The travel bug in me – All alive n kickin’
Its quite true I guess.. Old
habits die hard!
The passion for traveling and
exploring new places that I discovered in my early 20s (a tad earlier would’ve
been even better) had to put on hold with Rhea & Dhruv’s arrival and what
not.. But there we are.. back to square one! And what’s beautiful is that it’s
back with a vengeance! With a little more ‘disposable’ money in hand, it seems
to make me a shopping traveloholic (if there’s one such term)..
Thanks to the awesome
organization that I work with, I have been fortunate to have traveled abroad 4
times in the past 5 months! Now that IS enviable by all means.. It began in
March when they asked me if I could travel to the UK for a week for an
up-skilling program.. Extremely conscious about what it would mean to the kids
etc. but reassured by the hubby, I grudgingly agreed only to be posed with a
travel to Bangkok even as I was processing the UK visa.
1 3-day stint to Bangkok gave me
the much-needed confidence to undertake foreign travel without the kids in
tow.. Must say it was the very 1st time, I’d stayed away from the
kids and how tough that was! 3 weeks later, I found myself in the UK for a
whole 8 nights! This is where the “real” me came to life.. Scouring through the
streets of London, I was back to 2009 where I’d painted London red and saw more
of the city to put even a local to shame! I’d finish work each evening and
brave it all the way from Welwyn Garden City to one of the central places.. I’d
roam my favorite Strand/ Piccadilly Street and scour for stuff I could buy for
the kids and folks back home!
In June, I found myself traveling
to Bangkok for a 2nd time and this trip proved far more adventurous
than the 1st. I was adventurous (rather foolish) enough to take the
public transportation (the local bus all the way from central Bangkok to the
place I stayed.. what normally takes 40 minutes took me 2.5 hours, quite a few
palpitations, absolute fear & a series of emotions - worried looks of the
fellow passengers & my inability to understand where I wanted to go coupled
with my inability to read Thai road signs made this one of the most
unforgettable experiences I’ve ever had.. but what I gained in turn is a whole
dekko of Bangkok for just 7 baht- An experience not many can narrate in today’s
day and age!
Just when I thought, my travel
for the year was done, I got yet another invite to travel and this time to the far-fetched
South Korea! My heart skipped several beats.. While one part of me was guilty
and wanted to cry foul about having left the kids multiple times, I was just
overjoyed. I’d be lying if I don’t admit that emotions of the latter kind far
outnumbered the former but yet I would not let go of an opportunity to travel
for anything! Lo and behold, I found myself traveling to the infamous Incheon
airport with a 4-hour stop-over at none other than Asia’s financial capital –
Hongkong!!
Now any sane person would
probably cool their heels and get excited about getting some rest n
window-shopping within the airport.. but not me! I fight 100s of passengers immigrating
into HK and make my way through into the city paying a 3.5 HKD bus fare, spend
exactly 2 hours and rush back to be in time for the connecting flight to Seoul!
One movie and 3 hours later, I land into Incheon and am put up in a hotel with
no signs of civilization for a few miles.. it was 7:30 sth and I knew it’d be
disastrous for me to hit the bed so soon – I’d probably be up at 3 am! So I go
around and explore an e-mart in a deserted shopping complex to get my 1st
taste of Korea. This helps me fix my dinner & breakfast – fruits &
bottled starbucks Frappuccino/ packaged hershey’s chocolate millk!
The next morning, at 8 am, I am
on my way to Muui-do/ Kimchi island – this is where our training facility is. The
only way to reach the island is through a jetty ride.. it seemed like back in
the olden days when we needed to commute to some parts of Goa/ Alibaug/
Murud-Janjira in a jetty! Only difference was the sheer size.. the jetty I was
in could house 20-30 cars (signs of the developed world, perhaps!). Once in
this island, I couldn’t believe my luck – I was as close to nature as
possible.. Supposedly a favorite destination for hiking, this island is a haven
for nature lovers. After the day-long training, I convinced one of my
colleagues to go on a 3-km walk with me just to get me acquainted and to get
tips on safety/ what to watch out for etc.. the answer was.. nothing at all (I
wonder why it’s only our country where we must watch out for personal safety..
how are other countries so safe for men and women alike.. anyways, more on that
in some other post!)..
The next morning, I was up at 6
and went on a fantastic 7.5 km run! This was probably one of the best runs
ever!! Traversing through vegetable farms, vineyards and chilly gardens, I was
overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of how they had preserved nature while brining
in the best of technology into this tiny island. The up-hill and down-hill
steep slopes then led to a beach!! What more could I ask for.. it was like one
of those places they explore in popular travel shows.. it refreshed &
delighted me.. was like a hidden surprise. I got some cheers from the localites
and ran/ brisk-walked with even more zest than I had begun!
A day full of training & an early
dinner with the team made me evidently tired and I stuck to a book for company.
The next morning, I was again up at 6 – I wouldn’t miss a run for anything in
the world. This time, I explored the other direction – the slopes were steeper
and took me to the other end of the island – the entry point into Muui-do! I
was greeted by many locals who were readying themselves and their small
businesses for the day.. I saw little crabs running hither tither not able to
decide whether to get back into the ocean – their home or explore new
territories – others’ home.. they reminded me of myself! ;-)
The day was filled with store
visits and I got to see a bit of Incheon along with my colleagues.. once back,
we had to pack off and move into Seoul by the 5 pm jetty.. I was overcome with
mixed emotions! I really wanted to stay back and explore this island.. who knows
when I’d come back again.. but again, it didn’t make sense to not see Seoul! There
could still be some place closer home to explore.. but how could one miss
shopping for cosmetics in Seoul!!? No way…
So 5 of us girls headed to Seoul and
got a true glimpse of the evening shopping.. we were at the infamous
Myeong-dong – supposedly the world-famous shopping street. And rightly so! I
cannot describe how this place is.. An comparisons I draw will be futile! It was
simply WOWWWW to say the least.. but one cannot really call is “street shopping”
cos u just cannot bargain! One or two attempts of mine (old habits die hard I tell
u!) were met with scorns and stern no’s! I gave up and settled for what seemed
reasonable.. I was thrilled to find Korean dolls (that I’ve been wanting for
ages now) and other knick-knacks that people back home will be so happy to get.
A visit to one of the local branded cosmetic shop made me understand the world
that existed out there.. admit that I’m not into cosmetics per say.. but even
while window-shopping, I’ve never come across such a range n array.. face
masks, hand & nail masks, foot packs, oil removal dabs.. I mean.. wowwww.. I
didn’t even know some of these products existed!
My partner in crime was another
shopping enthusiast and while each of us warned the other from splurging, even
before we realized, we had 2-3 bags each (mostly mine). I had successfully exhausted
all of the currency I was carrying and had swiped the credit card couple times!
Times like these, I’m just soooo glad I’m financially self-sufficient (I’d hate
to be relying on someone else to pay the bills just cos I wasn’t able to
resist). We returned to our hotel room at 11 pm with gifts to present to a
mini-army! The view from the room was breath-taking to say the least.. a
7-floor high watch tower showed 11:30 p.m. and I saw the last traces of
shoppers and vendors calling it a night. It was now time to re-apck to ensure
that I was able to carry all these stuff safely! The view from the window kept
drawing me and the last I saw, the watch showed 1:30 a.m. almost asking me to
retire for the day!
The bright sunlight from the
window came in and the watch claimed it was 6:40 a.m. I was so tempted to go
for a run in downtown Seoul but I saw some vendors clearing up from the day
before and wasn’t up to running amidst this chaos and I chose to catch up a few
extra winks. We got ready and stepped out by 9.. a taxi ride to Seoul station
and a train journey to Incheon and I was on my way out of Seoul. As luck would
have it, just when I finish my security check, I see a mock entourage of the
Korean Royal family in the airport (arranged by the board of Korean tourism
board to encourage cultural ties).
Got into hongkong and visited the
infamous IFC mall. 2 hours later, with 4 tops from Zara and a iPhone 5S for the
brother, I am now at the boarding gate waiting for the flight to Bangalore.
Cant wait to go hugggg the babies and hear them tell me about what they did the
last 4 days.. for now though, cant stop smiling for I had a wonderful trip yet
again!
Thank u travel bug – please stay within
me now and forever!
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