DRIVING THROUGH DELHI: A LUTYENS’ CITY

Bordered by Haryana and Gurugram, situated at the heart of North India, Delhi attracts large number of tourists every year from all around the world. Famous for its architectural marvels and gobbling food, travelers love playing around Delhi. But if you’re thinking that achieving this fun is easy in Delhi, well, you’re mistaken. Driving around Delhi can be tough at times, especially in summer months. With the souring temperatures and rising travelling expenses, you are bound to spend some real brace from your pocket.

So if you’re standing at Red Fort under the scorching Delhi heat and thinking that now you should visit the Humayun’s Tomb, what travelling options can you think of in such cases? Getting puzzled about controlling expenses during traveling in and around Delhi can be a huge task. With the cab prices having risen by about 40%-50% in the last two 2 years, the option of renting a self-drive car in Delhi is here to save your money.

Self–Driving a car can be cheap and exhilarating at the same time. Not only you get the freedom of driving around the streets of Delhi at your own terms but you also get that necessary privacy which you expect in your own car. You can stop by at any point of your choice and enjoy those little things that Delhi offers to the travelers. So if you’re really stressing your mind now into pondering about the best self-drive service in Delhi, don’t worry, we got you covered.

Mychoize self-drive service is at your rescue. Mychoize offers the best deals and customer service in the market today with a wide variety of cars to choose from. The best part about Mychoize is the way the cars are delivered and the condition of the cars. Mychoize delivers the cars right at your doorstep in the same condition you expect your own car to be in. The self-drive service from Mychoize is for every traveler who is tempted about the idea of exploring the city.

Not only the prices that Mychoize offers are reasonable, the whole payment machinery is transparent. Hiring their service is unbelievably easy, i.e., three small steps and you’re good to go. The most stunning thing about Mychoize is the costumer support which is rapid and responsive. For the ones who love to travel and explore the beautiful city of Delhi, Mychoize offers unlimited kilometers so you can enjoy driving around the city without worrying about the distance limit.

Nothing is better than renting a self-drive sedan or a car of your choice and driving through the streets of Delhi at your own will, a true explorer’s delight. So if you’re planning to visit to Delhi or to just about any major city in India any time sooner, I recommend to use MYCHOIZE service. It will not only save your money, but would also give you the privilege of travelling on your own terms. Try it and you would not regret it.           

                    

When a Road Trip Becomes a Nightmare during Winter

I was really being a macho when I thought about going for a winter road trip, and that too at the wrong time, or I should say that I was ill-prepared for it. I must have thought well about it, especially coming from a hot region like Kolkata where snow does not ever fall from the sky. The Bengalis of West Bengal only dream about extreme cold and go to chilly regions only as tourists.

So it was my first trip to the Himalayas and I, being a wanderer, had thought that I would manage on my own just like I had always done, but I was horribly wrong. I should not have underestimated the snow and overestimated my potential. I bought only two layers of warm clothing while leaving from Kolkata, but I was shivering from cold just as I landed in Delhi. I still thought that it was only sudden change in weather that made me shiver and I would be normal in a while, but I was wrong again. I started getting it that I would catch cold if I did not buy warm clothes immediately.

I went for shopping before leaving for Manali and bought another set of clothing to keep myself warm. I had to buy two blankets as well because the search results from Google had already scared me about cold regions. I could not imagine spending a night in the car in case I was stuck, but I had to prepare for plan B just in case I have to manage on my own. The news channels were already stating that many vehicles were stuck in the snow because of landslides.

I left for Manali using a Car Rental that I had booked from Delhi and left for the hills. Even in cold weather, I started feeling dehydrated. It was a new thing for my body to experience because until now I had experienced dehydration only during summer. I had hired Self-Drive Cars in Kolkata several times and been to road trips where beating the heat was my only concern. Beating the cold this time was a unique experience that I had to battle this time. I bought a dozen water bottles so that I do not go out of water until I reach Manali and Spiti.

When I reached the city, someone suggested that I should spend a night in Manali so that I can acclimatize my body to the extreme cold gradually. I thought that it was a good idea, which would not let me die at least.

Keeping the feet dry was a challenge in Spiti when I had to walk for a long time. My feet would start feeling numb and I would take a long time to dry and warm them. All in all, Spiti was indeed a wonderful experience but a challenge indeed for someone like me who had never experienced snow before that. Without feeling scared, I would love to go for that kind of road trip again.

How I Deal with Difficult People While Traveling Solo

Even though I am an urban Indian female, the challenges of traveling solo are no less for me. I have been lucky to live in Delhi for most part of my life, but I have seen the small town life as well. The narrow minded perspective of the North Indian society makes it challenging for women to travel alone, no matter the distance. With a significant number of experience at hand, I have learned that there I no way I can teach the right way to behave to some people, regardless the gender. There are men, as well as, women who do not know that they need to conduct themselves carefully in public places. However, I know how I should give them a piece of my mind to warn them immediately.

Dealing with men  

Luckily, there are men in my home who are very polite and understanding. I have been to several road trips with them, and we had a blast every time. Yet, when I had to travel alone for the first time, my choice was Rishikesh. Even though I had thought that I would not face any issues, I found that men would not stop staring at me. Yes, I accept the curiosity of men about foreigner and native women who are brave enough to travel alone, or wear modern clothes. Still, the stares from ogling men is not acceptable.

There was a man in the train to Rishikesh who was fiddling with his phone as I enjoyed my journey to my destination. He was smiling while looking at his phone, and I thought that he must be enjoying a funny chat with someone or looking at photos. He was keeping his bags underneath his seat when I heard the sound of flash from somewhere. As I looked up, he was clearly confused about something. It took me a minute to register that he had clicked a picture of mine without my consent.

I went up to him and asked him to hand over his phone. He clearly denied and said that he was clicking pictures of the landscape outside, but did not want to give his phone. All that argument made sure that he had clicked my picture, or probably someone else’s photo, but I had to take an action anyway. People had turned to us within a minute or argument and a guy asked him to do as I had said, or he would report him to police. Thanks to the supportive crowd in the coach that I could check his phone at ease.

He had snapped my photos, as well as of many other females inside the train. When I told this to everyone, they wanted to beat that man, but a few sensible stopped the mob and they warned him t behave in public. I hope that he had got his lesson about public conduct.

Dealing with women

No just men, but women can be really rude at times. I had hired a Car Rental Delhi last month so that I could go to the movies with my friends in South Delhi. Even though this region of the national capital is supposed to be more sophisticated, we had an entirely different experience altogether. My friends had traveled all the way from Jaipur just to celebrate an evening, but there was a women who pushed Rohit, my college friend. She alleged that he was misbehaving her and had pushed her. We were shocked, but we dealt with her sternly, and she had a good dose of learning from all of us along with the public around.

Traveling alone is a great deal of challenge sometimes, but that does not stop me from going solo. I accept the everyday contests and take them as opportunities to grow.

Things I Do To Achieve My Travel Goals Every Year

The first thing that I do every December is to create my travel goals for the next year; it helps me focus on the things I need to prepare and the money I need to save for the vacations. At any cost, I make sure I go for at least two vacations in a year, which may go up to four. It may sound too ambitious for the uninitiated, but I also used to be a person who would make excuses not to travel.  Then again, I realized it in time that I can always be too busy to travel and money will always be scarce according to my travel ambitions. Therefore, I started implementing a few strategies since 2015, and I have become a frequent traveler come 2018.

Save money

As I said, money is always too less for vacation plans. Earlier, I used to think that road trips require a lot of money whenever I saw the pictures of people on Facebook. Every other person seemed to travel abroad, which made me feel so low at times. However, I happened to talk to a couple of travelers who were fond of road trips around India. They had strategically combined luxury travel with budget travel. They would often travel in groups of 3-5 and split the costs to bring down the overall expense. They had also hired a Self-Drive Car Rental for a road trip to Spiti Valley.

The conversation with them made me realize that I do not need lakhs of rupees to go for road trips or even to travel abroad. Many beautiful countries are affordable to travel, and I started taking cues from travel bloggers since then. By saving just a few hundred or thousand rupees every month, I started accumulating a good amount of money, which I presently use to spend on holidaying in India. As I grow in my career, I would aim for foreign locations as well, but I am happy at whatever I am doing right now.

Having a companion

When I was a bachelor until last year, I had conflicting thoughts in my mind about marriage because I always thought that married people cannot travel much. On the other hand, the harsh reality was that I was not traveling much even when I was single. I would always ask my friends to go for a vacation with me, but everyone had their own tantrums. Surprisingly, I have got a wonderful travel partner as I got married to Anushka last year. She is the best travel buddy I have got as we have same interests whenever we go out of the city. Now I have stopped forcing friends to tag along, even though I ask them once or twice.

Prioritizing things

As I continue to work at my job, I have found out that I need to sort out many things so that I can travel more often. I used to keep myself occupied with unnecessary things such as gossips in the office, useless parties, talking to negative people, using too much of social media. I started sorting out these things and kept them on lowest priority since I needed to focus on researching about destinations I want to travel. Now I have more time to find out the lucky draws, travel contests, and attend bike rallies. I sleep early at night so that I can begin my day at a fresh note. Sorting out my life has made me a better and frequent traveler, which has indeed given me more peace in my mind.

How I Revitalized My Marriage over Road Trips

When I was growing up before the age of ten, I would ask my parents that whom do they loved the most. They would always take each other’s name, and I would feel sad about why they didn’t say that they loved me the most. However, in my teens and early twenties, I realized that the married Indian couples set the wrong examples for their children when they keep them on priority and ignore each other for a long period of the married life. But my family was different where Dad and Mom expressed their love openly and set the right model of married life for me and my sister. In addition to our family vacations, they would often go for couple vacations either with each other or with other couple friends.

Now I see many people in my generation who keep their spouse on top priority, and I resolved to do the same as well when I got married. In the initial years, it was easy to find time for each other, but it became increasingly difficult to spend quality time with each other with Myra tagging with us all the time. After five years of marriage, I finally decided to talk to Arun about it that we should go for vacations alone and leave Myra with her grandparents for a day or two.

Spending quality time

Thankfully, he understood without any tussle about family talks, and we went for our first road trip to Jodhpur. Unlike our family road trips, we would talk endlessly about things we do in our office, plans for career, and the things that make us happy. Our talks would not revolve around family issues, the groceries we need to buy or the corners of the house that need repair. All we would do is leg-pulling, abuse each other like we did before marriage, and romance like teenagers. We both agreed that spending time like this gives us better opportunities to express ourselves.

Setting examples for Myra

Just like my parents had set the right example for me, I wanted to show Myra over the years that the bond of a husband and a wife is a crucial one where we need to give importance to each other. When we went to a family trip to Bangalore, my parents needed to stay at a friend’s place. Since we had already spent a lot of time in Bangalore while attending a wedding, Arun and I decided to go for a road trip to the nearby hills.

We hired a Self-Drive Car, took Myra along, and went ahead for two days to spend some time in the pleasant weather of South India. When she saw us holding hands while sitting at the mountainside, she asked Arun, “Papa, why are you holding Mom’s hand? Can she not take care of herself? Will she fall if you don’t hold her?”

It was indeed very sweet listening to all those words from a three-year old baby, who wanted to know more about holding hands. All she knew that I held her hand while crossing the road or to protect her at other times.

I explained to her that when people grow up, they can hold hands to express love for each other. She nodded her head at that time, but the most gorgeous moment at that time came when she asked for my hand so that she can embrace it. She did not leave me for good five minutes, got bored after that, and went to Arun to ask for his hand!

Life lesson taught right, I guess!

Road trips are indeed great to make memories and learn things.

My Experience of a Road Trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari

Driving all the way from the top of India to the bottom of the country was a tough decision indeed. I had to drive alone throughout the way and it was certainly lonely at times. Here I must admit that I am a fiercely independent person and a self-governing traveler who does not like to depend on anyone for anything. Even though I wished that I had company during my road trip for a few moments, but if I compare the pros and cons of not having a companion, the pros always win. The problem with driving with two or more people is that you have to adjust with other people, which I cannot do all the time. Therefore, I began and concluded my road trip on my own.

During the entire course of the solo drive, I would be in the car from morning until evening. I would eat whenever I felt hungry. I would stop whenever I felt tired and exhausted. I would pull over the car whenever I wanted to click a picture. Had it been a bike ride, I would have certainly felt more tired. However, since I had taken a Self-Drive Car Rental, the journey was indeed more convenient though expensive.

In Himachal

I met a traveler in a village in Himachal who was riding a bike from there to Mumbai. He had already completed one side of his journey and had already resumed his return trip. We talked endlessly for two hours, and drove simultaneously the next day. Although the drive was interesting, it became a little too much for me to adjust according to the stops he wanted to take. Whenever he felt hungry, perhaps all I wanted was to drive. Whenever I felt tired, he wanted to go for some sightseeing. Since we both were solo travelers, we understood that we could not carry on our concurrent road trip. We parted ways and I swooshed to continue my independent journey.

Know thyself

It is no hidden fact that a solo trip lets you know yourself. While driving on this road trip, I got to know about a lot of my weaknesses and strengths. I found out ways to improve as a person because every day teaches something new when you meet so many people. I met an old lady in her 70s who could not walk, but sold bananas every day to make her ends meet. She had no one in the house to earn for her, so she would come out of the house every day on her crutches and spend her day selling bananas.

When I bought a few bananas from her, I did not have change money. Although I did not want to embarrass her, I had to tell her that I did not have 50 INR change. She asked me about the rupee note that I had, to which I replied that I had a 2000 INR note. She cheerfully said that a group of young boys had handed over a 500 INR note in the morning itself, so she would manage the rest of the money for me.

My heart broke when I saw that those clever fellows had fooled her with the counterfeit 500 INR note. She gave it to me, I looked at her, and I could not resist warning her. I secretly kept the note inside my wallet and jokingly said that fake notes are exchanging hands in the market and that she should be careful. She asked for more and I explained to her how she could differentiate between real and fake notes.

How I got lucky because of rental car in Delhi

My office is in Connaught Place in Delhi, and I commute by bus. Like every other day, it was Friday and I stepped out of the office to catch my bus at 6 pm. I was there at the same bus stop where I have been going to since the last two years. I rushed to reach the bus stop at 5:55 pm so that I do not miss the bus. Just when I was walking swiftly towards my destination, I felt a minor push from a man. I almost fell at the push, but I could not do anything about it. It is common for the Delhi-ites to push people to make way for themselves.

The man probably wanted to catch another bus, and hence ran after it. However, I could not reach my bus stop on time, and I could see the bus going away right in front of my eyes. I cussed that man for making me miss my bus, though he had caught his bus. Now I had to wait for another half an hour or more to find another bus on my route.

I took my phone out of the bag and got busy over various social media sites. What else I could do? I had to pass my time somehow. Occasionally, I would look up at other people indulged in talking, walking, and a few of them eating chana-bhel from the vendor at the bus stop. Just when I was about to get back to my phone, I saw a colleague from my office in a car that was decorated like a poster.

He stopped near me and told me to hop in. I gave him a puzzled look and said, “I have to wait for my bus. And how did you get this funny car?”

He laughed at my reaction, and said, “It’s from the promotional offer running by a company that gives car on rent. Jump in for a quick ride; I’ll drop in back in a few minutes. Else, I’ll drop you home.”

It was an interesting offer, indeed. I did not take me long to hop in for a quick ride.

Coincidentally, we drove in the direction of my bus route. After only a kilometer or more, I saw a huge crowd of people around one spot. We thought that there must be an accident. However, it turned out that the bus that I had just missed was overturned because the driver was trying to outpace someone. He could not control the vehicle and hence, the bus capsized.

I felt immediate gratitude for that man who had pushed me!

Luck was on my side that day. I had missed the bus for good.

I later learned that no one in the bus had been seriously injured, but a few passengers were admitted to the hospital for minor bandage. I reached home with my friend in that blessed Car Rental, and thanked God that at least I arrived safely, no matter a few minutes late.

How Beggars Can Be Funny in India

The scenario of beggary is quite bad in India as it is in many other developing countries. Although I do not like the behavior of beggars with the locals and tourists, I cannot ignore their immense sense of humor and sarcastic tone of language. There have been several incidences when the panhandlers have turned sarcastic if their stubbornness to fetch money does not work. One such instance comes to my mind when I was traveling to Pune with my friend.

My college friend, Shikha, is a gorgeous looking girl, and she has been in touch with me for more than seven years now. In most parts of India, if a man is just standing with a girl, almost everyone assumes that they are in love. I am not talking about the hamlets of the country; this judgmental thought process prevails even in the metropolitans. We had planned a trip to the mountains with a couple of more friends, and we were to meet them on the Hong Kong lane in Pune. Since Shikha could not think about anything but shopping in the market, I decided to devour on some pav-bhaji.

I was silently enjoying my food while admiring the young crowd in the bazaar. Even though I had no intentions of entering even a single shop, I could not help but visit a couple of outlets that looked promising. However, I was tired of shopping in just a few minutes, and I decided to call Shikha. She, thankfully, answered and promised to stay with me until everyone else came.

As we were talking while enjoying our glasses of watermelon juice, a little child around seven years of age comes to us. He has a beautiful smile, but his clothes reveal that he is a beggar in the market. As he asks for some money, I cannot help but refuse since I do not encourage beggary, no matter what. He starts pulling my pants and says, “Bhaiya, paise do na." His act irritates me, and I try to shun him to go away while saying sorry to him.

He again pleads and blesses us saying, "Aap dono ki Jodi bani rahe” meaning may God bless you two to be together. I laugh at his words and tell him that the girl is not my girlfriend. He stops smiling and shows sympathy towards me saying, "Bhaiya wo to lag hi raha hai” meaning it was quite obvious to him. I ask him shocked what he meant by his words. He walks away while uttering, “Didi kafi achi hain” (Sister looks quite good).

I stood fixed in the ground while the savage child walks away, and I can hear Shikha in the background, laughing and rolling on the floor. I knew that I was slain for the day, and she will narrate this incident to everyone coming to meet us. Even I could not help, but feel impressed by the high levels of sarcasm running through the veins of every person in India, or Pune, I would say. I rested on my Self-Drive Car Rental and waited for the time when everyone would come and make lame jokes on me. Pheewww!

How a Road Trip to Gujrat Changed My Life Forever

It was a road trip in a Volvo bus, not in a car, as I had planned, but I am happy I went for it. My fellow passenger was a kind lady, whose words of wisdom swayed me to propose to my long-term girlfriend. My girlfriend and I had a long-distance yet romantic affair for more than four years. I belong to Gujrat, particularly Ahmedabad, where I met Ayesha for the first time. After college, I had to move to Mumbai for higher studies, which was the beginning of our long-distance relationship. As the time passed, I completed my masters in IT and joined an MNC in the Maximum City. Just when we had started thinking about tying the knot, I had to take the transfer to the USA.

Even though I was working in an international company, they were not paying me well. Moreover, I did not own or even rent a home in Mumbai; my company had given me an accommodation where many of their employees stayed. Among the various reasons that my girlfriend and I had to get married as soon as possible, the need to spend the maximum time together was the topmost. Family pressure and social reasons took the backseat for us, but we were desperate to live with each other. Above all, whenever we talked about marriage, I would say that we need more financial freedom than now to enjoy our time well. So she kept quiet and understood my circumstances.

My trip to India

Fast forward a couple of years, and I came to India for my annual leave. I went to my office in Mumbai and then headed off to a road trip to my hometown. Although I had planned to hire a Car Rental to spend some good time with my family and Ayesha, I could not get one on time. Nonetheless, when I took my seat on the bus, the motherly co-passenger of mine gave me a warm smile and welcomed me to sit beside her. I took my aisle seat and got to know that she was an African-American lady who was going to Ahmedabad to meet her grandson. Given all her experiences in life, it was fun to talk to her about history, philosophy, and travel. Yes, she was a well-traveled person who wished to see more of the world before she embarked to heaven.

How she changed my thinking

Sometimes, just a few words from someone can change your entire thought process. When I told her about my girlfriend and our delayed plans of marriage, she just said a few words to turn around my mind. She said that instead of building my empire alone and then welcoming her into it, I must wed her first and then develop our empire together. The bumpy ride to our common destination will be much more fun than just enjoying the fruits of our individual efforts when we would be too old to do so. The rest is just history… we have three kids at present as we enjoy building our realm in California.

Why I Hate Traveling for Work

Traveling is something that has always been very close to my heart, but of late, I have started hating it. I don’t like to pack my bags anymore as I used to do earlier. I don’t like to experiment with foods the way I did a few years ago. All of this happened because I decided to choose travel job over desk job seven years ago. Only the first year in my job was great as I loved exploring new cities, but everything started becoming tiring after a while. Let me tell you why I don’t like my job anymore and why I want to return to a normal life.

No rest

Traveling for leisure is a different thing and doing such a pleasing thing for work is a completely different scenario. I hate waking up at 4 am to catch a flight at eight in the morning. I have to pack my check-in luggage at night and I cannot afford to pack a huge luggage since it takes a long time at the airport to submit and take it back. I hate waiting in the long queues even when I cannot stand straight for a minute. There have been times when I feel like I would crash any moment, but still I have to be there for an important job in a remote city in the other corner of the world.

No time for sightseeing

When I first went to Pune, I had thought that I would see as many sights as I can after my office. However, endless number of meetings and trainings were lined up for me in the administrative center and I could not even eat my lunch at peace. When I reached my hotel at 9 pm, the first thing that came to my mind was to have a glass of wine after a shower and crash in the bed. Three days went like this in the city, and my plans of going around Pune in the evening went down the drain. I have seen many cities around the world now, but some of them are only for the namesake.

Eating just anything

More often than not, I do get free food during my travels, but I have started hating it now. I don’t like the free meal coupons that include only fast food or unhealthy fatty cuisines. I rather prefer a bowl of cereals with milk in the morning, or just a plain egg omelet rather than lavish foods in every meal. Instead of having beer every evening, I try to grab a glass of fresh juice no matter what. The office parties do not interest me anymore, especially when my body clock is against the local timings.

Poor health

I can realize my deteriorating health whenever I eat unhealthy foods for a week or more. My body starts giving me signals that I need to bounce back to a healthy routine as soon as possible so that I can enjoy my work as well as weekends. However, no matter how hard I try, I can never be as hale and hearty as I would be at home. I used to work for a Self-Drive Car Rental company, have good food, maintain a stable routine, and go for parties only during weekends. Now I can party throughout the year, but it does not interest me anymore. As soon as I get a chance to be with my family and my cats, I take a flight to my hometown and spend maximum time with them. I don’t say that traveling for work is bad, but it saturates me after a while.

Being On a Road Trip with My Dog

What else do you need when you have a great buddy with you on a road trip? Everything becomes pleasant just by having someone on your side whom you love with all your heart. In my case, it is my dog whom I love so much that sometimes, I do not even need my friends. My Labrador, Shiny, is a golden-fur dog. He has been with me since my school years, and he was two months old when my Dad brought him to me. My parents always thought that I was an introvert person and that I needed to get out of the house more often. That is why; they decided to bring a four-legged friend for me with whom I could go to the parks and streets. They were right in their thinking; people often come to me to play with my beautiful dog and be kind to me as well. I may sound mean here, but I have actually made many friends just by having Shiny with me. Some of those people are still with me since years of their meeting at various places.

Trip to Pune 

A friend of mine happens to live in Pune, and he had called me to his home many times in the last few years. Since I could not find anyone to accompany me for such a long trip from Delhi to Pune, I decided to take Shiny along. He was super happy to be in the car, although he also showed some tantrums sometimes. He enjoyed the pleasant weather during February last year along with the delicious food that I had got for him. I did not want him to deal with an itchy stomach by constantly being in the car.

Trip to Goa

I never knew that Shiny would love beaches so much that he would never want to return. He actually enjoyed being close to the water; then he would go into the water for a quick while, and then run back to me to display how happy he was. I could feel the bliss in his heart when he was there at the beaches, even though some people were not comfortable with having a dog around them. I had to pull him out of place whenever we had to go back to the hotel, which also showed frets for the pets sometimes. As if I care!

Trip to Manali

I don't know about other dogs, but my Labrador does not feel very happy in cold weather. I decided to rent a Car without Driver and took him to Manali to see the snow and snowfall. However, he was not very happy to be there walking in the snow. He wore heavy clothes and sweaters, which were made out of my sweaters, but I still had to convince him to go out in the open air. He would always like to sleep in the cozy bed, no matter how hard I tried. Somehow, I managed to spend three days in Kullu and Manali with him, but I had to return early.

My vacations with Shiny have been very memorable, no matter it was an extended trip or a small visit to a grocery store. He is an adorable companion who loves me despite everything. He keeps himself entertained as well as everyone around him. If I have Shiny with me, I seriously do not feel like being with other people. However, he has taught me to be more social and more courteous to others than I ever used to be. More than me, my parents are grateful to him.

The Coziness of Traveling With Family

No one in the world can teach us the way our parents teach us. My father has also been the legendary in making me what I am today. He has given me some values, which I can never forget ever in life. His schooling for me and my sister have been monumental for us as well as our extended family. One thing that he always insisted upon to keep the family united was going for a vacation at least twice a year. Even when we could not afford a car, we used to go by bus or a train. Nevertheless, he made sure that we went out to another city in India to rebuild our bond with the family.

Values we get from traveling

We went to Shimla last year, and the weather was not very pleasant. We were expecting a snowfall, but we did not find any. All of us were in a lousy mood, expect the head of our family. He thought of making the most of every minute we spent in Shimla and Kufri, where they say it snows every year. It was the end of December, and heavy tourist footfall was expected in a couple of days. We bought a fruit beer from a small shop in Kufri, and he did his best to boost up the mood of the family. Acts like this from his side made sure every time that we did not have a bad time. As usual, he was successful in his attempts to cheer us up.

Nonetheless, we were about to return from the place when the snow began falling from the sky. It was the first snowfall of my life; I was only twelve years of age. The smile on my face as I enjoyed the snowfall is still captured in the photograph that he clicked. His passion for photography has effortlessly passed on to me. Now that I have become a father, I do not forget to capture every significant moment in my Smartphone.

By traveling with family, I have learned the importance of sharing and caring. Although I would fight with my sister over every little thing, I can still remember when I was dressing the wound on her feet in Jaipur. My parents watched us with the feeling of proud in their eyes as I helped her calm down and let me do the dressing. Another instance that I can recall is that my little princess would always share her piece of cake with me after I was done chasing her for an extra share. She has a habit of teasing me until I get frustrated with her, but she does not forget to give to me everything I need.

Recently, I planned to rent a car without driver to take the entire family to Bir where we could enjoy some peaceful time. When we grow up, we become busy in our lives, and the same has been the case with us. After living in Bangalore for more than six years, I realize the occupations of typical urban life. I used to like shopping for clothes so much, but now there is no time to go to any mall. I have to suffice with surfing online and buy whatever is available.

Nevertheless, the comfort that I feel with the family is never the same with other people, no matter their closeness to me. I try to pass on the same values to my kids so that they can also relate their experiences of life to the ones gathered during childhood.

Thank God it’s Friday! I’m off for a Weekend Getaway

Every week on Friday, I get a feeling of doing something exciting. Rarely, just once in three months, I feel like sitting and home to relax. If I sit at home for continuously three weeks, it makes me restless for the entire weekend. I have to be honest with myself every Friday and make a plan with family or friends. Like every week, we made a program to go for bowling in Gurgaon, which unlike Delhi, is not well-connected by public transport. One has to own a car or hire a cab or an auto-rickshaw to commute in National Capital Region.

Anyway, Blu-O in Gurgaon is the place where we had to go. My friends picked me up from my office in Cyber City, and we were off to have a great time in Blu-O. The place is a gaming station where we can do bowling, play snooker, and many other games. I have zero experience in bowling, but I had a great time continuously failing and passing at the sport. Though we had a plan to return home after bowling, no one wanted to go home. So here we were off to Jaipur in an instant. Without looking back for a moment, we set off to the Pink City. On our way, we booked a hotel in Jaipur so that we can rest our heavy heads when we reach.

Early morning in Jaipur

We had driven at a leisurely pace from Gurgaon to Jaipur; we reached our hotel early in the morning. Thankfully, the hotel looked as it was shown in the pictures, and the rooftop construction was brilliant. The real Rajput architecture was used on the pillars and walls; it felt great to be there and watch the early morning sun. The houses and hotels in front of us showcased an entirely different picture of the Pink City. In that case, I feel that every city has a different mood at different points of time during the day.

A day spent in Rajasthani style 

Khameeri Hara Matar Poori was something I had never heard about, but it was a delectable dish that we had with Thandai. We decided to take some rest in the hotel until historical monuments opened. After sleeping for a couple of hours, we were off to Amer Fort, which is located pretty away from the central city. Nevertheless, it was worth taking the pain to reach there. Amer Fort is a sheer example of the royal lives of the Rajputs of the olden times.

We could not realize where we spent our three hours in the extensive Amer Fort. We had to force ourselves to get out of it and set off for Hawa Mahal. This place was again a brilliant piece of architecture with hundreds of windows. While clicking photos in the pleasant winter sun, it felt great to just sit there with friends. Although we wanted to visit more places in the city, we felt too tired to go ahead. So we decided to go to the hotel, but before that, the girls in the group wanted to shop around for Sarees and handicrafts. Maharani market is a beautiful place where we got almost everything we wanted. We bought things for ourselves and souvenirs for our families.

Just like every other weekend, this time was also spent well wandering around Jaipur in a Luxury Car Rental that we had taken from a car rental company. One more day went in a significant way, and I look forward to having many such great times with my friends.

How I Prepared For a Trekking Holiday with My Friends

Failing at something is more humiliating to yourself than it is in front of others. I had been to Chadar Trek with my friends last year and failed at it miserably because I was not strong enough to cope with it. I hate to admit that I used to be a chain smoker, and this miserable habit had taken its toll on my health. Even when I used to be in Delhi, I could realize that other people around me were healthier than me. While they could easily walk a kilometer or two, I would look for my car keys even for a small distance. 

When I would see my friend, Shreya, walking from the metro station to her office and home, I would ridicule her for saving a meager amount of money on auto-rickshaw and cabs. However, she would give just one argument that walking keeps her active an fit. I realized the futility of my lethargic lifestyle when Shreya trekked up kilometers in just a few minutes without panting, and I could barely walk up a few meters. In the end, I had to say that I cannot complete the trek, and I would wait for my friends at a hotel at the base camp. It was incredibly humiliating to wait for them all alone in the dreary hotel room where I could not even access the network, while all my friends were enjoying on top of the hills. This was the time when I realized that I need to work on my body immediately. Over and above, I resolved to quit smoking straightaway. 

How I built strength in a year

Saying it to myself that I would strengthen my body and leave smoking was easier said than done. I could not fathom the mighty force to wake up at 5 am on the first day of my fitness regime. However, the body weight of 95 kilograms somehow pushed me to wake up and get set to go. I had already taken out my running shoes, joggers, and a t-shirt so that I do not feel lazy because of this small errand in the morning. Anyway, the first two weeks of jogging were terrible for me as I had to literally force myself out of bed to go for a walk and run. 

After two months of plain jogging and mild exercises, I started working on my strength of legs. After reading extensively about trekking and physical fitness, I knew that I needed to work on my legs. I had already modified my diet and lost a few kilograms, and then I began squats! This awkward position of half sitting and standing on my knees could not have been more difficult for me. It took me another two weeks to gain strength to do three sets of 8-10 squats.

Did I succeed?

Yes, I did. How could I not succeed after a complete year of running, jogging, and exercising? Leaving smoking was not easy, but as I felt the positive changes inside my body, it became easy to stay away from the smoke. I am happy to boast today that the smoke of cigarette or even sheesha irritates me now, and my friends are glad to see this positive change in me. So I made a plan to go for a trek with Shreya and gang again, and this time the destination was Triund, which is a moderate trek. We looked around to rent a Car but decided to go by train. And nothing makes me happier to proclaim that I finished the trek, and that too easily! Voila!

How I Conquered Acrophobia in Rishikesh

Feeling scared at the gorgeous mountains of Rishikesh was the worst feeling ever in my life! Conflicting emotions were going on in my mind. On the one hand, I was enjoying the feeling of being there on the breathtaking mountains and taking delight in the soft wind streaming past me. On the other hand, I knew that I had to go for Bungee Jump in a few hours, and just the thought of jumping from a height of hundreds of meters was taking my breath away. My friends were talking about the rush of adrenalin in their bloodstream, and I could feel my throat getting choked.

I have seen people jumping at the thought of going for skydiving, bungee jumping, and whatnot. But acrophobia is something that never lets me think about any such activity. I had never agreed to enroll for the bungee jump in Rishikesh, but my buddies had signed up for me as well along with them. During the entire journey in our Car Rental that we had taken from Delhi, I was googling about the ways to overcome acrophobia. Everything I read went into my mind, but it was hard for my heart to accept that I would have to take a huge, actually more than just huge leap! 

Nevertheless, I had already paid for the bungee jump, and I had to do it this time. I had already skipped many such activities in the past just because I did not want to be at an altitude in my life. Let me share how I finally overcame this fear of heights before and after coming to Rishikesh. 

· Seldom would I go to the hills before I had agreed for coming to Rishikesh. In Delhi itself, I had started increasing the height of places where I would hang out with my friends. Inch by inch, and then meter by meter, I was finally standing on a small hill at Purana Quila in the city. The monument is a historical delight, and while scaling a few meters each time, I noticed myself standing at a significant height. I saw the view of Delhi from there, and spend half an hour there just alone. Being alone and safe gave me the courage to go for more heights in future.

· After being on the heights, I tried to test myself in the water and sea. While being on a beach once in Chennai, I let myself be when I had to be in the water for a long time. I attempted my level best to stay determined to face the waves even when I did not like them much. 

· After a few such attempts on the hills and waters, I noticed that my condition was improving. I decided to go to the higher elevations, and I chose Rishikesh as my destination. However, my besties knew about my irrational fears, and my attempts to conquer it. They booked the bungee jump for me, and all I could say was a weak No.

While we were waiting for our turn for the jump, I meditated as best as I could. Finally when my turn to jump from a terrifying height came up, the trainer at the spot told me not to look down at any cost since I was sweating badly. They said to me in advance that they would not push me at any expense. If I had to prove myself, I had to leap on my own. I knew that I could not let myself down, and finally, after being there at the jumping spot for more than five minutes, I did the bungee jump. Finally! I was liberated from my fears of heights when I landed safely, and the staff took off the ropes and body harness.

We took our two Self-Drive Cars from the parking, and throughout my journey to home, I felt my heart feeling freed from all the inhibitions I used to have. The “I’ve Got Guts” badge that I got from the jumping site still flaunts on my desk in office!