How I Manage Traveling With Kids Schedule

I cannot ignore the fact that I am a passionate traveler, who by the fate of time, is a parent as well. I have to keep in mind my kid’s holidays so that I do not disturb their studies for my travel plans. However, I have developed my schedules in a way that my personal ambitions do not poke into my professional life as well.

Maximize the family time

My parents live in Pune, while I live with my family in Mumbai. They keep visiting us almost every month for a weekend or so, and we also go there. However, whenever I have a travel plan coming up, but the kids are busy with school, I call my parents to live at my home. They babysit both my babies and I am off to a new honeymoon with my husband. We cherish the personal time we get with each other, regardless the point that we both miss the kids as well.

On the positive side, the children get time to spend with their grandparents. Thank God, they gel up well with each other. My mom is an energetic person and she takes care of the tot’s tantrums, up to a limit of course. If the children behave too badly, she is the one to teach them a lesson as well. All in all, I am happy that we all are a big Indian family, who live their individual lives along with the family life.

Traveling with kids

Even when the babies get one holiday from their school, or if there is a long weekend, we set off to an offbeat destination. I hate the clichéd cities and hill stations in India because they become immensely crowded during holidays. That is why; I have to prepare the list of places we can visit during such holidays because I cannot waste time in planning whenever there is a holiday looming over.

Last year, we hired Self Drive Car Rental Mumbai to go to Mahableshwar when the kids were not heavily burdened with work at school. They could afford to miss a few classes and I promised their teachers to get them back on track once we returned from vacations. The place was not very crowded, thankfully, and we had a great weekend.

There is one thing that I have noticed when the kids are at home and we are traveling; they are becoming independent individuals. The younger one is only four years old at present, and he knows where to put his laundry. He sits quietly while eating food, and does not need TV to finish off the stuff on his plate. Thanks to my parents who inculcated this positive habit in him, which I could not do.

My older son is ten years old, and he already knows how to google anything whenever we make travel plans. He finds out the best places to visit, the hotel deals, and many other things. I am amazed for sure how these kids are growing up so well! Thanks to their traveler parents and cooperative grandparents that they are able to become responsible beings.

How a Trip to Mumbai Turned Hilarious

Absentmindedness is a sin, they say, but it turns out funny for me every time. I am fond of traveling and I can hit the road at any given chance. My office wanted me to be there in Mumbai for a month so that I can give presentations to our clients on various projects. I obviously did not have a problem with it, but I made a mistake. I chose to live with my friend rather than staying at a hotel, which meant I had to spend at least one additional hour on the messy roads of Mumbai. Anyway, I was prepared for it because I did not want to get bored every night in the city for one complete month.

I took the flight and reached my friend’s place in Andheri. I had taken a week’s leave so that I could prepare well for my presentations, but I would sneak out time to visit places in Mumbai. Every day, I woke up early in the morning, and worked for a few hours on my laptop. Once the peak rush hours were over, I would leave to roam around the streets of Mumbai. I did not want to miss this opportunity to explore a new metropolitan. Although I don’t like urban travel, I don’t mind wandering around new cities free of cost. I came back home in the evening so that I could spend some more time for work. Thankfully, I did not have to depend on the crowded local trains and I could take Self-Drive Car on rent Mumbai for my travel needs.

Anyway, coming back to the blunder that I did, I had to join office on the coming Monday and I was getting ready for work. I was late, by three minutes or more. It was important to reach office on time because I was supposed to give a lot of Powerpoint presentations. I raced down to the parking area and entered my car. However, I felt that the pockets of my pants were lighter than normal that day, and it dawned upon me that I had forgotten my phone in the room.

I did not have time to search it in the room, so I called my friend to look for it. His phone rang and he answered it. I told him that I had left my mobile in the flat, and he should look for it. He was surprised at what I said, but I interrupted him and said I was coming to pick the phone up.

He: Stop it Rohan, wait and listen to me. You are talking to me on your mobile phone!

I was flabbergasted!

Obviously that was the most stupid thing of my life. I started the car and rushed to office, though we shared tremendous laughter over my foolishness that night. Thank God, I had not asked him for my car keys after entering the car! He might have banned me from coming over his place again!

A Night Well Spent Wandering on the Outskirts of Mumbai

Sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything at all. Everything you can think of seems to bore you to death. Boredom strikes you even more when you do not live with anyone, and you are an extrovert. The problem with me is that I cannot find a suitable person to share my apartment, which has many side-effects including boredom. I was getting this feeling one Saturday evening in my home in the Andheri region of Mumbai. I just could not stop my mind from racing, and thinking about things I did not want to think about. I had to do something to get my mind at peace, but everything seemed humdrum.

After calling a couple of friends to have a party, and failing at it, I decided to go for a drive. Did I tell you that I do not have a car? My bad! I don't have a car! So how could I possibly go for a solo drive without a car? Not-so-thankfully, people in Mumbai do not like to share their cars with anyone, so there was no chance of borrowing a car from someone. Without thinking for a second, I decided to rent a car for the night. The car arrived in two hours, and since it was off-season going on, I got the car at a heavy discount. Nonetheless, that is a different matter.

I took the car keys from the company representative, locked the doors, and set off for a solo drive for the night. Before I get into the details, I must tell you that it was one of the most amazing times I had spent with myself. I have been on solo trips to the mountains and beaches, but never for a drive before that night. Drinking alone while driving was out of the question, so I decided to drive sober.

The chai-break

After driving on the outskirts of Mumbai for more than two hours, the first break I took was at a roadside chai-vendor. I asked him to give a masala chai with a rusk as I sat down on a big stone beside he was standing. The best thing about Mumbai is the safety and peace of mind this city gives to females. The chai-wala had his wife and daughter with him. The daughter was studying under the traffic light as her mother prepared food for her family. I asked the man about his hometown; he told me that his name was Bhola and he belonged to Agra. He had come to Mumbai with big dreams for his family as his hometown had nothing to give to them. They were very generous people; as I sat there for an hour or so, they even offered me food. I did take a bite of the delicious lauki ki sabzi that the lady had prepared, but it was now time for me to depart from there and let the family have their alone time. 

The drive

For some weird reason, I did not feel tired driving the car rentals Mumbai for another three hours. I must have driven for more than 200-300 kilometers that night, but I did not feel tired at all. Just one more cup of chai at another vendor kept me going. I was just listening to music, looking at the sceneries around me, the trees and animals on the hills, and just driving at my own pace. Spending alone time sometimes feels so peaceful that you do not want to do anything else on earth. My friends still call me a weirdo for doing something as crazy as that, but I can always call that night as one of the best in my entire lifetime.

A Refreshing Visit to the Marine Drive in Mumbai

I can come to Mumbai over and over again, and never get bored. I, belonging to Indore, find this city as mesmerizing as any small-town person would do.  I do have a satisfying life back there in my hometown, but I love exploring the city of dreams called Mumbai, or Bombay, as many locals still call it. I have been to several places in the city during this time of my visit in the month of December 2017, and I decided to go to Marine Drive as well. I should have done it long ago, but somehow I had to postpone my plans. Anyway, this time I could not defer the visit anymore, and I took my friend along to explore the place. 

I knew that going to the Marine Drive during the day would be a foolish idea on a weekend because it would be densely crowded as usual. I did not want to get stuck in the traffic and then struggle to find a place to sit on the boulevard. I drove to Marine Drive with my friend, Kashish in the car rental we had taken for the night, and thankfully did not brawl to park it. 

Even though I come from the not-so-fast life of Indore, I still like to enjoy the urban peace of the Queen’s Necklace. The fast-paced existence of Mumbai can make anyone feel tired to death, so it does to me. And whenever I feel exhausted from traveling, I try to find out places like this to instill some sense of calm in my mind. No doubt that as soon as I reached Marine Drive, I felt the serenity and calmness. Although it was the rainy season in Mumbai when I was there, it did not downpour much. Nevertheless, the breeze was just so awesome while we sat on the stones. 

Just sitting at this place makes monsoons in Mumbai a lot more pleasant, though we have to be careful of the high tides. When the tides are too high, we get the constant splashes of water that come from the strong waves banging on the seashores below. Mumbai-kars also come to Marine Drive for a morning walk and evening saunter. The students from the neighboring colleges have it as their favorite hangout spot. And it is needless to say that this location has been the preferred choice of shooting movies for a long time.

We sat there for at least three hours and not for a moment; we felt bored. It is always soothing to be there at a place as serene as Marine Drive, but we had to leave for our upcoming destination, which was Churchgate Station. Although we did not have any local train to catch, we wanted to try some local food outside the place. We took our Self-Drive Car Rental Mumbai and drove off to the station. 

A few food stalls were there in place outside the Churchgate Station, and even at 3 am, we could see at least a few dozen people enjoying the delicacies. The station opens at 4 am, which makes many people wait outside the station for the first train of the day. While we had the refreshing tea, we quickly grabbed the maska bun, and placed the order for bhurji pao and egg tawa rice. Considering the crowd at the place, it is inessential to say that the food, as well as the tea, was just so scrumptious. We were a little tired, and it did not take us long to gorge the lip-smacking food.

With our stomachs stuffed with food, we sat back in our car and left for home. Although we were tired, the people of Mumbai were not. The cars were still running at high speed on the roads, and it appeared that the people still had a task to accomplish. Without a doubt, Mumbai never sleeps.

How I Realized Not to Ride an Elephant Anywhere in the World

Asia is a famous part of the world where the elephants are a common sight. Whether it is India, Thailand, or Sri Lanka, one can easily spot an elephant and take a ride on its back for fun and frolic. Whenever I would see an elephant earlier, I would ask my friends to join me for a fun trip. However, it was not too late when I realized that I should not do it. I still remember my first giant ride in Delhi when I was there with a friend who had come from Mumbai. It was around eight at night when I was there in Connaught Place, and we spotted an elephant with its mahout, the master of the animal. The man seemed to have a good reputation with the giant being, and as soon as he gestured, the elephant bowed to its front knees to let us sit on it.  

Our joy could see no bounds when we realized that we were going to ride an elephant in reality. The mahout let us sit on the square seat that he had created on the back of his tamed creature. As soon as the elephant got up, we had to grip the bars of the seating tightly to avoid falling from the top of a huge animal that we had even touched for the first time. Just in the flash of a second, I could imagine myself being trampled under the foot of the elephant if he got angry. Nevertheless, it was too much to think of when all we had to do was to hold the iron bars tightly. 

As soon as the elephant started moving, we started enjoying the bumpy ride. Although the mahout charged us a hefty amount for a two hundred-meter ride, we did enjoy the trip to the best. We wanted to be there on the back of the elephant for at least a few more minutes, but before we realized, the journey got over. We got the pictures clicked with the adorable living thing, and went ahead to have the dinner with our hearts full of joy. At several other instances, including ones in Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Kerala, I took the pleasure of elephant rides. However, it was when I was there in Mumbai when the realization dawned on me that I was indulging in a cruel act for my sake of fun.

I was there with the same friend in Mumbai who had come to my city, Delhi when we first enjoyed the ride. We had taken a Car Rental Mumbai to explore her city of dreams. While having a great time around the grand town, we spotted an elephant again. As soon as we saw the animal, we giggled and immediately decided to ride it once more and relive our memories of Delhi. We took the trip on the animal as we had resolved, but as soon as we were about to leave the place, we noticed something that changed our perception towards animals forever.  

The mahout of the animal was poking sharp iron rode on its leg when the elephant refused to obey his orders. Maybe the elephant was sick and tired for the night, but his master was not ready to let go of his earning for the day. He wanted to get more out of the elephant, but the beast was adamant not to give in. After the mahout tortured it for a couple of times more, he had no choice but to agree. It was a terrible sight to see, and I could see it in the eyes of the elephant that he would never forget a human being for treating him like this. I recalled my so-called learnings of school when I had gained the knowledge that the lions, rabbits, and elephants are tormented to entertain the humans. I immediately decided not to indulge in this heinous act of riding an elephant again in my life, and so did my friend.