Capturing an Opportunity: March 2017

Generally speaking I like to travel alone but when the company, paths and personalities match I'm all for it. My latest travel buddy whom I parted ways with about 10 days ago was my Mom. Of all the countries she joined me to take head on, it was India. It was a semi-impromtu decision as she recently turned over her small business to a manager making herself unofficially retired so she could afford to make such a drastic change to her day to day life. For two weeks she left Dad at home (Sorry Dad, someones gotta pay the bills....) to join me in the mayhem of the second most populated country in the world. Just to be nice she asked if she could join when there was no chance I could say no. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. Mother and son exploring India on a budget, of some sort. Not many people can say that. She could have asked for us to stay in the nice(r) hotels or eat at the upper end restaurants but she opted not to. Which I loved! It gave us a chance to feel the grungier side of India together. Plus, we could allot money to more important things like a few stiff drinks here or there. We hit a fine line in-between backpacking and moderate spending for any traveler. She enjoyed the rollercoaster, from what I could tell. Not everything was perfect, nor on-time, nor worth it's value. But that's India. For Petes sake the first hotel we stayed at in Fort Kochi, Kerala was complete dogshit. Didn't stop her. We made the most of it and had a whale of a time.

I was so proud of her after it was all said and done. She worked her tail off to keep up with me when sometimes I got into my go-go-go mood(s) or when the cookies didn't exactly crumble in her/our favor. Take a quick gander at what she did/went through for a women who has children in three different decades and with the help of my Dad run a successful small business for almost 25 years.

Before she even stepped foot onto the first leg of her flight(s) for India out of Seattle it was delayed four hours. That's not terrible but never a good way to start a trip.
She rode on the back of a scooter with me. Not all Mom's would do this especially with their son behind the wheel. Perfect example : My Mom and I met a Mother and son spending holiday on the beaches of Goa. After a few drinks together we got to talking about riding scooters around and the other Mom basically said no way in hell am I getting on the back of scooter with my Son. My Mom not only trusted me but took on the thrill as a backseat-viewer
She went paragliding for the first time. For a women who is not so fond of heights it was an amazing thing to see
She trekked into multiple Nature Reserves in absolutely scorching heat. Most notably one when it was easily over a 100° fahrenheit where we spotted wild dogs, boars and monkeys.
She went from a “beginner” barterer to “semi-advanced” barterer in just over two weeks. She found her own niche in doing it as well. She would kill the seller with kindness. Her soft polite voice got products down to a reasonable offer but if not she would walk away knowing there were always more options
She powered through sleepless nights. On an evening when we HAD to get a good nights rest for our next day adventures of an Elephant Rehabilitation Center and some bird watching we were interrupted by street dogs ALL night. Right outside our window. Just barking away. Why? Who the hell knows. With only hour(ish) spurts of sleep that night the following day turned out highly exhausting but well worth it!
She ate all the food with no qualms. Hygiene isn't exactly a top priority in India hence the term Delhi-Belly for the sick travellers there. But she explored the street food and essentially anything off a menu when we went to proper sit down eateries.

After typing all of these out it makes me respect my Mom even more. The list above doesn't even account for any of the jet-leg, awkward arrival times into India or out of India. She flew half way around the world from Seattle to see me and see a country that can push itself onto the viewer without any warning.

Thanks for the visit Mom. I'll never forget our time in India. Love you.