So, here we are again… One more year of Good Old Boots. How many years has it been? Five? Six? No clue. Who cares. The point is it is the Blog’s birthday and its time to celebrate and look back a little.

It has been a while since I have published one of these rambling posts, so this was overdue. If you are looking for a travel story, this is not it. I’m sorry.

This is going to be special though. I promise. I have not written something like this on the blog yet.

In this post, I will answer some of the questions I normally from get from people around me about this blog and my travels. These are questions that my colleagues have asked me during tea and lunch breaks; or my friends have asked over a couple of beers; or just random questions from random people I met that I remember because of their randomness.

Hopefully, this will be a fun read for you.

Welcome to my world.

Why the blog is not being updated regularly?

“Why are you not writing? Blog banaya hai toh kuch likha bhi kar.”

Few years back, I was in the habit of publishing posts every other day whereas now the frequency of posts has reduced to every other month. There are a variety of reasons but the most important ones are the fact that I have a full time job and a semi-active social life. Also, I have a Netflix subscription now.

Another important reason is I have been trying to focus more on quality than quantity. This means a lot more work and time goes into every post. Hopefully that shows in the recent posts.

I would love to promise that I will be more regular from now, but I know that I probably will not be able to keep that promise. So, I will leave you with this. I will try to be more regular.

By the way, if you really miss me, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram where I sometimes post updates, or Twitter, where I am super active and super random.

Shameless promotion. I know.

Do I still like this blog?

“You are bored of this, aren’t you? Pakk gaya na?”

Not updating the blog regularly does not mean that I have fallen out of love with it. I still love writing, more than I did when I started the blog, I believe. But as I said, now it is more about quality than quantity.

GOB has come a long way. 6-7 years of travel have been documented in this blog. In many ways, this blog is a testament of how I have grown as a person (and as a blogger) as well. When I look back and read some of my old posts, I feel like I was so immature and silly. I remember thinking “Maybe I should delete this. This is horrible.” after reading some of the posts from Thailand, “Small City” and South Korea. But then I think, maybe a few years from now, I will find some of my current posts weird and stupid.

The fact is, as bad as the writing is, it still expresses the way I felt during that trip about the places I visited and the people I met.

Where is the useful information?

“How do your stories help me plan my trip? Idhar udhar ki baatein choddo, kaam ki baat batao.”

Another thing I will like to address here is that this blog will always be about travel stories. Sure, it may not be as useful to you if you are planning a trip to a place I visited, but you have a lot of resources at your disposal in that regard. I’m thinking TripAdvisor, WikiTravel, Lonely Planet and such. I may sometimes try my hand at writing a guide like post, but GOB will always be about travel stories and narratives.

Mostly though, I do not want to be one of those guys who visits a place for a week and claims to know everything about it. Sure, I can give you some tips or suggestions based on my experience but I am not going to be your freaking guide! I am sure you will find someone else in the World Wide Web for that.

By the way, I was (probably still am) a Trip Planner for a website and did help plan some trips for people, which surprisingly went well, but I am not into that anymore.

Do I only visit Islamic countries now?

“You have a soft corner for Muslims, don’t you? Saala, Pakistani!”

It may seem so. I agree. Not the “Pakistani” part which is just ignorance, but the “only visiting Islamic countries” part.

I love whatever I have seen of Middle East and Northern Africa so far. The people are so nice. The food, so delicious. The places, full of history and culture. In the last few years I have visited countries like Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Turkey and I want to see more. I would love to go to Tunisia, Algeria, all of Central Asia (all the -stans). It will all be amazing! I know that for a fact.

Yes, majority of people in this belt follow Islam. I remember, during my last trip, my Pakistani roommate in Antalya asked me where all I have been. After I told him about my recent trips, he asked me innocently, “Aren’t you a Hindu?”

The thing is, I do not choose countries on the basis of the religion most people follow there. I do not care about religion at all. Fuck religion. Religion was supposed to show us the way we should lead our lives but now, it seems all it does is make us hate and kill each other.

Who cares what is written in an ancient book? Who cares which God is the one true God? They aren’t even real. It is like we are arguing over the fact that Batman is better than Superman and fighting with each other over it. We are killing people over old, probably imaginary stories!

Anyway, when I choose a destination for a trip, the only things that matter are if the tickets are affordable and if its visa is easy to get. That’s all.

Just so you know, I have nothing against religious people. It is fine with me if you are a devout follower of a particular religion. We should all be respectful towards other people’s beliefs and traditions. Just remember your religion is your personal thing, don’t force it on others. Don’t harm others on the basis of it. That’s all. Live and let live. Jeeo aur jeeno do.

Thoda zyaada ho gaya… Sorry…touchy topic.

(PS: Batman is the best. There is no doubt.)

Why do I visit “poor” countries so much?

“Kabhi dhang ki jagah bhi ghoom liya kar!”

Like Religion, I do not choose a destination on the basis of how “rich” or “poor” it is. Affordable air tickets and easy visa are all that matters.

I use the quotation marks because I think it is stupid to categorise a country on the basis of how much money the people or the government have there.

Every place has something to offer. A new culture. A new cuisine. A new set of people. That’s the best thing about travel, isn’t it?

So, look beyond the skyscrapers, shiny cars and fancy malls… open your mind and every place will seem “dhang ki.”

Was visiting Iran a mistake?

“Abbey, you will never get a USA visa now that an Iran visa is stamped in your passport. Ab bhul jaa Las Vegas ki parties.”

I don’t know how credible this argument is because I have met a lot of people who have visited both of these countries. But I decided to include this question because of the sheer number of people who think having an Iran visa will affect my future travels, especially to the western world.

Since I do not know for sure, for the sake of argument, I will play along and assume that it will be difficult for me to travel to USA and many other countries.

But, I regret nothing.

Visiting Iran was one of the best things I have done. I don’t know or care about its politics, but I was showered with unreal kindness throughout the trip by the people I met there.

Iran has so much to see! It should be up there in the bucket list of every traveler.

I would love to visit Tehran again. It is, without a doubt, one of my favourite cities in the world. I would also love to visit Tabriz and roam around it’s atmospheric markets. Also want to see the Alborz mountains and Dasht-e Kavir up close.

So, Iran, we are not done yet.

And if my Iran trip came at the price of parties in Las Vegas, well, I think I got off pretty cheap.

Why have I stopped visiting Thailand?

“Bhai, kuch hua kya?”

Nothing happened. I will definitely visit Thailand again. So chill.

Few years back, I was completely smitten by South East Asia. It was cheap, fun, had great beaches and amazing nightlife. I visited countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia. It was all so so amazing.

And all these trips had something in common. Thailand.

Bangkok is one of the the major hub for airlines serving other SE Asian countries and it offered Visa on Arrival to Indians. I would devote a part of my SE Asian trips to explore Thailand. I went to the south where the beaches are, the north where the mountains are and the center which has a lot of history. It was all so amazing.

My love for Thailand, which started in 2011 during my first visit, just kept growing with these trips.

Then in 2014, I visited Egypt and my idea of travel have changed. Traveling in Egypt was crazy! It had good experiences. Bad experiences. The whole trip was full of adrenaline.

After my Egypt trip, I visited Thailand a couple of times on my way to Myanmar and Laos. And for some reason, it felt too comfortable…too safe… too familiar…I wanted more of that craziness!

So, I had to take a break from South East Asia.

I wanted to visit places that are a bit off beat and offered a totally different culture. Basically, I wanted to see the world a bit more.

But, as they say, first love is always special. Thailand will always be special.

How was the food in Japan?

“Chee! Kacchi macchli kha gaya?”

If I had to choose one country that I could visit over and over again, it will be Japan. I love everything about it. Everything!!

Food wise, trying sushi and sashimi for the first time was a bit strange because I was not used to the texture of raw meat but I got used to it quickly.. so much so that now sushi is one of my favourite things to eat.

Japan was the only country where I loved and enjoyed each and every dish I had. Seriously, I did not have even one bad meal there.

Arigato!

Where do you get the money to travel so much?

“Tu kuch aisa toh nahi kar raha jo tujhe nahi karna chahiye?”

Well, I make travel a priority and save a part of my income for it. I save the money you probably spend on fancy phones and clothes and use that to travel.

I will not be one of those guys who say travel is very cheap, but it definitely does not cost as much as you think…. especially if you stay in hostels, use public transport and enjoy street food.

Why have these B’day posts stopped?

“Kuch likhna chahiye, nahi?”

Yes, I should have written something. I was just lazy and did not feel like turning off the TV, I guess.

Anyway, here it is. Hopefully this was good.

Next year? Dunno.

I will try.

Where next?

“Jaayega phir aise hi kahin… Afghanistan, Somalia types!”

You will know when the time is right.

Maybe, follow me on Instagram where I post regularly when I travel??

Tsk tsk tsk….more shameless promotions.

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Whoa..this has dragged on for a bit. There are a few other questions that come to mind but I’ll end it here.

But before I end, I would like to thank you all for supporting and following Good Old Boots.

Cheers!