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.

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.