A beautiful morning on the tip of western Ghats, I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping in the window of my hotel room.  I’m not a morning bird, but that morning I woke up as the sun spread it’s first sunshine because I don’t want to miss the spectacular beauty of AGUMBE. The cold breeze welcomed my face as I stepped outside of my room and overwhelmed by the naturally bestowed small village in the western Ghats. The fog covered village surrounded by the hills boasts of thick tropical rain-forest, the sound of vehicle tyres screeching in the distance, smell of the famous south Indian breakfast Idli Sambar and a chilly weather, what can I ask more. It was completely a dreamy morning.

            Staying at Agumbe was my hubby’s long-term wish. It was a sudden, spurt of the moment plan which I don’t regret one bit. Two days prior to this, we had been on a road trip to Gokarna (a beach destination in Karnataka) me, my husband and his cousin with his wife. While coming back we wanted to take detour and took the long way(scenic route) back home. On the way we stopped at Kundapura, a famous coastal town in Karnataka for lunch, much anticipated lunch because it is famous for coastal foods. We had a delightful lunch at Shetty’s lunch home, a famous restaurant and it was already late afternoon. We still had 5 hours journey in front of us to our farmhouse where we were hosting a new year’s eve party the next day. Suddenly my husband suggested we all stay at Agumbe for the night and can leave in the morning. After much discussion and checking the room rate on every possible booking app, we all agreed to stay at Agumbe. By the time we finished our coastal cuisine, it was almost 4.00 PM. Travelling through those thick tropical rainforest roads during the day is one thing, travelling through them at dusk is quite another. Nevertheless, it was as beautiful as it was scary. We reached Agumbe by evening 7.30. The next day, we woke up to birds chirping by our window side and left Agumbe by 10.15AM. Later in the night we had a great new year’s eve party with my loved ones at our farmhouse.  We danced like nuts, burst fire crackers and had an amazing new year night.

            But the next day we all were so exhausted. All plans we had made during the previous night became flopped. We were so excited about taking off road drive to some nearby hill, but we couldn’t make it. Why I’m telling you this story is because I think I can relate this to our present situation. How we made plans for 2020 and it all ruined by the pandemic. We invited this year hoping this year might bring something new or something change in our lives. All our planning goes down the drain, each plan became held up. Obviously sometimes things don’t turn out as we hoped.

Himalaya Pure Hands | Hand Sanitizer – 500 ml (Lemon)

But look at the bright side. When the things which we took for granted are no longer guaranteed to us then we will truly start appreciating those things. This pandemic brings us the true value of family, mother earth, our job and so many other things which we neglected before. It was like a sudden break from our busy and monotonous life. We have to accept it and move on.

            Let’s hope for the best and pray for the better future. Also, I want to thank doctors, police, health care workers and also the government for helping us get through this pandemic alive.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – Lennon

How you welcomed this year and how you feel about it? Share your experiences with me.