Introducing Nisha!

This blog is about people, places and phases in my life....and I'm so excited to introduce to you someone who I think is amazing! Her name is Nisha and she hosts one of my favorite travel blogs.  She is a backpacker and does not just write about travel, she actually does it! 

She graciously allowed me to introduce you to her via an interview. I was not the one who did this interview, but I like the questions and her answers and I am sure you will love getting to know Nisha. 

What was your family's/friends' reaction when you first informed them about your intentions to travel alone? Were they supportive of your decision or were they sceptical? Did you have to convince anyone?

For my first time it was a joint idea to let me travel alone. Later it became habit my parents were always concerned as any parent of a girl would have been. Post marriage, my first trip alone to USA was vehemently opposed by both sets of parents since it was for around a year and leaving your newly wedded husband behind was something they could not come to terms with. But my husband was and still is very supportive of my solo traveling. My mother still tries to dissuade me from traveling alone. :)

How many countries have you traveled to?

I have been to 21 countries, each of them holds some special memories. But I feel this world has so many things to show & tell through its people, culture and history that one lifetime is not sufficient to experience it all.

What is it about traveling alone that makes you do it again and again?

It can not be explained in a short answer but solo traveling is about the new challenges thrown at me on everyday basis during travel and also, it gives me a sense of achievement. Traveling alone tests my endurance level. In a way, it helps in building or enhancing my character. As I always say, it tells me about my strengths, fears and weaknesses.

What types of places do you choose when you are traveling alone and why?

Any unexplored place can be my destination, be it abroad or in India. It does not matter if it is a city or a small town in a remote place; a beach or a mountain. My wish list is quite long which includes overlanding in Africa, Siberian train journey from Russia to China, volunteering in Cambodia, single backpacking trip to cover major South East Asian countries in one go etc.  

However, finance is the major key factor and I am open to sponsored trips too. :)

What are the typical activities you indulge in when you are traveling alone?

It is a mix of everything. After a few days of strenuous hiking in mountains or doing some water activities like snorkeling etc, I try to relax for a day or two and plan my next destination before moving towards it. It also gives me time to be in touch with my readers through my blog. Trips to cities are normally relaxed as they involve only sight seeing and walking around.

What types of trips do you prefer Backpacking or a well-planned vacation, when you are traveling alone and why?

Since I consider myself a traveler, I prefer backpacking. In my opinion, those who take well-planned vacations are tourists, not travelers.

What are the major challenges of travelling alone in India? If you have an experience of travelling to international destinations, please provide a comparison.

Travelling alone in India is more challenging than traveling alone abroad. Besides high crime rate; in India people still do not fathom a sight of an ‘Indian woman’ traveling alone to the interiors or lesser known places where nobody comes to receive/drop off her at railway station/bus-stops or accompanies her to find a decent place to stay.

What is the typical reaction of people you meet while traveling?

The most common question I have faced is “Which country are you from?” And believe me, it holds good in India as well, because in our country the words ‘Indian’, ‘woman’ and ‘solo’ don’t appear together so often. 

  

What are the most important things you pack when you are going out on a trip alone?

The most important things are always just three… Passport/photo identity proof, tickets and my wallet. Rest all can be managed if you’ve forgotten some of them.

But it is always better to pack as per your travel plan & schedule. I have written about the things I had packed for my 48 days solo backpacking trip to Malaysia & Thailand. Here is the link http://www.lemonicks.com/Travel/2010/03/10/the-things-i-am-carrying/

And no, I do not carry a pepper spray ! :)

Any suggestions for travelers especially women when they plan their first trip alone?

Again, there are many points. But my one line suggestion to them is “Be confident & alert, keep your family informed of your whereabouts and enjoy your trip”.

What are the advantages of traveling alone over traveling with family or friends?

For me traveling alone gives me freedom to decide on everything (food, places, activities, plans etc) and responsibility to own up to those decisions, good or bad.

I believe, traveling solo helps me building or enhancing my character. It shows me my strengths & weaknesses and challenges me to improve upon them. I can say, I am a much more confident person after every solo trip.

What are the disadvantages of traveling alone over traveling with family or friends?

Your question invites long answer again. There are many disadvantages but the most common disadvantage is lack of company. It takes a lot of courage and self belief to do solo traveling, especially if it stretches into weeks or months.

 *Questions and Answers are an excerpt of an interview with Nisha. Be sure and visit Nisha's blog.

My Five Favorite Books Are.....(variation of blogathon theme day)

If there was a group for Addicted Readers...I would have to join it. I would be the one standing up saying, "My name is....and I am a Readeraholic." So, to try and ask me what my favorite five books are? Well, that is next to impossible to determine; however, I'm up for any challenge....so let us give this a try....this will not be in order of preference....
 
1. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye is one of the my favorite. Where do you think my 'name' comes from ...Anjuli was the main character in "The Far Pavilions." Any other books by M.M. Kaye ...all her "Death in..." books are great!


2. The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell. This book starts out a  bit heavy and slow but as you get into you are lost in another world.  The reader gets a bit of geography lessons, history lessons and life lessons all rolled up in one book.

3. Trinity by Leon Uris. I read this book when I was in 9th grade and fell in love with it. It made me want to read all the rest of Leon Uris' books, which I did. Great history and human psyche played out in the pages of all his books.  




4. Hawaii by James A. Michener. When it comes to Michener's books, it is very difficult to choose which one I love the best. I've read every single one of them and I love all of them! I guess I chose Hawaii because it was the first one I had ever read. I was in 8th grade and I would go down to the Tanjong Bungah beach front in Penang and get totally lost in the book. It is no wonder when I graduated from High School I decided to spend one week in Hawaii on my way from Singapore to Los Angeles.

5. The Holy Bible. I have saved the best for last, remember the list was not in any particular order...but if it had been...this would have been first on my list! My all time favorite book...because I read it over and over again and it says something new to me each time.  You want history...it is there...you want drama...oh  boy, is it there...you want truth and life changes...definitely there! 


....phew...didn't think I would be able to do it...limiting myself to five top favorites...it was so tempting to go on with more.

Hold on Tight, Mr. Jeeves

“…was remembering us coming from Pokahara on the top of the bus and you reading PG Wodehouse to me...was good but pretty dangerous riding on the top!!!”
 
As I read this excerpt from my sister's letter, it brought back interesting memories-- my sister has been living in the Himalayan region for 36 years. It is always great to hear from her, but I especially enjoyed this letter because of her reference to the trip from Pokhara back down to Kathmandu. Suddenly twenty years were wiped away and I saw us with tickets in hand. We clambered on board the bus only to see goats everywhere, people squeezed three to a seat and no space for us unless we thought sitting on the floor would be an option. I looked down at my ticket and back at my sister; the situation didn’t faze her for one moment. 

She said, "Follow me!”
 
I stumbled off the bus, following after her as she zipped around to the back of the bus. She stopped suddenly and looked up. I followed her gaze and all I could see was the luggage rack on the top of the bus. I looked at her and looked back up at the rack and then back at her again, only to see her face plastered with a big grin. Before the words came out of her mouth, I somehow knew what she was going to say.

 

"We are going up there!"

 


I'm like…"WHERE???"

She was already climbing up the ladder and I followed her. We did the entire trip from Pokhara to Kathmandu on top of that bus. I was reading my P.G.Wodehouse book aloud to her as we both hung on to the railing for dear life. There were moments when the bus swung so close to the edge of the mountain that I thought we were going to be deposited down one of those deep ravines.

We made it safely down to Kathmandu and within a short time found ourselves on another trip. This time it was a train ride from Bihar to Calcutta. I’m not sure how the trains are set up in India today, but at that time there was a special compartment for women. It wasn’t very big but it had more comfort than the outer compartments. In the middle of the night, a man’s hand looped in through a small opening in the door. It appeared that some men had decided they were going to come and share the women's compartment. Shrieks of horror filled the compartment as the women attempted to keep the door shut. I’m not sure where my sister got the large pin that suddenly appeared in her hand, but she didn’t waste anytime lunging forward to keep the intruder at bay. Every time the offending hand tried to sneak through the hole in the door, it was promptly pricked with the pin. The women’s compartment resonated with cheers but I could hear some yelps coming from the men who had been pricked.

Standing with pin poised, my sister said, “Don’t worry everyone, go back to sleep, I’ll stand guard.”

I smiled, wishing I had brought another of my P.G. Wodehouse books to read to her as she stood guard.

Weddings

Weddings...weddings...weddings...this year seems to be full of them. We can't seem to get away from the royal wedding. First, they had to spend weeks talking about what it would be like. After endless discussions, they had the wedding and I thought it would be over but then they are determined to reshow the wedding and continue discussing every aspect. 

I have my own weddings to think of this year...both my daughters are getting married. No, it will not be a double wedding. They have opted to use the same location though. It is a treasure hidden away in the Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. The Clise Mansion makes me want to get married all over again- it is like stepping out of reality and into a Jane Austen novel. 

My youngest daughter loves the gates. When she first went to the mansion, the only thing she could speak of was the gates. The gates are just the beginning to the experience of the Clise Mansion. 
 
 The Mansion is actually an old country estate built in the early 1900s. As I walked through the empty rooms, I could envision furnishings in each room and it made me want to take up residence...but then I was there to check it out for my daughters not myself.


As far as a wedding location...great...great...great! Did I say it was great? It has ample space, it looks lovely and it is affordable. The last reason is my favorite. Have you priced wedding locations lately? When you add up all the plus, plus, plus, you want to faint. The nice thing about Clise Mansion is they let you know up front everything you need to pay for and what you don't need to pay for. The staff are all courteous and helpful.  Any wedding held at this location would feel like a royal wedding. It is no wonder we chose this location for both my daughters' weddings. 


*All pictures taken from Seattle Bride

And so it begins

Either I'm a lunatic or a glutton for punishment, I'm still trying to figure out which. I've chosen to join the blogathon at the busiest time of my life....or at least one of the busiest times. So I ask myself, why? I guess I have been very slack in blogging in recent months and I am hoping the practice of getting a blog post out there every day is going to put me back on track. 

What am I getting back on track to? Where has this blog been and where does it plan to go? I guess this blog, although often about travel and places is not a travel blog. Although I may write about people, it is not a biographical blog. So what exactly is it about? It is basically a blog about memories past and present...because after all what happens in our present becomes memories for our future. It is about people, places and phases in my life which made enough of an impact that I would want to remember them. Some not such great memories, but events which impacted my life in a way which changed me. Some great memories...great people I've come across who will forever leave a mark on me...some fabulous places which make me wish I could go back to visit again...some phases of my life which just seemed like heaven on earth. All memories which I want to record because as I get older my own memory is not as reliable and it is good to have some 'hard' evidence of what really happened.

This blog started long before the blogathon and most of my memories are stuffed back in the recesses of the beginnings of the blog. I will attempt to not repeat those memories during the 31 days of the blogathon. I hope to introduce some amazing people, fresh ideas and new places to the blog. I hope to jumpstart my brain a bit and maybe, just maybe, I can get back on track to regularly blogging again....we will see, won't we? :)

Dusted Off

The blog has been in 'storage' for the past few months. Life was way too busy for me to be consistently blogging. I simply transferred the entire blog to a new address and put it under private mode. I kept posting things which I wanted to have 'on file' but the posts have been random. Now, I'm hoping to take the blog out of storage and dust it off.

The annual blogathon is almost upon us and I hope this will be my incentive to write consistently. I'll be putting up the blogathon 2011 badge at the side of my blog and as of May 1st....zoom....it will be off I go!! 

In the meantime, I still need to keep juggling everything on my plate and hope nothing falls off. :)

A Pandora Life

What if life was like the Pandora music project? You could decide what "type" of life you wanted to live. Even when the life was 'plugged in' you still would be able to click 'thumbs down' if you didn't particularly like what was going on...or 'thumbs up' if you wanted a repeat performance of what you just did.

Ah, yes, life would be wonderful if we could choose with precision what we wanted or didn't want. Life would be so easy if we had the ability to vote against certain events. Somehow I think life would be so easy, we would not be forced to mature. 

It is often the curve balls which make us wake up. When our plans go out of whack, we are forced to put our minds to work and figure out what we are going to do. It is in those detours in life we often come across little miracles.

Even though we may never have a Pandora life, I think life is full of variety. I love life just the way it is!