Vasco Da Gama...here I come(Portugal)

Two short synopsis before going in to my experiences in Portugal.

When I was 11 years old, my mom and dad took me to Marina beach (world’s second longest beach).. an aero plane flew across the Bay of Bengal and I was asking my dad, “papa, I want to travel in plane.. will you take me”…he replied, “oh my dear, I am not so rich to take you in plane…I am sure one day you will travel to many places on your own by plane…don’t worry my son and kissed me on my face”…

When I was making my school trip to Mahabalipuram, one of the favorite spots for the westerner’s to make their holidays…I was looking at the white kids playing with their parents on the beautiful coastline of Mahabalipuram…I asked my teacher..”mam, where these people are from…they don’t seem to be from India..”.. she replied…”They are from Western world….they have lot of money to make their holidays in our country.”… I asked her… “Is it possible to go to their country mam”… she replied, “Do your duty…study well…surely one day you will travel to their country and kissed me on my face”… Let’s come back to the conclusion of these two stories at the end of this article…

Portugal was always in my list of European voyage…as usual booked my cheap tickets in Ryan Air before two months…landed in Faro in the state of Algarve…this southern coastline of Portugal has got some wonderful beaches…the interesting part is the small mountains near the coastline making it more picturesque.. the waves hitting hard at the foothills of the mountains is a sight to watch…I should say special thanks to Beate, a German who is living in Portugal for almost 25 years…showed me some wonderful unmanned beaches of Algarve…and provided accommodation for two days…it was great experience to stay in a small house in the middle of no where in the mountains…a perfect place to make my summer holidays…I cooked Sambhar and Chicken for Beate and her son which they definitely found it spicy.. ;)

Some of the must see beaches in Algarve are Lagos, Albufeira, Amoreira, Arrifana, Monto Clerigo, Sagres... each have their own flavour...all quite different from each other...Thank god sun was shining to the core...the bikinis were colorful...fortunately they were lying on the sand ;) met lot of Germans and Englanders partying to the core with their group in the beach...it was amazingly relaxing to forget all the programming variables and to sit near the beach with small moutain peaks nearby...Made a bicycle ride along the coastline for about 15 kms...great experience...Coming from a beach city of Chennai, I thought Portugal won’t fascinate me unlike other European countries..but the beaches I came across in Portugal was totally different from the beaches I came across all along in my life...one similarity is these coastline was some what similar to the beaches in Goa...now I realize why Vasco Da Gama liked Goa ;)

After saying final goodbye to Beate and her son, I moved to Lisbon from Faro...thought I have to spend my time alone in Lisbon...went to my youth hostel...boy thats where you meet people of your wavelength..the amazing back packers from Australia, US, Canada and Europe...formed a group with them and went to explore the night life of Lisbon...Lisbon has got some amazing restaurants, pubs and discos...a scenic city along the coastline...has a bridge replica to the golden gate bridge in San Fransisco..for a moment I thought I was in US...oh no...who wants to be in US after what Europe offered me... ;) Went to Sintra.. a small picturesque typical Portugues village near Lisbon...there is a beautiful castle on the top of the hill...thought could reach the top by walking...unfortunately ended up in taking a lift from the cars passing by ;) then went to Cascais, a small fishing village near Lisbon...the drive from Sintra to Cascais was awesome...a place called Cabo Da Roca is a must see place in Lisbon...the western most tip of Europe...breath taking view of the Atlantic coastline...then relaxed the fag end of my lovely trip on the beaches of Faro and finally took my flight back to Germany...

I should say Portuguese were very friendly,,,warm welcoming for the tourists in all the places...sorry Germans you need to learn more from them with respect to tourism and hospitality ;) I thought since I am travelling alone..it will be not that exciting but honestly met people from different background, countries and idea of leading a life...Yes thats what travelling offers to you...Travelling requires lot of planning, courage, swift decisions, tolerance, flexibility, adaptability which will definitely reflect in day to day life...Some people gets happiness by looking at their bank savings...some by admiring at their newly built houses...some by glaring at their BMWs or Mercedes or Toyatos..for me...the articles of my European endeavour is the right answer...

Lets come back to the conclusion of the two stories at the beginning of this article...It was always my dream to travel more than a typical Englishmen, German, American...initially I thought they are travelling a lot..its beacuse of their smartness...by goodness..after studied Economics...I realized its just merely because of the their strong purchasing parity of their currency and and after rubbing shoulders with them...I always knew that Indian analytics and programming variables is mightier and stronger than the crazy western drunkards in weekend night out parties to explore the world ;) I hope my travel experience provided some motivation for the young Indians and my fellow countrymen to lead a life away from India...

My dad’s words of travelling to many places on my own in plane and my teacher’s words of visiting foreign land and making holidays has been fulfilled in the midst of all the disturbances in this materialistic world )

Live your dreams and not dream your life!!
Sathish Kumar S