Gas Trouble!

If you ask us as a family, the road trips we had in our vacations till date, are one of the best experiences we cherish other than the holiday itself. I am pretty sure this will remain for all our future trips as well, since nothing can beat the spontaneity and the thrill of driving down and appreciating what the road ahead has in store for us, literally.

Having said that, I have no intention to belittle those who enjoy the comfort of an arranged bus tour and follow an itinerary charted by someone else for you. At the end of the day, it is all about personal choices and what really matter is that you should create memories that last a lifetime.

The most important aspect of having a peaceful road trip is to ensure that you have a good vehicle that provides you the required comfort and takes good care of you during the planned road trip in the vacation. I will probably give more tips later about planning for the vehicle and some of the tricks we apply in our journey. Today I want to touch upon another baffling experience while we were on our road trip in Scotland.

As many of you are aware, unlike in Middle East or India, the fuel / gas stations are primarily self-serviced in Europe and Western world in general. There are places where you can fill fuel and pay at the counter of a shop attached to the station. Then there are others where you first pay for the fuel at the counter and return to your car to fill up. The former was quite common in Scotland, and we went about with no surprises whatsoever.

One of the evenings, we were nearing a town we had planned to stay that night. The fuel in the car was getting closer to minimum level and we thought it would be better to get the car topped up before it is too late. The clock was inching closer to six in the evening. Though the sun was working extra time being summer, the rain gods started to do their bit. We spotted a fuel station with a sign board stating, ‘Next one after 75 kilometres.’ A sign to be respected indeed!

As I pulled the car into the station, I could not help but notice how deserted the station looked. There was a store next to it, but unfortunately it was locked. Luckily, we found out that the fuel pump had a card reader attached to it which we could use to make payment. Thus, we found out a third variant of fuel stations in Europe. The unmanned station. What a way to share the joy of discoverers across the world!

I tried making the payment for GBP 50. The machine asked me twice to tap the card which I found a bit strange. Nevertheless, since we were in dire need for fuel I made the payment, filled the fuel and got a receipt for GBP 50. Shortly we reached our destination, but just before we hit the sack, I was casually looking at our bank account and saw a charge for GBP 100 against the fuel we filled earlier in the evening. It was a shocker to say the least! Since it was quite late in the evening, we decided to call the bank the next day morning and figure out the details of the double charge.

Morning came and before we made the call to the bank, we stopped at another fuel station to buy something. While being there, I shared my experience from the previous day with the staff at the store. That was when the guy told me, certain unmanned fuel stations have this feature where they charge you double the amount of actual fuel consumed. This was to ensure the validity of the card and apparently, they will revert the additional amount in 24 hours. It all sounded a bit too strange for us. Nevertheless, we decided to wait for another day and check the bank account again.

Obviously the first thing we checked the next day morning was our bank account. To our relief and much joy, we saw the additional amount reverted by the bank. This was a brand-new experience altogether in our trips till date.

No wonder it is said that there is no better teacher than travel!

Breakfast in Paradise

It was one of the finest mornings in late November. Our eldest cousin brother in the family, whom we affectionately called Kochachan, came home with an exciting news! It was the 30^th day of demise of our aunt’s father a couple of days later. Normally a news like this wouldn’t have generated much of an interest among us kids in the family. Usually my dad would’ve represented our family and attended such events. But it was destined to be different this time.

The function was planned in a resort named Orange County in Coorg, known as Scotland of India! The resort, one of the finest in the country, was owned by aunt’s family. We were to have an overnight trip on a train followed by a bus journey through one of the most scenic routes in southern part of India. A day was planned at the resort and were to return home shortly afterwards. Paying homage to a departed soul never was so appealing!

Kochachan, along with my elder brother and I started the trip from the railway station in our small town of Changanacherry. It was a late evening train to Kannur, one of the northern districts in Kerala. The night journey was quite uneventful. We reached Kannur station as the sun was about to wake up. Got out of the station and crossed the main road and found a tiny tea shop that welcomed us with piping hot black tea. The lovely dawn was made even better with the aroma of the tea. As we had to cover about three more hours by road, we soon found ourselves on a bus to Madikeri, a famous hill station town in Coorg.

I remember falling asleep again soon after the bus started. Couple of hours later, closer to 8 o’ clock, my brother woke me up. The bus seemed to have stopped in the middle of a forest. It was lush green all around us. We could also hear the sound of a waterfall somewhere nearby, but couldn’t see it though. We got out of the bus and was told that we have a 30 minutes stop there to have breakfast. I wondered aloud about the prospect of finding food in the middle of that wilderness! That’s when Kochachan pointed to something across the road.

We crossed the road and at a short distance we could see smoke coming out of a mud chimney. It was an uneven slope from the main road which we climbed down to see a little hut thatched with palm leaves that has become quite dry with age. The driver of the bus was heading to the hut and since there didn’t seem to be any other signs of a restaurant we all followed him. Hunger had already started to do the job and I could hear my tummy getting ready with an orchestra.

We were about to step into the hut. That’s when my brother made an awesome discovery! A narrow country road was seen next to the hut which led us to a small yet pretty waterfall the sound of which we heard earlier. The early morning mist along with chirping of birds and gorgeous butterflies covered with a riot of colours playing around us, all painted the picture of exactly how Alice would’ve felt in Wonderland!

The clock was ticking and since we only had a few minutes left, we headed back to the hut to have breakfast. We literally had to bow our heads to get inside and were welcomed with a few wooden benches and desks. On one corner we could see a live kitchen in action. A couple of frying pans were placed on top of red bricks and fire from the woods collected from the forest fuelled them. A lady was making fresh pooris, an authentic Indian breakfast dish, in one of the pans and the other one had some curry being boiled. The burning firewood seemed to provide more light in the hut than the 60 Watts bulb that was hanging inside. This completed the hotel.

Some of our fellow passengers were just finishing the breakfast. As we sat down on the benches, the owner of the hotel placed clean banana leaves in front of us that served as plates. I was half expecting him to recite the menu with available items. Instead he came over with a bowl of steaming pooris freshly made and served us three each. I loved pooris and awaited the combination of bhaji a delicious dish made of potatoes. Instead the guy came to us with a dish that was bright red in colour. For a moment I thought it was some curry made of beetroot or so. But we were served with the last thing I expected as a curry for poori. A fresh catch of sardines cooked in grounded red chilly flavoured with locally available mint leaves and a bunch of other secret ingredients.

We were all taken aback for a moment as it was the first time in our lives we were greeted with this combination of curry for pooris. Nevertheless hunger conquered all other emotions and we dived into the breakfast served. ‘Heavenly’ would’ve been an understatement! As we gulped down each portion of this strange breakfast combo, we could feel our taste buds dancing around as though in a combination of ballet and jazz.

The aroma and spices of curry married to the freshness of poori accompanied with the relaxing sound of the waterfall placed in a magical environment was the perfect setting for world’s best hotel! It was indeed breakfast in paradise! A befitting prelude to our journey to the heart of Coorg, a wonderland in itself.

 

The 2-Minute Story

Just like any other average IT guy from Bangalore, during the initial decade of the Millennium year 2000, I was super excited with my first ever onsite trip as part of my project. That too to the dream land of US! The double bonanza in my case was that it was going to be my first flight in my life as well.

I only had a few days before the three months visit. Being single at that time, there wasn’t too much to pack in any case. Nevertheless I got myself a few stuff that I thought will be required during my stay in Atlanta. While the preparations was on, Anjana my cousin sister, who was in Bangalore at that time, was concerned about my food there. As customary for most of the single Indians then, she advised me to take a few packs of Maggi Noodles. She said it’ll come handy in case of any difficulties there. Maggi at that time was only Rs 10/- per pack.

Though it was going to be my first international travel, I rated myself above average when it came to travelling in general. I took special pride in the fact that I could adjust myself to any situation, especially food. With the confidence of a seasoned traveller, I rejected her idea as quite trivial and responded to her with a cliché statement, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise when I crossed the border of India!

I reached Atlanta on a pleasantly warm summer afternoon in the first week of June. It was a 16 hour long transit flight via Paris and I was naturally tired. I hit the bed as soon as I got into the rented apartment. I slept like a log and by the time I woke up it was eight o’ clock in the evening. I got out of the bed and the first signal my brain sent was of hunger. It was a studio apartment which had a well equipped kitchen. But what’s the point in having a great kitchen if there is nothing to cook?!

Since the place we stayed didn’t have a restaurant, I decided to take a walk to a gas station I had earlier spotted near our residence. The fridge at the store there had a few frozen food items and I opted for a Lasagne which was one thing I felt I could try. I brought it back home and heated it up and had a good feeling about a pretty filling dinner. The next thing I did was to message my sister and let her know that I started my life very well as a Roman! All what she said was, “Wait and watch”. I brushed that comment aside and hit the bed again since I had to start with the office early morning the next day.

A couple of days went by. I was enjoying the change of place and appreciating the difference in food unlike what I used to have in Bangalore. It wasn’t too long before reality hit hard. The breakfast served at the residence was quite a monotonous menu as it was the same food every day. The junk food I could get at the office cafeteria was making me feel bored to the core. I really longed for some ‘real food’. Somehow my sister’s face started appearing in my dreams with her classic smirk saying, “Didn’t I tell you?”

Days were going past and the frustration of not able to have anything that suited by taste buds haunted me big time. One day a colleague suggested visiting the nearest Indian store. I had no interest as I never bothered to cook. Nevertheless I tagged along and reached Shivam, the Indian store where you could buy lot of things from India. I was browsing through the shelves of the store without any interest what-so-ever while my friends were busy buying groceries.

As I was about to turn back at the end of an alley, my eyes got stuck on a familiar bright yellow pack. The words Maggi Noodles appeared on the pack which seemed to beckon me. I almost ran to the shelf and was about to grab the pack when I looked at the price tag displayed. It said $ 3 per pack. Considering the currency exchange rate, it was close to twenty times the price in India!

I could see my sister laughing at me from the face of the pack. I tried to hide my face and took a few packs paying a handsome amount from my allowance. The price you pay for not listening to your sister!

Tail End: Dedicated to my loving sister and all brothers like me who never listened to their sisters and ended up in deep trouble.

The other side of the coin

We were on our first ever family trip to Europe! Though travelling along with a two year old and a six year old poses its own challenges, we decided to take the plunge. After a few days at Amsterdam and a short stop later at Cologne, we found ourselves on a train to Stuttgart in Germany. The journey was to be an average of three hours. We ensured to book seats for a section in the compartment designated for families especially with the little ones with us.

Kids as usual were super excited about every aspect of a vacation! They loved train rides especially and could feel their excitement in every new sight that came their way. Soon after the train left Cologne a pretty young lady came and sat near our area in the compartment. She had a book in her hand and a headset on one of her ears. As soon as she settled down, we could see her trying to catch-up with the reading. After a while I felt that she was not able to concentrate on the book, with the chatter of the kids. I could see her getting disturbed and I told our little ones to remain quiet.

The calm lasted a few moments as the excitement didn’t let them be seated for long. They were back in action shortly. So was the annoyance of the young lady. She tried to communicate through her glances and we tried without much luck to translate the message to the kids as well. The drama went on for a while.

As the train crossed half the distance we had to cover, the lady closed the book and looked at me. I could see rage burning in those eyes. She blurted out all her irritation on me and asked me to make the kids shut up.

Being a tourist in their country, I tried my best to remain composed and reminded her that she chose to sit at a designated family area and there is a limit to which you could keep the mouths shut of little children. I guess the message was delivered well. Shortly after that she moved to another area where she could bury her heads deeper into the world of imagination with her book.

We thought for ourselves that a trip that was to be full of beautiful memories might have been destined to end up with a bitter experience like this. While we were still trying to pacify ourselves, the train rolled on to the platform of Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, the primary railway station in the city of Stuttgart. As I was taking out our luggage from the other end of the cabin I could see a middle-aged man approaching my wife and telling her something.

My wife and kids all got down from the train along with our stuff. I could see a glow on her face which did a wonderful job of removing the cloud of gloom that hung above her after the unpleasant incident on the train.

The man earlier told her, “Mam, I’m sorry for everything that happened between you and the young lady. Let her say anything she wanted, please don’t bother. You are blessed with two beautiful angels and I enjoyed every little sound made by your kids. They were music for my ears. The world cannot be deprived of such sheer joy. God bless your family!”

The rest of our trip was one where we could only find positivity all around us! 

Get Lost… Never!

My wife and I with our two kids have been living in Dubai for close to a decade. Though I’ve been driving in Dubai all the while, when we first planned an international trip to Mauritius, we decided to play it safe and hired a taxi instead of renting a car. But our next trip was a much bigger one to Europe across four countries. This time we said we need to experience driving in Europe and hence started looking at options to rent a car.

The price range for car rental is directly proportional to the type of the car you choose and the various features that you want in the car. Lesser the add-ons, better it is for your budget. One of the most obvious features you need while driving in a new geography is the help of a map. With technology so advanced and super capable mobile phones, we were quite confident that we’ll use Google Maps on our mobile phones to navigate anywhere around Europe. Hence we ruled out the need to get a car with GPS which would’ve added to the cost anyways.

Shortly after this, we landed in Stuttgart in Germany, from where we’d planned to hire the car. Fortunately we got a free upgrade to a Ford C-Max from a VW Golf we booked initially. It took a while for us to locate the car in the multi-storey parking facility nearby. As soon as we found the car and got in, we realized that the upgrade came with a GPS connectivity as well. But since our trust on technology and mobile phones was far better than this ‘old world navigation system’ we didn’t even bother to turn on the GPS.

Sure enough, Google Map on our mobile started directing us out of the parking lot of the building and showed the duration as an hour and forty minutes to Black Forest. I was quite thrilled to drive in Europe for the first time and soon reached the first set of traffic lights.

That’s when it happened. Google Maps went dead! The last thing we expected to happen in Europe was losing the network on the phones. We were lost!

We’re left in absolute darkness about which way to proceed. The traffic lights soon turned green and since I had to move the car, I took a left turn and followed the traffic till we reached the next traffic lights. That’s when it dawned on to us. There is a silent saviour in our car. The one who we discarded as ‘old world’. We switched on the good old GPS and that was our moment of redemption.

From that instant onwards, if there was one thing we never let go during the entire trip was our trust on GPS. With this good old saviour, rest assured that you’ll never get lost!

Always ensure that you get a car with a GPS and enjoy absolute peace of mind!  

Stroller Power

Our daughter celebrated her first birthday a few weeks before our trip together as a family to Mauritius. My wife and I debated on the need to take the baby stroller with us. Convenience for the baby was the only argument for taking it whereas we could list down quite a few reasons not to take the stroller including the hassle of carrying it, extra luggage etc. to name a few.

Guess the emotional element of baby’s comfort finally overruled every other argument and we ended up carrying the stroller with us. Little did we know that the one year old who ‘convinced us’ to take the stroller was doing us a favour without which the entire trip would’ve been a disaster!

For all the young parents out there, stroller is one powerful accessory you should definitely include in your luggage. Here are some of the quick benefits we realized with this magical vehicle which contributed a lot to our peace of mind during this trip as well as the future ones:

Carrying the little ones

It is probably the most underestimated task especially if you’ve not experienced it before. When on a trip, carrying the kid in your hand can literally be dangerous for your health since sooner or later you’re going to figure out how much of a colossal effort that is! Placing the kid on the stroller not just helps you to be free but more importantly is extremely comfortable for the kid as well. Also, if you are a parent with two kids with minimal age difference you could alternate the usage of stroller so that you don’t tire out the elder one too much.

A push cart

Strollers though are designed primarily to carry kids, many parents use them as a push cart as required. This is even more applicable and useful when you are on a trip. There will be quite a few items that you may be required to carry which can all possibly be supported by this wonderful ride. 

Managing the stroller

Remember the hassles I mentioned earlier that we were debating about carrying the stroller as an extra luggage? If you are taking a flight, many airlines today allow you to carry the baby on the stroller itself till the point of boarding where they’ll take the stroller from you to check that in. A few other airlines’ take the stroller at the Check-in counter itself which you could collect at the destination. Do remember that due to the size of the stroller, it may not be arriving on the same carrousel / belt along with your luggage, instead could be arriving on the over-sized luggage carrousel. This again could be different for different airports.

On the other hand, if you are travelling by train or by road, you could easily find a spot to park the stroller either below the seats or in a luggage holding section if available. In any case, the good news is that managing a stroller isn’t that difficult as what we expected. The benefits a stroller provides definitely outweighs any inconvenience it may cause.

Having said this, there could be certain types of trips where you may want to consider twice before you plan to take a stroller. If your trip is to a beach destination or a challenging trekking expedition, taking a stroller may not necessarily provide you with the benefits cited above. On the contrary it may in fact add to your luggage making the trip more strenuous.

As I strongly believe, you can read or listen to the experience of others but never forget to apply common sense from your perspective to see what is best for you!

Bon voyage!   

Trip Elf: Your Travel Buddy

When it comes to travelling, there are three types of people in this world. Those who love to travel and explore the world around them is the first category. There are others who hate travelling for multiple reasons, mostly personal ones. We then have a third category who are occasional travellers.

Irrespective of the category you belong to, this is an attempt to share a few tips related to travel in general. If you are one who loves travelling, I’m sure you may have experienced some of these yourself and are welcome to make use of the rest. If you hate travelling, I’m positive that you may find some of these tips to help you to rethink on your resistance to travel since you don’t really know what you are missing!

This is a series on such tips that I keep gathering over my trips and am more than happy to share them with you. These will evolve over a period of time and I’ll keep adding to this series as and when I have something worth sharing.

Happy reading and enjoy your trip!

Travel Tips 01 – Planning Your Trip

Travel Tip 01: Planning Your Trip

It is a well-known truth that nothing is more refreshing than travelling to locations, especially new ones. Many families do this at least once in a year. While going for a tour can be quite a relaxing experience, an unplanned trip can turn out to be a disaster. It is important that you have a fair amount of idea about where to go, what to see and what to do at the locations you’ve included in your trip. Many people avoid the hassle of arranging for the trip by paying a handsome amount to a travel agency, especially for international trips. There are quite a few who prefer to plan the trip themselves and enjoy every moment of doing so.

For those who dare to plan the trip themselves, here are a few tips that could possibly help them plan better:

Plan in advance

Unless it is a last minute trip plan, always ensure that you give enough time for planning the trip. There could be many unknowns that may need more time. It’ll help to have enough time in hand for such eventualities. It’ll also help especially with booking of tickets for flights, trains etc. Most of the time ticket prices are quite low when booked in advance.

Check-list

It is an absolutely handy tool to have a check-list created for activities or items required for the trip. May it be getting a Visa or taking the mobile charger with you, the check-list is a sure shot success to ensure that you have not forgotten anything important. It is also a good practice to keep a copy of this check-list with you so that you can use it for your subsequent trips. You could even categorize the check-list as domestic vs international or cold weather vs warm weather etc. and plan the execution accordingly. As and when an activity is completed, you could strike that through. It’ll give you a sense of completion for your trip preparation.

Passport / Visa Requirement

If it is an international trip, one of the key factors to be considered is your readiness with respect to passport and Visa(s). You need to ensure that your passport is valid at least for 6 months (in most cases) and you’ve a valid Visa for the country or countries to which you are travelling. Visa processes can differ from country to country and you’ll definitely need to factor in some time to ensure that you’ve the required Visa in hand before the trip.

Accommodation

While staying with family or friends can be quite a comfortable experience and saves you good amount of money, staying at a hotel can be very liberating. You may want to keep in mind a famous saying that, “A guest is a guest for two days; after which they become a pest”. Various online booking options such as Booking.com, Airbnb.com etc. offer quite a few alternatives for accommodation. You need to be careful about choosing one by looking at the ratings and reviews of the hotel / apartment. Asking people who’ve booked earlier through such options is also a good idea. Cost needs to be a key consideration as well since this is one factor that could put a big hole in your travel budget.

Foreign Exchange

For international trips where you need to handle a currency that is different from your home country, it is important that you plan to carry certain amount of foreign currency acceptable in that country. This is where it could get tricky. You need to have a fair estimate of the amount required for which you obtain the foreign exchange. Anything less will possibly leave you cashless in a foreign country. On the other hand, anything in excess at the end of your trip will possibly cost you more since you could end up losing some amount while returning the currency to foreign exchanges. Using a pre-loaded forex card or your own credit card are also options, provided the destination you are heading to accept cards and is safe to do so.

Food

You wouldn’t believe the amount that just drains away on this particular expense while at your destination! One of the tricks of the trade is not to have all meals at restaurants. Instead, if feasible, plan your own cooking for which you could choose apartments with kitchen and utensils. Alternately, you could carry a small electric cooker which could help you cook a bit if required. This is especially helpful when you have little kids for whom food from outside all three times may end up as a wrong choice for their health. An alternate to restaurant food could be local supermarkets where you could buy food items that you could either consume directly or cook a bit yourself. This is guaranteed to make you happier at the end of your trip when you look at your budget sheet!

Budget

Last but not the least, all of the above and more in one way or other contribute to your expense for the trip. You need to have an idea of how much you intent to spend for the trip. It is equally important to have a check on your budget during the trip so that you won’t end up overspending. It could be quite normal for you to have changes in your plans during the trip, but having a budget will help you to have a hold of your spending which will eventually help with your financial planning.

Though there are many more tips that may not have made its way to the above list, there is one not so obvious factor that you need to give its due respect. It is nothing other than ‘common sense’. This is one critical factor that will ensure your safety above everything else throughout your trip. Hope you find this list useful and plan your next trip accordingly.

Wish you a very happy and safe journey. God bless.

Good Enough? Not Enough!

It has been a year and a half since our last vacation. Reasons were multiple, for not able to travel somewhere since our last trip. What mattered most was that we finally decided where to go and started planning for the trip. Since the trip was planned for a couple of weeks, two hands were not enough for the preparation. Hence my wife and I both started getting things arranged such as hotel bookings, train bookings, sight-seeing tours etc.   

As we started with the activities related to the trip, we noticed an interesting phenomenon. Most of the times when I come up with an option which I thought was the best after an ‘extensive’ research, was not found good enough by my sweetheart. Many a times I returned the favour too. Our differences in opinion at times reached a pinnacle that we almost dropped the vacation plan!

Couple of weeks into the planning we now realize that those indifference got us much better deals and a great value for our hard earned money. We were fighting for a just cause and not just for a cause!

A trip planning is just one such example were you’ll observe this behaviour in the life of many couples. When it comes to spending money on something that is required for the family, there is a possibility for us to think that what we searched and found the best-in-the-world offer whereas if we extend our search a bit more, we could possibly get an even better deal. For the majority of us who are constrained with a limited set of financial resources, it is important that we develop a mind-set that gives real value for our money.

The indifference between the couples do not just bring the best, out of the deals for the family. Believe it or not, it also leads to couples discovering each other more. The very reason why one does not agree with the other is because of the fact that they’ve not really understood each other to the extent of knowing what their better half needs. Hence such indifference should not be perceived as a negative experience, instead is a step that takes the family forward together. Imagine the surprise and the happiness thereof when you discover a whole new nature hidden deep inside your partner!

While it is really helpful to discover each other more as a couple, it is equally important not to overdo this. You should ideally know where the limit is and draw the line accordingly. It is a useful common sense to know that a rubber band while can be stretched, will snap at some point. Many times this common sense is what will help you know the extent of discovery you should try to make. Just like a rubber band, you as a couple should learn to stretch each other without affecting the elasticity of your relationship.

The philosophy of ‘Good Enough? Not Enough!’ should really be applied with a genuine interest between the partners with the sole objective of bringing good for the family. There is a very high possibility for egos to work out during this conflict. It is equally important to apply the principle that for a relationship to really become beautiful you should keep an open mind to listen to the other side of the story. Learn to accept the fact that, what you thought as best for the family may not always be the case. This simple act of acceptance alone will take you a long way into the future as a family whose marriage was indeed made in heaven!

May you be fortunate enough to be blessed with the power of acceptance which probably is one of the most pivotal and beneficial skills to attain in a married life.

God bless!

Neeleshwaram Effect

A cousin's wedding took us to Neeleshwaram, a small town in the Northernmost district of Kasargod in Kerala. We reached on the wedding eve and the next day was quite a happening one. 

By evening, after the wedding, we got back to the lodge where we stayed and I went out to buy some water. Also wanted to see if I could get some tea for all of us. Found a bakery where I got the water bottles. Since there were more than six of us at the hotel I checked with them if I could get tea as a take away item. 

All what I was expecting was to get tea in disposable cups with lids. Then came the twist. 

The shop was run by an elderly lady and her daughter. The lady asked me where I stayed. When she learned about our stay at the nearby lodge she filled a flask and another vessel with tea and also packed half a dozen glass tumblers along with it! There was more to this surprising customer service. 

When I suggested disposable cups, her response was that, tea won't taste good in plastic cups and insisted that I take the glass ones itself! She even sent one guy to help us carry these things back to the place where we stayed.

The tea tasted very good and later I promptly returned the flask and all to the shop. When they took the items back they even asked me to visit Neeleshwaram again to explore this place better.

Needless to say, it was one of the best customer service I've ever experienced in my life. All what I wish is the world to have more people like these to spread genuine selflessness so that we are surrounded with love than hatred! 

Mesmerizing Mauritius!

Couple of decades back whenever there was a need to get anything done related to passports or flight tickets, I remember visiting one of the travel agency offices in my hometown. One of the most interesting attractions in the office was the wall that was beautifully adorned with posters of quite a few destinations across the world. Among everything on the wall, one poster always caught my attention. A lovely white sand beach with beautiful emerald green waters with pine trees lining the borders of the beach! It was a scene right out of a fairy tale.

Twenty years down the line, I now stand with the emerald green waters kissing my feet bringing along with it the lovely white sand blanketing my ankles and right behind me I can see the pine trees still lining the borders of the beach. Yes! I am in Mauritius!

It was a family vacation my wife, Ruby and I planned along with our son and daughter, Ryan and Mia, five and one year old each. We had our reservations about travelling with kids; yet we decided to go ahead and take that challenge. Time was to prove if the challenge was worth it!

We took a direct flight of Emirates from Dubai to Mauritius with a duration of six and a half hours. It was an A380 aircraft and was our first experience of flying the double decker jumbo. Fortunately the flight wasn’t that full and we enjoyed the journey though Mia didn’t sleep much during the flight. After most of the journey above the blue waters of Indian Ocean, seeing a green patch of land appearing in the middle of nowhere was a worthwhile sight from the aircraft. We touched down at Mauritius at 10:40 AM local time at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) International Airport which is the main airport in Mauritius.

One thing that surprised us right after we got into the airport terminal is the extensive usage of Hindi as a language in Mauritius. We learned later about the influence India has on this country. A lot of people here speak Hindi along with French and their native language which is Creole. Tamil also seems to be spoken widely here. The airport was a small one though seems to have made good use of the solar energy available in plenty. Officers at the immigration counter were quite friendly as expected since tourism is the key source of revenue for this island nation. We’d planned 5 days of vacation in Mauritius and being Indian nationals got the Visa on arrival for 30 days.

One good decision that we took was to take the baby stroller with us. The efforts of carrying the baby around in our arms would’ve otherwise spoiled the whole trip. We had booked our stay at Emeraude Beach Attitude Hotel a three star beach resort at a place named Belle Mare which was an hour’s journey from airport. Nicha, the guy responsible for the airport transfer we booked was waiting outside the terminal with a name-board with my name written on it. Being the month of November it was the beginning of summer in Mauritius and the temperature was a pleasant 27 degree Celsius with lots of sunshine!

The drive to our hotel was through very scenic routes and the geography shared a striking resemblance to Wayanad, one of the districts in my state of Kerala in India! We could see a lot of sugarcane plantations en route and Nicha said that’s the major cultivation in Mauritius. Ironically you don’t get to buy any of these sugarcane from the local markets since everything gets converted into sugar. Another sight that raised our curiosity was heaps of black boulders that we could see on the farms on our way. These were the remains of the volcanic eruption that happened millions of years back. Mauritius itself is an island of volcanic origin.  

Soon enough we were at our hotel and were welcomed at the reception with some sort of a drink mixed with local rum. The drink was so good that when we kept the glass down it was almost full still. We had opted for a half-board option which includes room, breakfast and dinner. After freshening up quickly we headed towards the dining area where we had lunch. We then decided to take a quick nap before going to the beach.

By evening we went out for a stroll on the beach which was right across the road from the hotel. The walk through the pine trees was a pretty unique feeling. We realized that we were quite late for the beach as we were the only ones there at that time. Also due to low tide, water had receded exposing algae and some other marine organisms. We decided to come back tomorrow for a better experience. Dinner followed and by ten o clock we hit the bed, something which we can’t even imagine doing back home! Another good thing about the resort is that they do not have Wi-Fi in the rooms and hence you are forced to live the good life you had a couple of decades back where your eyes were not glued to the screens.

Day two started with English breakfast which we learned is the norm there at the hotel. Though we’d initially thought of going for a sight-seeing tour that day, we changed our plans to spend time at the beach instead. There was a glass bottom boat ride offered by the hotel and we opted for that to begin the day with. We had to be a bit extra careful to board the boat with two little kids. The driver of the boat helped and were welcomed to the sight of an Indian flag on the boat!

Even before getting on to the glass bottom boat we’d noticed something strange about the beach there. Though the beautiful emerald green water and white sands were all there, one key ingredient seems to be missing. The waves! We could see the waves stopping a bit far away as if someone is not permitting them from reaching the beach. We got the answer to this puzzle during the boat ride. There is a natural coral reef up to 2 kilometres from the beach and this acts as a barrier to the waves from coming closer to the shore. This coral reef is what we see right through the glass bottom of the boat. There were quite a few fishes as well and kids were especially excited to see them so close. The crystal clear waters also helped to see them up close.

One thing I very clearly missed was getting a filter for my camera so that I could capture the complete beauty of this paradise! Nevertheless, images etched deep down in the mind is no competition for a digital image sitting somewhere in an online album.

After almost an hour of appreciating the beauty of corals, we returned to the shore. Walked through the white sandy beaches and collected a few pieces of corals that were lying around. There were quite a few coconut trees lining the beach and some dried grass as well. This combination gave a distinct mix of blue, green and hay colours. A perfect frame for some good beach shots and that’s exactly what we did! After the photo shoot we went for another stroll on the beach and also explored the rocky terrain on the beach where we were greeted by schools of tiny fishes.

Lunch followed and we took a nap after that. The hectic days of work seems to be somewhere in the distant past and that’s exactly what this break was meant to be! Ryan and I decided to check out the pool at the resort. It was fun to be in the water together. He in fact taught me a couple of swimming actions he learned in school! After this we went again to the beach for a short walk. Tide was low and we saw quite a few marine organisms like shells and sea urchins in their natural habitat. It was an interesting experience for everyone to see these beings directly, than only in books or TV channels. We had planned to take a North Tour of Mauritius tomorrow and had informed Nicha to reach in the morning. Had an early dinner and hit the bed so that we could get up tomorrow to begin our tour-de-Maurice!

I got up early in the morning, surprisingly without having the need for an alarm! Got out with my camera without disturbing Ruby and kids. Went for a walk through the pine trees and clicked a few shots of the Mauritian morning. Was back on time for breakfast and pretty soon we were on our way to Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius towards the North of this small island nation. Sugarcane fields and sceneries that reminded us again of Kerala, passed by. Advertisements talking about downloading Bollywood songs also caught our attention. A surprising find was the presence of the golden shower tree, Cassia fistula, which is the state flower of Kerala known as ‘Kani konna’!

Nicha dropped us near the harbour at Port Louis. We walked around the small town and explored the old market area there. We’d to cross a subway to reach the other side of the road and guess who was waiting there to say ‘Hi’ to us?! None other than Shahrukh Khan! Of course, as a poster on the wall of subway for his latest movie ‘Dear Zindagi’ :)

Our next stop was SSR Botanical Garden which was a naturally maintained green belt and that is the best part about it. You don’t get the feeling of a well pruned scientifically laid out botanical garden. Instead you get the feeling of walking through your backyard with the exception of some roads in between. We had our lunch there at a gazebo where quite a few birds gave us company. There was a stream flowing next to the gazebo which was home for quite a few fishes and ducks among other species of birds. Ryan and Mia had a great time feeding these birds and watch them at such close proximity. After a bit of asking around we finally ended up at, literally, the biggest attraction in the Botanical Garden, The Giant Water Lily pond! The sheer size of the leaves were overwhelming. As mentioned in the information board there, the diameter of a healthy leaf under optimum conditions can reach up to 3 meters! We also said hi to a family of giant turtles before heading to our next stop.

Picture this. A huge volcanic mountain jutting its head out of the sea watching the beautiful white sands on the beach lined with Royal Poinciana/flamboyant trees where a lovely red coloured church sits right there on the shore with the bell tower holding its head high announcing good news to the world. That’s Cap Malheureux for you. Happy with the opportunity to pray, we got ourselves a few pictures clicked with a couple of French tourists there. By that time it was getting dark and we started back to the hotel. The shops over here in Mauritius all close down by six in the evening since they are open seven days a week. The roads are all quite deserted after sun down to the extent that you feel safer to be indoors before sunset. End of day three. South of Mauritius, you get to see us tomorrow!

Another early morning in Mauritius. Mia had got up quite early today and hence it was a morning out for daddy and daughter together. We went for a walk on the beach. Saw a lot of interesting marine beings including a couple of star fishes. A school of tiny fishes also said good morning to Mia! Guess the morning breeze was so soothing that soon she slept off in my arms. Shortly after that we had our breakfast and started off to explore the South of Mauritius.

Nicha took us first to a diamond cutting shop where a whole lot of diamonds in different shapes, sizes and colours from across the world were on display and sale. From there we went to a ship model manufacturer and it totally was an out-of-the-world experience. Just walking through the models of the old war ships that once ploughed the oceans of the world was simply an awesome feeling! Unfortunately they didn’t allow photography there, else Ruby would’ve had a tough time to get me out of there.

Our next stop was an old volcanic crater. Though the crater now looks more or less like a valley with a lot of greenery, the mere thought that once it was a bed to molten lava send shivers down the spine! The Black River Gorges National Park followed which was a very beautiful view point where we spent a while, fully taking in the beauty of nature at its best.

Chamarel was waiting for us and hence we didn’t delay much to visit this location, famous for its seven coloured earth, the result of a volcanic activity. We stopped briefly to get some souvenirs from the gift shop there. We also got some coffee grown within that private coffee plantation in Chamarel. Before it was too late in the evening, we headed back to the hotel for our last night at Mauritius.

Day five and our last day at this paradise on Earth, we went around a bit to check out the small town of Belle Mare. Got a few goodies specific to Mauritius and before we went back to the hotel for packing our stuff we had a last few moments spent at the beautiful beach.

Nicha was not available to take us to the airport and hence arranged a friend of his to pick us up. We were dropped by one o’ clock in the afternoon for our flight. The airport was quite crowded, nevertheless we did a bit of last minute shopping at the duty free store as well. Soon we were on board an A380 EK702 flight back to Dubai.

Thanking God Almighty for a wonderful vacation at this beautiful piece of land on the face of Earth our aircraft cut through the clouds leaving the mesmerizing Mauritius! We bid adieu to the fantastic beaches taking back home tonnes of memories that will definitely last us for a lifetime! 

The Album
https://goo.gl/photos/KwdPpiYxsKB8c2zJ7

Take a Break!

Article for Bethlehem Matrimonial - Jan 2017

A year after we got married, my wife and I went on a trip along with a newly married couple who was none other than her brother and wife. The trip was to the location known as Queen of Hill Stations, Ooty. Six years after this trip we still remember most of the detail of that trip and keep referring back to one or other incident during that trip. We’ve been doing that quite often and that’s when it hit us! One reason why we keep recollecting those good times is the fact that it was an awesome trip. But there was another reason for remembering Ooty days. It was none other than the truth that we didn’t have a ‘proper’ vacation after that wonderful trip!

We became parents, twice in 5 years, shifted to a different country and had to deal with a bunch of other responsibilities. All of these and more forced us to keep in the backburner, our plans to travel to a new destination. Every time, there was something or other stopping us from planning a trip to a location other than our home country. Going back home was never a ‘vacation’. Many a times, those home trips turned out to be more hectic that, by the time you are back, you needed another break! Life went on like that...

Looking back at the last six years, we can definitely highlight various achievements and happenings in our life worth mentioning. Having said that, with the passage of every year, my wife and I could sense something seriously missing. With God’s grace we were having a decent job and a good life with two loving kids. But there seems to be some gap somewhere. A sense of loss started looming over our life with every December reminding us that we’re bidding goodbye to another year.

The feeling kept on growing and finally a couple of months back, we took a decision that we can’t just take this anymore. Yes! We needed a break badly! Incidentally it just so happened that a colleague of mine posted a couple of pictures of his vacation at one of the most beautiful island nations in Indian Ocean. It was a destination that I’ve seen only as framed pictures in travel agencies or similar such places. We got excited at the prospect of spending a relaxed time in the emerald green waters of that beautiful island country! The travel bug has bitten us.

Preparations started at a crazy pace. Trip Advisor helped us find a good deal and hotel bookings were done. The flight tickets were booked online. Shopping for the trip followed and before even we knew we were at the airport terminal counter, handing over our bags to the Check-in staff. A few hours of journey and our aircraft touched down on this wonder piece of land on the face of Earth.

Next five days were perhaps some of the most beautiful ones in the last six years in our life’s calendar. There is no parallel to the happiness that we experienced. The concept of taking a break was truly becoming a reality that we were forced to relax and remain disconnected from everyday pressure of work and life. One of the best things at the resort where we stayed was that they didn’t have Wi-Fi in the rooms. That made us even more disconnected from the world and enjoy some quality time for ourselves.

You cannot really imagine the different perspectives that the trip kept in store for us. We learned about a new culture. Experienced the kind of things that we’ve only watched in channels such as National Geographic and Discovery. Learned a lesson or two in managing finances better. It was a sheer bliss to watch the little ones, though aged only five and one, thrilled to be in a different part of the world. I was very happy as a father that I could provide them with this experience though they may hardly remember any of this when they grow up. What mattered most was that they lived and loved every moment of the trip.

Five days just zipped past like five seconds. We just didn’t want to leave that wonderful land and get back to normal life. How much did we wish for time to be frozen! The beautiful memories will be etched in our minds forever. There is only one question that remains in our mind now, “Where are we going next?”!

May this New Year help you all experience this delight by taking a break and regain the vigour of life. God bless you with a wonderful year ahead! 

My Coke, My Pain

Being a bank employee my dad was eligible to avail annual leave travel concession. Since the annual concession will only be for a very minimal amount, we used to combine the holidays over a period of five years which helped us cover more distance with a larger amount at disposal. One such trip was to Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command. Mom’s brother was a commander in Navy and obviously they were our host for the vacation that year.

My brother and I had great company there with two of our cousin brothers who were almost the same age as us. We did have quite a lot of fun together day and night with games throughout, even ignoring the warning from the parents to sleep at night. I remember watching a black and white movie named Victoria over and again for multiple times at a stretch which today seems like an absolutely crazy thing to do! We didn’t care. We were having one of the best vacations ever!

The highlight of the vacation of course was a visit to the naval yard where uncle took us to the wonderful world of Indian Navy. I was excited and equally proud to be visiting a war ship! I could imagine multiple pairs of eyes, green with envy, looking at me when I get back to school and narrate all the wonderful stories to my friends. Truly this was meant to be an experience that was unique to me and something which no one else could’ve shared.

The dock was colored gray with multiple naval ships stationed there. Uncle took us to his ship and opened the fascinating world of Indian military for us! We were welcomed aboard by a couple of white naval uniform clad gentlemen. They promptly took us to a briefing room sort of arrangement and told us a few things we need to know while being on the ship. We were to mind the heights of the doors since they were pretty low which naturally didn’t apply to me. Small mercies of being a little kid :)

A few additional instructions were given and while this was going on another smart officer entered the chamber. He carried a tray with him on which was placed one of the most enticing sights I’ve ever experienced till then. Four bright colored cans painted with the legendary red color on which that magical word was written – Coke! That was my first ever introduction to Coke and a carbonated drink sealed in aluminium can!

The can was chilled to perfection to ensure that the beverage tasted the best. All the known definitions till date about chilled drinks suddenly seemed dated! I was so thrilled to see a can for the first time in my life that I was enjoying the beauty of it rather than trying to open and taste the drink. The officer suggested that it was time we took a tour of the ship. He must’ve noticed how amused I was about the can that he specifically said that I could take the can along with me.

The can was quite cold that I could hardly hold it with my bare hand. Mom being protective about her little one suggested that we’ll leave the can at the chamber itself, take the tour and come back and collect it. I agreed only after opening the can and taking a sip of it. We walked out of the door of the briefing room while the Coke can seem pleading, ‘Come back for me’!

The tour of the ship followed which was an absolutely mesmerizing experience. All the while seeing the different sections permitted in the ship my thought went back to that red aluminium can that seemed to be even more appealing than the gray object that surrounded me.

We finally finished the tour and reached where we began. I was so happy to see the briefing room again and eagerly jumped inside the chamber and looked at where we left the cans. To my utter shock and surprise I couldn’t see my beloved prize I received just a few moments back. I searched all over the room and to my dismay could still not find the can that contain the life giving brown color liquid that was to be one of the biggest highlights of the stories to my friends.

I asked my uncle about it and his answer left me with a total vacuum, that I felt it would’ve been better if that ship sunk right at the moment. He said, ‘Oh, you left the can there and the boys would’ve thought it was a leftover and trashed them’.

I could feel the chillness on the can creeping across my little heart. I felt a pain that was quite deep and it still remains…

The White Devil!

This is a sequel to my experience with one of the wonders of nature, the snow, while I was in London for an assignment. If you’ve not read that before, I suggest you read ‘The White Wonder’ first.

It was almost a month since I reached Thame. Finally the day has arrived for me to say goodbye to the little town that was sleeping like a baby under the thick white blanket of snow. My bags were all packed and the taxi was arranged well in advance. I had asked Atif to keep my bills ready so that I can check out as soon as the taxi arrives. He was the Pakistani receptionist, who by then had become a good friend of mine with all the playing in snow which brought out the child within both of us.

The flight was late in the evening at 20:00 hours and I was planning to visit two of my dearest friends first before heading to the airport. Though there was a snow prediction in the news yesterday I was positive about reaching the airport if I started well in advance and catch the flight home and hence planned it so well; at least that’s what I thought!

After almost an hour of waiting for the taxi I called the driver to check the status. The response I got did generate a few smileys with question marks. He informed me that he is still half way from London with traffic moving at a pace worse than a sloth with all the snow piled up on the roads! He was doubtful of making it to the hotel and advised me to look out for some local taxis. Though I could feel a slight panic rising in the corners of my mind, my optimism never left me and was determined to put my plan to action.

I checked with Atif about the possibility of hiring a local taxi. He flung into action and called a few cabs around the area. I must’ve been looking at him so intently that I was sure the cabbie on the other end of the phone realized the distressed situation I’m in. One after the other, they all said they were not going to take out their cars in this crazy weather. I glanced at the door and could see the snow fall getting even worse. The white wonder now seems to have developed two little horns and I saw an evil grin that appeared to tell me, ‘Did you say that you have planned everything?’

Someone around told me to try the alternate modes of transport. After all I am in a country which believes in providing all modes of possible transport to its citizens. Atif checked the availability of train for me though the question of reaching the railway station remained unanswered. The response was no different since the rails were all covered in snow and the locomotives obviously won’t operate. Buses were anyways ruled out though we tried to check if at least one service is on. The cruel hands of pessimism were steadily approaching me.

I was almost in tears. Missing our first wedding anniversary due to this assignment was already a deeply inflicted pain. The possibility of not making it to home on time for Christmas hung above my head as the sword of Damocles. I must truly appreciate Atif for totally empathizing with me. He couldn’t stand my torture anymore and made some quick phone calls. He finally broke the good news to me that a friend of his has agreed to take me on his car on a condition that Atif should accompany him since he didn’t want to be stranded on the snow covered motorways.

There was absolutely no need for a Pakistani guy who works as a receptionist at one of the budget hotel branches in a little town forty kilometers from London to accompany an Indian fellow who is stuck at the hotel and is desperately trying to get to the airport to reach home on time for Christmas! I fully learned the meaning of the proverb that day, ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’.

In an hour’s time I was at London Heathrow airport with Atif helping me unload my bags. He wished me good luck with my flight and prayed for a safe journey back home. I promised that I’ll send him the pictures of the good times we had in the snow as soon as I reached home. With the airport in sight and guessing that my aircraft was parked a few feet from the terminal building where I stood, the little white devil didn’t seem to be that hostile after all. Four days from this moment when I look back I could see that the little devil was just playing around with his mother who was sleeping besides him and will soon wake up to make my life as dreadful as it could get!

Approaching the door to the terminal I could see a large crowd trying to get inside. The security guards at the gate were shouting back at the group. There was chaos everywhere. No one was allowed in, citing the reason that the terminal is full and hardly any flights are leaving. I didn’t know what to do. I finally got to know that the Emirates flight I was to take back home via Dubai was also cancelled and the airport itself is closed down due to heavy snow. The only option now is to wait till the airport opens up and the flights are back on track, literally.  

I spoke to my friend whom I could not meet among all these confusion. He promptly asked me to catch the next available metro at ‘The Underground’, the world famous transit system that connects every corner of the City of London. The best part was since the trains travel under the ground on four levels designed more than a hundred years ago, it is untouched by the white devil that now poses a great threat to my Christmas plans!

The next three days were destined to be one of the most testing times in my life. I had to take the metro everyday and even walk some distance in the weather that made me think that I am living inside a freezer, to reach the local office of Emirates Airlines requesting a ticket to get back home before it is too late for Christmas. Things were made worse with my company unable to support since the airlines was handling the situation directly and the travel agents had no access to its tickets. Add on to it the fact that the airlines’ call centre phone lines were never answered and that left me with no choice but to visit the local office on a daily basis. If it wasn’t for the love and care showered upon me by this special couple I would’ve gone totally mad with all that were happening around me! They will always have a very special place in my heart till my last breath. Relationships like these are built to last a life time!

Frequent exposure to the extreme climate made me fall sick. I didn’t care about the rising temperature since all what I wanted was to reach home and get a warm hug from my sweetheart whose prayers I was sure God couldn’t just ignore! My flight to Dubai can be termed as a ‘flight of hope’. The earnest hope of being reunited with my family after such a harrowing time is unexplainable. I was eager to get on to a connecting flight to Kochi on reaching Dubai. The news that welcomed me there made me feel that the devil managed to find a seat along with me on the flight from London to Dubai! I was to wait for 17 long hours to get a connection flight to India! The last nail on the coffin came in the form of an update that the flight to Kochi is only available on the 26^th of December! The only option left for me was to fly to Bangalore. It was less than 48 hours to Christmas Eve. I informed my better half to catch a bus and reach Bangalore on 24 December when my flight is expected to touch down at Bengaluru International Airport.

After spending the worst 17 hours of my life with mercury in the thermometer burning from my body heat, I finally boarded the flight to Bangalore for my last leg of this traumatic journey on the wee hours of 24 December. Breakfast was served and was followed by some other refreshments as well. The otherwise delicious food tasted totally flavorless to me. All what I kept on asking the cabin crew is for glasses of hot water which helped me remain sane throughout the flight. I have never longed so much for a journey to end.

The delight experienced by a person when he sees the world outside after being jailed for a long time is what I felt when the captain of the flight announced that we have entered the air space of Bangalore! Soon, the tires of that Boeing 777 will kiss the runway and I was getting ready to inhale the air of freedom. My beloved would’ve reached the city as well and I was so looking forward for our reunion and the celebration of Christmas that was to follow.

The speakers in that Economy class cracked with the captain’s voice again. I couldn’t believe my ears! As if being tested at an alien nation with almost knee deep snow which threatened to derail the entire plans, to be with my sweetheart for Christmas was not enough. The captain said, the flight could not land in Bangalore due to heavy fog and hence was rerouted to Chennai! I felt like a lone stranded sailor who almost died being in the rough seas for days together, finally spotting an island and almost kissed the beach realizing the next moment that he was being sucked in by the island itself which was made of nothing but quicksand!

I was sinking deep into the quicksand and was almost getting ready to bury the optimist barely alive in me. A few plans came to my mind including taking a train from Chennai to Bangalore or even a taxi all the way. The flight landed at Chennai airport and even before people started taking out their hand baggage another announcement came stating that we are not disembarking there and will wait for a while to see if the situation in Bangalore improves. Meanwhile I informed my dearest wife about the situation and asked her to standby till there is an update.

Till date I do not know what happened. Perhaps it is our prayers or the super power that controls all that happens around us got tired of playing games with us, the flight took off to Bangalore after two hours and landed safely with a few hours left before Christ was born!

Tail End: Couple of years went by and I am dreading the day when my son will come to me with a demand to have a vacation in a country where he could play with me in the snow!