Deceptive perceptions

Year endings.....year beginnings

Times for reviews and recaps......and outlooks and resolutions

When I was asked about the year that was, while a few things came to mind, travel wasn't one of them. It's only when I was closing out my 2019 spreadsheet that I realized I had done quite a bit of travel after all, and just for that.....just for not even having realized it, it's worth recapping:

1. March '19 - Udaipur and Mount Abu with Mom: this was such a lovely trip, starting right from it's inspiration which came from Dhadak, a movie which as we were watching she casually said 'udaipur looks so nice, would be nice to go'. And go we did !

And this sterling board said it right 'holiday differently'. It was so lovely, that we reminiscence about it rather often too. 

2. April '19 - Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project: While this wasn't travel in the true sense, it was such an awesome trip, that it just had to come in here. Was great in terms of geography, geology, history in the making....walking through tunnels into which water would flow soon making it forever inaccessible after. Quite a momentous feel. Was a trip with Praveen, Dhruva and Diksha.

3. April '19 - Goa with Sujata : A wonderful week long trip that included so so many fun elements.....road trip to Goa, the art exhibition, laatori every day after the exhibition, a tattoo, longest walk on the beach, ferrying the car to divar island...and that list goes on

4. May '19 - Goa with Vishakha : If Goa with Sujata included so many different elements, this one was about the beach, walking, drinking, talking, walking, drinking, talking... that's all we did all three days. It was a we and us time.....simply beautiful

5. June '19 - Coimbatore with Deech : An impulsively planned road trip, a thing between Deech and me. And a first with a zoom car hire, which was quite the adventure, as this picture shows. Reached late, stormy weather....massive fun. Like diksha recalled the other day in some context 'some crazy stuff we've both done together' .

6. July '19 - Perth with Deech : The big one. Sending off Diksha into her dream career path, a wild life conservation program in Perth. This was again an intense trip, starting from a nail biting start of almost missing the flight, onto her settling into campus life, me in an air b&b, exploring Jundaloop........and coming back without her. (the picture in my air bnb...symbolizing the start of my living alone)

7. October '19 - Auroville by myself : A long standing desire fulfilled. I'd been wanting to do Auroville for a really long time, as also a solo trip and this fulfilled both. A place not just to see but to experien....,  this one was like appetizer. Was so fascinating, I know I want to go back.

In between all this was two trips to Bangalore.

A total of nine trips in twelve months....a nice enough number but more significantly quite a few new and not to not mention, adventurous experiences. It's the kind of widening of horizons that I simply love.

Now to see how 2020 doles out travel possibilities :)