It's two days since my return from a five weeks vacation in Bangalore. I am brain dead from fatigue. My feet are as swollen like peeled potatoes in water. And I am acutely aware of every muscle in my body. My eyes can't seem to keep themselves open. But I am happy to be back with my kids and have my head hit the very familiar pillow. I already miss the people back there, although I understand I am far lucky compared to my parent's generation, when it comes to communication. I can have a conversation with the family and not feel the dent on my pocket.
I took a sabbatical from being a wife and mother and went alone. I was skeptical about enjoying the trip. I thought, I would be miserable as I would miss my kids and my husband. But the other option was that of taking the kids and risk having them fall ill (like they have done over the last 3 trips) and have the vacation cut short by at least 2 weeks of hospital trips. So off I went, Alone.
The flight was quite uneventful except for the tour I took at Kualalumpur, Malaysia. There was a group of Desis, most on the same flight as I was, who wanted to go for the tour. It was a 10 hour stop over. So 10 adults and 9 kids got into two vans and off we went visiting the Batu caves, independence square, the King's palace and Petronas towers. It was a fun trip. They were a fun loving lot.
Malaysia is a country that is really green. The roads and parks are well maintained. It was hot and humid. A word of advice- please do take water or exchange just enough ringits(malay currency) to buy some water.. most shops(except in the big malls) do not take credit cards. Also wear something that doesn't stick to your body when you sweat.
I was impressed at the architecture of some of the buildings in Kualalumpur. The Petronas Towers, the stadium, the independence square, the airport are very creatively put together. Most of us climbed up the 262 steps up to the Batu cave temple.. The view from the top was awesome. The inside of the Petronas tower felt like viewing the peeling of a bud or the layers of an onion..Returning from the trip we were all very tired.. the chatter in the van had died down, replaced by gentle snores.
I have been lonely but I have never really been alone. It is one of the perks of being a housewife, you are really never alone. Even when there is no one physically around you, you are constantly pre-occupied with thoughts of the people in your life. What would they like for lunch/dinner/breakfast; what needs to be talked over with the spouse; where would the children love to go this weekend; who is visiting us(or invited us) at tea or dinner; what new activities could my children do, etc, etc. I had forgotten what it felt like to work on a full brain without any pre-occupation of what I needed to do next and for who I had to do it. I finally was able to think about what I want.
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