Tulips at touchdown.

Tulip faces 

Few things delight Joan, my wife, more than flowers. More so at the other side of an arduous, 15 hour long commute across continents.

It was fantastic to see our friend Martin Jan as we stepped out of Schipol. And Joan wouldn't stop beaming because he welcomed us with the oh-so-famous-but-not-in-season Dutch tulips. Was it the flowers or was it the friend, you'd never know. She was beaming all the way to Zwolle in the train and even days after when she saw the tulips blooming out in all beauty.

For me, those were the first among the numerous lessons I was to pick up on hosting with the heart. The extra mile you go to make it special for your guests, to let your actions say that they are truly welcome. We hadn't yet met many people nor stepped into the country, but we were already falling in love with the Dutch.

Cheap flights. Sleepless nights.

Mommy's girl. Any day.

A good part of this trip was that we booked early and got cheap fares. About INR 44,000 per person for a MAA-DXB-AMS-DXB-MAA return ticket. In a good airline like Emirates it is a steal any day!

That meant we got the lean hours to fly. That also meant a sleepless night at the Chennai airport which has no plans of vying for international airport laurels anytime soon.

So, having checked-in really fast, father-daughter-mother had to cool our heels in probably the worst part of one of Asia's worst airports.

I was reminded of the few times we three waited together in other times. Waiting outside the Principal's room for admission in to Ewart School, when a happily-running-around Anu fell and bruised her knee. Waiting at the Dr Vijayalakshmi Acharya Clinic for the braces. And now waiting through a night to fly away to welcoming friends in foreign lands and be reunited with a travelling son.

At 5 in the morning, airborne and the adrenaline settling down, with the sun chasing us, we finally slept. For all of three hours. Enough for a full 4-stage sleep cycle. Before tumbling out in a rush for a change over at Dubai.

Last Things First

Did I say I hate all things non-Tamilian?

This was originally meant to be a travel diary, capturing my experiences as they happened everyday on our family vacation to the Netherlands and Dubai. As the Lord of All Procrastinators, I start on it a full week after we returned home. Well, I at least started!

The residual impressions I have now are truly the takeaways from the #TravElangos trip. By the way, check out the hashtag on Instagram and Facebook for the more spontaneous expressions.

Impression 1: New Ideas for Life

When you travel new lands and mingle with new cultures you are really opening yourself for new ideas. From the people you meet, the things you observe and the differences you experience. I have come away with a clutch of ideas that I want to adopt in my life. From active relationship building to grandfathering to how to play host... I should reflect on them later.

Impression 2: New Views of Home

When we landed back in Chennai and met the oh-so-familiar again I did so with new filters. I appreciated the things I took for granted. I wondered at the Indian life - "how on earth do we survive in the all round chaos, leave alone thrive?" I had a wonderful new sense of my own place in the community. Before I lose these I must pen them down. So, here I start.

Impression 3: New Friends from Old

Many of the people we met were old friends or acquaintances. I feel as if I have rediscovered them when I met them in their habitat, their home grounds. That's a treasure worth preserving for life. Worthy of a separate post here sometime soon.

Watch this space for more notes from this first time traveler.