Czech Republic and Austria Trip.. the beginning

Prague

A few days before this trip started, few events made me realize how easily some friendships could break down in the absence of proper communication.   If my emotional side had succeeded, this trip might have never seen the glimpse of reality. But, thankfully, logic and common sense prevailed along with the tinge of stubbornness. So what the plans had to be remodeled, so what the stops had to be rearranged … the show(in this case, my journey) was ready to begin and there was no time or need for delinquency. Lest this post gets mired by the unfortunate events that led to this strange beginning, I end this paragraph with a mental note that bears a cautionary warning to myself against any miscommunication between friends in future.

Not often at the start of my journeys, do I get ready on time. But this time, I was ready well before the time of departure from my room. I know it doesn’t sound something extraordinary if not seen in light of the facts that most of my earlier trips had always found themselves in a state of unpredictability at the starting point. Let’s see it more graphically… imagine that a guy has only 20 minutes to catch a train but out of those 20 mins, 18 minutes are required to reach railway station and 3 additional minutes are required to withdraw money from ATM. Throw in the random event of ATM machines breaking down just at that very moment when that guy inserts his ATM card. Numbers don’t add up you see… it is highly unlikely that guy will be able to catch the train. But he does reach the station 30 seconds before train’s doors close and climbs  around 30 steps of stairs (damn escalator is not working so early in the morning) and just manages to squeeze in before doors kiss each other. These events have the bad habit of turning up every time in similar fashion (although in different combinations) when I go out. Now you know why I was so happy when I got ready on time.

To be continued….

Becoming Dutch

A windmill in Leiden: Typical Dutch symbol

‘When in Rome, do as Romans do’ is quote that has origins in year as far away as 387AD but it still holds good for people who move a lot between different places. Taking a cue from that wise saying I too started following some of the practices that the people in Netherlands do. Knowing all the things I have tried, will neither be interesting to you nor will it be easy for me to explain. Some things change without the conscious knowledge of the person who is the object in which change has found a place. Here are changes in my thinking that have brought me close  to being a Dutch…

1. Bread and Cheese are my new bread and butter

2. Bread and Cheese can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and the snacks in between. You can literally live on those two things.

3. Warm food is for lazy people. Eat it cold.

4. Bikes are my new cars. And one is not enough.

5. Locks are more important than bikes.

6. Who told you to go to bicycle shop? Get a repair kit and fix it yourself.

7. A small plateau is mountain.

8. It’s alright to greet strangers.

9. Coffee shop is not only for coffee. Wanna gave coffee.. go to a cafe or a restaurant.

10. Divide and then pay in a restaurant.Don’t be generous and pay for everybody 🙂

11. Sunlight is a rare commodity. Enjoy it while it lasts.

12. A day is not for only one type of weather. Expect anything from sunshine, to snow, rain and hail.

13. No meeting without coffee. Coffee is starter as well as dessert.

14. Working everyday is not good. You must take a vacation for at least two continuous weeks.

15. Drug addicts are ok. They are harming themselves.

16. Don’t say that Dutch is related to German(although it is).

17. Want to meet someone? Don’t you dare to drop by without appointments.

18. Living together is a status in itself along with single and married.

19. The traditional Dutch cuisine is Indonesian, Chinese, Indian, Greek etc.

20. It is easy to keep your partner happy…you see, flowers are not so costly.

21. Tea with milk is too English. Try without milk. Sugar is not a necessary thing.

An interesting style of presentation…

Motorcycle diaries…

It took me six months to finally buy a speaker system that could bring back the habit of watching movies in a regal style!!! Since I started earning money, I have always given music top priority. This was the third set of speakers I bought in last 4 years. I move a lot and while doing so I give away my old speakers to either my family or friends. I love them so much that it is impossible to sell them. I know it sounds weird to get attached to materialistic things.. but that’s how I treat my favorite possessions.

This would be an ideal bike for motorcylce trip....

Speakers unpacked and set to play, I pondered over what to play first.  I inaugurated them after spending a lot of time… precisely 5 minutes…. with a movie that was recommended by my new friend. I don’t know Spanish but who needs to know the language when the acting is of top quality? Although I was helped by subtitles, actors spoke more with their expressions and director filled rest of the story with mesmerizing shots. On top of everything, it was a travel movie. For me that was more than enough!!! Superb sound quality from my new speakers made the whole experience of watching this movie similar to watching it in a theater(sans big screen… though I had coke and chips with me).If the movie seems too adventurous and unbelievable, you are in for a surprise.. because it is not the work of fiction. It is a real story based on the book written by two protagonists of the movie. One of them was executed by CIA in the jungles of Bolivia and other made an appearance at the end of this movie. I am not going to spill the beans here 🙂  What would not construe as revealing the plot, are the facts that cinematography of this movie will transport you to a whole new world, that ideas discussed will leave you with some mental gymnastics to do later, that the display of humanity will nudge the human being in you and that the fallibility of travelers will invite you to experience something like this yourself rather than scaring you away. I am going to read more about this movie and protagonists… until then, grab a DVD of ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and get amazed by the beauty of  this beautiful gem.

Control-Shift-Escape

Control-Shift-Escape encapsulates what I have been doing for last 2-3 weeks. I had to leave my old place as my contract was getting over and I had no intentions of extending it. This was my 5th shifting in last 12 months (no.. I was never thrown out.. I always moved out because of boredom with one place) and based on my experiences, I knew what to do before moving out. You see, shifting to me is routine now. And that’s the reason I don’t have to tell my brain to get ready for it. My brain, automatically, gets into the shifting mode!!

First things first, I stopped buying extra groceries and food items 10 days in advance. When I live for long at once place, I tend to buy some items which I buy based on my temporary moods. Those moods sometimes never return and, as a result, those items lie in my kitchen shelf untouched and neglected for weeks. For example, I bought some biscuits which looked good from packing but after eating one, I never had the wish to eat its remaining companions. There was some wine which I was saving for special times. Unfortunately, special times visited me less often than I expected and wine was left to become older and tastier 🙂 I finished all my wine and stopped buying another drinks. Similarly, there were other things that I bought in recent weeks but never cared to use. I was going to throw them and just to feel less like a wastage-causing-fella I thought not to accumulate the stuff that was, in the end, going to land in a waste bin. That was CONTROL part of my recent life.

As I wrote in the beginning, I was moving to a new place. That means my present stuff had to be shifted from present place to new place. But, since neither I have a car and nor I intended to buy or rent one[even if intended, I didn’t have a driving license], I had to ask for somebody’s help. I turned to a nice colleague who gladly accepted to bail me out of this difficult situation(i like going to new places… but I hate shifting ). In the beginning I told him there would be only 2-3 bags. He ended up carrying 3 bags, 1 box, one laptop bag and 2-3 small bags 🙂 Life gives you more than you expect… sometimes that becomes too much to carry around!!! Should I tell you that was the SHIFT part I was talking about in the title? 🙂

The ESCAPE part is a little subtle. I was not living in a jungle or a bad place. It was awesome place. I had my own facilities, my own space and my close friends. The problem was that my friends were going to leave the place. One had, in fact, already left and another is going to leave next week. Without them it would have been so difficult to live in same place. So, I too decided to leave.  That was my way of escaping the loneliness!!

New home…

Second house from right (with chimney)

Chinese new year party in TU Delft

Salsa Dance

There is one more video of amazing fireworks.

Notes from Luxembourg: Reached Hostel

Z left Leiden and I am back to being damn lonely. For a traveler like me, who doesn’t stay at one place for long time, goodbyes are used more often than I would like. When I look back, I realize that the life of  traveler is nothing but the series of goodbyes punctuated by good times that are shared with wonderful people in this world. The funny part is that, although I like traveling, I don’t want to lose those wonderful people. But, at the same time, it is only because I move that I meet new people. It is kind of weird,…isn’t it? 🙂

Forced by the weird missing-friend sickness, I decided to add something to the pending post of my Luxembourg trip. Where did I stop last time? Oh yeah… I had just talked about getting down from train at Luxembourg station when my patience ran out and I stopped writing. It was the first day of new year and, thanks to  boredom in Leiden, I was there… cursing grey weather in Luxembourg. Nothing else was on my mind  except the task of searching for some food.. I hadn’t eaten anything for 9 hours since I woke up and the low level of  glucose was showing up as high level of anxiety… it was time to find a McD. Why McD? Because that place has highest probability to be present near main locations such as train station. And I was at a train station. I didn’t have to look for long because there it was… just 100m from station… a McD displaying special offers for new year. But who cares about special offers when the hunger is killing you so fast!!!

Fast forward to 20 minutes and I was walking back to railway station.Why back?? Oh come on… where else I could have got more information about the hostel I was searching for without any map? I should have asked the information center first… but I didn’t. No no.. I was not being adventurous and neither was I so stupid. The information center was closed because of new year!!! So  I caught the attention of three old looking guys and asked them. 10 minutes later, I was more confused than I was earlier… those guys spoke French and I replied in English…neither of us understood each other!!

Youth hostel in a valley

Let me cut straight to the point now when I left bus and found myself looking down into a deep valley. I was on some sort of bridge that ran across the two ends of valley. There was no sign of road which I intended to take in order to reach my hostel. Armed with total ingnorance and a mind, full of optimism, I continued walking down. I had walked only 5 minutes when a sign board, hidden beind a awkwardly located building, pointed towards the downwards winding road. It was more a narrow alley than a road. This was fun… the road was steep and covered with ice. Two times… no three times.. I had to shift my center of gravity to avoid the slip. A nice lady, standing near the entrance of her house, confirmed that I was going in right direction. Walking, stooping, running… all helped me in making the trip to hostel slip-less!! The reception desk was occupied by a beautiful girl who helped me in filling the form. I was handed over my electronic key(nice touch for just a hostel) and a pack of linen sheets and pillow case. I was not expecting anybody in room at that time since it was late afternoon and people, generally, like to travel in the day time especially when day light is so scarce in winter. Just a cursory look around the room told me that I was alone. Yahooooo… I was paying for a hostel room even after living in a single hotel room!! Looks like it was good idea to travel on new year day!! Oh… I forgot to mention.. the room was not very big but it had a neat layout. Filled with 6 beds (3 two-tier beds), 4 chairs, six lockers with space to hang coats, and a wooden table, the room had enough space to walk around. Add to that a wash basin and big mirror… it was the best HOSTEL room I had ever lived in, The only let down was shower… it was just a hole in wall. There was no possibilty to change the direction of water flow. It was not all.. the weirdest part was its handle. Actually there was no handle or knob or anything that you work with normally… it was just a push putton type user interface… water comes out only for the duration you push that button. The harder you push the higher is pressure. I understand it was to conserve water…but not user friendly at all. Hostel guys, if you are listening, please change that!!!

Looking for travelers…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

This quote comes from one of the most entertaining and reputed writers of all time. When I read this, I forget all the things that may accompany a travel: risk, boredom, tough life, strange people and on top of everything- home sickness.  I don’t know what will happen in future and, frankly, no body else knows it either. There have been many instances when I asked my friends to travel together and 95% of the times I was forced to realize that I was the only pathetic  jobless guy in this world. Most of them were always having deadlines to finish, work to do and their leaves were either finished or they were kept as reserve for a visit to home. Nearly everybody is always having some urgent things to do… looks like no work in their lives is less important than urgent work. Years pass, months pass and days pass [I was counting them from present to past ] and they are stuck in same web of busy life. People are always busy in making plans for future(by saving money and leaves) .. they are busy in present and they will be busy in future too. For them, the future is always something elusive and present they don’t care about.

I like to think in opposite way!! Present is important so I enjoy it. Future will anyways be present at some point of time so I will enjoy that too. Why to worry now for future and spoil the present? 😉 As a result,  when I find myself getting bored, I take my bag and go out to explore something new. Yes, I am alone most of times (because of the reasons mentioned above) but then this single status provides ample opportunities to mingle with new characters. I have done that many times and in the process, I met several new and interesting people.

Now, because I travel so much and gather so many experiences, I feel I should write them down and exchange the first hand information with others who may want to travel to the place which has already been visited by me. But there comes the mental obstacle- I lack enough motivation to write everything down(some of my half-completed travel stories on this blog are proof of that). I know, if there were more people like me, who want to explore the world and exchange information, I would be more motivated to keep up my travel writing work. I could also start a travel journal online which would serve as authentic information source for real life stories and trivia. This is only possible if I have more co-writers to keep up this type of journal.

And that brings me to the main aim of this post: I am looking for enthusiastic people who share the same passion for travel and who would be glad to share their experiences on my proposed travel journal. So, if you are interested, please comment on this post with your email and I will contact you as soon as possible.

Hope to hear from some of you at least!!!

Why should we write??

My work these days is more focused on thinking and understanding than the writing. Similar to the other habits that become obsolete when less or no attention is paid to them, writing too fails to come out easily if less and less time is spent on practicing it.  As lazy as I am in doing almost all the required things, writing is one thing I keep doing even if that means putting down some random thoughts and then later binding them together. Here are my top reasons for writing:

1. Our minds are exceptional storage machines but they don’t work like memory cards. The old information is often pushed back by the tons of new information we accumulate everyday. In the present day world, there is so much information that passes through our senses(all…visual, tactile, auditory,olfactory etc.) every day. In order to keep the experiences safe for future reference, one must write them down.

2. I have experienced that the clarity of my thoughts improves when I write more. A sentence can be written in several ways and selecting the best candidate out of those numerous options is not an easy task. I, usually,  find myself changing the structure of sentences more often than I would like but that is the way I get new ideas for saying the  boring things in different manner.

3. Every article provides me an opportunity to learn and use new words. If I would just learn a word without using it, I would have wasted my time in learning it because that word will surely sneak out of my memory next day. But when I use it in my sentences, not only do I get to keep it in my mind for a longer time, I also learn in which context this word would suite most.

4. Writing makes communication easier. Thinking about my own case, I would die of boredom without communicating with people. Yes, phones are good but it is difficult to say whatever you want on a long distance call. Moreover, while talking we often are driven by the spontaneous responses from both ends and hence, we forget what we wanted to say in the beginning. On the other hand, writing provides a much more calm and relaxed mode of conveying your views and experiences. It also precludes the urgency of immediate response. People can read the mails or letters whenever they are free to do so. There is no compulsion and no urgency to reply immediately.

5. Last but not the least, writing is required to enhance the quality of whatever work we do. In my case, I am a research student and hence, I am required to learn, create and document a lot of things. The work I do may be good, great or awesome but it will definitely be ignored if the explanation is ambiguous, indecipherable and incongruous. A good description can make ordinary work look good and a good work extremely pathetic!!

This post was triggered by an interesting article over here: The value of writing well.