How Traveling Taught Me the Importance of Small Things

Some people are born in just another universe. A child in one part of the world may be walking to fetch water for his family, while someone else in the developed world may be trekking to a mountain because he has not walked for a long time in a while. I was, although, born in an upper middle-class family, I never realized that I was taking many things for granted. I never gave it a thought to things that my father and mother would often get for me without questioning the need of it. Whenever I would ask for a toy, my father would make a cute face so that I urge him to get it for me, and then I would have it with me in a day or two. Similarly, when I grew up, my parents barely questioned me about where all my money went, perhaps because they had faith in me.

Education away from the city

Since I belonged to the small town of Karnataka, I had to move to Bangalore for higher studies. It was then that I realized for the first time that the food, clothes, and shelter that I always thought was mine actually belonged to my parents. I was merely a kid born with the virtue of having adorable parents who never let me feel the need for anything. People in Bangalore are nice, but the city is very expensive. While completing my college, I learned the importance of quality food, which I always got without asking at home. However, I had to struggle for every morsel of healthy food in this metropolitan. It changed me, for sure. I learned to value things.

Traveling with friends

I was too scared to ask for more money from my parents during college for my road trips because they were already spending exorbitant amounts for me. However, when I joined my first job in the same city where I studies, I was placed at a good salary package. Yet, I never gained the sense of valuing things since I had absorbed the important lessons in life.

Whenever I ordered food on the go, I would never ask for more food than I needed. While booking a room, I would never book an expensive hotel since I had the thoughts of volunteering for different causes wherever I traveled. That is why; when I was looking for Self-Drive Cars in Bangalore, I clubbed it with a volunteer program in Coorg so that I can make the most of my travel time.

Road trips with friends are indeed memorable, but I like to travel with friends who are not spendthrifts, but not misers either. I like wise spenders who do not waste money and other resources. Just because I have sorted out a few priorities in life, I am happy that I don’t have to worry for most things. I feel proud to state that life away from home has taught me highly valuable lessons.

How Travel Changed My Beliefs towards Judgmental People

Hailing from a conservative background is not easy; you have to take care of many things you actually do not care about. I used to be a hater; I would hate everyone who would not mind his or her business and peek into my life. I would hate every judgmental person who had something to say about everything I did. However, I started realizing that things were becoming too sour for me to bear. I was becoming a bitter person who would not want to indulge with people for the fear of being judged. And I had started becoming an anti-social person who liked to keep to himself, but traveling to different places saved me.

Ignoring the envy

It is not easy to ignore the envious people, especially when you have to deal with them daily. A number of colleagues were infamous in office for being too political and they kept gossiping about one person or the other. I tried to stay away for them, but I think I was an easy target for them. I abhor to admit it, but I was a meek person who would often get cornered by such people and they would mock me in front of everyone. However, I found my respite in solo travel, which has made me much confident than I was ever before.

While meeting different people in different places in India and abroad, I realized that not everyone is as bad as they seem. There are kind people who would give you the right advice without expecting anything from you. I had met a spiritual guru in Rishikesh who taught me about the value of smiling at everyone I met in office. He did not ask for any money from me, so there was no question of any monetary gain for him. He just fathomed that I was a troubled soul that needed unbiased guidance. It is because of him that I gained a bit of confidence to smile at everyone and disarm them whenever they spat out venom at me.

Ignorance is bliss when it comes to living in a society like India where people will poke you as much as you allow them. They want to know everything about you until you create some boundaries. Travel taught me to define the borders and never let people cross them even if it means being a little rude to them. A friend in Miami educated me to be subtle yet strong when it comes to warding off people.

Becoming social

Since the day I set off for my first solo vacation on the hills of Coorg, I have become more social than I had thought. Just like everyone else, I thought that solo travelers are anti-social people who cannot live a regular life. Yet, when I was looking for Self-Drive Cars in Bangalore with trembling hands, something inside me was screaming out loud that I was doing the right thing.

Solo travel gave me the confidence to be on my own, even when the wind is not in my favor. I tried calling my mom when I had a flat tire, but the thought of being so dependent stopped me. Even a mother or a family can be critical of you when you depend on them too much. I decided to tackle the situation myself and dealt with it successfully. The feat may not seem too significant for someone to consider, but it is certainly a big deal for a meek person like me. I am proud to say that I am an independent traveler, free from the negativity judgmental folks.

How My Visit to Bangalore Turned Out Hilarious

Sometimes, the vacations turn out unexpectedly funny, and my last trip to Bangalore turned out to be an absolute disaster. I had to travel last month for an urgent meeting in Bangalore because anybody else from office was not available for the same. Incidentally, it was my wife’s birthday at the same time and I was obviously not there in the city to be there with her. I had to apologize to her for not attending her important day.

While I was traveling around the city attending one meeting after another, I had to take care that I talk to my family at least twice a day because they would often worry about my health. My wife, Naina, would never miss a chance to ask me if I had proper sleep and food. I could not complain to her that living in Bangalore was miserable for me because of the cultural differences. Delhi is my place of birth, so it always feels great to be there at any day of life. I don’t like coming to Bangalore, more because of its traffic. However, the hill stations in the vicinity of this city are undeniably awesome. I go insane whenever I go to Coorg and other such places.

Anyway, Naina’s birthday fell on Thursday and I was packed with back-to-back meetings. I gave her my wishes on Wednesday night at twelve and received lots of love in return. Now came the part of wishing her online. I did not want to lag behind when everyone is wishing their spouses over Facebook and Instagram, so I posted a few photos and a few romantic quotes online to wish her. Let me mention that I took out time from the office schedule to do all this and waited for Naina’s reply. I hoped that she would reply to that post and call me whenever she sees the wishes.

I started getting notifications on that post when the entire family was wishing her because they got to know from Facebook that it was Naina’s birthday. Some of them even called her to wish. And the climax arrived when I received a call from her. I was expecting some kind words and I was already blushing, so I went out of the conference room. Thank God, I did.

She blurted out to me to remove the Facebook post immediately because she did not crave for any unwanted attention from people. She said that random people were wishing her birthday and she had to thank them for their wishes, even when she did not know many of them. I was speechless!

I had thought that I would make her day better by doing the least bit that I could. She said thanks to my gesture, but conveyed her no thanks. I did remove it immediately and returned to my meeting concerning Self Drive Car Rental Bangalore. Work is any day better than arguing with your spouse. Thank God I was traveling. Suddenly, Bangalore seemed pleasant than Delhi!

How My Dog Acts Smart While Traveling

I have never trained my dog, ever. Still, Bruno is smart enough to amaze me every time I am with him. It seems like he had taken some combat training even before he was born. I often hide his toys, but he finds them, every time without any hint from my side. He can find, as well as hide, my things as well. I often lose my stuff at home, and whenever I am frantically searching for them, Bruno brings them to me. I don’t know how he does it, but he knows what I want at what time, and he brings the thing right in front of me.

His schedule  

I was too careless to get him trained from a professional trainer, so I did the best of it on my own. Now whenever I tell Bruno that its bedtime, he would quickly go to my son’s room, and lie down on his bed. This Labrador is actually a caring creature. He would look at each member of my family with affection in his eyes every night as if he wants to thank us. During the entire day, I ask him to get ready for meals, and he starts jumping every time.

The walk

He has been to many trips with me. I have lived in many cities in India, and taken him almost everywhere with me. At home or wherever I am, whenever he feels like going for a run, he would bring his leash to me, and ask me to take him out. I am happy to do it for him most of the times, even if I am tired. However, whenever I don’t feel like going out of the house, he would never force me for it, and sit near me. He is happy to just lie down by my side and have a quiet time.

Possessive  

Bruno is very possessive about his family, and would never let anyone come near us, especially my younger daughter who is five years of age. He is highly protective when it comes to caring about her. We were at someone’s house once, and my friend wanted to carry Naina in her arms. She went near my daughter and asked her to jump in her arms. However, Bruno jumped between them faster than Naina, and looked angrily at my friend. Although he loves my friend as well, he did not want her to touch my little daughter. It gave a clear message that no one can harm Naina if Bruno is there.

The reasoned barking

It happens many times that Bruno barks at nothing, or at least I think so. However, it is never the meaningless bark; he has a reason for it every time. I just need to say, “Show it Bruno”, and he would lead me to the place that makes him bark. Mind you, I never taught him this thing. I had hired a Car Rental Bangalore once to go for a trip to the hills. As I was talking to the car delivery guy, Bruno started barking at the car. We both could not understand what was wrong with Bruno. I asked my baby to show me what had happened, and he led to the rear wheel of the car and started looking under it. There was a rat stuck in the back side of the car, and was crying for help. It would have died had I driven the car. I could not help but feel grateful to Bruno for detecting what none of us could see at that moment.