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.