Things I learnt from 6 days in the mountains

• Baths/showers are for the weaklings. If you are from the drylands or plains (or cities) and want to live in the mountains, then, forget what a bath feels like. Because when you are up there freezing your exposed body parts, read toes and fingers (if not wearing socks or gloves. But why will you do that in December, I ask!) nose, cheeks, mouth, making water touch them will feel like saja-e-(thanda)-pani. As if drinking water to stay hydrated, as drilled into your brain by every trek co-ordinator, is not punishment enough. So lesson number 1 - Unlearn the notion of bathing. There's sun bathing for whatever time the sun shines and you can remove the n layers you are wearing, to expose that covered part of the arm or leg. If you had any other ideas then please go to the beach to sun-bathe.

• Wet wipes are the best thing to happen to trekker-kind after the evolutionary ability to breathe. In the high mountains you only hope to breathe fine as the air starts getting thinner by the day. The only other thing you should care about (if you belong to the cities and are not sure about maintaining hygiene in the mountains) is having/carrying enough wet wipes. This multi-purpose invention can be used to wipe your hands, face, clothes, unclean utensils or lunchboxes after an hearty meal, your rear or even the toilet seat made unworthy by previous user's shaky coco-peat pouring skills.

• Pee-buddies are the new best friends you could ask for. Imagine sleeping with 5 layers of clothing, inside a sleeping bag, inside a tent. Now imagine your bladder waking you up in the middle of the night. A pee-buddy in need is a buddy indeed. If someone can wake up at ungodly hours just to accompany you to the loo tent, then those people are special. Cherish them. Keep them close. Also, never lose sight of them. Literally.

• I was able to charge my smart-phone on the penultimate day, thanks to the kindness of a fellow power bank owner. When I called up home to the delight of my folks, the first question that got thrown at me was 'Have you had your food?'. Here I am telling aai (mom) about the beauty and adventure and the first thing she asks me is about food. I mean I am annoyed by this question 80% of the time. But at that point I was so glad that there was someone in this world who cared about my stomach being full at 9000+ feet. I cannot describe the joy I felt at telling her about all the different food I had eaten, not just on that day, but during the last 4 days. Moms are the bestest!

• Learn from the children when it comes to embracing the mountain life. None of the 3 kids (age 8, 10 and 11) on our trek ever complained about layering up, feeling cold, walking too much or being hungry. They were always excited when they started a day's trek. And the excitement did not wane when we reached the next campsite. With equal energy they would line up for stretches, chai, snacks, food and sleep! Kids = best things that happened to our trek group. (should actually thank their parents for bringing them along :D) 

• Lastly as our trek lead told us, you don't climb the mountains. The mountains let you climb. Specially the Himalayas. These inviting but rugged beings showed me the harsh and physical (literally) side of life. I learnt to respect my limits, my body and the mighty mountains.

Thoughts - filtered through the sieve

Getting that itch to write a philosophical post. Maybe also because birthday was around the corner and I cannot help but make a list. Of thoughts, things and my musings.

Travel - I increasingly feel that I live in a silo. I read only particular books (despite the efforts to include writers from different ethnicity, backgrounds, countries, languages, genres in my reading list). I watch only a section of movies that are released each year, which are mostly filtered down to me through big time film enthusiasts I follow on twitter. I consume 0 news or related media. Whatever 1-2% I consume is mostly again a filtered stream and aggregation of people I follow on social media. On a regular basis I 'hang' with people from a particular strata. Even my closest friends are from similar societal, financial backgrounds. Of course we speak different languages and grew up in different parts of the world. But you know what I mean, right ?

better things lie beyond open doors?

The only exception to this is when I am traveling, despite my propensity to hate it. It flattens the world and exposes me to people, weather, cultures I would have otherwise imagined while reading a book or never given a thought to. Whether its meeting a 60 year old dancer on the train to Salzburg and noting down her recommendations for the city. Or, listening to a middle aged Marathi kaku (aunty) who manages her home, farm and a resort while serving and taking care of her guests. Travel has made me connect with people at a very different level. This has not had an impact on me as a person. I think. Yet. But it has been educational. 2016 has been exceptionally good  to me in terms of travel. I hope the trend continues. With respect to finding time to travel and the means to make it happen in the material world, where money is required. Which brings me to the next thing on my mind.

Time and wait - All through my 20s I struggled with being patient for something and then not being patient for the same thing. At times I chose to be patient for the wrong reasons and things never worked out. At times it worked out really well. But what I have learned over the years is, waiting is hardly a good strategy. Few things for eg. progressing in a career, becoming fit enough for running a marathon in under 5 hours or even finding the right person to spend your life with take time. But the preparation for them usually starts in the now. Earlier this year, I ran a marathon. I was not there physically when I registered for the race. Mentally I just felt like I could be there. Post 4 months of grueling and dedicated training, I arrived at the same conclusion. I was mentally there. Physically being there was going to be a long journey. One would rather argue that why go through all the pain if I knew this already. But that's not the point. My point is if I had not started I would not have known what it takes and whether I am willing to do it. Knowing by trying something out rather than waiting has felt rewarding to me. Taking that leap and traveling to places without worrying much about planning and money has made me really good with my expenses and account keeping. I have faltered at times, but mostly I have learned. I have become more thoughtful. Which brings me to the next thing on my mind.

Being Conscious - Over the last few years I have questioned a lot of choices I make, whether it comes to the food I eat, clothes I wear, luxuries I seek etc. etc. and the decisions I make. It has made me conscious of the impact my decisions end up having, not only on me, but people close to me, my surroundings, my environment, my home etc etc. I am still learning to not do a lot of things on auto pilot. Rather think through even the smallest of decisions. It is a lot of work at times. But I am glad I have chosen this path. It has led me to declutter my life, and my physical spaces. I still am guilty of hoarding a few material possessions, but largely I am moving toward a lifestyle of less. And the less I need or feel the need for the more I feel the following.

Gratitude - I have wondered about this state of being grateful for a long time. I have even tried to write about it. On some days I have absolutely nothing. But lately, on most days, I find myself fascinated, curious and largely amazed by what the world has to offer. Even on hopeless days, when things feel like they are falling apart. It still is not an organic reaction or a part of me. But I am increasingly grateful. It has gone beyond just the people, work, choices in my life. It is more than that. Coming from a place I still cannot describe or put a finger on. But I am grateful.

May be what you seek, really, is seeking you?

Italy

Read previous posts here (Brussels), here (Brugge), here (Amsterdam) and here (Cologne).

Pre-script - words and picture heavy post.

Our tent was on the far right not
in this picture. We camped
below this rock mountain!

After an eventful week in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany and recovering from an unwanted twist of turns, we were kind of set for our next adventure i.e. Italy. N was also going to join us. We were going to visit the region in north Italy around Lake Garda and attend a music festival. To top off this unconventional choice of a holiday location in Italy, we were also going to camp for 5 days. Which meant setting up our own tent in the beautiful valley located at the foothills of the Italian Alps overlooking lake Garda.

Before that let me tell you about the amazing adventure we had to reach Riva Del Garda (the base town of the festival). And before going into the details, let me give a huge shoutout to N for the meticulous travel planning! 
So we started from home early in the AM on Wednesday (27th July). Took the train to Cologne airport and boarded the plane to Milano (Milan). We arrived in Milan by 10 am to be welcomed by a slight drizzle. I was quite inappropriately dressed (tee and long pants and shoes and a light jacket) for the humid and hot Italian weather. But hey! I was being extra cautious because of the health issues. Then we boarded a bus to Desenzano from the Milano airport. An hour long ride later we were in the beautiful Desenzano around noon. As Paglet and I set camp at a roadside cafe and ordered lunch, N went ahead and took care of our ferry tickets. We were greeted by sunny weather, a nice touristy vibe and lots of European tourists. By this time, I was baking in my attire, but I decided to stick with the clothes, because good health can do wonders to your vacation ;).

Ferry view from one of the lake ports.

After a lunch of Pizza(!) we were ready to board the ferry to Riva del Garda. The ferry was to be 3-3.5 hours long and would take us from the southern side of the lake to the north most tip of Riva! Our desi skills of tackling the crowds came in handy and we ended up with great seats on the ferry. Its upper deck was closed, so it meant we would view the surroundings from our closed cabin. 

We switched ferries at one of the lake towns (I think Lago di Garda) and started our final leg to reach Riva. Now this ferry's upper deck was open so we got all excited and rushed to get the best seats. All the unease from 10+ hours of travel vanished into thin air. Poof! just like that.  Let me also tell you, all the seats on the upper deck were best seats. As we soaked in the lake, the towns and views and the surprisingly cooler air, our spirits were rejuvenated. We got down at Riva around 4.30 pm. Now we only had to catch the shuttle bus to the campsite which was few kilometers away. After few unsuccessful attempts to get directions for the bus station from the locals, some kind English speaking folks finally understood us and made sure we were on the right track. With our backpacks on and spirit in right place, we walked on, wowing at the town and its sights. Since we had not had a proper meal the entire day, we settled the argument for dinner and decided to eat in the town. As I waited for dinner to be served in an open air cafe, N and paglet explored the town and bought some breakfast and other groceries for the campsite (who knew at what time we would get food at the festival!). It was not so tough to get a vegetarian meal. We arrived at the shuttle stop around 5.30 pm, now tired from the day long commute. There we ran into few other folks who were also going to the festival. They told us that the next shuttle was not until 8 pm. Unable to wait any longer, all of us called for a taxi and started for the campsite. The driver was a talkative fellow and we all got along pretty well. 20 minutes ride later, we were finally at the festival site. As soon as we got out of the taxi, it started to pour! I am not kidding. It rained so hard that we ran with all our luggage to a safe spot. That safe spot turned out to be a pizza place. We made more acquaintances there. Around 7 pm, after the rain had subsided we started the hunt for our camp site. 

Now, the rains made it really tricky, as everything was damp and wet. Little annoyed by this embuggerance, we found a good enough spot below the rock mountain which was shaded by a tree. There was a caravan parked to one side, so we did not know who our neighbor was. Again thanks to N, the camp-laying exercise was a breeze. He was so meticulous and guided us along the way. (for some reason none of us clicked a picture of our beautiful tent). It had really been a hard and long day. We had traveled by all modes of transport, air, road, train, water and foot! We had successfully found a good enough spot to camp and without killing each other had raised the tent. We went to the pizza place again and called it a day after a sumptuous pizza meal. Since it was day 0 of the festival, there were no performances. 

Festival ground. The yellow, red tent was the pizza place.

Sleeping in a tent came easily to me than I anticipated. The last I slept in a tent was in forth grade, on a school trip. It was a tent shared among 10-15 girls. 20 years later it were 3 of us sharing a really cozy one! We had created a living room area for sitting, breakfast, other stuff and shoes. I can say for myself that I slept like a log that day. Although I was up by 7 am. Occupational hazard of being a runner y'all! So I got out of the tent and was pretty surprised to see the entire neighborhood was taken! To our left there was a ford focus with someone trying to erect a tent on its roof. Some smiles and hi-hellos later, I started with introductions. They were a couple in mid forties (I gauged, was polite enough to not ask) who had driven all the way from Belgium to attend the festival. They were pretty surprised to see an Indian girl at this hipster festival. I did explain to them that I was on vacation and had plans to travel further. I just wanted them to know my music interest was meager and it had not driven me to embark on this cross continental travel. (this couple also knew Pune, as one of their nephew had worked there).
I then headed to use the restroom and brush my teeth. I had not noted it the night before, but this place had open showers and those shared loos. There went my plans for a good bath. Also, the water pipeline on our side of the tents was broken so we had no showers. Great for me, cos a shy Indian girl even trying to use an open shower would have been so so awkward! When I broke this news to Paglet and N, they did not look surprised at all. I mean it was such a big deal for me and their reaction was a disappointment. We then headed for some morning chai, coffee and thankfully most of the vendors had opened their stalls. Some chai and croissants later we were just sitting there, lazying around. This was my first day of the vacation without any plan. We chatted, walked around, drank more chai, tidied our tent, changed into fresher clothes, and went about doing nothing. Since I am so great at doing nothing, I read my copy of the Museum of Innocence. I also tried to just lay in the sun but हो ही नहीं रहा  था 
Thankfully the day did pass peacefully. It was day 1 of the performances. So we got ready around 5 pm and went straight to the festival grounds. It was an Italian Reggae band who were kicking off the festival. I did not understand a word of their songs, but I immensely enjoyed the music. It sounded energetic, fresh and catchy. Also, let me also make it clear that it was the only band I really enjoyed and liked, as for the rest of the days I went to sleep by 11 pm. Yes, I am not a music festival person. But, in my defense I am a nature person, I enjoyed all the natural beauty surrounding us. I also learnt the art of 'dolce far niente' to my good and took it to new levels in the next few days of my stay in the Italian Alps.

View with the food!

On day 2 we started off early and took the shuttle to Riva. We were all set to explore the quaint little lake town. Our first stop was a cafe where we had chai/coffee. After spending an hour doing nothing we started scouting for a lunch destination. So there were a line of restaurants facing the lake front and we did not have to debate much. We settled for this view ->
I don't remember the name of the dish I ate, but it was some kind of pasta. Duh! After a 2 hour lazy lunch, we headed to the beach. Of course, there was a pit stop for a Gelato, on the way. We found a nice spot beneath a palm tree. Paglet and I went ahead and tried to take a dip in the lake, but I was so so scared of getting drowned that I just dipped my legs and like a scared little puppy retreated to our spot. And indulged in what I do best when left alone. I got done with half the book that day!

When in doubt, open the book and start reading!

We got back to festival grounds by 6 pm and changed into fresh clothes for the evening. I called it a night pretty early around 11 pm, while paglet and N continued attending the performances. It was weird to sleep alone in a tent. The music playing in the distance helped. Thankfully there were quite a few nocturnes so I was not spooked out. I was amazed how peaceful sleep I got in that tent, during those 4 nights!

My kind of corner in this vast universe :)

On Day 3, I headed off to Riva on my own. Paglet and N decided to stay back. The only agenda I had was to enjoy my own company. I mean I love my company. But I was not sure whether in an unknown land I would be comfortable being in my skin. I enjoyed my alone lunch, a feat for me. I think I can now comfortably say that I have crossed that internal barrier of eating alone and moved to a territory where I have accepted eating alone is not some sort of disease. In fact, now whenever opportunity pops up I look forward to eating alone. On day2, I had already scouted for a less crowded spot under a tree, to spend my afternoon by. ->
I managed to sleep here listening to the waves, I also lazed on each of those benches (few not in the picture) soaking in the sun and I also finished few more chapters of the book. As I lay on the lawns my eyes fell on the bookshop housed in the adjacent building. I immediately made plans to go sit there. Sadly all the books there were in Italian. The reception lady was kind enough to find a picture book with english titles for me. I read through the entire book and Riva's history. The town and the entire area around lake Garda was destroyed during world war I, being really close to Austria. The book had before and after pictures of the town. It was surreal to sit in modern day Riva and read all that. Time travel anyone ?
Satiated with my day alone, I had now started missing Paglet and N. I made it in time for the 6 pm shuttle back to the festival. Changed into fresh clothes and attended a few performances. Again went back to sleep by 11 pm. 

Picture from N's camera. Serene right ?

Everyone had started leaving by day 4, as the festival was almost over. Since we had no plans we decided to stay back. It was an uneventful day spent doing nothing. As luck would have it, it rained heavily throughout the night and well into the morning of day 5. We were all safe and sound inside the tent, but we ended up sleeping for 13+ hours. When rains finally stopped it was 1 pm. When we got out, all tents around us had vanished. I think people had left the open grounds and rains as soon as they got a chance. It took us 5 mins to make the same decision. We packed the entire tent and our belongings in a record 1 hour, caught the next shuttle back into Riva, found a good hostel and booked it for our last night in Italy. We walked around the town that evening, ate a very good lazy dinner at a local restaurant which had the most quirky ambience. Sleeping on a proper bed after 4 days in the jungle felt like such a welcome change. On day 6, we got ready by 10 am and checked out to head in respective directions. 

Paglet and N headed back to Cologne. I started last leg of my travel with the solo trip to Austria. Exploring this part of Italy was unbelievably refreshing. It was not at all crowded. We met some amazing and interesting folks and I think I reconnected with myself after a long long time. 

beautiful views!

P.S.
Expenses:
Stay - none for first 4 days. 1 night at the hostel cost ~ 40 Euro
Food - Around 200 Euro for the 5 days
Shuttle/transport - 50-60 Euro for 5 days, includes ferry, train and bus tickets.
plane tickets - 40 Euro each to and fro (We had booked the flights 4 months in advance with Ryan air)
Festival tickets - 75 Euro (early bird price)
Total - 430 Euro for 5 days and 5 nights

Cologne - Part Une

Read previous parts here, here and here.

Cologne (or Koln. Very interesting stories about how it got the name btw) was the next pit stop in my journey. Owing to our super health status, we reached there 2 days earlier than planned. As soon as our bus made its final stop, we got down only to collapse in N's arms. Ok not literally. I added that dramatic bit. But I cannot tell you how relieved we felt after seeing him and getting hugs from him. I was in a better position so I was guarding our bags and Paglet had collapsed on the nearby waiting bench. A 20 minute cab drive later, we reached home, cozy home! N cooked some delicious soups for us (Veg for me, chicken for Paglet). We popped our medicines and went off to sleep. Only to wake up on Sunday, 10-12 hours later. Sunday was spent in resting. Eat, sleep, talk repeat. 

As they say in Koln, home is where the Dom is!

By Monday, we both were feeling much better. So risk takers that we are, we headed out for a mini tour of Cologne. Did I mention yet that my friend Paglet volunteers as a tour guide in Cologne at CYHIT. So the real tour of Cologne was to happen during my later stopover. Anywho, we went to Dom (Cologne cathedral) and love locks bridge (Hohenzollern Bridge). The Dom was spectacular. To imagine a 600 year old building still standing today, been witness to so much history, was mind-blowing. We also went inside, soaked in its beauty and history. Also, noticed that the Dom is visible from everywhere. Its freaking HUGE!!!
Pop culture aside, the bridge was really nice to walk on. It crosses over the Rhine and gives really pretty views of the city. 
(I could not help but roll my eyes at the money people spend to pay for locks and seal their love on a bridge. Also my opinion, no offense to anyone.)
Being out for just 2 hours tired us and we decided to go back home. On the way back, we also visited N and Paglet's new home, in a nice, quiet neighborhood.  Ended the evening with some home cooked food and going to bed early like good kids.

Clear skies and a view of the bridge!

The next day, Paglet's dry cough was back. So she decided to rest, as we had to leave for Italy soon. So I used her bus pass to visit the El-DE haus, one of the many many museums Cologne boasts of. Paglet had warned me that it would not be an uplifting experience. And oh boy! was she right! It was so depressing. I took the audio guided tour so it added to the misery. EL-DE haus was a Gestapo prison (later concentration camp) in the middle of a bustling residential area in Cologne. A lot of innocent citizens were rounded up and crammed here for investigation. The basement had chambers whose walls were carved with desperate messages and cries of these brave but poor souls. I was so bummed to be there. But I told myself to brave through all the stories. Because if these people could live through it, I could listen through it. Some of the survivor's stories were painted on the walls with timelines. I also read through all of them. Needing some fresh air after this heavy dose of despair, I went to an open space behind the house. It felt good to be there. When I walked up to a wall, what I read sent shivers down my spine. 40 people were executed in that open space, in the middle of the city, without anyone ever noticing it. And I was standing there! I was not sure whether I should laugh or cry.

So I trudged on. Upper 2 stories of the museum were more about Hitler and Nazi regime's rise in Germany. I had always known Hitler was a bad guy, but understanding what and how bad becomes bad was an eye opener. They also had a special room on the 3rd floor. This room housed the household materials of the inhabitants of the upper few stories of the building. Remember, it was a normal looking residential building which housed a prison in the basement. I am not sure when was the last time I had felt so sombre. I ended up spending 3-4 hours in the museum. After that I was in no mood to do anything so headed back home.

We spent the evening packing bags for next 5 days in Italy. With our health in check it was finally beginning to feel like a vacation.

P.S. Expenses: I did not spend a penny in Cologne, as I was staying with friends and eating home food and using their bus pass. The ticket to El-DE haus was 4-8 Euro if you take the audio option.

Detour

I want to take a break from the travel reporting and reflect on my state of my mind, when I am traveling. 

I like being out. Out in the nature > out with people or in public, crowded spots. I do like taking breaks, reading books, doing nothing. I also like work. The work I do which keeps me engaged and occupied. But I am also deeply imperfect and human. In the obsession of trying to keep everything balanced, I at times lose clarity. Things lose their balance and it becomes imperative to just pack my bags and go away.

'Go away', I did. Leaving tons of office work unattended and personal life hanging. Even though this trip was planned and I understood at some level, that I needed heck deserved this break, my mind kept wandering to unwanted territories. Paglet had warned me about the obsession with checking work emails. I had obliged by enabling 'manual' updates. Not proud to report that until I reached Amsterdam, I was regularly 'manually' fetching all emails and reading them. FOMO anyone ?

As things went south in Amsterdam (with our health), the FOMO gradually went away. It got replaced by a longing to be home. Who wants to be home, one week into their trip ? That would be me.

I had read a line somewhere (I think here), that, 'I travel or I go away, so that I can come back.' Come back where ? I think I got my answers in the next 10 days, in the next leg of the trip.

Amsterdam

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

So we reached Amsterdam unwell, exhausted and unable to think straight. After getting to the city center from our bus stop (20 minutes ride), we were again back on our foot. Lugging those backpacks and the stroller. Without any physical or mobile maps to help us, we started searching for the hostel with downloaded google images and asking the locals. We reached there so exhausted by the 15 minute walk that the sight of the really small entrance and congested check in area annoyed the hell out of me. Counting to 100, I let paglet do the talking. The volunteer at the reception told us our dorm was on the right just a flight of stairs away. If, taking right, then a flight of stairs, then another flight of stairs to the basement, then a right turn and then the finally reaching the dorm, is 'just on the right' then she was correct!

reality check!

By the curse of the seven, we got the upper bunk bed. There was no one in the room except for an Australian (he later talked and we exchanged the usual pleasantries) napping. We had packed our dinner supplies from Brugge, so I immediately tasked myself with preparing dinner and searching the kitchen, which was another dimension away. If I were feeling my normal self I would have loved the sneaky stairways and the hidden rooms and secretive passages of the hostel. But that night, my brain refused to appreciate it for what it was. Every new turn felt like an unnecessary twist to the evil joke that someone was playing on our sick bodies and tired, cough syrup addled minds.

Anywho.. I prepared an insipid meal with minimal ingredients and no oil. We sat for dinner. One thing led to another and we were arguing about silly things. Voices raised. A couple of chinese diners and english ones aside, we were the only two there. Having an emotional screaming match. With our sore throats. It felt so liberating to fight and argue in that hostel basement, with no one to understand or bother about what it was all about!

Silly fights with friend which ended in awkward 'so where do I get some warm water now' question. ✅

With 'no one really understands me', vibes we both went to bed. Woke up around 3 am to loud noises in the dorm. Thanks to being a co-ed dorm, all the other residents were back from their parties, only to disturb our slumber parties. We both shouted at them like grumpy old people with cries of 'guys please keep it down'. Most of them, even though inebriated, were nice enough to respect us oldies and kept quiet.

We woke up, had some breakfast, booked a shared car ride back to Cologne. In short our Amsterdam part of the trip with so many plans and things to do was completely washed out. A cruel joke of the shared car ride getting cancelled later, we had resigned to our fate. N booked our bus tickets for later that day. We wandered around clueless and finally sat down by the river, our bodies refusing to co-operate. At 1.30 PM that afternoon we finally boarded the bus to Cologne, hoping against hope for some comfort food and good sleep, at the end of the journey.

Alices in wonderland - caption courtesy Paglet

Moral of the story - I dont know, if there is any lesson to be learnt here. Except may be try not staying in a dorm when unwell ?

P.S. Expenses!!
Brugge - Amsterdam bus - 17 Euro per person
Amsterdam hostel - 70 Euro per person for 2 nights (We wasted this money)
Misc - 5 Euro per person
Amsterdam - Cologne bus - 20 Euro per person
Total - 112 Euro per person
Hostel website: http://www.flyingpig.nl/

In Brugge

Part 1 and Part 2 in case you are interested.

'Maybe that's what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in fucking Bruges.' - Stupid grumpy Ray from In Bruges (the movie).

Of course, for me replace hell by a good idea of heaven, please! I am like the good old romantic Ken from the movie who wants history, culture and a good time to be able to call it a good day. Good life even. When I watched the movie back in 2010, I knew I would visit Brugge one day.

the sight of the bed!

That day arrived in 2016 July. After the super flop journey to Brussels and making J and Paglet bear the brunt of my illness, I channeled all my inner will power and strength to go to Brugge. We left Brussels at a leisurely 11 am in the morning on the 21st of July. An hour long, uneventful (thank god!) train ride later, we were at the Lybeer Hostel, lugging those dreadful backpacks and that cursed stroller on the cobbled streets of Brugge. The pragmatic in me was cursing the romantic by this time. I made myself lie down as soon as we entered the room. This seemed to work for the pragmatic.

A bit about our hostel. It was 15 minutes walk from the railway station. We had a single room with 1 bunk bed and shared bathroom. It was clean and it also had a window which opened to the terrace! It also had an open kitchen, library with book exchange, open bar and lounging area. One hour rest later...

hostel terrace!

We were to take the walking tour of Brugge with cyhit the same day. We had already been  introduced to our tour guide Thijs, through his successful attempt to scare us. (He knocked on the door. I opened the door, totally unaware and he scared the hell out of me by presenting himself in one of those K3 type masks. He was apparently trying to scare Paglet, being colleagues. You know how it went). 

very very good!

The afternoon (3 pm) tour was supposed to start from the Charlie Rockets Youth hostel (another very nice hostel with a social vibe). A bunch of us 3 Peruvians, 3 Scottish girls and 2 Indian girls (us) were to be Thijs's party for the afternoon. The tour was filled with his antics! He made us touch and feel history, making us stand on the oldest bridge in Brugge for a few minutes. We made our way through Astrid park, walked through the prison which is now a residential area to the city center. Brugge is home to a very famous church which supposedly houses the blood of christ (in powdered form). No we did not go there. I am just sharing knowledge. After some more medieval stories and jokes, we came near the bell tower. The famous bell tower. I and one more girl from Scotland were the only ones who had watched the movie In Bruges. So we two were the only ones who got all Thijs' jokes and references. Pop culture FTW! He shared few more anecdotes from the movie and gave us recommendations about where to have the best fries and chocolates. (Belgium is the home of potato fries and some really good chocolates!)  We also did a secret pitstop at a very nice and old pub and had the most amazing local beer. I was unwell but I tried it a little. Belgian beer y'all! The beer stopover also gave us a chance to sit down and relax and get to know each other. Some fun exchanges later we started the part 2 of our walking tour. We also got introduced to the symbolic Brugge architecture and some flemish history. Thijs gave us some really cool and cheap references for food, beer shopping, ice cream and things to do. Thijs was a storyteller who made us time travel while narrating some of the incidents of the west flanders. The 2 hour long tour ended at the oldest hospital in western Europe. (I highly recommend it if you are interested in local culture, cuisine, history and fun :))

Tour group!

Brugge is really small. You can travel from one end of the city to the other in 30 minutes, 40-50 minutes if you walk leisurely. Paglet and I roamed around a bit. Had some delish fries and mayo, soaked in the sunshine. Surprisingly I was feeling sprightly again. We then bought some local beer and made our way back to the hostel. As soon as I was inside the hostel, the body pain and being unwell feeling was back. But we met some really fun people and the evening went on smoothly, with conversations. There was a solo traveler from Turkey who knew very little English (the language). I cannot tell you the pain I felt while trying to make meaningful conversation with him. 
We called it a night sooner than everyone else. 

Next day when we woke up Paglet was showing the first signs of being ill. I was slightly better. So we decided to have some breakfast and just take it easy, since we also had to leave for Amsterdam the same day. We went to Astrid park and sat around like bums, studying the city map thinking what next to do.
We decided to buy some souvenirs and found an interesting souvenir shop on the map. There is a very famous Sanskrit idiom which means something like this 'When your bad time is going on, you tend to think unintelligently.' Our walk to the shop was going to be something similar. Little did we know. We walked through the city to the other end for almost 30 minutes to reach the place only to find out it was like a huge super market of second hand goods. It had really great, kitsch stuff but there was no energy left in our sick bodies and fevered brains to sift through them. Each of us bought goods worth 25c as souvenirs to remind us of the death walk. By the time we reached the hostel, we both were feeling really really sick. We even got annoyed by each other and quarreled and fought and did not talk to each other till we boarded the bus to Amsterdam later in the day. Talk of ending a perfect day on a sour note!

Before leaving the hostel I bartered books at the hostel bookshelf. I had noticed 'museum of innocence' on the bookshelf the night before and could not contain my excitement. I had been meaning to read that book for a long long time. Meeting a traveler from Turkey the night before and seeing a copy of the book made me believe in 'a book finding the reader' theory even more. So I kept a friend's copy (which I had finished reading) of 'the man who knew infinity' with notes and picked it up. Verdict below!

Sad to report that halfway through this book and I am finding it insufferable. Need some cheer in life. pic.twitter.com/zr35N7oT6N

— Y (@yaymini) August 4, 2016

Anywho, Brugge was a dream come true to me. I really liked it. I wish to return to live there for a few more days. I leave you with a postcard from Brugge.

Beautiful Brugge!

P.S. So the essential part of the post. Costs!
Brussels - Brugge ticket - 20 Euro per head
hostel charges for a day (separate twin sharing room with shared bathrooms) - 59Euro (~30Euro per head)
misc - 20 euro per head
dinner - 15 euro per head
Total - 85 Euro 
Hostel link - http://www.hostellybeer.com/

Belgium

Post 1 about how and why my Europe trip happened

I need to report some drama that happened with us on the journey to Brussels.

So we left for Mumbai on 19th afternoon. I had a super important work meeting on 19th evening where I was supposed to give a presentation (My official vacation was going to start from 20th).  Thanks to incessant rains, our bus got delayed and I realized that taking that work call was going to be impossible. Thankfully someone else could present in my place, so I let go of it (I am a workaholic and this is a BIG deal). Additionally I had caught a slight cold and was generally feeling tired. BTW that's not how you are supposed to feel before embarking on a vacation. So we ate a good dinner with a couple of friends and took some rest at their home, before heading for the airport.
We boarded the flight to Brussels from Mumbai at 4 in the morning. We stopped over in Abu Dhabi for an hour and a half. Some coffee and more rest later, we were on board the flight to Brussels. I asked the flight attendant for a paracetamol tablet (my medicines sadly got checked in) and I went to sleep. So far so good. I woke up only to report uneasiness and extremely high fever to Paglet, who by this time became completely convinced that long distance travel was not my thing (insert laughing smileys here. Actually long distance travel is my thing and being part of interesting, bizarre stories is her thing. You see where this is going ?). Anywho, she then covered me up with as many blankets possible and made me go to sleep again. I was to sleep until my fever broke and I sweated.

Imagine being on a flight. Now imagine the AC and claustrophobic environment of the flight. Now imagine being covered with 2-3 blankets, on top of a leather jacket. And then imagine having your breath on fire because of a fever and shivering like you are north of the wall. Also imagine having a friend by your side to take care of you, even though they are shit scared themselves seeing what's happening to you. I know its too much to imagine.

Actually, now that I am back to my routine life and think about what happened on that flight that day, I can only smile. We have this inside joke where we tease Paglet about how everything that happens in her life is bizarre and has an interesting story going with it. She is well versed in how things 'normally' play out in her life. She even plays on us with us when we joke. But this, I am sure even she did not anticipate. I mean bad weather, unnecessary delays, immigration trouble, emergency landings etc were on our list of things that could go wrong on this journey. One of us falling this sick without any warnings or symptoms was not even on our minds. Which was silly, given how much travel and exertion each of us went through, before starting this trip.

Anywho, there was a very nice cabin manager Sophia (Etihad Airways) from Mumbai, who came to know of my fever and made me some amazing masal chai. Once my fever broke I was able to sit through the rest of the flight. Only to report piercing ear pain when the flight was about to land, due to change in pressure. I wanted to my trip to end and go back home. I kid you not. I even told Paglet that if she were not there, I would have done so or made them do an emergency landing somewhere. 

Brussels airport was swarming with Tomorrowland visitors. Once we had our baggage we made way to a friend's place (J). After lugging around the backpacks and a stroller with my fevered body, I was glad to be at home (even though it was someone else's). I immediately went to sleep. Paglet woke me up, convinced me to take a shower, made me some tea and I went to sleep again. J arrived in few hours and guess what it was her birthday! The poor girl then went to the kitchen and started making Rassam for me. Here's the most amazing part.

A girl from Poland, who lives in Brussels was making Rassam, a south Indian soup, for a girl from Maharashtra India. Amaze-max !?

Only picture memory from Brussels.

I woke up again around 4-5 PM to a bunch of people in the house who had come to celebrate her birthday. Among them drinking champagne, belgian beers and celebrating, I was drinking Rassam like a good girl. I have never felt this much gratitude as I felt that day for J and the Rassam she made. On her birthday. All you south Indian friends, it was the best rassam I have ever had (its not my fevered brain speaking). This world is so wonderful and kind!

Feeling a little energetic and guilty for making J do all the work on her birthday, I tried to be part of the celebrations. The girls were dancing to bollywood music and we exchanged many a stories about our cultures. I went to sleep by 10 PM and got up only after 10+ hours. Paglet and I had left the decision of next day's travel on my condition after waking up. Thankfully I woke up feeling much better and ready for Brugge.

Moral of the story : Paglet and J are the best. Not sure what I would have done without them around.

To be continued..

P.S. Since I stayed at a friend's place and was nursing my sickness, I did not spend a penny in Brussels. No costs incurred, nothing to report.

Europa!

'Europe is always a good idea'.

Let me begin at the beginning.
I have been traveling to the US a lot for work, over the past one year. Paglet moved to Germany last year. Travel planners that she and her husband (N) are, they immediately started asking me to do stopovers in Germany during my trips. I confess I tried 2 times and failed, for one thing or the other. Then we decided to plan my first full fledged Europe trip instead. That's how this all began.

N is really into small, indie music festivals. He was booking early bird tickets for a festival in Italy which was going to take place in July. I said yes without knowing much about the festival and knowing my borrowerd music history. 
My festival tickets got booked in Jan/Feb 2016. 
I booked my tickets to and from Brussels in April. 
My rough itinerary got designed in May. I included visits to some cities where I had really close friends.
I applied for visa in June. 
I received my visa in July.
I dropped a few places from my plan and re-did the itinerary. And I took off for 18 days of vacation in July/August.

check in done and ready to board! also diy #travelgoals tees :D

A lot apart from this happened in this short span. I was getting slammed at work. In July R got married for which Paglet flew to India. We booked her tickets so that we both (paglet and I) could fly from India to Brussels together. All this drama and planning! The month of July really was a whirlwind. We left for Mumbai from where our flight was on July 19th. It was the first time Paglet and I were traveling together. So we were both excited and anxious. Oh what a journey it was and what a blessing it proved to be to have her by my side!


To be continued..

P.S.  I plan to do the entire travel cost post as well. But I understand that you don't want to wait for it. So I'll do the costing at the end of individual post.

To those wondering, I used some of my miles accumulated from the work trips to book the Europe tickets. So here is the international travel cost
Pune - Mumbai return trip by Shivneri - 1000 Rs.
Mumbai - Brussels return trip - 24,500 Rs
Internal Mumbai taxi etc - 400 Rs.

Total - 25,900 Rs.

Pahadi (himachal) Safarnama (Diaries)

I am not a traveler. I mean I travel in a literal sense a lot i.e. going from one place to other. But I am not much into elaborate vacation planning. I like exploring new places only on the condition that the place is there in front of me to be explored. I'll not move mountains to just be someplace and experience living there. It has taken me quite a while to accept this about myself. I am much into imagining and time traveling through the books I read. 
Having said that, I do have a select list of places I would like to visit, because my favorite books and movies happened there or referenced them. (Kashmir was one such place!)

Most of my close friends are avid travel enthusiasts. They love doing all this planning, data gathering, logistics mapping exercise. And it works for a travel sloth like me :)

So when Paglet shared her India visit plans sometime in December, I was relieved because I knew she and her (travel crazy) husband would plan everything. And we would just have to show up. She planned a 3-5 days trip to Himachal Pradesh in the 2nd week of March and I was in! For logistics reason, I and a friend traveled to Jammu. From Jammu we booked a 13 seater mini bus for the road trip to Kasol Valley in Himachal Pradesh. 9 of us boarded the bus and we started the journey from Jammu. It was a slightly rainy day contrary to our expectations so we decided to keep it slow and have fun along the way.

Our first stop was for breakfast after entering Punjab before Pathankot. We were in the land of aaloo paratha and rajma chawal. So without even bothering about what time of the day it was (it was around 10.30 am), we ordered aloo paratha, rajma chawal, paneer paratha and chai (tea). I had the special neembu kehwa chai. Needless to say everything was yummilicious and fresh. It was a roadside dhaba so I can't recall the name, exact location to be able to recommend it to you. I believe all the dhabas on that route must serve the same tasty food!

Further journey till Palampur was uneventful. We tried playing a very silly but most fun game called ping pong. It didn't take off among some players. So we switched to playing Dumb Charades. Of course my team trumped the other team. Then we took a stop just outside Mandi, at hotel Ranjeet. We were starving and ordered all kinds of food there. From chinese to roti sabji to tea, coffee and varied starters. The staff there served us the most awesome road food I have ever had in a surprisingly short time. Within an hour we were back on the road, our stomachs full and our faces happy. Highly recommended place!
(Complete address- Ranjeet dining star restaurant, Joginder Nagar, Mandi).

Post Palampur, the hills were on our vista. We were longing to be among them. Once we entered Mandi, the first road block happened. Someone had parked their broken vehicle in the middle of the road, driving entire traffic to a standstill. Typical small town experience of no one being in a hurry happened. We with our city life conditioning, immediately got out and started trying to clear the deadlock. After 30 minutes halt, we were back on our way. We were moving even slowly now because of the hilly winding roads and sporadic rains. We took a tea break around 7 PM just outside Kasol to relieve ourselves and freshen up. Because we arrived in Kasol after sunset, the hike to the village where we were supposed to stay for the next 2 days did not happen.

We stayed at a local hotel in Kasol where the staff was nice enough to take dinner order from us at 9 PM. We were famished and ate like there was no tomorrow. We played cards and after some fun and frolic, we fell asleep one by one. I was probably the first one to doze off as usual.

Since we had arrived in Kasol after sunset, I had no idea what lay outside. So I was pleasantly surprised and squealed with delight when I woke up to this view outside my room. ->

beautiful Kasol!

We got ready by 10 am (cos of the super long journey the day before) and by the time decided to trek to the village, it had started raining. Starving (I think there is something in the mountain air, it makes your metabolic rate zoom), we had a very sumptuous breakfast of omlettes, tea, egg-paratha, bread toast, scrambled eggs etc. After having fed ourselves we finally headed out, rain or no rain. Thankfully it had stopped raining but it had become chillier. So mandatory winter shopping break happened. Slowly we made it out of Kasol by crossing a precariously placed bridge over the Parvati river. (I dont have a picture of it).
The Parvati river became our companion as we hiked to Chalal. It was a 40-45 min hike made surreal by river on one side and the mountains on the other. Escapist thoughts of disowning all our city ties to dwell in the woods came to all of us, turn by turn. 

When we reached our cottage in Chalal, there was no electricity in the village. Us city dwellers, eager to charge our smart phones and share the beauty on social media, had no option but to let it be. After settling down for a while and exploring the nearby areas, we started scouting for lunch locations. A village of 30-50 houses offers very few options. The kind people at Cafe Freedom offered to prepare fresh lunch for us (it was 3.30 PM). Only in really small towns/villages can one find such hospitality! We ordered loads of food and topped it off with tea, maggi, sandwiches while waiting for real meal to be ready. We got back to our cottage happy and fulfilled and only after sunset. Then we cozied up in a room, singing songs, making up songs, sharing warmth in the cold! One of the rooms also had a wood chimney so some of us got busy to fire it up to try to make the room even warmer. I called it a night early cos of all the airport lag and chill in the air.

Again, the next morning this is the view I woke up to. There was fresh snow atop the distant hill in this picture. I could spend hours sitting in a chair spellbound by the mountains with a glass of warm black tea in my hand. I had my bit of being vain, as my phone showed some network connectivity.

cottage with the view

After rounds of black ginger tea served at our cottage to us early risers, we decided to head out for breakfast. It felt like an expedition, as on the chilly day, even the villagers had decided to take it slowly. Home after home we inquired who would serve us omelettes, bread, aloo parathas and tea. Ema, singlehandedly accepted to serve the gang of 9 (us). The expedition had filled us with cold and we immediately huddled under the thick blankets Ema provided us. Once the warmth was back the chit chat and banter returned. Suddenly overcome by guilt to not even have asked Ema whether she needed help, a friend and I got out of the cozy room and went into her kitchen. She graciously accepted the help and we started serving everyone. I cannot put into words the feeling of eating a very modest breakfast but still feeling overcome by gratitude and satisfaction. Ema's mother, a sprightly 58 year old, who hardly looked and felt her age, sat amused watching us devour the food.
 
We did not do much during the day later and headed back to Kasol by afternoon. From there we went to Manikaran. Spent some time at the hot water springs and headed for Bhuntar. I and a friend were to catch bus for Delhi from here. I personally was very bummed to be leaving that place. On the other hand I was also proud of myself, because I had not accessed office email even once during these 3 days. The temptation was there, but nature saved me.

Though we did not do a lot of touristy things during this trip, I was glad that I got to meet some friends and do a road trip through parts of Himachal Pradesh. With the logistics and unexpected weather changes all went well. Now bitten by the HP warmth, I wish to visit it often and for longer duration.