I mixed business with travel

“Life is a journey, and if you fall in love with this journey, you will fall in love forever.” Peter Hegarty

ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ

Life itself is a journey full of ups and downs. Some memories are sweet, while others are full of adventures and give you hope for your future. However, together they form our life. One of the most important journeys of my life was from my childhood when I was 9 years old and my whole family went to Mussoorie.

It was special because I went to a hill station for the first time in my life. I was excited to experience the joy of being in the beauty of the place, which I wanted to experience. Perhaps this trip was the trigger point of my life that made me a nomad.

On that occasion, we reached there by evening, and the next day we went for a long hike in the hills, which was an exciting and adventurous experience for the first time in my life. The attractive green hills with tall pine trees were eye-catching. The cool, pleasant breeze caressing our faces made us feel like we were in a dreamland.

We saw many foreigners who had come to see the beauty and amazing atmosphere of the place. The beauty of that place cannot be described in words. I felt that it is truly the 'Queen of Hills'. It was such an amazing and memorable experience that I can still remember it with the pictures of that beautiful trip. It's not that all our trips were pleasant and we did not face problems. But we saw an opportunity in every problem and took it as part of the journey.

During my trip to Nainital, I had some sweet and sour experiences. I got a chance to experience new food and art in that city. There I ate mostly in local restaurants, where I experienced unique tastes. The food here was very delicious, and the cuisine there inspired me to learn more about the local food.

During my trip, I also experienced going through a dangerous situation as our boat got caught in a storm in Naini Lake. It was very scary, so my wife and daughter were worried as we could hear screams coming from other boats.

Then the power of the city went off due to the storm, and it started drizzling. We were not able to see anything in the dark as it was around 7 pm, and the location of Nainital is such that even in summer the sun sets before 6 pm as it is surrounded by high hills.

Somehow I brought the boat to the shore, found the boatman and handed over the boat to him. Meanwhile, my daughter and wife were holding the rope of the boat so that the boat did not get lost in the lake.

ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ
But the beauty of this place mesmerized us. This trip filled us with experiences, and it is an experience that we will never forget.

I often visit famous places like Haridwar and Rishikesh, and just last month I was going but came back due to an accident on the way. But last year's two-day trip was unique.

ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐⁱⁿᵉ
We reached Rishikesh by afternoon, where we had a lot of fun and ate food at Chotivala. Then we drove along the river bank to reach the place where rafting starts, and at night enjoyed camping bonfires and a night in the jungle.

The next day, after breakfast, we visited the famous Lakshman Jhula, situated on the river Ganges. This swing is used by pedestrians to cross the river and go to the other side of the city. It was really fun and an experience for me, which seems new every time. Walking in the crowded markets of Rishikesh is fun in itself.

Many people travel for different purposes but me and my wife often travel within the country and to other countries for vacations and go on pleasure trips. I have taken full advantage of my marketing job which provided me the chance to travel officially. We like to travel to hilly areas as much as we love seaside places. So we never thought twice if there was a travel location nearby and I was on an official trip, my wife always said, yes.

I often traveled to places for official purposes, and I knew that a tourist spot was close to the city I was visiting. I always informed my immediate boss that I would spend my weekends at that location.

I often added a location to my travel on my way or while coming back from a business tour, and my wife accompanies me on most such occasions. I have always added exotic locations just to make our trip special.

There is a saying, don't mix work with pleasure but I have scheduled some of my official trips in such a way that we stayed there on weekends either before the trips started but mostly at the end of the trips.
ⁱᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵈⁱᶠᶠᵉʳᵉⁿᵗ ˡᵒᶜᵃᵗⁱⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵃᵗ ᵈⁱᶠᶠᵉʳᵉⁿᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉˢ.