ICELAND – Land of Fire and Ice

A Time like no other, in The Land of Fire and Ice, of Vikings and Elves, of Ethereal Beauty and Self...

When you travel, there is always an internal brawl between, exploration and convenience, between the curiosity and the safe haven. The decision to test this boundary has been by far one of my finest travel judgments. A solo travel to Iceland just before the much awaited summer sets in. A very ambitious route resulting in broken dreams and harsh realities was lurking, but nonetheless, something unique which only travel could offer.

Landing into Reykjavik, the northernmost capital in the World, gave a brief glimpse of what was to be expected. As a welcome gesture, my first tryst would be to wait for the bus in the isolate bus stand and braving the chilly and strong wind. My small backpack would surprise all my lovely hosts, as to my not-so-smart survival choices. Reykjavik has a popular nightlife image and it sure does live up to it and more. A Friday night to remember, with smiling faces and incredulous eyes, on meeting someone from a far away land, in a non-touristic time of the year. With around 70% of the population residing in Reykjavik, one can only imagine the nature of the rest 30% of Icelanders, quite brilliant.

After coordinating with two fellow travelers, we hired a car and drove straight to the Blue Lagoon in Grindavik. This was where 80% of all tourists to Iceland visit, and for a good reason too. As touristic as it may seem, it is a worthwhile visit, esp with the water properties and the contrasting mystic surroundings.

The Golden Circle, was one of the most stunning touristic trails I’ve ever been on. This comprises of the Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir and the Gulfoss. The National Park is a great spot to start off and is a good walk, especially when the weather is kind enough. The Geysir or Strokkur is quite an experience with the natural phenomenon which lends its name to other such lesser famous cousins. The highlight of the trail though was the Gulfoss waterfall. Worthy to its name the ‘golden falls’ is simply stunning with the sheer volume and landscape of the waterfall, which left me awestruck. It was out of a fairytale book and the rainbows did confirm that. I have to confess am not much of a waterfall fan, maybe am baptized post this, or maybe not, as the benchmark is set too high for now. I could have stared at the gushing candy-floss laden water movement for as long as possible. Other stops included the Kerid volcano and the Skaholt church.

The next day my German co-traveler and I, set out on a road trip of the Southern Coast of Iceland. The map drawn out on a piece of paper by my local host was one no travel book or any amount of research would have delivered. The weather had been extremely kind to us throughout our time, without which am sure the experience would have been very different. A few things one needs to remember for a road trip in Iceland:

1. Always close the door behind when you get in or out of the car, don’t let the wind take over, or you would be having quite a chilly ride back home and an expensive bill to pay. Just in case you take it as a joke, it’s a stickered in the vehicle by the car hire agencies.
2. You will come across sights, colors, images and landscapes which will leave you spellbound, literally. So don’t get deterred and keep your eyes on the road.
3. Every sight might take you into Westeros or the Nights Watch and you might feel a bit part Thronies. Don’t be too harsh on yourself; the Wall is probably right around the bend. The Mountain is definitely Icelandic.

The Southern Coast is littered with amazingly beautiful waterfalls, terrain and coastlines and I can only imagine what the rest of the country holds in splendor. Though what trumped it all, was a local secret (shared by my host) of a thermal pool somewhere inside the mountains. We decided to take the plunge and find it, and weren’t we delighted. After walking through streams and river beds, we came across a thermal pool on the side of a mountain, not conspicuous and yet the most striking feature around. After finding it, we surely did take the plunge into the warm water surrounded by dominant overbearing mountains all around. An experience like no other, a feeling inexplicable.

The Southern Coast is such that, you can stop every 7 minutes and you’re allowed to just drop your jaw. But weather and time is of essence. Skogafoss, the next waterfall on our map, reignited my recent love for waterfalls. Skogafoss, not only made me believe in fairytale and school drawings, but also in the fact that unicorns and elves exists. We witnessed a mélange of multiple rainbows, playing along with each other while some fortunate humans could just stare. Another sight I couldn’t get enough of, and was pinching my way through.

Our other stops included Eyjafjallajökull (the glacier which everyone knows, but none can pronounce), Dyrholaey, Vik and Reynisfjara. The latter being a heavenly black sand beach from an era long gone by. The comfort relationship between the water, black sand and the beautiful shining volcanic rocks were quite a sight.

The most scenic, ethereal and memorable trip of my Life yet. The Icelandic people and sights are etched in my memory and soul and let’s just say I’m a Fan and I will be Back for more and…

Yes as they say ‘Winter is Coming’…

My Tryst with the US of A

US never featured in my top 5, of places to see, or for that matter, even top 10. It was one of those ‘has to be done in your Lifetime (at least once)’, but no timeline within the timeline.

But I believe every country has its time charted out. US for me was Now (March, 2013). A country which every Indian, especially with our generation mates, already knew well in their head, with its multiple association and touch points which he is constantly fed. The music, the movies, the brands, the bands, the faces, the lifestyles, the media, the farce, the values, and togetherness and so and so and so on…

After spending copious amounts of ‘quality’ time in the continent of Europe, international travel takes upon extremely uncalled for weighty expectations. The history, the architecture, the variation and the splendor of Europe leaves such an indelible part upon your travel quota of mind that subconsciously you would always expect to visualize fascinating landscapes, awe-filled architecture, the beauty and the apparent differences in thought and language every hundred or thousand miles.

This thought followed and haunted me during my initial time in US too. Some said it wasn’t fair on the ‘free land’ to be compared to the beauty of its developed cousin across the Atlantic. I let my mind play the judge and jury.

USA as we see on the map is a massive chunk of land. When you start exploring the place, it seems even more enormous and vast in its expanse. One cannot say US is like this or that, unless one truly covers each significant part in some way or other. Stephen Fry’s 50 States might help. It’s like visiting Delhi and Goa and commenting and distributing views on the entire country of India. I can only speak on what I saw, the routes I took, the people I met and the places I ended up. It is such a mix of various races and tribes, roots and inspirations.

If the World only recognizes the riches, bling and envious lifestyles of the Americans, they’re partly right. There is a great deal of struggle which takes place within every city, within every soul, like every other place. They don’t take things for granted and hard work is something which they live by. They do possess a sense of ignorance, which could prove to be rather arrogant and annoying to foreigners. This could be because of two reasons, the size of their country and the reckless and established media houses they have unknowingly given shelter to. There is too much happening within the country itself to keep some 400 odd million people occupied. For them, travel means New York to Florida and New York to California would be assigned as international travel. Abroad would denote Europe and lately global matters would mean anything to do with China. Lives, cultures, beliefs and struggles of other countries are oblivious to them and to some extent maybe they’re not to blame, the system is. The Americans who have travelled to other parts of the world do realize and recognize this. Their world starts from the East Coast and ends at the West. So when the leader of the Free World (in this case the World is US) cites that the people are under threat, it is only them, as they cannot fathom the troubles elsewhere. They cannot be bothered. Security of its citizens could mean prying into private lives of innocent beings elsewhere. But this security is for the good and that is a prevalent and disturbing belief, unfortunately it ignores the other part and the cost attached to it.

A conspicuous lack of cynicism resides in the people of US. This proves to be highly contagious and hence respectable. This also reflects in their movies, music, sports and to my surprise in every day to day activity and role. A lot of scenes would also seem straight out of Hollywood flicks. Society is a mirror of the arts and art a mirror of society.

Music and Sports form a very significant part of their lifestyle whether it is the Basketball stars and the sold out MSG, Yankee stadium venues or the uber-cool youngsters in Brooklyn and The Bronx feeling the Hip-Hop beats via their Beats headphones possessions.
You cannot exist in US without a car, barring a few cities like NY maybe. It has the pimped up Cadillac and Ford Pick-ups and a country always full of Autos. There exists hence the strongest lobby ever in the Auto Industry. This poses quite a limitation.

I have come to the conclusion (personal nonetheless) that the most naturally aesthetic parts of the country lies in its national parks and mid west pockets. The concrete cities do not offer the visual brilliance and pleasing vibrancy of European cities, except maybe 2 sights. One is the landscapes of the city of San Francisco and the other is the infamous Manhattan Skyline. They do though offer a million eateries and franchise joints laid out across its highways and neon lighted strip bars. Everything in this land is MASSSIVE and EXCESSIVE, whether it be the Detroit cars or the cities or the portion serving size at the diners.

Well, no one said that The American Dream was miniscule in any measure.