On way to Coorg...

A lone journey to a new place... I'm on roads alone after more than a year... Over last one year I've traveled a lot...sometimes with family, sometimes with colleagues, sometimes with friends, sometimes with strangers who became best friends, gang of bikers and many more. And yes alone as well but for official purpose. Not like this, in my own company to explore the unexplored... Just to travel, just to enjoy the journey and to discover myself once again..

The day started on not so happy note.. Booked a cab to bus stand but the driver didn't turn up on time.. He called late and irritated me canceled the booking and went to the nearby auto stand.. Lucky to get an auto comfortably (not to forget its office time). But nobody knew where exactly the TTMC bus stand is.. Not even the autowallah! As most of the autowallahs in Bangalore are, he also was weak with our common language - 'English'. I tried to explain again that I need to catch a KSRTC bus to Coorg. Then he asked again if I want to go to bus depot, and I said Yes! Thats where I want to go (wondered at times simple things are so difficult to explain).

The moment I entered the place I understood why nobody knows it by its name TTMC bus stand. It is new bus stand and most likely became functional just a week ago. No wonder it is not there on google maps or anywhere else for that matter. Not a single man was there on the platform from where I had to take the bus.. It is an astonishing thing to find an empty platform at 7.30 AM in the morning in a country like India.

Anyways... M sitting alone at this virgin, granite laid platform waiting for the conductor/ driver to come while writing this post... More to come as the journey unfolds...

"for some miseries in life, the only answer is - WAIT"

Why South East Asia?

4 splendid days in Cambodia, my second stint in SEA countries. Serene, beautiful and lovely place...Once again I came across loads of Europeans, Australians and people from rest of the world. And this time I was forced to think that What is so Special, so Enchanting about South East Asia that millions of people from different culture and ethnicity come here and live here, thousands of miles away from their homeland... This made me observe the simple little things about these countries that make them so special. Here are few of my observations -

• Climate - Tropical climate that is neither too hot nor too cold makes SEA a perfect place to relax. But yes rains make it difficult to go around at times.
• Beaches - What more do you want in life than a pristine beach with white sand and turquoise blue waves?
• Jungles, gardens full of trees not concrete - Places are so real and close to nature that you can spend you days simply walking around the place.
• Food - SEA has adopted world food with whole heart. Most of the restaurants serve food that is available in your road side deli. You name it and they have it. And yes who can forget the free flow of liquor.
• Economic - Be it food, homestays, hotels, hostels, things of daily need, everything is so cheap. Its a heaven for back-packers traveling on shoe-string budget. And if you want to taste luxury, they have the best of the options available.
• People - People are by far the sweetest and most humble. Simple, down-to-earth, Eager to learn about different cultures they welcome guests with open heart. They have seen hardships of life yet they'll always greet you with a smile :)

Like this there are many more reasons that make this place so special that whoever visit here once, definitely wants to come back again....

...IN THE END

Don't know where the life will take me in the next few years, don't know what I will be doing and where I'll be living in next 10-20 years. Its all very hazy and unclear. I have stopped planning things because life don't turn out as you plan it to be. Life simply is LIFE and it has its own plans for you.

Still when it comes to end, I see things pretty clear and simple. I see myself in a small neat one bedroom house on a beach. Yes, you heard it right, ON A BEACH!! Vast endless sea is visible from my room through the door sized glass windows. Every morning I wake up with chirping of Sea Gulls and every evening sun sets at the horizon. Spending my days reading books, cooking, sometimes listening to my favorite music. Every evening witnessing a new sunset sometimes hurriedly packing my stuff to rush inside and at times simply sipping coffee and enjoying the marvels of nature. Starry nights with moon-lit bed of water....What more to ask for?

And yes I also see myself making new friends with the loners or groups who come there in search of some quiet time, some soul searching, some peace. Sharing our stories and experiences. I visit the nearby market sometimes for basic necessities. By market I don't mean any mall or flashy departmental store....a simple roadside flea market where I meet people who are not running behind money, who are relaxed and want to live every bit of life rather than running behind it.

Why life has to be so complicated? Why we have to live in this concrete jungle? Why we can't live a simple peaceful life close to nature away from the cacophony of these evergrowing cities...

Mann bole ke rasmein jeene ka harjaana duniya dushman sab begaana inhe aag lagaana Mann bole mann bole, mann se jeena ya marr jaana

Photograph Courtesy: Photgraphy Talk (Jeanclaude Vankanban's album)

Twist of Fate

Now this is called fate....wanted to watch Rockstar by any means today, so decided to hit multiplex straight from office..my bad Satyam din't allow my laptop bag inside...so i thought to try my luck at other nearest multiplex. By the time I reached there, I came to know that the next 2 shows are houseful and next available show is 9.45PM...sad, I finally decided to buy tickets for tomorrow and treat myself with a nice dinner...When I was inquiring about next day show timings, suddenly a guy interrupted and asked if I want to watch movie today in 7.15PM show...and I was like...is it available? He had to dispose off last ticket out 5 (4 he had already sold). It was a win-win situation for us. I was abt to pay him money n suddenly the man behind the counter said, Ma'am you can't carry laptop bag inside..I was back to square one :( That guy desperate to sell his last ticket fortunately knew someone in the management. He called him and arranged to keep my laptop in the locker. Now my bag was safe and I had a ticket as well...thats how I gotta see movie... :) :)

Angel Strangers

Sometimes u come across wonderful people who appear just from nowhere n become saviours. I came across two such gentlemen recently at different places who helped me in the trouble hours.

We were coming back from a road trip to Kintamani, Bali. That was a blessed day cos series of incidents happened throughout the day. We left early in the morning so couldn't get the currency exchanged. We had some money with us but that wasn't enough. Since we were driving on the country-side, we couldn't find any money exchanger. Nonetheless, we spent carefully n kept exploring the places. N yes we shopped a lil ;)

By evening we had exhuasted all our money n we were actually pennyless and we were still almost 50 - 60 KM away from our destination. Not a good news in a Foreign Land! My friend was lil apprehensive abt the situation so I assured her that we'll definitely reach our hotel without hassle.

Luckily we had fuel in our tank. We started our journey n everything was in order till we came close to the city. We entered Denpasar n our destination was Kuta. After following few road signs n driving for almost 45 minutes we realized tht we r lost. We were asking route every now n then but now Denpasar seem like a big Maze. We asked route from a biker n he told us that he is going in the same direction so we can follow him. We started following him but with a lil apprehension as Indonesia is one of the 'not so safe' countries. So we stopped after following him for a while n asked the roadside ppl if we r going in the right direction. Tht sweet lil Balinese boy waited a few feet away from us so tht we don't loose his sight n get lost agn. After following him for almost 20-25 mins we still reached nowhere near Kuta. By that time our fuel indicator was shouting 'LOW'. No money n now fuel. In true words we were in a shit situation. Unfortunately we couldn't find any money exchanger on our way.

Wen the needle touched 'zero' fuel we shared that we r out of fuel with the Balinese boy. He stopped in front of the next fuel station n asked us to get it refilled. Poor boy din't know our monetary situation, we also tried our luck...in case the fuel station might accept our USDs. But NO it dint work thr. We finally went to tht boy n told him tht we hv no fuel n we hv no money either. Tht guy lended money to us to get it refilled...Obliged, we followed him n after 20 mins we reached a place tht was known to us n very close to our hotel.

First thing we did thr was, got sm money exchanged n returned him. We might hv paid him the money bk but we'll nvr b able to repay for the help he extended to us on tht eventful day. He has marked an impression which will last forever.

God bless tht Balinese Guy!!!

Quite similar incident happened few days bk at Agra. Luckily thr was no issue of money and fuel this time, just tht we got lost. A nice gentleman guided us to our destination n disppeared into nowhere after we reached thr...We could just say Thanks to him.

Laalu n Kaalu

I have promised a friend of mine that this story will come as a blog here..its been months now n still I haven't progressed beyond a para...but today it seems I'll be able to upload it.

This is the story of Laalu n Kaalu.. story of thr friendship, thr communication n thr connection..spread over a span of thirteen long years... yeah thirteen years n yet they hv not been wid each other in person for even thirteen hours...

Shy Kaalu n timid Laalu joined a new school together in class XI. Same class, same subjects yet nothin beyond formal interaction....

Nxt yr Laalu moved to diff city...Yr went by...Laalu moved to another city after completing her high school..for the 1st time away frm family..lil enticed lil worried lil confused...trying to explore the world frm a new perspective...n thr she found a wonderful friend for life in her Roomie... Life was busy those days...classes, studies, and above all managing life on her own... One fine evening she went to nearby market for grocery. On the way back she saw Kaalu coming from the other side..'Kaalu', instantly she recognized n so did Kaalu...but both were too lazy or I shd say too ignorant to even say 'Hello' to each other..Time moved on..By this time, she knew that Kaalu lives somewhr nearby as they bumped into each other every now n then... Still thr was a wall of silence between them.

A year later Laalu parted from her Roomie and joined another college. But destiny had something else in store...Kaalu n Roomie landed in the same college...Since Rommie had been wid Laalu for most of her grocery trips, she knew who Kaalu is.. Immediately they became friends..Now Roomie was the link between Kaalu n Laalu.. It was NOW that they were named as 'Laalu' n 'Kaalu' by each other.

Their news flew to each other through set of common friends.

Four years of College passed by and both joined different school for Post Graduation...Laalu got busier n started interacting less wid Roomie...a year later Roomie joined Laalu's B-school and they became roomies once again... Roomie was still in touch wid her college friend 'Kaalu' in cyber-world...One fine day, they decided to group-chat...this was for the 1st time 'Kaalu' n 'Laalu' were actually interacting...slowly the frequency of group-chat started increasing and soon it was only Kaalu n Laalu talking to each other...Swiftly few minutes of chat seesions became day long chat sessions. They nvr thot they'll get along so well n become such a good friends....

By the end of 3rd Semester both started preparing for their campus.. By this time both were hooked to system for atleast 7-8 hrs a day...talking abt every damn hour.. life was fun for both of them... That May, Laalu n Kaalu had to join their respective job in diff cities.

Corporate life comes wid its own challenges...thr interaction became less n less...1.5 yrs passed by like this. One day Laalu got the opportunity to visit Kaalu's city for a day to attend her cousin's wedding. Bingo!! After 11 years they'll get a chance to meet each other...

Then the final day came...Laalu n Kaalu were sitting right in front of each other...not even for a sec they felt tht they were long distance friends and nvr sat wid each other face to face. They chat non-stop as if ol' friends hv reunited after ages. However the meeting was quite short...Laalu's flight was after 2 hours so she had to leave...

This year coincidently Kaalu was in Laalu's town on a day after her B'day. He had almost 6 hrs to b wid her.. Laalu decided to drop office n meet him...This was thr 1st long reunion. As anticipated they had super fun time...

Time moved on...Kaalu got busier n Laalu also got lost in her world.... Almost 2 yrs later Kaalu agn visited Laalu's town..This time they met at the Airport for abt an hr... Every time they meet each other they updated each other abt themselves, they reminiscse thr chat sessions, thr meets and not to forget count thr hrs of being in front of each other...

Next time the gap between thr meets was less than 6 months and the venue once agn was 'Airport'...

Till now they hv been wid each other in person for around 11 hrs, yet the emotional connect they share is very strong and deep.

Both of them kno tht they r FRIENDS FOR LIFE.... I hope they meet agn very soon...n this time for a longer time....

:)