Ever wondered what goes through the mind of a Chef who is about to make a perfect dish. Is it really the recipe or the ingredients? Or is it about the spices?
You have got it wrong if you think the recipe is enough. It's the journey that matters at the end; the journey from the chopped vegetables to the final garnishing. The journey that can be described only by putting the whole process in perspective, by the amount of time the raw materials were put to heat, the variety of spices that were added, the stirring or the baking process that gave it the required texture. Only the chef understands this process. He can't simply write it down and get it replicated by someone else.
Similarly for a traveler the idea of a perfect holiday is something which stays at his core. There is lot of planning involved. And most of the planning happens in his mind. Whether he is able to execute exactly the same way he thought of is a different question altogether. In reality it can never happen. He can't control the nature, he can't control the journey. It's the journey that controls him. But he can definitely plan one.
I too have something in mind- although not as wild as Life of Pi or as unexpected as NH10.
The destinations include an Arabian town and the famous city of pyramids. The fascination of these place has its origin in my childhood. The source of one lies in the tales of Arabian nights. The tales that wandered through the narrow lanes of city market watching people shout and selling fruits and dates and Alladin carrying out his mischief with Abu and Iago. The source of other lies in the curious stories of mummies wrapped up in white bandages walking dead inside the pyramids. Of-course these are just stories but the desire to experience the market filled with the visuals of people wearing tapered cones on the head and the sight of magnanimous ancient constructions is still there.
Though the journey is better when you have a partner who shares similar enthusiasm, I will prefer to go for this one rather alone.
The journey shall begin from Kolkata, my hometown. There are quite a few direct flights to Madinah. And then there are quite a few from Madinah to Cairo.
The first step is obviously to get my backpack and stuff it with everything I could think of. It might miss my clothes but dare it miss my camera and the charger. The passport is ready to get stamped on one of its pages. I'll of course take care of the Umrah Visa which is a must to visit the city. The whole itinerary would look something like this:
Day 1: Booking a flight ticket from one of the International Airlines for Kolkata to Madinah
Day 2: Finding a hotel/room, getting some rest and heading towards the famous old market of the city
Day 3: Visiting famous mosques (e.g. Quba Mosque) and other historical monuments trying to strike a balance between childhood fantasy and reality
Day 4: Camel ride in the dense of the desert in the first half followed by flight to Cairo.
Day 5: Finding a place to stay and a tour to the Pyramids of Giza
Day 6: Visit to Pharaonic Village in the morning followed by a visit to the Sufi dance performances in the evening.
Day 7: Booking the final ticket of the journey and getting one of the International Flights from Cairo to Kolkata
At the end all I can say is that just like the chef the fantasy is in the mind. I am not sure if I will ever be able to recreate it. But if I do, there will be pages to do justice to each and every moment of that fantasy.
