My takeaways from 14 countries
1. Equatorial Guinea: An African country without potholes and with all street lights working. In this country even roads to farms are first class.
2. Colombia: The issue about FARC rebels and heightened media reportage on them, often created the impression that Colombia was a warzone. Far from it. A visit to the city of Medellin revealed an impressive social settlement in the rhythm of normal human life.
3. Libya: Perhaps no country shared this attribute with Libya. Visiting Libya, I had the ocular proof of a country with surplus housing for the population.
4. China: Motor accidents in the form of head-on collisions are possibly very minimal, if not absent in China. Roads leading to and from the countryside do not have opposite directions. They are single direction roads.
5. Morocco: A country where the King supervises all the dispensations that turn to the benefit of ordinary citizens. Policies are foremost directed at the welfare of families.
6. United States: Little room or no time for gossiping. Once upon a time, I sent a phone to a service outlet, with two repeats. Wanting to attend other business, the service provider said “this is New York, I am serving the world, no time for little things.” I concluded that trends in the largest city of the US mirror the rest, and the leaf I took from one disposition was that though people are vigilant, they might have little time for gossiping.
7. UAE: A country with a very small population has been able to build itself into an oasis of the desert. All cities in the country of a few people are radiant urban locations.
8. South Africa: A preponderance of the curvy African woman. The presence of beautiful women in South Africa is normal, and not the exception. They are therefore not arrogant.
9. Finland: The Finnish people believe that the best way to show respect for fellow human beings is to respect their time. Lateness to events is almost non-existent.
10. Liberia: The effect of war maybe. Scenes in Monrovia, from the airport to the city centre portrayed one thing – decadence. Years of war retarded development of the country.
11. Namibia: The near coexistence of humans and wildlife. Animals such as giraffes and the line up you can think about, are almost at free range on the vegetation lining the road from the airport to the gates of Windhoek city.
12. Australia: Presence and high maintenance of water bodies within cities. The pools of water that crisscross cities in this country are squeaky clean. No debris.
13. Trinidad and Tobago: The old district in the capital, Port of Spain, can be delineated from the modern spec, at least from two perspectives. One, the difference between old and new structures is unmistakable. Two, the old districts are well-maintained. Even if you assume they are slums, sanitation is perfect.
14. France: The physical space of France is as polished as a shoe that is polished to glisten. The environment in France is world’s apart from sanitation issues.