The Joys of Travelling

I cannot express my feelings adequately in words if one were to ask me what I love about travelling. The thrill that I experience in knowing that I shall be basking in the beauty of another land is immeasurable. The expectations that build up with every passing day, the eager plans over Gtalk, the fervent discussions at dinner time - everything contributes towards the journey or trip. It does not matter if it is a matter of a few hours or a few days. The excitement is always the same.

It begins with one of us (meaning the husband and I) uttering the most beautiful line in the world – “Let’s go somewhere.” Being the researcher in the family, it is upon me to conduct a study on the possible destinations. We then confer on the shortlisted places and finally pick the one we feel to be the best for the period. And then, we pop open the bottle of excitement!

For the next few days, all we can think of is our upcoming trip, where to stay, what to see, where to eat, what to eat, and more. I fill up our conversations during office breaks with my plans for the weekend trip, so much so that anytime I open my mouth my colleagues jump in with “Yes, we know you are going to XYZ this weekend!” Hrmph!

The evening before the trip sees us running home from office and shopping for provisions at break-neck speed. We pack our bags, pack the baby’s milk and cereal jars, feeding bottles, sterilizer, carrier and then crash in on our bed to catch a few hours of sleep before waking up. In case we are leaving for a place that does not offer food, we prepare a bunch of sandwiches and two pressure cookers  - one filled with pulao and the other with chicken curry. Not to be forgotten, flasks of hot tea. 

The morning is again a flurry of activities, check-lists to be ticked off, the in-laws to be woken up, the baby to be dressed up, and hurry, hurry, hurry. Finally, before the dawn breaks, we are in our car, zooming off to our destination. And our adventure starts.

What I love about the whole thing:

 The fresh, cool morning air on my face. The empty roads. The bright flowers on the way; the colours always seeming to accentuate in the mornings of such journeys. 

 Stopping by the road-side dhabas for piping hot breakfast. Sitting under the shade of trees or in rickety little ‘huts’, the dhabas never failing to please us and our appetites.

 The gentle stirring of life in the hamlets along the way. Peasants with sleep laden eyes and neem twigs in their mouths, women sweeping their little yards, dogs yawning and stretching, rousing cock-a-doodle-doos. All heralding the unfurling of one more episode of life. 

 The beautiful bends in the road. Streams or rivulets running alongside. The interlinking canopies of trees on both sides of the road. The giant monoliths rising up against the azure sky. At times, blue mountains surrounded by mist in the horizon. Picture perfect paddy/crop fields, constantly reminding me of my ‘farmville’ on Facebook.

 The numerous halts along the way for clicking one of the perfect frames. The jumping out of the car, the looking out for vehicles in case they spoil that frame, and then shushing off the baby. All an integral part of the journey.

 Scouting for locations to have lunch. Passing the paper plates around. Eating with fingers. Coaxing and running around the baby to feed him. 

 Keeping awake so that the husband is not distracted while driving. Singing along with peppy foot tapping numbers, downloaded the previous day. 

 Sipping hot tea and stretching our journey-tired limbs.

 The drops of rain on the car windows. The dark, dark clouds, threatening us with more downpours. The lighting zig-zagging across the sky.

 The hustle in small towns. Unexpected traffic jams. Roads blocked by a herd of cows, sheep and goat. The twinkling of lights in distant hills.

 The sun setting amid the tall trees. Or, golden fields. Or, stony hills. The dying sun bathing everything around us in a final hue of gold. 

Finally, there are two persons I should be thankful for letting me enjoy my travels - my husband and my 20-month old son. I am glad that I found a guy who holds the same passion for travelling and is always a willing partner to my travel aspirations. And my little man, who has been travelling without any complains since he was 3-month old. He wakes up with a brilliant smile at 3.30 am to join us. He remains bunched up in my arms for hours at a stretch. I love him so much!

So, there you are, these were some of the reasons behind my love for travelling. Someday I will write about the joys behind birding as well. How about you? Love travelling, don’t you? Same reasons? Tell me more!

PS: The pictures were clicked with my point and shoot Canon IXUS.