Life is a big holiday. It is such a prolonging version of vacations that we miss out the fun that the big guys nearly and always have. They are always in their mojo and whatsoever may come nothing can poke and change them. So, simply to get a change and to be in good fresh air (which doesn’t exist anymore), we have decided to go on a trip.
The bags are ready, tiffins have been packed in air tight tiffin boxes and our tickets to holidays are ready. We are going to a place, where there is fresh air, the hotels are modest, not too extravagant and the prices are not steep. Food is moderately priced and the best thing is you can play any outdoor game whenever you want, be it football, cricket, badminton, etc.
The destination for which the tickets have been booked is nearly a half a day journey by bus or an eight hour journey by train.
Simply imagining the fun that I would have, my sports shoes are doing Zumba by themselves and my storybooks are super excited themselves. Ma has made three sorts of tiffins to be had on our way to that place and everything which exists is humming –“hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,holiday,holiday,holidays.”
It feels as if with us, our things too would enjoy the holidays.
The bus is a luxury bus. But there is nothing “ooh-aah” about it. Only, you can stretch your legs a bit if you want and the bus looks grand.
I have taken two apples in my pocket in case I get extra hungry on the way and we are now simply waiting for the journey to start. Once the bus starts it will make a stop only after two hours and you can’t attend nature’s call in between a bus journey.B y the way, who wants to even have nature calling, while you are in a bus? Once you have settled down nicely in your hotel room, then nature can call as much as it wants (limited edition only).
The big engine of the bus has started doing-“grrr,grrr and grrr”, signalling that it is hungry for a road trip and the trip begins.
We have just crossed the first hundred miles of our journey and that means nearly half of our journey. The bus did stop twice in between and no, we didn’t attend nature’s call as the nature didn’t come calling. Ma bought me a gems chocolate packet and a pack of salted peanuts and buttered croissants from a vendor who was selling his wares on the bus (when the bus had stopped).
Now the last leg of the journey is coming to an end and within five minutes we would reach our destination and the hotel people would have sent a cab over at the bus station for us and soon we would be taking a hot water bath and a medium sized nap to break all the tiredness of our journey.
Next day, when the Sun was looking baby sized, we went for a trek on the nearby hills and it was fun. The trek guide himself was trembling and seizing anything to which he could hold himself too. He had a big trouble keeping his feet steady on the hills and often would request us that if we would like to go for an enclosed bus tour in a nearby jungle.
We came back to the hotel at around two o’clock in the afternoon and went straight for lunch.
The food which we had the day before in the bus was excellent.The bus ride was so bumpy, but the food which Ma had prepared was so beautiful, that it helped me keep myself in me during the whole journey.
She had prepared three items, which were-Hakka noodles, buttered sandwiches with mind blowing stuffing and vegetable fried rice with pakodas. It felt as if the long journey was simply created so that I ( we) could enjoy the food prepared by her, thoroughly and throughout the time which the bus took to reach its goal.
The lunch which we had was good, but not superb. The dal tadka was excellent and the buttered naan was done nicely. The rest of the food was good.
In the evening we had tea and samosa. After that we went for a little walk and before sunset we had visited a beautiful garden and the smell of the flowers over there made my mind hum and belt out a few evergreen melodies. In times like these, one needs to sit down on a bench and simply take the scenery in. The more you take it in, the more you can sustain yourself.
The dusk had spread its wings all over the sky and our friend the Sun had already gone and it was time for us to go back to our hotel room. The walk back to our hotel room was a bit slow as the garden had a beautiful effect on us and we strolled at a slow pace, leisurely.
Such are the beautiful things which are like small pebbles in God’s collection of pebbles.
The rest of the journey, I would narrate tomorrow.
Adios!
Before You Travel. 