A Winter Odyssey

As a first generation businessman, my very first business trip to Europe in 1999 was quite a trip to remember.

I was not aware of the dress code for the textile fair. So, I decided to Yahoo (you know, back then). The search result said "if you have a business trip to Europe in the month of January, bring your thermals, woolen socks, leather gloves,.. and so on".

I did follow what Yahoo said. I packed all the things that my search had mentioned along with some four pairs of three-piece suit with ties and shoes. As I entered the ticket isle in the airport, I was told that my baggage weighed more than the economy passenger's baggage allowance. So, I had to start my first by paying an extra charge for my baggage.

I reached Frankfurt, Germany safe and sound. Got refreshed at the hotel and suited up to visit the textile fair. There, I met some of my existing buyers and one of my regular buyer came along with me to the Hotel room after the fair. He wanted to see the samples that I had brought from India, so I opened one of the three big trolley suitcase and displaced him the samples , leaving the other two on the side. After he went through the samples that I had opened, he asked me to open the next. He was utterly amazed when I told that I had my clothes in the other two suitcases. Laughing, he asked me "Hey, are you going to marry a German girl or what?" and then gave me the best tip on how to organize my dress code for a business trip.