EuroTrip!

Now a couple of my next posts would be entirely about my memoirs of Europe! Yes, I did finally get a chance to complete one of my dreams (though I am a bit sad that it is complete now). Ever since I have started dreamt of travelling, Europe was the first thing that resonates in my mind. It had this romantic feel to it that I thought was mostly correlated to Italy. To my dismay, I could not eventually go to Italy and Greece but I should keep some desires for later too.

First I want to tell you that planning a trip to any country abroad can require serious home work. Right from getting best deals on tickets to fly to visas, travel cards for money, accommodations, travel within the country and places to see; it can all seem quite a mess if you don’t plan on time. For me I would say my trip was easy because it was an exchange term from my college (IIMB) to a college in France (IESEG). My major worries were sorted out by our exchange club who made sure we get all the best deals without going anywhere. We could easily trust these guys as everybody gets the same bargain and we can contact them anytime through a reputed channel. We even learnt little French so that communication may become easier for us. Yes, accommodation for 3 months was also a nightmare worth mentioning but my French connection (aka a French friend) helped me like an angel to get that sorted out too.

It is always a good idea to take advice from people who either stay there or have travelled to Europe, read travel blogs and be prepared at all times; more importantly it is good to go with friends and enjoy. I know planning can be a nightmare but sometimes we get so picky about little things and deals that we start to miss the bigger picture and the reason why we went out to travel at the first place; to enjoy, to relax, to learn, to rejuvenate.

All the little mistakes and problems seem worth it if you have good company and they make great stories to tell back home too. Like the time I lost my passport, wallet, all my identity cards, phone, I pod, some jewellery and lots of other stuff. It has become a good conversation starter and really gets me animated every time I recall that incident. More than it being a mistake, I see it as a very big learning experience; it made me realise how small we are and how important it is to have family and friends. I was a complete no body without my identity cards and no money, it made me humble. It made me thank God all the more that I had friends, and a family to reach out and eventually return back to home.

Gokarna and the off season

There is nothing like a beach entirely to yourself and the fact that you did not pay anything extra for that feeling. The ride up from Bangalore to Gokarna was splendid, long straight roads with sights that reminded me of my good old travelling days in doon. The daybreak during our journey was a scene right from the movies where i am listening to songs in the car and everyone else is sleeping. Cant say I did not cry because I got so emotional, but I thank my stars that my friends din't notice.
After about 12 hours of journey we finally reached our destination~ Gokarna!! The place was as good as my friends had promised it would be. There was a beach and a shack where we will be spending 3 glorious days doing absolutely nothing but relax. We ate good food, laughed a lot and swam the entire day!
This was the perfect holiday and it being spontaneous was even better. Although we had to change hotels cause we din't like the first one, the next one was opening up to Om beach, so it made more sense.
To sum it all up, we had a good time. Six friends, lots of beer, food and the ocean!! What could be better. :)