Jinxed

Who says change is the only constant thing? Some things in life never change. They remain constant. Especially when it can be described as “Jinxed”. I can bet on that!

It all started with our annual vacation plan. Zeroing in on the destination met with bumpy road to the extent that at one point I assumed that the road was washed away. However, the indomitable wanderlust did not loose hope. After a lot of negotiations, some coaxing, a little bit of cajoling and a lot of bribe to rest of the three from my family, we finalised  Leh- Ladakh as our destination.

This time around, I decided to give my “tour planner cum manager cum guide, etc etc” role, a holiday. In came the umpteen tour operators, each one promising the best itinerary. Early bird gets the worm but the late one gets the back seats in the bus, when travelling with group. We were informed in most civilian way that we were too early for the next year’s season and darn late for this year’s, if we wished to have better view seats.

A sand storm thus hit us even before we could reach the cold deserts of Hundar, Nubra Valley.

After knocking on the doors of the handful tour operators, lady luck smiled. One tour operator had mercy on us and thought of giving us a try. The tour manager, however put the ball in our court by requesting us politely to check the availability of flights and tickets. Silver side of the dark cloud was “air miles” that we could use to tide over the massive blow to the pockets for booking the tickets so late. This was the first time in my life, I appreciated my better half for he is always on the move and more in skies than on ground.

Tickets arrived after burning a big hole in the pocket. I decided not to stitch it but use it as a binocular to see the things far off and conveniently ignore what’s in vicinity!

I had a sigh of relief when I filled the detailed registration form, mailed it across to the tour manager and paid the necessary charges. Now that onus of looking into the nitty-gritty of the tour rested with the tour operator, I felt like a butterfly. Shopping for self and all the extended selves (rest of the three) was on cards. I played those cards well and much to my satisfaction. This way I burnt another hole in the pocket. Binoculars have two lenses, wont they?

Suitcases, hand bags descended from their permanent abode and were allowed to breathe in fresh air. To my surprise, the little one wished to walk the path her elder bro had. She declared that she would pack the bag, on her own.  I got the raise of sorts, I must say, when all I had to do was supervise the packing by the children. Aha, what a feeling!

Precisely a week before our travel date, better half enquired about the itinerary from Tour manager. Till that time, I had absolutely forgotten about it. Bout of panic made me freeze and sense the sub zero temperatures of “Khardung la”! Thanks to the dripping sweat from my head, courtesy Mumbai summer, I sprang to action. Without missing a moment, I called up the office, only to be connected to the recorded message informing me about the working hours.

Next day, I was first to appear at the tour operator’s door, even earlier than their house keeping staff. I waited patiently at the reception till the staff finally arrived. Settling into the chair opposite the tour manager, I smiled but was met with a straight blue collared face. I solaced myself by saying that the email doesn’t has my profile photo and she should be given the discount of being in touch with thousands like me. Equipped with this thought, I opened up the conversation. To my surprise, she thought I was there to inquire about some summer tour. I had to update her that we had already done the bookings for Leh Ladkh. She was taken aback. Checking her list of guests from the mentioned tour, she informed me that our names did not feature in the list.

I witnessed a landslide, thousands of miles away from the real land of landslides.

Regaining some ground by collecting up my spirit that lay scattered in pieces, I informed her about the payments we had made. I had all the transaction details in the mail, handy in my mobile. Now it was her turn to witness the landslide. The landscape of her face changed from corporate composure to the utter mayhem. She checked the mail communication in my mobile and then searched at her end. The payments were received but our names mysteriously slipped from appearing in the list of guests.

Jinxed!!! That’s the best way to describe my travel tales so far in four and half decades of my existence. It somehow never changes… All my travel tales, whether domestic or international, are dotted with such striking surprises.

All that ends well is always well… Now that I have returned back from ‘Land of high passes’, aka Ladakh, I can say that landslides can happen at sea level too. And “jinxed” tales make a good read.

PS: Courtesy missing names, we were allotted a 6 seater SUV for the entire journey from Srinagar till the end of the tour! Boon in disguise…



Top post on IndiBlogger, the biggest community of Indian Bloggers

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash
This post is published for #OpenNTalk Blogger’s League hosted by @Gleefulblogger & @Wigglingpen in association with SummerBarn, Vedantika Herbals, Nyassa, Explore Kids World.
This June, I will be sharing four posts(one in each week) chronicling my experiences from my recent tour of Leh-Ladakh. I am glad to be part of #CrossBorderSisters, Team6 of the #OpenNTalk. You can read fab posts from my buddies Bahwana Shah of Kickupstairs, Adit Kapoor of Panoramic Ripples, Dr Priyanka Naik of Nostalgic Moments and Manisha Garg of Zara Hatake Blog!

You can reach out to my buddies at…

1: Aditi:  BlogFacebook Twitter Instagram
2: Manisha: BlogFacebook Twitter Instagram
3: Dr. Priyanka: BlogFacebook | Twitter Instagram
4: Bhawna: BlogFacebook Twitter Instagram


38 Comments

mammaspeaks · June 4, 2018 at 9:52 pm

Nice one, Anagha! Your stories always have a fun and humor element, and you didn’t disappoint in this one too! Glad you had an awesome holidays!!

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 11:31 am

    Thanks dear for visiting and uplifting my spirits with ur kind words. Luv u!

Varsh · June 4, 2018 at 9:59 pm

You make the jinx sound fun too, Anagha! Like my husband says, life isn’t truly lived without such roadbumps. They make the journey all the more memorable. Looking forward to the next parts now. 🙂

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 11:33 am

    History is a hard core teacher and it taught me the lesson that “jinxed” means interesting stories!
    Agree ur better half, 100%
    Thanks dear for visiting and sharing your thought.

Milan · June 4, 2018 at 9:59 pm

Interesting read..U have set the ball rolling, now waiting for other parts of the series when the actually journey begins. N lucky u for getting an SUV. missing names proved to be blesssing in disguise.

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 11:35 am

    Thanks Milan. Keep my fingers crossed that rest three posts from the series would entertain well!

Hena Jose · June 5, 2018 at 9:40 am

The way you tell tales make a reader to stick on it till end. Finally you enjoyed your Ladakh trip

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 11:36 am

    Thanks Hena for appreciation.
    Ladakh region is such that it makes you enjoy it!

Ramya Abhinand · June 5, 2018 at 10:12 am

Awesome Anagha!!! ITs always good when it all ends well right!

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 11:37 am

    True that Ramya. Thanks for visiting dear.

Sayeri · June 5, 2018 at 2:01 pm

You love traveling! Ladakh is a heavenly destination. I have a plan to explore this place. #OpeNTalk #BloggerBabes

    Anagha Yatin · June 5, 2018 at 4:14 pm

    I fell in love with Leh Ladakh, Sayeri. Do visit it.
    Thanks for visiting my blog.

mahekg · June 5, 2018 at 5:33 pm

Thats a great start. But all good things come with stress I believe its the same case with me. Looking forward to more adventures Anagha already excited 🙂 #zarahatkeblogreads #OpenNTalk #CrossBorderSisters

Sachin Baikar · June 5, 2018 at 11:32 pm

Well written post ? Anagha
I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing ?

pushpendra پُشپیندر (@pushpendra4acti) · June 6, 2018 at 1:55 am

interesting story telling

Priyanka · June 6, 2018 at 8:15 am

Loved the tongue-in-cheek humour and the positivity in this post. Lovely read!
It might not have been the most convenient trip, but something tells me it was one tell of an adventure. 🙂
Looking forward to reading about the rest of it.

Cheers!

#OpenNTalk #CrossBorderSisters

    Anagha Yatin · June 8, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    Thanks Priyanka for visiting. It did turn out to be a great experience.

sukrisblog · June 6, 2018 at 9:47 am

You seem to have had a splendid experience this trip too. Me thinks many at times if something is jinxed there is bound to be something good for you. #NissaTalks

    Anagha Yatin · June 8, 2018 at 7:10 pm

    Hahaha…yes! Jinxed is a “good omen” for us!
    Thanks Sudha for visiting.

aditi · June 6, 2018 at 9:57 am

I love your writing style Anagha! Beautifully weaved:)
#OpenNTalk
Honoured to be a part of #CrossBorderSisters

Disha · June 6, 2018 at 11:59 am

I was at the edge of my seat till the end, literally and figuratively. 🙂
Glad that you could make it in the end!

Parul Thakur · June 6, 2018 at 12:28 pm

Sounds like a fun trip. You are right that even thought it looked jinxed, it worked out.

I loved Ladakh and mountains are my thing. I am longing to go back again and explore more. Have you read this – https://www.happinessandfood.com/12-day-road-trip-ladakh/ 🙂

Shalzmojo · June 6, 2018 at 2:21 pm

Glad you had smooth sailing after the bumpy initial bits. I loved my trip to Ladakh a lot and am waiting to go there once again!!

Bhawna (@KickUpstairs_) · June 6, 2018 at 3:44 pm

Anagha you are awesome in narrating your story. Very well written hats off
I am glad that you are a part of #CrossBorderSisters and #OpenNtalk

Silja Nair · June 6, 2018 at 4:05 pm

Wow dear. First of all nice use of words… it keep me connected & i am eagerly waiting for next episode of it… #NISSATalks

pratikshya2 · June 6, 2018 at 8:21 pm

Haha. Nice twist. I was wondering about why the title was so. Very well written.

Deepa · June 8, 2018 at 10:47 am

Sometimes things work in such a way that in the end it’s blessing in disguise. Waiting to read more about your trip.

zainab · June 9, 2018 at 6:16 pm

This place has been on our list since ages. Hope to to sometime 🙂

Mayuri Nidigallu · June 10, 2018 at 12:56 pm

What an adventure, that too before the holiday began!
All’s well that end’s well though. I love how you see everything through the lens of chuckles and humor. Your post made me smile, like it always does:)
#OpenNTalk #JAMSS2018

DiaryOfAnInsaneWriter · June 11, 2018 at 12:48 pm

Loved the way you have written this post, lucid and entertaining at the same time! Looking forward to reading more about your Ladakh trip. Keep writing.
#RoarWillRock

PrettyMummaSays · June 13, 2018 at 11:10 pm

Oh my god! I can only imagine the stress you must have gone through till the time everything was sorted. Loved reading this. Keep sharing more such tales. #roarwillrock

Ila Varma · June 15, 2018 at 5:06 pm

Awesome post and way of expression is mindblowing. #BlogAMile #OpenNTalk

Jyotirmoy Sarkar · June 23, 2018 at 9:40 pm

Very beautiful presentation,very nice use of metaphor and it was amazing to go through your experience.

    Anagha Yatin · June 23, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    Thanks Jyotirmoy for uplifting remarks. Glad you liked it.

arv! · September 4, 2018 at 11:13 am

All is well that ends well. Thankfully, everything got sorted for you. There is nothing better than a road trip from Srinagar to Leh! And you “earned” it! 😉

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 11:24 am

    Hahaha…yes we did! Thanks for visiting and sharing your thought on the post.

      arv! · September 4, 2018 at 7:15 pm

      You are welcome, Anagha 🙂

Leave a Reply to Bhawna (@KickUpstairs_) Cancel reply

%d bloggers like this: