Journeys that empower

Early next morning, after finding an apartment–hotel to move into next, Asif left his luggage in the previous hotel’s cloakroom and stepped out into the streets of London with a small backpack and his passport, phone and some money, trying to remain risk-aware and risk-alert. “Basically, I was constantly looking out for muggers,” he adds with a laugh.

While he wouldn’t experience mugging, he’d accomplish many ‘firsts’. “I hadn’t known about their app-based taxis so I found no cabs and began exploring the city on foot,” he says, walking around from 8 am to 4 pm—a first for him. “Back home, I can hardly walk for more than 10 minutes and certainly cannot carry more than 3–4 kg. Here, my backpack weighed 6 kg!” says Asif in wonder. A subway ride, another first in his life, and some more of the unguided but exciting sightseeing later, Asif decided to return for his luggage at around 8 pm. Despite a steady drizzle and his unbelievable exhaustion, the lack of cabs forced him to walk back.

Back in the hotel, after another dinner of wafers and tea, Asif got his luggage from the cloakroom and as advised by the hotel staff, he headed out for a cab and got one half hour later. “Before getting in, the risk-manager in me counted the five pieces of luggage I carried. The taxi dropped me off right opposite the apartment–hotel I’d booked into. I got off the cab, and still standing outside the apartment–hotel, counted the five pieces of luggage again, and was pleasantly surprised that despite the ten hours of walking around, I felt incredibly light. Then it hit me! In the luggage count, I’d forgotten to include my backpack, which was now travelling with the cabbie!”