Many a times have we traversed onto foreign lands with certain expectations. Many a times have we been disappointed, thrilled, shocked & felt some other random emotions a normal human experiences.
But, Damn the Route Canal! Hits you right where you never thought it would.
As you enter the airport lounge, there’s a lingering vibe of a certain kind of freedom we’ve never smelt before. (No, it wasn’t the weed, well not yet at least) This is the moment where the excitement builds, tip-toeing to the exit gates seen from a mile away, walking through an abundance of alcohol, supermarkets & an array of well-designed boutique stores.
But sometimes you tend to pause & question yourself “Is this holiday going to be great? Will something crazy happen? Are the people racist towards Indian’s? How do I get to my Airbnb? Do I have enough money? Is my phone working?
Inhibitions start flowing through every vein of your body making you conscious of every single thing surrounding you. The sales girl standing there waiting to get your attention, the tall man in a suit walking towards you looking right through you, The patrol van taking rounds of the area. It’s all in focus for you, you can see right through every moment, a slow digressing consciousness that you experience standing right in the middle of it all.
There’s a sort of bi-polar nature creeping into you, tearing you in between the can & can’t, do & don’t do. As you step further towards your destination the person your Uncles, friends, wife’s daughter warned you about approaches “hello mister, can you lend me a dime?” & the first thought creeps into your mind, Your fucked! He’s going to steal your bag, point a gun on your lower back, throw you in a van & then I assume the rest is pretty obvious. But after a moment, he just stared blankly at me, with his hands extended beyond his body in hope that I probably would lend him one. Well I did. I’m sure my adviser would be pissed, but what the hell, he just wanted a dime that’s all. It would be a bad omen to receive a negative review from him to begin my trip with, wouldn’t it?
Why is the entry to airports on departure so short, but the exit on landing so long? Isn’t is supposed to be the other way around? With a smirk & some confidence I walked on with a smile on my face, as if I had escaped the most hostile situation of my life.
As I reached the final door to freedom, I just looked back once again. The man in the suit had smiled at me, the sales girl in the shop blushed when she saw me, the guy who I offered a dime smoked a blunt outside & most importantly the network on the my phone had restored.
I just took a step out & sighed ‘Dam the Route Canal!’
You thought it was an article on Amsterdam? It was, it’s just that there were no words to describe the place, just a few emotions that I could share.