I pinched myself to check if I was day-dreaming. I shrieked. It
was clear-cut that I wasn’t hallucinating. I had actually lived the childhood
stairs’-game of “Sun, Moon, Land, Water, Earth” in reality with a twist. Courtesy
– Lufthansa, I had lived the idea of #TheBlindList-A Blind date with the
world.
It was just a week back when an email popped up in my inbox
for an invitation to a blind date with the world. I never heed to such mails usually.
However, this one from Lufthansa, lured me to #SayYesToTheWorld in a bid to travel to
explore. Unchartered territories, people and culture are always fascinating and
exciting. The thought of the unknown brought fear to my heart, but my mind was thrilled
to experience this 'yes to the world’ and meander through the mysterious by lanes.
Once I had boarded the flight to the Unknown to embark on my
blind date with the world, there was no looking back. It was like a hop on hop off
tour via sky. People from various cultural backgrounds and nationalities
surrounded me in the aero plane along with their pets.
The welcome kicked off at a beach shore, the first destination,
for an aquatic aerobics performance by dolphins and subsequently by us. It was an
energetic and a refreshing beginning for everyone. Next followed my favourite
activity of snorkelling together with the fish's feet spa. The lively marine
life along which I swam rejuvenated me.
At a junction, we noticed beautiful colours. Little did we realise that some fish
were swimming towards us at a slow pace. However, we realized some of them were
stuck in plastic bags and entangled midst straws and cups. On observing more
closely we found, that some of the fish were feeding small bottle caps to their
offsprings. I was aghast at such a sight and questioned myself as to who was
actually ruining my date?
The next stop was surprisingly, the clouds. I was first skeptical
to see cumulonimbus clouds since they are famous to bring tornadoes. But after flying
past them, I came across my favourite, the cumulus clouds. The airplane stopped
as if afloat in the sky. The commotion around made everyone curious. The
stewards were approaching each of the travelers and handed them a parachute which
was to transport everyone to the next terminus. I exclaimed out of nervousness,
but clinged onto my parachute to see what lay ahead. My vision became clearer
and the ears enlivened after I landed on an igloo shaped glass party hall. The
sunlight reflected from the clouds and brightened the interiors. Ceiling shone azure
and birds flew around making soothing sounds. House sparrows and Cuckoo were
easier to spot. Fellow explorers introduced me to other exotic birds like song
thrush, Canary etc. from Europe, Mediterranean and United States. Calming music
in the background was a bliss. Moreover, the savory and mouth watering
vegetarian food being served kept us stuffed. It included Caldo Verde soup from
Portugal, tortilla from Spain, spring rolls from China, Kushari from Egypt, trofie
pasta from Italy, dal tadka from India and many other veggie platters. Certainly,
a dish fit for the Gods. One of my friend believed the existence of heaven beyond
the clouds which I had always thought to be a fallacy, turned to a verity that very
morning for me. The camaraderie amongst co-travellers had now grown and the
ones who had been strangers once were now companions. Travel stories from
Arctic to Antarctica were being shared ecstatically.
Lastly we hit the ground for a terrain picnic. With our backpacks,
cycle gears and smart shoes, we started off with cycling, racing across traffic
devoid lanes lined with fragrant flowers. The cool breeze kept the sweat in
check and multiple pit stops at varied shaped houses amidst the mass expanse of
lush green trees kept our spirits high. The birds crossed our paths, rabbits
and cats ran along and swans raced in a river flowing beside the cycling track.
Next, our digital shoes took us for a guided walk to a place with large jeeps waiting
to ferry us to the white lands, probably Antarctica. I thought it to be an
arduous expedition forward. But it was worth it! The gushing emerald blue geysers
in the middle of white desserts with orange hues setting up in the firmament
was a welcoming sight. The shoes kept our feet guided and we reached an entrance
to a cave. We were assisted by our guide Nikki standing at the opening of the cave
who provided us with utilities like helmets, torches, snow shoes and demonstrated
how to enter the cave by sliding through the narrow opening. The cave was
nothing like I had imagined. I had imagined a damp and dark space but what I
witnessed completely amazed me. The moon and stars lit the cavern’s interiors
which had colourful paintings and icicles glittered like diamonds.
After going
around the cave which didn’t cease to mesmerize us we reached the exit and
reluctantly moved out of the cavity only to be frequented by millions of stars
and constellations in the dark sky. I lay down on snow covered ground so as not
to miss on any twinkle. As we tended to move swiftly, we realised our amiable assistant
to be a humanoid since it bade us goodbye, called our Jeeps and powered off
itself.
“Ahhh! Nikki at its best or bots in a fierce competition
with us.”, I mumbled to myself.
“Be openminded dear Shilpa!”, chuckled my friend Ritu on
seeing my expressions.
“I am better off conventional in this regard. Humans are
above droids and not slaves to them”, I stated.
All of a sudden, interrupting our conversation, the green
coloured Aurora Borealis shone above us. I felt as if heaven doors had opened
and God’s grace was pouring on us from the world above. What a remarkable way
to bid adieu to the blind date! Spectacular indeed!
I deboarded the flight back home post a tiresome journey
into the unknown which had filled my heart with an enriching experience of
nature and world exploration. However, the thought of increasing pollution, contaminated
food web and human's digital imprisonment left me mulling.
On this note, I rest my itchy fingers hoping that this piece
would be a travel inspiration for all my readers. Apart from meeting the divine
world face-to-face, it would definitely force you into self exploration.
Courtesy:
Happy Travelling!
