I am reading Paulo Coelho’s “Like the Flowing River”. It is a collection of his reflections and short stories. I liked almost all barring a few.
I loved the thoughts expressed by him in “Traveling Differently” (Pg. 132). I could somehow relate with them. After finishing reading it, I kept on thinking of all the things learnt from each trip, especially Goa in 2004 – the most memorable trip till today with friends, Kerala and Dandeli with family and my stay of 4 months in Hyderabad. I repeatedly watched all my fav, snaps of the trips that I have enjoyed the most. Staying in Hyderabad cannot be called a trip, but it was an experience in which I learnt some very important values. It made me a tougher guy and it enlightened me on a few things. Here are 9 tips given by Paulo on traveling.
1) Avoid museums. 
Paulo says that it is always better to learn about the present of a city, than it’s past and I completely agree on this. I visited Salarjung museum on my second last day in the city only after someone said that coming to Hyderabad and not going to Salarjung museum is like visiting Agra without viewing Taj. I still would have preferred going to Golconda Fort and even today I regret on not getting a chance to visit the same. And if you have the company of someone like Anmol for a visit to a museum then PLEASE AVOID. There is no point in just appreciating the ancient architecture, the history behind it and then saying WOW!!
2) Hang out in bars 
Paulo says that the “real” life of the city is in bars and not in museums. He clarifies that not to confuse a bar with a discotheque. He says one shoud enjoy silly conversations with strangers. I remember, when in Goa, on Sinquerim Beach a Dutch was totally drunk and kept on producing weird noises and said “The most important thing in life is to f*** more than getting f***ed.”
3) Be open
Paulo says not to go with an organized tour operator or a trained guide. Rather to ask the instructions to someone who is native to that place. He says there is no point in listening to the “leader of the group”. I don’t need to worry about it, since I am always the one ;). The photo shows me having a conversation with the fisherman of Harne village. I asked them everything about high and low tide, the fishing season, the fish auction etc. (BTW one amongst them is me 😉 ).
4) Try to travel alone, or if married with spouse 
Somehow I don’t agree on this note, but I feel 20% of your travel should be alone. By the word “alone” I don’t mean being a lone traveler. I have been to Kerala (12 days) and Dandeli and many more 3-4 day trips with my family. These trips give me a chance of spending time with myself. I find answers to some of my unsolved questions. And the most important being, I can be just myself. I can go in the market, ask the locals a few questions and in the night call up Mukul to tell him how I spent the day just to hear “Vaidya Guide” as his reply.
5) Don’t compare 
Paulo feels that while traveling we should not compare anything- the food, the lifestyle, hygiene etc. I feel the same since comparison contradicts the basic purpose of traveling. I had been to a 3-day camp organized by a NGO in a flood-affected village and this was the first thing told to us- DON’T COMPARE. Our job was to educate the villagers on the use of clean water, take a few surveys and to distribute medicine. The most interesting thing I noticed was in spite of all the problems faced by them, yet they continued to celebrate their traditions and rituals and somehow were satisfied in their life.(In the pic- Me joining the villagers in a traditional dance on the eve of Gokulashtami).
6) Understand that everyone understands you 
Language cannot be a barrier, especially if you are traveling with someone like Mukul. He can connect with any stranger and can even make friends with them. In Goa, Mukul was keen on flirting with a foreigner, so we decided to play a prank on him. We convinced Mukul that he should talk with a phirang girl and introduce himself as a digital artist. This will give him a chance of photographing her tattoos. Excitedly Mukul went on his adventure and the moment he was at a distance by which he couldn’t hear us we said “Pitega saala”- a la DCH style.But 10 minutes later we could see Mukul chatting with a foreigner. A smiling Mukul returned with photographs of all her tattoos- on her shoulder, neck, hands and even her belly. Although we had lost the never decided upon bet, but still we never accepted the loss and instead even today tease him as he didn’t photograph her face.
7) Don’t buy too much 
Paulo says in this internet age you get everything at your doorstep at the click of a mouse button. In our trips we also hardly buy anything for 3 reasons. a) For whom- Me, Manmit, Mukul and Hal were almost always in the “Being single” phase of life.b) Trips in our college days were always on a shoe-string budgetc) Some of our trips initially were on bikes and we carried just one small sack.It reminds me again of Mukul who had told his mom that we were going to Lonavala, when actually we were in Konkan. Him mom asked him to bring a pack of jelly sweets and he purchased them from Paud Phata, 2 kms away from his home while returning back 😉 .
8) Don’t try to see the world in a month 
A brilliant quote by Paulo explains everything“A city is like a capricious woman, she takes time to seduce and reveal herself completely.” We spent 8 days in Goa just in its northern part. Although Mukul kept on insisting to visit South Goa also, we didn’t even bother of giving it a second thought.
9) A journey is an adventure
Paulo advices to visit a never heard of church rather than going to Rome and visit Sistine Chapel with thousands of other tourists. We stayed in Bondla National Park and also visited 2 temples in Goa and didn’t just visit its beaches and churches. Hats off Paulo!! Agreed on all your points, but I am happier since I remembered the countless moments I will cherish forever.
There were so many moments, so many emotions, so many opinions that I felt like writing about it… Let me recollect happenings in the last 2-3 months.
Kiran's blog 