Yours Consciously Sneha

Tag: travel

I walked into a painting @ Kikili House

Color creates, enhances, changes, reveals and establishes the mood of the painting-Kiff Holland

Take a Canvas, spill some colors and swing it around! That’s how this place was made, in one of the very quiet roads in Galle. I stepped in with swollen legs, eyes craving for sleep and shoulders begging for some rest; restlessly I sat on the colorful couch lifting my head up; I could hear my shoulders screaming thank you, my eyes weren’t blinking watching the colors on the roof, my legs giggling by the tickle from the colors on the carpet.

Henri & Kokila swung these colors on 1^st August 2012 and called this painting as Kikili House. Kikili means Hen in Singhalese; each room is named after different species of Hen: Plymouth Rock, Orpington, Wali Kakula, Faverolle and Silky Bantom. Each color on every art in these rooms opens up to greet you with a smile.

Detailing at every corner is so neatly done; there is no place where the colors are spilled outside the line. From the curtain holders to the lid that covers a mug, from a kitchen with quirky posters to an open balcony with a calm place to do yoga, from a living room where the colors dance to the seat out where the colors romances with light!

Also, read A Guide to Galle/Unawatuna

Yummy breakfast at Kikili House!

Stroll around the Galle Fort, few minutes’ walk away from Kikili House.

Let the Kikili keep cackling brightening up the colors every day! Let the colors keep opening up and bring smiles to every soul that pass by!

*I was hosted by Kikili House, envy? Well, don’t, pack your bags and walk into this painting yourself!

Blooming…

Wild Flower

March 25, 2016
Wandering Memories in 2015!

We don’t remember days, we remember moments. –Cesare Pavese

I started 2015 in Mangalore lying on the terrace, watching the sky lit up with crackers, thoughts running through my head of few things that never worked as it was supposed to, still with a strong head I decided at that moment that I would be traveling to some place every month this year.

Slice of Heaven: Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur, most of my friends call it as my second home and also my first love that stands closer to me in many ways, this is the place where I went on my first solo trip. Love towards this place is so much; I have been here thrice in 2015. Why do I go here so often? I have no answer, which is why I call this place as my love. Mountains and greenery all around is such a treat that all the senses wake up to experience this beauty.

Highlights: First Solo Trip & a stay in tree house, Bumpy Jeep ride through Bhadra Forest, Jagara Waterfalls

Hidden Treasure: Valparai

I was experimenting with my travel type, I have never liked too crowded places; tourists spots is a no unless there is something exceptionally interesting. While I was thinking where to go next, one of my cousins had shared an article about this place Valparai. This place appeared like exactly the kind of place I was looking for, not commercialized yet and most importantly not so touristy either. I did a research, immediately packed my bags and left to explore this hidden treasure alone. Hanging out with the hosts, listening to the leopard spotting stories, midnight drive through the Ghats still hits a chill through my spine.

Highlights: Not commercialized, best Black Tea in the tea factory, beautiful bus ride through the Ghats

7 Days of Serendipity in Sri Lanka

Just over a random conversation with a friend of mine is how I decided to go to Sri Lanka, had I not gone on this trip I would have had a biggest regret of my life. This place has it all, from beaches to forest, waterfalls to lakes in every village, hill station to a calm city. I was all in love with this place since the first step I took after the flight landed; I knew that there is something that will be changed in me for good. Such nice and warm people here, who are always smiling and greeting you with joy which makes you, stay here for longer.

Highlights: So much greenery & so peaceful, Great Hospitality, Clean & Beautiful

Love you: Bangalore/Bengaluru

There is no such joy to be a traveler in your very own city, thanks to my friend who dropped by. There were many places which I hardly knew that existed here in Bangalore/Bengaluru. I was brought up here and I still remember seeing so many trees, awesome weather, so less traffic and now everything seems changing with only apartments, not so good weather and so much traffic where life decisions can be made.

Highlights: My own city so everything here is nice, super friendly people, yummy food

Take a Bow: Kerala

I visited Kerala twice in 2015, Alleppey & Kochi with a friend in September, and Solo Trip to Calicut and caught up with few friends in Wayanad. In Alleppey, Time just feels still; palm trees bowing at the back waters, house boat ride on those still waters just feels like even the time holds still to watch this beauty. There was nothing much I explored in Kochi due to time constraint, but Lulu mall was just an experience to see an amusement park inside the mall.

Like every time, traveling solo to any new place still is a bit scary; Calicut seemed scary too initially but I was totally lost with the places I tried to explore. Although, like I mentioned I do not like too crowded places or tourist places but what more a city can offer; however Calicut was always on my list as this is where Vasco Da Gama landed when he discovered the route to India through Ocean. Since the day I studied in school about him, I always had this wish to see this place. With so much excitement to have finally seen this place, I went towards the greener side of Kerala: Wayanad. Stayed in a place amidst coffee plantations, which was new to me as I always thought Wayanad had only tea.

Highlights: Beautiful Backwaters, city where Vasco Da Gama landed, Lush green everywhere

Blooming…

Wild Flower

February 14, 2016
Peekaboo with Nature: Bird of Paradise

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.-Henri Matisse

I took 15 days off from work before I officially resign, to work on my travel plans, to withdraw my insurance amount but I couldn’t stay for more than a day in a 4 sided wall! It is just a craving to be free from the monotonous schedule, got me into this: trekking in the forest in Sakleshpur, aroma of tea on one side & tasting coffee on the other in Chikmagalur and then here relishing the aroma of coffee flowers in Bird of Paradise, Coorg! Mr. Shivaprasad who owns this place purchased this land few years ago; being a florist and his love towards flowers made him to name this place after a flower. This flower looks a like species of Bird called “Bird of Paradise” and there goes the history behind the name.

This flower bloomed in the backyard of this small village called Kudumangalore in Kushalanagar and at the bank of Cauvery River. After 4 days of continuous traveling I needed a place to rejuvenate and this place had it all, from a river to a swimming pool & from an 80 years old cottage to a tree house. As I walk into this place it appeared like I was into a nature’s movie: birds chirping all around as the background music, hills as a backdrop, sun painting the sky as a colorful set, clouds forming patterns as artists.

Traditional meal: Akki Rotti & Pandi Curry for Dinner, Neer Dose with Honey, Chutney and Kadubu for Breakfast.

First things first, food here was so delicious I would save some and eat every few hours. Hospitality at its best, they were so kind to prepare whatever I asked for. I was so pampered as much as I would be pampered at home.

Tree houses are my weakness; I get pulled towards it in a jiffy. Mostly because they are always eco-friendly and it is so much of a unique experience to live with birds & squirrels. By far the biggest tree house I stayed in, Squirrels would squeak around to remind me that they live on the same tree too. I sit on the balcony in the tree house watching the sun behind clouds playing peekaboo, squirrels cuddling, pigeons hunting for food in paddy fields, cows moo at a distance.

Cauvery River flowing calmly with trees on both the sides, I stand here observing the silence of the water and my depth of Solitude amidst nature was only getting deeper and stronger. There was silence and so was peace, Solitude seemed so much like bliss! Water was flowing so freely not knowing where the destination is, I kept wondering is this the freedom I have been looking for too?

With the pinch of freedom that has already bit me for now, and with a little grin on my face; I went to chill in the pool that overlooked a big stretch of Bird of Paradise flowers, I lift my head and see flock of birds chirping & flying around, clouds forming unique patterns: I started naming each of them on the way they appeared: Octopus, Sea Horse. There was an eagle flying at a distance, Octopus was slowly sliding through while my good old friend Moon came to say hi!

My first time to see Coffee Flowers, they smell so delicious that just the aroma filled the craving I have for coffee. Honeybees were feeding themselves on these flowers by eating the nectar; those flowers were feeding my senses by spreading the aroma. Right opposite to these coffee plantations are the 80 years old bungalow and cottages, while the bungalow has been modernized a little, the cottages still holds the old charm.

Like I always mention my love towards old & antique pieces; this cottage appeared like a place where I just had to be. Red oxide seat outs in the portico, brick flooring, and tiled roofing; sure if they could speak I would have stayed here for days listening to the stories.

Guests by the cottage.

I again went by the river to read my favorite book dipping my feet in the water as fish swam to nibble my feet.

Took an evening walk in the village as sun sets behind the hill, ladies sitting by the door sharing gossips, kids completing their homework in the courtyard, firewood transferred on bullock cart, temple lit up for the evening prayers! All these are definitely not new to me, as most of my holidays as a kid was spent in my village. But everything still seemed new and fresh, place was new, people were new, experience was new. This is what traveling solo feels like; even if there is something old it still feels new and this is why I chose this life of being on the road.

*I was hosted by Bird of Paradise, seemed like I had also packed “luck” along in my backpack!

Blooming…

Wild Flower

February 7, 2016
Tea & some conversations in Chikmagalur: Megur Homestay

Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.-Gary Snyder

The house at a distance is the Homestay I stayed in.

Every time I am in Chikmagalur, it has always taken me to surprise! There is a charm about this place that keeps pulling me towards it, and yet again the charm is only getting brighter with more glitters-credit goes to the place I stayed in. Megur Homestay is located around Kelagur Tea & Coffee plantations, one of the rarest views to see both tea and coffee plantations together & that holds the main reason why I chose to stay here. It is not just coffee in Chikmagalur, tea & some conversations happen too!

Pepper & Oranges in the backyard of the Homestay around coffee plantations

Mr. Sudhakara Gowda owns Megur Homestay, an agriculturist, one of the oldest and proud natives of Chikmagalur. The zeal he has when he explains every detail on the places excites anyone to sit & listen to him. We were having conversations on how coffee was first brought to Chikmagalur or rather India itself, I only knew that Baba Budan bought the coffee beans while coming from Haj; who was also the first to introduce coffee in India. Later it was British who got the beans from Africa & few other countries to India, something else which I didn’t know was Cardamom & Pepper is native of Western Ghats too.

Woke up to the smell of tea from the closest tea factory, sipping coffee overlooking the mountains; my brain was wondering whether to enjoy the signal from my taste buds or the nose! We then took a morning walk around Tea plantations, mist was just clearing off and showing us the way, my eyes turned green seeing acres of tea leaves, mountains at a distance, coffee plantations peeping on the side. My host was sharing the pain of finding the labor lately as most of the local crowd move to cities for jobs & easy money. However they have also been seeing lot of migrants from Bihar, Orissa & few other parts from North who come here looking for jobs.

Well the two World’s most favorite drinks are Coffee & Tea; I was still very surprised to see both the plantations right opposite to each other. The dense landscape on the right corner are the coffee plantations, those are the trees grown around the plantations as coffee needs more shade. During rainy season the shade will be minimized by cutting the branch of the trees for the rain water to enter the plantations. On the other hand tea needs more sunlight and hence less trees around them, even if there are trees it would be trees like silver oak that’s seen in the picture which doesn’t give too much of shade for the plantations. Due to less rainfall, lately sprinklers are used in the tea plantations. I will remember this every time I sip coffee/tea hereafter.

With food everything is my favorite and Akki Rotti stands at the top, authentic Malanad food. Yet again, every meal I had here was very delicious along with the Fresh Orange Juice from the backyard 😉

Gadaayi Kallu is on the left corner, the one in the front is Kudremukh.

15 Kms drive from the Homestay is Rani Jari: A tale that happened 250 years ago when Ballalarayana Durga was invaded, it is said that Rani (Queen) was trying to escape & jumped off this cliff, hence the name Rani Jari. Rani Jari has the view of a hamlet in South Canara; it was amazing to see those hamlets with paddy fields & rubber plantations standing at a point of Chikmagalur district to Mangalore District. Hill on the left is Ballalarayana Durga, ruins of the fort still exists on top of this hill.

There is an ancient temple of Kala Bairava Swamy temple built by Balalla Raya. This temple is completely built only by stones & also some amazing carvings on those stones. While we were driving to Rani Jari we saw muster of peacocks, unfortunately couldn’t capture a picture then. We stopped over at a small waterfall amidst tea plantations, where again muster of these beautiful creatures were chilling by the water.

I was hosted by Megur Homestay, Luck I tell you!

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 29, 2016
Into the soul of a Forest: Hulivana
I love not man the less, but Nature more-Lord Byron

I saw this rugged jeep parked in the side, acting cranky to start. I was walking around checking out the mountains, glancing at the jeep every now & then. He was whispering something to me, I went closer & he said. Take a deep breath, sit up straight, and open up all your senses as you may not be able to do this when I take you for a ride. It was a 10 Kms off road drive through the forest on the rocks, passing the trees, mountains all around. Sunil parked the jeep at one corner and said the white dot up there, which is where we are going to. Right there, at that moment I was just telling to myself, days of research poured in finding a place like this was just more than the worth of my time.

Sunil hails from Bangalore/Bengaluru who found this property few years ago in Sakleshpur after a continuous research & traveling all across south India looking for a place like this. He is a certified River Rafter, Scuba Diver, Sky diver and what not; who has traveled to many places across the world and has immense knowledge of birds, trees and animals. 80 years ago, this place was always spotted by herd of tigers and hence the villagers named it Hulibana (Huli is Tiger and Bana is to meet); Sunil didn’t want the history to be changed and retained the same name; in the interest of travelers to understand it better he named it Hulivana.

Villas here are built by the rocks found in forest, mostly by the water stream. Sunil was explaining on how difficult it was to construct the villas by carving the stone to the right shape and have them fit in the right place. Room in the Villa opens up to two French windows on the side and in the front with the view of trees & water stream, wooden flooring and also a fire place inside. Wash room is one of its kinds with pebble flooring & electricity here is generated with hydro turbine during monsoon when there is more current in the water.

Dining hall overlooking the mountains, a place to also have some coffee & conversations.

Heaven for foodies with different varieties of food in every meal I ate, was also served with traditional Malanad Kadubu with chutney and beautifully presented water melon.

Hammocks to read or to take a nap or to gaze at the trees or to just listen to water stream, just on the perfect place.

I had this quest to get into a forest alone, never thought I would have it conquered this soon; all thanks to Hulivana setup here. We took a short walk towards a water stream close by, Sunil mentioned about civet cats & I was all excited to see them. I stayed here alone for some time, finally spotted a civet cat for the first time in India (shy animal I must say, as soon as the cat spotted me; he ran away) I had the place to all myself, to sit, to meditate, to think, to dance, to sleep. Although there was fear of elephants passing by, I was just watching these unique creatures: Water Striders who walk on water continuously creating ripples in water.

Later in the evening, we went for a short trek around Ettina Bhuja (Back bone of a bull as the shape of the hill looks like it), I saw an olive green colored scorpion, and excited again as he was my first visitor too. Mesmerized by the view of 360 degrees of mountains everywhere which was topped with thick dense Kabinala forest, the slopes looked like slides connecting from one to other; I just wish I had the power to slide over from one mountain to other one. We sat down discussing the crazy elephant chase stories that has happened around these places and then spotted this bird called “Shikara” which would hover in one place against the wind for few seconds and then keep flying, hover and fly.

Breeze was churning up my bones, somewhere deep in the forest I could hear water rushing through, Sun was getting prepared to slide through those mountains, it was amazing to see the mix of color change on the sky & the hill top. We headed back where fire flies were throwing the light all around and moon was pouring the light from the top. Coffee & Popcorn was waiting for me in a moon lit sky, I have to mention about the hospitality here. Everything was very well organized; from the day email hit my inbox on the confirmation of availability to me reaching my next destination safely.

Bonfire setup!

Over coffee, Sunil was talking about this drink prepared by locals using Jaggery & a seasonal fruit; I just couldn’t deny tasting it. Later in the night by the bonfire, I took the first sip and I knew this would give some buzz around; we started sharing our travel stories. Sunil shared about his stories from seeing dead bodies floating in Rishikesh to his adventurous trek in Himalayas. With the little buzz in my head, all these stories were circulating around me virtually!

Early morning view through the window!

Woke up with the noise of water stream passing by the room which felt like a virtual massage running through my veins from head to toe, chill breeze sliding through the window which made me snuggle under the blanket gazing at those French windows looking at the trees.

Headed for a trek to Deepada Kallu (Deepa is lamp & Kallu is Stone: as the hill looks like a lamp) and Jenukallu gudda (Jenu is honey, kallu is stone & gudda is hill), seemed like there was a thunder storm coming up and the first step I took, there was a drop on my forehead. Every step I take I had to photograph every corner of this place, sun just didn’t want to come out and was playing around with the clouds and the hills. Looked like an ocean of endless mountains, bed of thick forest on them, I just wanted to float on that bed and snuggle under the rug of those clouds.

Clouds were on a war to pour rain,

I did feel a drop on my brain.

I looked at them & said, not today; pretty please?

They were too nice to me & got into peace.

Instead sun was peeping out shedding the ray,

it was such a memorable day.

Cold war seems to be over in blink of an eye,

People ask me why I travel, and this is why!

These are “Shola”, patches of trees that grow amidst the valleys surrounded by grasslands; they are found in only few specific areas in Western Ghats & nowhere else in the world! When it rains water accumulates in the valley which leads to the growth of these trees, these trees hold the moisture & remains green all through the year!

We then trekked upto Jenukallu gudda which is at the height of 4500 feet, first steeped mountain I have climbed on. Fear of heights to turn back, slippery stones, and grass to hold on which can even come out if you held it harder. Totally worth the entire struggle to be on top to see the view of cone shaped mountains, clouds covering them, sunlight spraying the sprinklers; 2 eyes were just not enough to enjoy this beauty & neither these words are enough to describe them.

Sipping a cup of coffee watching the hills around and the thickest of forest, my lungs were all cleansed with the fresh air that got in. I have said this before in my earlier post on Chikmagalur & will say it again, whenever I come to Western Ghats, I feel there is still lots of hope for nature to remain the way it is and this is what pulls me to come to this place again & again & again.

Deep in a rain forest they say, even deeper into the soul of a forest I would say!

Add this to your list of the place that you need to see before you die, you wouldn’t regret! Trust me.

Some facts about Animals & Insects Sunil shared:
1. Elephants: Post monsoon elephants go through some hormonal changes which lead to pressure in their brain that gets them disturbed to attack human beings. Mostly seen on male elephants but are common on female as well.
2. Fireflies: There are many kinds of fire flies which can be distinguished by the pattern of the way they shed the light. Say there were 2 kinds of fire flies with Bigger & Smaller patterns: Bigger one changes themselves to a smaller one and goes near smaller like mating and eats them as prey. Smaller one change themselves to bigger one, goes closer near bigger one & mate. Confused? Read again, Confused again? Keep reading. I had to ask 2 times to understand the process 😉
3. Cicadas: These insects that make noise in the night, gets all together of more than 100 which almost sounds like somebody is screaming, the noise is so loud they have a membrane in their ear that covers automatically. God’s a little too partial to them, isn’t it 😉
4. Honey Bee: Since honey bees sting is barbed, when the bee stings a mammal & pulled out it tears its abdomen & causes immediate death.
5. Water Strider: These unique creatures that walk on water gets attracted to ripples formed on water, when an insect falls and creates a ripple that is when these striders hunt them & eat.
When a Wild Flower spotted another Wild Flower.

*I was hosted by Hulivana; luck was all on my plate!

Blooming…

Wild Flower
January 25, 2016
A Dessert: Wayanad

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks-John Muir

Having a mind that always wanders, itchy feet which cannot stay in one place; Kozhikode/Calicut was just not enough so I had decided to go to Wayanad after my friend’s engagement. I have been to Wayanad a few years ago and I know there would be still a lot more than I wouldn’t have explored.

When I was researching about Kozhikode/Calicut, Tusharagiri Falls caught my attention as there were 3 waterfalls on the same trek. It was on the same route that we were driving in from Kozhikode/Calicut to Wayanad and I couldn’t say no. As we were driving to falls, I saw these tall trees with a cup-tied at the bottom. I asked my driver and he said those are rubber plantations, it was my first time to see them. Facts of Rubber Plantation in Kerala: The first rubber plantation in India was set up in 1895 in Kerala, Kerala is still the highest producer of natural rubber in India, rubber is made out of the liquid(latex) obtained from these rubber trees. Each of these trees is tied with a cup at the bottom where the latex is stored.

The first waterfall is called Eerattumukku, the Second one is called Mazhavilchattam and the Third one is Thumbithullum Para. Although there was hardly any water in all these 3 falls and was mostly filled by locals, the trek through the forest was a memorable one. Absolute silence among the trees, birds chirping here and there, noise of water sliding through this silence, staircase formed through the roots of the trees; my itchy feet was finally dancing with joy.

Also read: Still Water | Still Time: Alleppey

The journey from Kozhikode/Calicut to Wayanad was one beautiful road opening up to mountains on both the ends, watching the sunset on the move, sliding the window pane to get some fresh air which I always crave for and now my mind that wanders was finally dancing with joy.

Also read: A city with Spice: Kochi!

I stayed in Coffea Aroma along with 2 of my friends; the name of this place was a catch as I always thought Wayanad has only tea. 5 Kms drive from the main road in the Jeep brings you to this unique place located amidst coffee plantations. As soon as we entered, we were greeted with the music of water passing around, coffee plantations surrounding us, hills at a distance waving at us, was a soothing experience staying here. As most of the major waterfall is usually filled with locals/tourists, it’s a blessing to have a private waterfall in here.

About 5 Kms from here is the Chembra peak, when I decided to trek here all I heard was it takes about 3-4 hours (2.5 kms one side) to climb up which was even more exciting. It is mandatory to take a guide along while you go here for trekking and for my luck I found a guide who could speak Kannada. Have been to Kerala many times earlier and this is the first time ever to find someone who can speak Kannada so fluently, thanks, Chandan! This is why I like traveling; never know what is in store for you. Every step you take is an adventure, every moment is filled with surprises, and every decision brings you happiness.

Chandan is a BA student who is working as a part-timer guide during his holidays and also a native who lives in a village around Chembra Peak. We were climbing up through the forest having conversations about studies, wild animals, and my blog. Sunlight would prick eyes to slow down and I wouldn’t want to give up reaching the peak, we reached in 50 minutes and Chandan was all happy that he could go home soon.

Standing up in this peak where even sky seems reachable, mountains are just a piece of cake, the breeze was the icing and the naturally formed heart-shaped lake on the hill was the cherry. I sat on a rock watching the hills, opened my book to write and the flow just went by; solitude at its best while nature was in rest.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 20, 2016
Discover Yourself in Calicut/Kozhikode!

I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living.- Vasco Da Gama

Vasco Da Gama was the first to discover the route to India through ocean landing in Calicut on 20^th May 1498. This was the line I remember studying in school and the only thing I knew about Calicut, while I was talking to my colleague about going to Calicut he mentioned about Vasco Da Gama. I instantly went back to my school days, history was one of the subjects that I never liked much, but I still remember studying about Vasco Da Gama and I was all excited to know more about him. I have admired him and would wonder the struggle he had to go through to find the route through ocean back in 1498.

Although traveling to any city doesn’t excite me much, I had to land here for one my friend’s engagement. Finally with plenty of research, found about this village called Elathur which is about 10 Kms from Calicut. There is a canal that runs through this village; I spoke to few locals there who live on the income that comes from fishing.

About 5 Kms from here is the Kappad beach where Vasco Da Gama landed, there is an ancient temple which is supposed to be older before Vasco Da Gama landed here. As per the locals, it is 800 years old, I was standing here and gazing at the beach. I then closely observed that there is a heart-shaped formation on the sand. Was the nature telling me that they love me too?

For my next long travel, I have been thinking to travel only through the ocean. Never had I thought, Vasco Da Gama would be another inspiration. If he could do it 600 years ago why can’t I do it now? This is what travel teaches you, you would never know where and whose story would inspire you to keep going, keep achieving, and keep inspiring.

I had read somewhere that there is a monument showcasing Vasco Da Gama’s discovery, I should admit that I was a little disappointed with this monument which almost went unseen even after passing twice on the same road unless someone pointed to me that was the monument. If you are excited and curious to know about this monument too, don’t be. Here it is!

A little disappointment, more inspiration, more excitement; with all the mixed feelings in the brain I headed towards Beypore Fort, another beach closer to the city has two piers built till the middle of the ocean. The two old piers opening arms till mid of the ocean, waves coming over with the rush to hug them, the sun getting a little jealous watching their romance! I need not say more, no wonder Beypore Fort is one of the romantic getaways!

Sun had already set by the time I reached there and had left the traces in the sky that he was there and had just left. There were too many people around me and I was still all alone connecting to the waves, sensing the vibration in my nerves, eyes opening up widely to gaze at the brightly lit sky. I guess that’s the difference between nature and people, nature would always connect with you: however you are, wherever you are, whatever you are.

After such relishing meal filling my eyes with beach and sunset, I had to close it with a dessert and went to the SM Street to taste the very famous Kozhikode Halwa available in different colors/flavors.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 14, 2016
Hello! 2016, How you doing?

Fight your fears and you’ll be in Battle forever; Face your fears and you’ll be Free forever-Lucas Jonkman

Brewery called District 6 in Bangalore/Bengaluru

Started with New Year’s Eve at my home working on a blog post about the city I grew up in with beer and wine giving me company, on New Year’s rode about 35 KM’s to a brewery alone just to tick off the list that I have been to all the brewery’s in my city. 2 days have been passed since then while I am penning this post, I haven’t stepped out of my house and neither the sun nor the moon has seen me. I have just been on the bed without taking a shower, going through my favorite blog post of Shivya Nath, watching my favorite series friends, listening to some music, binging on Beer, Wine, coffee, and whatnot, working on some plan, taking a nap and the plan changes again.

Trying to shell some thought in Kappad Beach

Most of you who are following my blog posts already know that I am quitting my job to be a nomad; well it is not that easy it sounds. So I had a plan to make a plan during this holiday season and most of them who know me personally also know that I don’t like planning any of my future plans. It has always the Unplanned Plans that has worked for me. So this is where I need to have a fight with my brain, with long-term travel plans ahead I need to make a plan but my tiny brain doesn’t let me to.

My itchy feet took me to Tusharagiri Falls in Kozhikode/Calicut

In my unwary situations like these, I tend to share the rant with few of my friends. Sometimes, whom you expect to be more supportive would not even bother much and sometimes whom you least expect to be with you will open their arms to vent out. There are also some unexpected strangers from nowhere send me messages saying they love what I am doing and that is what keeps me motivated to keep going.

Solitude in Tusharagiri Falls

I have also received sarcastic comments from my friends about my unplanned schedule all the time, but I guess that is how it works mostly for Indians. When they travel they need to know which place they need to go maybe few months in advance, book a flight ticket even earlier as it will be cheaper and a lot more reasons. Well, for me traveling has always been an instinctive decision. I can’t randomly choose a place with 3-night 4-day packages and book a ticket, I would rather go to a place and stay how many days ever I want to if I like the place.

Little Adam’s Peak in Ella

When I was in Ella in Sri Lanka, I had 2 more days left to get back to India. I really wanted to visit Galle but I had to take a 7-hour bus to reach Galle and would just have 3 hours left to see around Galle and head back to Colombo to catch my flight back to India. I did not do this as just seeing a place for few hours was not exciting, I rather chose to stay in Ella and hung out in a local bar with the awesome Sri Lankan people and few other friends I met there.

View through the tire, not my lens!

Sometimes there are tears in my eyes that nothing is going well, most of the times a big smile on my face that this too shall pass and I will definitely come out of this situation very soon. If the ride is not bumpy, where is the all the fun right?

So, exactly on the 61^st day from now, I would be leaving my job! Yay! And step Into the wild! Anybody has the same plan like me, do drop a comment below 🙂

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 3, 2016
2015: Good, Bad & Ugly!

When Hope fails, Faith holds Strong- Sneha Marappa

Something that I had never ever thought that I would attempt it is “Blogging”, even though 2015 did not start really well but it did teach me a lot! Learnt a lot about myself and how to value me more and that is where all the happiness lies in! Thank you all for the support so far, I am taking a big leap in 2016 and I hope it is going to be good! 🙂

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 650 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 11 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

December 31, 2015
It’s never too late! Confession from a confused mind.

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears-Les Brown

A Little about this confused soul!

I am Sneha from Bangalore/Bengaluru, India; 28 years, 3 months, 13 days old! BCA, MBA by education as instructed by parents & relatives, 6 years’ in a corporate life as instructed by parents & relatives, a would be nomad in the next few months as instructed by my intuition. On how my life is going to be was already pre-decided by my parents, study well and score “good” marks, get a “good” secured job, earn “good” money, find a “good” boy (oh not by me, parents again & of course how can I miss my relatives), get married to the same old “good” boy, have “good” kids and yes this “good” cycle continues! I was not against it as I thought that is how it is supposed to be and neither do I blame my parents because that is how they are taught to be.

Even though I was fairly “good” at studies, I was mostly keen on wandering outside than being inside a room mugging up answers. I have always wanted to be a dancer or to be in any sport, as typical Indian parents I was not really encouraged much in what I thought I was “good” at and was pushed into what they thought I was “good” at! Other than studies, everything else was just an extra activity; I don’t blame them, as they think the “other activities” is not secure to give a fixed income every month for us to live.

A Little about this confused job!

While I decided to pen about this post I realized it has been about 6 years since I have been in a corporate life, 11^th November 2009 is when I stepped in. Right after few months after I joined my first job, I understood that this will definitely not be something that I would like doing for long. I have changed 3 companies in the past 6 years, even though I knew this is not for me I was not ready to take the leap from the comfort zone, the fact of money hitting the bank account every month, traveling to few places in a year, some “good” friends, some “good” food in some “good” restaurants couple of times in a month is all that I “wanted”.

But I also knew one day I would definitely leave this job and do what I like doing and had decided if I am leaving this 3^rd job I wouldn’t be getting into a corporate life again. While I was in this 3^rd job is when I lost the most important person in my life; during this phase is when I realized life is just too short for us to always keep worrying about the materialistic things that we think that makes us happy, there is definitely something more. I read this somewhere, we are not born just to pay bills and die. Death is inevitable but life isn’t. Right?

A Little about this Confused Decision!

And now when it goes to what I like, the list can even reach another corner of the world. I like dancing so should I be a dancer, I like acting so should I be an actress, I like dressing up so should I be in fashion, I like Basket Ball so should I start playing Basket Ball, I like singing so should I be a singer, I like Martial Arts so should I learn a Martial Art, I like organizing events so should I be in Event management, I like cooking so should I be a chef, I love traveling so should I be a traveler.

So honestly, I did give a try in almost everything that I have mentioned above trying to figure out what is that which really made me happy and kept me going. Not like I was bad at it or it didn’t keep me happy but I couldn’t hold on to any of the above mentioned for long. It was just like those instant mixes you get in the market, was just easy to cook but wouldn’t taste so yummy like when you actually cook it yourself. This is when I realized the difference between what you “think” you really love doing and what is that you “actually” love doing! It took me few months to understand that traveling is the only thing that has kept me going, that has made me happy, that has made me strong, that has made me forget all my worries, that has made me who I am now! For those who have watched HIMYM can understand what I am referring to, one of my favorite phrase from Ted Mosby: You can ask the universe for signs all you want. But ultimately, we only see when we are ready to see it.

I have traveled many times before, mostly with friends and I started with solo travel early this year. But the solo trip I took to Sri Lanka, places I visited, the people I met, changed my whole perspective towards traveling. This is where I realized what I really need, those 7 days I did what I liked doing. I was happy, I was not stressed, I was me, I didn’t have to fake smiles in front of the mountains, I didn’t have to show my frowned face in front of the beach, I didn’t need an ID card to access nature, I didn’t need meetings set up to talk to blue sky and clouds.

A Little on the Confused Time!

Have already lost 6 years in doing a job that I don’t like, lots have been learned around this time. Have lost someone who can never come back, have lost someone who doesn’t want to come back, have lost someone who wants to and still will not come back. But thanks to all these people, they made me who I am now. Even though I have tears now while typing this thinking about them, they have still made me much stronger than I was 6 years ago! So I have decided not to crib about wasting these 6 years and admit that it was a lesson learned, I am glad that I at least realized now on what I want to do. So yeah, it is never too late.

Kudos to people who can make instant decisions, I cannot whenever I have it has never worked well so I prefer to take time, take as much as time possible in the decisions that are going to change a lot in your life than the routine. I took few months to come to this decision, in those few months I was hardly going out and meeting my friends. Every penny I spend I would think twice if it is really needed (of course excluding Shopping), I have a lot of friends whom I would chat with every day, I tried to reduce that, spent most of the time with myself. All the days: during work, after work, during weekends; I would mostly spend understanding the reason behind me quitting the job and if it is worth it.

Read a lot about traveling, traveling solo, holding an Indian passport how difficult it is to travel to other countries, traveling alone as a girl on how cautious should I be, is there any way I can sustain before coming back and bumping my head again with the laptop and with a job I don’t like. So yes everything takes time, it is never too late.

A Little about this Confused Money!

Money! Everybody needs this, nobody says no to it. I do not have any savings so I was really worried about how to carry on with my decision, which is when LIC hit my mind. I have decided to withdraw the LIC amount to fund my travels for few months, yeah of course including you lot of people called me crazy. I have already decided to risk my life so I thought it doesn’t make sense to secure my “risky life” with the insurance.

Now where to go, what to do, how many days or months, what do I do with more than 2 wardrobes of clothes and accessories, I still do not know. All I know is my decision is firm and I am quitting my job and I am ready to step out of my comfort zone. (About going with LIC amount, think as many times as you want and decide)

A Little about this confused Fear!

I am still scared, very scared with this decision. I have sleepless nights, heart beats even more faster than it should, mind goes blank with absolutely no thoughts on what I would be doing but when I think of the job that I am doing and when I know I wouldn’t be liking to do it again! I also know if I don’t quit now, I would never do and end up regretting my entire life that I had a chance once and blew it! I would rather take the risk than sit and crib in my cubicle!

Even now while writing this it still scares me, what If I have to come back again and do all of this which I have been whining about! But somewhere something screams that I atleast tried, yes I atleast tried to do what I like to do! Although travelling and doing something related to travel has always been on the top list, I didn’t want to take a chance by starting with the travel blog initially as I wasn’t sure how long can I sustain with writing as my attention span is too less towards writing and reading. I am still surprised on how I am still holding to write for this long! The best surprises you get in your life can be by only you, isn’t it?

Again a favorite line by Ted Mosby from HIMYM, If you are not scared, you are not taking a chance. And if you are not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing?

A Little Inspiration from this Confused Soul!

When things were not falling in place like I wanted, I was really upset that I would never get what I want. But if I sit now and think about all those things that didn’t fall in place, if it would have then I wouldn’t have be living this life the way I had dreamt of. I have been following few travel blogs from many years, watching lots of videos of successful people, spent few days on bed by just staring at the ceiling waiting for something to happen, have listened to many inspiring songs and movies! Whenever I have read or watched or listened something that would inspire, it would last for few days sometimes and I would get back to square one. So until you find what you want to do, others who around you would never be able to help! Only you can help yourselves to understand what you want, because only you would know about you more than anybody else.

I never thought I would get into writing, not like I am great with it but I had no hopes that I will sustain for this long and I had never ever thought that I would spend time on writing. So getting to know what you like doing is a tough thing, you might have thought about something that you would be really bad at but just give a try! Never know, you might excel in it! You are the best gift to yourself and you never know how well you can surprise yourself!

A Little advise from this Confused Soul!

Want & Need! I still remember in school we were taught on what the difference between want and need is. Just to brush up with it, Sneha has a moped which she uses to commute around every day(Need), she realizes she had a childhood dream of riding a motor bike and she wants it now (Want). Not like none of us know what this means, but we always tend to concentrate mostly on what we want. Want only results in too much of greed and unhappiness. Why I wanted to share this is, all these years I have been fooled by this want, the more you feed the want the more you get greed.

I was really excited few months ago and booked a Royal Enfield. Just when I was clear about my decision of traveling is when I had to cancel it with almost tears in my eyes. Motor Bike was just a “want”, not a “need”. If I wouldn’t have decided to take this chance now, maybe I never will. I would just be staring at the basketball court like I am doing now instead of playing, I would just be watching the dance shows instead of dancing and I would just be watching travelers and reading about them instead of traveling. Have written this to keep inspiring myself not to “quit on the decision of me quitting the job” and also for all the confused souls like me to get inspired; just get out and do what you love doing!

I am gonna bury my confused soul and say rest in peace and head out to feed my other soul filled with wanderlust and add some wings! Wish me luck!

If you are reading this line, thank you for your patience to go through the torture about me whining about my confused soul!

If you have got irritated and just scrolled down, one of my favorite illustrators Alicia Souza beautifully describes on how you to live your dream!

I was always in confusion to understand who are you,

sorry for such a long due.

This life’s journey has been a roller coaster ride,

sometimes rough & sometimes smooth like a tide.

You are a dream that I am coming to explore,

hope you unfold yourself & welcome me more & more.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

December 13, 2015