How I Escape Clashes Over Money While Traveling

Yes, there have been a few incidences when I had indulged in stupid fights with friends over money. However, those were the times when we barely had money since we were in college and everyone was quite clingy about the meager cash they had. We could not help but accept the fact that we all were short of cash at all times, so we had to demarcate the lines about how we would split the expenses anyone made in the group. Splitting the costs were the early lessons in life that I was lucky to have in life.

Traveling with friends

There was one road trip to Coorg when I traveled with three other friends. We often had clashes about who would spend for what, the members of the group would look here and there whenever it came to paying the bills, and the fuel for the car was often a bone of contention among us. When we returned, we all had bitter memories to share. The next time, I decided that I would travel with friends who were of one mind about spending money at least; we could deal with other things easily.

We planned for a road trip to Mahableshwar, for which we had to book Self Driven Car in Mumbai, and I had made it clear that I would pay only if everyone will not behave miserly later. When my friends laughed about it, I got the signals that I would not face any problem with budgeting with these guys. I paid for the car rental, someone else paid for the hotel booking, etc. and we all divided the costs later.

Petty cash  

I like to convey it to my friends every time on a road trip that we should contribute a couple of thousands, which one person will handle. And this cashier deals with all the expenses that we have to make. He pays the food bills, toll taxes, and all other small expenses. We all just chill and have fun on the road trips, without thinking about who will pay this bill and that one.

Using mobile apps

Since the day I have been using Splitwise, the finances with my friends have been sorted like never before. This simple mobile application lets me divide the expenses with my roommates, friends, and even family. Whenever I have to go for a weekend getaway, we mention our expenses in the common mobile app, which is Splitwise in our case. When we return from the trip, it shows the net balance that each member has to pay to each other. Sorted!

Just by being clear and careful about money matters, I have organized the finances well with everyone who is in my closed circles. It certainly adds more value to any relationship when you don’t have to worry about something as significant as money, which of course gains more importance when you don’t pay heed to it. After having some of the most amazing road trips, I look forward to many more of them.

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 I Improved My Travel Blogs in Just One Year

It sounds incredible even to myself but I managed to have a few hundred followers on my travel blog in just one year but it was not luck; it was because of sheer hard work that I could succeed in establishing my blog. When I look back, it seems unbelievable that I was the same person who never believed in himself or his writing. Whenever someone asked me to introduce myself, I would fumble, forget writing things. However, I was a passionate traveler who desperately wanted to pen down my experiences.

After contemplating writing for more than a year, I came across an offer to create a cheap website. Disinterestedly, I clicked on it and found it attractive. It did not take me more than a few minutes to register the domain name that I clicked my mind without putting much thought into it. It was something related to wanderlust, but let it be for now.

Dedication

Writing requires undying commitment, and I became aware of this fact when I met a fiction writer. The lady from France told me that she lived in China at present. She worked as a translator in a highly demanding job, but she loved writing. She had written four books by that time and the obvious thing that she told me was that she sat at her work station for at least an hour every day, not matter she had ideas in her mind or not. Discipline was what I learned from her.

It was time to introduce self-discipline in my life. I set up my work station in a week, which involved some basic investment. Initially, I thought that I had wasted my money because I was not sure about dedicating myself to a new routine. Nevertheless, the first week of sitting at the desk went off in looking at the family photos from the past few years. It was not a waste of time, I would say because I let my mind wander in the direction of previous vacations with family and friends.

Focus and responsibility

It took me a more than a week to write 500 words about random things in my mind, but it was an important lesson in putting my thoughts onto the screen since I had visited a religious shrine that day. The following month, I went to the hills from my office. And when I returned, I wrote about my experience with Self-Drive Cars in Pune. At that point while writing about car rentals, I realized that I needed to be responsible with my words that I publish online. I could not endorse any product even if no one was paying me for it just for the sake of it.

I was on the way to become a travel writer whom people may look up to as they form their opinions. And if I misguide my readers for even a trivial thing, they may never take my words seriously. Just because I had developed a flair of writing in the next few months, I could not recommend just anything to my readers.

Learning technology

Before I began my blog, I never knew that I had to be technically aware in order to publicize my blog. I had barely heard about SEO and never paid attention to it. However, I had to learn about this dreaded technology, even though I hated it. Nonetheless, it helped a lot to gain wider audience for my blog in just a few months and I cannot be happier about investing my time in the right direction. All in all, it took just one year of dedication, focus, and learning to establish a successful travel blog.

Why India is My First Choice for Solo Travel

Whenever I would hear about India from my friends in London, they would provide me with overwhelming information that confused me like anything. However, there was only one piece of advice that stuck in my mind- someone told me that different people have different experiences in India, which may be good or bad at times. The elderly lady told me that I should go to India to feel it myself.

When I landed in India at the Delhi airport, I did not feel anything that was unsafe. In fact, it was one of the cleanest airports I had ever seen. No doubt that the scenario outside the airport was not as pleasant as it was inside, I was open to what lay ahead that day. No mentioning the places that I visited in India, I would like to mention why I choose this land of Gods over and over again for traveling alone.

The ease of information

Internet has made things much easier than ever before in many countries including India. I researched about the places I intended to visit before leaving home, and found valuable material from the bloggers. Just like the situation is there in London, you cannot trust the commercial websites because they never tell the true information. These websites pay attention to inviting more readers and contain only positive information, and ignore the negative aspects of any place, which are obviously important to know for everyone.

The bloggers provide the right information that people like me need to travel to India, and that too alone. I could also talk to some of the writers and locals in India who would give me the real time account of any place. I once asked a person about the weather, safety standards, and food availability, and got the accurate data about that place. It was never as easy before.

The huge number of places

Each corner of India is a new country in itself. As of now, I have been to the south, north, and north-east India. All of these regions are just so mesmerizing and every state gives a different vibe. I now realize what my friends meant when they said that going to India is an overwhelming experience. When I was in the south, I saw the natural beauty at its best. When I was in the north, I witnessed the vibrancy of colors, joyful people of Delhi, and the most delectable food on earth. When I was in North-East India, I got to participate in the lively traditions and festivals with the locals. Every state in the country gave me unforgettable memories.

The ease of transportation

I never knew that the concept of car rentals existed in India. A friend of minutes found out Self-Drive Cars in Hyderabad, and we had a gala time in the city and its surrounding places. Similarly, I could find the car rentals in other metropolitan cities as well, but I did not dare to drive. Only the local drivers can maneuver the cars on the challenging roads of India.

I could easily book the cabs and auto-rickshaws using the mobile applications, which I did not know I could do in India. Railways and airlines were quite obvious to choose for long distances. The concept of manual rickshaw in Kolkata intrigues me, but I have not been there yet.

I loved India for being so vibrant, which makes it my first choice for solo travel. Not to mention that traveling in India is not too heavy on the pocket. I can go there zillions of times and never get bored.

The Things that I Remember the Most about My Family- Road Trips

When it comes to family memories, our vacations are the only things that I remember the most. Now that I am in my late twenties, I don’t remember the number of toys I had broken during childhood or the number of clothes my parents had got for me. Even though I was a tough child, mom and dad never gave up on brining me up well. The best thing that they did for me was that they took me to places where I collected experiences and memories.

When I was in my early teens, we went to Pondicherry and I still remember the surprised face of mine. I had my jaw dropped to the ground and I kept looking at the clear blue waters for a good number of minutes. I made the sand castles, played in the water, and we got countless pictures clicked. After more than a decade, those memories are still afresh on the walls of my room.

Since we live in Delhi, I learned about the Punjabi culture for a greater part of my life. However, I got to know about the South Indian culture when we went to Chennai and Bangalore. The cuisines that we tried there were positively different from the Punjabi food that I had eaten all my life. I could fathom that this is a great learning experience, but I cannot assume a life for myself here. This knowledge was really useful when I had got a brilliant job offer from an MNC in Chennai, but I already had my share of knowledge to decline that proposal. Even though the salary was great, I realized that being a foodie and a Punjabi, the South Indian food was not for me to eat. In the coming years, I would however, accept the job offer from Pune because of the multi-cultural environment.

Travel helps make an opinion

Had I not traveled to the various parts of the country during my childhood, I would not have been able to have an unbiased opinion about the world. It is because of my road trips with family and friends that I know how the people are around the world. I have lived in different parts of India, and I can live with people from almost any culture. I have spent a good deal of time away from parents, which has made me a flexible person who can sleep anywhere in the world.

I have had the luxuries of Self-Drive Cars when I had money, and traveled in a basic passenger train when I was almost broke. Yet, it was only family trips that made me an enthusiastic traveler. Mom and dad are also passionate vacationers who would pack the bags as soon as the summer vacations hit. However, we never went to the clichéd places where everyone seems to rush, which is why even now I don’t go to the hottest tourist spots.

I have learned the art of finding our offbeat places from my mom, who never agreed to wasting time in traffic jams just for the sake of it. Road trips were a learning experience for me, as well as, my parents. They would cherish the time equally as I would do. And we loved creating scrapbooks as we returned from road trips, and they are my most valuable possessions till date. I, being a guy, hear it all the time that I am way more dedicated to my family than I should. Yet, I cannot forget the contribution of my parents in making me what I am.

How to Travel With Lazy Kids without Frustrating Them?

Traveling with kids between 10-18 years is extremely challenging because they are moody, stubborn, and many times lazy. However, when you are parents, you have to travel with kids as a responsibility and leisure both. Nevertheless, no matter what you do, sometimes the kids behave dogged, and you can barely do anything about it, but a few solutions are definitely there. You would never want to miss out on visiting the famous places just because those little monsters were not ready to leave the bed before 12 pm!

Tuck them in bed early

The adult travelers are obviously sane enough that they have to make the most of their time on the vacation. Your spouse and you may like to chill from early in the morning until late in the evening, but the kids may have no such interests. They may want to have a full night’s sleep so that they can have the energy to travel in the morning. They would find the tourist destinations interesting only when they have enough stamina in their body. So let them sleep before 10 pm while you may talk over wine with your spouse as long as you want.

Wake them up cleverly

You need to be tactful with kids to wake them up when required. You may play a sweet song on your portable speakers, an audio book that you want them to read, or let your pet do the job. Dogs are best at waking up humans and the kids cannot resist them either. You should also go to the kids and awaken them gently rather than shouting at them.

Give time to rumble

Almost everyone likes to stay in the bed after opening their eyes, no wonder your children would also love to do that. If you want them to wake up at 8 am, do it at 7:30 am so that they can take their time to simmer in bed. Let them smile at the dreams they had or ask you questions about the day’s plans as you bathe or arrange the clothes. Let them do anything they want while they are in bed.

To get them going

Now that you have finally managed to wake up, you need to boost them for the rest of the day. Keep them energized with fresh juices and health drinks. Explain to them what you are going to do throughout the vacation to create interest in them. They might get more excited at the mention of a few places while the other spots may sound boring to them. Ask them if they want to do something specific during the vacation, and fulfil those desires, if possible. Assign them tasks like they may look for best Self-Drive Cars in Hyderabad or the best restaurants in Delhi, which will also generate curiosity in them.

You may be interested in visiting the museums, but the children have little attention span. They are more interested in adventure parks and play areas. Do not shun their ideas; they are young bright kids after all.

Hunger pangs

Hungry kids can ruin your entire day, or a few hours at least, if you do not have anything to feed them. If you are at a place where the food is expensive or the food stalls are too far, you need to carry a lot of snacks with you. The children can also carry some snacks in their bags, which also gives them a sense of responsibility. They will be active in their mind about not losing their belongings and it also prepares them to share the burden with their parents.

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.