When Americans say spicy, they usually mean chili. For some weird reason, other spices that are more aromatic like Turmeric, cloves, cardamom, etc. do not seem to fit the definitely of “spicy”. That’s why in a typical Indian/Thai restaurant in the US when they ask how spicy, they mean “How much chili should I put …

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Writing a blog post in plain text isn’t fun. Neither is writing it in a bulky word processor like Microsoft Word. The former is too constrained, the latter too unbridled.  Writing in Markdown is fun. It has sufficient features without creating bloat. Building a backend in lambda functions has a strong lock-in. On the other …

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Joshua Tree National Park, about a three-hour drive from the city of Los Angeles, is home to Joshua Trees. If you have a day to spend, I would recommend a hike followed by the viewpoints. We started from the south entrance and went northwards, here’s what we did Lost Oasis Trail – An easy ~7.5 …

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Guatemala is a hidden gem in Central America. Just like its English-speaking neighbor Belize, it is a picturesque country worth visiting. Day 1 – Ride to Antigua After landing at the Guatemala International Airport, I took a taxi to Antigua. It’s only an hour away and is much safer than the capital city, Guatemala City. …

The post Guatemala in 8 days first appeared on ashishb.net.

गाँव में रहने वाला लड़का घर में “नींबू-पानी” पीता है । शहर में जाता है तो उसको “शिकंजी” बोलने लगता है । फिर फ़ाइव-स्टार होटेल में जाता है, और “लेमोनेड” ऑर्डर करता है । विदेश-यात्रा पर जाता है, तो उसी नींबू-पानी को “व़र्जिन-मोहीतो” कहना सीख जाता है । – कुमार विश्वास

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I stared at the clothing in the souvenir shop. “Cancún” is written on the cap. “Cancún” is written on the chest. Cancún written on the derrière. In myriad fonts and sizes. I wondered who buys all these souvenirs. I have occasionally purchased souvenir clothing in the past. But it is usually lower quality, overpriced, and …

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An expensive place full of tourists is considered a popular destination. While an inexpensive place full of tourists will be called a crowded one. An expensive place lacking tourists is termed an exclusive destination. While an inexpensive place lacking tourists is considered deserted. It is never about other tourists, it is always about how much …

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A few years back, I wasted time on Duolingo trying to learn Spanish. I no longer do that and you shouldn’t. Here’s why it’s not effective and better alternatives. Language is primarily an oral activity. The written language evolved later, primarily, for bureaucracy and tax collection. Any app that emphasizes the written aspect first is …

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Indian passport remains weak, as per Henley’s 2021 index, India has visa-free access to only 59 countries and that excludes the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Schengen zone. Before ruminating on that, it is worth asking, why China, which is 5 times richer than India in terms of per capita GDP is not …

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There are several nightmare stories on the Internet regarding Google’s poor handling of payment issues related to Google Fi service. Most problems arise because people buy a phone along with Google Fi SIM. Don’t do it. Google FI SIMs are free. Just buy a good phone without lock-in separately. The offers you see usually show …

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