PART 1...

Bonjour! Namaste, to all our readers. Yes, WE took quite long to be back! But as we know, good things take time. My sudden vanish for a while, was the break I needed. It was something that almost everyone dreams of, and it was indeed fruitful and productive enough as I utilized it for my first trip outside the country. No!..... not the destinations many people normally visit during their international tours, but a different one, not known to many and with an altogether different purpose. With thirst to get some such sort of locations, I started surfing the internet and came across an organization which offers a platform for a cultural exchange programs wherein people from different parts of the world come together to represent their country’s tradition and culture. Sounds more like me, who believes in the same and also love to explore various places, national and if get the chance, even beyond….. So finally, the ‘WHERE’ got sorted out, and now the proceeding began..

It came to my knowledge, that their tour was scheduled in January, 2020, so I had ample of time to plan and to sort out my pending office work. I applied for a privilege leave of 2 months and the process for VISA and travel bookings and all began, and within the scheduled span, all the formalities got completed.

The country that I was to visit, is SERBIA, near south east and central Europe. As I didn’t see much content about the country on the internet, just some renowned places which were normally the main attraction for few tourists who visit. The exciting part was that I was going to be there for 2 months with a good chance to explore the place profoundly. So I decided to grab this opportunity to represent the country in a better way through my blog.

Initial heads up, this adventure was not so lenient on me! In the beginning, it threw some really tough situations, but yea, later on the things got balanced and further I even encountered some great surprises as I progressed. I experienced various interesting people, some beautiful places, and many more! So the positive things weighed more in the end. All well that ends well, right?

The adventure began on 5^th of January 2020, with an early morning cab drive from Pune with a good weighted luggage and some nervousness hidden in a lot of excitement! The flight took off right on time and I enjoyed the moments gazing out through windows, along with some In-flight entertainment & refreshments. It spanned for some 12 hours including a halt in Dubai to finally reach Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The presence of a childish hint in me, made me imagine my journey like a dream where you just close your eyes at a place and when you open, you find yourself in an altogether different place of your dream!

While leaving from Mumbai, the weather was moderate, around 31-32°C so I carried myself casually, wearing a formal T-shirt and trousers with a pair of sneakers, but when I got down, it was freezing cold with -1°C! I had no option but to rush to the luggage section as fast as I could, to collect my bags, so that I could put on my jacket, but guess what! My luggage was nowhere to be seen, and according to officials, they had made a major goof up by forgetting to load it into the flight! WHAT A TRAGEDY right??

** TO BE CONTINUED**