Lessons I learnt on my first ever SOLO TRIP!!!

I am a 38 year old woman without kids but married. So, I thought people might judge me that "shadi ho gayi hai phir bhi solo trip pe kyu ja rahi hai..."

I had heard that people should do solo trips, especially girls/women should definitely go for a solo trip at least once in their lives. So, after contemplating a lot I also decided that I will go on a solo trip when I was getting bored and all my friends were busy either with their kids or work or home. 

But who cares when your husband is super supportive. Yes that's lesson number one that I learned when I was going for a solo trip that if your partner/husband is super supportive, other than that you don't have to worry about anything. 

The second thing that I learned was to check about the destination that you are going to. If you are a beginner begin with a destination which is close to home and is super safe for solo women travellers. 

Also try to choose a short trip if it's your first solo trip. But if it's a long trip that's also okay. I chose a small weekend trip to Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, which is very close to Delhi. 

I took the Vande Bharat train which leaves from Delhi at 5:50 a.m. and it reaches Chandigarh at around 8 a.m. You can definitely book a cab from there directly to Kasauli, but I wanted a bit of adventure as I was all by myself and could take any decision that I wanted. So I took an auto to sector 43 ISBT Chandigarh.

From there I got a bus which was going to Shimla. That was an AC bus but it was not going directly to Kasauli, it would drop me at Dharampura from where again I would have to take an auto, cab or another bus. I very comfortably travelled in the bus and the ticket was only ₹160. It was a very comfortable journey and I enjoyed it a lot. 

I reached Dharampura in just one and half hours. After that I could have taken a local bus but I had to wait a lot so I took a cab which of course cost me a little more than my budget (₹500) but it was okay.

As my hotel was a little away from the Mall road the driver had to drive an extra mile so he charged me a little more but it was comfortable and I reached my hotel safely which I had booked from Booking.com

After reaching the hotel I realised that the hotel was an ok ok kind of a hotel it was a budget hotel not very fancy. But the staff was very helpful and they told me everything that I could do in the next days of my stay in Kasauli. 

I checked in and I changed, took a shower and then ordered lunch. After the lunch I was super tired so I went off to sleep. 

After waking up I thought it's time for me to do some adventure. So I took a shortcut hike to the mall road. There were a lot of stairs a lot of hiking and a lot of hilly roads that I had to take in order to reach Mall road. I was super tired and I was panting and sweating like anything. The weather wasn't that pleasant; it was pretty hot and I was super tired. 

But again I enjoyed the views, I enjoyed my own company and little monkeys were there to keep me company. Finally, after reaching the Mall road I immediately entered a small cafe and ordered some fresh lime soda. After quenching my thirst, I again started walking towards the market. There it seemed the whole Punjab and the nearby states were there in Kasauli that weekend. But somehow I felt safe because there were a lot of people and I was not alone there. I walked till quite a distance. 

But then I remembered that the hotel staff had asked me to return to the hotel before 7pm because it might get dark and a little risky to be alone out there. So after enjoying a little bit of walking and Maggi and coffee at a small shop I again started walking back towards my hotel. 

The walk back wasn't that bad because it was downhill and it was easier for me to walk down. I reached my hotel around 7:30 p.m. The weather had also started becoming a little stormy and it seemed it would rain very soon. So to be on the safer side I immediately entered by hotel room and changed and ordered dinner. The dinner was served at the rooftop of the hotel. The view from there was really pretty with the sky all blue and the whole town visible with lights twinkling; it looked amazing. It was lightning and also thundering. After having an amazing dinner which was butter roti, shahi paneer, and again freshlime soda, I sat there for a while but it started drizzling so I came back to my room.

After sometime it actually started raining and there was literally a storm and the hotel staff came to tell me that to be safe I must close all the doors and windows. Very soon I fell a asleep.

At night I was definitely woken up by some sounds of breaking glasses and thundering. It was a bit scary but of course I was on a solo trip and to be scared was not in my itinerary.

Next morning I woke up very fresh but unfortunately it was still raining. In the morning of course it seemed very romantic and I was missing my husband. I ordered breakfast (paneer paratha, omelette and coffee) and sat there in the balcony with my book and enjoyed the view. 

There was also a little bit of mishap where I actually happened to drop the tray and the coffee. All of those toppled off the table and it was so embarrassing but again I was on a solo trip and I was enjoying all of that. 

I was laughing at my own foolishness, I was crying on my own stupidity and I was getting bored also because it was raining raining and raining... After getting a little bored I switched on the TV and played some songs on YouTube also watched Friends for sometime.

I just couldn't wait for the rain to stop but finally the sun was out at around 2:00 p.m. 

I was super happy and got ready immediately to go out. That day I was not in the mood to do anymore hiking and climbing up the roads which led to the mall road because it was too sunny and was very hot.

So I thought I will take the local bus which only cost ₹10 to drop you to the mall road. Even though the staff had given me the time for when the bus would arrive I became a little late and missed the bus. I waited for the next bus for sometime but it took around one and half hours for the next bus to come. Again another stupidity I left my umbrella at some another hotel where we were waiting for the bus and boarded the bus without it. Thank god for my presence of mind I immediately called the staff from my hotel and asked them to keep the umbrella with them. (Yes I found it later).

Another lesson when you are travelling solo you have to be super super attentive and cautious. That day the bus also dropped a little bit ahead of the Mall road and not exactly at the point. So again I had to hike a little bit,  there was a man who was little helpful and was leading me to the mall road. The man showed me the way and finally I was at the Mall road at the right time. That day I walked a lot I enjoyed the view I was almost alone on a deserted road which led to the sunset point. I did not take much risk and did not go way ahead towards the sunset point because it seemed it was far off. So I walked till where I felt safe and then again I started walking back towards the Mall road. 

Lesson number... I don't know haha... When you are alone please do not try to be super super adventurous or don't try to be very brave or anything. I mean enjoy but know that there are risks because you are alone, don't know anybody and you don't have anyone around you. So your safety is in your hand. 

Finally I reached the known place of the Mall road where there was a park and a lot of people were there, children were there playing an everything so I thought I will sit there for sometime. I also had coffee at a little fancy place the pizza there was a bit expensive so I did a little bit of kanjoosi and did not order.

After sitting at the park I again walked towards my hotel and while going back I sat at another cafe and had some momos. There I got some pizza packed. And learnt way later that it was horrible... Another lesson learnt that if you are on a solo trip even if you are trying to save money don't save it on food if you get a nice cafe even if its expensive and you feel like ordering something or eating something please DO!!!  

DON'T BE A MISER LIKE ME!!!

Okay so I finally reached my hotel but in the middle there was a family of monkeys which almost attacked me or at least I thought they would attack me because I had food with me remember the pizza I had ordered...

I was super scared again as I was travelling solo and there was nobody around me not even any local person it was a completely deserted road and I was really feeling anxious.

Another lesson learnt that do not pack food at least when you are alone and you know that every hill station has monkeys and they can attack you whenever they smell food or something. But anyway I finally reached my hotel safely took some nice photographs of the sunset while coming back; it was beautiful.

Let's not talk about the pizza as I already told you that it was horrible and it was a horrible horrible mistake by me that I did not have the nice pizza at the nice cafe and ordered this pizza from the small cafe. 

Anyway after having the pizza and watching some TV and reading my book I again went back to sleep because next day I had to leave. 

The next day it was time for me to leave I was already packed and everything. I could take a bus till Kalka and from there again I could take a bus till Chandigarh. But I thought sometimes it's okay to spend a little more money for comfort. I thought to myself what am I earning for anyway...

So I call for the cab which mostly is safe and trustworthy because the hotel staff already knew the driver. The cab directly from Kasauli to Chandigarh cost me ₹1500.

I had to meet a friend so I took a stop at Panchkula where my friend's office was. I had lunch with her and then again headed to the railway station of Chandigarh. 

The last but not the least lesson that please reach railway station on time as there's a risk of too much crowd where you can face a stampede or you can fall or  worst to worst case you can miss the train. 

I too got a bit late but somehow after running a bit and panting and sweating I finally got on to the train but on a different compartment but finally I walked down to my compartment. This was again Vande Bharat which left from Chandigarh at 3:35 p.m. and I reached New Delhi at 6:30 pm around.

So that's how my first ever solo trip ended and I learnt a lot of lessons. I also learnt that I missed my husband and my friends a bit but again it was a great experience overall. 

I would also say that everyone in this world whether a man or a woman should definitely go for a solo trip but of course keep a lot of things in their head when they are trying to go solo. The destination, safety, food, culture, hotel, other risk factors that they may face etc.

Hope you enjoyed my solo adventure I will be again back with another article. I hope I have more and more of solo trips but don't know what's kept there for me in the future. Ciao!!!