I’ve never really been one for spontaneous travel planning. All my life, I’ve preferred to book things well in advance, plan a tentative itinerary, and have a somewhat clear idea of what I’m doing and where I’m going. But sometimes, circumstances call for a different approach.
As I departed from the hectic week of Orientation and said my goodbyes to the other Fellows, my mind was swimming with questions about the vast unknown that I was soon to be thrust into. What was my living situation going to be like? How would I adjust to my new workplace in this new city? Among these swirling thoughts, an even more urgent matter rose to the surface: One of India’s biggest festivals, Diwali, was less than two weeks away. How would I make the most of this incredible opportunity with so little time to plan?
About a week after my initial arrival to Ahmedabad, I was chatting with one of the Fellows based in Jaipur and discovered that we both wanted to travel outside of our respective cities for the long Diwali weekend. They had a destination in mind: Udaipur, the majestic city on the water sandwiched right between Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Within days, this initial seed of an idea sprouted into a full-blown plan. We had assembled a dream team of five intrepid Fellows. We had booked our train, bus, and flight tickets mere days in advance. And we had prepared ourselves for a great weekend.
The Plan, Set in Motion
As I rode on my early-morning bus northward on the day of Diwali, I was excited for the coming days, but I was a little nervous that we had set everything up last-minute. Would everything work out on such short notice?
Those worries quickly melted away when I met up with everyone for lunch at a rooftop café just by the bus station. The warm afternoon breeze, the sounds of laughter and eager conversation as we caught up with each other, and the delicious taste of my veggie-filled uttapam reminded me of just how special of a chance it was to be right there, right then, sharing that moment with all of them.
Throughout the rest of the day, we discussed our plans for the upcoming part of the trip. We found some interesting places to visit outside of the town that would require a full day of driving and sightseeing. As I heard my friends’ conversation with a potential driver on the phone, I wondered once again about the spontaneous nature of what we were planning. Things seemed to be working out great for the start of our trip, but would everything go smoothly with booking a whole trip just the day before? Although these thoughts crossed my mind, I chose not to think about them too deeply—I was more preoccupied with the brilliant explosions and floating lanterns that colored the night sky during our Diwali rooftop dinner.
The Festive Streets at Night
After our dinner, we decided to explore the city to see the various fireworks that people were lighting in the streets and on the buildings. My closest previous experience to a festive day with so many flashing colors and loud sounds was Fourth of July, which I almost always celebrated with my family in California. However, given the state’s stricter laws to prevent wildfires, my experience with fireworks was mostly with sparklers and quiet fountains at my relatives’ house rather than large explosions in the night sky. As such, I was fully unprepared for what awaited us in the claustrophobic, white-walled streets of Udaipur.
Even at the late hour, the town was packed full of people celebrating along the streets and among windowsills lined with diya candles. The loud explosions of the fireworks that had seemed at least somewhat distant at dinner now faced us directly, mere feet away. I had no clue from which corner the next ear-shattering bang or bright, flashing light would come from! We made our way through the winding streets towards the riverbank pavilion Gangaur Ghat, where a crowd of people had gathered to collectively laugh, talk, and watch the spectacle together. Our group took a moment to let the sights, sounds, and colors sink in—the acrid smell of the fireworks, the collective murmur of the crowd punctuated periodically by ear-splitting blasts, and the canvas of the dark night sky painted brilliant hues of every conceivable color by the vibrant explosions. It was truly an unforgettable experience, and certainly one that shattered my previous expectations of fireworks.
A Day of Driving and Amazing Sights
The next day, we rose early to prepare for our trip to Ranakpur Jain Temple and Kumbhalgarh Fort, hours away from where we were staying in Udaipur. Both monuments were awe-inspiringly stunning to see in person; the intricately carved walls and ceilings of Ranakpur offered a much different experience than the sweeping walls and fortified gardens we saw atop the mountains in Kumbhalgarh. Even the rolling hills, we drove through to reach our destinations—waves of green trees spotted with gold leaves, amid gradual slopes and sheer rock faces—managed to take my breath away. Had I tried to set an itinerary in stone in advance, I might have missed these incredible opportunities.
While the weekend was full of great memories and fun times, one of my favorite takeaways is certainly that I am more comfortable embracing the spontaneous in travel. Not everything needs to be planned well in advance—some of our most enjoyable moments can be just around the corner, unbeknownst to us at the time.
