These days I feel like a bit of a travel agent. Seriously. It seems like I am constantly browsing travel sites, looking for the best deals, waiting on them to get back with flight ticket offers before I finally book those tickets.
But why, you might ask. Four reasons.
- Husband travels a lot.
- I travel on work
- Son visits home
- We manage to squeeze in a couple of trips together as a family
You'd wonder: so long as I have the dates and destinations, what's the big deal with booking tickets? I'd agree, in relation to my own work travel, and my husband's.
As for the remaining two: son's visits and our family trips, I go into a total tizzy because the cost of flight tickets fluctuates like the economy.
Even though we try to ensure that we book tickets for known dates well in advance, because of the dates of the travel, it ends up being pretty expensive. Case in point: October. We invariably spend thrice the cost of the airfare it would normally cost, since it is festival time.
When my husband asked if we would like to accompany him on a three-day trip to Goa, we politely declined as we were keener on making a trip to some place that had hills and mountains. And that's how we ended up visiting Kasauli.
Not that I don't like Goa. On the contrary, I love it and have some amazing memories of time spent there.
In fact, three years ago, I had to attend a three-day conference in Goa. Of the many trips I've made to this charming place, this one particularly comes to mind.
A memorable trip to Goa
I caught an early morning flight to get there, after which there was a three-hour ride from the airport to reach the venue. Our stay was also arranged at the conference venue.
This majestic statue greeted me.
It was a beautiful place.
The view from my balcony was fabulous.
The food was great with a mind-boggling choice. Because of my diabetes, I was worried about my diet but they took excellent care of that.
The first day of the convention was super-hectic and it was quite late by the time we wound up. We were just about ready to grab some dinner and go sleep since we had an early start to our day, what with the early morning flight and travel.
Day two was a little more relaxed, probably because we'd had a good night's sleep. I was excited to see that one of the speakers was the Chest Specialist who had treated my Mom years ago, and it was great to meet him again.
Once the sessions were over, my roommate and I quickly had some coffee and decided to go explore the area. We were quite close to the ocean and couldn't wait to cover the forty-minute walk to the waters. It was a wonderful walk.
We met some four-legged friends on the way.
And passed this charming church.
About ten minutes before we reached the water, we could hear the deafening roar of the ocean. As we went down the path towards the water, we were welcomed by the spray in the air.
Just as we started enjoying the feeling, the heavens opened up and poured and we were drenched. Laughing, we tried to get some shelter at the nearby property's security cabin but before we reached it, the rain stopped abruptly!
The ocean was gorgeous but we didn't go too far out onto the rocks.
After spending some time watching the waves, we headed back the way we came. And attempted a shortcut across this squelchy but pretty ground strewn with leaves.
She found us totally amusing as she watched us navigate the wet terrain. Of course we stopped to chat.
Soon we returned to the hotel. A refreshing shower later, we had a leisurely dinner and settled down to watch TV and chat before we drifted off to sleep.
The next day, the conference concluded around noon and we had a couple of hours before we had to leave for the airport.
It was a Saturday, and while some of us were scheduled to fly back, most of the participants were quite keen on heading to the nearest casino in Goa and had decided to spend the weekend enjoying themselves.
Since it had started to rain, we decided to do some shopping before heading to the airport directly, because who goes to Goa and returns home without cashew nuts? My friends stocked up on Feni as well, while I bought the local cashew nut that comes in its shell. I also remember buying mango and other "fruit leather" -aam papad- made by sun-drying the fruit pulp. It was delicious and my son was delighted! After stopping for lunch at a restaurant, we were on our way to the airport, through the steady rain.
It was a memorable trip for many reasons. I am sad to report that my lovely roommate passed away eight months later. Now, I only have wonderful memories to cherish.
Have you been to Goa? What is your favorite memory from the trip? 
Writer, editor, blogger, social media explorer. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury
