How I learned new things while traveling in India

Even though I am born and brought up in a small town in India, I did not realize the importance of a few things in life until I started traveling. When I went for my first trip to Haridwar, I did not like the crowded Har ki Paudi, where thousands of people were taking baths at the banks of river Ganga. However, I happened to visit the same holy Indian city again, but we went to a different ghaat that time, and I realized what they call offbeat travel. At that secluded ghat or the riverbank, we could take bath in peace in the pleasantly cold water of the river, sit there for as long as we wanted, and then return to the famous Har ki Paudi to witness the Ganga Aarti. Just because everyone goes to the same tourist place in a famous city does not mean that I also have to do the same.

In the recent times, I keep hearing about offbeat travel, which tells people to go to lesser known places. I smile at such articles when I remember that second visit to Haridwar. While traveling to different cities in India, I try to stay away from things and places that attract a majority of tourists. This is how I am able to explore a lot more about every city. I had heard a lot about Kasol, for example, but I found the place very disappointing as I reached there. It might have been a smoker’s heaven a few years ago, but the place is highly commercialized now. On the other hand, rather than wasting my time in the markets and cafés of Kasol, we hiked ahead to Tosh, where we found the peaceful environment we were looking for.

The same thing happened with my visit to Neemrana this year. When I was looking for hotels in Neemrana, the rooms in the fort palace were skyrocketing, and were certainly not worth the price. So I researched ahead and looked for accommodations nearby because I could not spend more than a night on that vacation. I finally found a hill fort palace in Alwar, the price of which was decent, and I enjoyed my outing with my wife to the core. It was worth spending every penny on that trip because Alwar is a place that does not attract thousands of tourists. Hence, it is not too expensive, still untouched, and people are really humble and nice. What else would you ask for in a weekend getaway when I could quickly rent a car without driver, reach my destination within four hours, and return the next day to Delhi.

Indian villages and small towns have always been my priority when it comes to vacationing. When I got a chance to visit Ujjain, I could not control my curiosity. This ancient city had been on my list of places to visit since a long time. So I prepared a list of the temples I could visit in my two days of stay in Ujjain, took recommendations from a neighborhood friend, and just set off on my road trip to the religious city in Madhya Pradesh. The Ram Mandir ghaat happened to be my favorite place among all mandirs.

The thumb rule of traveling for me is to select untouched places where not many people would want to go. Even if I find a few tourists at such places, they are like-minded people with whom I can discuss the topics of same interest. Once I am done exploring India, I will move ahead to foreign destinations.

What pissed me off during a movie in Mumbai

It was a busy quarter of the year in office because of a few professional commitments, and I was desperately waiting for a small break. I don’t watch movies frequently, so I was waiting for a nice movie to release so that I could take a breather. The movie, Raazi was about to release, and when it did, I booked four tickets for my family.

We planned to go for a movie and then dinner. Since I do not feel the need to keep a car in Mumbai, I decided to look for cheap Car Rentals so that we can have a great time together with family. After searching for an hour, I booked a Swift Dzire to go for a long drive on a Saturday evening. We went to the theater, fetched burgers from McDonalds first, gulped them down, and then went ahead to reach the movie hall.

Finally, the movie started!

But no, destiny had some other plans for my weekend!

Two kids began shouting, screeching, and yelling in the movie hall. I expected, and so did other people, that one of the parents of the kids would pick up their kids and take them outside to pacify them. But no, they did not budge from their seats, and left them playing in the cinema hall. They gave them their mobile phones, and the kids knew the button to turn on the flash lights of the phones. Imagine the disturbance that the naughty kids caused for everyone else in the room with the flashlights blazing in the pitch dark movie hall.

When the other kids saw them having a good time, they also started crying their eyes out for mobile phones. Their parents also, instead of soothing them, gave them their cell phones. Now my most-awaited movie is running on the huge screen, but no one among the audience could concentrate on the it because of five flash lights were glowing in five different directions. The cherry on the top of the cake was the shrieking voices of kids arguing and playing. At least someone got up from the seat and called the assistant and asked him to let the parents know about the agony of others sitting right there. Even then the parents did not calm down their kids, they just took away the mobile phones from them.

What the parents were supposed to do

The kids went on and on with their pranks, which pissed me off. Completely. I was not frustrated because of the kids, but the parents. Kids will always make noise; they do not know the etiquettes, but their parents do. The parents are adults, of course, and they are consciously spoiling the supposed quality time of at least five hundred people who have paid a fortune to watch a good movie, which was anyhow turned into a worthless experience. Such parents should leave their kids with a guardian or watch movies at home, but please refrain from disturbing hundreds of other people just because they cannot handle their children.

What is So Special about Chandni Chowk in Delhi?

For those who do not know much about Chandni Chowk, the place is meant for mouth-watering food only. And for those who know the inside-outs of the area, they explore much more beyond food. I have been going to Chandni Chowk for innumerable chores for more than five years now.

Every time I go there, I become overwhelmed by a few things that are characteristic of the place. The first thing that anyone would observe about the site is the presence of at least a thousand people in front of the eyes at any point in time. I have never seen the roads empty in Chandni Chowk, even if it is a Sunday when the market is officially closed. Another thing that catches the attention is the long queues of shops that display a huge array of their products. I can find anything from the pin to plane in the market, which is the reason people from all over the country come here to buy stuff. Some of the most common things that I can find here include wedding cards, stationery items, paper products, hardware equipment, electronic goods, books, clothes, decoration material, and raw material for practically everything I can think. 

Once I was there in Chandni Chowk eating Dahi Bhalle at a roadside joint. Luckily, there were not many people around me, and I struck a conversation with the shop owner. He told me that the market was established when Shah Jahan had transferred his capital to Old Delhi (then Shahjahanabad) from Agra in the 17^th century. Although the present day Moonlit Square or Chandni Chowk does not resemble anything from the past, several havelis and shops still ring a bell about the history of India. If I try to observe a building, I can clearly notice the things that jog my memory, and I can visualize how things and places must have been three centuries ago at this place.  

Jahanara Begum was the eldest daughter of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, and she had designed the markets of Chandni Chowk. She had created four sections of the area: Johri Bazar, Urdu Bazaar, the Fatehpuri Bazar, and Ashrafi Bazaar. When the Mughal era used to be at its peak, the Chandni Chowk bazaars had their popularity spread wide across the world. The merchants from Europe and Asia would be the frequent visitors of these souks, and take goods to their home countries.  

Chandni Chowk got its name because of a unique feature. The Yamuna River would pass through the middle of the souk, and it gave a reflection of the moon, which was an exemplary sight to the visitors. The streets would be lined with the banyan trees, and wide platforms fringed the river. The residents and shopkeepers of the market would sit on the platforms for hours in a row, lost in their conversations and hobbies. It would be a common spectacle to see the royal processions going by the Chandni Chowk. In just a span of 1.3 kilometers, more than 1,500 businesses were set up beginning from the Red Fort concluding at Fatehpuri Masjid. All the shops were lined in the outline of a crescent or half-moon. What a delightful view it must have been at that time!

Presently, even though I have to take the Car Rental Delhi to visit Chandni Chowk, there seems hardly any space for a car. The place is best explored on foot, especially when I want to taste the delectable foods of the market. The site is one among the major commercial centers of Delhi, but there is hardly anything from the charming history that I can see today. Only the narrow by-lanes swarming with people and products are the only thing that are visible. Still, I can say that Chandni Chowk is close to my heart, and it will always be.

How My Dad Deals With Unexpected Episodes during Travel

Having a composed and relaxed temperament at all times is not an easy job, particularly in our times when we do not have any patience to deal with unexpected incidences. I don't claim that my dad is the best person in the world, but he means the world to me. I have seen him dealing with several instances in life that can make anyone wonder from does he bring so much of strength and patience.

I become particularly picky when I have to travel to any place in the world. The anxiety of leaving something behind takes me over, and it becomes difficult for me to hide my frustration and irritation with things. At the age of twenty-three, I behave like a 10-year old kid in front of my parents, and it is my father who calms me down. Last month, we were planning a road trip to Coorg, and my father suggested to take a Car Rental in Bangalore without Driver so that we can experience a new car this time. Although I was not against the idea, my dad sensed it that I was not in favor either. I always preferred taking a driver along with us so that none of us gets tired driving the car. Anyway, he was adamant this time, and it was my duty to take the delivery of the car from a particular pickup point.

When we were about to leave at seven in the morning, we got a call from the car rental company that the driver who was supposed to deliver the vehicle was stuck somewhere and it will take some time to send the car to us. So the trip had not even begun, and we had started arguing at home. As usual, I started blaming others that it was their idea to Rent Cars in Bangalore and now we were stuck at home. We could not even take the chauffeur-driven car because we had already paid for the Self-Drive Car. Nevertheless, my dad was calm and unruffled as usual. He made me sit, handed over a glass of water to me, and asked me to show the itinerary. He justified the company’s act that they are also humans working for a company and they are allowed to make mistakes. We just sat there for a few minutes talking about random things and then he remade our itinerary according to the delay in departure. 

He has a habit of not making a fuss out of simple problems. When people like me lose our temper, he magically maintains his cool. He would either keep a poker face or even laugh at the situation. God knows where he draws his strength from, but he is amazing at handling life. Otherwise being very loving by nature, my mother is a little high tempered by nature (I guess this is where my temperament comes from). I feel amazed to notice that my father has hardly ever got angry with her. Whether it was the matter of Self-Drive Car Rental Bangalore or several other silly incidents in their twenty-five years of married life, he has managed to handle their married life really well.

I am no one to judge anyone for their habits, nature, preferences, or temperament. Nonetheless, after meeting thousands of people in life, I feel proud to be the daughter of such a gentleman who knows how to deal with the toughest situations in life unlike others. After waiting for three hours that morning, the Self-Drive Car finally arrived at our doorstep, and the driver had a bouquet with chocolates tucked in it. It brought a cheerful smile on my face, and my father again established it that the company runs with humans. No robotic establishment could have delivered the car with such a delightful gesture as compensation for their little slip-up. I, once again, learned a lesson to let go petty matters and take delight in the present.

How Travel Helped Me Become More Confident Than Before

When I finally decided to defeat my fear of talking to people, I had to convince myself that no one can give me a hand in this matter. I would have to aid myself to overcome the inhibitions that leave me speechless every time I tried to indulge into a social gathering. My family had lost faith in me that I would ever be a confident person like my siblings were. Even I would doubt myself if could ever initiate a conversation as my friends do. I had read numerous books and tried to become a person I always wanted to be. However, I could not accomplish my goals, but a day arrived when I decided to use travel to accomplish the feat.

Travel helped me transform my personality in just a few days. It gave me the poise I always saw in other people. Just by handling life on my own for a few days gave me the self-reliance I always needed. Yes, there were times when I would feel anxious on the road since I had taken my first road trip alone, nonetheless I had no other option but to deal with it.

When I was booking Car Rentals in Kolkata, my hometown, I thought of canceling the trip several times, but then I would picture the goals I wanted to achieve. I fancied myself at the places I wanted to see. I recalled the photos of these locations and told myself that I had to get there, no matter what. After rethinking about canceling my plans for at least twenty times, I finally booked the car and packed my bags.

Imagining a better life without anxiety also helped me to stay firm on my decision. Had I canceled my plans, I would have regretted it all through my life. I would have always thought about the life I could have made if I had gone to the hills or the beaches. When I used to think about things I wanted to do on my vacation, it would help me stay firm on taking a road trip. The fear of living with guilt became greater than the fear of talking to people, so I finally ventured on my first solo road trip.

I had also joined a community where I could talk to people like me who also wanted to come out of their present lives. Such communities comprise of people who are in the process of recovery. Whenever I would post something related to my apprehensions, I would get numerous responses to help me get out of them. Moreover, the folks registered on those communities also helped me with a couple of tricks that I could use in public places to be more at peace. At least these communities helped me feel less lonely for a couple of years. 

Planning the itinerary and activities was also a major part of the plan. It helped me gain control over most situations, and I could reassure myself that people would not make fun of me. For the first few days of my road trip on Car Rentals Kolkata, I jotted down each and every point where I had to stop, eat, and stay. I also made plans for emergency situations like what I would do if my car broke down, I lost my wallet, or I fell sick. Having emergency numbers written on a piece of paper helped me feel safe during the initial phase of my road trip. However, just a few days on the road all on my own helped me wreck the nervousness I used to feel earlier. I stopped feeling the dire need for a Plan B. It gave me more buoyancy to handle the situations and ask for help from the person close to me rather than the one sitting at home. Feeling poised is the best sentiment I could have in me, and I can never underestimate the importance of it.