EXEC SUMMARY
We were lucky to do
refreshing 3 weeks of traveling to Dubai, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Israel in
April. Every time I take on these trips, I realize how inspiring,
energizing and perspective-changing they are - whether it was bathing with elefants
in Sri Lanka, riding sand dunes of Dubai, night swimming at Maldives or
strolling through ancient Jerusalem. What made this trip very diverse were
not only destinations but also the fact that about half of it was leisure
and half business.
BATHING WITH ELEFANTS
IN SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka felt a bit like a cleaner and less disorganized India.
Still some things were definitely worth visiting - strolling
through Buddhist temples, bathing with elephants, matching
familiar names to plants on spice tours or bumping into a village car race
where brutal sound and looks are significantly more important than speed. A lot
is written on child or animal abuse around the world, but little is known about
severe van abuse in Asia. On the way to tea-plantations highlands, our
seemingly peaceful driver was indulging in a
morbid high-gear low-rotation torture of his innocent manual-shift
Toyota van. After 5 hours of this severe abuse, and a couple rounds of car
pushing, our Toyota finally passed away and we got a replacement car. But
witnessing how a new driver enjoys exactly the same driving style, I am now
convinced Sri Lanka runs a prestigious nationwide driving competition
for lowest-rotation at the highest possible gear. I can personally confirm
a noticeable achievement of driving 5th gear at 25km/h while on about
12% uphill road. Click here for more photos - Sri Lanka
Click here for more photos - Dubai
ULTIMATE ROMANCE AT
MALDIVES: Staying in a water bungalow of Sheraton Full Moon resort at Maldives
was all we imagined and more. Turquoise cafe-warm sea where you could
float or swim for hours could not be more relaxing. So was exploring underwater
world until we met our new friend - hideous corral fish with big eyes and
teeth which ignored our initial hints that it is not welcome. Only my furious
karate kata with dead corals in hands seemed to surprise our over-enthusiastic
friend giving us a chance of fast escape. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine more
romantic settings than a sunset at a water bungalow
with cooling champagne followed by naked night swimming
(only occasionally interrupted by my paranoid thoughts of local
baby sharks going wild with my little sea snake).
FROM ACIENT JERUSALEM
TO HIGH-TECH TEL AVIV: Israel has been the biggest surprise of
the whole trip. While I expected second Dubai, Tel Aviv felt more like Cairo at
the first sight. One thing that strikes you right away is that
Israelis did not exactly master Japanese politeness and can often be
a bit too direct or abrupt. Authors of Startup Nation, a book about Israeli
economic success suggest that this assertive/direct/arrogant characteristic of
Israelis as well as their cohesiveness resulting from constant war threats are the
key drivers of their success. Certainly, number of successful tech/trade
companies that originated from this 7-million nation surpasses wildest
expectations. It was fascinating to hear behind-Google-scene insights and tips which we will attempt to reapply in Slovakia to boost tech export and startups. Unlike modern Tel Aviv, Jerusalem is a strikingly unique ancient place with very
different life in each of the four Arab/Jewish/Christian/Armenian
quarters. Yet, it must be tough to live in never-ending fear of war
and terrorists. One morning I had to leave hotel through emergency exit
due to bomb attack and flying out from Tel Aviv airport was as painful as Google
hiring process; the young female soldiers were more inquisitive
during exit interviews than my ex-girlfriend after I returned from Moscow
business trip.
