25 things to do before you turn 25!!!

Life is short and we are also getting busier with time. Work, family, kids, travel, peer group, boss etc, each takes single calories from our body and nothing is left for oneself. So here is my list of 25 things that one should do before one turns 25. Never miss them, as you might not be able to do once you are in the full life cycle. If you are waiting for good time, then do them now as probably you may never get a chance to do them again. So what are you waiting for, check the list and start planning.

25: Do not get married. 

Yes, I start the list by a “do not” thing. No matter how close you are to your partner, never settle before 25. Life has just begun and there would be many desirable things you would love to try but marriage could stop you to try.

24: Try bungee jumping or sky diving or any other extreme sport.

Test your adrenaline by doing some extreme sports before you turn 25. Try to win the fear within yourself. 

23: A naked run on a nude beach. 

Yes, it’s a completely different experience at nude beach and you may end-up loving your body more after a prideful walk over there.

22: Make peace with your family.

Yes, you are no more a teen or brad anymore. Be mature and make peace with your family for all the problems you caused them when you were teen. Be mature to acknowledge their great presence in your life.

21: Get drunk in club and puke there on the floor. 

Yes, I mean it. You would not remember anything from that night but for sure you would remember everything after you puked.

20: Kiss completely strange person. 

There are some steps we take with intuition. So why not try to kiss someone randomly. Study says people enjoy kiss from strangers even more.

19: Weekend drive away into countryside alone. 

Perhaps best way to understand our mind is by being alone. And driving alone in countryside with no plan is greatest gift you can give to yourself. You would now more about yourself by the end of the trip.

18: Hitchhiking. 

People say it can be dangerous but how can you miss the fun of traveling with someone unknown for some time. 

17: Go bald. 

We love our hair, but we can try to go bald once in our lifetime and why miss this opportunity before you turn 25.

16: Get a  tattoo: 

You might not like it but expressing yourself through tattoo can make you happier. Try just small one but do get a tattoo.

15: Date a person from another country. 

Don’t miss a chance to date that hot girl in your campus or that hot guy you met on your exchange studies. Sometime dating someone from different country can give you new perspective about many things. It it sounds cool too :D

14: Get a 0 in any exam: 

Well, when all try to score perfect, how about scoring 0 in a test. You can boast your entire life that you were that person who scored big O in Maths or science or literature.

13: Try online dating: 

Hey, I know most of you must have tried this but even if you didn’t then try at least once. You would see so much strange things happen but sometime it can be something that you would cherish for your life.

12: Party all night, Party all night: 

Drink, Dance, Smoke and Flirt but do not end the party before sunrise. No matter how hard it is for you, but do not pass 25 age without partying all night once.

11. Cry out loud in deserted place: 

No matter how good we are doing, we have some displeasure, problems, issues that haunt us. Sometime we do not share these with others and keep them secret. They always haunt us so to stop them. Just go to a deserted place and cry out loudly. It would make you feel good about yourself and relieve all unwanted pressure.

10. Visit your high school once after you complete it: 

Those years would not come back, but just visit your school once and relive the best time of your life again for one day.

9: Travel to India: 

You can’t work in chaos or you dislike noise or you lack concentration or you are searching peace or looking for spirituality enlighten. I bet no country fits into the profile as India does. It can be a life changing experience for you. Each day would be a learning experience for you. It would be a very challenging experience but never miss it.

8. Using Couchsurfing to stay in a new city: 

It is probably the best way to know about a city. Just stay for few nights at a Couchsurfing host. These unknown people may be the best assets while travel. Just search an exciting host next time you travel.

7. Learn a music instrument: 

Are you excited to meet a girl who plays a guitar or a guy who plays violin? If yes, then do not miss any chance to learn one instrument by yourself. Music is the best language in silence. Hence a music instrument can become your best friend while you are alone. Just pick any one and start practicing it.

6. Learn a new language: 

I love French language when I listen to French girls. Ohhh damn but I can’t speak French. Do you want to be in same condition? According to many researches, local people are friendly when you communicate with them in native language, later you can shift to English but if you initiate with local language, they seem to be more helpful. So why not learn a new language.

5. Do one thing meaningful and yet not for you. 

Try to help some stranger or teach poor kids. Do something to give back to the society and nature after taking so much for last 25 years. It would give you pleasure that no materialistic things can give.

4. Learn cooking: 

No matter where you go, you would need cooking skills. Do not embarrass yourself when International friends ask you to cook some delicious food from your country. Learn something famous from your country, city or region with your home made recipe.

3. Make Coffee and breakfast for Parents: 

Thank them in a subtle way for all you got in your life with a cup of coffee in Morning.

2. Attend music festival at least once: 

There are hundreds of music festivals around the Globe. Do go to at least one music festival once before you turn 25. Music is one of the most beautiful language so why to miss it.

1. Back Pack Europe: 

No wonder it tops the list. It is in itself a long list of exciting things to do. You can do most of the things listed above if you plan European trip. Travel through countries by Trains. Use hostels to see the night life of Amsterdam or Paris. Go to crazy parties and eat delicious yet cheap food in Eastern Europe.

My checklist: 15 

In next one year: 5 more

What about you???

Drink, Drink and Drink ..... loose yourself in Student Erasmus...

After Food, lets move to drink...

So, we ate a lot in our last post:

http://lifemeanstravel.blogspot.in/2013/09/five-pillars-of-student-exchange-food.html

Now coming on to the next pillar, lets talk about Drinks. Now all of you who think that I went only for drinks in Europe, please consider this " I Do not Drink any Alcohol". So just do not interpret Drinks as only Alcohol.But yes this blog is on famous drinks that you should never miss while travelling in Europe. 

First let my introduce to 3 drinks that should not be missed in Europe:

1. Bourgogne  Wine and famous Wine festivals in the region. Now as an nondrinker, I can not give you the real feeling but from my friends experiences I can say that you would love these Red Wines from the city of Mustard. 

Like they say " Tres Bien" . This is classic or ahhhhaa fantastic. Guys, if you want to impress your date bring a bottle of Red Wine from here.

2. Local Beer in Brussels: I have always heard of Germany known for beer but friends, if you are in Brussels then do try the local beer brewed by some monks in the city. It is really worth trying. 

3. Sangria: A glass of sangria and volleyball with hot chicks on the Barcelona beach is enough for you to spend a weekend or even week in my favorite destination of Europe. 

Now do BamJam, BamJam. All those dirty minds here thinking something please do not over think. I am not talking about Bam Bam here but BamJam is one of the finest Bar in the City of Dijon. So be prepared to party like animals in your holidays. 

Each day should be a different party day for you. Do google search and find the best places to drink in the City. If you do good job you could find some best and cheap places to enjoy and get drunk and get  ****. I had my best evenings with my super cool friends in different Places. We partied like every other nights and in the end the Bar and Clubs knew us. We tried all Bar and clubs in Dijon like BamJam, Chat Noir, Salsa Pelpe and Hit Club. 

Literally I had fun there, all my friend reading this would know what I am talking about :)

If you are in France and do not go to any of the many Wine Festivals then you are a real ***. I had an opportunity to go to this small but equally wonderful Wine trip to a small village called Corgoloin near Beaune City (also known ass Wine Capital of France). This festival is held during last weekend of January and you can taste different kind of Wines from different regions of France at single place in just 15 euros (Confirm the latest Price) and also French Cheese direct from Farms. 

So if Clubs and Bar only place to drink?

No, a big No. Well we partied every 2 night in the Clubs and on other nights we partied in our Dormitory. Well of you think dormitories are only for study then you are wrong there. Infact my most memorable incident happened in my Dormitory after we were drunk.

Here it is:

I bought some Indian sweets and invited others for Indian Night at my place. We agreed to watch an Indian Movie and eat and drink together. As an India it was my responsibility to promote Bollywood of whom, We are really proud of. So we decided to see a  Rom-Com movie and as usual it had dance, romance (not behind the tree my friend), and blah blah. We had pretty fun till all were drunk and suddenly we heard fire alarm. As we cam out to evacuate we saw one of my friend actually doing it. It was more funny when other friend came with the CO2 cylinder to stop fire. This was all slapstick situation as other people started gathering out. We just ran away from the building and acted as even we were shocked. It took some time for the management to clear building was safe and people were already cursing the unknown people for such act as it was 3 AM in Morning and it was chilly outside.

P.S: Please do not try this at your building and even if you do, do not be inspired from us :P

Just before getting crazy

I still poke this friend of mine and talk about the incidence and she feels sorry for it :) Haha this inspired my other friend to repeat same again in my building just 2 days before I left for India. 

Haha Diane, this picture is Legendary

So drinks bring you closer to your friend. It adds new story to relish and keep those memories in you forever. It helps you find some..you know what i mean. It helps you enjoy and it keeps you comfortable in the chilly winters. So drink party enjoy in your student Erasmus. It comes once in your life.

Happy Drinking.

Do write your stories here...

Fun of choosing small city for Student Exchange

Why to choose Small European City for Student Exchange?

I saw an article today on internet. The article intrigued me because it said Paris is not the most preferred city for International Students for studies in France.

Partially I new why they wrote the article but still I went to read the whole article and to my shock Paris was not in even top 10 cities.

http://www.thelocal.fr/galleries/lifestyle/the-ten-best-places-to-be-a-student-in-france

Here are the cities preferred by International students in France:

1. Grenoble

2. Toulouse

3. Montpellier

4. Nantes

5. Aix-En-Provence

6. Bordeaux 

7. Lyon

8. Rennes

9. Lille

10. Nice

Now the question is why Paris, paradise for lovers, ultimate city for art lover, fashion panache is missing in the list. I guess I know the answer, not from any research but from my personal experience from my own student exchange in Dijon, again a small city.

Let me put some points to put some weight to my belief.

1. Smaller the city, more friendly people are: Yes it is true. France is known for rich culture and proud language. But it is also true that this  is limited to big urban city. People in smaller cities are humble and nice. They have time to help you even of they  do not much English. 

Here is what I experienced on my first day to school. I was lost at a small square known as Place Darcy in Dijon. I could not find the direction and the bus route to my School so I asked this lady. This generous lady tried to help me but when all failed she asked me to come along and waited for 5 minutes at the Bus Stop for right bus and helped me get in. It was a pleasant scene as she seemed to be busy but took time to help me. 

2. Smaller the city, more pocket friendly: Yes, this is the biggest factor for students. Where can you get student accommodation for 200 Euros in France, free club entry, food under 5 Euros, cheap pubs etc. Life in Smaller cities is much pocket friendly than any big city. 

3. Easy to travel in City: Dijon was so small that we could travel from one end to other in just one hour. There is another fun travelling without any eyes watching you, people around you etc. We could go to the lake Kir in Dijon (on the extreme end) like every weekend  because it was more convenient. Transportation is quite easy.

4. Better student life: With around 33% of the city population students, Dijon had great student life. This is same in many other cities in France and Europe. There were many places to eat, drink, hang out, sit, talk etc exclusively for students.

5. Safety: Where can you walk with your female friends at 4 am in night without any fear. You meet fellow students on road and they offer you drink, you take a sip and again follow your path. This is life after midnight in these cities. Never miss them

So guys and girls do pack your bag for exciting student exchange, but choose a small city if you really want to enjoy it. You can still travel to big cities for weekends but do not choose big cities. And If you are non-European student then I would say choose European city for student exchange. No country can provide you such vibrant culture and options as Europe as whole can.

Happy Erasmus
Happy Exchange :)

Je t'aime Paris- I love Paris

First time Traveller.

How you felt when you landed on the foreign land for first time?

I just shouted- I love Paris, or as Francophone would say Je t'aime Pairs. There is a special feeling, landing on a foreign land. Off course I saw people, baggage, some announcements in the background, Police, security, beautiful ladies with perfect bodies getting ready to fly etc. But there was some difference. The melodious french in background was harmonious and giving feeling that I have been victorious is some perpetual war. 

As  any traveller we (me and my colleague, Sud) did a lot of Internet research and posted in our minds on all the possible and cheapest way to reach Gare De Lyon from Charles de Gaulle Airport. 

Possible options for anyone going to Paris:

1. Cheapest: RER and Metro: it cost us around 6 Euro 70 Cents (Latest around 10 Euros)- You can buy tickets at Airport itself

2. Shuttle service: Reliable and cheap for single travellers. Starts from 15 Euros

check some of them here:

http://www.airportvan.com

www.airfrance.com (go to shuttle service)

http://www.supershuttle.com/

3. Air France Bus Service: Again a cheap service from 15 Euros.

http://www.airfrance.in/US/en/common/resainfovol/achat/transfert_aeroport.htm

4. Private Taxis: You can find them at Airport but they are expensive.

So, we decided to take the RER and Metro Combination to reach Gare de Lyon. But we missed one thing important, rather we believed that my 2-3 internet classes of French is enough to communicate us to any French person. And we encountered our reality check when We could not purchase our Metro ticket.

It was hilarious as we tried all possible combinations of accent and sounds to entertain the lady sitting on other side of window. 

We were like eerrrrr, Garee du lyonnn at Di-john, Gar doo lyun at Dii jon and our Indian accent with some Indian Phonetics made our job even more difficult 

So finally we decided to show her on Map and then only she could give us the ticket. 

Tip 1. Be ready for this unexpected. Not only learn to write but also learn to speak few French words.

Tip 2: Keep change ready, it may be needed at the ticket window. They accept 1, 2 ,5 ,10 cents coins. 

Retarded Sud

Retarded myself

The Paris Metro is widely regarded as one of the most exhaustive and dense in City as people say that in every 1 KM, on would find a Metro Station. They are old and you can explore a lot of graffiti around. It shows the freedom people have. They paint their thoughts and dreams that make this city even more beautiful. 

Having said that, our miseries didn't ended. We bought 2 tickets for Dijon and as we were trying to call our student body (they were suppose to pick us from Dijon Gare to our Student Residence) to come to Dijon Gare at certain time, but by the time we could make call, we missed our Train. We didn't had change for the idiot Phone and by the time Sud got some change, we missed our train. We could cancel the ticket but had to wait again for some time to catch the next train and also call the Student body again to reschedule the time. 

But the day ended well when finally we reached our new home in Dijon. We got small rooms in University residential halls. The cheapest were for around 200 Euros and we took them. No wonder in that amount you can rent an apartment in New Delhi. 

But we were tired so much that we slept without even eating anything that night. 

I waned to sleep despite Jet lag because I had entered into my dream world for next 100 days. I wanted to feel wonderful and no state than sleep can give you that feeling. It was so easy to sleep that night. It was sleep of deep happiness. Je t'aime France. 

Losing travel Virginity

How do First time traveler feels?

Once upon a time in India...

22 years old medium class Indian student joined one of the most prestigious MBA school in India. His parents were proud that he could get admission to one of the best MBA school after he failed in his graduation once. It was dream for them.

Was it dream for ME?

Yes, indeed even bigger but not for studies or for securing a career but for travel. My first step to travel beyond India has just fallen at right place. Students choose College for its Pedagogy, Faculty, Placements and name. But I looked at a stat that no one pay attention. I saw the ranking of the colleges in International. Exchange Program and choose me college IMT-Ghaziabad. It is known for the best exchange program. My eyes lit up as my probability to go for an exchange program was highest here. 

Why Travelling was important for me?

I always had this fascination of going out and exploring World.I was crazy watching TV programs based on travel when I was kid and the stories of backpacking, hitchhiking etc attracted me. I was never passionate about bikes or cars or mobiles as my friends. But my eyes glowed when I heard Travel. I even started preparing myself with taking courses of German. I thought of travelling to Europe first and tried to get admission on French and German courses and got German courses while I was still undergraduate student of Maths.

I registered for LIVEMOCHA.COM and there i took online classes of French and Spanish. I took Spanish course in IMT while doing MBA. So my preparation were going pretty well. 

The Moment of joy:

October 2010 would remain a special month for me. After remaining in 1st waiting list finally I got chance to apply for one International College. I was too disappointed to miss Germany and in fact was left with just one College in France. I decided not to go but the traveller inside kicked me and as I believe, it was the best decision I had taken to go there. It was ESC-Dijon France.

So finally decided and 9th January 2011 was the D-day but just one problem I had no visa till 5th January. Even after applying 20 days in advance, I was not given any assurance of Visa. Had I not travelled to French Embassy on 5th January, I would have missed my flight as 8th Jan was holiday and I just had 2 days in between. I pleased to the lady to confirm my visa and after requesting a lot she told me to come next day to collect passport with or without visa. It was one of the longest night of my life. If cancelled I had no chance to re-apply, an option that some of my friends had due to time availability. 

It was like India won Cricket World Cup when next day I say the stamp on my Passport. Yes, the entry was given. A middle class guy who rarely travelled outside Rajasthan (his home state) has now entry to the World's most talked about country. France, I am coming. The vision that I saw for last 10 years has finally given me the first ray of joy. 

9th January -Bye bye India and France here I come.

Next-Landing in Paris