So, this happened last night. Won the Best Blogger Award at @oltraveller Annual Awards The award felt super special as my favorites were there with me. This is the 3rd award & 4th nomination of 2018. Thank you all for your support.

Is anyone awake at @tourismgoi @incredibleindia @gssjodhpur ? This is a complete failure of strategy. Wait, do they have any strategy at all? Numbers don't lie 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (Jan–Sep 2026): 10.3 MILLION foreign tourists 🇮🇳 India (Full Year Estimate): 8–9 MILLION foreign tourists Let that sink in. The brutally hard facts: 📍 India is 7x bigger geographically than UZB 📍 India has 43 UNESCO sites vs 5 📍 India has a 7,500+ km coastline (vs being doubly landlocked) 📍 India has the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas, the Thar Desert, Goa, Kerala, Tea Gardens, 5 Big cats etc vs. Silk Road history. Yet a country 1/7th our size with zero beaches is DESTROYING us in foreign arrivals. Why? 📉 Why India is getting left behind: - Complex visa friction vs. Uzbekistan’s e-visa & 90+ visa-free entry policies. - Infrastructure bottlenecks & high hospitality taxes. - Aggressive global marketing by Tashkent vs. no promotions from Delhi. Incredible India needs an urgent reality check. Heritage means nothing if travel ease isn't prioritised. 🚨✈️ Make #IncredibleIndiaIncredibleAgain #InboundTourism #IndiaTravel

Political opinions aside, this is wrong at so many levels. Peaceful protest is every citizen’s right. @dhruv_rathee didn’t break any law here. Why doesn’t @BJP4India ever give the same treatment to criminals who are now part of its own political party??? Seems like holding a political opinion is a bigger crime than killing someone or doing a financial ghotala in this country.

Finally, saw #awarapan2. @emraanhashmi is the soul of the film. His acting is a masterclass. But the rest of the cast was subpar. I missed @ranaashutosh10 @shriya1109 and other supporting cast. Mohit Suri gave us a masterpiece. But this one was terrible. Emraan Hashmi deserved a better director, a better leading lady, a better villian & & definitely a better music director. @DishPatani is such a misfit. She had a meaty role but she wasted the opportunity. She was so promising in her first film, MS Dhoni. However, I feel anyone could have acted better than her in Awarapan2. Wooden face. No expressions.

What is this fixation celebrities have for botox and cosmetic procedures. Those bigger than mountains cheekbones and bee-stung lips so ugly. All of them look horrible. Why can’t they age gracefully? #meganfox #aishwaryaRai #KatrinaKaif

Dear Modi ji, Sitharaman ji & RBI Governor ji… 🙏😂 One small request from a very very very tired Indian investor 🔴📉: Please shut down the stock market and reopen it in 2047. My portfolio needs a 21-year sabbatical. 😭📉 @narendramodi @nsitharamanoffc and @RBI

Thank you @nsitharamanoffc @narendramodi @PMOIndia ₹7–10 lakh crore wiped out from Indian markets today. Rate hike. Crude above $100. FII selling. Rupee weakening. Markets can fall. But Indian investors deserve answers, not silence. #StockMarket #Sensex #Nifty50

🙅‍♀️Do not count these stairs. 📍 Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, will literally test your luck! This ancient alley of royal mausoleums is home to one of Samarkand’s most mysterious secrets. Local legend says if your step count while going down matches your count coming up, your sins are forgiven. But if the number changes? That’s considered bad luck! 🤫 Beyond the legend, these 14th-century tombs hide a 700-year-old secret. That electric cobalt blue tilework? Ancient kings kept the mineral formula so strictly guarded that artisans today still can't recreate its exact shade! Would you dare walk these stairs alone? Tag a friend who needs to try this stair test with you! 👇 #Samarkand #UzbekistanTravel #TravelSeeWrite #SilkRoad #VisitUzbekistan

Binge watched #Hunkkaar yesterday. Raw. Uncomfortable. Brilliantly acted. @fattysanashaikh is outstanding. She deserves more such meaty roles. @AneetPadda’s 5-minute monologue? That’s acting. You feel her pain, anguish, fear…everything through her eyes and expressions. She proves she’s so much more than the girl from #Saiyaara. @RaghubirYadav is chilling. He’s an acting school in himself. @Mdzeeshanayyub, @mathurarjun and the entire cast are terrific in every scene. Every character feels human. Nobody is wasted. And congratulations to director Karan Kapadia for bringing such a powerful, difficult story to screen with so much restraint and sensitivity. If you haven’t watched #Hunkkaar yet, GO. WATCH. IT. On @JioHotstar. ❤️

Binge-watched #Hunkaar and I’m honestly shaken by its rawness, its subject and the sheer power of its delivery. The screenplay, direction and casting are exceptional. What makes Hunkaar hit so hard is that every character feels real, layered, flawed, complicated and deeply human. @fattysanashaikh is phenomenal. She brings such quiet strength, conviction and emotional depth to ACP Jasleen Singh Soin. She deserves so many more films and characters that allow her to showcase what she is capable of. And, thankgod the #Saiyara girl @AneetPadda is not a one film wonder. She is a revelation. The fear, vulnerability, anger and courage she brings to Meenu Rawat feel incredibly lived-in. She is far too talented to be confined to pretty, flowerpot roles. Give this girl characters with substance, she can absolutely carry them. That 5 minute monologue shows what real acting is. @RaghubirYadav is brilliant as Baapji. There is such unsettling authenticity to his performance. @Mdzeeshanayyub brings tremendous humanity as Bhalerao, while @mathurarjun adds another fascinating layer as the journalist Amitabh. And @RamKapoor, @zyhssn, @MeCharuShankar, @RajeshSharma and the entire supporting cast deserve applause. Nobody feels like a token character. Every performance adds something to this world. This is what happens when a powerful subject meets a powerful script, sensitive direction and actors who completely surrender to their characters. If you haven’t watched Hunkaar yet, go watch it on @JioHotstar . You’ll be thinking about it long after it ends. ❤️

Dear @ZeptoNow , STOP playing with people’s health. How many rotten, damaged and near-expiry products have to reach consumers before you call this a quality-control failure? Today’s delivery: DAHI: Seal broken, with the contents visibly eaten from the side — potentially rodent damage. MILK: Barely 13.5 hours before expiry. I asked your Zepto Help customer-care executive to take it back. They refused because it isn’t expired yet. Apparently, “not expired” is Zepto’s definition of acceptable quality. CAULIFLOWER: Pale, stale and nowhere close to what you would expect to receive as fresh produce. And before anyone calls this an isolated mistake, NO. I was assured twice, by two different Zepto executives, that my store would be thoroughly checked for quality control and that I would not face these issues again. I was even asked to delete my earlier tweet. I refused. Clearly, those assurances meant nothing. This is not a mistake. This is a pattern. Quick commerce cannot mean quickly clearing sub-standard inventory at the expense of consumers’ health. @fssaiindia @MoHFW_INDIA @MoHFW_INDIA @PMOIndia how is this acceptable? Who is actually checking the quality-control and storage practices of these dark stores? We are talking about food that Indians are putting into their bodies. A broken seal, potentially contaminated food, stale vegetables and milk with hours of shelf life left are not things consumers should simply “adjust” to. If repeated complaints and assurances followed by the same failures don’t trigger action, then what exactly will? Someone needs to be held accountable.

I am constantly facing bad experience with @ZeptoNow . They are consistently, without fail, delivering bad products. First it was near expiry products, then bad quality, now damaged products. 8/10 times I have received damaged / rotten products be it eggs, bread, vegetables or any grocery items. I DON’T want your refund, i simply want you to deliver quality products. Quick commerce is to make our life easier not to make us fall sick. I switched from @letsblinkit but @ZeptoNow is worse or same as the former. We need strict food regulations @MoHFW_INDIA @fssaiindia . India really needs many more administrators like @Tukaram_IndIAS @ZeptoNow

🚨Shocking tourist experience in Quebec City, Canada 🚨 Took a regular metered cab from the bus station to my hotel. When the bill came, the driver took my credit card and keyed in the maximum tip himself on the machine without giving me an option. When I reminded him that tipping is my choice, he just shrugged it off laughingly. Then, a similar incident happened again with another cab. When I was about to pay the bill amount, he irritatingly said, “what? You don’t want to pay me tip?” As if I was doing a crime by not paying him. I apologised, “of course I want to.” But instead of letting me enter the amount, he himself entered a 20% tip before handing me the terminal. It makes me wonder: do taxi drivers do this with locals too, or are they specifically targeting tourists who might not know better? Also, since when did tipping become something forced on passengers? Tipping is supposed to be voluntary, not mandatory! What extra service are they providing by dropping me at my destination? I am already paying for your gas and service. If I feel the service was great, I’ll gladly tip, if I don’t, that should be my choice. It’s my money, and I decide where and how to spend it. How can drivers simply take advantage of visitors like this? If you want a tip, earn it—don’t force it! #TippingCulture #Tipping #TouristExperience

Uzbekistan Travel Thread 🧵 9/10 While Samarkand dazzles you, Bukhara makes you slow down and dream 🕌✨ With 2,500+ years of living history, walk through ancient trading domes, sip green tea by Lyabi-Khauz pond, and marvel at the soaring Poi Kalyan minaret! (9/10) #Bukhara #SilkRoad #AncientCities #SlowTravel #UnescoHeritage #TravelSeeWrite #BudgetTravel #SoloTravel #CentralAsiaTravel #SilkRoad

Uzbekistan Travel Thread (8/10)  If ancient Silk Road fairy tales had an epicenter, it’s Samarkand 💙 Stand in awe at Registan Square’s towering mosaic madrasas, climb the turquoise avenue of Shah-i-Zinda, and explore cities that were thriving before Rome was built! Pro Tip: Definitely get the flying dress shoot done. That $100 USD is totally worth it. #Samarkand #Registan #SilkRoad #TravelDiaries #Uzbekistan #TravelSeeWrite #SoloTravel #BudgetTravel #CentralAsiaTravel #TravelSeeWrite

Uzbekistan Travel Thread 🧵 Ever wondered where the architectural blueprint for the Taj Mahal came from? 🕌 Look at Gur-e-Amir in Samarkand! This 15th-century mausoleum’s double-domed turquoise architecture directly inspired the Mughal masters who built Agra’s crown jewel. (7/10)  #TajMahal #Samarkand #MughalArchitecture #SilkRoad #HistoryBuff #UNESCOworldheritagesite #silkroute #CentralAsia #TravelSeeWrite

Uzbekistan Travel THREAD 🧵 Solo Traveller or female travellers? Uzbekistan is ultra-safe 🔒✨ People leave doors unlocked, streets are lit till late, and the warmth of Uzbek hospitality will steal your heart. Despite being a muslim country, I could dress the way I wanted. Nowhere I felt unsafe. No creepy eyes following me. No unwanted attention from strangers. Only love and respect. You’ll be treated like family wherever you step foot! (6/10) #SafeTravel #WomenWhoTravel #CentralAsia #UzbekistanCulture #TravelSeeWrite #UzbekistanVisafreeTravel #VisaFree #BudgetTravel #SoloTravel

Did you know taking a single photo here used to get you ARRESTED? 🚨📸 Built as Soviet nuclear shelters, #TashkentMetro banned photos until 2016! Now you can explore jaw-dropping stations like Kosmonavtlar, Alisher Navoiy & Pakhtakor, all for ₹15 a ride! (5/10) #TashkentMetro #Tashkent #SovietArchitecture #UndergroundArt #UzbekistanTravel #SilkroadTravel #centralasia #TravelSeeWrite #TravelBlogger