Going South...

Forewarning: This passage could be a lo-o-ng one, consider yourself warned. Also, The views and ideas expressed in the passage are the personal opinion of the author... And since my opinion doesn't count anyways... Don't have a cow.

Ok, so 'vacationing' is a word that doesn't instinctively remind me of my family trips to exotic places and having amazing fun with my loved ones. What it does remind me of though, is travel sickness... projectile vommitting, getting mugged and yes... family fights. So when my dad said suddenly two weeks ago that we were to pack our bags and go vacationing I was very skeptical... You can't blame me. Spending a whole day in the presence of my parents is an incredible feat for me... He was talking bout ten days, that... was a situation of national alert. And when he told me where we were going, I was thinking, hmmm...

We were to leave for Kerala to live at his client's villa. I have absolutely nothing against Kerala. But you know when you're so accustomed to the fast pace. Slowing down for even an instance seems a little scary. That was what I had in mind going into this trip. No phone, No music [Currently not owning a 'working' discman]. I'm going to get bored out of my mind in that village, and I'll have my parents to keep me company. Great! What am I going to do?
There were the extremely last moment plans plus as we were leaving a traditional leaving-the-house-panic argument broke out amongst the four of us. Ahh.. the Vacation-monster rearing his ugly head.

So as we cautiously boarded the train and waved goodbye to sweet home... I was very incredulous of what trick, god had up his sleeve. As the last radio station fizzed out of coverage I dumped my pocket radio aside and waited for the gloom that was to come.
And then it happened I don't know how but the four of us... My mum,dad, my sister and me that is... were actually having fun. We laughed and debated and sang. We could've been the brady bunch family for all I knew, not nearly strange enough but nonetheless. I always believe that a group isn't a group until they share some insider's jokes... and this trip has given us enough to last for sometime...

Ok, so cut to the chase.... The food. the first thing we did on reaching there in the evening was go for dinner at a family friend of GK uncle's [the guy that invited us] and I realized the people there have HUGE appetites or at least they're very hospitable cause we were getting dinner invitations to the dozen. And every homemade dinner throughout the trip superceded the earlier with the amount of food actually laid down on the table. And the amount of variety... just loads and loads of chicken, fish, rice, sambar, appam, avial, curries and what not! And when you're in the city accustomed to eating a plate of frozen take-out, this felt like christmas.

We got the opportunity of seeing all the highspots of the south. Beautiful places. Like the Backwaters of Allepey from the comfort of a beautiful luxurious houseboat. And while we were getting there, all the way to the shore spot where we had lunch[another huge one not to mention] and all the way back, I just couldn't help being mesmerized by the breathtaking beauty that is Kerala... I mean I could've sat on that boat for days and read and listened to music... Then there was the shores of Kanyakumari where we lived in a hotel with breathtaking sea view and the different sights there that were beautiful beyond comprehension. You've really missed it if you haven't seen the vast expanse of horizon from high atop the rock. The sunset and the sunrise from you're room window. Wow, was all I could say... Seeing the Meenaxi Temple with all of it's grandeur... you can only imagine. Munnar... the beautiful hillstation, with it's wonderful parks and tea plantations that made for even more ecstatic beauty. Seeing the Nilgiri Tahr perched on a high rock looking down at you with majestic beauty... and wild elephants on the slopes was as good as it got. I'll stop praising before I sound like a travel guide... and also because it's hard to put perfect beauty into words. It felt surreal like I was lifted off to some beautiful paradise.

And that's what GK Uncle kept telling us... About how Kerala was "God's own country" and how the "Keralan homemade food is better than any hotel food in Mumbai" about how the "people in Kerala are hardworking and honest not like in Mumbai". So we had to bear these incessant comments which angered me a little. I understand pride in one's homeland but comparisons I cannot discern. Also the wierd stares at our attire as if jeans were so treacherous, we might as well have been naked. The language barrier didn't help any better. I couldn't make out if the aunties were gossiping about us or were just chatterring about their lives. It was a little frustrating.

But nonetheless I am thankful to these very people for making our trip a success... They treated us well, other than their shyness which I think stemmed out of somewhat of an inferiority complex of city folks. And we couldn't rid them of this susperstiotion about us being uptight by becoming friendly cause of the language problem. But they were hospitable especially GK uncle himself.. he made all arrangements for our trip to go well.

We travelled in a luxurious car listened to blaring music or watched Mathew Mc'Coughney battle the cryptic desert on the video screen. Stayed in palatial hotels. Got the best food everywhere and so all in all it was a good score of fifteen days.
Also I had a good load of experiences...

- I tasted duck for the first time... I loved it!
- Made friends with a cute English guy on my way home in the train, although he ended up showing me the picture of his girlfriend... Ah! well the grapes were sour right?
- Saw a entire Tamil film... start to end and I have to say I have a newfound respect for south Indian films. Full on Entertainment!
- Did not puke once... during the travelling... that's a first for me!

But as I smelled the familiar smell of Mumbai, in the taxi ride back home from the train station and the sights and sounds of the great city... I realized I was back to being the little fish in the sea... I knew though no matter how great my trip was, and it was grreat, coming back home was better...

How I've missed it... the smoked smell that hangs in the air.... the dust that suspends and makes you sneeze... the group of collegers you see hangin out every now and then... the smell of steaming pav bhaji and the skylights and hoardings. Speaking to friends on the phone incessantly...

It sounds radicle that I would enjoy the pandemonium after the serene environment I was subjected to... But like they say... Home is Sweet home...