No one is really yours
Everyone is just playing their roles
If you think, they are yours
Believe me, my friend, you’re wrong
There are moments of light
When you feel bright
Your hope rises, and dreams shine
If you think, they are yours
Believe me, my friend, you’re wrong
When you love, they love you back
When you respect, they respect you back
But in moment of truth, they hold back
Then you realise, the square one is back
Then you realise, you’re all alone
Everyone is just playing their role
I hadn’t thought I’d write about this until the day I baked because I realised my page isn’t just a travel blog, it is about sharing experiences of exploring myself. Doing anything new is exploringoneself. Bringing out hidden capabilities and developing new skills. Therefore, here we go.
Since I was a teen, I have always enjoyed being home alone. With my husband travelling to Africa, I was going to be on my own for 10 days – one more thing to check off as first times. I had made a list of things I would do which broadly consisted of watching movies / tv series that I like, trying my hands at baking, and shopping!!! Movies / tv series didn’t turn out that well until 4th/5th day and being a ‘skinflint’, shopping was also regular, nothing special. So let’s talk about what happened with baking.
It was Friday evening. First weekend alone, he has never left me alone in these years. I decided to bake Shepherd’s Pie and checked the recipe online. I had all the ingredients (or so I thought) to make ‘my’ version of the pie – that’s a better way to put it than to say I made the pie from whatever I had available. As soon as I began gathering the ingredients, I realised I didn’t have butter. Cannot prepare the potato mash without butter! All right, I decided to quickly pop out to a co-op next door. The guy on the counter said he cannot take card payment for less than £5. Duh!
While walking back home to get some cash, thoughts filled my mind. God has mysterious ways of playing games when you are on the roll to have fun. I think He enjoys putting little obstacles, perhaps to check how determined you are! I always love playing these little Chess games with Him. I also missed India so much – in India, all local shopkeepers know you and in a situation like this they say, “Koi baat nahi behenji, kal de dena..” (Don’t worry ma’am, pay tomorrow).
Following the recipe outline, I prepared the ingredients, heated the oven and now it was time to be patient. I kept checking from the oven ‘window’ for the potato layer to turn a bit golden. I ended up baking longer than recommended in the recipe but the outcome was simply delicious!
Yes it is a lot. A lot for me. It served me for lunch and dinner for the next day as well.
Delighted with my first experience, next on list was scones. I had checked ingredients, shopped in advance, had checked the recipe several times and had also observed a friend bake them nearly a week ago. The waiting time was difficult to pass which I managed, although checking frequently how my scones were doing. It was relishing to watch the scones rise. A feeling of accomplishment. I took them out and found out they had risen into a weird shape! However when I tasted them after they had cooled, they were really good. Every ingredient was in its correct proportion. Although I could have let them bake for a little longer and made them little smaller in size.
Second straight success boosted my confidence. Next day was the short bread day. Same story – all ingredients checked, batter prepared – had to keep adding flour to get the correct thickness because I added too much butter – but the rest remains the same. The wait, the peeping through the window, opening and checking the aroma – the same emotions. Once done and cooled, I took a piece, and… ..and they were delicious just that we cannot name them shortbread!! They were soft as a cookie. Too much butter I believe.
But hey, that’s what we all do. We all make mistakes the first time round – at least I am brave to write it on the blog!
Anyhow I hope you enjoyed the read and that it triggered memories of similar stories. Stay tuned with this page for more fun stories 😊
Written by: Chahna D.
Edited by: Milauni T.
(When two girls are on a roll- You’re in for a long yet fun read)
Good things always start without a plan. They hit you amidst the routine of your life and you never expect magic was just around the corner. So, for me- It all started with a video call one night with our friends in Scotland who wanted to discuss about a life-turning decision they had to take. When pondered over the conversation later, we all woke up next morning feeling closer to each other and expressed our sentiments in our group chat. In the flow of emotions, I asked the girl out on a date. Never expected it to materialise, nonetheless never also expected it wouldn’t really happen.
Next day, she was looking up for places we could go. She called me during lunch to discuss on a suitable weekend and before we knew, we had booked our stay in York, a historic walled city in North Yorkshire, England located at the confluence of river Ouse and Foss. The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD. Ancient charm never fades, isn’t it?
It was 4 days till the D-Day!!
As per the plan, she was going to take the train from Edinburgh and I was to drive. Drive nearly 240 miles. Wohoo- a first time for many things- first long self-drive. The husband was confident that I would be able to easily pull it off (rather drive it off 😉).
I did not let my mind ponder over it until the day of my travel. Everyone at my work was concerned as I was leaving straight after work. My manager was kind (and worried!) that he allowed me to leave early.
A vortex of emotions hit me- and hit me hard. The butterflies had found their way in to my gut and I was feeling confident one minute and nervous the other. Nevertheless, I shot off at the decided time, put up the online radio for Hindi songs, put up the navigation, had a hydrating drink and a couple of Mars bars within my reach, perfect air con temperature, said a short prayer and started the ignition- Vrrrooommm!!!!!
The scene was straight out of a movie- 5 hours of quality Me-time while on the wheels. Perfect time to think, ponder and wonder. Amidst scores of thoughts and its sub trails- one conversation with the husband kept lingering on. During one of our late-night talks while checking out the route to York, he asked me out of the blue that what would happen if I meet with some untoward incident on the road? Instantly, I told, “I will give you a call”. He smiled, not sure in agreement, for my innocence or for the dedication I have for him, but he said, OK. My self-pondering revealed to me that the first thing I would really do will be to call him in an unfortunate event. One never knows how little things can make you feel loved. The urge to spend even the best weekend with your friend loses its true flavour if you don’t have anyone to share it with. Being blessed with someone to go back to, to have someone to go home to, someone who would just drop in and rescue you from any situation you land yourself in, in any part of the world – I guess this is love!
It was a safe drive. While I reached on time, the long and arduous wait for my friend, Swara (this is how she prefers to be addressed) began. Her train was late so I drove to the nearest Sainsbury’s and got us a pizza. Just when pizza was ready, it was time for me to leave for the station to pick up Swara. We ended up having dinner at 11:30 pm. We were so thrilled just because we had made it to the trip that we had to watch our loud, harsh voices so as not to wake up other guests.
With no plan in our heads, we took the bus to town centre next morning where a lovely lady who we bumped into on the bus stop, guided us about the buses and things to do in the city. As soon as we stepped outside the bus, I announced let’s start with walking along the City Wall. After a quick coffee and muffin break at a beautiful local café, we approached the nearest start point for the wall.
Conversations flowing endlessly – some insightful, some routine, some crazy, some experiences, and some philosophical. Conversations with no agenda. We were just us – 2 late 20’s (okay, just 30’s) women being themselves, with no restrictions, no guards, just free-spirited women. I believe this is that age when you have gained enough experience to understand your own mistakes and still have left enough of lifetime to work on them.
To find a soulmate in this phase who vibes at the same frequency as yours is a prayer heard.
We reached the Castle Museum which is next to the Clifford’s Tower, the river Ouse and the Rose Theatre. We decided to do the cruise or boat ride on that day and leave the museum for Sunday as it was forecasted to rain on Sunday.
As we walked through the square of the Rose Theatre grounds which had a few food and drink stalls, we came across the Box Office. They were running Shakespeare’s theatres and there was one show that evening. The cheapest tickets were within our budget and we decided to go for it. We got the tickets and now had a long afternoon before the show.
We went up to the river but both cruise and boats had a long queue and we didn’t want to spend that long waiting for a boat whilst we could do a lot of other things in its stead. We made our way to the famous old street, the Shambles which served as an inspiration for the Diagon Alley in Harry Potter movie series. We walked around the street and market, bought ourselves a Harry Potter souvenir, bought gifts for our husbands, enjoyed some great street shows until it was time for us to head for the theatre to queue up for best place.
The theatre square was buzzing with people. A theatre actor suddenly showed up and involved the guests with some game in which Swara and I volunteered which is way against our normal selves. We soon queued up and entered the theatre, only to be left dumbfounded. We had got ourselves standing tickets for a 3 hour show after walking the whole town since morning (roughly 13 kms)!
It was an open area to stand surrounded by stables for seating all around and above us. We named it the Hall of Shame! So, we found us a good spot right in the centre and in the front. We saw people sitting down on floor and so did we. Within 5 minutes, a young, lovely looking girl walked up to a group sitting next to us, asked them to stand up as the theatre was going to be full and threw a glance at us. Urgh!
Swara suggested we take a spot closer to the door if we want to leave half way. We moved to our new spot and waited for the show. For the first half an hour to one hour, we couldn’t understand much of what was going on. Tiredness was pouring in and I was afraid Swara would give up. But the story picked up quickly enough to stop at an interesting junction for interval. We rested during the interval and got back up for the second half. Towards the end of it, the script and actors had engrossed us deeply. We were jumping, clapping and dancing at the rhythm the actors and the musicians were throwing at us.
Later, we came to know that the Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most popular comedy written by William Shakespeare in 1595-96 portraying the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Really looking forward to reading it now.
We called the day by watching The Polar Express movie from the DVD collection of our hosts. The next morning started with black coffee and toasted bread with butter, thanks to Swara.
We took the car to the town centre as we had checked out and wanted to leave straight from there. To our delightful surprise, it was a good partially sunny day with a bit more wind. Which meant we could do the boat ride!!! Being early, there was no queue and we got ourselves a self-driven motor boat within 5 minutes, putting together all the cash we had between us. It turned out to be one of the best adventures of our lives.
Following a delicious brunch at a local restaurant, we walked alongside the river Ouse having some endearing conversations that I am sure we both benefitted from. We got different outlook to things and phases that we experience in life. Connecting with each other in a beautiful, refreshing and happening city, helped us connect to our own selves. Having found a deeper way in and our souls cherished, we embarked on our respective return journeys. My journey was filled with thoughts of the incredible memories of past 2 days and an undying longing to meet my husband and pour out my experiences to him.
A home filled with warmth is I guess the end for every holiday and adventure.
Visit my page for the pictures- I’m sure you would not like to miss it. See them here – https://www.instagram.com/himalayaswithin/
Written by: Chahna D. | Edited by: Milauni T.
I have read many, many books over more than a decade – English, Gujarati, Fiction, Thriller, Action, some non-fiction and always dreamed of writing a book review but never picked up a pen, until now (picked up my keyboard, in literal words!).
The book I recently read did not really touch my soul or leave a lasting impression like many other books have. But, today morning, without giving much thought, I simply opened a word doc and started typing. Perhaps because I am more confident in writing now or because this was an easy read, it was also easy for me to write a review. Nevertheless, I am stepping into a new genre of writing.
Name of the book: The One You Cannot Have
Author: Preeti Shenoy
As the title suggests, it is about an unfinished love story. A young girl and a young boy, Shruti and Aman, find magical love in their college days and spend the best 4 years of their lives. Bunking classes, grabbing every opportunity to be together, working on projects together, etc is surely something we all can relate to. Dreaming about having a future together, caring unconditionally for each other and understanding even a flick of an eye made them ‘made for each other’ soulmates. Only until life took its own course.
In present day, they both live different lives. Shruti is married to a very nice guy from her community chosen by her parents and Aman is wrapping up his 2 years of life in the U.K., which he had chosen as respite after his harsh break-up. Shruti is fairly happy with her marriage and has buried (or let’s say has tried very hard and she thinks she is successful until circumstances change) Aman and the time they had spent. On the other hand, Aman is still single and has failed any attempt to even think of a relationship.
Aman moves to Bangalore in the hope to start a new life, meets his old boss who is a friend (Vikram) and joins his company to help him get a new project hit the ground. Knowing of his return to India, Anjali contacts him well before he was to fly and fixes a date. Aman agrees reluctantly only to be polite and to get her off his back. Anjali is Deepika’s (Vikram’s wife’s) cousin, works at a magazine company as a writer. She has her own column and writes about day-to-day struggles / emotional journeys of women. One date leading to another, Aman and Anjali get along well, and Anjali has finally found a guy who fits all her requirements of a life partner. She gives out clear signals of being interested in a relationship, but Aman is terrified. He likes Anjali. After a lifetime, someone has genuinely made him laugh and made him feel important. He likes the upbeat, full-of-life, successful, independent and beautiful Anjali but his past, his pain stops him from making any advances.
Shruti, at the same time, faces a head-first fall in her marriage when Rishabh finds out about her relationship with Aman. Rishabh knows that the relationship ended before marriage but the fact that Shruti lied to him when he had asked her about being in any previous relationship, eats Rishabh from inside. He can no longer trust Shruti and feels to have been wronged and cheated. Shruti confesses, apologises, gets angry, becomes outrageous, tries everything she can think of, but nothing eases Rishabh’s pain. Rishabh’s parents’ visit during the same time complicates things even further. After being broken from inside for months, she finally decides to write to Aman. She strongly believes it is only him who can pull her out from this darkness.
What happens after is for you to find out by reading the book. The author has given excellent plot to the story by taking a reader through past and present times parallelly as that’s how real life is, isn’t it? We never really leave our past, it’s always with us – only buried, sometimes even forgotten, until something triggers it. The author takes us inside the minds of each key character and has put best effort to personify each of them. The language used is quite colloquial and some readers might find it naïve. The tone and tense of the language gets monotonous at many points and inclusion of a lot of not required / redundant information like literally describing a conversation in passive past tense frequently throughout the book can get to a reader. The author could have used that space to express deeper emotions and essence of conversation rather than simply translating it. I found those passages boring and empty. Having said so, the curiosity that was created kept me gripped on until I finished the book.
Have a happy read…
You can buy the book at https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-You-Cannot-Have/dp/9383260688/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535099333&sr=8-1&keywords=the+one+you+cannot+have
I have started almost every blog expressing how excited I was about it so that has left me speechless this time. This time I had more reasons to be excited, so umm, don’t know the word to express it (perhaps my editor can help me here…). I’d rather just share the reasons I was more excited and thrilled. And the word I get is ‘Overwhelmed’. Imagine you had a small dream- a small wish to reach out to likeminded people in an unknown land. You reach to the edge of your comfort zone and let your passion chart out a road for you to meet the new in a different terrain- and then woosh that wish gets granted.
Yes, when I started Himalayas Within- I wanted to reach out to my kind of tribe- and imagine we already had the first soul to join us on the trail. So here it goes- Serene Gets Transcended. Apart from some of my friends, a lady reached out on our Instagram page and joined us.. Splendid!! My goal of bringing like-minded people from around South of England took a step forward. Gosh! I still feel the goosebumps… and I once again trust in the magic of new beginnings.
This hike was particularly chosen because of the terrain and location. It mainly comprised of flat terrain to walk but had a little climb. It started at the Silent Pool and the Sherbourne Pond, gradually climbing to the St. Martha’s Church and then downhill through farms to the end. A roughly 10 km hike with moderate difficulty level.
We gathered at the Silent Pool which isn’t as spectacular as they say (or rather might give some an eerie feel due to the silence and stillness) but the history behind it is fascinating. It is the only major spring source in 10.5 miles region, located at the foot of North Downs, a ridge of chalk hills. The Silent Pool is considered sacred by some based on a tale that says King John abducted a woodcutter’s daughter on his horse who was forced into deep waters and who drowned. It is believed that she still visits the pool at mid-night (you get now, why I said eerie!).
We took the steps up on the left to begin our trail which had a beautiful Albury vineyard on its left. The terrain was amidst the woods with a wide enough path to walk. Soon, the flat walk turned into a gradual climb which was a surprise element for everyone. The girls’ gang was very enthusiastic, and we had some wonderful conservations going – some one-on-one, some in group.
But together we most enjoyed being in the woods, on this hike, doing something different than usual weekends, and breathing the air – fresh with abundant oxygen. Ahh! The pleasures of living close to nature.
My leadership responsibilities kicked in as the trail took us deeper and deeper, but we could still hear the vehicles slightly. I was more conscious about following the trail and not losing it this time as I felt responsible. One of the girls had a dream previous night that we were lost in the woods for days and that she was conservatively sharing her crisps, so they would last us long!! Well not a chance of that happening in Surrey, nevertheless, I didn’t want us to get lost, panicking everyone and averting them entirely from join me again.
Soon, we hit the A25 which we had to cross over, and we came across the Newlands Corner Visitor Centre which was a highlight of the trail – to find refreshments and washrooms on a hike. Delighted, we took a quick refresher break and continued our journey on the North Downs Way (Purple markers). Shortly after, we reached a quiet lane which as per the guidelines we had to cross over and take a flight of few steps on the other side, to get into woods again. We met 2 gentlemen who seemed to be lost and upon talking to them, we found out they were doing the same trail using the same guidelines! Wow, fellow explorers!
We figured out the further path together and chatted about our common interest – hiking. We lost the guys a little further ahead on the trail and it was us again – a bunch of 5 girls. It was darker here even on a bright, sunny day due to dense trees and woods. Blissful! By now, everyone was getting a hang of the surroundings, and although tiredness was pouring in a little, we were discovering (inner and outer) peace.
Continuing on that heavenly terrain for a while, not much worried now about the trail and drenched in the feeling of tranquillity, we reached the top of the St. Martha’s Hill where St. Martha’s Church is located. A wedding was taking place in the church and we saw the bride with her bridesmaids and the priest performing some ritual outside the main entrance of the Church. We stood by the gate of Church grounds so not to disturb the ceremony. All of us said a silent prayer and wished well for the groom and bride in our hearts and also thought, what a beautiful location to transcend into a life full of unknown adventures and hiking on a life together.
From the other side of the Church ground, you can get a spectacular view of the valleys and two villages of Surrey – Chilworth and Albury. We relished the beauty and captured the views in our cameras as best as we could. As we started walking away from the Church, we came across a swing made by rope tied to a tree and a small piece of a tree branch. The child in me couldn’t resist a ride!
But the adult in me was considerate for others’ time, so I left the swing quickly and we moved on. The path took us into deep woods with a portion of sandy terrain. Wonder how sand managed to get there! I guess, we will never know. We kept following the purple marker. Suddenly, at one point, one of us came to a hard stop and claimed that we have been past this path before. Rest of us were startled as how could one know! All the paths had trees, were shady and were deep into woods. When asked, she showed us a tree trunk that had turned black (perhaps due to some disease) and said she remembered she saw this tree before. Now one couldn’t be wrong about it as the tree was quite distinguishing. So, we followed her lead, I checked the instructions again and re-interpreted it, we went back at the junction where we had taken the probable wrong turn and took the estimated correct direction forward.
Kudos to that observant lady, we soon reached the base of the hill. The trail was now going to take us through open farms after a short concrete walk. A complete change of sight. A narrow pathway, pagdandi as we say in Gujarati, led us through the farms with fence running on both sides. Dry, long grass touching our legs with their tweaks as we walked through the pagdandi, gave a welcoming feeling. There were open brown farms on both sides of us, until one point, where we were thrown out of the narrow fenced path into openness, into open farms, with no boundaries, no fences.. we felt bewildered being in the field with no restrictions – but we were mature adults so instead of running wild into fields, all the wildness that we bore was to take videos, pictures and to spread our arms wide to take in the wind. I read about the path forward on my instructions, rolled the pages and put them on a side pocket on my bag so I can freely open arms.
We walked through the open farms into another pagdandi that ran through the farm but was leading quickly into woods. The path brought us on a road, that seemed to be a less busy one, with one narrow street across it going uphill. I reached to my side pocket but couldn’t get hold of the instruction pages, so I removed my bag to check – Hola! I had lost the instructions! Some of us started checking google maps, but I soon found a purple marker on that narrow street going uphill. We hit it. Oh man, I just love these markers!!
Not sure how, but I recollect us walking amongst the farms on a pagdandi again. I think I was leading the way, and others walking in line behind me, when, suddenly, I heard some excitement behind me. I turned, only to find out that the two gentlemen we met earlier were with us again. I waved at them from distance and they waved back with my lost instruction pages in one of theirs hands! One never knows the purpose of someone crossing one’s path until that purpose is served. For the umpteenth time, I was left astounded by the puzzle of life that I love to solve.
We approached the main road, A25 and the Silent Pool Car Park was only a few meters away. Amused, cherished, content, with a feeling of accomplishment, with wildness and calmness within us, I believe we all conquered a wee bit of the Himalayas within us…
Author: Chahna D. | Edited by: Milauni T.
Facebook page: Himalayaswithin
The third walk!! Wohooo!! Feels like accomplishment. This time I planned the Tillingbourne trail, Shalford. The description on the website sounded incredible – it covered many landmarks (some historical), walk alongside the river Wey, had open landscapes. I was thrilled. A long-time friend who has recently moved to the UK decided to join me which I thought would be so much fun. We would get time to catch up after a long, long time.
I picked him up from Blackwater railway station around 1 pm and we were all set to go. He played beautiful songs that made us journey through our teenage days. We reached the starting point which was the Shalford Rail Station but we couldn’t find the entry to it. We went around in circles probably 3 times when I thought why do we need to get to the station – only to get to the exact start point? Well that’s not needed! Parking would probably be paid anyway. We know we are at the right place, then why not just find a free parking. We then parked on a street that had free parking.
We both had the website of the trail on our phones. We were supposed to start from the Shalford Cemetry but we couldn’t see it anywhere, so we looked for the next marker, Dangley Lane. We walked and walked on that lane; part of which was alongside the main road after which it turned into a residential area. We kept walking until we hit the Shalford Cemetery. There was a narrow public footpath with the Shalford Cemetery on the right. We were talking and savouring the only view we had – that of the cemetery. Soon after, the public footpath ended, and it brought us to a main road. Well, it was THE main road where we had started!!!! Duhh!!
Now we studied the map and description again with, umm little more attention, but in vain. We then spotted a road-sign across the road that said Public Footpath. We took it. Soon we found the first monument of the trail, the 18th century Shalford Mill located on the River Tillingbourne. It was closed so all we could do was click pictures of beautiful big red roses all around the gate of the mill. We crossed the small bridge and took the shady path (as instructed by on the website).
And I thought, Yessss!! The walk starts now. Just when the feeling of being in the woods was growing, we reached open meadows. The spectacular view of the meadows with horses left us spellbound. We clicked as many pictures as we could for the best light with horses in the background. I told him I would love to learn to ride a horse and he thought I was crazy (he has known me long enough to know how crazy I can think.
We crossed the meadows and reached a kissing gate beyond which we could see, a level down, a narrow residential street. We were again unsure of the path and the instructions did not say anything about it. All it said was to follow the East Shalford Lane and ignore the Tilehurst Road. Now, we couldn’t find either! Whilst standing at that gate, trying to make a guess about what do to next, an old lady with her dog came through the gate into the meadows. We asked her. She was a local but wasn’t sure about the names of the streets. However, she made an informed guess using the eliminating method. We thought to check it out.
Upon crossing the gate, we were one level down than the meadows at a narrow T-junction, with houses on one side and wall of the meadows on the other. So now we had 3 directions to go. After assessing our options, we followed the direction that the lady advised. After walking about 20 mins we hit another T-junction giving us 3 more options. We checked the route but yet couldn’t figure out where we were and where we should be heading until a few minutes later when I spotted the sign. Whoppppieee!! The sign said, ‘Tilehurst Road’. The one we had to ignore. We were on the right track indeed.
Happily, we continued. We reached another small bridge over the River Tillingbourne, known as the Lemon Bridge. We could once back relate to the instructions we were following. We again crossed paths with the lady who had guided us, on the Lemon Bridge and we all were delighted that my friend and I weren’t lost after all.
Just ahead of the Lemon Bridge, was the main road again. I thought this was the end of it. By now, my friend had taken the lead on navigating and interpreting instructions. On hitting the main road, right in front of us was another landmark, the white cottages. We turned right on the main road and followed the road. Few steps further down on that road, we reached a monument, The War Memorial, honouring the glorious dead of World War I & II from Shalford.
There were benches close to the memorial under a tree. The memorial is located at a junction, on the other side was of which was the Shalford Churchyard (another landmark on our trail). We sat on the bench and talked about various things – one of which I distinctly remember – different work cultures across the world. I thought this was the end of the eventful – rather landmark-full trail. This was the first time I had spotted every landmark – all thanks to Ankit.
I said, “ok! So that’s it, I guess!” indicating this was the end of the day for us. To which this guy says, “oh no no, there is still something left. There is supposed to be a Water Treatment Plant.” One more landmark, ugh! This trail was nothing as I had expected. But we continued. We reached the treatment plant in 5 minutes and found out it was closed (wasn’t even expected to be open that time of the day anyway).
Well now that is it. This must be the end. I didn’t come all this way to walk on concrete. I was tired of getting bored, not from the company but from the non-woods walk. But this guy wouldn’t give up. He too is a hiker, trekker and writer or as I like to say someone who expresses what he feels (https://akreviews.wordpress.com). And he is stubborn, so he went back to the instructions and spotted a tiny gate leading on to yet another public footpath. Well I was in as long as it was an off-road walk.
Off we went and soon we arrived at meadows. We followed the periphery and few minutes later we found a path, a gate that was opening into deep woods!!!!! My goodness, the walk is getting started, NOW!
The entire walk was alongside the River Wey. To our surprise, there were many people enjoying fishing and bathing in the river. Young kids were jumping off the bridge into the river. Dogs were playing around. Some were just enjoying a drink or reading a book. It was a completely different world! My tiredness, boredom, annoyance from the heat, everything just disappeared. Puff!
We climbed a small hill but since we didn’t know what was on the other side, we came back on the track. We walked for about more than an hour and came across many more landmarks, St. Catherine’s Lock, Lengthmans cottage and Riff Raff (sharing some pictures below). We finally were on to the main road and spotted our final landmark – Snooty Fox Café. The landmark-full, enriched conversations-full and the beauti-ful walk thus came to an end, leaving us both pleased and content (not to mention, knackered!)
Written by: Chahna D.
Facebook page: Himalayaswithin
Instagram: @himalayaswithin • Instagram photos and videos
Thanks to Shalford Trail | Surrey Hills
Since the time I have been hiking or exploring the Himalayas- I have clearly understood one thing- Nature feels that we want to get closer to it- Nature senses it well and makes our plans happen. The universe conspires to make it happen. Something similar happened on my second excursion. I had everything planned, put up my plan on every social media platform but no one responded (Well, it was deep down expected!). Uncertainty grew more as there were some social commitments hovering around.
So, even though I had everything planned out, I wasn’t sure at all if I’d be able to go for it.
The Second D-Day
Finally, the day arrived. The morning went by and I had almost given up when my husband who always supports me in everything I wish to do said “Let’s go!”
Amused, I asked Where? to which he promptly replied, “Don’t you have your excursion?”
I was excited (and of course impressed!!!!). Extra brownie points go to him for this out-of-the-green plan.
Off we went for the Headley Heath Circuit on Surrey Hills. It was about 40 mins drive from home. We arrived, parked our car and made our way to the entrance where they had put up a map.
There were a few trails in that area and we picked the Lizard Trail (the yellow dotted lines shown in the map which was to be identified by a yellow marker). Lizard for one thing in life- seemed interesting.
We began the trail, but voila – we couldn’t see any marker for the Lizard Trail. Instead we found markers of another trail that we decided to follow thinking there might be other yellow markers further down on our path.
There were a few people in the beginning of the trail whom we had crossed, but most of them were returning as the end of day was nearing. Soon, it was just the two of us in the woods. Getting lost or found in the woods with the love of your life, every couple should put on their Couple Goals.
The density, sudden changes in landscapes and terrains, the serenity and stillness of the place blew our minds.
A raw place like this, and an atmosphere like this always strikes up a good conversation and who could be a better company than your best friend and your life partner.
We had some honest and heart endearing conversations while on the trail- what we spoke is for some other day :).
We kept following the trail and let it take us wherever it went. Soon, we found ourselves on a hill which gave a spectacular view of the place. There was a bench under the tree to pause and savour the view. We sat there in silence, admired the beauty and then discussed our path further (as we could see trails from up there). We had long before given up following the markers, we were only following the trail as per our instinct.
When we felt we have had enough and it started to get a little chilled, we made our way back. As soon as we exited the forest, and lol! We found the first yellow marker!!
That’s how even our life is, isn’t it? Serendipities occur in life and our relationships, but do we have the time to wait and watch?
No matter how much you plan or try to control, life always takes its own course, and, in the end, everything is just perfect and worth it. So folks, don’t worry if you don’t find the markers you expect, it only means you are following the path that God has designed for you. Life does happen unplanned.
Written by: Chahna D.
Edited by: Milauni T.
Facebook page: Himalayaswithin
It was in August of 2015 when I first landed in the UK. In this 2.5 years, I have already moved houses a few times. Each house comes with a personality and a unique vibe of its own. Until now, I have found a place of my own where I intend to spend some years hoping to create memories for life. I have done a few hikes in the past and some nature walks in different parts of this country but did not find a purpose as appealing as I had found after my first Himalayan trek in Kashmir Great Lakes back home in India.
Having found a place to live very close to Surrey, I went to this excursion as I would usually do when my husband is off to his cricket. Heard of ‘life’ happening to our plans? Although my walk was planned, I was poorly prepared – was wearing sketchers, did not have water, a printed map, nor did I carry any food / juices. Not even a hat / cap for sun protection. What was I thinking? But I was already in the area and if I had chosen to go back home and prepare myself better, I don’t think I’d have left the home after having spent already a bit tiring weekend so far. So off I was. If that’s how it has to be!
I had the offline map and google maps as my equipment. Assessing where I was, I decided to join the trail at point 7 on the map and work my way through the trail aiming to do a circular route and finishing closer to where I started. I picked a marker which was a pub and made my way in a direction assessed based on the offline map. 15 mins into the walk I felt strange. Something was not right! I guess you always have such notions- how invariably we give them a pass. This time, My gut said I wasn’t on the right track. That’s when I checked the google maps and corelated it to the offline map (why didn’t I do that in the first place!). And don’t they say we need to pay more attention to our lone sane sense- instinct! My instinct was right, and I was going in the opposite direction to where I was supposed to go. Turned around and continued. Glad unlike life, I had such a chance.
Finally, found the second marker which was a Church and per my map was adjacent to the point 7. I found a gate leading into the fields with a sign saying, ‘Public Footpath’. After 45 mins of walk in the afternoon sun, about 20 degrees and a mild cool breeze, I thought I wasn’t doing bad at all. Sinking in the newness of the place somehow felt nice and inviting. I entered the field and took the unclear and covered-in-grass footpath. I kept walking along side an open field, not sure if that was really the public footpath or if I was trespassing in someone’s private land or whether this was the trail that I was looking for.
I took a leap of faith and continued since it was the only path. I thought to myself about a plan of what I’d do if I was indeed trespassing and was questioned. That’s the beauty of trails- your mind and thoughts have the freedom to just trail off. Well, 15-20 minutes later I found the first marker of the Horsley Jubilee trail. Yay! What a relief it was to find out I was on the right track and wished God had such markers too!
I continued enjoying the walk, the sun, the breeze and the views. The trail seemed to be becoming denser and I was getting excited to unfold the rest of the walk. There was no one except me on that trail in those unknown fields. Thought of the famous lines by Robert Frost- These woods are lovely, dark and deep and I have promises to keep. And miles (of hikes) to go before I sleep.
The ecstasy was just rising when I reached a massive patch of mud. Duh! Now I was wearing sketchers – I knew I’d end up spoiling my shoes but how could I go back; I had come this far; a patch of mud wasn’t going to discourage me. After all, no excursion is complete without muddy shoes! There were many muddy patches that followed later, and none were going to stop me now. Soaked in the muddy feel totally.
That was when it struck me – how much more fun it would have been to have some like-minded friends around. How wonderful it would be if I came across similar people and made friends. I kept giving more thought to this and then, right then, was the inception of Himalayaswithin!
The rest of the walk (which was about 85%) was spent in planning Himalayaswithin. Searching and climbing your inner mountains help you scale heights outside. With or without gear- each one of us is a discoverer (or an unplanned hiker-just like me).
Written by: Chahna D. | Edited by: Milauni T.
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
himalayaswithin 