By: Marcia King- Gamble
www.lovemarcia.com
To say, I've had a few adventures in travel would be putting it mildly. You can't have been a flight attendant, or worked in the travel industry, without collecting an adventure or two.
None, however, is more memorable than one on my many visits to India. New Delhi, exactly. India appeals to the shopper and foodie in me. Back in the day, I used to travel with a girlfriend; a free spirit like me; a huge shopaholic and foodie.
We normally booked into the Maurya Sheraton; next door to a British Hotel where reputedly the queen and her posse stayed. We never did see the queen, but we did see her bodyguards. These men made nightly sojourns to our hotel's nightclub to pose, flex muscle, and scope out the women.
One such bodyguard took a liking to me. Since I was married, it was unrequited love, and I passed him onto my travel companion. He seemed not too disappointed and immediately transferred his affections to her. They had a whirlwind romance, and on the day of departure, after fighting our way through two hours of security checks at Indira Gandhi Airport, my friend was paged to return to the front of the building. She had allegedly left her passport behind. It didn't make sense to us, but since said passport had been long tucked away, (or so we thought,) with much muttering of breath, she made her way back.
At the front, waiting for a last kiss, was Roy, the bodyguard, in question. Luckily, because of his many high-security clearances, my friend, made it back, in time for departure.
The story doesn't end there. Two weeks go by. We are working an evening shift. The phone on my desk rings, and a very British voice asks for my friend. I put her on, watch her heightened color, and realize something is very wrong, when she slides into my vacated seat, head down. Roy's wife (we did not know such a wife existed,) called, to let my friend know he was married with two kids. That quickly ended the romance.
Next adventure, ten day vacation to Asia, same friend, accompanying me. We're heading for Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. We are seriously jetlagged. We end up at the revolving upstairs bar at a well known hotel, catering to the travel industry crowd. There is a Filipino band playing Michael Jackson music, and the dance floor is full, and so is every table. We get waved over to a table by some attractive looking men. They turn out to be Australians, and though not noticeably drunk, we find out there is no longer any Foster's to be had. We close the place, and one man suggests (there are about 10 of us now, both men and women,) that we adjourn to his private club. I should have known better when an eye was placed to a keyhole, and we were waved in. Turned out, said private club, was a Gentleman's club. The entertainment on stage was X rated (and that's being kind.) Needless to say, we were out of there in a flash.
When you travel as much as I do, nothing surprises you. I have seen cruise passengers come onboard in Mexico with Iguanas, they later release to potted plants; a not so nice surprise for passengers walking by. I have seen lobsters, bought in Maine released down an airplane's aisle, to settle under some unsuspecting passengers seat.
I have seen newly marrieds, supposedly on honeymoon, dumped, when someone else catches the recently married's eye.
But if you really want fodder for a book, cruise during a holiday season when guests not invited to a relative's table, set sail. There you will see everything from smuggled parakeets onboard, to emotional support dogs in tutus dancing with their owners. Then there are the obviously rented escorts out for fun and a free cruise.
Yep, those are just some adventures in travel! Trust me I have many more.
Romantically Yours,
Marcia
My latest release in The Ring series. Released last week. Sequel to Ring in the Holidays!
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About Marcia King-Gamble
Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble
originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the
same mesmerizing shade of blue. This travel industry executive and current
world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National
Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free
time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her
animal family.
Be sure to join her mailing list.
9 comments:
Knew you'd have a plethora of tales to tell, Marcia. You did not disappoint. Your Gentleman's Club story has similarities to my ending up in a Bordello in Mazatlan. I like your's better!
Ah, Judith you should tell all. That bordello story sounds fascinating. Share! Share! Share!
Great stories, Marcia. What a jerk that bodyguard was! Your friend must have been heartbroken. His wife, too. What a self-centered !@#%!
I'd like to read Judith's bordello story, too.
Bordello story is Not forthcoming, especially not here or anywhere on social media/internet. Sometimes when traveling and we want to see the area as if we lived there, we can take a wrong turn...or the wrong taxi...or hire the wrong guide...or ...
Marcia - as a romance writer, your stories are fodder for books (not the HEA) but the beginning of the book when the hero or heroine, after a bad experience, sets out to finally find the right person for them. Or in the case of a rom-com, some of those holiday cruise stories would be fun to include :-)
Great stories! And I agree with Deb N., they'd all make perfect opening scenes for a contemporary romance.
Thanks for popping in everyone. The stories of marrieds looking for fun while traveling are not that uncommon. Hence the general reluctance for many to engage in a long distance romance. I say it boils down to character. This person would behave the same way whether they were local or long distance. Thanks Judith, Sarah, Deb N and Luanna for stopping by. I actually have been approached by a number of literary types to marry my experiences from a current day job with a contemporary story.
I really enjoyed your blog! The adventures in travel ARE stranger than fiction for sure.
Truth is usually stranger than fiction Diana.
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