My First Trip To mumbai

Having spent all my life in Chennai & being a native of Kerala, I have never had a chance to visit the northern part of India. I used to spend my vacations in & around Kerala. Recently, I had the chance to go to Mumbai, for a cousin’s wedding.
The first thing I did was to hunt for a reasonable air-fare. After a week’s time, I got my itinerary ready. My dad and nephew also accompanied me; my nephew was so thrilled to travel as he has always fantasised about travelling by plane.
I reached Mumbai the day before the wedding. We travelled by car for about 45 minutes from the airport & reached my cousin’s house. I was seeing her after 7 yrs. I looked tiny when compared to her.
The usual wedding rituals, with a North Indian touch, made the pre-wedding event colourful. There was obviously a lot of delicious food, which I enjoyed. My nephew was quite uncontrollable, as he found a lot of kids to play with. I also happened to meet some other cousins whom I hadn’t met for many years. So, my first day in Mumbai was interesting. There were many guys trying to impress the girls, but I didn’t find any one interesting.
One major difference I found in Mumbai was the culture. I saw a family dressed in an ultra modern way, in a temple. You don’t get to see such things in Chennai.
On the day of the wedding I got dressed in one of my favourite dresses, a green salwar kameez with a white dupatta (scarf). By the time we finished a good south Indian breakfast, it was time for the wedding. I was asked to carry the lamp to welcome the groom, as I was among the single girls at the wedding. It is believed that girls who do this will get married soon. I was a little embarrassed to do so, as I do not believe in all these customs and beliefs. The wedding went off well. I am a poor eater, but I took an hour to finish lunch. If you think I ate a lot, you are wrong. I was looking at all the guys and girls around me for most of the hour.
Later in the evening, I went shopping with another cousin. Any trip feels incomplete if I don’t buy anything. Even though the shopping area was very different from Chennai, I bought a few things.
We had dinner on the terrace of the building we were living in. I had to share the room with a few cousins so we spent a little time gossiping. I slept off soon, as we had to catch an early morning flight.My first trip to Mumbai turned out to be a very enjoyable one, having spent it with relatives in the midst of festivities.

A DAY IN BANGALORE-PART II

The moment that I had been waiting for had arrived, it was time to enter the plane. The three of us finished checking in and were all set to fly. I was so nervous that I could hear my heart beating very fast. My friends consoled me by saying that it would be just a little jerk while take-off, and after that I wouldn't feel anything. Gathering all the courage I had, I boarded the flight, was welcomed by the smiling air-hostesses, and settled down in the middle seat; my friends on my sides, to protect me :-).

The plane took-off and I felt a little giddy, but I was fine in a few minutes. Even before I had any time to get scared, we were landing in the Bangalore, the city of gardens. We walked out looking for an auto to get to my colleague's friend's (also a Malayalee) house; my butler Hindi came in handy for communicating with the auto driver.

We had a heavy breakfast at their house and headed out for shopping. It was pretty hot outside, but we were too excited to even think about it. We were back home by around 3 PM, had a heavy lunch (typical Kerala food) and went to sleep.

After a short nap, we packed our things and went to "Garuda Mall"- the equivalent to our Spencer Plaza. I had a nice time, chilling out with my friends.

I was extremely annoyed by the culture and the fashion sense of the people I saw there, especially the teenage girls.

Our flight to Chennai was at 9pm. We reached the airport by around 7:40, had dinner there itself and spent time taking loads of snaps. By the end of it all we were totally tired. The flight was delayed by 30 mins and we started our return trip at 9:30. This time I wasn't scared to enter the plane. Instead, I was looking at the guy sitting opposite to me. He smiled at me and in turn I smiled and said a hello.

Soon, I realized that my short vacation was coming to a fast end, the next day was Monday and I had to go back to the routine life. My Monday morning blues started a little early…

Even though I couldn't enjoy with my two best friends, one who is far away and the other who is also going away soon, this was a very different experience. My long time dream to chill out with my friends and travel in an airplane came true.

I am still waiting for that one day when I will travel with my best friends, and spend a whole day with them, without any disturbances.

So this was my first flying experience...

A DAY IN BANGALORE PART-I

Let me tell you about my passions - Shopping & Travelling. Both are fun to do, especially when friends are involved. Have you ever travelled with your friends for one whole day? I got to do that once, and it was a lot of fun.

My boss offered me a free ticket to Bangalore and asked me to choose my travel partners and I decided to go with two of my colleagues. I still remember the day, it was March 3rd, 2008. I was going to fly for the very first time, and I can't tell you how excited I was about the whole thing.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 0555 from Chennai. I was so excited that I couldn't wait for my alarm to go off. My alarm was set for 3am, and I was up at 2:30.

As usual, I couldn't decide what to wear, especially because this was going to be a first time experience for me…After a lot of thinking, I decided to wear my favourite blacktop and blue jeans. Our tour manager had arranged a car to pick me up and I finally reached the airport at 0420; I was partly scared, partly excited…and was completely unaware of how my first flight was going to be.