As a kid, I always used to wander around my neighborhood. Me and my friends with our hand-drawn maps of the neighborhood, toy binoculars used to form groups and go explore the abandoned house in the corner or a beautiful park nearby. This always gave me a certain amount of joy as a kid, to go see what is unknown to me, to expect something different at every corner of my life.
As I grew up, Travelling took a back seat and life took its front seat, I was sucked into my exams and college that I had forgotten the zest for adventure that I always possessed. After the first trip with my college gang during Engineering, I started realizing how much I loved wandering, and how it has become an integral part of my persona. I may be a good friend, a very good daughter and a wonderful human. But what defines me? It's My Wandering Spirit, My curiosity and My Exploitative imagination.
I have always loved travelling, be it with friends or family. Like any other 23 year old fresh out of college, I wanted to see as much of the world as I could. Since I was from the typical middle-class Indian family, taking trips was not easy! But once I got a job as a software engineer at an IT Firm, I made it my goal to travel to 3-4 new places in a year. Although initially it was so difficult to plan trips, life kept happening, things kept moving on and I was just not finding time to plan any sort of trip, but one day when life felt too constrained and I was tired of it, I escaped to Pondicherry, It was a budget trip but the amount of adventures we had were innumerable and so awesome!
This trip changed me, showed me what I had been missing in my life. The simple joy of finding a small cafe that is so cozy and beautiful or sitting by the beach or laughing endlessly with the girls, made me realize how much I still loved wandering. That little girl exploring the neighborhood, has moved to the next level. After this trip, there has been no looking back! I have traveled to more than 10+ stunning locations near by Bangalore in the past 3 years. I love the planning I do, the research I do on a place to know which place to start my exploring at, the blogs and v-logs I go through to get to know about the place. Every time I pick a place and make it my next go-to destination, I research about it and curate an itinerary for myself and people travelling with me, of course we improvise it when go on the trip, but researching my next destination will always be the most exciting part for me.
Travelling is expensive, waste of time, maybe for the future when I am "settled". I have heard all these excuses and all I can do is wonder why? Why do people wait to see what the world has to offer? The world is huge, and according to me we don't have to always start our journeys and exploring at cliche places. We can always start with the lesser known places, and work it up from there. Isn't that what the essence of exploring is all about? To get to know the unknown, to leave behind your monotonous lives and live out your days getting to know about the various cultures,cuisines and people of the world. You don't have to earn in millions to travel, don't always have to stay in luxury resorts to wander and explore. If you truly are into exploring, You will always be up for travelling to a new city or town or a village, it just doesn't matter as long as you get to go on an adventure!
I have grown into a happier person when I realized travelling is my true calling, I have been able to handle the downs of my life better, travel can also become a teacher, it teaches you so many lessons, helps you gain perspective over everything, it creates a space for you to disconnect and think about yourself first which according to me is very much required. Being stuck in the same city surrounded by so many people all the time, you tend to loose yourself, and when you getaway, you kind of get time for self evaluating. My journey's have taken me on an emotional roller-coaster but the dominant emotion always has been happy. I am happy, my belly is filled with delicious food and wine, I meet new people, I see new places and I get to live a different way of life in every trip I take. People don't faze me anymore, my relationships with my friends,family and colleagues has improved only because I have stayed true to my calling!
So, that's why this wandering girl with the heart of a 11 year old wants to see the world, smell wild flowers, sip hot chocolate while it snows outside, swim with the fishes in the sea, climb the highest mountain and dive into the ocean. There is so much positivity out there, so much to be seen and so much to be learnt. Why waste our lives in the confines of our home when life has so much to offer. So, next time you get sad, life gets bumpy, HIT THAT ROAD! Go on that adventure with might I add the right people who you love or solo(which I have not attempted yet). Also, this is passion, so if you are not passionate about travelling, I urge you to find that passion and involve it in you life because there is no meaning to living your life if you are not doing something that you love! And that for me is wandering,exploring and just getting lost in a new place every few months.
Of course there are financial constraints, But the key to travel is saving up. Save at least 1000 INR every month, book budget stays, book flights on cheaper dates, try to take public buses and trains as much as you can. I will do a blog on budget travelling but I do hope this blog did inspire you to pursue your passion!