Monday, June 30, 2014

India (1) The idea to go

I still remember the chat with my mum where I asked her if her passport was updated.

"Why? Are you taking me somewhere?" she replied.

"Yes. India!" I said - almost half jokingly.

India has always been one of my dream destinations and I always imagined I would travel with my mum. However, there never seemed to be the perfect opportunity to go.

My aunt and uncle had just been and came back raving about it. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally make the decision and go for it! Anyway, we really seized the moment and ignored warnings of either extreme heat or that of monsoons. I figured, there will always be something...

I have to give all credit for the planning and preparation to my mother, who liaised with our reliable and kind tour operator, Shamsher, of Holiday Dream. Always ever so polite and friendly, it was an absolute pleasure working with him. He was extremely patient with us as we chopped and changed our itinerary and were very specific about the caliber of accommodation were were looking for. 

Since I'm in the TEFL field (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) I thought that I would visit a few language colleges in India. The folks at Holiday Dream were so nice in helping me out with this. Instead of me having to contact individual schools, they took the initiative and mailed them on my behalf.

To think - this entire trip was planned between Amritsar (Punjab), East London and Cape Town (South Africa). Mostly via e-mail and Whatsapp! Prompt replies & professional conduct must be acknowledged for the team at Holiday Dream.

Before I knew it, our tickets were booked and passports were sent off for our visa.

We planned on doing the Golden Triangle tour with the inclusion of a visit to the Ganges River in Haridwar and then a day spent in Rishikesh.


Friday, June 6, 2014

The adventure begins

Good morning

I'm en route to the airport now and I feel like I'm sleeping with my eyes open.

Will be meeting my mum in Johannesburg and then we will take our international flight to....

*drumroll*

MUMBAI, INDIA :)

I woke up with a sore throat and a feeling of fragility. Honestly? Can't wait to just hug my mum in a few hours.