Book Review- Wild:From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

I usually don't read memoirs. But three things made me read this one.
1. I love the concept of longish hikes and this involves the PCT(about which I have seen many documentaries).
2. It has a film adaptation and I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie.
3. It was about a badass young lady going solo.

A scene from the movie

Unlike many people who deemed the author dimwitted and cocky for setting out unprepared for the PCT, and ruining her perfectly happy marriage for silly reasons. I kind of understood why she look those decisions. Myself having encountered a low period in life when you take rash decisions and don't care about your future, I was able to relate with Cheryl. From having an abusive father, gaining a stable family and again seeing her family crumbling down with her mother's death, made Cheryl felt like losing everything she had gained. 

She in this mental state indulges in adultery and feels that this distorted person she has become does not belong with her husband. She does drugs, aborts her baby and decides to hike the PCT(after just reading about it from a guidebook).

She decides to hike for about 100 days on the PCT with the journey ending on her birthday. And post that relocating to Portland, Oregon to start life afresh. Being a novice she makes many mistakes including packing too much, filling her gas cannister with the wrong fuel and choosing a pair of boots a size too small. She also vastly underestimates her budget which makes her resort to penny pinching throughout her hike. She meets fellow hikers and develops a sort of kinship with them, though they are people who wouldn't be her friends in her previous life. I especially loved Cheryl's description of the books she read on the trail and those of the landscapes she came across. Being a reader and traveler myself I loved those bits.

But Cheryl also came across as dumb and self-absorbed many times. Also she got many privileges being a solo female on the trail. So I don't like those character aspects of her that she is trying to portray  herself as a strong, independent woman, but still craves those perks for being a woman.

Overall this book was a 3.9/5.
I read ths book slowly chapterwise as a part of my nighttime routine. And I felt that this helped me immerse fully into it as opposed to my usual way of reading in sprint mode. 

14 tips for Vacationing in South Goa no one tells you about.

Having successfully completed an all-girls friends trip to South Goa this December, I often introspect what could have been better if I had known some things in advance. Well to save you the hassle, I have taken into account my experiences and curated a list of lesser known tips.

#1 Always use Buses
Taxis and autos charge exorbitantly, and Goa has a vast network of local and state transport buses which can take you everywhere at just a fraction of cost. Time-tables of state buses is available easily on Google Maps.  Local buses sometimes take different routes than usual so ask before you hope in, also they wait until the bus is full so it can be time consuming sometimes.

#2 Walk the Last Mile
Buses don't take you to your destined spot directly, so you will have to change many buses. Also they drop you a mile or so away from the beaches and tourist spots. So be prepared to walk those extra stretches. Carry sturdy, comfortable shoes which will motivate you to walk. We for instance, walked 1.5 km from Madgao Railway Station to Navelim for catching bus going towards Canacona instead of taking auto in the opposite direction towards the Margao Bus terminal.

Walking while beach hopping

#3 Download Offline Maps 
Due to dense forest cover many areas don't have mobile network as well as GPS. The roads are devoid of people for stretches, so asking someone for directions also is not an option. Be prepared and download your routes. Maps.me is a good app for downloading offline maps if you want to go hiking.

#4 Check before renting scooters
Check for any damage and whether the necessary registration papers are there. Insist on renting a vehicle with yellow number plate and ask for the helmet(traffic laws are strictly followed in here). If possible get a test drive.

#5 Carry Extra Petrol

The fuel meters of most rental vehicles are tampered with and don't work. Petrol Pumps are also far and between. Local shops sell petrol in Bisleri bottles in quantities of 0.5ltr and 1ltr which you can buy in advance and carry along. This prevents you from getting stuck anywhere and also ensures that you don't fill more petrol than necessary thus saving your money.
While returning from secluded Cola beach one of our scooters ran out of petrol and we had to go find a shop 3km away to bring back some petrol.

#6 Return to known surroundings before dusk
Roads along the Leopard Valley in South Goa are narrow, winding ghat roads with no road lights and numerous blind spots. Its better to be safe than sorry and return to known territory before sundown. Also prevent going to secluded beaches on scooters if you have no off-roading experience or are a novice. The roads there are mud tracks with steep inclines and it can be a problem if your vehicle breaks down there. My friend's scooter stopped on the way to Cola beach but luckily for her a couple came along and helped her in restarting the scooter.  

The winding ghat roads

#7 Beware of Dogs
I have noticed that due to close contact with humans, stray dogs here are less fearful of humans and thus more aggressive. One of us got bitten by a dog at Agonda beach and had to be rushed to a clinic. So keep your distance.

Stray Dogs in Goa

#8 Carry Medicines for Nausea
Traveling on Ghats in a bus makes you sick. Carry proper medicines to deal with this. Also eating less before the journey and looking straight ahead and not out of the window helps in preventing nausea.

#9 Ask neighbors in bus about the fare
Local buses don't give you tickets and can charge you a bit more if you look like a tourist. So ask people around for the current rates and argue with the conductor if he tries to charge you anything more.

#10 Carry Mosquito Repellents
Absolutely none of the blogs or videos I saw as a part of my preparation strategy mentioned this important bit of information. Humidity and dense forests make this place a hub for mosquitoes. So come equipped with Odomos if you want to sleep well.

#11 Refill your Water Bottles
Instead of buying packaged water, refill your bottles at your hotel or at restaurants you stop for meals. These places have aquaguards and the water is filtered. It helps you save the environment and also some money. Only do this if you are Indian or have fairly good immunity.

#12 Ladies, carry your Swimsuits
Beaches like Palolem, Patnem and Agonda are sparsely crowded, and most of the people there are skimpily clad foreigners. No one will give you a second glance if you wear a bikini. I myself wore a bikini here despite having body confidence issues and not once did I feel uncomfortable. My friends on the other hand were regretting their decision of not carrying along a swimsuit.  

Walking along the Patnem Beach

#13 Buy Food from Local Markets
We purchased fresh fruits from markets and cooked our breakfast everyday instead of eating out every time. This helped in lowering our expenses.

#14 Stay in Hostels & avoid going in Big Groups
Staying in a hostel gives you an opportunity of meeting and socializing with like minded people and making new friends. You can also cook your own meals and do your laundry here. But going in a group prevents people from approaching you and you get stuck up with your own group. So travel in groups of two's or three's, or better yet solo.
We stayed at The Lost Hostels.

Hostel we stayed at

 



    

Why I have a love-hate relationship with Mussoorie?

I was walking across barren landscapes under the scorching sun. My throat was parched, so I took out my water bottle from by backpack, only to find it empty. I put it back disappointed and began walking again, putting one foot after another like a practiced routine. Until I was walking no more. 

As I lay there among the dusty sand dunes my vision started going dark, until there was not even a speck of light remaining. Suddenly, an orange glow came racing towards me and filled my vision. A moment later I was staring at the picture frame bathed in the orange light emitted by the room heater. We had checked into the hotel just last night and so I was a little unsettled waking up from my dreams in this unfamiliar room. My cousin Prince was still asleep, the bathroom lights were on indicating that my other cousin Nevi was in there. I took a sip of water from the bottle as I realized I was thirsty. Its really strange how your mind manipulates you to act as it wants by controlling your dreams. Well, put a fellow in some life threatening situation in his dreams and he is sure to wake up.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time, 6.30 am. FINALLY! my mind screamed, I could watch the sunrise. For the last couple of  days spent in Nainital and  a solitary one in Jim Corbett National Park, I had promised myself every night that yes tomorrow would be the day I would be gazing towards the sunrise in these mountaineous  terrains. But as habbit is, I slept in every day, exhausted from day tripping and long drives. That is, until today morning. I quickly put on my slippers, tiptoed across the room and opened the curtains, when I saw white. PURE WHITE.

I screamed as loudly as I could, awestruck. A second later, Nevi came shooting out of the bathroom like a bullet and Prince lay awake in bed confused about why Nevi and I were jumping about like idiots, like we were under a trance. But in a way he was right, cause we were truly hypnotized by that blanket of snow painting the world white. The sun shone down on it making it look like the whole town was covered in millions of glittering diamonds. 

The view from our room's window

Just a night before, while dragging my trolley bag in the narrow, dirty, wet and crowded lanes of this place, I couldn't understand why people were so fascinated by this quaint town. I couldn't understand how writers like Ruskin Bond get ideas in such a place. Especially, after being mesmerized by the lovely streets and lakes of Nainital and experiencing the quiet calm of Corbett NP, Mussoorie just didn't seem to be a worthy competitor. Just how wrong I was. As I stood there taking in the snowy town perched above the vast Dehradun valley, I kind of understood why this place was called the Queen of the Hills. 

We woke up our cousins Teju and Guddi sleeping in the other room, quickly got ready and headed downstairs for building snowman, engaging in swowfights and taking a ton of instagram worthy photos. 

Snowman built by Nevi and Teju

Later, while munching on our breakfast of hot,buttery Parathas, Nevi joked about how she heard me scream "Padla" in Marathi and was so scared that someone had fallen down that she came bolting out right away (I was saying "snow padla" refering to the snowfall which she half heard). All of us been born and brought up in Mumbai and having never travelled to North India(excepting Nevi) experienced a totally different feeling that day. A feeling of being in an ethereal world which we will come to associate with Mussoorie for all our lives.

Me looking over the Doon valley