Flights, food, fashion, and factories – the business hustle never stops.
🧳 The Beginning – Lucknow → Cochin
Every big trip starts with a small chaos — ours began in Lucknow. Packing? Messy. Luggage weight? Suspiciously close to airline limits. Excitement? Off the charts.
We flew out of Lucknow with a quick stopover and landed in Cochin International Airport to officially kickstart our March 2017 business-leisure adventure.
🛬 First Stop: Cochin International Airport
🌺 Kerala Vibes at the Terminal
Unlike most airports that look like steel-and-glass boxes, Cochin greets you with sloping tiled roofs, earthy colors, and potted flowers everywhere. It honestly felt more like checking into a beach resort than an airport.
First impressions: “Are we here for a flight or a vacation?”
🍛 Dosa Before Departure
Rule of business travel: never negotiate on an empty stomach. At the airport food court, we dug into a crispy masala dosa with sambar and chutneys. That crunch, that tang, that spice… it was Kerala giving us a farewell hug in edible form.
Because no trip should begin without dosa diplomacy.
And with full bellies, we were ready for our flight to Kuala Lumpur.
🇲🇾 Kuala Lumpur – Shrugs, Food & Skyscrapers
🐟 Hungry in Masjid Jamek
Landing in KL, hunger hit us like a brick. Straight from the bus to Masjid Jamek area, we rushed into a restaurant and ordered steamed rice with fried fish. Was it gourmet? No. Did it feel like heaven? YES.
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Me looking like travel had punched me in the face
🎨 Souvenirs at Central Market
After dinner, we strolled to Central Market, KL’s treasure trove of arts and souvenirs. We admired portrait stalls and quirky crafts but ended up buying… wait for it… a colorful stationery set. Yup, rulers, pencils, and a button badge saying “I ❤️ Malaysia.”
Serious businessmen, serious stationery collectors.
🌌 Masjid Jamek by Night
The mosque lit up beautifully at night with glowing domes, striped minarets, and fountains dancing in blue lights. Tourists snapped away, and we joined them like pros.
Instagram moment unlocked.
🛍️ Jamek Mall Shrugs
Next day, Jamek Mall lured us in with shrugs that practically screamed “Buy me or regret it forever.” One floral, one silver-embroidered — both irresistible.
🍽️ Turkish Dinner Near Masjid India
That evening we rewarded ourselves with a hearty Turkish meal near Masjid India — shawarma, fries, dips, the works. Nothing says “successful shopping” like food from another country while you’re in Malaysia.
☕ One Gallon of Tea, Please
Breakfast the next morning was simple — toast, bananas, and… a glass of tea so big it could hydrate a football team. Forget “bed tea,” this was bathtub tea. One sip and you were awake enough to run a marathon.
🏙️ Petronas Towers – The KL Essential
And of course, the Petronas Twin Towers. Standing below them, you feel like an ant attending a skyscraper conference. Everyone struggles to fit them into a selfie, including us.
🚌 Goodbye KL, Hello Yiwu
By evening, it was time to leave. We grabbed a bus to the airport, stuffed with shrugs, stationery, and way too much tea in our system, and boarded our flight to Yiwu, China.
🏬 Yiwu – The Product Jungle
Yiwu is basically Disneyland for traders. For six full days, we roamed the endless International Trade Mart, where every aisle has something new.
😅 Surviving Yiwu
By day six, our legs were broken, our memory cards were full, and our bags were mysteriously heavier. And yet… we’d barely scratched one building out of five.
🚆 Overnight Train to Guangzhou
The station at Yiwu was crowd central — thousands waiting, luggage everywhere, announcements non-stop. Inside the train, people ate, slept, scrolled, and even sat like yoga masters on seats.
We didn’t get much sleep, but we got entertainment for free.
🏨 Guangzhou – The Big City Buzz
🛎️ Ruifeng Hotel HQ
We checked into Ruifeng Hotel, smack in the middle of town near the railway station. Clean, comfy, and close to everything — our battle HQ.
🛍️ Clothing & Market Marathon
We wandered into markets like the International Clothing Creative Center and Kinme Fashion City. Shrugs, butterfly prints, Balenciaga lookalikes, wallets — Guangzhou doesn’t let you walk away empty-handed.
🍹 Juices, Snacks & Miniso Madness
Street stalls sold wild juice combos like carrot-ginger-cucumber. Miniso lured us into buying things we didn’t need but suddenly couldn’t live without.
✈️ The Journey Home – Guangzhou → Bangalore → Lucknow
After one last market stroll, it was time to pack up. We flew from Guangzhou to Bangalore, stretched our tired legs during the layover, and then finally boarded our flight back to Lucknow — heavier bags, lighter wallets, and happier hearts.
The Snoring Saga—Imran Beg vs. My Sanity
Now, no travel diary is complete without talking about the biggest challenge of the trip. No, not visas. Not luggage. Not bargaining with Yiwu sellers.
I’m talking about Imran Beg’s snoring.
From Day One in Cochin to the last night in Guangzhou, Imran snored like he was auditioning for a thunderstorm sound effects album. On the plane, on the train, in hotels—everywhere. If you closed your eyes, you’d think a cloudburst had entered the room.
I tried everything:
- Earplugs (useless, might as well put cotton candy in my ears).
- Nose patches for him (they fell off faster than Yiwu discount stickers).
- Sleeping first (impossible, because he snored before his head even touched the pillow).
Finally, in Guangzhou, desperation hit genius. I bought a portable speaker, put it right next to my ear, and blasted rain sounds at night. Not the gentle pitter-patter kind, but full-on monsoon mode. Only then could I sleep.
So if you ever see me walking around with a speaker, it’s not for music. It’s for survival.
🎒 Final Thoughts – March 2018 in a Nutshell
- Cochin gave us tiled roofs & dosas.
- KL gave us shrugs, stationery, Turkish food, and a gallon of tea.
- Yiwu gave us products, unicorns, and bargaining marathons.
- Guangzhou gave us shrugs (again), juices, and endless energy.
Business travel? Yes.
Leisure? Double yes.
Stories? Priceless.
Until the next trip… ✈️
