Tips for Trekking – Push Yourself to the Max!

A short exchange with a friend about his backpacking trips along the Manistee River in Michigan and to Quandary Peak in Colorado prompted me to look for my long-lost hiking shoes. Hidden in a dark corner, I found my dusty pair still usable. Next was a seasonal call to my friend Fauziah, a regular trekker who by now was used to my I-want-to-join-but-will-ultimately-not-show-up calls. My bad, Fauziah. 
 

Here’s the catch. My last trekking trip happened a while ago. Fours years ago, to be precise. I explored what I termed the “deep, black forest".  Images of Little Red Riding Hood seeped into my thoughts as I looked out for wild beasts. Fortunately, there was no need to fear the Big Bad Wolf when you are accompanied by three friends in dark shades and hoodies. 👇👇👇

 

Today, four years later, I explored a bit of the local neighbourhood greenery with Fauziah and her friend Anis. Since I had not stressed my quadriceps and knees for climbing hills in ages,  I begged Monday to have mercy on me. So, if you are new to trekking or a bit rusty like me, here are a few handy reminders for your inaugural trip. First, grab some coffee, and look - that's us here 👇👇👇.

 

Tips for Trek and Trail.

• Get real and know your limits. 

If you feel faint, or experience lack of oxygen or feel a cramp while climbing, pause for a bit.  Don’t be shy to seek help from other trekkers close by. 

If you are a first-timer, you may want to explore several warm-up trails before you aim for one as high as the Everest. 

 

At the same time, push yourself one step at the time to the max. Only you have the power to do anything you set your mind to. Remember, the views are often breath-taking!

 

• Rest when you need it. 

Your body knows the best. Rest when you need to, and drink plenty of water. Listen to your body, no one else can hear it. 

 

A cup of coffee at this point would certainly be fitting, wouldn't you agree?

 

 

• Be on time. 

Time spent waiting is time wasted. There is so much life to explore in nature, so don’t hold your fellow trekkers up from experiencing it.

We hiked up this mini hill  👇 a bit too early. Lets just say we were lucky that morning (we didn't get locked-up). 

• Have a light but good meal (and some coffee). 

Roti goyang, or eggs on toast, is a perfect start to a trekking day.  And some coffee, naturally.

 

• Not everything is edible. 

Even if you find something that looks tasty on the trail, don’t put it into your pasta dish.

 

• Wear a pair of good, comfortable shoes. 

Good climbing shoes need not be expensive, but they should have anti-slip/anti-skid threads. I also found having short toenails makes a mountainous descent less painful.

 

• Bring a cap. 

It usually gets hot (sometimes cold) as you climb, so it’s always handy to have a sun hat or cap  (or a jacket) with you. Here is a handy packing checklist.

 

• Stop the spread of coronavirus. 

Wear your face mask and practice social distancing while you have fun!

 

• Respect nature. 

We only have one Earth. Respect and protect her for us and future generations. Here are other ways you can be a conscientious traveller.

• Protect the streams and rivers. 

Avoid being a litterbug and protect the streams. 

Do take note that you may not be able to take a dip in all the rivers/streams. 

 

• Watch your step. 

You never know when a crocodile is around the corner. Did I tell you that I fell into the river during one of my trips? Well, I did and so did my camera. Clumsy me. After that incident, I took up swimming classes. Well, this was probably one of the last few shots from that camera. (Bonus Tip: Hold on tight to your camera and phone [and selfie sticks] when you take photos.)  

 

 

• Knock to see who is at home. 

It looks like Red Riding Hood left a few years earlier, don’t you agree? You cannot stay here either.

 

• Not all open doors welcome visitors. 

The tenant occupying this space may not be pleased. Think twice about putting your hands or face into something like this.

 

• Use a map. 

Stairways to nowhere … 

Now, now, don’t panic. Your map can tell you where the path leads. If you don’t have a physical map, snap a photo of the trail path at the trailhead. If that's not available either then the next best option would be to hire an experienced guide. 

  

I am rewinding a couple of years to the past to this picture below. Over here, we were in the good hands of a professional guide at the Mount Kinabalu National Park. We made it through the dark rainforest, to the peak and back safely. Hola!

 

Every time I push myself on one of these trips, I am reminded of my dear friend Malcolm, who encouraged my friends and me to keep climbing. “The peak is just around the corner,” he’d say, and told us so for hours! Here’s one from Snowdonia National Park, Wales with him. Definitely a keeper.

You'd notice that the reminders here are not all from the regular trekker's guide. You can get those from many other websites and blogs. What are your favourite reminders?

 
I survived Monday and every other day. I am here today. And so are you. Have faith in your abilities, push yourself to the max, and reach for the highest star as we embark great life journeys. Remember that struggles are temporary, but the sweet smell of achievement lasts forever. Counting Stars, Reaching Delphi.
 

* The pictures posted in this article were from six different trips, spanning across many few years. 

** Inspiration quotes on Earth have been imprinted onto my original images.  

Three Days in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The Essentials.

Hallo, Welkom in Nederland! I am travelling back in the time to take you on a journey to the beautiful tulip capital of the world, the Netherlands. Amsterdam is where we will start. If you are familiar with this part of central Europe, you probably can relate to what I going to share with you today.

I have a long list of silly but rather complicated quests that I’d like to complete in life. I guess you could call this my version of a bucket list. But no matter what you call it, my list of wants got slightly shorter after this visit.

My earliest recollection of Amsterdam is breakfast with my parents next to a canal with windmills in the distance. The fresh smell of hot toasted bread and taste of sweet marmalade feel so real I can hardly believe I was only eight then.

When I grew and began to understand the world around me more clearly, I read the memoirs of a child named Anne Frank, and her experience of hiding during World War II saddened me deeply. I yearned to pay tribute to her and the many like her who had gone through such ordeal. Starry nights and sunflowers reminded me of the great painter who had off cut his ear of because the world didn’t understand him. I felt a connection with him, some days, for I feel the world doesn’t understand me either. I was eager to see his work. Finally, I fancied a nice hot brew and some Ams-cake to go with it. All these opportunities only existed in Amsterdam.

Our trip was a short stopover on our way back from the United States, and it involved carrying a few heavy suitcases, which are usually a no-no for us. But these rules can be broken from time to time, especially for precious occasions like little Shruti’s wedding in Detroit. Just to side-track a bit – a couple of pointers to remember if you haven’t been to an Indian wedding yet. First, the music is never too loud, so enjoy the variety you hear. Everyone from young to less young can dance, so let your hair down, let go and join the fun. Second, make sure you have the right clothes for the events. In other words, pack ’em right! We did, but what we brought wasn’t exactly what you’d like to wear in late-autumn-early-winter Amsterdam. So, there was only one thing left to do. Stuff in the rest. **

How We Got to Our Hotel From Schiphol

Picture this in Amsterdam: Early morning, rain, strong winds, jet lag, heavy suitcases. Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal Station. Cobblestone-paved streets, the wind almost lifting our umbrellas. Watch out! Bicycles in all directions but you can’t see them because of the rain gets in your eyes. Find the hotel. Found it! No lift? OK. Don’t panic. Time to build those muscles! Ugh. Hotel room! Phew!

Did I learn anything? Yes! Would I do it again? Naturally! Would I change anything? Add a pair of goggles to the packing checklist, and most importantly, while in Amsterdam call my dear friend Stephan! *

Where to Stay in Amsterdam

Amsterdam offers a wide array of hotel options to suit any budget. We stayed at a very decent budget hotel approximately 300 metres away from Amsterdam Centraal Station. This turned out to be the perfect choice for our trip.

Cycling Around Amsterdam

About bicycles: Amsterdam is the most bicycle-friendly city in the world. There are approximately 400 kilometres of bike lanes and paths in the city. I had been warned to watch out for the bicycles, which are ridden in both directions. Every resident knows how to cycle. It’s the most efficient and environmentally friendly way to get to any place in the city, rain or shine. The Dutch are very eco-conscious by nature.  It’s even common for riders to hold umbrellas or have young children strapped on child-size harnesses on the front or back of their bikes. It’s hard to comprehend, but driving in Amsterdam is not a convenient option.

 

Did You See the Dutch Canals?

While cycling or walking around the older part of the city, you’d notice stretches of canals – in fact over 100 kilometres of them. These canals were constructed in the 17th century mostly for residential development, defence, and water-management purposes. Today they are used for tourism, recreation, and private transportation. 

The waterway you see in the picture below and, at the beginning of this article is Prinsengracht, which is close by to Anne Frank’s house.

Amsterdam was originally a fishing village but became an important port in the 17th century, setting the stage for becoming the centre of trade and finance it is today.

 

Popular Dutch Beers

Heard of Heineken? It’s a popular Dutch beer sold internationally. Other popular brands include Pale and Grolsch. Cheers mate!

 

Tulip Season in the Netherlands

Since our visit was in early winter, we didn’t get a chance to see the summer tulips. Below are beautiful pictures of them and the spring daffodils taken recently.

Dutch Windmills!

Windmills are another Dutch icon. We didn’t have enough nights planned out for this trip, so we decided to visit only Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum, on the outskirts of Amsterdam. 

Getting to Zaanse Schans was a short and comfortable ride – just a 17-minute train ride between Amsterdam Centraal and Zaandijk and then a 15-minute walk in the chilling wind to the museum centre. We surrendered to the strong winds and took a bus instead. I am not sure if we were just there too early or if others were more sensible and decided to stay indoors, but Zaanse Schans was not very crowded during our visit. On the warm side of winter, I didn’t have to wait at all to get into these gigantic clogs.

Over at the museum, we got to see many historical windmills. Did you know that there were once around 10,000 windmills in the Netherlands? One thousand of these mills are still standing today. Some are opened for the public to visit, and others are actual homes! I wouldn’t mind staying in one. The windmills were particularly an important aspect of farming in the country. The mills were used to pump the water out of the canals and send it back into the rivers.

 

Where Can We Get Cheese in Amsterdam?

Are you a cheese lover? Yes? Then no trip to the Netherlands is complete without visiting a cheese farm. Gouda cheese the most iconic cheese of the region. Doc loves cheese, but since I prefer the grilled version of it, we compromised on this: gouda from a cheese speciality store for Doc and a Dutch grilled cheese sandwich for both of us. Oh, yummy, yummy, yummy. Both of us were pleased. Thumbs up!

 

Coffee in Amsterdam

The Dutch love their koffie. But do remember, if you want some coffee in Amsterdam, you should go to go to a café or coffeehouse.

And look, here is coffee from a coffeehouse from Stephan. Splendid! We are even happier now!

The Dutch first brought coffee to Indonesia (then known as the Dutch Indies) back in the 19th century. They restructured the plantations and implemented a cultivation quota for coffee to be exported to the Netherlands. The Netherlands then and still is an important influencer in the international coffee trade.

You’ll also notice coffeeshops throughout Amsterdam, but note that there is a difference between a coffeehouse and a coffeeshop. At coffeeshops, people can legally buy soft drugs in addition to coffee.

So, if you just want a good caffeine fix, get one at a coffeehouse. And that’s exactly what we did to complete our trip to the Netherlands.

 

Sitting there at Schiphol airport on the way back, I couldn’t recollect whether Zaanse Schans was where I had first seen the Dutch windmills. Nevertheless, I was happy to see these once again. Over the past few months, I have come to accept that time is limited. Time waits for no one. When I do visit Amsterdam again, I would visit the same places all over again, taking back with me even more cherished memories. 😊 Counting stars, cherishing the pleasant memories in search Delphi…… ReachingDelphi.

* Thank you for the lovely photos Stephan. 

** for more an Indian wedding experience, join me in Nashik, India. 

Watch Out! What the Heck! You told me you were close by!   

We decided to take a short trip to Goa during an extended holiday weekend. The travel time to Vasco Da Gama city, from where we were, was only four hours, and it fit well with our quest for a short break; plus, I had previously read that I could experience some of the leftover ’60s hippie counterculture there. Oh yesterday, here we come!

To keep a long story short, I transferred the initial deposit to the hotel booking site, and the balance was to be settled at the hotel upon check-in. The booking site had captured our credit card information, so I knew they would impose penalties for a no-show. There was no refund for a cancelation, either. I was sold just by looking at the beautiful pictures of eco-friendly chalets by the beach; you know, like the ones celebrities stay at. There was more, of course; the unlimited WiFi; scrumptious local and international breakfast each morning; free-flow coffee throughout the day; and complimentary yoga and dinner by the pool. With 70% knocked off the original rate, this deal was quite a steal. There was one more thing – the icing on the cake for me – was the idea of having an attached outdoor roofless bath and toilet, with full privacy and with only the chirping birds during the day, and the glittering stars at night – the small pleasures in life that make me say yes, YES!

Refund? Yeah, well, think again sweetheart – you do not need one when you are in paradise, I had told myself.

How long would it take to get there from the airport? “Oh madam, we are close by, just half an hour.”  I was smirking ear to ear and serenading a tuneless song.  I requested the reservations officer, via email, to have dinner ready for us, as we would be arriving late.

And, in the excitement, it slipped my mind to check where the hotel was exactly. Oh, dear me!  India is a huge country and the coastal shores of Goa stretch for hundreds of miles.

We arrived in Vasco da Gama late and hungry. Doc wanted to have a full dinner, I did not. “We’re only half an hour away,” I said. “Famous last words,” he replied. Based on my previous miscalculations, I knew it would be wise for me to agree, so we ordered a quick meal. The workers at the food outlet were unfriendly. I found the dosa tasteless, and even I, the one with the ‘no-coffee-after 3pm’ rule found the booster too weak. But, in all fairness it was indeed a much-needed reserve for the next leg of our trip.

 

We looked at our watches uncomfortably. We had already travelled an hour on dark winding roads.

'How much longer?' I asked.

The driver replied, 'About another hour to go, at least.'

'What, are we going to Maharashtra?'

'Almost', he said.

'Oh blimey! Where are you taking us this time, Uma?'

Eventually we found the place. The resort’s hippy-happy atmosphere did not wash away the fact that they had misinformed us, their guests, about their location and their services. We were two unhappy people in happy-go-lucky Goa. To add to our disappointment, we learnt that WiFi was only available in the hotel lobby, and that the breakfast dining room did not have an ocean view, which was mentioned on the booking site – more unkept promises. The eco-styled room was extremely basic. I was too upset to look up at the stars from the open-air bathroom that night, and neither did I hear chirping birds the next morning. I noticed several lizards, which I am not fond of at all. To make matters worse, the hotel refused to accept credit card  nor provide proof for cash payment. Both printer and credit card reader were faulty, they said. We did not like this at all!   

The next day, we realised all the important places of interest were very far away from where we were. It would easily take two hours to travel each way, just to see the historic sites we had planned to visit. Since our holiday hours were limited, we requested a refund due to the misinformation they had provided. The booking website mentioned the hotel was only 26 kilometres from the state’s international airport, or half an hour by cab. Well, even Superman would not have been able to get us there in that time.

Stop smirking, I was terribly upset.

We checked-out on the second day, forfeited our pre-payment, travelled back to the city, and found a really charming colonial-style boutique hotel in the historic Portuguese centre. The rest of the vacation was pleasant, and that was when I fell in love with Goa! Check out the links at the bottom for more on Goa. 

So, do watch out! Be aware, do your groundwork, and plan your visits before you decide where to go and places to see. Time is essential, time is money. Choose your hotel location carefully, otherwise your holiday memory will be mainly of the roads and the goat crossings.  And, Doc would call you Mandrem for life.  So, watch out and don’t assume anything.

What I have learnt:

• Time is your life. There is no dollar value attached to the limited vacation time you have, so use it wisely. Select a place to stay that minimises your travel time.
• Each has a different interpretation of the term 'close by'. 
• Eat a little before you start any trip. You never know what to expect on the way.
• Roofless showers are not a deciding factor to where you want to stay.
• The life Angelina Jolie has is not my reality. So, wake up. The coffee smells strong, the life I have is perfect as it is and so is yours! [Angelina, I love & support the humanitarian work you do 💗]
• Know that marketers will write to captivate. That is their job. It is our duty as travellers to evaluate what is beneath all that and make a sound decision based on reviews and instinct. Explore the many advisory forums available today. Having said this, I always do the due-diligence, but for this trip, no one commented on the misinformation of distance as a concern. As a responsible traveller, I provided my feedback later online. 
• Check the payment policy and terms before you make a booking. opt for credit card or online payments as they are more secure. It is not safe to travel with with plenty of hard-cash.
• Confirmation of purchase is important. The hotel printer was faulty. By this time, I had completely lost trust in this hotel. We insisted on a written receipt. They eventually provided one upon checkout.
• Purchase a local mobile service with  data and call plan for your communication needs at the airport. These days, this is an essential service, especially during an emergency. In this case, WiFi was not available, as promised by the hotel. Alternatively, your own service provider may provide international roaming services, but these can be expensive when compared to the local option. 

Footnote:

Regardless of whether you are a business traveller or vacationer, a one-time or frequent traveller – if you travel, you are exposed to risks. It’s important to understand that some of us are easier targets than others.

Doc was a sensible traveller, while I, quite the opposite. Through Watch Out! Travel Mishaps from Reaching Delphi Travellers Alert series, I will share some of our travel misadventures with you. My aim is to create the awareness of such incidents and some useful suggestions to reduce the occurrence of unpleasant events. 

This series is dedicated to Doc - SV Narayanan, who constantly reminded me and many others to 'Watch Out!. 

Follow Coffee Trail – Counting Stars, Reaching Delphi for travel updates and tips.

 

Also in the WatchOut! series:

Watch Out! Keep Your Eyes on the Passport

Watch Out! Watch Those Pryfing Eyes

When a Stranger Offers You Something

Watch Out! When It Sounds Too Good to Be True

Hopscotch, Hopscotch, Hop Your Way to the Entrance.

Hickory Dickory Dock, What’s with the clock?

To know or not to know… yours truly, Confetti

Trick or Treat, Watch Out and Decide Wisely.

Watch Out! What the Heck! You told me you were close by!

Watch Out! Excuse me, say that again - No reservations?

Watch Out! Secure Your Belongings Before You Leave the Room.

Watch Out! The Banquette Seat Ride  

 

Your GOA Guide

[Goa] Panjim: An Ultimate Guide.

[Goa] Find me a beach - A Miramar Beach plan

The butterflies and hearts on a sun-kissed Mandovi cruise.