My grandiose for life and having been stuck on country number 49 for over 10 months, i set out on one of the most exciting adventures i have been on all my life. After some dillydallying i decided to go with my affair of travel for travel's sake and complete my country number 50 in a grand way. After sorting out all the necessary visas i went up in the air starting from London on the 20th November 2009 on a journey of a lifetime.
'An odyssey is best measured in friends than in miles', and this was what made my Round the World trip all the more exciting. An opportunity to re-connect with some of the nicest people you can meet on this planet, and having someone you can trust in every corner of the world made it even special.
My first stop was New York in United States of America, where i not only lived the fast life of the city but also got to meet my good childhood friends Muralidhar Tejomurtula, his wife Vijaya Iluri, Sandhya Menon and Arun Raghavan. A journey to Boston and a day attending lectures at Harvard Business School challenged my intellectual ability and the desire to strive harder to go a long distance in life before being content. Thanks to the hospitality of Varun Gupta an ex colleague from KPMG India at HBS and thanks to facebook i was able to meet my batch mates from KREC Suratkal; Raahul Hassan and Srihari Narasimhan.
I then flew from NYC to Los Angeles and spent 4 days with my brother Vinay Keerthy and sister in law, Padmini Keerthy in Irvine, Orange County. The comforting feel of family and one of the sweetest & nicest couples i know made this short time feel heavenly. Losing myself culturally in the mexican tunes on a trip to San Diego, shopping and a big bang from behind to our car hours before my flight summed the rest of my special love for Sunny California, which is high on places i want to migrate to next.
This was followed by the most intriguing journey i have ever made. My flight to Fiji from LA, erased the existence of 29th November in my calendar. A day of sun, sand and water in Fiji brought back the adventurous me.
Entering New Zealand made me feel like i was in the UK. But further exploring Auckland and the heart of this God's country i fell in love with NZ and would easily be the highlight of my travel. Understanding the Maori culture and witnessing some sheer beauty of nature i spent time in Rotorua, Waikato and Hamilton. After spotting a Kiwi bird for the first time ever, i met my old neighbor for over ten years from DRDO, Bangalore; Deepthi Radhakrishnan and her husband Baruk Feddabonn. The only person i could not meet in the whole trip was Alia Kapoor my HR from KPMG Bangalore. New Zealand is a place i would surely want to live in for a few years, I love this country.
I then flew into Sydney, Australia where i got a taste of the outgoing Australian lifestyle. A very special thanks to Aloma De Souza and Tony Moriarty for their wonderful hospitality and Mandeep Chanana and Balija Raghuveer for their company. Spent a couple of days in the worlds sports city, Melbourne where i stayed with Murali's brother Manohar Tejomurtula. A journey to Melbourne Cricket Ground and Rod Laver Arena, made me rue about my missed opportunities in sports. I may probably be the best example of Jack of all, Master of none. Due to a paucity of time i also missed catching up with ex colleagues Andrew Baldock & Steven Green from Amdocs Consulting. A day trip on the magnificent Great Ocean Road, taking a helicopter ride and having an encounter with a Kangaroo, a Kaola and bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor concluded a wonderful day in the Victorian province. After visiting the Blue Mountains and the Tauranga Zoo, one of the best Zoo's i have ever seen i left Australia to my next destination HK rich with memories.
Hong Kong swept me off my feet from the very beginning. A city with a vibrance better than Mumbai and much more modern than most western cities there was life everywhere in this fast paced hometown of Jackie Chan. They have the best airport and underground trains in the world in my opinion. I met my dearest Mom and Dad the following day to my arrival and there is no better feeling in this whole world than being with your loved ones. Any bond in this world can be replaced, but never that with your parents. A packed schedule visiting Hong Kong and its attractions mainly in Disneyland, largest sitting Buddha statue, Ocean Park, Peak, Symphony of Lights and many others kept the adrenaline going.
A day's visit to Macau from HK made it my 54th country. Experiencing the rich side with the casinos strewn and the poorer side of the chinese region before returned to my serviced apartment in HK the same day.
The penultimate country on the itinerary was Singapore where i spent some time before flying to Mystical India.
Arrived into Mumbai, India and later reached Bangalore my home city. There is nothing like home and your city where you have grown up. A series of business meetings for my own venture and catching up friends concluded this joyous journey. I met up with my best friends from school; Avinash Ganesh, Harish Krishnan, Roopa Nair, Tapasya & Akhila Ganesh and relived those glorious fun filled days with not an iota of stress. Caught up with friends from St Josephs; Swaroop Shekar and Maitreya Bhoopalam and then with friends from engineering in KREC Suratkal; Rahul Bohra, MS Kiran, Bharath Raj, Vibhor, Puneet and Shashikiran. India is a country where people and food consumes most of your time and while enjoying myself to sumptuous food i also met up with other friends and family in Brunga Bahubali, Sushma Kumble, Sahana Radhakrishna, Varun Gupta, Sneha Divakar, Mihir Nayak, Chetan Sudheendra and Chanveer Kadapatti.
After having a gala time with people in my family namely my first cousin Sowmya Abhi, Abhichandran Madanakesari and their lovely son Ruthvik, Vidyananda BJ, Prakruthi Vidyananda and their adorable daughter Viviktha, my mom's elder brother and his wife (Athe and Mama) and also my mom's younger brother Prasad Mahaveer, and last but not the least my dearest mom and dad who are the most down to earth and humble people.
With great pleasure and confidence i can state that all the people i have interacted with on this wonderful adventure of mine are the true 'Salt of the Earth' and i am proud i am a part of their lives. I thank each one of you for your help at all times.
I returned to London on the 11th January to conclude 54 days of sheer bliss knowing all those who wander are not lost. We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
Click on the Photo for the Best Photos from Round The World:
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| Around The World in 54 Days |
Personal Regards
Vivek S Keerthy
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