I thought I was prepared for India. I had researched for months and got tips from those who had already been, bought and packed everything we could possibly need; but I don’t think anything can really prepare you for this place.
It isn’t the culture shock of this country that is so different to England or anywhere else I’ve ever been. I tend to thrive on culture shocks and like to go to places that are as different as possible to what I am used to, but India is on another level!
I have been waiting for this day for an extremely long time. From the day I booked our flight to New Delhi all the way back in February, I have had frequent frenzied moments of jumping up and down with excitement or grabbing the person closest to me and squeezing them with delight. I’ve also had a few moments of panic – not knowing what to pack on this trip that isn’t really a holiday but isn’t really proper backpacking either; stressing over the complicated visa process; worrying about what clothes to take in a country that will be hot in the South but cooler in the North and where modern cities thrive next to older traditional places (to jean it or not to jean it?).
What with my upcoming trip to India, I’ve been struggling to find time to fit in writing around all the planning. And when I plan a trip, I really plan a trip. No bars spared, I will put all my energy, concentration and every waking minute into making it as incredible an adventure as it can possibly be. I may end up completely drained and about to pass out from exhaustion but it will all have been worth it in the end!
For this trip, as well as getting an extortionate amount of tips from other bloggers and twitterers (the #travelindia hashtag by Poonam has been super helpful), I have been reading up on India from my stack of books. This is something I always do when I go away and I think it’s a great way to research.
When I visit different countries I like to find out about their customs and traditions, talk to the locals and do the things they do and, of course, try the local food and drink. I wouldn’t say I’m a big eater…no okay I take that back…I love eating! Almost everywhere I go my mind somehow ends up drifting to food. Mr Ayla almost always ends up telling me to stop thinking about my stomach for a second but I can’t help it! My belly wants food so I want food! And Poland was no exception.
From the moment we stepped off the bus from Krakow, everything about Zakopane, a small town in the south of Poland, was like a fairytale.
Nestled in the Tatra Mountains close to the border of Slovakia, Zakopane is a destination popular for its snow-covered peaks during the skiing season and its green rolling hills for hiking in the summer. I was hoping that in April the ground would be clear of snow so we could do some of the great hikes and see the fantastic views and lakes the area had to offer but we were met with snow that had fallen almost as deep as my waist and more still was falling from the sky!
During our time gorilla trekking in Uganda we stayed in a quiet little village up in the mountains of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. All we could see for miles around was the lush green jungle and mountains covered in a foggy mist. It must be one of the quietest places I’ve ever been to – away from the constant hum of the big cities and towns in Uganda, no beeping horns of trucks and bikes, or the hustle and bustle of people everywhere. It was blissful and made a nice change to the noise we had become used to in Kenya and Tanzania.
After a short drive out of the city and into the bush in the back of a dusty truck, I found it hard to believe what I was seeing. Inside a fenced off area a group of people were sitting on a picnic bench chatting away and…wait…what…this can’t be right…several lion cubs and two full grown cheetahs sitting within a few feet of them? Was I seeing things?!
But no, my eyes were working perfectly fine it seemed, as we were shown to our room within the fence. Yep, our little cabin at the lion reserve was actually inside the lion enclosure. I knew that we would be working closely with lions – that’s what we’d signed up for when we decided to volunteer at a lion sanctuary in South Africa that looks after orphaned cubs – but this went far beyond what I could have imagined.
The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa – for he has so much to look forward to.” Richard Mullin
For my first post about one of my adventures, the only thing that I could possibly talk about is somewhere that is very close to my heart. In fact, it’s somewhere so close to my heart that I’m pretty sure I left it there when I returned home and it’s been calling me back ever since.
Since I can remember I’ve always had a passion for travel. I’m not sure where it came from – it could be that my family took me on regular holidays since I came into existence, or that I lived abroad for a while with my mum when I was little, or just the fact that the world is a wonderful place.
Whatever the reason, I love it. I love everything about it from the excitement of rushing to the airport to stepping off the plane into a completely different world. The landscapes, buildings, culture, wildlife, language, food (always the food!) but most of all the incredible friendly people of every place I’ve been to. No matter where in the world I go I’m always welcomed with open arms and big smiles (sometimes even with a ukulele) and the people are usually the biggest memory that I’ll take away from a place.
Mama Ayla's Adventures 