--Prelude to my travel blog, hopefully-- prelude to my travel blog, hopefully... beaches. museums. divine houses. artistic spots. libraries. food corners. and a lot more. i know, my gut wrenches into nervous system everytime i take a car journey that lasts more than 20 minutes. do you know how it is when someone grabs your hair (if it's of length) and bangs the inside of your head against something really hard? that's how it is for me, whenever i stay in a bus for more than 30 minutes. even rickshaw ride has become equivalent to playing Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses for 24*7. still, i want to take my shoes to beaches like Chennai's Marina and stroll on the streets of France, especially Paris. i hope to wear my sneakers to depeopled mountains and grounds. i desperately want to hike with my girl gang in our matching costumes. stuffing my flip-flops in a paper bag, i wish to explore the northern part of India before venturing the southern side. it's true that South India has my soul, so it'll wait. i want to write about how i flew to Afghanistan with my familiar stranger, how i played eat-ice-and-mice with my Alien before carving our footprints on Moon, how i surprised Man With The Pen on an ordinary day by showing up, how i troubled Golgi to reach Cuttack's heart, how i travelled miles to gift someone a thousand boxes of burnt brownies, how it was to take Delhi metro with HDhawan, how i gathered random people to take a trip to Korea and Japan, how Swathi and Varshini took care of me when we were on our long trip, how Abi and i enjoyed our first private get-together, how my sister and brother lured me into paying for ice-cream on our trip to X city, just to pay me back, how my mom and i went on a bike trip one early morning, how exciting my professional trips were and how i travelled this world all alone without a speck of fear or certainty. at least for these, i must make myself physically strong. mentally, i don't know. i'd reminisce about my travels when i'm old enough to use a walking stick, looking at the journal entries, photographs and keepsakes i've hoarded. i dream of one such day. always.
