Heyyy you guys! After a long hiatus, here's my new travel experience.
Last to last weekend, I was in Srilanka with my
elder sister and 4 of my cousins for a "cousin's trip" . To those who
don't know, my sister is engaged to be married soonly, on the 28th of november
2014 and before that, as the family tradition goes .. we had to have a trip
with cousins to help us bond better, and re-live the bride/groom last days as a
part of our family. Idk, who came up with this idea but i am so glad we do
this. And more importantly, I am lucky to have such fun cousins.
The destination decision started at coorg, then
munnar and it escalated to bangkok then finally somehow to SriLanka. The fact
that, Srilanka is where i spent a whole summer sort of clinched the deal. I'd
know where to chill, and would make a sound itinerary and plus, my sister
always wanted to visit the place. All set and done, off to srilanka we were!
:)
It is quite some feeling when you get to return
back to a place (which you called home BTW, for almost 2months) and do it
differently. This trip was so vastly different from my time here that its quite
astounding. It opened up my eyes and perspective to a whole new side of
colombo, which I wasn't exposed to during the course of my internship. It made
me think how every place has multiple facets attached to it and how its
important to know and appreciate it.
How was it so different, you might ask?
For one, I was doing this trip with my family and
as it is with most families, you do everything in style.
We travelled in
luxury, dined and wined at the finest and stayed at an amazing hotel and
worried about nothing.
Whereas, last summer I stuck to a budget. Travelled
like a local, ate just enough to get through and I had constantly something to
do, or plan. Barring weekends, i don't remember chilling at all .
Secondly, there is so much more autonomy in
your decisions. Like it ; do it. No questions asked or explanations required.
Eg : i remember getting off a bus in the middle of the journey to Yala national
park because we crossed tangalle beach and I just had to, had to go there. This sort of a thing ideally wouldn’t be
possible with a larger group.
I also realized while travelling, the more you are open to asking questions , the more you will be likely to make less mistakes. This realization came after we accidently boarded the wrong bus to Galle. What would take about 1hour 30 mins to complete, it took us quite the double time. My cousins were quite a sport, when I messed up.. but because when all the plans of a trip depends on you.. you just cannot screw up. It aint fair to others who travel with faith on you.
Apart from almost gatecrashing a srilankan wedding
that was taking place in our hotel.. my interaction with a local was NIL.
This trip, did not even leave me enough time to go
and meet my srilankan friends nor could I visit my school . INSTEAD I visited a
sparkling casino range called “BALLY’S” and p.s yess they permitted me and my
underage cousin aswell (so, hooray!).
Lazing by the pool, eating at the hotel’s multiple
dine-in options, going crazyyy partying, going bar-hopping, shopping for
flip-flops and souvenirs.. This trip was done truly like a pakka tourist :)
And i finally saw, why Sri Lanka was such a tourist
hotspot and why so many foreigners frequent this tiny isle. Warm people, lots of sunshine and lovely beaches. All this, and not very expensive either.
I am just so glad i got to do this trip so vastly differently. This place will always be so incredibly close to my heart. :')
Why? Hahaha, wait for my future blogposts.
P.s last weekend i went to andamans . That blog is coming up soon (well, as soon as i fix my phone. Pssh, don't ask! )
I have been so frantically busy ; what with my sister's bachelorette, to final year shenanigans, to my credit courses, to a plethora of other things.
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