5 Simple Travel Experiences That Touched Our Hearts

Travel Experiences

Travel is all about new experiences, but not all experiences need to be life changing or mind blowing. Many a time, some simple run of the mill experiences are enough to tug at your heart strings and fill your being with immense joy or bring a lump in your throat.

Here is a list of 5 such experiences that have touched us in different ways.

1.Flying a Kite on the River Ganga

We were in Varanasi, the spiritual Capital of India, and had hired a boat, to cruise on the river Ganga. It was evening and the setting sun cast shadows on the river and bathed the horizon in a golden hue. The Ghats, the water, the boats bobbing along the river, everything seemed to have acquired an ethereal glow. As I looked around, I spotted a kite, proudly swaying in the wind, high up in the sky. I gazed lovingly and wistfully at it as my mind was ignited with childhood memories of flying kites. By a stroke of providence, as I watched the kite, it began to sag and float away in the distance, a clear sign that the string that had it anchored to the ground had been cut. Another stroke of providence saw me spotting the string of the kite near the edge of the boat and all my boyish instincts came to the fore as I lunged and grabbed the string before it could disappear. I now controlled the kite as it once again swayed majestically in the sky, I looked across at my wife with a triumphant look, only to be met with a reprimanding look, which clearly said, “what if you had fallen in the water”?

I spent some heavenly moments flying the kite as we slowly cruised along the famous Ghats of Varanasi before letting it loose. I watched it glide gracefully away in the horizon and disappear, just as daylight gave way to darkness and we rowed back towards the shore.

2. The music of the little boy in Rome

We were in Rome and after having been overwhelmed by the divine mastery of Michael Angelo in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, were walking towards St. Peter’s Basilica when the hypnotic musical notes emanating from the instrument held by a little boy hypnotized us, there he sat on the pavement, coaxing exquisite musical notes with his hands. People passed by dropping coins into the paper cup that lay besides him. He looked up at me and our eyes met and some strange waves of communication seemed to have passed through us, as instinctively, I reached out and stroked his head lovingly. He smiled back at me, as if to say, that what he needed was love, not money.

3.  Morning Coffee looking out at the peaks of the Himalayas

We were in a beautiful place called Pelling, high up in the hills of Sikkim, India, and our hotel room offered a stunning view of the Himalayan ranges. We were up early, when it was still dark and patiently waited with our hearts pounding for the first rays of the sun to fall on earth. And soon enough, it was day break and our hotel window seemed to transform itself into an window that opened to paradise. We nursed our cups of hot and steamy coffee as we marveled at the beautiful snow clad peaks of the Kanchenjunga and other Himalayan mountain ranges. The coffee seemed to have assumed an exotic flavor as we sipped the heady brew and were intoxicated by the natural beauty that stretched out beyond our hotel window.

4. Feeding the Giraffes in Bangkok Safari World

Giraffes have always been a source of fascination for us, mainly because of their sheer grace, notwithstanding their huge stature, so it was with great joy that we went up a small platform, known as the Giraffe Feeding Terrace, in Bangkok Safari world, and proceeded to feed the Giraffes to our heart’s content. It was indeed a fulfilling experience for us and hope it was for the Giraffes as well.

5.Parasailing in Pattaya

Though we have done parasailing in a number of places, parasailing over the blue waters in Pattaya was an amazing experience and one that we treasure, soaring high in the blue skies and above the blue water, as I gently floated, I could see the island of Koh Larn in the distance on one side while the iconic skyline of Pattaya glistened on the other.

What are the travel experiences that have touched your hearts and succeeded in stoking your latent emotions whenever you think of them? Do share them with us through our comments section.