roam rome

i feel

relieved
happy

and i feel like my friend lyons (the bird in the picture)

Episode 1: Mumbai – Istanbul - Rome

LOST! – 2 brown skin girls in Europe
A mini-adventure series starring me & Tan

Episode 1: Mumbai – Istanbul - Rome

Mumbai, 2;30 am IST, 10 /5/2008

I am sitting at the Mumbai International airport, immigration checks all done. And I am super excited as one can be. It is my first solo trip to Europe. It was my dream and today I am on the way to achieving it. Still got an hour and half to leave this country, so till then bear with me.

Well the evening started with a relaxed goodbye-have-a-blast-dinner at Six Degrees. For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s at the Leela’s in Mumbai. Freaking expensive (thank God I dint have to pay for it :P), but I so enjoyed this time spent together, considering I would be away for the next 35 days without anybody stalking me :).

We then met up with the Don, and together these boys dropped me to the airport, not before we had a quick spin and grabbed some more food to eat at a Dabba. Then these boys gave me a scare of my life, saying that they forgot my bag at the hotel! Shit! They were kidding. Not funny!!!

Made our way to the airport again, got lost and found tan. So it was the goodbyes then. :( I do not like goodbyes and with my family not there to bade my bye on this super exciting journey I am about to embark on, these boys are all that I got. And, am extremely thankful for the same. Will miss u, stalker…

From here on it’s the usual shit the make you go through. And there are damn huge mosquitoes in the airport! And they are biting my brown skin.

Ok cool its time for my flight, Turkish Airlines here I come. Bye bye Mumbai!
I have no memories of my journey across the skies. I was out as cockroach, or so my buddies would say.


Istanbul Airport, Turkey, 11.15 am Turkish Time, 10 /5/2008

(Applause)

Tanaya sets afoot on foreign soil for the first time & … she felt cold! For all of you wondering who is Tanaya aka Tan, well she is my colleague at work and a good friend and a person who had the misfortune to be my travelling partner.

I for a matter of fact, couldn’t care less. I wanted to spot the Turkish GP circuit. My head is hurting as hell. I am super hungry, and other than freshening up, other than sleeping, all I wanna do is eat.

And amazingly I am homesick! We are trapped for the next 6 hours at Istanbul International Airport.

So with nothing better to do, we eat. I just spent some 12-11E on food!!! Everything is expensive and its not even day 1. But I am lovin’ it! And here are some lines I came up with while drowning down my lunch.

So many faces
So many different nationalities
Yet we come together in one place
Everybody has a place to go
Everybody has to destination they must reach
And then there’s me
Who wants to see
David, the Monalisa & the Sistine Chapel
as far as my eyes will allow me to see

The next few hours were spent in a blur, sitting opposite the duty-free shop and watching everyone go bye.
Ta-ta Istanbul it’s time for my connecting flight to Rome :)


Rome, Italy, 9.15 pm Italy time, 10 /5/2008

We finally made our way. After getting lost a million times! From Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport to Roma Termini, surprisingly we made our way unscratched. Finding our hotel was a task but we did it. Got help from a hot Italian guy and life was beautiful :)

Later in the evening once I freshened up and all, tan & I sat in a bar. Not a bar bar per se just a hangout joint. Anyway since we were lost finding our hotel, I got to see Rome and the living quarters side of it.

Day 1 of our trip begins…

25! The year that was…

I remember how it started
How could I forget
I hated it
And I could not believe it
That something like that could happen to me

But now when I look back and see
I see you and see a whole different me
The experiences changed me
It put life more in perspective
And realize that life is all about me

You won’t realize how much there is out there
All you got to do is venture there
Care not what others tell you
Just trust your heart
Give it all that you’ve got
And make sure you send me a postcard when you reach there

Then came a day I just woke up
And decided I’ve had enough
Living my life according to others
Is what I’ve done all my life
Now it’s my turn and you got to listen

So I packed my bag
And decided I had to go
Go to Europe
See the world
And know what’s in store

Rewinding a little more
I even adopted a child
A grown up kid in my office if no other
A costly affair
But he’s just a little baby as far as I know

There were rock concerts too
And trips with friends
Best friends getting married
Babies being born
Yellow cars, pink watches,
Meeting new people and so much more

And then came the day I had to tell
Something to someone
Who could well be the person
I could call mine

Ever yours…
Ever mine…
Ever thine…
Something so special
That makes me feel so happy and divine

25
A year that brought the best in me
Challenges I thought not possible
But were meant to be
So now I know
No matter what they tell me
I simply have to believe
Because belief helped me find ME!

I would like to thank...

my Mama and my Papa and my little brother Lovell aka peekachoo, MM, love, for all the support and financial backing offered. I cannot reiterate enough without whom this trip would not be successful.

I would also like to thank the Knight of Eden aka stalker, who continually supported my dream and came around me with me, haggling with vendors to get me the perfect backpack and almost all the things I need for this trip. Most of all for listening to me raving and ranting about this and that. And for teaching me to keep my cool.

Mostly I would love to say a big thank you to animagix to showing me the way. For making me realize my dreams. And I must say dreams do come true. Thanks a ton sweetie. You are my true inspiration.

I would also like to thank the Don, for offering to drive me to the airport and the Khooni Haathi for coming along with me to get my travel insurance. I would also like to thank the goddess of Nirvana for getting me contacts in them foreign countries.

And I would also like to thank Cox & Kings (I) Ltd., Mumbai for all the help and fantastic support offered, especially Mr. Mehere.

And then yatin, and my boss for giving me this super 1 month leave, my team members (you guys are so dead :) ) and all the people on who had something or other to do with my preparations.

Thanks a ton guys!

I’ll keep ya posted how its going.

a DREAM that's coming true

u know there comes a time in your life
when you got to do what you got to do
well
here i am
doin just that

for the record
i do not have a lot of money
actually i planned this dream trip on 60k finances of my own
rather ambitious no?
and the rest... a lakh and something from my folks and brother
so that goes to say
after this trip of mine
i will be even poorer than before
and paying off a lot of debts :(
and to top it off am not on a huge salary at work (i so wish i were getting some 50-60K a month)

BUT
like i said this is a dream
a dream i dreamt
and i had to make it come true
before the clock struck 12 on 28th June 2008!!!

so here i am, in 4 days leaving for EUROPE!

yup u heard me right E U R O P E

i will tell you all about it in the weeks that go by
well i will be leaving on friday/saturday night in the wee hours of the morning
so my posts might not be very regular
but I promise to update you on each and every detail on tour

this people is MY LIFE CANT WAIT DREAM!
mine and mine alone