Final Days of Vacation

The first week flew in Chennai. The second week went by meeting old friends and family in Bangalore. I cannot emphasize how much I love to catch up with old folks. Talking about the old times, meeting their family and kids, chatting about how busy life is now - it was a unique experience with each one of them. A meeting like that does not happen without both the parties taking interest and putting the extra effort to break from the daily routine to make it happen. I was happy that most of the 2 weeks went the way I hoped for, planned for.

Mini bullets of my observations:

• Of course, a trip without responsbilities is an experience to have. Not having to think about what to feed the kids and not having to worry whether they will fall sick was a relief.
• Catching up with relatives and friends was a bliss.
• Enjoyed eating out for 2 weeks until the bug caught me the third week in Trivandrum.
• Having to bid good-bye without eating Kerala Parotta in Trivandrum is a tragedy.
• Life is hectic everywhere - families with kids are running around restlessly - no time to breathe - be it US or India.
• One should be blessed to get a good servant maid - not that easy to get one and retain her!
• When you stress too much for something to happen, it just falls into place so easily and happens
• When you are so sure about something, you see it JUST does not happen.
• It is a thrilling feeling when you walk down a road you have not walked in ages and you are able to locate an old friend's home from your memories
• Different people retain different memories of the same time/age from the past and it is a delight to share them.

I will cherish the memories of this vacation for ever. To end the post, let me quote what Nikhil said over chat. When I land in Philly and he meets me - he said that is the happiest moment of my Ammahood! I was amused by the term he coined - Ammahood!

India Trip Planning Woes

Finalizing dates and airlines and booking tickets is already done. Now starts the planning for internal details of the big trip. I am going NUTS with this exercise now. I am sure some of you can surely identify with this.

We have to cover 3 cities in India in 3 weeks.
When to leave from City A to City B? Which flight? Numerous flight options.
How many days will we stay in City B?
When do we leave to City C? Flight? Train?
When do we go back to City A?
Will we have enough time to pack before we depart back to US?

This is the simple logistics part of the trip planning.

Then comes the fun trips options that are enticing and attractive.

"Last time, we went on the HouseBoat stay in Kumarakom in Kerela, it was great."
"My parents went to this resort. It is economical, not expensive as houseboat etc. And very relaxing"
There are resorts in City A and City B and City C. Equally tempting. Which one to book?

And the list of people I want to meet and things I want to do is endless.
I am a sucker for nostalgia. I probably value reliving memories more than anything else.
I want to meet all my old friends and classmates. Then there are relatives whom we get to meet only when we go like this. I want to visit my old school and college to relive memories and to show my 7 year old where I stood and sang school prayers and bore him with my 'veeragaathaa' (adventure stories).

How could I forget shopping clothes to expand my wardrobe for US Indian gatherings?

Not only do we have to meet with folks who live in India, but also there are close friends/relatives from US/elsewhere who will be vacationing in India at that SAME TIME. How nice is that..to be able to catch them there and spend sometime with them there. Yumm..tempting again!

The temptations are enticing and overwhelming. There is always the concern of whether we will get disappointed with the choices or decisions we made. It could easily turn fun to stress if we try to cram everything into the schedule. But what to give up? How do I set priorities? How do I say 'No' to some things?

Hmm..am I not enjoying this exercise, while I am cribbing? Daydreaming of doing this and that in India and planning for it - there is some thrill in this!