Three years ago, I used to be a person who had barely travelled in India. Most of my trips were trips that I had taken abroad. Having seen multiple different countries like Singapore, South Africa, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Maldives and many others, I had finally realised that I needed to get out and explore India a little more.
"India is a place that barely has any beauty. It is filled with pollution, the streets are really crowded. People throw rubbish on the streets. There is too much poverty and there are people begging on the roads everywhere.", these are some of the things which Indians themselves feel about travelling in India. And let me tell you, let's not fool ourselves. This isn't a false picture of India. Indians often feel bad about this, but that's out of the point. It's the truth.
My tryst with travelling in India began when I first visited the Himalayas for a moderate level trek called Roopkund. This trek changed my perception about India entirely. The clean mountains made me realise that India had immense natural beauty on the mountains, people however did not explore it much. I realised that India's beauty is comparable with the beauty of even a country like Alaska. There is nothing which I did not feel or experience in the Himalayas. "Travelling to the Himalayas in many ways changed my life and made me proud of being an Indian."
After returning from Himalayas, I was a changed person who was curious to see India a lot more. I realised that the "Dirty puddle ridden streets, beggars at the traffic signals, cars ambushing against each other and thieves in localities" somehow encapsulated the culture and vibe of the city. Places which I had never been to before in my own city because of safety reasons, suddenly became a point of interest to me. I wanted to explore my own city and I realised that I was in many ways a tourist here. I did not deserve to be called a "local" because there was so little that I knew about my own city. I was out of touch with the lives other people were leading.
At college, I made a few friends who were from across different parts of India. I realised that there was so much potential to explore Indian cities through the eyes of my friends. I visited the hometowns of all my friends and saw the deepest nooks and crannies of their cities which they knew about. Listening to their stories first hand about crimes and gangs in their cities intrigued me. I slowly began to love India and its diversity. Going from South India to exploring Orissa which has a completely different feeling was an experience within itself. "I was able to experience a multitude of feelings during my travels because strangers in the city had so much to learn from in itself"
In these 3 years itself, I have been to Goa over 3 times, Kolkata, Bhubhaneshwar, Puri, Himalayas (over thrice), Jaipur (twice), Pollachi, Meghalaya, Simla, Mussoorie, Dehradun and Cherrapunji. I have also visited many places in rural India and have explored some low key offbeat places which a lot of people don't know about. Some of these places are not even visible on Google maps.
Having reduced my international travel immensely, I have explored many cultures in India but not so many abroad in the last 3 years. And this fills me with regret. Considering this, I have decided that I will try my best to fund my own trip abroad in the next 3 months. It will be a challenging task, but I have to do it. It is something which my heart is telling me and it is my calling. I need to get away from India for a while and explore a new place too.
I am particularly saddened by the following things about my travels in India:
1) It requires me to change myself a lot - I am not very good at speaking in Hindi and I often have to change my accent when I am speaking to strangers in India. It can be really hard to connect with some people in India because they can be narrow minded. But you need to learn to be open to their narrow mindedness sometimes and not challenge it.
Will this be better abroad : Surely. I am a good English speaker and most English speaking countries abroad make me comfortable with my accent.
2) I cannot wear what I like - Wearing shorts and tank tops in India may not be the safest option. People in rural India are very narrow minded and they absolutely are not okay with seeing women wearing shorts. It gives them a culture shock. I often have to take care when I am packing and be fully clothed even in summers.
Will this be better abroad : Yes, most countries abroad do not restrict women from wearing what they like. People there do not look at women creepily or judge them for wearing shorts.
3) My parents are always afraid - Travelling in India solo for a girl may not be very safe. My parents don't stop me from travelling alone but they are often scared. This makes me never get over the usage of my phone. I have to keep using my phone to stay in touch with them and reassure them.
Will this be better abroad : Not really. Because my parents will still be worried about my safety.
4) Places in rural India are not well connected - Bumpy rides can be fun (only sometimes). Travelling immensely in rural India has made me tired of how poorly places are connected with each other in India. It makes me really angry to be on a public bus now and that's why I need some easy travels.
Will this be better abroad : For sure. The Euro rail is really safe and it is a quick way to travel.
5) Monotony of Indian architecture - Most Indian cities do not have architecture which is different from other cities. I have grown tired of watching the same types of buildings rise into the sky. Even rural India has similar architecture across India. I now want to see some different architecture with buildings that have carvings and are more colourful.
Will this be better abroad : Yes, This will be much better because most cities across Europe have architecture which is distinct.
So travelling abroad currently wins 4-1 and that's why I need to pack my bags and go. Stay tuned to know more about my upcoming trip and how I funded it myself at the mere age of 20.