The travel diaries recommendations collection..

This blog has been ‘very’ inactive for quite some time now.. and despite the fact that I have travelled a fair bit of Europe in last couple of years, I couldn’t think of a very good solution for the ‘inactivity’ issue.

Yesterday, I realized – apart from travel planning and the actual travel, I also love to tell people travel recommendations. So, if I hear a friend is going to some place I’ve travelled to before, I love to tell new offbeat things to do, interesting places to visit. Also, any good deals and tips that I found, I’d love to share with you all.

So, that’s the plan for the coming year: I’ll be posting about places I visited  – but instead of the typical travel blogging format of singing praises/abuses for a particular destination – it’ll be more like – ‘Oh, you’re going to Barcelona? Why don’t you visit the ‘El Ray de la Magia’, one of the oldest magic shops around – which not only sell hundreds of magic tricks, but also hold regular workshop and close-up magic sessions. You’ll also be enchanted into being amazed at live magic tricks by the shop salesmen (which are actually just the family who own the shop)!
What do you think of this idea?

Any particular European cities that you are more interested in, that you’d like me to start with? 🙂

An embarrassed I’m back and off again!

After a particularly harsh scolding on not writing often enough (in fact not writing at all), I’ve decided to make a comeback to the world of blogging. And thus post is being written from my mobile phone while waiting for boarding gate to open for my flight to gibraltar. So, it’ll be a brief one.

There is no good excuse that I can think of for not writing about my travels, and it certainly isn’t lack of travelling. In fact, I’ve travelled more in last three or four months than ever before. So, this post will be a quick list of my recent travels so that I can make a promise to write about them when I get back from gibraltar:

Belgium, Amsterdam
Hiking in Peak District
Rome
Paris
Hiking in Scotland
London
.. and now Gibraltar!

Alright then, am off to the Rock! 🙂

Namaste!

Welcome to my new travel blog! Here, I shall recount my stories, thoughts and experiences as I travel to new places. You will also get to see a lot about my travels in India, where I really ‘started’ my travel addiction.

Why ‘I drink my tea sweet’?

Well, because I do! And am very serious about it! 🙂

Chai – Sweet and strong tea (taken with a lot of milk) is a very typical Indian thing, and an addiction of hundreds of thousands of Indians. When I arrived in UK, I was always disappointed with the chai at offer, even in Indian restaurants; and felt that the tea here, although of so many varieties, tasteed very boring to me. In fact, I like my hot chocolate and even coffee to taste sweet.

A reminder of how my Indian roots will always stay with me as I travel the world, ready for new adventures and experiences. 🙂

p.s. In case you are reading my blog for the first time, I used to write here before: http://thecornytravelerschronicles.wordpress.com

Staring at my laptop..

I stared hard at my laptop. I had checked Gmail. Twice. I had checked Facebook. Multiple clicks on home button. Scrolled across all the open tabs and windows. Checked Gmail and Facebook again. Looked to the side. Looked to the other side. Stared back at the laptop.

Almost dragging my finger, pressed Ctrl+T to open a new tab. Nothing happened. Got reminded, this was a new office laptop, where I am forced to work with Internet Explorer. Even more slowly, I pressed Ctrl+N – A new window. Somehow, remembered the URL and went to the webpage – one I hadn’t visited for ages. Definitely at least  a couple of months.

At one corner, the login name and password option showed up. Next to it, in small blue letter, ‘Forgot your password?’ stared back at me. Jolted back, I remembered – I didn’t even remember the login name.

“Jog your memory”
“Think hard, this is just the first step, next you’ll have to think about password”

A couple of hours, a few washed dishes, one full washing machine cycle and a short nap later, the problem was finally resolved.

As the new window opened, a familiar screen opened. I closed my eyes, leaned back into the sofa, and took in a deep breath.

As I slowly opened my eyes, ignoring the shrill sounds from TV, beeps from microwave, and the deep grizzly sounds from the washing machine, I purposely moved forward my mouse cursor and clicked on the small button which said ‘New Post’.

Leeches and Inner Peace

“Hey, it’s 6:30! Wake up guys! It’s 6:30 already!“.. shouted Deepika as she knocked on our door, and went off waking up other guys in the nearby huts. None of my roommates were awake yet, and I shouted “Okay, okay!” as I fumbled around looking for my glasses on the bed. Apparently, even folks ready to climb the toughest of mountains are not very amiable to suggestions of getting up early in the morning. This was the second day of the trek and the previous day we had climbed almost all the way up a nearby peak called ‘Amedikallu’.

I found my glasses and very carefully placed my feet right into my sandals as I got down from the bed., wary of leeches. Leeches! Those buggers in the forests had a big fiesta on our group the previous day and I was determined not to let them have any more. I slowly wound my way out of room, careful to avoid anything that didn’t look like the stone floor, I stepped out into the chilly morning breeze. The huts were a part of the ‘home-stay’ – an interesting concept which merges guesthouse with homes and provide a lovely atmosphere for a vacation. ‘Stream of Joy’ home-stay, aptly named courtesy the small river flowing next to it, gave a homely feeling despite being in the middle of the jungle. I could hear the river gushing nearby, probably with water so cold that stepping into it, and feeling a shiver down one’s spine would just be a plain fact, and not an idiom.

Our plan for the day was to go to a nearby temple before setting off back for Bangalore. After a couple of delays (ranging from people not waking up to missing bus driver), we finally departed for the ‘Fish temple’ at Shishila. The temple, located on the banks of the Kapila river, is known for its ‘fish spot’ where hundreds of fish accumulate and are fed after daily pujas (prayers). The fish here are known to be sacred and it is even believed that they can cure skin diseases. A few meters away was the entrance to the temple and we were instructed to remove our  shirts before entering the temple. Since we were a bit late in reaching the temple, the daily pujas were over, and the temple was very quiet.

A temple, for me, is a place to clear my mind. To think, to contemplate, to plan. So, I search for quiet and calm. During college days, I used to go to a temple after the exams were over. I used to go in the middle of the night, when the shrines were closed but the temple compound was open. The temple in my college in Bombay, was located on one end of the Powai lake, very far away from the chaos of the hostels, which were along the other end of the lake. I used to sit on a bench there, feeling the breeze gently caress my face, feeling rejuvenated after the tiring days of assignments and exams. At times, I sat there for hours, almost falling asleep with no disturbances around.

“Hey Abhijit, could you move a little bit towards the right? You’re blocking the angle“.. an enthusiastic photographer shouted out to me, as I came out of my reverie. I moved away and feeling a bit bored, I was out of the temple within a few minutes. Though this temple offered me the quiet time I look for, it wouldn’t last forever. There would be more tourists and more prayers. It was time to move on. So, after some more photographs, we also set set sail  for home, for Bangalore.

When we stopped for lunch, there was a buzz going on in the group on how to thank the coordinator. That’s when the topic of ‘bumps’ was started. ‘Bumps’ is a tradition, mostly taught (unfortunately by bitter experience) in college days, when you get beaten up by your friends on your birthdays. Or when you get a job. Or sometimes for no reason altogether. Not my favourite sort of celebration though. It does leave a strong memory behind (and an impression on your behind!). I guess that’s what friends are for.

Bumps were another reason I used to go to the college temple. An hour before midnight, the day before my birthday, I would escape the clutches of my friends to avoid getting bumps. Literally, saving my ass. I didn’t mind the peaceful time spent at the temple either, at least 2-3 hours, before things would quiet down and I could slip back to my hostel unnoticed and unscathed. A good start to the year ahead.

So, right after lunch, as a few folks were grabbing last-minute ice-creams, we moved in swiftly to say our ‘Thanks’ to the coordinator.

I know we went very easy on him, after all, we did feel grateful to him for organizing the trek perfectly. We had a great time trekking. I know he didn’t mind it much either, for we were all good friends now, and each kick to his bum cemented our friendships. It was an unforgettable trip, after all, it’s not easy to forget the image of smiling coordinator, getting kicked by a guy holding an ice-cream bar in his hand.

(p.s. In case you were wondering about the title, let me make it clear – leeches do not have anything to do with inner peace. Something I am very sure of, after this trek.)

Photo credits: Author