Things I Do To Achieve My Travel Goals Every Year

The first thing that I do every December is to create my travel goals for the next year; it helps me focus on the things I need to prepare and the money I need to save for the vacations. At any cost, I make sure I go for at least two vacations in a year, which may go up to four. It may sound too ambitious for the uninitiated, but I also used to be a person who would make excuses not to travel.  Then again, I realized it in time that I can always be too busy to travel and money will always be scarce according to my travel ambitions. Therefore, I started implementing a few strategies since 2015, and I have become a frequent traveler come 2018.

Save money

As I said, money is always too less for vacation plans. Earlier, I used to think that road trips require a lot of money whenever I saw the pictures of people on Facebook. Every other person seemed to travel abroad, which made me feel so low at times. However, I happened to talk to a couple of travelers who were fond of road trips around India. They had strategically combined luxury travel with budget travel. They would often travel in groups of 3-5 and split the costs to bring down the overall expense. They had also hired a Self-Drive Car Rental for a road trip to Spiti Valley.

The conversation with them made me realize that I do not need lakhs of rupees to go for road trips or even to travel abroad. Many beautiful countries are affordable to travel, and I started taking cues from travel bloggers since then. By saving just a few hundred or thousand rupees every month, I started accumulating a good amount of money, which I presently use to spend on holidaying in India. As I grow in my career, I would aim for foreign locations as well, but I am happy at whatever I am doing right now.

Having a companion

When I was a bachelor until last year, I had conflicting thoughts in my mind about marriage because I always thought that married people cannot travel much. On the other hand, the harsh reality was that I was not traveling much even when I was single. I would always ask my friends to go for a vacation with me, but everyone had their own tantrums. Surprisingly, I have got a wonderful travel partner as I got married to Anushka last year. She is the best travel buddy I have got as we have same interests whenever we go out of the city. Now I have stopped forcing friends to tag along, even though I ask them once or twice.

Prioritizing things

As I continue to work at my job, I have found out that I need to sort out many things so that I can travel more often. I used to keep myself occupied with unnecessary things such as gossips in the office, useless parties, talking to negative people, using too much of social media. I started sorting out these things and kept them on lowest priority since I needed to focus on researching about destinations I want to travel. Now I have more time to find out the lucky draws, travel contests, and attend bike rallies. I sleep early at night so that I can begin my day at a fresh note. Sorting out my life has made me a better and frequent traveler, which has indeed given me more peace in my mind.

How I Revitalized My Marriage over Road Trips

When I was growing up before the age of ten, I would ask my parents that whom do they loved the most. They would always take each other’s name, and I would feel sad about why they didn’t say that they loved me the most. However, in my teens and early twenties, I realized that the married Indian couples set the wrong examples for their children when they keep them on priority and ignore each other for a long period of the married life. But my family was different where Dad and Mom expressed their love openly and set the right model of married life for me and my sister. In addition to our family vacations, they would often go for couple vacations either with each other or with other couple friends.

Now I see many people in my generation who keep their spouse on top priority, and I resolved to do the same as well when I got married. In the initial years, it was easy to find time for each other, but it became increasingly difficult to spend quality time with each other with Myra tagging with us all the time. After five years of marriage, I finally decided to talk to Arun about it that we should go for vacations alone and leave Myra with her grandparents for a day or two.

Spending quality time

Thankfully, he understood without any tussle about family talks, and we went for our first road trip to Jodhpur. Unlike our family road trips, we would talk endlessly about things we do in our office, plans for career, and the things that make us happy. Our talks would not revolve around family issues, the groceries we need to buy or the corners of the house that need repair. All we would do is leg-pulling, abuse each other like we did before marriage, and romance like teenagers. We both agreed that spending time like this gives us better opportunities to express ourselves.

Setting examples for Myra

Just like my parents had set the right example for me, I wanted to show Myra over the years that the bond of a husband and a wife is a crucial one where we need to give importance to each other. When we went to a family trip to Bangalore, my parents needed to stay at a friend’s place. Since we had already spent a lot of time in Bangalore while attending a wedding, Arun and I decided to go for a road trip to the nearby hills.

We hired a Self-Drive Car, took Myra along, and went ahead for two days to spend some time in the pleasant weather of South India. When she saw us holding hands while sitting at the mountainside, she asked Arun, “Papa, why are you holding Mom’s hand? Can she not take care of herself? Will she fall if you don’t hold her?”

It was indeed very sweet listening to all those words from a three-year old baby, who wanted to know more about holding hands. All she knew that I held her hand while crossing the road or to protect her at other times.

I explained to her that when people grow up, they can hold hands to express love for each other. She nodded her head at that time, but the most gorgeous moment at that time came when she asked for my hand so that she can embrace it. She did not leave me for good five minutes, got bored after that, and went to Arun to ask for his hand!

Life lesson taught right, I guess!

Road trips are indeed great to make memories and learn things.

My Experience of a Road Trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari

Driving all the way from the top of India to the bottom of the country was a tough decision indeed. I had to drive alone throughout the way and it was certainly lonely at times. Here I must admit that I am a fiercely independent person and a self-governing traveler who does not like to depend on anyone for anything. Even though I wished that I had company during my road trip for a few moments, but if I compare the pros and cons of not having a companion, the pros always win. The problem with driving with two or more people is that you have to adjust with other people, which I cannot do all the time. Therefore, I began and concluded my road trip on my own.

During the entire course of the solo drive, I would be in the car from morning until evening. I would eat whenever I felt hungry. I would stop whenever I felt tired and exhausted. I would pull over the car whenever I wanted to click a picture. Had it been a bike ride, I would have certainly felt more tired. However, since I had taken a Self-Drive Car Rental, the journey was indeed more convenient though expensive.

In Himachal

I met a traveler in a village in Himachal who was riding a bike from there to Mumbai. He had already completed one side of his journey and had already resumed his return trip. We talked endlessly for two hours, and drove simultaneously the next day. Although the drive was interesting, it became a little too much for me to adjust according to the stops he wanted to take. Whenever he felt hungry, perhaps all I wanted was to drive. Whenever I felt tired, he wanted to go for some sightseeing. Since we both were solo travelers, we understood that we could not carry on our concurrent road trip. We parted ways and I swooshed to continue my independent journey.

Know thyself

It is no hidden fact that a solo trip lets you know yourself. While driving on this road trip, I got to know about a lot of my weaknesses and strengths. I found out ways to improve as a person because every day teaches something new when you meet so many people. I met an old lady in her 70s who could not walk, but sold bananas every day to make her ends meet. She had no one in the house to earn for her, so she would come out of the house every day on her crutches and spend her day selling bananas.

When I bought a few bananas from her, I did not have change money. Although I did not want to embarrass her, I had to tell her that I did not have 50 INR change. She asked me about the rupee note that I had, to which I replied that I had a 2000 INR note. She cheerfully said that a group of young boys had handed over a 500 INR note in the morning itself, so she would manage the rest of the money for me.

My heart broke when I saw that those clever fellows had fooled her with the counterfeit 500 INR note. She gave it to me, I looked at her, and I could not resist warning her. I secretly kept the note inside my wallet and jokingly said that fake notes are exchanging hands in the market and that she should be careful. She asked for more and I explained to her how she could differentiate between real and fake notes.

How Beggars Can Be Funny in India

The scenario of beggary is quite bad in India as it is in many other developing countries. Although I do not like the behavior of beggars with the locals and tourists, I cannot ignore their immense sense of humor and sarcastic tone of language. There have been several incidences when the panhandlers have turned sarcastic if their stubbornness to fetch money does not work. One such instance comes to my mind when I was traveling to Pune with my friend.

My college friend, Shikha, is a gorgeous looking girl, and she has been in touch with me for more than seven years now. In most parts of India, if a man is just standing with a girl, almost everyone assumes that they are in love. I am not talking about the hamlets of the country; this judgmental thought process prevails even in the metropolitans. We had planned a trip to the mountains with a couple of more friends, and we were to meet them on the Hong Kong lane in Pune. Since Shikha could not think about anything but shopping in the market, I decided to devour on some pav-bhaji.

I was silently enjoying my food while admiring the young crowd in the bazaar. Even though I had no intentions of entering even a single shop, I could not help but visit a couple of outlets that looked promising. However, I was tired of shopping in just a few minutes, and I decided to call Shikha. She, thankfully, answered and promised to stay with me until everyone else came.

As we were talking while enjoying our glasses of watermelon juice, a little child around seven years of age comes to us. He has a beautiful smile, but his clothes reveal that he is a beggar in the market. As he asks for some money, I cannot help but refuse since I do not encourage beggary, no matter what. He starts pulling my pants and says, “Bhaiya, paise do na." His act irritates me, and I try to shun him to go away while saying sorry to him.

He again pleads and blesses us saying, "Aap dono ki Jodi bani rahe” meaning may God bless you two to be together. I laugh at his words and tell him that the girl is not my girlfriend. He stops smiling and shows sympathy towards me saying, "Bhaiya wo to lag hi raha hai” meaning it was quite obvious to him. I ask him shocked what he meant by his words. He walks away while uttering, “Didi kafi achi hain” (Sister looks quite good).

I stood fixed in the ground while the savage child walks away, and I can hear Shikha in the background, laughing and rolling on the floor. I knew that I was slain for the day, and she will narrate this incident to everyone coming to meet us. Even I could not help, but feel impressed by the high levels of sarcasm running through the veins of every person in India, or Pune, I would say. I rested on my Self-Drive Car Rental and waited for the time when everyone would come and make lame jokes on me. Pheewww!

Why I Hate Traveling for Work

Traveling is something that has always been very close to my heart, but of late, I have started hating it. I don’t like to pack my bags anymore as I used to do earlier. I don’t like to experiment with foods the way I did a few years ago. All of this happened because I decided to choose travel job over desk job seven years ago. Only the first year in my job was great as I loved exploring new cities, but everything started becoming tiring after a while. Let me tell you why I don’t like my job anymore and why I want to return to a normal life.

No rest

Traveling for leisure is a different thing and doing such a pleasing thing for work is a completely different scenario. I hate waking up at 4 am to catch a flight at eight in the morning. I have to pack my check-in luggage at night and I cannot afford to pack a huge luggage since it takes a long time at the airport to submit and take it back. I hate waiting in the long queues even when I cannot stand straight for a minute. There have been times when I feel like I would crash any moment, but still I have to be there for an important job in a remote city in the other corner of the world.

No time for sightseeing

When I first went to Pune, I had thought that I would see as many sights as I can after my office. However, endless number of meetings and trainings were lined up for me in the administrative center and I could not even eat my lunch at peace. When I reached my hotel at 9 pm, the first thing that came to my mind was to have a glass of wine after a shower and crash in the bed. Three days went like this in the city, and my plans of going around Pune in the evening went down the drain. I have seen many cities around the world now, but some of them are only for the namesake.

Eating just anything

More often than not, I do get free food during my travels, but I have started hating it now. I don’t like the free meal coupons that include only fast food or unhealthy fatty cuisines. I rather prefer a bowl of cereals with milk in the morning, or just a plain egg omelet rather than lavish foods in every meal. Instead of having beer every evening, I try to grab a glass of fresh juice no matter what. The office parties do not interest me anymore, especially when my body clock is against the local timings.

Poor health

I can realize my deteriorating health whenever I eat unhealthy foods for a week or more. My body starts giving me signals that I need to bounce back to a healthy routine as soon as possible so that I can enjoy my work as well as weekends. However, no matter how hard I try, I can never be as hale and hearty as I would be at home. I used to work for a Self-Drive Car Rental company, have good food, maintain a stable routine, and go for parties only during weekends. Now I can party throughout the year, but it does not interest me anymore. As soon as I get a chance to be with my family and my cats, I take a flight to my hometown and spend maximum time with them. I don’t say that traveling for work is bad, but it saturates me after a while.

Most Popular Off-Beat Destinations near Bangalore

Bangalore is said to be one of the most happening as well as historical places in India. If you live here, there is no other place that you would like to live in. And not only is the city astoundingly beautiful, but it is also in close proximity from other really popular places that you must visit if you’re a resident of Bangalore.

Even though there are a lot of places to visit around Bangalore, but we’ve shortlisted 3 of the best and the most off beat ones where you could just drive down easily. Just Rent a Self Drive car, convince 2-3 friends, and you’re all set.  Also, Self-drive cars in Bangalore have recently become pretty popular among the youth, because of being accessible as well as economical. These places are a must visit, and if you haven’t planned a trip to them, then do it right now.

1.       Mysore –

This is merely a 5 hour drive away from Bangalore, and known as the city of Palaces, it is an apt destination for a weekend trip from Bangalore. It is one of the heritage sites to be visited, and one of the main tourist attractions of Karnataka. Some of the other attractions of this beautiful city are the museums, temples, gardens, zoo and most importantly The Mysore Palace.

2.        Hogenakkal –

At a distance of even less that 150kms from Bangalore, Hogenakkal has the one of the most beautiful waterfalls in India and it is a perfect one day trip from Bangalore. You can just sit besides the waterfall, and hog on some great snacks and drinks while enjoying the weather here. Fish fry is said to be a popular snack served here.

3.       Yelagiri Hills – Just 180 kms from Bangalore, this beautiful hill station is in a district in Tamil Nadu. You can see beautiful orchids, rose valleys and greenery all around. It is surreal and really peaceful and is one of the perfect places to go to if you need a break from your hectic life. You would be able to see how the tribes live, and it’s like delving in the village life.

Everyone requires a break, and you don’t even need to wait for a long weekend to go t these places. These can be easily covered in a span of two days and you can visit these off beat places any weekend. Self Drive cars are a blessing in disguise and thus there is no headache of getting your own car or going with a driver. You can enjoy your privacy and concentrate on counting memories rather than getting all anxious about how to travel.  So pack your bag right away, and leave for any of these places the very next weekend!

Thank God it’s Friday! I’m off for a Weekend Getaway

Every week on Friday, I get a feeling of doing something exciting. Rarely, just once in three months, I feel like sitting and home to relax. If I sit at home for continuously three weeks, it makes me restless for the entire weekend. I have to be honest with myself every Friday and make a plan with family or friends. Like every week, we made a program to go for bowling in Gurgaon, which unlike Delhi, is not well-connected by public transport. One has to own a car or hire a cab or an auto-rickshaw to commute in National Capital Region.

Anyway, Blu-O in Gurgaon is the place where we had to go. My friends picked me up from my office in Cyber City, and we were off to have a great time in Blu-O. The place is a gaming station where we can do bowling, play snooker, and many other games. I have zero experience in bowling, but I had a great time continuously failing and passing at the sport. Though we had a plan to return home after bowling, no one wanted to go home. So here we were off to Jaipur in an instant. Without looking back for a moment, we set off to the Pink City. On our way, we booked a hotel in Jaipur so that we can rest our heavy heads when we reach.

Early morning in Jaipur

We had driven at a leisurely pace from Gurgaon to Jaipur; we reached our hotel early in the morning. Thankfully, the hotel looked as it was shown in the pictures, and the rooftop construction was brilliant. The real Rajput architecture was used on the pillars and walls; it felt great to be there and watch the early morning sun. The houses and hotels in front of us showcased an entirely different picture of the Pink City. In that case, I feel that every city has a different mood at different points of time during the day.

A day spent in Rajasthani style 

Khameeri Hara Matar Poori was something I had never heard about, but it was a delectable dish that we had with Thandai. We decided to take some rest in the hotel until historical monuments opened. After sleeping for a couple of hours, we were off to Amer Fort, which is located pretty away from the central city. Nevertheless, it was worth taking the pain to reach there. Amer Fort is a sheer example of the royal lives of the Rajputs of the olden times.

We could not realize where we spent our three hours in the extensive Amer Fort. We had to force ourselves to get out of it and set off for Hawa Mahal. This place was again a brilliant piece of architecture with hundreds of windows. While clicking photos in the pleasant winter sun, it felt great to just sit there with friends. Although we wanted to visit more places in the city, we felt too tired to go ahead. So we decided to go to the hotel, but before that, the girls in the group wanted to shop around for Sarees and handicrafts. Maharani market is a beautiful place where we got almost everything we wanted. We bought things for ourselves and souvenirs for our families.

Just like every other weekend, this time was also spent well wandering around Jaipur in a Luxury Car Rental that we had taken from a car rental company. One more day went in a significant way, and I look forward to having many such great times with my friends.

Buy Diamonds in Delhi with Just a Few Bucks in Pocket

What is the definition of a diamond? It is something that you can wear on your hands or neck once in a while and be happy that it shines brightly in a party. It is meant to make you happy at the end, which I suppose anything else can do as well. In my opinion, food is something that gives me equal happiness as diamonds. I am a big-time foodie, and l like to experiment with foods all around Delhi. Rather than spending one lakh bucks on a piece of tiny stone, I would rather be happy with bare hands and spend that money on life experiences.

Food travel rather than anything else is my cup of tea, and I can spend any amount of money on it. Travel, at least in India, costs much less than diamonds, and it suits my current state of earning. I would surely buy a diamond for myself rather than expect it from my guy, but I want to win many more experiences before that. Let me share a few instances when I had the best time of my life, in addition to delicious food, in Delhi.

The Qila  

The Qila is situated in Qutub Institutional Area in a quaint region in Delhi. I just love this area because of the peace it provides. Being there with my spouse before marriage for a romantic candlelight dinner was one of the most breathtaking feelings ever. It was the time when I did not know him much, and we talked for an hour on the terrace of the restaurant under the full moon. The best thing about the place is that no one disturbed our piece as we stood there in each other’s arms watching the moon. Nowhere in Delhi or India have I experienced such a place where I can sit with my partner for an endless time without any interruption. 

When we returned, we were welcomed with complimentary snacks, to begin our wine. The bread, I must say, tasted delectable with the sauces. The quantity of food is not what you look for at such places, but the experience of being with someone you love with all your heart. The time spent at a restaurant like The Qila is much more precious than anything in the world. I still look at the lone picture we got clicked from a person, and the smile on our faces is priceless. No diamond in the world can give me that smile when I wear it, but looking back at those memories can. After we got married this December, we still rent a car without driver every time we wish to have a fantastic drive and have a great time together. Again, the feeling of being in each other's company is the most precious feeling for me. Yes, I would like to have many more diamond-like candle-light dinners in future with my bae in all corners of the world.

How I Eat Alone on My Solo Trips

The worst part, at least according to inexperienced travelers, about solo travel is eating alone at restaurants. Many people feel awkward sitting unaccompanied at eateries and eat on their own. They don’t want to be noticed every time they are having a meal, maybe because they feel that people would find socially unacceptable or give them weird looks. Anyway, if you are planning a solo trip anytime soon, you can refer to these tips mentioned below. I have used them on all of my vacations, and trust me, they really help. 

Accept the truth about you 

You might find it a harsh fact, but you do need to realize that the world does not revolve around you. Unless you are a well-known celebrity, no one even cares whether you eat alone, wear shabby clothes, or even die! Yes, it is too rude to say that, but I have observed this fact about myself as well as others. While gorging a delectable dish at a café, try to ignore every weird, yet momentary look that you receive from someone. Even if you are sitting with someone, you will receive a cursory look from other people. When you do not bother their staring glances when you are with friends, why do you need to care for it when you are alone?

Enjoy the food 

Like you, everyone else at the restaurant is either hungry or is there to experiment with a new meal. People are always busy in their own conversations with their friends or family. They do not even want to notice you to stare at you. If you choose to ignore them, they are also not interested in staring at you, unless you wear funny clothes. As every solo travel guide says, dress up according to the local traditions to grab less attention, and you will be fine. Just focus on enjoying your meal. Indulge in people watching if you like it. 

Eat on a sidewalk 

Sitting alone in a closed room may feel more awkward than doing so on a walkway. If the restaurant has the arrangement for outdoor sitting, you can sit outside and enjoy eating with people watching. You cannot feel bored at all when you have so much to think about while watching people walking by. However, make sure that you do not stare at other people; they will feel awkward just like you if someone stares at you. Watching people walking by is like watching a live movie running in front of you. When you are in a new country, it also helps to learn more about the local cultures and traditions. Learn doing it and you will never feel alone. 

Stay occupied 

The best thing to do when you want to ignore others around you is to keep yourself busy. You can read a book, or even a guidebook when you are spending time at a restaurant. You can re-acquaint yourself with the sites you want to see, activities you wish to do, the next steps you need to take during your journey. The idea is to utilize your time at its best. While eating, you can plan the things you need to do, or just indulge in reading a fiction book.

When you are in a relatively conservative place in India such as Jaipur, you might get more stares than Delhi. However, you can avoid it at almost every place by taking Car Rentals In Jaipur to travel around. You do not need to think about your conduct when you have car rentals Jaipur since you can be yourself and even eat in the car if you feel too awkward in a restaurant.