Germany , shanghai and jaipur

 Is travelling to a foreign country overrated ?  For those who havent travelled overseas grass is always greener on the other side . I mean as a tourist , the grass in germany is greener than india . Frankly , before travelling overseas i too thought any overseas travel is awesome compared to any touristy place in  india . Of course it is awesome depending on the destination and also your personality ( we will come to that later ) 

Coming to overseas travel , though i have visited a few countries , i ask travellers who have visited other countries about the attractions i am interested in  .But i wasnt prepared for the answer from my  software professional friend from USA . In malayalam he was telling about a world famous tourist destination which i always dreamt about visiting . "Ede , ath verum oru kuzhi . Ee parayunna polonnum illaa"  ( malayalam meaning : That is just a large pit , Nothing as great as its marketed to be ) . Then he told about the marketing tactics of americans who market everything though india has more treasures . I asked another friend of mine about the same tourist destination and she also told the same .They were talking about the Grand Canyon .    

No, i still am very keen to see it . But the point is perspectives matter a lot even in something as grand as grand canyon . Just like i find sunny leone more beautiful than aiswarya rai :)  

Coming back to germany , there is no doubt i enjoyed my trips there . But i enjoyed many of my indian destinations equally and at a much lesser cost . Especially rajasthan -jaipur and udaipur . Partly its because i grew up reading amar chitra katha childrens books in which rajput heroes and heroines were numerous . And when i started travelling a visit to jaipur and udaipur was like visiting the places where my heroes and heroines once resided.  You guessed it ,.I am a  history buff . So for me , history which i am interested in will colour my enjoyment of a place i visit . And that too at a fraction of the cost and in a maharaja style accomodation  for a lesser cost . 

Talking about shanghai , it was nice . Especially travelling in one of the worlds fastest trains there . But still if it was an extended stay i would have run short of touristy places to visit . And again personality comes here . I can tolerate big cities only for a few days . And yes i hate the chinese girl who called me shahrukh khan and talked to me in  hindi . She was pretty too . She was trying to sell me a bag and calling me shahrukh khan was to encourage me to buy it . I hate big city people who tell lies . Shahrukh  will cry if he hears what the girl told all for  selling a bag . ( i didnt buy it from her finally ) . I prefer simple people of rajasthan . 

Cruising in the autobahn at 200 kmph plus in a car was enjoyable . The cool weather in germany was enjoyable . But my point is overseas trips are overrated especially considering the cost . Enjoy indian destinations as much before venturing out . Though i travelled for 8 years , I still havent covered many places in this magnificient country . From the gol gappas of bareilly to travelling in the konkan railway the grass is green on both sides . 

P.S At time of writing this Trump is planning to deport both of my friends for calling grand canyon a giant pit .