Food and travelling seems like synonyms to me as they both are something that I love, my first love food and then travelling for which I developed my love because of my father, I learnt how food changes every kilometer you travel, be it the way it looks, tastes or is even made. For me, travelling cannot exist without food and you cannot explore variety of food without travelling, be it long distance or short.
I still remember in 2011, I went to Kullu Manali with my family, it was a trip we had planned for a long time and were very excited and I cherish it till date.
We were travelling by road and mostly my father used to drive the car, it was a long and tedious journey from Amritsar to Kullu, so my mother carried a bag full of paranthas that were drenched with desi ghee, achars and some fried items. We enjoyed our trip while munching the entire way and the best part was that there was no end to our hunger and we used to stop at the roadside dhabbas and fill our tummies to the fullest. Usually, I ordered the same food what my father preferred, as our taste buds were quite similar. On the contrary, my mother ordered the exact opposite of ours, since it thrills her to taste different variety everytime, however, her experiment generally fails! A meal for my family is incomplete without a cup of tea. Therefore, to add cherry to the cake, we ordered ginger tea and digested our meal. Thereafter, we resumed our journey to kullu. The view was so serene, the mountains looked so appealing, there was a refreshing charm in the air. I even witnessed a few people feeding the monkeys,and we fed them too, despite knowing that it’s prohibited. When we entered the kullu a huge jam was waiting for us. Meanwhile I and my father saw a vendor selling steaming hot, charred bhutta(corn) and yes we enjoyed it . The corn kernels were so appetizing that it pleased me. My sister and mother dint like it because of the traffic, soon we reached our relatives’ place, we enjoyed alot Then the next morning we left for Manali. The winds were chilly. When we reached there the first thing we grabbed was Maggi as we were miserably hungry. We were on the river bank, with our feet and coke bottles dipped in chilled freezing water. Wow! the environment around just took the experience to another level,and the mountains topped with snow gave me adrenaline rush. we then had some momos, which was the first time I had something like this ever. The momos were stuffed with minced chicken and were piping hot and it was served with mayonnaise and hotchilly sauce, the combination was deadly We then did water rafting and other adventures and the next morning came back to where we belong, the Holy City of Amritsar.
In a nutshell, Every moment on this trip is worth cherishing because of all the small incidents that occurred. The exquisite food and the things related to it taught me alot. I believe food connects us with people somehow and it’s fun when we explore it. I loved each and every food item I had on this trip unlike my mom and sister who were very choosy when things came to food. even today whenever I think about it, it reminds me of the delicious mouthwatering taste.
backpack foodie 