The Struggle of an Asian Traveler

If anyone of you belongs to an Asian country and especially, India; you’re likely to agree with me that we have some serious disadvantages when it comes to living our travel dreams.

Talk to people in your periphery and most of them will tell you that they love traveling and exploring new places. But how many of them are actually living their dreams or doing things that will help them accomplish their goals?

A hard thing to say but a person like me, who is so much passionate about traveling, is far-off from accomplishing her travel goals.

Why?

Though I would not completely attribute it to my place of abode it certainly has a lot to contribute.

Mental Blocks that will Never Go

We live in a society that is developing fast but is yet to progress a lot. We believe in accumulating wealth and riches by completely dismissing the findings of science.

How does it even matter if the science says that the joy and memories of our travel experiences last a lifetime as against the material possessions that only give us temporary happiness?

The money spent on traveling is still considered the exploitation of our hard earned resources.

Our Passport that is Indian

Is it that your passport is Indian (or of any other Asian country) and you plan to travel a lot?

It is one of the most lethal combinations.

Visa: You need to procure all the possible documents and get them stamped to prove travel is your only intent. And the much-dreaded interview! Even after following such a drill and having traveled extensively, there is no guarantee that there will be no rejection.

What’s the result of a rejection?

All your plans come to rest immediately. Wow!

Even if it’s not the case with everyone and many of you are going to re-apply for the visa; you need to prepared that it is going to cost you a lot and your trip is going to be postponed.

Immigration & Frisking at Airports: Oops! So they are going to scan you and doubt your integrity. You know it already. Even after crossing so many immigration checkpoints (successfully), it still makes you nervous and you start thinking about all those things that will help you prove your genuineness (Fake smile, pleasant greetings, and what not?)

No wonders, even after traveling extensively you’re made to experience something terrible and horrific.

Distances that are huge!

When traveling from India (which is located far-off from a central location on the map), you have to travel huge distances to explore most of the places.

For a person who is not living in a metropolitan city, it is even worse. Because there are limited international airports, your journey to and from the destination gets prolonged and there are extended layovers. Not only, it gets really tiring but also demands the same amount of planning.

It goes without saying longer the flights, much more expensive they are. Given that, our weak currency adds much more to our misery.

Work-Life Balance

Every time I look around, I feel immensely happy to see the change that is taking place. Women are slowly realizing the importance of financial independence, doing something productive, looking at the options for solo travel and becoming adaptive to diverse sections of society. With the change that is happening, both men and women are striving hard to achieve work-life balance. But there is a long way to go! Taking off from your work is still a challenge (even if it makes you more productive on coming back). There is always so much to do before even thinking about a trip.

Final Words:

Challenging it may be but because liberating it is, travel is something I wish for everyone in my vicinity. Also, I simply can’t stop admiring people, who by battling all the challenges, have decided to embark themselves on a journey of exploring the unknown.