It's been one year since I began my blog and it's been a roller coaster ride. Initially, when I started this blog I never thought this as a blog of confounding achievements, I started doing it because It feels great to stick at something, and each time I get any encouragement or feedback messages from my followers, it makes it worth the while. Thanks for reading it and liking it. Your comments fill my heart with joy. As you all know, The blog's niche varies between Fashion and Travel. My interest in Fashion makes me look better but my Love for Travel is changing me to a better person in a very positive manner.
When it comes to Travelling, 2019 has been a happening year. I have been to 4 trips which are listed below:
April - Himachal Pradesh (Bir Billing - Palampur) - Group of 5
August - Uttrakhand (Valley of Flowers- Joshimath - Badrinath - Auli - Mana) - Group of 6
November - Bhutan - Group of 6
December - Himachal Pradesh(Dalhousie - Khajiar) - Group of 3
Furthermore, here are a couple of lessons I've learned in the last year through Travelling.
1) Traveling In group
You end up having an instant friendship in which you connect through the same passion or another. There will always be various individuals on the trip, who've also joined to make new companions, it becomes easier to have to chat on random topics, cracking jokes and sharing a laugh. You can rapidly work out who you think you'd prefer to talk to, and afterward. In any case, I can affirm that it's a lot simpler to make friends under a star-studded sky than by planning to start discussions in closed normal rooms. Recently, I've met some splendid and like minded individuals and now have a new set of companions to count on for future trips.
Also, When you travel in a group you always have someone to show you the way and in terms of safety at least you have somebody's back in the worst condition.
Additionally, This year I have been on all girls Trips and I regret not doing it prior in my life as I have acknowledged how special I feel when I am out traveling with my friends. So this year I had my ZNMD/YJHD moment twice.
There are some other benefits like group discounts, having someone to click your pictures, discuss your favorite show/sport, getting a new perspective, etc. Last but not least, You are more than lucky if you have a little munchkin as your companion.
2) Faced Challenges :
My 2019 Travel journal is loaded with challenges and fun-filled minutes. This year I have been on two treacherous treks (Valley of Flowers and Tiger Nest) and returned as a more grounded and stronger individual.
I should admit Valley of flowers trek had drained me because of different reasons like Slippery way due to Rain, Constant trek beginning from GovindGhat, etc.
Yet this trek experience helped me in my second trek of the year for i.e. Tiger Nest which I completed with no hassle.
During Valley of Flower Trek, my health was not at my best as I had swollen feet due to cellulitis(which I later got to know). Likewise, at the beginning of the trip, I had a mild fever(I took paracetamol to control that).
Be that as it may, I couldn't bear to lose this opportunity to visit the place and pushed myself and hopefully I crossed the hurdle despite all odds. At the point when I arrived at the valley of flowers it was a lifetime experience with cloud studded sky bath and obscure flowers all around.
3) Controlled Food habits :
I have seen being a non-vegetarian, it isn't so hard to avoid that for a week or two. I have figured out how to control my food habits. I have been on a trip with Vegan and hardcore vegetarians where I kept myself restricted to vegetarian food and honestly, dint feel any craving.
4) Overcome fear :
Fear is a powerful force that can prevent us from seeking after dreams we had always wanted. Fear may not be real, it can be self-created emotion in our mind. But overcoming fear is necessary and we always have two choices either to defeat it or letting the fear win. This year I got the opportunity to win over my fear by trying something I never did.
BHAI LAND KARA DE MOMENT (APRIL)
This happened in Bir Billing(highest paragliding spot in Asia) where I went for the All girls trip deliberately for an adventure activity i.e, paragliding. All I had in my mind was "Just Do it". It was a magnificent experience when you fly in the sky and while flying you start inspiring yourself. Although I am not a victim of acrophobia still I had fear of falling. Initially, I too had a feeling of nausea but eventually, I changed my mind and started enjoying the flying of 25-30 min.
This occurred in Bir Billing(highest paragliding spot in Asia) where I went for the All girls trip deliberately for adventure activity i.e, paragliding. All I had in my psyche was "Just Do it". It was a grand encounter when you fly in the sky and while flying you start inspiring yourself. Although I am not a victim of acrophobia rather still I had a dread of falling. At first, I also had a feeling of nausea and motion sickness but later on, I started enjoying the flying of 25-30 min.
Crossing Lumbar Village for Badrinath (AUGUST)
If you google about Lumbar village I am sure you won't find any article on it(But google images are there). This year I visited the sacred Sanctorum Badrinath (with 5 others) which was an unplanned visit. While coming back from the valley of flowers we heard stories of landslide and roads being blocked for the route to Badrinath but luckily we got to know that roads are open after one week but we were not sure for how long it will be open. So we decided to try our luck and turned the tires of the vehicle towards Badrinath. The driver cautioned us from the beginning that situations are still vulnerable while crossing the lumbar village. When we reached Lumbar village there was a turn where only vehicles without passengers were allowed under the supervision of NDRF. The passengers had to cross the village on foot from a different treacherous route. One side there was fearful news of houses being washed away, accidents due to floods and landslides, another side was questioning the mind "What if I never get another chance to come to this sacred place?".
Keeping aside our fear we fast-forwarded our foot and enjoyed crossing the route with one side river flowing downstairs and another side with the active mountain(At that time Cause of the fear).
After a few steps, we had to climb the mountain using a rope with the help of NDRF/SDRF personnel. It was heavy raining and I slipped too while climbing and ascending but thanks to the duty personnel who helped me to accurately keep my foot and maintain balance. Later on, I enjoyed the moment and felt proud of myself. In my life, I never thought I could ever climb a mountain with a rope that too with bags and baggage but this experience made me realize I am tougher than I feel, stronger than I look and fearless than I think.
5) Management skills (Time and finances)
People often ask me how I figure out to get so many leaves and How I deal with my funds with frequent travels. I won't boast about it much as I am still learning to ace the skill of time management which will surely be going to improve with time. As far as leaves are concerned I planned my trips covering the holidays which were close the weekends(hence, utilized my good Friday, independence day and Christmas leaves successfully). Also, I worked with two organizations so in the first half of the year I utilized leaves(CL) from the first organization and in the second half from the second(Isn't it smart?:P). Likewise, I don't need to take leaves entire year except for Durga puja so I always have a good amount of leaves on my bucket. For finance management, I would say if you have passion for something you end up managing it regardless. But luckily due to the change in Job, I got financial growth as well. Somehow it helped in managing the expenses.
6) Patience
Long way to go but still I would say my patience level has increased over the years with traveling and last year I have been on long excursions and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit without losing patience or complaining about anything. With all the hardships faced in traveling like an unexpected change in temperature or waiting for the traffic to clear, and so forth my patience level is surely increasing and hence setting me up for future extreme treks.
7) Energizing the Happy soul :
With every trip, I come back with loads of energy and good vibes which help me in transferring it to the work(I work as Senior Software Engineer and don't be surprised if I say love my (9-5) job, API Testing is not that boring :P). I have experienced improvement and growth in my career. All thanks to these short breaks which make my soul happy for a longer time. Also, I want to say my general knowledge increased with last year's trips. Be it Height of the Bir Billing or Blue poppy flower or the Uttrakhand village names or Church names in Dalhousie, or Capital/currency/ Traditional attire/ Tastiest Wine of Bhutan I will recall for life.
Looking forward to this new year for new chapters and hoping for 2020 to be equally (or more) happening than the last year.
PS: Travelling is not at all escaping from the monotony per se, it is my constant source of happiness.
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