When does one need a break? I guess as many times as you feel like or you can afford to 🙂 The affordability part here is not about the money but the time you can take out for yourself.

So when the opportunity came in February, we packed our bags pronto and got set for the journey by road. Yes by road from Hyderabad to Goa. Initially we thought of a flight then a train but finally we decided what better way to explore than going by road.

A road trip is something else, isn’t it? The journey matters here more than the destination. You see, smell, perceive each and everything as you drive on the road.

But Initially the thought of a 14 hour trip looked daunting as I had not so good memories of a road trip I did to Goa almost 5 years ago with my cousins and friends where 9 of us got crammed into an Innova.

But this time was something else. I saw, felt and connected with everything as we passed through and stopped and admired the diverse landscape of India.

As we passed through Raichur, Karnataka, we passed good roads to bad to not so bad roads and  each village and town was telling us something.

As we were  passing a town called Amingad in Bagalkot district of Karnataka we saw something that was popping up in every shop. Every shop was claiming to have the Original ‘Karadant’ or ‘Karadantu’ .What the hell was this?

We stopped and got some of this Karadant and bit into it and am telling you this, chuck your ‘protein shakes and protein bars’, this was a delicious energy powerhouse! This particular ‘sweet’ is solely made of dry fruits, nuts, bengal gram flour and jaggery. Exclusive to Karnataka.

I wondered how many knew this awesome local Superfood that was being sold in sweet shops. It was more than just a delicacy or a dessert indulgence.

There were many highlights during this road trip. Seeing the world go by as you go by, you see how an attire, a landscape can completely change into a different culture and language.

To sit under the shade of the trees midway and have simple lemon rice made by your partner’s mother, these little pleasures are a luxury.

One of the most exhilarating sights was when we were in Ramdurg, a town in Belgaum District in Karnataka. It is believed that lord Rama stayed in this place during his exile and hence the name.

Filled with rolling hills and cool breeze we saw hordes and I mean hordes of bullock carts filled with women and children inside with the men walking beside them in a neat straight line not disturbing the traffic running for kilometres!

What a sight it was! Men, women, children in bright colours under the blazing sun with the carts decorated equally beautiful going to a temple festival, a mela and the beauty of it all was so overwhelming.

This is when one feels a tremendous love for this country, it’s land. The diversity of it all, to include and to make space for it all, it’s customs, rituals, to be and let it be.

We couldn’t help stopping and looking at this awesome sight in front of us as we saw women singing songs of yore The myriad colours in sunshine hits you hard as you openly gawk in awe at this splendor.

As we finally entered into the forest area just before Goa, I was pretty much struck by what we saw.

We consciously made a choice to stay at a teeny tiny lovely neat budget place. No judgement here but I truly wonder how people can stay in five star hotels in Goa when the whole action is out there! And when I mean action it means the one and only, The Sea!

The sandy beach, the sea, the colours, the culture, the buzz doesn’t make you want to sit inside your hotel room for a minute!

This might be the only place in India as far as I know where the room is just to crash for the night, because life is out there beckoning you to just enjoy every bit of it!

We got a nice place near Anjuna but far away from the touristy side of it and all we did the moment we checked in was to throw our bags, a quicker than you blink shower and got out!

Finally we were in Goa!