To the earliest of my memories, I remember traveling with my parents in overstuffed ST buses taking us through the grueling ride to our native town in Konkan. The strong stench of ripe jackfruit and communal sweat mixed with the red mud of the land ensured that I threw up all along the way! But the real gift was the lovely land that reckons me till date…simple people with harsh way of life, sharp tongues coupled with sharper wits, skinny figures with immense agility and an honest heart that adorns it all! Over the years the love for these people and land has only increased...
The next notable travels I took were in foreign lands of Hongkong, Africa and some parts of Europe… Long flights, alien languages and the overdependence on a document called ‘Passport’ marked these journey. People in this land were as alien as their tongues and I failed to make any real impressions about them.
To me they were more of watermarks in the background than anything else. My heart always longed to go back to India, not for the love of motherland so much as for the love for the people that I had left behind!
To me they were more of watermarks in the background than anything else. My heart always longed to go back to India, not for the love of motherland so much as for the love for the people that I had left behind!
Real travel happened beginning with our honeymoon when hubby and I ventured out in North East paradise of Sikkim & Darjeeling all on our own. The helicopter ride over the long and serene Teesta River was an out of the world experience!
Romantic climate coupled with brand new marital bliss played wonder effect for this place. Planning your day, selecting the menu and managing the budgets were something I was enjoying to the fullest. A tough landscape with glimpses of bright Buddhist monasteries and monks was the newly found love in life. People here were like honey bees: laborious, stylish and sweet...
Love for the Buddhist culture prompted us to take our next excursion to the land of high passes – Ladakh! No journey thereafter has been so satisfying till day! High passes with barren lands, endless mountain paths, the ever entertaining verses of BRO (Border Roads Organisation) boards, crystal clear blue skies with snow white clouds, pure highland breeze, sparse but fresh vegetation, contrastingly set monasteries and stupas with maroon –wrapped monks makes the land truly magical!
The hardships of snow bound life are seen in the profusely wrinkled yet ever smiling and ‘Jhulley’ greeting people of this land…Unforgettable journey coupled with unbelievably warm people!
Kashmir, the very next destination was again a land of beauty but retched with the ugly face of terrorism and negativity towards the government. Masses of this land are out to fleece tourist like never before all under the cover of destruction of industry under the prolonged war conditions.
Himachal another beautiful destination was next in the basket with abundance of nature, beautiful women and a mix rich Punjabi tadka too…
Himachal another beautiful destination was next in the basket with abundance of nature, beautiful women and a mix rich Punjabi tadka too…
Singapore, Bali and Bhutan the recent ones were all with varied flavours of the South East Asian cultures Pleasant outings which could be marked as luxury travel escapades…Locals have always formed an integral part of my travel experiences at all destinations. Amongst them, Himalayan inhabitants take the cake! Their sheer will to survive in the most difficult conditions make my journeys all the more enigmatic…
Another important factor of any journey is your companion: May it be a friend, a spouse or a fellow traveller…I strongly believe that this specimen called “Companion’ has the power to break or make your journey
Journeys have taught me a simple fact: They may bring hardships, delays, surprises and changes…but they all add to my experience called ‘Life’!
Keep travelling! :)
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