Coastal Delight

 When was the last time you did something for the first time

Just what I needed to reaffirm I was enough

The sea was calling me, what the doctor always advises for the mind, soul and body.

The closest beach was chosen as the destination, the cool winter picked to avoid humidity and dehydration for the spoilt Bangalorean

The trip was mostly a closely kept secret from most including family, kids were informed, few friends in Chennai were informed.

 

Though it was meant to be a "be alone:" kind of trip, one friend was keen on joining

But as fate would have it, it was not meant to be and I was on my own as it was meant to be

Surprises never end, bumping into old friends at airports and stations are such a pleasant surprise and a harbinger of good times to come.

So it was this time too and catching up on past and making plans for the future always leaves you feeling good filled with the anticipation

Station to the beach was one long drive, along perfect roads and zero traffic once we left the city limits! 

Reaching the shack and hotel , I checked in and inhaled the sea! 

It was a clear sunny day and the waves were enjoying the solitude before the crowds came in.

Located in the Tsunami nagar, it was obvious that the fishermen had been affected by the Tsunami of 2004, but being the only trade they know, they have returned to the sea

Lunch was ordered, had, not the best for a seaside restaurant. Feedback was given.

the room was basic and comfortable with a sitout to enjoy the view

The view from the hotel was breathtaking, with the fishing boats lined up ready for their daily trips, the shore temple outlined among the casuarinas in the distances, the waves going back and forth, steady, wooshing, calming.

Once the sun was sliding down, I decided to walk down and visit the monuments the place was renowned for.

Enjoyed the walk down to Arjuna's penance and from there on spent 2 hours following the crowds, admiring the sculptures, the artistry and the commercialisation of the area.

the climb up to the lighthouse was the highlight of my trip as I have always been enchanted by them and the important role they play in guiding the ships to safety 

It stands tall,silent, and constant. Only giving, never expecting.

walked towards the Shore temple, a marvel, looked smaller than when i had last seen it. Maybe I have grown up? 

Walked back towards the hotel, walked along the waves of the sea, the chatter, the laughter of people enjoying the rise and fall of the waves, the silent boats waiting to get into the water, the search for the elusive crabs in the shores, fishermen, playing cards, the smell of the sea, the salt of the water.

The feeling of calm, the setting sun, the changing colours, the night bringing with it music and a change in mood 

Dinner by the beach was what I always craved for, the food made extra special for me and a non alcoholic wine, miraculously touched by the sea giving  me a high on an higher plane.

The fishing boats were to leave at 2:00 AM and return by 5:30 AM, some of the fishermen could be seen checking their nets, the engine and the boats at night.

I set my alarm to wake up and see them leaving, 

The night was noisy, young crowds partying till early morning, unfortunately no boats left, I did wake up early to catch the sunrise on the eastern coast 

An early morning walk along the beach, avoiding bottles from the previous night, few walkers with the same aspiration, to catch the sun rising from below the water, and an interesting conversation with a stranger. How nice to avoid niceties and exchange pleasantries, but have a pleasant conversation in the here and now.

The lapping of the waves a constant reminder that everything is transient.

Some of the boats left early morning to try their luck, high tide is not the safest for them to venture into the vast ocean for a meagre catch.

Saw the boats return with the catch of the day, locals swarming to get their glimpse and buy what they could , fishermen bowing to the sea.

It doesn't end with the sale, they spend the next few hours, cleaning and untangling the nets to get ready for the next day.

I wish I had access to this sight every day! The fishermen grateful to the sea for their livelihood, for their everyday lives!

Soon after it was time to say goodbye to a day of solitude among noise and crowds, being able to silence everything else around you including the mind and just let the ocean take over your being.

My first time being on my own, traveling alone on business or meeting others halfway or for pleasure with other travelers is not the same as completely being on my own.

Some of these local tourist towns are still not comfortable with a single Indian woman but are more accepting of a foreigner traveling alone

Felt safe all the time though it was crowded. I did avoid the beach late at night, not trusting the unruly crowd out drinking on the beach.

Some memories will last forever, some lessons learnt will remain for a lifetime.

Travel solo! You will experience the world differently. 

My All

4 years seemed like a lifetime

Especially when I had not done any races and stuck to short distance running

Signing up for a Full marathon in 2023 Jan was more to get my life back on track and give myself a goal. 

2022 was a year of change on the homefront.

Parents moved out, children found their calling far away from home, I shifted homes after 16 years of familiarity.

This unknown though long awaited, was not an easy adjustment.

I stopped cooking, eating, surviving on bread and air! 

So a challenge was needed to get into good habits and become consistent.

Thus a signup and the much needed preparation for a long run.

Having a gym within the apartment complex was an advantage which I used till I gave up.

Having a chance to hangout with my daughter when I was in the city was another reason to sign up. 

Training was going well, till it did not!

Pre Menopause and Its painful effects were a constant battle between mind and body.

A vacation derailed all my routine and I struggled to get back to the plan.

Just when I thought I had figured it all out, I tripped, my knees and ego took a fall!

There was a constant nagging worry that I was not doing enough

Will I be able to complete, what if I cramp, what if I get exhausted due to insufficient strength training.

Not having a nutritious diet always made me think of cooking, eating, but never had the energy for it.

Oh the struggle with nutrition is deep!

Why did I go to Mumbai having all these second thoughts?

for my daughter, who felt proud to tell her friends that her mother was coming to run

for my friends who believed I could 

For me to know I still had it in me!

Weekend before the run, I met my cheerful optimistic running friend and he convinced me to come.

I went.

And am glad I did

No, I did not run my "personal best" though I could have.

But this run was personally my best marathon.

Mumbai did not fail me

The weather was better than Bangalore, no humidity, chill breeze and the vibes!! 

I knew the spirit of Mumbai would see me through and they did!

Every nook and corner, every stranger, every child, policemen, volunteers, runners!!

Running through once familiar roads, this time with no time pressure, no goal other than to finish smiling, I enjoyed every step and celebrated every kilometre 

Saw many familiar faces over the two days, smiled, cheered and finished smiling.

People who know me as a runner know that I don't just run for PB's, I love stopping, helping others while on the route! 

Even better than running your race is when you know you helped someone else accomplish their race goals!!

and 30 kms is when people lose it!  Met a friend who was zoning out! Stopped to pace him and help him stay focused

TMM 2023, now carrying with me the joy of giving back to a fellow runner the joy of running TMM.

Thank you Mumbai

Than you to the lady who was handing out tiny heart shaped mint candies, which not only brought a smile, but a breath of fresh air in my mouth!!

Thank you to all who were handing out water, electrolytes,oranges dipped in salt, salt to stick your finger in and lick! No cramps for the first time ever in all my years of running full marathons! 

Thank you to the lady who handed out jaggery at the 39th km, maybe that is what made me run the last 2 kms with fresh legs!! 

Thank you to the ones who screamed "Peddar road is over" That is music to every runner's legs!

But mostly

Thank you to my daughter for whom I ran TMM 2023

She took me around, she ensured I slept, ate, took me to her favourite places, showed me Mumbai as a localite!!!

Hugged me when I needed it most, my biggest cheerleader!! 

Never have I stopped to smell the roses that Mumbai has to offer when I visit the city for TMM 

We enjoyed the city because I had no aches, no pains,no cramps, no dehydration, I could walk around like a normal person!!

#TMM2023 

- nothing but joy!

The Tso La Tea Do

The heart wants what it wants and mine said fly fly away, To quaint tribal villages in beautiful valleys, high mountain passes and frozen lakes

The tickets were booked much in advance, keeping fingers tightly crossed
Payments made and the waiting began for holiday schedules to be published.

Dussehra, Diwali kept me busy with one and the 2 week break between the second allowed me the freedom to travel.

The unknown always leaves you anticipating the worst, so it was with the mystery of co-travelers
What we were informed to prepare for was extremely cold weather and lots of travel.
Bags were packed and repacked, wondering if coats and jackets and socks and thermals would be sufficient for the 9 days, spares were packed just to be on the safe side in those remote places.
Met one fellow traveler at the Bangalore airport and the rest on landing at Guwahati
It was a tight fit in the vehicle with bags, baggage and jackets.

The long journey through parts of Assam and Meghalaya took us to our first halt for the night with the first shocker of the trip
Sundown at 4:00 PM
Tezpur gave us time to relax and eat and drink the night away. The first of many such nights to come!
 
An early breakfast and we started off towards Arunachal Pradesh
Our first stop was Dirang, the land of the Monpa tribe.
All the while we followed  the Kameng river, orange orchards and verdant sheep breeding farms
Sessa Orchid Sanctuary gave us an opportunity to see some unique indigenous flowers and the national flower of the state
We ate the food the locals ate and relished the simplicity and taste of home grown vegetables and freshly caught fish and succulent pork
The homestay was a marvel, a huge bungalow and farmhouse with the river down below,
The night was well spent wrapped in wollens and warming ourselves over a campfire and hot local rum listening to the owners local gossip and history

Two crazy us, woke up early to experience the 4:00 AM sunrise of the east
We were treated to a glorious sight, the sun rays on the mountains, the early morning glow lighting up the skies, the lakes glittering.
Worth the freezing cold morning
 A heavy breakfast and hot tea and we set off for our village exploration
Thembang was full of fun twists and turns and plenty of colour and we visited the Dirang dzong
We drove to Sangti valley and were enchanted by the beauty of the village, its stone houses and the lazy river flowing by along paddy fields and pine forests.
Picture postcard views throughout our drive
An overnight stay at Dirang again and the early sunset still a surprise for us 


Day 4 took us on a long drive to Tawang via Se-la Pass
The road moved along the Dirang River for 10 kms and then the road climbs towards Sela Pass. Situated at an altitude of 14,000 ft. this route to Sela Pass from Dirang is sparsely populated and the forest cover is alpine.
This famous pass is covered with snow for most of the year as is Paradise Tso
The drive was bewitching with piercing snow peaks towering above us, waterfalls at every corner and a gushing Nuranang river accompanying us most of the way.

We stopped at the Nuranang waterfalls, one of the most spectacular falls in eastern Arunachal made famous by the movie Koyla
and its magical rainbow.
We could have spent hours there listening to the gushing river and being sprayed by the water from the falls
An overnight stay in Tawang and to keep the cold at bay we had our now much needed local rum and the kerosene powered room heater and double blankets each


The next day we set off to Zemithang
We were now quite used to the cold and had bundled up in multiple layers
Zemithang at an altitude of 2150 meters, sandwiched between Bhutan and China, lies in the remote and isolated north-western corner of Arunachal. This region also has high cultural and historical significance. As there has been very little impact of urbanization in the village, it provided an opportunity to experience the traditional lifestyle and culture of the indigenous Monpa tribe.
Numerous water streams and falls are there and one can enjoy the view of Nyamjanchu rivers that meander down below the ranges of mountains of different colors. We Spent the cold afternoon exploring the village to see the traditional lifestyle of the Monpas. Evening we drove to the Gorsam stupa and enjoyed the tranquil setting of the stupa, measuring 120 feet in width and 100 feet in height.
Overnight we stayed at a Zemithang village homestay 

We stayed with the locals, eating in their wood fire kitchens, sitting at their low tables and chairs, with no electricity for most of the day or night and simple tasty food,rice is a staple and so is the watery dal.
No chicken and meat available at these remote locations, plenty of cabbage and cauliflower grown locally served for all our meals

Tea was served hot and milky! 

Red tea a hot favourite 
No outside vehicles are allowed to Zemithang, hence we used our host as driver and his vehicle to travel around
Bhutanese wines and rum helped us warm ourselves for the night

After breakfast and much needed Tea, we set off to Tawang via the high-altitude route and  we witnessed  some of the most spectacular high-altitude scenery on the way while stopping at the high-altitude PT Tso and Tsungatsar Lake or Madhuri Lake again made famous by Madhuri in Koyla 

Tanhai Tanhai
 This is an extremely scenic drive with a bird’s eye view of Tawang township below. Late afternoon we visited Tawang Monastery, an important seat of Mahayana Buddhism. This famous monastery of the Gelukpa was founded during the 17th century and it is also one of the largest monasteries in the world. We spent time at Tawang monastery exploring and experiencing its history and architecture. Overnight at Tawang again with our wonderful hosts and their delicious food.

On Day 7, After breakfast and several cups of tea to warm us, we drove to Bomdila, a place of misty mountains, lush forest, apple orchards and Buddhist monasteries. Bomdila , the district HQ of the West Kameng district, is located at a height of 2,530m.
We also experienced freshly falling snow on our route and worried about sudden snowstorms which are common in these areas
The lake which was flowing when we had seen it a few days back, was now frozen!  The trees covered in snow were a lovely sight to behold
In the evening we experienced the local flavor  – heading out on walks and visiting the Bomdila Monastery. The tea was hot and milky and sweet! 

The Overnight stay was at Bomdila at the monastery
Much warmer and more comfortable in our normal clothes now!

But the food served was bland and tasteless, making us wonder about the monk's life!

The last day of travel saw us on the long drive from Bomdila to Guwahati back to the plains, we made a stop at the Bhutan border where happiness was just a step away
The hotel had the best view of the city and the open terrace was a pleasure to sit in at night with clear warm skies 

Next day was off to the crowded airport and a long flight back home, 
bags were filled with local goodies, the heart was happy with the memories, the soul filled with calm and tummy loaded with fish and rice and the liver crying for mercy!