Experience Saudi..

Woke up this morning, it being a weekend for me today, didn’t get up in my usual way…was just lazing in the bed for quiet a while. I have taken to a bit of exercising lately…it has finally dawned upon me that I need to do at least a little bit of physical exercise to keep me going…and just as a foot note…I have to get rid of my pouch…beer belly so to say, without the beer. Anyhow, went about my morning chores followed by the push ups and I don know what exercises.

Then stepped out of my room for a cup of tea, and to my surprise it was all foggy outside…at 9 AM in the morning in Saudi Arabia. Now how strange is that? One imagines Saudi Arabia as a hot sizzling barren desert land with Sheikhs ruling the wilderness in their own barbaric ways. At least that’s what my picture of Saudi Arabia was until I landed here. I was right and wrong in that. It still is a desert land but with an infrastructure comparable or even a shade better than that of a US of A or a UK. But the ways here can definitely be termed barbaric. It’s a very orthodox Muslim country. And this too is an understatement. The locals are very arrogant and it gets a shade uncomfortable at times. There is basically nothing much to do apart from shopping off course, with the flurry of humongous malls and shopping arcades mushrooming up every nook and corner . There are no movie halls, no tourist attractions in the real sense so to say. I have even heard that one cannot even click snaps at public places. So it’s pretty much of an indoor kind of a place. Gloomy place for even a guy like me who s not much of a party animal.

But there are positives too, very few though, one of them being the monetary part. The employer provide for your food and shelter. A compulsory saving because you run out of options to spend. So in a way its good, but ultimately this is not some place you would want to stay for too long and no wonder I am dying to return back to India.

Its has been quiet a learning experience professionally and personally , but there still are a couple of months to go before I return. And I might be up for many a new experiences till then.

Escape...

Someone special has become a year old….and alas we are not together to celebrate. My thunderbird completed a year today in my possession. On this very day an year back I drove it out of its mothers womb so to say, the Royal Enfield show room in Bandra…and all the way till my office in Borivali. And that very first ride I knew that I was a proud owner of a very very special and priced possession, My Bird.

Since that 10th  day of December last year…I have shared many a great memories with it, and will hopefully continue to do so for many a winters. The whole process of buying my bird was a rollercoaster ride in itself. After quiet a lot of serious thought, rethought and no thought, I finally decided upon a silver Royal Enfield ,escape as they put it. Obviously I didn’t have the money to buy it on my own…and neither of the well known financial institutions were in any mood to loan me that big a credit. So I was back to the world’s best and simplest bank…my mom. And after some simple cajoling, she agreed to loan me almost the entire amount at 0%, and infinite term of return…

The test drive itself was mind blowing…and I could hardly wait to own of those might beasts myself. But the wait was gonna be a little long than I had hoped for. In the midst of all this excitement…another dream of mine was calling me…I had got a call for an AFSB interview…for the ignorant; it’s the Air Force Selection Board interview. And lo and behold I found myself on a Delhi bound Rajdhani at a couple of hours notice. Spent one of the best set of 5 days in Dehradun. Although my dream wasn’t to be fulfilled, I had made some very beautiful memories for life..and a bunch of not so beautiful but amazing friends. Within a couple of returning back from Dehradun , I had in my hands the keys of  my very own Silver Bird.

And the world was my play ground so to say….and from that day on it has become my escape….

Stuff of dreams..

Lately one of the prime things that excite me in life is to think and plan about a bike ride. Now the obvious question here is that how the hell am a planning a bike trip when I myself am sitting in this foreign land while my beloved Bird is literally across a sea, back home in India. But then it’s a plan….and people plan for years in advance, am merely planning a couple of months prior, and look how excited I am about the whole thing already.

Okay so let’s get to the actual thing now. I came across this article on rediff a couple of days back. It actually was one of those informative slideshows about this place called Pushkar back home in India. It’s a small town so to say some 15 kms from Ajmer, Rajasthan. It’s famous for this annual festival that is held there. Its actually in full swing as of now….and it’s all colorful and beautiful. Now where does this thing fit into the aforementioned bike trip scenario that I have been so ardently talking about?? Simple, Pushkar happens to be the supposed destination of my fantasy trip.

The travelers remain basically the same, my bird, myself and YES…Rathore. We have had a preliminary round of mail exchanges between us and he too is basically raring to go with a minor issue raised regarding leaves from office, which I am sure will be taken care of.
The trip, as when it happens, will be the longest ever for us as it would come to some 2200 kms to and fro. The maximum we have done till date is some 800+ kms on our ride to GpPule. I have been wanting to visit Rajasthan for quiet some time now…and what better way to do it than on my Bird and my buddy Rathore to keep company.

So that’s all to it as of now. I am trying to make it thorough this time….I hope am able to plan my plan to perfection.

Cheers…