Ten. The Final Chapter ?
Introduction
In April 2024 I returned from a 2-month journey to India. By then I had visited India 9 times and spent over a year in this magnificent country. India, a true cacophony of impressions and an overload for all senses. For me it still feels like home, although I would not want to live there.
Looking at the map of India I realized I had seen most of the places I wanted to visit so was there any reason to return? For a long time, I wasn’t sure but then I realized it didn’t matter where I would go, I just wanted to breath the Indian atmosphere once again and be part of that astonishing cultural tapestry.
First, I looked into a destination I wanted to visit for a long time but with the government restrictions in place a trip to Lakshadweep, an atoll north of the Maldives, was out of bound.
Next my mind swiped to the other side of India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. I had been there before in 2019 and did not want to repeat myself but explore new territories as well, as a single traveler that turned out to become too expensive.
Fortunately, India is never short of options so I decided to look for things a bit higher up…. Himachal Pradesh and a further exploration of Punjab. That turned out to work well and slowly but surely my next trip started to take shape.
Another “must” when being in India is a visit to my friends Neha and Anmol in New Delhi, so another stop was planned over there.
It goes without saying I wanted to return to Little Cove of my friend Pardeshi and to visit the new resort from my friend Ravi for some more yoga. Both are in the south of Goa and would be the perfect and traditional ending of my trip.
Still, I felt like I had some unfinished business in Mumbai, a city I once hated but now deeply admire, if only for some of the best food experiences I have had in India. So I sneaked in a final stop before returning home…
Although Vladi fully supports my adventures in India and encourages me to go (he has no desire at all to visit India) I had learned one thing, a 2-month journey was out of the question. As much as India has to offer it is not enough to stay away from the most important person in my life for 2 full months once again. With this itinerary I managed to create a spectacular trip with in the range of 5 weeks and 5 days.