Wanderlust!

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustav Flaubert

My dad used to take our family for vacation when we were kids. I would have been just 3 or 4 years old but I clearly remember our family trip to Kapad beach in Calicut. This beach is a few kilometers away from our house. We all went to the beach on dad's scooter (four of us on a Kinetic Honda scooter!), I remember my mom made noodles that day and she added prawns to it. This was done only on special occasions. There was an orange colored picnic basket, a beach towel and I remember Dad taking a snooze lying down on the rocks as well. I think this is the first memory I have of travelling. We have traveled to several cities in India. Summer vacations also meant a trip to my grandparents' place. The fact that I remember all this even now shows how much travelling can influence a child. The prospect of going for a vacation always make me very excited, the anticipation of uncertainty combined with the prospect of seeing new places and meeting new people are some of the reasons why I love travelling.

Growing up, I never stopped my love for travelling and would never miss an opportunity to hit the road. I was very happy when I realized that my life partner also shares the same if not a higher level of passion for travelling. My first trip with my husband was when we went for our honeymoon to Malaysia. I was nervous back then... Completely unsure of what an international travel would be and how to adjust with my husband. It's honeymoon, my thought was I should be perfect and look my best all the time.... Our first stop was at Langkawi. Such a beautiful and romantic place and for a minute I forgot about the need to be perfect. We checked in to the resort and minutes later we were out for sight seeing. Before the day ended I realized one thing - Justin doesn't care about how I look, he cares more about how I feel. Like all newlyweds, we also fought on our honeymoon, he said something silly and I got offended. I went out for a walk at the private beach close to the resort where we were staying. It was a beautiful night and sky was full of stars. Romance was back on! I have seen in the movies where the hero and heroine running on the beach and I thought that would be romantic. I insisted that we do the same. Justin was hesitant and I forced him saying its gonna be fun. So I started running and he was chasing me. Next thing I know, there was salt water and sand on my face. It took me a while to figure out that I had fallen flat on my face. I panicked and was struggling to get up. I thought my beloved husband would be freaking out thinking I might have got hurt. Again all the romantic scenes from movies where hero would take the heroine into his arms came rushing to my mind. I turned around and looked for Justin. There he was laughing his heart out, he actually was holding on to his tummy while laughing, it must have hurt laughing that much. I have never seen him laughing that much till date. Lo and behold....my new husband. I was infuriated but only for a minute, because it was hard not to laugh. I really did make a fool of myself. And that night became a landmark in our marriage, it was the day we became best friends and that incident was also the ice breaker of our honeymoon. It is the story we would remind each other every now then and we still laugh thinking about it. 

We had two more days at Langkawi and we went for island hopping tour, cable car ride, underwater world, mangrove tour before we headed out to Kuala Lumpur. It was Valentines's day then and it was also our first valentine's day as married couple. We spent the day in the city seeing various attractions including the Petronas tower, Central Market, China Town and Bukit Bintang. It was also the Chinese new year that day at Malaysia and we had a magical time celebrating it along with folks over there. There were fireworks, dragon dances, games and lots of merriment. 

Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and we managed to see most of Langakwi and Kuala Lampur in one week's time. Our trip helped to strengthen the bond we have as a couple and the foundation of our marriage was stronger than ever. We still have the same passion for travelling and by the looks of it, our little one is also following in our footsteps. Travelling can bring out the best and worst in a person and this happens because you are outside your comfort zone, you have to adjust with what you have and always be prepared to face unforeseen situations. And with our small road trips, we are trying to mold Elisha to this as well.