Vinod Mahbubani - The Journey: Around the World

The Journey

Around the World

by

Vinod Mahbubani

AuthorHouse UK Ltd.

500 Avebury Boulevard

Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2BE

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: 08001974150

2010 Vinod Mahbubani. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/11/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4343-7186-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-7894-4(ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Photos by V. Mahbubani

Contents

1
Touchdown at Boston

2
New York, New York

3
Bonjour Montreal

4
Niagara Falls

5
Fast Food and Chicago Greats

6
Nations Capital

7
Longest Pleasure Beach
in the World

8
Fortresses and Slave Plantations

9
Fashion Designers and
American Sports

10
Cuban Connection

11
Museums, Mountains and
American Indians

12
Hurricane Katrina and the
French Quarter

13
Desert Cacti and Cowboys

14
Missions and Ghost Towns

15
The Grand Canyon

16
Movie Land and its Stars

17
Hammering Men and Gold Diggers

18
Heads of State and Little Britain

19
The Worlds Sixth Biggest Economy

20
Las Vegas, City of Fun

21
World Famous Zoo

22
Welcome to Mexico

23
Capital City of Culture

24
Creation of the Place of Gods

25
Hill of Frogs

26
Golden Gate and The Rock

27
Fiji Beckons

28
Pacific Island Dream

29
Sugar Cane Fields and Giant Geckos

30
In the Land of Oz

31
Kangaroos Unite

32
The Red Centre

33
Desert Camels and Ayers Rock

34
Kings Canyon

35
Flying Doctors and Schools
of the Air

36
Crocodile Rivers and
Virgin Beaches

37
The Rainforest

38
Meeting Aborigines

39
Underwater World

40
The Buddhist Way of Life

41
The Worlds Longest
Serving Monarch

42
Floating Markets and
Famous Bridges

43
Ruined Cities and Crocodile Farms

44
Lady Boys and Sugar Daddies

45
Biking around Ko Samui

46
Tsunamis and Setbacks

47
Skylines, Star Ferries, and
Giant Escalators

48
Happy Valley and the Boat People

49
Outer Islands and Ocean Park

50
Macau and Beyond

51
Train Ride to Beijing

52
The Worlds Fastest
Growing Economy

53
Olympic City

54
The Forbidden City

55
The Worlds Longest Wall

Epilogue
Home Sweet Home

TRAVEL TIPS
Prior To Setting Off

Pre-departure, or during
the trip itself

Why Others Would Want
The Book

To Order Additional Copies
Or
For A Free Screensaver:

Dedicated to

travellers around

the world

B orn Vinod Anil Mahbubani in Gibraltar, the author completed his secondary education in his hometown before moving to the UK to complete a BA (Hons) in Management, Spanish and Italian at The University of Leeds. As part of his degree course, he spent valuable stints in Florence, Italy, and Malaga, Spain.

On graduating, he ventured south to London where his career took off working as a Media Researcher for The Press Association and then a Marketing Manager for Dow Jones International. At the same time, he worked as a part-time Tour Director for EF Educational Tours, taking up to sixty North American based students and adults on ten to fifteen day cultural tours of Western Europe. His position with Dow Jones saw him work out of its Paris office for two years, before he returned to his native Gibraltar where he currently resides and works in international real estate.

T his book is not a work of fiction, but rather a work based on real life events, places, and people. In other words, it is the adventures and experiences that unfold during the journey that remain central to the work. It is this too, first and foremost, that the writer wishes to share with his readers in the hope that it might encourage them to embark on a journey of their own; a journey in which they may explore and discover their very own experiences and adventures.

T o my best friend, father and mentor, Mr. G. Singh Dhillon for his creative inspiration; my beloved late mother Mrs. J. L. Mahbubani for being my best teacher in the English language; my good friend Ms. B. Poussier for being the ideal travel companion; my learned colleague Mr. S. Attias for encouraging me to publish the work; my proof readers Mrs. N. Krull and Mr. R. Mitchell for their editorial experience; my DTP designer, Mr. P. Pryszlak; my cover and maps designer, Fine Design; and my family and friends in New York, Miami, Gatlinburg, Phoenix, Santa Barbara, Sydney and Hong Kong, for kindly putting us up during our travels; a special thank you to you all.

Last but by no means least, sincere thanks to the good Lord without whose wonderful creation there would not be a story to write about; and thank you too for your grace and support in helping bring this book to fruition.

The

Journey

1
Touchdown at Boston

T he day had finally arrived. Our destinations had been chosen and our tickets had been booked with plenty of time to spare. With all the planning in place, all that remained was to board flight BA456 to Boston, our first port of call. It was a mild September morning.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vinnie and my travelling companions name is Anita. Together we had decided that we would like to realise a lifelong dream of travelling around the world. So here we were at the departure gate in Londons Heathrow Airport about to board our first flight of eight in all; a round trip that was going to take us on a 40,000 mile journey around the world. Awesome! Note how I was already practising my American English to good effect.

As I boarded the flight, I can still recollect my feelings. My adrenalin was high, and as the planes engines purred to life I experienced a slight shiver up my spine as it finally dawned on me that weeks of planning had led to this moment. I was leaving Europe for my first ever visit to America.

As the plane was leaving London behind, I wondered when we might touch down on European soil again as we had booked open tickets valid for up to 365 days travel, so when exactly we would returnnobody knew! Still, this was a time to look forward, so dismissing any thoughts about my return I sat quietly and imagined what adventures and discoveries might lay before me. Ultimately, only the Gods above knew, but I was relishing the prospect with a sense of awe and excitement, and a sense of learning and fun.

What can I tell you about our first stop in Boston? It is probably the best place for a European to start a tour of the USA because it contains a lot of European culture and gently introduces you to the American way of life.