do it.
It’s never about the grand sights—it’s about the stories they hold.
It’s never about big things—it’s about finding big meaning in small moments.

Happiness isn’t loud. It doesn’t need a grand stage. It lives in quiet corners, in the way we see, in the way we let things be.

To find joy is to notice it. And to let it stay.

(at Pattaya, Thailand)

“Enjoy It While You Have Time”—A Profound Lesson from the Beach

May 3, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesbeach, blogger, Blogging, cocktail, commonman, destinations, disrupt, entrepreneur, fun, instapassport, instatravel, Love, Metaphor, ordinary, Pattaya, sea, startup, Thailand, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

He is all bone and muscle, sun-worn skin, a pronounced jaw, and a stubble for a head. But what stands out most? That smile. A smile that stretches wide, giving his broken, uneven teeth even more mileage.

He’s the man of the waves, guiding our water scooter with the ease of someone who knows the sea like the back of his hand. The waves bend to him, the machine moves at his command.

From the shore, he waves us on.
“Have fun. You have time,” he calls out.

And as we bounce over another wave, he settles into the sand, watching, waiting. When we return, exhilarated, he grins—a full, gap-toothed smile.

“Enjoy it while you have the time,” he says.

He may not know how profound those words are. Or maybe he does.

Because wisdom often lives in the ordinary. In the men who wrestle with waves, in those who know that time isn’t something to save—it’s something to use.

(at Pattaya, Thailand)

Beyond the Road: What the VW Camper Teaches About Staying Relevant

May 2, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesautomobile, blogger, Blogging, brand, camper, cars, cocktail, design, destinations, disrupt, engineering, entrepreneur, fun, icon, instapassport, instatravel, Love, Metaphor, Pattaya, startup, Thailand, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, van, vw, wanderlust

As a talented pair of hands whipped up a fresh cocktail, my eyes wandered to the Volkswagen Camper van, glowing under bright lights.

But this isn’t just a vehicle. It’s a symbol.

First introduced in 1950, it rolled off production lines in 2013, but not before proving its remarkable ability to evolve. It started as a people carrier, then became a parcel transporter, a tourist van, an ambulance, and much more. From the practical to the imaginative, it has done everything possible—and everything conceivable.

To age gracefully, like the VW Camper, means one thing: staying relevant.
And that requires daily reinvention. Self-disruption. A willingness to redraw the finish line—again and again.

It’s not easy. But it’s possible.

Just ask the VW Camper.

(at Pattaya, Thailand)