We love to travel!

I really, really felt the need to revive my blog. I've ignored it for far too long. But my last post (how long ago was that?!) was about this dilemma which I don't want to repeat!!

So anyway, as short on ideas I am right now, I decided to blog about something Saad and I love doing- Travelling! To new places, that is. (Having lived in the Kingdom, of course we have travelled back and forth to India all the time!).

It just happened by chance. We hadn't travelled a lot as we were growing up- both of us have had our share of travelling but when we were a lot younger, with our families.

But after we got married, and seemed to have holidays at the same time, and a love for exploring new places, as well as breaking free from our daily routines of going to work & socialising... we needed a break from the Jeddah scene! It started with our honeymoon, and one trip led to another... and we became travel lovers!

So I'm HOPING that, InshaAllah, the next few blogs (hopefully, updated soon!) would be travelogues, covering my many travels, as accurately as my absent-minded mommy-brain would allow!

Do you travel? Do you like to travel? Why do you do it?

For us, we believe that the world has so much to see, and to explore... if you have the opportunity to, why not? Thankfully, Saad & I live in a country that is centrally located. (in fact, it has been proven that Makkah is actually at the center of the earth... and we are just 85 kms from that beautiful, blessed city!). There are so many beautiful Arab countries all around us, full of history, culture and beauty.... Europe is relatively close by, as well... couple that with little breaks that we get at Eid and Baqreid,  can you blame us for a few get aways?!

We started as usual tourists, taken guided tours, just going blindly where our packages took us, and not doing enough homework... and ultimately missing out on many other beautiful experiences.

When we went to Jordan, however, a friend who had recently gone there (and inspired us to make the trip) gave us a LOT of invaluable information and insights, and encouraged us to rent a car and roam the country on our own. And what a trip that was! (I'll save the details for the Jordan Travelogue). And since then, we've always planned our own trips. It really does help that Saad is such a meticulous planner, that he doesn't miss a thing. And we stick to our plans.

Some of our holidays have been just us as a couple (and, more recently, with Umar added as well!); and some, with family and friends, in bigger groups. They were both equally good and equally fun... it just depends on what your priority and preference is. See my upcoming blog about this!

If you are into travelling regularly, remember to make a record of your experiences. Also, keep a standard souvenir set... for instance, I guess everyone loves collecting magnets. Many like collecting mugs, plates or spoons of a particular place. We collect shotglasses and magnets. Our shotglass collection has turned out to be pretty impressive. Not just on our own... we haven't visited more than 10 countries (haven't counted yet!) but now that a lot of people know about our hobby of collecting these little things, they always pitch in and get us one whenever they go anywhere!

So I'm hoping to give some of my insights, based on my experiences of the places I've been to, and I'm hoping that they will provide some interest and entertainment to my followers, as opposed to the strange posts I've published so far! Good luck to me!