I think every writer goes through this for every blog he/she writes. You may have written millions of words about millions of experiences in your lifetime but there’s always an impending sense of doom when you start yet another piece. Such is the fear of not being able to put your point or more prominently, the inability of getting the reader to live the experience as he goes through the blog. The fear just escalates tenfold when you write about your travel experiences. Having said that, this is my attempt to take you through my thought process when I travel.
The coffee vendor on the train uttered something in Malayalam. Funny how even after 20 years on this planet and with a knowledge of 4 languages, I still have no clue how to react when a person says something to me in a language I don’t know. I muttered something in a fusion of Kannada and Hindi. “Eh?” said the vendor. To save myself from embarrassment, I pointed at his container and raised up one finger. Sign language is so simple and effective, isn’t it?
I got my coffee, went straight to the train door and started doing what I always do on these trips, life contemplation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the usual “What am I doing with my life?” nonsense. It’s more of a “Are the things I am doing 100% relevant and optimized?”. Yeah, it usually isn’t, give it some thought folks.
I obviously had my headphones on. Solo trips are incomplete without it. They are also incomplete with social media. That’s right, “with” I always make sure I have no internet connection. The last thing I want is to entertain requests for pictures and check-ins or whatever.
Minutes turned into hours as I sat by the train door (Would have given my mom a heart attack if I told her that). The train inspector confronted me at one point and was somehow convinced that I was a white-collar thief. It took a good amount of coaxing to convince him that I wasn’t one. Nevertheless, I was sent back to my berth. It was pretty late so I decided to call it a day. I was disgruntled (I was just getting to know the nice gentleman by the door who was stuck on the waiting list for a berth)
I arrived at my destination early the next morning. The rest of the day was spent exploring the city, interacting with the most random group of people possible and generally having a blast. This one old couple absolutely adored me and told some absolutely fascinating stories as well! The town was pretty small so I was done at about 5 PM. My train, however, was at 9 PM. No worries, I had BookBySlot, a hotel booking website based on slot stay. I ended up staying in a beautiful little hotel for a very inexpensive price.
The trip was perfect. Short, entertaining, stress-free. I got exactly what I wanted, clarity of thought. I was back hustling the second I reached my hometown, and that’s what I love doing.
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