Travelling chapters of my life - A walk down the memory lane!

Since last few months, all our lives have turned upside down because of the invisible enemy we are all fighting against. Staying at home has become the ‘new’ normal. Last evening while cleaning the room I stumbled upon my suitcases! Lying quietly at the corner and looked as if they are also aware of our present plight and hence counting the days when we all can embark upon another exciting trip. Let’s see when that happens!

 I thought of recollecting few of my previous trips and quench my travel thirsty soul in this pandemic.

 Being a Bengali, travelling is in my DNA. Right from visiting new places with my parents to touring across the world through books penned by eminent Bengali writers like Bibhutibhushon Bandopadhyay and Satyajit Ray - the exhilarating feeling of discovering a new city, town or country is an intrinsic part of myself.

 I have been a nature lover all my life. In spite of being a city girl, visiting malls on the weekends for fun was never my cup of tea. Rather, I find happiness by visiting a new place, which can even be in the city in which I live!

Mumbai Skyline

 Mumbai in spite of being one of the largest cities in the world, has many places to explore! When I first came here, the joy of exploring Bandra fort by foot, experiencing the awesome view of the city from Marine Drive or the colourful Hanging Gardens were all a part of my travel plan.

 When a walk amidst the historic old alleys of South Mumbai made me fall in love with this city, it was travelling for me.

As a kid, I fell in love with the concept of visiting new places from my father. He introduced to me the utmost joy and peace that one can find when one travels to different places to explore and be close to nature. I share his passion for travelling. As a family we loved to visit the mountains and Himalayas has always been our favourite place to explore. The long train journeys coupled with road trips have taken us to some of the most exotic locales in the Himalayas. I have been to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Assam. I have many treasured memories of my visit to the Himalayas.

I visited Shimla once during the Durga Puja. The simple yet mesmerising Durga puja happening at the Shimla Kali Bari will always have a special place in my mind. Next I would like to mention about my exciting trip to the Kedarnath Temple. I visited Kedarnath before the 2013 cloud burst tragedy. Hence my travel path to the temple by foot via Gourikund, which was 14 kms at that time is now destroyed. The travel path looked splendid with greenery all around and the mighty mountains surrounding us. I feel blessed that I could witness the historic old route before it become a memory owing to nature’s wrath.

The temple of Kedarnath will always be my favourite place to worship because of the peace that it offers to the visitors. I could offer puja to Lord Kedarnath by myself without the glaring and constant interruption by priests unlike other Hindu temples. And that felt good.

 Mountains for me has always been mysterious. There is a mystic spell and aura there. My visit to Sikkim is full of wonderful memories. The beautiful Gurudongmar lake that never freezes in spite of being located at an altitude of 17,800 ft is an absolute wonder. I have never witnessed so many red roses that I saw at a small rose shrub in the backyard of a local Sikkimese house. Another small town that I visited during my last trip to Sikkim was Ravangla.

This place is a must visit for anyone who wants to enjoy the serene beauty of the mountains. Mystic clouds kissing the beautiful mountain trails was a great sight for nature lovers like me. Apart from these, my visit to the Temi Tea garden in South Sikkim reignited my love for this beverage. A walk through the green tea garden with cool winds caressing my face was a memorable experience. Sipping hot tea with pakodas amidst the green tea estate made me fall in love with this beverage again and I understood why it’s rightly said that - “Happiness is a cup of tea”!

 Apart from the Himalayas, there are also plenty of other places in India that I have visited for gathering wonderful experiences. I remember the time I got scared finding my own shadow being reflected in the dense cloud floating in front me like a wall when I visited a small hill station named Yercaud in Tamilnadu. Or the ultimate relaxation and good sea food that I got to experience in my trip to Goa!

There are two more memories that I have to recollect here - One is my encounter with the Royal Bengal Tiger at the Kaziranga National Park and the starry lit sky that I saw when there was no electricity at the forest bungalow in Assam. I have never witnessed such a clear sky in my life.

I also visiting the historic places of my country A leisurely stroll at the garden of the Humayun’s tomb - a historical site in Delhi or walking through the narrow alleys in Varanasi - they evoke in me a sense of pride as I realise how much diversified and historic my country is!

I travel to create memories. Memories that will give me peace and happiness when I shall grow old and won’t be able to venture out much. When I am fed up of struggling with tensions in the mundane city life, I reminiscence the peaceful days of my trips and find calm within myself. Also, when I am shuffling my trip pictures from past years, I realise how much I have changed as a person both physically and mentally from those in the pictures and that is a wonderful feeling.

I also believe that you have double fun when you travel with the perfect travel partner. For me that will be by life partner and my family. We have travelled to many places around the world! I I normally prefer to wear casual dresses while travelling. Also wearing comfortable shoes are a must when you are on a trip. Imagine exploring the alleys of Spain while stilettos! Phew and Ouch! Sharing with you all few of my travel avatars. Well I don’t wear make up when I travel.

 My trips to the international locations like New Zealand, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Bangkok is equally adventurous and exciting. Travelling abroad has given me the chance to explore new culture, tradition and food habits. Some of my favourite memories are - Visit to the Devonport island via ferry in Auckland. The picturesque island is a small village and the skyline view of the Auckland city that one gets from the island is mesmerizing.

I have spent a whole afternoon walking and exploring this charming village. It was also pretty exciting when I witnessed a dead volcano in Mount Eden in Auckland.

 For me, New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

 My trip to Macau has a thrilling memory. We had to cross the South China sea in a small ship from Hong Kong to reach Macau. We were caught in a sea storm during this journey. I still have goose bumps when I recall those nail biting journey hours. The way the ship was swaying in the mid sea due to the storms, was simply a mind-blowing experience.

Then there are my cute memories of the awesome fireworks show that I experienced in the Hong Kong Disneyland along with the funny Mickey Mouse shaped cakes that I ate at the Disneyland Hotel in Hong Kong.

 During my short stay at the desert kingdom, UAE, I was in awe witnessing the marvellous man-made beauty of Dubai. Who will say that Dubai was and is essentially a desert? I loved Dubai and UAE as a whole.

 All these memories are some of the most valued possessions of my life. I feel so ecstatic every time I remember these experiences.

 Our world is very beautiful, and I believe that if I don’t experience this beauty, I am committing a crime. The nature out there is waiting to welcome us for experiencing her beauty, her warmth and her diversity. Everyone must travel to wherever they can. My road trips to Rajasthan or Lonavala was equally adventurous and wonderful when I compared them with my experience of getting a wonderful view of Auckland city from the famous Sky Tower or my exciting peak tram ride in Hong Kong.

Every place in this world is beautiful. Even an evening stroll in the beautiful Powai Lake garden (a place in Mumbai) can make your day. Hence, I travel to live. The journey, the destination and the memories that I gather when I come back from any place is something that I never have to lose.

Travelling and writing about travelling makes me happy.

My beloved reader after this pandemic chaos is over, do travel! I promise that you will never regret it. Thank you for reading.