Travel and music are my passion and whenever I get some time I go out to see the world. As an educator, scientist and a lover of nature, the more I see, the more I want to see. The world is just too big and too beautiful. I was impressed to see the Seven Wonders of the World, they are so different from one another, yet so beautiful. It is amazing to think of the knowledge of people thousands of years before and how they applied their knowledge to build something that people all over the world would come and see with awe thousands of years later. The Great Wall of China, The Pyramids and temples of Egypt, amazing Taj Mahal, and the list goes on. I see with amazement and keep singing my favourite Tagore’s song- “ Bisway tai jage amar pran….”.
During my summer holiday, this year, I took a group tour to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. I flew from Australia to Canada. The flight from Darwin to Canada is a long way- as if it is from one end of the world to the other end. I travelled for forty hours. Darwin to Singapore, Singapore to Shanghai and then from Shanghai to Vancouver. I arrived at Vancouver in the morning. After going through immigration and collecting my luggage I came out and found a tour representative waiting for me outside with my name card in his hand.
He brought me to my hotel. On my way I was enjoying the view. It was so beautiful- Beautiful blue sky, mountains at a distance lining the sky and beautiful trees and flowers. I love looking at mountains. I have seen mountains in different parts of the world and they can be so different from one another- The alpine mountains of Switzerland and Austria, tropical mountains of Malaysia, volcanic mountains of Hawaii, the mountains in Phoenix and Grand Canyon – they are all mountains yet they are so different from one another. Their beauty and grander are something you never can forget. I came to my hotel Pan Pacific. After taking my lunch I went out with my camera.
Vancouver is a beautiful small town. In this part of the world summers are short but beautiful. The people enjoy their outdoor life as much as possible. I looked around and found flowers everywhere. It was a heavenly experience- so many different colours, so many different varieties and their combinations- the way they are arranged- they were stunningly beautiful. I have seen the beautiful gardens of Vienna and Salzburg and here I am at Vancouver- to be impressed again.
Next morning we started our train trip through the Rocky Mountains. This trip is something that I had on my wish list. I have seen many travel documentaries showing this tour and thought of taking one. In the train, in my row were three people travelling from the USA. Laura and her husband Jim and their friend Kaitlyn. They were all of about my age. The train started moving, we kept enjoying the beautiful view - at times it was just breath taking. A little later it was breakfast time. The dining car was in downstairs. It was a wonderful arrangement. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. We all chatted, enjoyed our breakfast and in between we kept enjoying the views. It was a great experience.
After our delicious breakfast we came upstairs. We kept enjoying the views. The Rockies have so much to offer. We kept looking at the mountains, the distant mountains had their tips covered with white snow. We were going through many lakes and falls. The blue waters of the lakes had so many different shades. Some of the water falls were going through rocks creating froth and it was magnificent. Some of the falls were meandering through rocks making their way down.
While we were enjoying the views we were absolutely pampered by the hostesses in the train. We were continuously served with snacks and drinks. I tried many new things including a delicious drink called Clamato. I was told that it was a juice made from clam and tomato. The rim of the glass was dipped into Worcestershire sauce and black paper which made the juice even tastier. Lunch was equally good and in between we enjoyed endless cups of coffee and tea- ah holidays!
At the end of the day we stopped at Kamloops and we were taken to our hotel. The beauty of summer in this part of the world is the days are very long and you can see so much. After dinner I went to bed.
Next morning we started our journey again. It was the same beautiful view yet there were differences from one place to another.
At one stage we went through the monumental landmarks and travelled through legendary Spiral Tunnels and Kicking Horse Pass which connected British Columbia to Canada over 125 years ago.
Our next stop was Banff. We had planned a day at Banff. We took a sky rail trip to the top of the mountain and enjoyed the beautiful view. We stopped and looked around and had a cup of coffee in a café overlooking the mountain. I came down. We were taken to Lake Louise and spent some time there. Next we were taken for a helicopter ride. I am always lucky to get the chance of sitting next to the pilot. This happened when I went to see the Grand Canyon, when I flew over an active volcano in Hawaii and on many other occasions. I loved it.
At the end of the day we took our coach which brought us to Calgary. I was looking at the landscape which gradually became flat. There was a big difference between Banff and Calgary.
The rest of my time in Canada and USA was mainly spending time with family. At the end of my tour I came back with many happy memories, of the beautiful places, people I met and good time I had everywhere. In the language of a poet, “ A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.”