BRAToSPHERE

Tag: Travel

  • Home – A Magic!

    I have been consistently on the move the last couple of weeks.

    June 26th,Delhi, in a morning evening official trip. I like such trips, they are so very convenient.

    7th July, Saturday, morning 9:45 flight to Tirupati via Hyderabad. Mom, dad and Jatin are there, and it is more of meeting them than the real purpose anyone heads to the religious abode.

    I land in Tirupati at 1pm on Saturday, and straight head to the hilltop. Mom, dad and Jatin have reached in the morning itself.

    Nice two days, I spend the with them. Sunday evening, I have my return flight from Tirupati at 6:45pm , again via Hyderabad. This time it is a longer flight, as I have to deplane and then board another connecting flight. I reach Mumbai at 11:20 pm in the night. Nice weekend it was.

    11th July, Wednesday, I am again in Delhi for a morning evening official trip. The early morning 6am flight, and return in the last flight out. Reach Mumbai at 11pm. Now this is getting hectic. I still like it.

    Travel is fun, but it completely takes your regular schedule off the track. To start with, the eating goes for a toss. I joined a gym recently, and had only decided that I would go regularly that these trips take that promise off, and the next trip completely derails it.

    Off to Vizag!

    13th July and 14th July, Saturday night, I am awake again till 2am. I had to go out with everyone, and meet up with everybody. Such short trips back home make it all the more hectic.

    15th July, Sunday, I am in the plane at 7:30pm on the way back to Mumbai. Again, it is a via Hyderabad flight(Why can there not be a direct flight at a convenient time, to Mumbai?), and I reach Mumbai only at 11:30 pm. I am awake till 2am! I am in two minds whether I should sleep at all, but then cannot resist the temptation, or should I say I just gave in. I fell asleep at about 2:15 am, with an alarm clock set for 3am.

    4:45 am, i luckily wake up, and look at the clock and freak! I have a flight at 5:55am, and I am still on the bed. Not packed yet, unshaven, Unkempt, and it is an official trip. I just dump clothes into the suitcase and dash out. I have not even web checked in.

    I reach the airport just in time, to board the flight. I am in Delhi at 8am. Thankfully the morning is free, and I head straight to the hotel to freshen up.

    16th July, Monday night, we have an official team dinner in Gurgaon and I am there till 10:30 pm. After that I head to south Delhi, to meet up with a friend who happened to be in Delhi, also on an official trip. I reach there at 11:15pm, and we start again. It was fun catching up with Delhi folks. we were all staying together in Delhi, three years back, at the beginning of our careers. Life has come a long way since then!

    At about 3:15 am, I am totally zoned out, tired, groggy and decently sloshed when I get into a radio cab, to head back to gurgaon. The session starts at 9:30 am the next day morning, and I have to be on the hotel so that I can catch up with some sleep, and be on time to office. I sleep at 4:15am.

    17th July, Tuesday night, I am groggy all day in office, but still have the energy to head to CP in Delhi to meet up with a friend. How can I be in Gurgaon, and not make a visit to CP? it is like my favourite place in Delhi.

    After that, me and my friend head to south Delhi to meet some other friends, and 5 of us have dinner together in a plush Punjabi restaurant, with some liquids, in south Delhi.

    One of my friend, who is getting married in two weeks time, comes down with me to the hotel in Gurgaon. The party is not yet over. Actually, we had a lot of catching up to do. We reach the hotel at about 12 midnight, and chat for a long time. I sleep at about 2am.

    18th July, wednesday, I am up at 7 itself, as my friend wanted to leave, and I wanted be on time to office. I also pack my bags, and check out, as I am scheduled to fly back to mumbai tonight. Finally, I think. I have actually started missing mumbai.

    In office, I am told, I have to stay back for one more day. Great. I reschedule my flight for tomorrow, and head back to the same hotel and check in again. I am sick, tired, limbs paining, eyes red and totally zoned out. I thought I would sleep early and make up for some lost sleep. But I had important things to handle, and once again I sleep only at 1am.

    19th July, thursday, after a day long meeting, here I am in the flight headed to Mumbai back. After 6 long days being spent outside, I have actually started missing home.

    No wonder, as they say, home is always home.

    I am actually looking forward to the weekend, after being out of town for the previous two weekends.  I don’t have any plans, but the sheer thought of being at home for the weekend makes me feel happy.

    I stay alone in a 1 bhk, so I don’t really have anyone back home waiting for me, but still I am happy to get back home.

    This, I guess, is the magical thing about home!

    p.s.: Wrote this in the flight back to Mumbai, last Thursday.

    p.p.s : I am off to Delhi again tomorrow. Such is life. and it is fun!

  • Travelling

    As per the UN, there are 207 countries in the world, and some more which are not included in this list as they are not fully recognized, or are partially dependent on some other nation. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states)

    The CIA World Fact book, which is regarded as the global almanac of countries, lists down 221 countries in existence, and even that claims that it does not include a couple of countries that are not fully recognized. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_World_Factbook)

    8 billion people in the world, and counting, with each one of them, having their own story. How interesting? As someone who loves stories, I would love to listen to each one of them (Am I a good listener?) and know their way living.

    Well, maybe i cannot do all, but at least I would like to touch the surface of the cultures present in the world, and the stories related to them. The structures, the monuments, the eating habits, the cuisines, the fashion, the way of clothing, the way of living, etc.. in short.. the story behind them. This is what traveling opens your eye to!

    Why is it important to travel? Well, no it is not important. No one puts you on a gun point and forces you to travel. No! That would never happen. But travel you should. Why?

    Traveling is an experience that provides one with a welcome break from the same old monotonous and hectic schedule of the day to day life! Different places, offer different cultures and traditions and diverse ways of living. These varied lifestyles, and habits of people, gives one an opportunity to take cue from them.

    Traveling allows you to enter an altogether different world which in a unique experience in itself. Traveling helps you discover yourself, by allowing you to spend time with yourself, know about your strengths and weaknesses and do a self-introspection, away from all the worries.

    Also, an unfamiliar environment provides a feeling of mystery to explore new things at every upcoming step.

    Traveling is like reading a book!

    Travel is full of pleasant surprises and discoveries. Travel is all the more important in the present globalized village world, where international trade and business become more important, and well the world is your market place. As said in FMCG Sales, you need to know your market very very well, and only then would you be able to sell.

    It’s through travel, first and foremost, that we meet and understand the outside world. We can read all about other countries in papers and magazines or see them on television, but it’s remarkable how different places turn out to be when you actually visit them. The media feed us scare stories about those in other countries, but the reality is that most people in the world are searching for the same things we are – a better life, a better future for their children – and they’re only too ready to lend a hand to a fellow human being.

    Somebody recently asked me, why do I love travel? Well, the reasons I could list are :

    • To challenge myself
    • To enjoy new experiences
    • To rediscover my inner self
    • To see new things, and to listen to new stories
    • To experience new cultures
    • To PARTY!
    • Last, but not the least, To taste different cuisines

    Thankfully, my job enables me enough to keep travelling and visiting different places all across the country. (Did you know that there is something called chaach Soda( butter milk Soda) that is widely sold in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat?)

    So, now with the vacations season kicking in and everybody is queuing up to plan their next outing, and with radio too vying for some limelight (http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/33888_92.7-Big-FM-introduces-travelogue-format-in-radio ), I think this was the right time, to enlist this tab on my Sphere!

    What more you waiting for? Get on to your copy of the Lonely Planet handbook, and get going! See you there, on your next trip!