One for Mom

It's been on my mind for long to want Amma to have a break - break from the routine and monotony of life and the stresses. A vacation she very deeply need and hasn't had in a very very long time. It's always been on my mind. But little did I do anything towards it. So when she decided to extend her stay at Bangalore after attending a family occasion, it hit me that this was the chance for me to give her that holiday. It just needed 2 nights to survey, plan and make the bookings. It had to be something out of Bangalore or Chennai but nearby. Mom loves the beach. What more relaxing than a holiday where you can chill at a beach and do nothing else?  Goa wasn't under consideration - too expensive, too hyped. Also, been there. Gokarna - great beach holiday but too much trekking that mom won’t enjoy. Also, been there twice last year in 2011. It had to be a new place. I decided 'twas something in Kerala. Not too far away and perfect for the entire things mom loves - beach, ayurvedic massage, and hammocks! Well, except shopping :) Allepey was on the wishlist but I ruled it out because of no beach. Beach took over even a beautiful boathouse stay. Two other reasons that I didn’t combine Alleppey was my smaller budget and short span of stay. I wanted it to be relaxing rather than a packed agenda to visit many places.

I was time constrained to plan this trip. With more time I could’ve explored more but I had to decide fast since there was not much time left for the train tickets. Every Indian knows the pain of getting tatkal tickets! I didn’t want to take a chance, had to be an advanced booking. So I went with my first option of a beach holiday and looked up online like I do for any small query in my head. Lonely planet and other sites were great help. I solely banked on the reviews and went ahead. One month later here I am writing on my way back home.

I had an awesome holiday at Manaltheeram ayurvedic beach village in Chowara, Trivandrum, Kerala. In effective, it was just  24 hrs at the resort - the beach, swimming pool, hammocks, an awesome massage, a beautiful place to stay topped with very hospitable resort staff!   We were welcomed with a garland and a tender coconut drink in a very Hawaiian fashion. Mum was excited since she figured we were heading to a resort only few minutes prior to us reaching there. Even the road to the resort added to the mystery. After the warm welcome, we were taken to our cottage that stood high amongst other beautiful mud houses and tall coconut trees overlooking an exotic beach at the height of about 2 storeys below. A stretch of green lawn with a swing, a hammock and the outdoor restaurant lay between the sights of the beach from the rooms. Oh so lovely!! Even the pictures on the site did not justify the beauty of this place. That was it. I felt satisfaction for executing this surprise successfully for mom. Well I almost spoilt it with my laid back plan to start to the railway station in Bangalore just an hour before our train. What was i thinking!?!?! I was so tensed. Thanks to a good auto driver and my friends who checked for me that the train would stop in cantonment. We changed direction midway to cantonment station which was the second stop after majestic and we reached twenty minutes earlier than the arrival time! Exciting, satisfying and memorable. That's what the holiday was. Love You Amma! :*)

MARK TWAIN: An educational journey

My friend shared this link today:
http://zenpencils.com/comic/73-mark-twain-an-educational-journey/
I didn't love the comic representation but loved these words ...

"Find the most ignorant, narrow-minded rascist and send him or her around the world. Make them experience every culture, meet every race of people, spend time with different families, eat, drink and dance with them – let them soak in worldwide hospitality, poverty and war. Surely by the end of the journey they would have a totally different attitude. "

... and had to share! It is so true. Just as i believe, Travelling brings you a lot of exposure and adds a certain value to your personality that cannot be brought in by any other experience!

Happy travelling and happy learning people!

What travel does to you:

Today i was part of a session led by a speaker who discussed about an array of thoughts that run often in my mind - people, relationships,  agreements(an interesting term he introduced to me for thoughts all of us have around the topic of purpose in life and certain do's). As the class shared many thoughts on this what was running in my mind was how exciting it is to be part of this discussion and be known that there are some others in the world who share exactly the same chain of thoughts as I have. Not every thought of the speaker was what i exactly believed in. There are some variations but for most of the rest it was very reviving for me to be able to have someone to discuss these, relate to and be more affirmed of these beliefs and thoughts. The key talks were around people relationships, simplifying complex emotions, talking out any conflict to not prolong animosity, to learn from cultures, be open to the world, think of the world that actually was not meant to be seen with borders.

I felt so amazing to sit there and participate in this. Looking back, I've had many opportunities to listen to some great speakers on stage and off stage. These people off stage have been even more exciting to talk to because these are random people I've met in a flight\train journey or while waiting for my next commute - people I've spoken to during travelling.

Today's speaker described an experience where he met a wonderful man while in Frankfurt who was so helpful to him. This brought me back some memories from my own times of travel. There was this American guy who was a photographer for a magazine\newspaper who was heading to New York to shoot photos on New Year's eve at Times Square. He spoke about his job, his experiences, travel interests. I shared about travel and places to visit in India. One another time there was an old man who was seated beside me in a domestic flight in US. He was heading to his son's home to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife and children. He was an amazing person. He conducted weddings in the church and counseled people during divorces and marriage hardships. He was explaining his views about how sad it is that marriage is being taken so lightly in the US and how he wishes there weren't so many divorces. He asked me about how marriages happen in India. He had so much interest in knowing about another culture and even expressed interest to travel to India sometime. He was just really sweet and blessed me when we separated from the flight. He in particular was one of the best people I spoke to in the US. There are other people I met from my frequent train journeys. I learnt a lot about Theosophical society from one of them.

I am grateful to these experiences. Especially as a person who doesn't like to read the newspaper or watch news channels on TV :), interacting with people and hearing their experiences add a lot to worldly knowledge. I consider this kind of exposure so much more awesome than anything else because it adds to your values, to what you become. You learn something new from each of them. Sometimes they even spark inspiration and make you do great things locked up inside you all along. Travelling is the only way this can happen. Works even better when travelling alone :)

'ABOUT ME ...'

"About Me: ...I like to travel ... " - one of the common interests people attach to themselves. I do it too. Fortunately in the past couple of years I have added value to it and it's no more a cliched phrase I use to describe me. I've realized how much I love traveling. The packing, planning, budgeting - I love it all. how did I travel so many places? Or should i ask how did I make the most of these visits? Introspecting, these are my answers.

- Never think NO
I am not rich; I am not jobless. So I don't have the privilege to commit to every plan my friends make but I can consider every plan. I try not to say no. I listen  and participate in the travel plan. When you do this you discover that you would be spending the time having a new experience at a fair cost instead of spending the weekend watching tv, spending on cinema or at a restaurant. The travel experiences are worth spending twice more of that monotonous weekend. You meet people, you make memories, you learn something new; Every time!


- Take charge. Make things happen.
Of course there is the opportunity. And yeaaahh life is unfair! Not everyone gets many opportunities to travel but it's important to seize every opportunity you get. If you get a reason to travel to a place, find out more, work around it; don't be like a horse with blinkers; don't be boring; be fun and crazy with your ideas. You will make it atleast halfway to the awesome initial plan. 

Some holidays are meant just to relax, chill and not do anything. But every holiday isn't. When you take the time to choose a destination, also take the time to know what you can do around. Don't always laze around. If it was only to sleep, you could have done it back at home free of cost :)
If you don't get opportunities, create them. If you have a plan in mind discuss it. Most times you will be surprised how people will be interested. If not, don't be dismayed. You don't need those friends to travel :p they will follow you if they realize your good plan and if they still don't they will soon know what they missed!

In a nutshell, think crazy but be sane enough to not make plans that stop you from returning to your routine life :)

So, make that plan, pack your bags, gather friends or not, enjoy the traveling and be safe!