How I Broke the News to My Parents on a Road Trip

It has to be tough sometimes, even for the parents, especially when they are Indian parents. I have no hesitation in admitting that I manipulate my parents when they apply the same tricks to me. The Indian parents have a nasty habit of altering almost every decision of their kid’s life, even when the decision seems legit.

So we had planned a trip to McLeodganj from our hometown in Delhi. We were already late while leaving from the house as we had to pick the Self Drive Cars Delhi Airport because of its proximity to our house. Anyway, we all packed our bags and left for the airport in a cab. Everything was going well, mom was packing her bags, dad was packing food, sister Shreya was busy packing her makeup, and I was chatting on my phone.

So we all left for the airport, picked up the car, and drove off to McLeodganj, which is more than 500 kilometers from Delhi. Dad and I love driving, so traveling to a far-off destination for more than 12-13 hours was not a problem for us. As soon as we reached the hills, I decided to break the important news to my family.

Me: Mom, Dad, I have to share something important with you guys.

Mom: What is it? Have you failed in your exams? I told you to study harder and quit playing cricket.

Dad: Do you need money for something?

Mom: Are you in love? I knew it. The look on your face tells me you have found someone on your own. I had already found someone for you. Now you will bring someone to our house and she will rule all of us.

Shreya: Mom, Dad, he has not even spoken a word about his matter yet.

Dad, who was enjoying driving on the serene hills, stopped the car and turned to me, “What is it, beta?”

(What is it, son?)

Me: See, this is something that has been bothering me for quite some time, but you all must know that I am homosexual. I like men.

Mom and Dad were aghast!

Their mouths dropped and tongues almost touched the floor of the car. Dad got out of the car, and Mom followed him as well. Now I was looking at Shreya, completely clueless. We also got out and turned to our parents.

Mom was crying and Dad was consoling her.

Mom: How could you do this to us? What will we say to the relatives?

Dad: Since when?

Me: I don’t know Dad, but I don’t find any interest in girls. I have a boyfriend and we plan to get married.

I could sense the cool air of the mountains around us suddenly fuming!

Mom: Please don’t do this Shreyas. We will find a good girl for you. You can also find one on your own if you like someone. We will not say a word. Just don’t marry a boy please.

Me: I don’t know Mom I will be able to do it or not. I love my boyfriend and I cannot leave him.

Mom was still sobbing, and Dad was still consoling her.

After ten minutes, I could not take it anymore.

I hugged Mom and told her that it was a joke. I am straight, not a homosexual person. Instead of smiling at me, she slapped me! And then hugged me.

Dad: We will have to get you married soon! This was a really bad joke!

I texted my girlfriend as I sat in the car, “Congratulations! Mission accomplished! We are getting married soon!

How My Husband Became My Best Travel Partner

Being a wife was never an easy task, and it was not so in my case as well. When I was in college, I never wanted to marry for the fear of losing my freedom. I was having a ball in my life when I started realizing that the pressure to get married was building up. Since I could not dodge the matter for too long, I began meeting guys. It was utterly unexpected from me that I would fall in love with someone so smoothly in no time. I met a person in a pub in Delhi, who had come to meet me in Pajamas. I was awestruck to meet such a person who would not care what people, especially a girl who might become his bride, would think about him. He was least bothered with his clothes, but his personality and speech spoke volumes about him.

Within half an hour, we both realized that we were heading in the right direction. He also wanted an independent female who would not depend too much on him or cling to him at all times. We found each other just perfect for each other, and I knew from Day One that I do not need to pretend anything in front of this person. He will let me be however I wanted and support me in pursuing my desires.

One of the main things that I never wanted to leave after marriage was travel. Roaming around in different cities and countries is my favorite thing to do, and I still had a lot of things to accomplish on my bucket list. After a week of talking to this amazing person I had met in my favorite city, I told him about my wish list. I was not surprised when he said to me that he also had such a similar record, and we shared many of the common interests.

We did not have to convince each other too much to do the matchless things we had thought of doing. He also wanted to live his bachelorhood after marriage just like me, so we decided to live like singles for the next 3-5 years. No doubt that he lived up to his words and he never forced me to follow the orthodox traditions of Indian society. The first trip was, of course, our honeymoon, when we went to Bali. The first naughty thing we did was to steal food from someone else's table in a restaurant. Many other such incidents happened when we fathomed that none of us had lost the freedom. By getting married, we had just found a stable life partner in each other. 

For our bi-annual fancy dinners in the  city, we would take Self-Driven Cars on Rent in Delhi and spend time at an exotic restaurant. This gave us the opportunity to drive vivid models of luxury cars and SUVs. Just by using the Car rental in Delhi, we have explored more than a dozen vehicles in the last few years. We have been to the hills, beaches, and crowded cities of India. I must confess that over the previous three years of our marriage, I have never regretted my decision to tie a knot with this person. Even though we have had our share of fights and arguments, I have never missed my single life. Just by having a right person in life changes the meaning of your existence forever. I might have accomplished fewer things in my bachelorhood had I remained unmarried for another few years. After being with my husband for a good deal of time, I look forward to many more anniversaries with him in future.

How I Avoid the Social Pressures on My Vacations

Something as rejuvenating as travel can be exhausting sometimes just because of a few silly reasons, one of which is social compulsions. While browsing for ‘things to do’ at my travel destination, I usually get puzzled by the ocean of information available just for one cozy little place in the mountains. I always want to take a vacation to relax at a calm place in the hills or by the beachside, but the internet makes me lose sleep over the things I cannot do if I don't step out of my resort. Or if I don't want to leave the riverside, someone from my friends would call me up and tell me to get up and get a life! Dude, I do have a life, but I want to live it on my own terms. Isn't it acceptable to you? Well, after years of traveling around India and abroad, I have learned just one thing- If I have to find my peace of mind, I have to travel on my own terms, not by those set by the other travelers.

A solo trip 

Going solo is the best way to fulfill my fantasies and go around places at my own pace. No one is there to disturb my peace, tell me to get up early or late in the morning, have a drink at 5 pm, smoke up with people just for the sake of it, or have dinner with the hostel mates. I am not an anti-social person, but I want to be away from the chaos of my urban life for a few days whenever I am out of the city. I do not want to be burdened by the thoughts of uploading the pictures on Facebook or Instagram. I talk to people when I want to on my solo trip, but I also have the liberty to stay alone for as long as I want. 

The best part about going solo and staying in a hostel is that I get to meet a lot of like-minded people. I have made several friends on such vacations where I did not even talk to them properly. I just happened to have a word with such people for a couple of minutes, found a connection, exchanged numbers, enjoyed my trip on my own, and then contacted them after I came to the city. I know this sounds weird, but many people like me want to enjoy their lone time on their vacations and connect with people once they feel obliged to do that without any social pressure.

Avoid the coercions 

Another idea to avoid taking the strong-arm tactics of my friends and family is to avoid following the list of ‘things to do' and just do whatever I want. No one can force me to do something unless I let them do it. I have seen people complain that a friend in their group wanted to have vegetarian food at a strictly vegetarian restaurant all the time while the other members were comfortable with any option available. Such a fuss created by someone may become a nuisance if it goes overboard. For instance, someone in my group of friends may want to go by flight, but I want to take a road trip. So I would suggest taking Self-Driven Cars on Rent in Delhi, just because I find Car rental in Delhi cheaper and more fun than traveling in an airplane. However, if I go in a group, I may have to agree to many things I just don’t like. 

Moreover, there are certain things that people are expected to do at every place they go, but it is me who has to decide whether I want to follow the list or not. I prefer not talking about my trips to my friends at all. Whenever someone inquire about me what I did on the journey, I just say it went great and then make an excuse of work or calls that I have to take. It helps me escape the lies I might have to say if I keep on talking about my vacation, which I don't want to do. Avoiding social pressures these days is not an easy thing to do, but I have learned to do it over time and it has made my life much more peaceful than earlier.

Side Effects of Traveling with My Partner Every Time

Being a Delhi-ite, I was always habitual of having my own space. And the definition of that space meant that whenever I would want to be alone, I would just shut down from the world. Completely! And that too without feeling guilty about it. But since the day I got married, I have not been able to get an inch of that space, and I must confess that I have nothing to complain. Just a week of my marriage had made me realize that I couldn’t live with my wife, Neetu and neither could I live without her! Being with her was a strange combination of love and irritation. 

After a year of our sweet and sour married life, both of us decided to quit our corporate jobs and take up travel as our full-time occupation. Doubtlessly, we had to face significant protests from our family, but we managed to convince them. Had we been single, we would have to convince our families until death about our decision, but I must say that just a stamp of marriage in the Indian society works wonders. We did not have to put in much efforts to talk our parents into our choice. They just hesitated for a while and then happily agreed. Their only concern was the safety of my wife, which I assured them that I would take care of her at all times.

Being in India, we have to take extra caution to be on the safe side at all times, because of which Neetu feels irritated at times. We also have our own share of arguments, surprises, and sincere pranks, which keep our relationship alive. On our journeys throughout the world, we have met several couples who have much more experience of travel than us, but they are still very grounded beings than us. It feels great to be with such people and learn from them. 

Being in the constant company of my wife does make me miss my bachelorhood, but it is a great feeling to be with her. I must say I am lucky that she shares the same ideology as mine. We want the same things from life, have the same taste for food, and the same liking for people. All these factors make it easy to be with each other. We do fight at times, but those arguments are just a way to vent out the frustration that builds up with time.

Traveling every time with the same person is not easy. There were times when we did not have a car, and we would look for Self-Driven Cars on Rent in Delhi if we wanted more comfort. Otherwise, we would ditch the Car rental in Delhi and just take a train to our destination. Various experiences have taught us how to adjust in meager means as well as have a lavish life when we have a big budget. All in all, I am happy that I have learned the ways to overcome the side effects of being married and found out how to stay relaxed at all times with my beloved.