Eid Break

I did not know I liked traveling till I started doing so. As kids we traveled to Nainital and Mussourie and that was it. When I was an adult, I had a fortune of having a cousin getting married in Dubai, so we visited her place. When I was 23, my uncle decided to be brave and take all his nieces for a trip to the Far East. We had fun; I am sure he did NOT!

When we were getting married, the Boy's job was a tad uncertain. He was so worried about everything that we didn't even plan a honeymoon. A wise person told me that no matter what, you must go on a honeymoon. And so, I persuaded the Boy to atleast buy the tickets. Eventually we did manage to go with just our tickets in our hands and still Goa was perfect.

We were in India back then. Within 2 months of our wedding, we moved to Bahrain. This was a whole new experience for me. I was awe-struck with every aspect of a foreign country. Even though I had visited a few before, living in one was a totally new thing. For the first one year while we were discovering each other we ended up discovering the place as well!

Not only that, we went to Qatar and Kuwait in the process. The Boy worked in a consulting firm and his job required him to travel. He made sure he was given an extra ticket for my visit as well! I learnt how to live in hotel apartments and cook on one electric stove.

Our second holiday was to Ladakh. We initially thought of going to Kashmir but they had security concerns that time. And so, just on a whim, we went to Leh. It was a beautiful place but both me and the Boy had health problems there. When they say it is not for everyone, they are not lying.

Another trip to Dubai with free accommodation at the dear cousin’s place was made that year. Since this time I was with the Boy, the trip was more awesome. Very soon he changed his job and our travel map widened. He had more leaves and we had a little extra money to cover foreign locations.

Our first real trip abroad was France and Switzerland. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed that vacation. I think Europe is really God’s favorite child and He has showered all his blessings on that land. I loved Paris and Nice so much that I wish to spend half our old age there!!

We’ve been to Turkey, U.S.A., Austria, Greece, and Bangladesh after that. Every vacation has been like a dream that I wish never ended. The moment I enter a town I fear that time will fly very soon and I will have to go back home. But it is that fear that makes me love every moment of my journey and motivates me to do everything in my power to embark on the next one. Silly how we constantly need motivation to take life that way.

I’ve been reading tales of people who quit their jobs for the love of traveling. I am not sure how anyone can do that because it can really put your entire future in danger. I, too, believe in living life to the fullest but that doesn’t mean we should shun all responsibilities and go on a world tour!

Anyway, the grapes are sour this side. If I did have the money and security, I would spend all my life in different corners of the world! But since we are normal people with normal amount of security and money, we are just taking a small vacation. I’ll see you on the other side of this week when I come back from Cyprus. Wish me happiness!

Punjabi Takkar Dating Diary - Entry #8754

Like I’ve mentioned a few times before, I lived a comfortable life in my parent’s home for the first 26 years of my life. I did my schooling, graduation and then MBA from the city of Nawabs and lived like a princess! I was fortunate enough to be born in a well-to-do family and always had the luxury of a driver or my own car to move around. Life was easy and thankfully, still is.

Even then, my parents always taught me how to value money. I was given a meager pocket money and had to bear all my expenses through it. I was given Rs. 5000 a month to spend on my outings, do any shopping if needed, recharge my cell phone and refuel the car. My college was really far so most of the money was spent on petrol.

There was a time when the Boy had gone for a student exchange program to France for three months. The call rates were really high and had to be borne by me since he had already spent a lot of money in traveling abroad. I remember keeping the windows of my car open just so the vehicle will give a higher mileage and I will be able to buy extra recharge for my cell phone!

I was so afraid of being caught by my family that I was dating this guy that I used to get this recharge from several places. I was afraid that the recharge wala uncle will call my parents and let them know! Oh boy, I was scared of my family knowing!

We always dated at the most discreet of places. There was this restaurant at a remote location where none of my family members, friends or relatives could ever come. The location also suited the Boy because his college bus had a stop near-by and he could easily come there. The chicken biryani was modestly priced at Rs. 70 and made for the most sumptuous meal. We were students and living a cheap life!

I started writing this post because I wanted to tell about one particular incident which involved money. Since my father is a businessman, he hardly ever uses any debit/credit card, whereas the Boy and his family don’t use any cash. One time the Boy had to withdraw some money. The ATM was located right outside his college gate and so we stopped there for a bit. My eyes shone when I saw money coming out of a machine – it was such a new and exciting experience for me! The Boy started laughing and still reminds me of the incident. What’s more, I still have the receipt from my first time ever at the ATM!

I am still a princess though who uses the husband’s credit card and asks him to withdraw money whenever I have the need. I am still careful with money whenever we need to save. I still splurge on priorities and compromise on luxuries if I have to. I am grateful to God that He has given us enough, but I am more grateful that He has taught me to value my privileges.

Checking-in

Blah. That’s what I’ve been feeling since a few days, or should I say, weeks. There is so much happening in my real life that online life has taken a back seat. Now, ofcourse, I am no Salman Khan busy with promotions of loser of a movie called Bajrangi Bhaijaan, nor I am Mr. Modi aiming for 65 before 65 (countries, ofcourse), but I am a lazy housewife with, mind you, plenty to do!

So I fired a temporary housemaid because I felt she hated her job and was giving me an awful lot of stress. Firing is no easy task - I had to mince my words, be as kind as possible, and keep my mouth shut about the fact that she sucked. I didn’t want to do anything to her self-esteem, so I just lied and said I am going on a vacation.

Now this wasn’t a complete lie. I am indeed going for a vacation albeit for a week. There will be sun and sand and a whole lot of other stuff which would keep us happy for seven whole days in Cyprus. It’s an exotic destination. But then what do you do if you have already covered a lot of the famous ones. Ahem! No, no, I am not bragging. We just want to cover like 40 countries before we turn 40 and we have our list ready. Although Cyprus wasn’t a part of it, we made the list after we booked our vacation. So. Anyway. A vacation is a vacation is a vacation. I am EXCITED!!

Every time we go on a holiday we try to shed some weight before boarding that plane. This is just to stay fit and make sure that we eat to our hearts content while we are in a foreign land. These days our schedule runs tight. I do atleast one and a half hours of exercise. Now that needs a lot of rest in between for my amazingly feeble body. So, after finishing the daily chores and doing that workout, I chill the rest of the day! Ha! See I have a very valid excuse!!

And then we’ve been eating yummy salads to shed some more kgs. I’ve started making a delicious chicken salad that I actually crave for in the evenings. Whoever said that diet food was boring didn’t try searching the internet for recipes, and didn’t love his body. If you think you’re being cool by being a foodie, you also need to be health conscious to survive being one. I love food, but I love myself more. I wish people had a similar mantra.

Oh ya, this lecture will get over as soon as we are on the island of Cyprus! But that’s only for a week na, and we are prepared!

I also had a social anxiety disorder lately. After having a couple of glasses of wine, people change apparently. I did too. I became aggressive in my debates which I regretted the next morning. And since I hate confrontations so much, I don’t know how I will ever rectify my behaviour.

I could have had an altercation with a Muslim friend as well on the whole Gay marriage thing. But sanity prevailed and I didn’t say anything. I would rant here ofcourse. That deserves a whole post and post I shall.

Hope I keep reading and writing. I just like to read non-fiction and so I am reading blogs of prostitutes these days. They are very interesting to say the least. Google and hop onto one!

Much love!