How I Stay Fit and Healthy in India on My Holiday

Whenever I go for a long vacation in India, my first concern is to stay healthy throughout my stint. Even though I have got habitual to take precautions, I still have to be mindful about it. The best thing to do when I am in India is to take adequate rest. If I am not properly rested, I have to stress myself to travel around, which must be a delightful activity otherwise. On the other hand, if I am fresh in my mind, everything I do becomes a pleasure to do.

The next thing that I find a must-do for myself is to be wary of the food and water that I consume. I can take more care about the food than water because everything that is served on my plate is cooked from water whose purity is never guaranteed. When I came here for the first time, my immune system was not prepared for everything that I had consumed out of sheer taste and greed. It is easy to overeat in India because the new delicacies that they serve are so delicious that you cannot say no to it. However, you have to take care about the amount you can digest, especially the desserts made at home.

The gulab jamun, for example, is so delectable that I could not refuse it when my friend’s mom served it one after another. I ate six gulab jamuns in one go as they felt light on my stomach, and were so soft that I gobbled down six in a row. Everyone around me laughed at my act, but they cheered as I ate more and more. Hospitality in India is incredible, but it can take you to the hospital!

Thank God, I did not have to visit the hospital that night, but I swear I had to spend the entire night with my hand at my stomach, and frequent visits to the toilet!

I had booked the Car Rentals in Delhi for the next day to travel to Jaipur with my friend, whose mom was the chef the previous night, but we had to postpone our plans for the day. After that day, is swore to myself to never do overeating in India, no matter how much someone cheers for me or forces me. Now whenever I visit someone’s home for a meal, I eat my food deliberately slowly so that no one refills my plate unless I ask for it.

Another favorite thing to do in India is to carry a plastic bowl and a knife with a cover in my bag. I am not a fan of fruit that is cut already for sale on the stalls. But I like to eat fresh fruits, so I buy them from the vendors readily available everywhere in India, wash them thoroughly until I am satisfied, cut them on my own, and eat them fresh. I take watermelon and similar fruits to the hotel, cut them there, refrigerate them, and then eat them.

Maintaining health and boosting immunity in India has now become a habit, which is never going to leave my mind. Therefore, I don’t mind visiting India at all, even it is for a year now.

What Makes Me The Favorite Co-Traveler of My Friends?

The only reason that my friends love to tag me along on their vacations is that they know I will never refuse. I never take unnecessary leaves just because I know that I will have to travel any day of the month. And whenever my friends and family have to go to a new place, they would ask me and know that I won’t refuse. And how has it happened that I became an avid traveler?

It happened by chance that I went for my first vacation with my group of friends four years ago, apart from which I had traveled only with the family. I don’t say that the family vacations are boring, but you have to choose your destination carefully. I cannot go for an adventure trip with my parents because I know that they will not be able to trek on the mountains or go for bungee jumping. Such trips are good to go only with friends or even alone. However, when I have to go to the religious places or any other relaxed places, I love to go with my parents and other relatives. Both companies have their own fun, and enjoy being with them. The only thing that I should derive with a travel plan is to see new places. The plan should add some value to my bucket list, or I would prefer to slog in office.

Spotting tickets

After traveling to so many places in the last four years, I realize that my room is full of things that remind me of my vacations. I often spot plane tickets, hotel bookings print outs, and museum tickets in the room and the house. And I never call them a mess; these things are souvenirs for me that give me instant gratification. I can recall the activities that I did on my previous road trips and the moments that I shared with my loved ones.

My luggage

Mom has scolded me zillions of times to remove the backpack from my bedside so that the maid could clean the floor properly from there, but I don’t listen. I have told her millions of times that I love to see my luggage there and it is now a part of my room décor. I don’t intend to remove it or put it in the cupboard because I might have to travel any day. That is why; my friends know that whenever they ask me for a spontaneous trip, I would be ready in an hour, unlike others who take a long time to pack their bags and it frustrates many other guys in the group. Last time we took a car on rent in Delhi, the three members made us wait for three hours! Too much it was!

The recommendations

There are times when I have already seen a place and I don’t wish to go there again unless it is urgent. The ones who are going there would ask me for recommendations of hotels, restaurants, and popular tourist places. I don’t mind telling them either, along with my personal insights. Moreover, even if I have not seen a place, I know how to research on the internet. I would take just 30 minutes or an hour to recognize the sites that one should visit and the places that they should skip.

It has been a lovely experience being an avid traveler, and I love it when people ask me about different places in the world. However, I know that I am just a tiny creature of the world, and I still need to explore many more hidden gems in different countries. And this journey is never going to stop until my last breath.

How I Explained Eating Food with Hands to a German Traveler

Being and Indian, what would you do when someone tells you that you are too primitive to eat with bare hands? I would eat the person alive!

Just kidding!

If I am friends with the foreigner, I just google the advantages of eating with bare hands, and forward the link to him or her. However, if I have met someone from another country for the first time, I politely wipe off my hands and explain in brief about the benefits of eating with hands.

The same happened with a German companion of mine with whom I happened to have a formal dinner in Delhi. This guy, Heinz, happened to meet me from office, and I was supposed to take him for an Indian dinner. So I decided to rent a car in Delhi without driver so that I can show places around, and take him to the best place to have a sumptuous Indian meal.

We met around 6 pm, and I asked him if he would like to eat first or roam around and then come back for dinner. He chose the latter option, so we drove around Connaught Place for a while. He liked the vibrant atmosphere of the place and he mentioned that he loved the way people were cheerful in general.

Then, we went to have dinner around 8 pm to a Punjabi restaurant that I knew served mouth-watering meals. I ordered relatively less spicy food that day because I felt that Heinz might not be comfortable with typical Punjabi food that may blow smoke out of his ears.

As the Tawa Chicken and Butter Naan arrived, my mouth started watering. The waiter served the meal for us onto our plates. I saw the confusion on Heinz’s face as he waited for me to begin eating. I gorged into the naan and chicken, of course with my hands, while ripping off the meat from the chicken bones. He was dumbstruck at my perfection of using bare hands, which explained why I had gone to wash them right before the food arrived.

He asked why I was eating that way. I was expecting this to come, and I explained to him that eating with exposed hands without using a plastic glove was the ancient Indian culture. It gives you an idea of the temperature of the food, lets you realize the texture of bread and curry, and helps in mindful eating.

I don’t know whether I could explain to him well or not, but he excused himself to wash hands. When he returned to the table, he asked me to demonstrate the way of eating. Thankfully, he was an open-minded German friend, with whom I happened to go for several road trips in and around Delhi. The only reason I could really befriend him was his open-mindedness. Had he been too judgmental about the Indian mannerism, he would have him distanced from every Indian in the country.