Hello again,
I know I have not blogged in a long while and the reason for that is, I took a break for about 18 days and went travelling off to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Goa. I love taking long vacations. Last summer I backpacked my way across Tamil Nadu - from Hosur to Kanyakymari and from Coimbatore to Chennai.
The other day I sat jobless-ly and thought about why I enjoy travelling so much. And please don't think I am the kind that goes to a posh resort and spend all my time by the pool or in their spa (even thought that's a great way to relax.) I am the kind that travels like how a nomad wanders. I barely plan my next destination and more often then not take a bus or a train without thinking much about the destination. The joy I incur when the unplanned destination turns out to have great weather, amazing people, excellent food is some thing that will stay with me forever.
That thought and experience right there is why I am inspired to travel so much. In an ideal world I would be travelling all over the world (not necessarily in luxury) every single day of my existence and exploring the planet through my eyes and not through a travel show in a lifestyle channel.
There are some people who travel only to the beaches and then there are others who travel only to the hill stations. And then there is another kind of travelers - the ones who only travel to a place of pilgrimage. I on the other hand am neither of above mentioned kind and yet I belong to all the above kind. I am a wanderer trapped in a city chick. When I first started travelling I went exclusively to hill stations so I could trek and explore the forest, raft through the rivers and camp out. Till date I find trekking very meditative and find the exercise very restful even thought I am actually working my thighs and calves out ( the next day's soreness in my legs stand as proof in elaborate detail.)
The first time I travelled to a place that was not green or surrounded by forests and rivers was to Goa a couple of years ago for my best friends bachelorette party. There too I managed to find a trekking trail to Tamdi Surla and enjoyed the waterfall. But what surprised me the most was that a walk on the sandy beaches and the beautiful sunsets were just as peace evoking as any of my trekking experiences. This feeling was unexpected and surprised me so much that I started to re-think my travel dream for the next five years. This is the reason why I recently went back to Goa again and explored South Goa extensively. I completely gave up on the crowded tourist traps and headed to remote beaches that only a handful of localities were aware of. That opened a new world where I drove through winding roads shaded by coconut trees, ate more quintessentially Goan food, walked on the best most peaceful beaches and caught some of the more spectacular sunsets.
The Goa experience the first time inspired me to go backpacking across Tamil Nadu - and I don't mean the beaches or the coast (although the beach at Kanyakumari was fun.) This time I took the scorching sun inland over the dreaded summer. I started my journey at our country's end in Kanyakumari and travelled north and encountered the best kind of waterfalls. It made me wonder how a state that is so hot and muggy can still have numerous waterfalls (between Namakkal and Coyambattore) of such grace and beauty. This vacation thought me to be more confident and patience and I could finally learn to let go and still be ok when not everything went my way and I was going the way everything else pulled and pushed me. I felt like a piece of wood lost in a beach. Nothing went the way I planned but I learned to accept everything that came my way and by the end of that vacation I was probably more flexible than play dough (I know I am probably kidding myself.)
Now that I had experienced woods, waterfalls, sun and surf it only made sense to go to a sandier desert. So my next destination was the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan being a state that was once ruled entirely by the kinds is a state like no other. The forts still look formidable, the palaces still look so rich that some still have gold plated ceilings and ruby and emerald encrusted marble floor. The ornate architecture is mind boggling considering the lack of technology and almost every archway and statue was hand made. The attention to detail in the palaces of Rajasthan is like no other. Even the food and the snacks of the state are made with rich ghee and even a commoner eats like royalty. And then there is the desert itself. The only way to travel in the desert is to catch a camel back ride. If you have never ridden a camel then you are in for a startling shock as the camel sways back and forth very violently every time it stands up and sits down but the ride is not too different from horse riding. Camels are very gentle creatures and as they give you a ride they mind their business gurgling the water from their water pouch. If I thought the desert sand will be just as similar to the beaches of Goa then I was absolutely wrong. The desert sand is so fine you can hardly hold it in your hands for a little more than a five seconds. It was super exhilarating to climb over my first sand dune (again unlike what I had seen on TV these were huge and you could easily get lost behind one) and the I got to see the India-Pakistan border. It was here that it struck me so profoundly that I was an Indian and was very proud to be one.
So here I stand thinking why I travel. Is it the wanderer in me or is it the need to be adventurous? Do I travel to escape from the monotony of my life or do I travel to add more color to make my life more vibrant? do I travel for the love of woods or is it that sand? Is it the desire to do something new everyday or just to kill time?
The answer could be a mixture of all but I couldn't tell you that for sure. As long as I am moving from one place to another, learning new cultures and languages, tasting new and exotic food, trekking over a new mountain, walking along a new beach, experiencing a new means of transport I am just very happy. And to me happiness is reason enough to travel the way I do and live on the go.
I would love to hear why you travel too. Please let me know your thoughts in the box below.
We can also be friends on Instagram @sriranjani_n
We can be friends on twitter @Iamsriranjani
If you are interested then you can watch me travel and experience everything I mentioned above on my Youtube channel www.youtube.com/sriranjanin
I know I have not blogged in a long while and the reason for that is, I took a break for about 18 days and went travelling off to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Goa. I love taking long vacations. Last summer I backpacked my way across Tamil Nadu - from Hosur to Kanyakymari and from Coimbatore to Chennai.
The other day I sat jobless-ly and thought about why I enjoy travelling so much. And please don't think I am the kind that goes to a posh resort and spend all my time by the pool or in their spa (even thought that's a great way to relax.) I am the kind that travels like how a nomad wanders. I barely plan my next destination and more often then not take a bus or a train without thinking much about the destination. The joy I incur when the unplanned destination turns out to have great weather, amazing people, excellent food is some thing that will stay with me forever.
That thought and experience right there is why I am inspired to travel so much. In an ideal world I would be travelling all over the world (not necessarily in luxury) every single day of my existence and exploring the planet through my eyes and not through a travel show in a lifestyle channel.
There are some people who travel only to the beaches and then there are others who travel only to the hill stations. And then there is another kind of travelers - the ones who only travel to a place of pilgrimage. I on the other hand am neither of above mentioned kind and yet I belong to all the above kind. I am a wanderer trapped in a city chick. When I first started travelling I went exclusively to hill stations so I could trek and explore the forest, raft through the rivers and camp out. Till date I find trekking very meditative and find the exercise very restful even thought I am actually working my thighs and calves out ( the next day's soreness in my legs stand as proof in elaborate detail.)
The first time I travelled to a place that was not green or surrounded by forests and rivers was to Goa a couple of years ago for my best friends bachelorette party. There too I managed to find a trekking trail to Tamdi Surla and enjoyed the waterfall. But what surprised me the most was that a walk on the sandy beaches and the beautiful sunsets were just as peace evoking as any of my trekking experiences. This feeling was unexpected and surprised me so much that I started to re-think my travel dream for the next five years. This is the reason why I recently went back to Goa again and explored South Goa extensively. I completely gave up on the crowded tourist traps and headed to remote beaches that only a handful of localities were aware of. That opened a new world where I drove through winding roads shaded by coconut trees, ate more quintessentially Goan food, walked on the best most peaceful beaches and caught some of the more spectacular sunsets.
The Goa experience the first time inspired me to go backpacking across Tamil Nadu - and I don't mean the beaches or the coast (although the beach at Kanyakumari was fun.) This time I took the scorching sun inland over the dreaded summer. I started my journey at our country's end in Kanyakumari and travelled north and encountered the best kind of waterfalls. It made me wonder how a state that is so hot and muggy can still have numerous waterfalls (between Namakkal and Coyambattore) of such grace and beauty. This vacation thought me to be more confident and patience and I could finally learn to let go and still be ok when not everything went my way and I was going the way everything else pulled and pushed me. I felt like a piece of wood lost in a beach. Nothing went the way I planned but I learned to accept everything that came my way and by the end of that vacation I was probably more flexible than play dough (I know I am probably kidding myself.)
Now that I had experienced woods, waterfalls, sun and surf it only made sense to go to a sandier desert. So my next destination was the state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan being a state that was once ruled entirely by the kinds is a state like no other. The forts still look formidable, the palaces still look so rich that some still have gold plated ceilings and ruby and emerald encrusted marble floor. The ornate architecture is mind boggling considering the lack of technology and almost every archway and statue was hand made. The attention to detail in the palaces of Rajasthan is like no other. Even the food and the snacks of the state are made with rich ghee and even a commoner eats like royalty. And then there is the desert itself. The only way to travel in the desert is to catch a camel back ride. If you have never ridden a camel then you are in for a startling shock as the camel sways back and forth very violently every time it stands up and sits down but the ride is not too different from horse riding. Camels are very gentle creatures and as they give you a ride they mind their business gurgling the water from their water pouch. If I thought the desert sand will be just as similar to the beaches of Goa then I was absolutely wrong. The desert sand is so fine you can hardly hold it in your hands for a little more than a five seconds. It was super exhilarating to climb over my first sand dune (again unlike what I had seen on TV these were huge and you could easily get lost behind one) and the I got to see the India-Pakistan border. It was here that it struck me so profoundly that I was an Indian and was very proud to be one.
So here I stand thinking why I travel. Is it the wanderer in me or is it the need to be adventurous? Do I travel to escape from the monotony of my life or do I travel to add more color to make my life more vibrant? do I travel for the love of woods or is it that sand? Is it the desire to do something new everyday or just to kill time?
The answer could be a mixture of all but I couldn't tell you that for sure. As long as I am moving from one place to another, learning new cultures and languages, tasting new and exotic food, trekking over a new mountain, walking along a new beach, experiencing a new means of transport I am just very happy. And to me happiness is reason enough to travel the way I do and live on the go.
I would love to hear why you travel too. Please let me know your thoughts in the box below.
We can also be friends on Instagram @sriranjani_n
We can be friends on twitter @Iamsriranjani
If you are interested then you can watch me travel and experience everything I mentioned above on my Youtube channel www.youtube.com/sriranjanin
