Choo-choo!!

I was tempted to make this an entirely pictorial post but I wanted to write about the things I couldn't capture while the train sped by.

We took a short trip to Bombay recently and were imminently fortunate to traverse the best part of the journey during the day. To say that it was scenic would be a gross over-simplification.

It WAS scenic. But it was scenic because it was verdant, it was fresh, it was sparkling and it was pristine as far as the eyes could see.

And the eyes saw this-

I was a happy shutterbug that day. Although Red told me to take more pictures with my mind rather than with the lens but it was inevitable. You see green below, blue-grey above and clotted cream-like poofy clouds in the sky and you must go into crazy paparazzi mode!

Here's to more train journeys across India in the months to come.

Posts from the Past- Part III

There are elements that add to how successful a vacation will end up being.
It's a venture, in my eyes, like many others; especially with a small child in tow.

The accommodation, weather, amenities of the place you're staying in, the other people along with you (whether known or strangers) and very important is the number of days you end up staying.
See, the number of days is the deal clincher or deal breaker as it many be. You stay too few days and you're left with a feeling of having eaten too little and hunger pangs gnaw at you all the way back home. And stay too long, well it's almost tantamount to not only having eaten your fill but overeaten and not wanting to walk past food for some more time to come.

The resort we're still in is really well planned in every manner possible. And I'm not saying that just for the nanny service they have on offer. It has provisions for the different age groups, different types of people altogether.

For those whom relaxation spells spa treatment and putting their feet up and being inert, this place is aces. Your credit card will get burn marks but you only live properly on holidays, right?
For those who can sit still,for those who need the music, the cold brewskies at the end of a splash et al there's a whole different set-up included. Now before I end up sounding like their ambassador, let me get back to the actual focus of the blog post- optimum number of days to stay on a vacation.

Keeping in mind the make-up of the vacation party (in our case parents and child) it's best to do what is convenient for most. Little children, though, they seem to be perfectly at ease and gambolling about, usually get uncomfortable being away from their home before long. The changes get manifested in disturbance in sleeping patterns, fluctuation in their food intake and overall behavior. They may not be whinny or moody but even a fun place isn't home filled with their familiar odds and ends.

But looking back at other trips/visits we've taken with our little man, Red and I have come to a conclusion: we need to make a pool an integral part of our lives. Apart from the fun part of it all, the way this side so naturally takes to water is a thrill to behold.
With his little legs busy pedalling away underwater, he reminded me of that little duck from the Tom&Jerry cartoons.

Now I need to wind up because there's some packing left and I can't wait to be home either!

Posts from the Past- Part II

My son is apparently a water bug. Phew! That's a relief. I didn't want to be the only water-loving-nut in the family.

Red can take it or leave it w.r.t swimming pools and beaches and given a choice would choose a mountain to go vacation in. But I just can't get enough of water.
That isn't to say I'd vacation in a tsunami-prone place.
One of the nights we were in Maldives, I slept out of the deck of the cottage and the sea was swishing beneath. I was trying to imagine a massive wall of water gradually growing larger and larger and just bearing down in the dark and blocking out the moon.
Scary.

And no, I wasn't a few pegs down then but I made sure I did down a few after that less than encouraging moment bang in the middle of my dream vacation!

Anyhow, to get back to my son, the H20-loving monkey, his glee and degree of comfort in the water just amazes me and fills me with joy. He is entirely in his element. That bit also is reinforced when we take him out of the pool and he screams mass genocide. See, screaming bloody murder is something he left behind when he turned 2.
He has truly progressed in life *makes a wry face*.

I would like him to properly learn to swim and get rid of those floaters. I guess seeing him frolic in water will be the realization of my own untranspired-Esther-Williams-wannabe dreams :-)
Here are some glimpses of the waterbaby-

First Family Vacation

What should have been an entirely yippee-yippee moment was so in bursts.
Red and I hadn't taken a vacation in over 2.5 years. Yes, MLM is also 2.5. Do the math.

Plenty of parents we know have traveled with their tots while they were mere mites but we were always pretty damn cautious. We needed (read wanted) the ideal ambiance, support, accessories before we took MLM anywhere. It made it easier for us to cater to him and I guess somewhere we felt we were doing the right thing by him.

But being a SAHM has its cons as well. Mainly the one your kid plays on you but there are days when you can remember the pre-kid days so vividly that you know your brain's telling you to take a break else it'll explode and you'll be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

And so we did. Not clean the mess but took a vacation. All of us. With no child minders around. And that in a nutshell is what we needed. I think what most parents need is some time either by themselves or with each other with no offspring in sight. It helps tremendously in regaining some equilibrium within yourself and with each other. You've become a parent. Nothing is going to change that. What you need to be able to revert to from time to time is being just another person or a spouse or a friend within having nap times, feeding schedules et al on your radar. Essentially, having your guard down and being carefree.

The resort we went to was pretty decent by beach huts' standard. I would have enjoyed it more had I gone there on that long-awaited holiday with my sister, Red, folks or even by myself. But add a child to the mix which includes keeping them off the grass. Making sure they're out of the wicked waves during high tide. That they aren't guzzling down sea water like it's Voss and most importantly hurting themselves on the flotsam-jetsam that accumulates on the beach aka beer caps, cigarette butts, broken shells etc.
And my son usually tries to encompass all these things; if not in one go then gradually and with increasing frequency.

Was the holiday everything I wanted it to be? Kind of when you consider that I just factored in sun, sand, surf and beer. Ok that broke the alliteration but atleast it's honest!
I wanted to go as far as I could in the sea without fear of a great big wave taking me down to Atlantis for all eternity, Red wanted a new experience- he kayaked till his arms hurt. I wanted to take pictures of the surroundings- I did. And I wanted my kid to shriek with joy and delight- he did. Over and over and over again. Till the damn gulls cold shouldered us for the rest of our stay there.

We rode around on a bike and MLM learnt the Indian way of signalling a turn (never mind that it was usually a wrong one), Red lost his specs in the sea and ended up making an emergency trip to Madgaon and buying contacts and shades and making 'Enna Rascala' poses!


Anyhoo, the upshot was that, it was a fantastic trip with plenty of bumps that made us consider the location, facilities available for our next trip. Which I dearly hope will be before another 2 years.

Some Goan snapshots-