A trip to Africa

My post on the cycling trip to Catalonia is still in its half-written draft mode (it has unfortunately been in that state for a month now), but I am super excited about the next vacation – a trip to Tanzania – a week to climb the Kilimanjaro, a 5 day safari and 2 days for the Zanzibar island.

2011 has been a year of travels – Cycle trip in Belgium, A road trip around England and Wales, a 10 day cycling vacation in Catalonia and now a fortnight in Africa. Yet, this last fortnight is going to be so different than any other vacation I have ever taken – for starters, it is so going to be outside my comfort zone. I am hoping I will get accustomed to the very basic facilities on the mountain for a week, be able to bear the heat and the cold of the mighty Kili and have the physical stamina to get up to the Uhuru peak at 5,895m.

2 more weeks to go…

Indians, vacations and gap years

It had been 5 years since I came back from Fontainebleau when I was desperately looking for an opportunity to set foot in Europe again. I was moving jobs in April 2008 and hence took the opportunity to plan my first international vacation from India. It didn’t really feel like a first time because of all the traveling I did when I was in Fontainebleau but there were people who were surprised I was taking an ‘abroad’ vacation! Wasn’t that reserved for the upper class? Don’t ask me what they thought when I went on a girls fortnight out to Eastern Europe with Ms.N, but then I was too happy too care.

One of the things I keep googling about these days is the concept of a gap year. My mind has played the scene umpteen times where I ask my boss for my gap year – I think about it almost every other day, but I am still not sure I will do it! Anyways, what I was saying is there are tons and tons of information, personal experiences and dedicated websites from Europeans and Americans. There are even families that travel and home school their kids. I know, whatay experience for the kids!

But nothing from the Indians, almost nothing from the Asians.

Is this because Indians are still trying to figure out travel?

I have had colleagues who are proud of the fact that they don’t take holidays from work and get bored at home even during the mandatory block leave period and end up coming to office! Whoosh, kill them. One of the things I love about my London office is how everyone takes 2 weeks off in August and December + a ski vacation in Feb!

But the travel bug is beginning to bite people in India – I can see almost all my friends taking time off from work even if it is just for a week. Even it is somewhere near by. Some of them are even venturing abroad.

Well, I do understand that not everyone has the finances to plan a vacation abroad every year. But believe me, at least a trip inside our vast country (outside of the home city) every year is an experience to remember.

I am proud of my friends A&J who have acted on their dream. A has taken a sabbatical and J has quit his work to travel abroad and India for 3 months. They are having the time of their life and have given me belief that this can be done. A gap quarter. This is the closest to a gap year I know in India.

Even if the attitude changes and everyone does take vacations, I think the gap year is still too far for Indians. The biggest fear people have about taking a break from the career, is the career. Will the recruiters look at it as a ‘gap in the career’ or an ‘experience that would add to the resume’?

The other big challenge is the number of visas we need with an Indian passport (that the Europeans and Americans don’t need). Every embassy will ask for a letter from the employer, which is going to be a challenge during the gap year. Especially given one can’t apply for all the visas before embarking on the around the world journey (Most countries require you to apply for the visa within 3 months of the travel date). This is where the British Passport lures me!

As I dream of my gap year and dream of my travel based career, here is to hoping that there are more Indian dreams that want to experience the world and take gap years.

PS: Do leave me a comment with links to any gap year experiences you have written / read. If there are any around the world experiences by an Indian passport holder, I am even more eager to hear / read the story.

Movies and biking – the life other than work

Last weekend was one of those eventful ones where I managed to catch 4 movies, attend a birthday party, keep up my word on weekly cycling and also managed to get work done on a major pitch I was working on! Looking back, I should give myself a pat on the back.

Movies weren’t a part of my growing up years – strictly limited to one Tamil movie per year in the theatre and no cable at home – and hence I haven’t really watched the prequels to all the good Hollywood movies I watch now. When X-Men First Class was seen on Friday, the Trilogy inevitably followed over the weekend! It is a different matter that I thought Professor-X and Magneto would have just aged from First Class and not be totally different people (Stupid, I know!).

Similarly, when I saw Fast and Furious 5 a few weeks back, the Tokyo Drift was much talked about. Must say it lived up to all its hyped expectations when I caught the movie on Wednesday. After an extended long weekend in Bruges, we had to see ‘In Bruges’, which happened to get its chance yesterday. After Tokyo Drift, I was falling asleep with the pace of this movie, but must say, it is a great movie to watch if in the right mood for it. Anyways, isn’t that a great movie week?

In other news, boyfriend has been doing 100km or 100 mile cycling trips once a week! Other than the fact that he does these on particular days of the week when I go home early and he comes back in the last train back to London, reaching home post midnight, I am happy with his great cycling achievements! It is going to be time to buy him his new road bike soon.

I can see a visible improvement in my cycling too. My legs are getting used to doing 40-50 km rides without much of a pain and more importantly, I am not walking up any elevations but actually cycling the ups and downs of London – I don’t think I even cycled up flyovers last year!

If Scotland pumped up my cycling last year, this year’s credit goes to Bruges – over three days, I surpassed my target of 150 km by doing 180 km! This cycling trip got me to experience the challenges of cycling with headwinds and crosswinds that felt like I was moving mountains! And over these ultra flat roads, it wasn’t the legs that hurt the most, but the bum! We cycled on hired bikes and since this was very different compared my own Schwin, my bum never got used to it. And boy, after the weekend in Bruges, my own bike felt so different when I sat on it last weekend in London!

Bruges biking weekend summary:

Day1:   68.90 Km  (Bruges to Damme, Sluis, Knokke-Heist & Back)

Day 2:  57.91 Km  (Bruges to Lissewege, Blankenberg, De Haan, Stalhille & Back)

Day 3:  54.14 Km  (Bruges to Ghent)

My first international flight

January 6, 2003 – I was not yet 21 when I boarded my first international flight to Paris. I think it was via Zurich, but I can’t remember much. My passport was in Delhi with the travel agent appointed by my university who was arranging my visa. I traveled Madras to Delhi to realize that the visa had not yet arrived and we weren’t informed! The travel agent gave us accommodation in a guest house and the only thing I remember of the next couple of days is the yummy parathas served by the guest house caretaker!

Did my parents or I freak out when I was staying in a stranger’s guest house for 3 days in Delhi? – may be not because there were a bunch of my senior batch guys with me going through the same ordeal. Still…!

It was dark by the time my flight landed and I got out of the airport to the luxury cabs that took us from Paris to Fontainebleau. I was fascinated by the fact that it was snowing outside and the temperature inside the cab could be kept at 18 degrees. I was also majorly fascinated by the speed in which the car was zooming and still was so smooth all the way!

We arrived at Fontainebleau, dropped our luggage at the apartment pre-arranged for us and went to 2, Rue de Fleury. This was the ‘seniors’ house, the only one big enough for the whole group to fit in! It was 9 pm, but then in India it was past midnight. I was allowed to make the customary 2 min call to my parents to say ‘I reached’ and then the ‘introductions’ happened. I still miss the big black couch I was introduced to there

Well, I don’t remember much about the rest of the night, but the next 6 months were some of the most memorable days ever. And that, I will probably write about some other day.

Who came up with the idea?

Who came up with the idea of slogging your ass off in your 20s, 30s, and 40s (phew!), getting married and raising kids in between that and then retire at an age when the kids can take care of you! Yes, that seems like the most ‘normal’ thing to do for most people I know!

Why is marriage given such mammoth importance in anyone’s life?

Why can’t the family accept that the boyfriend and I can travel for a year even if we are not married?

Why can’t my sister get married without hassles if her elder sister is not married but living with her partner?

Why do friends who know we have been living together for 3+ years still ask when is the big-day? What difference does that day make in our lives? Other than give me more responsibilities which I would anyways shun!

Why is it that the UK Home Office is the only establishment that accepts unmarried partner as an equivalent of a married partner without asking me when we are getting married!

Why does the whole world conspire in making not-yet-moms think motherhood is the most enjoyable thing in the world, when I can never see parents of young kids have a peaceful night of sleep!) Is procreation still considered the most important reason for our existence?

Why does everyone think buying a house is the ultimate goal in everyone’s career (and repay the mortgage for the rest of your working life!) Why is it not considered right if someone never buys a house and uses the money earned to travel around the world? Who invented the word ‘settled’?

Why can’t we lead a life where we get married when and where we feel like (it could be one sunny Sunday morning in London or in one of the Goan shacks many years down the line!), decide we never want to have kids (maybe we do, maybe we don’t), take a break from work without any responsibilities bothering us, enjoy life travelling the world with the money we have at that moment of time, come back and start afresh – not doing what we need to do but doing what we like to do.

Why is it that the above idea is considered a dream and not a reality?  Why is it that a few people I know who have tried any parts of the above had to face humungous resistance – mostly from the immediate family?

In the names of religion, society and family, have we given ourselves more restrictions than we need to?

Around the world in 12 months

What do you think of a year that involves:

• Last week of April – Home! (Bombay / Chennai)
• May 14 – May 31 – Cycling in Tuscany, Hiking in Corsica and relaxing at Hvar and Dubrovnik
• June – Enjoying London summer and prep for the upcoming cycling trip
• July 1 – July 15 – Cycling across Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg
• July 16 – July 31 – Relax in some beaches (maybe Barcelona / Southern France / Greece / Turkey etc.)
• Aug 1 – 20 – Scotland and Ireland
• Aug 21 – Aug 30 – London / Texas with cousins
• Sep 1 – Oct 15 – Road trips in the US (coast to coast)
• Oct 16 – Nov 30 – Backpacking across South America (Brazil / Argentina / Peru / Columbia) and practice some Spanish
• Dec 1 – Dec 15 – South Africa, Tanzania  
• Dec 15 – Jan 15 – Chennai (maybe get married!) / Goa
• Jan 15 – Feb 15 – Australia / New Zealand
• Feb 15 – Mar 15 – S.E. Asia / Sri Lanka
• Mar 15 – Apr 30 – Spain / Portugal / Morocco

N says it is crazy good, boyfriend doesn’t think I am serious (or he is ignoring my ideas so that I don’t think of it seriously)!

Very early stages as of now, but you know how my mind goes on an overkill of excitement when I am planning a new trip… and of all things, something like this… now, there is something to look forward to – once again!

I am drunk

May be it is not the best time to write a blog post, but still…

I got screwed with the bonus this year.  Ok fine, very very few people earn the kind of money I earn for doing bullshit work, but still…

I put up with this bullshit and the 24/7 work-life (okie, no life, just work) just for the money. I came to London thinking I could travel more… little did I know, I wont even get weekends off for months and forget planning trips… I don’t even get time to get my eyebrows done! I need an alternate career and I have no time to plan one… I need to plan for visas, travel plans and many more, but then I should first spare time to get some extra sleep, get my dry-cleaning done and eat on time, once in a while!

Anyways, I am just drunk and unhappy. And needed to rant.

Changes when things haven’t really changed

when they still expect you to work 7 days a week for month after month

when they still expect you to work on sunday nights until 2 am 

when they still expect you to be motivated 365 days a year

when they still expect you to deliver ‘exceeded expectations’ year-after-year

 

why pay lesser than the previous year?

why pay stock when the competition pays cash?

 

why make me a slave?

A perfect sunday

My perfect sunday lasts for 7 days (every week)!

…in which we wake up at 12 noon, have a yummy scottish breakfast and still have the full sun-lit day to go

…in which we watch every bollywood, kollywood, tollywood and hollywood movie that releases that week

…in which we read all the books in our bookshelf (okie – within 7 of the above sundays)

…in which we alternate between the Goan and Croatian beaches to soak in the sun, drink away and float in the sea before the romantic dinner every night

…in which we take long walks in pleasant weather

…in which we cycle to remote places and enjoy the pain at the end of the day

…in which we watch sunrise and sunset everyday

…in which we party once in a while with all the friends who are now around the globe

…in which I plan vacations

… and in which we enjoy them

Fear of change vs. Fear of monotony

Most of the people I meet in everyday life (mainly at work) have the fear of change.  It takes quite an effort for them to look for new jobs, change houses, plan a vacation etc. They are looking to ‘get-settled’. But doesn’t that entitle doing the same thing everyday?

 

I have the fear of monotony. I have looked for a change of job every 1.5 years and quit what I was doing within 2 years. I don’t know if it is right or wrong, but I get bored too easily! I need something new to look forward to… every other week! (I guess that is why I start thinking of my next vacation even before the current one ends!).

 

I think this was one of the prime reasons I agreed to shift to London. Yes, I thought I could travel more around Europe (I will come to the practicality of this later) but then I was going to get paid lesser for doing more work, and that meant something else had to motivate me enough! Actually I wouldn’t say life in Bombay got monotonous… Life in Bombay was fun, it was more my work life that got monotonous. I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing… in fact I was hating it more and more to the point that I had lost all motivation to do anything more than necessary (sometimes even not that!). I enrolled in Spanish classes and dance classes and rekindled the love for cycling to kill that boredom. But then I thought shifting to a new country is a totally new thing that I could get my life interested in.

 

For a month before the moving and for the next four months here, there has been something to do every other weekend. House hunting, shopping for household items and winter clothes, trying out new restaurants every weekend, cycling around London every weekend, Scotland trip etc. and etc. It is sometimes quite a bit of pressure that I put upon myself, but in hindsight, it is worth it! Work is better… but not as good as I expected… more to do with my bad luck and the current state of the Europe economy. The weather is getting worse… which means I really can’t go for long weekend trips for the next 4-6 months! What a waste of time… what is the use of living so close to so many weekend destinations if I can’t visit them for half the year! Add to it that we need visas for every other country.

 

Anyways, I hope I don’t get bored and that I have new things to do even in this horrible weather that is getting worse as I write. I wish I could convince at least some of my friends from Bombay to visit while I am here. More importantly I wish some of them get rid of their fear of change and move in here… will help me immensely to tackle my fear of monotony even in this new country.

Picture courtesy: http://www.artewa.com/buyonline/catalog/images/galeria/serlon.jpg