Home Sweet Home

Anne and Monica's trip "around the world" ended for me with 3 weeks in my home country, Romania. This visit was not part of the original itinerary, but since I had a lot of British Airways miles and were able to buy tickets on miles for a very small fee, I decided to extend my trip and go see my family and friends back home.

Going back to Romania is always an emotional whirlwind for me. Being constantly surrounded by people I love and who love me back, seeing my parents and grandparents, tear-filled goodbyes, the uncertainty of whether I'm going to see certain family members again... all of these lead to a very emotionally-intense experience. It's not about experiencing new things and seeking adrenaline; it's about going back to one's roots, traditions, customs, upbringing, societal norms and all the things that built me, yet feel so remote from who I am today.

With my strong-as-a-rock, sassy, stubborn, sharp-tongued adorable grandma in her backyard.

Romania: the City, the Country and THE FOOD

What do I remember about Romania? Meeting Monica's friends and family, the city (Bucharest), the beautiful countryside and THE FOOD. Monica already wrote an entire blog post on Romanian food, so I won't get into it too much, but let me just attest to the fact that Romanian food is off the chain!

Enjoying a huge, delicious meal in Bucharest.

Monica and I stayed in her brother's apartment for a couple nights, and then moved over to the comfy couches of her friend Ana's apartment. Below is the first meal I ate in Romania, a breakfast of champions.

Perspectives

Today's blog post is about the myriads of ways people see the world around them, and how one can relate to or understand others' points of view. We often assume that our own point of view is shared by others around us and we carry this thought fallacy from either personal or professional perspectives. We see friends unable to comprehend your dislike of PB&J sandwiches or donuts. (I mean, who doesn't like donuts? You must be a total weirdo!) We see marketers who assume that using the words "awesome" and "fabulous" repeatedly in their copy will make every potential new user get really excited with their product/website/whatever it is they're trying to sell.

A Road Trip Across Rajasthan

Anne and I spent the second half of April 2012 in the north of India, more specifically a region called Rajasthan (which means "the land of the Rajas"). Being our first time in India, we experienced severe culture shock. In hindsight, had we started with the south of India and one of its big, modern cities (Calcutta, Bangalore or Mumbay), it may have been less shocking.

Anne in front of Humayun's tomb in Delhi.

To sum up the Rajasthan experience: extreme poverty, squalor, intense heat (~50C/120F), majestic forts and palaces from a glorious past, shacks and shanties from a not-so-glorious present, desert, overpopulation, incessant honking, dust, pollution, street vendors everywhere, skinny cows everywhere, mounds of garbage everywhere, flies everywhere, colorful saris, hundreds of eyes fixed upon us every waking minute. This blog post will focus on the beautiful relics of the past, the gems that attract thousands of tourists to Rajasthan every year. All photos included in this post have been selected carefully, so as to depict only the beauty, and not the squalor. I'll tackle that in a follow-up post.

Backpacking List

For a while now I've been really into backpack hiking. I could say it's my newly discovered love. There's something about being out there in the wilderness by yourself, away from civilization, cars, cell-phones, loud artificial sounds, hoards of people, that renews me and fills me up with happiness and energy. For those who like to run, they call it "the runner's high." I guess I have "the hiker's high," and you can probably speak about similar highs with any other outdoors activity. Whatever rocks your high boat!

I've long wanted to make an extensive list of all the items I need to bring with me when hiking, as there's always something I forget at home. The list below was borrowed from my friend David Pilz and slightly modified/expanded to suit my own packing needs. 

Some of the items on the list below are linking to my favorite camping items/brands, but that doesn't mean they are the best, or that I am endorsing a certain brand. They are just the items I've used and liked, and a good recommendation starting point for anyone building a "hiking kit" from scratch. 

The weight of your backpack with all the items inside it already should be less than 25% of your body weight, so, keep that in mind when purchasing new camping items, such as sleeping mat, tent or sleeping bag. Today, you can find extremely light and compact camping gear. Some of it can be expensive, but it's worth it, if you know you'll be hiking or camping a lot. I've had my ultralight sleeping bag, mat and tent for years now, have used them tons of times and never regret the investment.