Solo Trippin', BUT WHY?

Solo travel is quite a debatable topic which I did go across with my friends and strangers I met while travelling which go like - why do I do it?, how do I do it?, don't I get bored or feel alone? and the list continues. Also apart from these questions, I really want to discuss my side of things, how it actually is and is changing my life. I hope you get some insights :)

Back in January 2021, I had my first 10 days solo when I went to Rajasthan, the land of kings during my college days. See and photograph all the places & palaces that this state had to offer is all I knew. Naturally, I was a bit nervous as I was all alone but eventually I had the best 10 days with the grandest of adventures with my own perfect self made itinerary (I can become a travel planner for sure I think!).

An alleyway in Udaipur, Rajasthan

You got the key word? 'Self Made'. So let me explain.

When we travel in groups, it's a mutual decision of things we decide for the trip. Well that's great and definitely needed, a chill time with the gang is one of the best things you can do I agree. But this is exactly where everyone confuses it with solo trips. Solo trips aren't trips without friends or they aren't vacations; they are personal. An itinerary made only for you supports, fulfills and cherishes only your wishes and helps your interests grow, by experiencing them first hand. It can scale down to decisions as small as either you wanna walk, run, drive or skate to do you wanna cook, eat local or keep it all junky. I personally love the part where I select the places I wanna visit, which really interests ME and not waste my time just because the crowd likes it.

You will start loving your ways and maybe discover new things about yourself. These things matter :')

Solo trips helped me with my me time (without the screens!). They fed my curiosity to a very personal level as I mentioned and that's how I learnt new things at my own pace and sometimes got pushed beyond my boundaries of comfort, but they were worth it.

These aren't just travels for me now, they teach me and I try to be authentic as life goes. I have cried countless times and not tried to be like 'let's enjoy this trip'. But trust me when I was happy, I was the happiest guy one could meet, smiling wide and bright :) as I was doing the thing that I love, travel <3

Coming down to the HOW's - especially the itinerary part was pretty simple for me. The funny part was I didn't even plan itineraries for at least half of my trips until either I was on the way to that place or I was literally there. For my Bir trip, I literally had zero idea about it being the second highest paragliding point of the world! Even the monasteries! No, nothing , nada. I just went because it was a place in the mountains, that's it. And this uninformed behaviour actually made the trip much more interesting than if I had went there knowing I will be paragliding.

She visits and feeds these dogs every evening at the Paragliding landing ground in Bir, Himachal Pradesh.

Another important thing was my health. It was difficult to feel healthy throughout. As the year went by I was growing thinner as most of you know. The diet had a huge role in it as I can't cook yet. (I have decided to learn cooking this year though). I had gone so low until September that I didn't feel any energy at all. But somehow I pushed through, at one point I had to as I had made a promise with myself.

Thirdly, friends and family were out of loop and it didn't feel good. I randomly used to call or text people to stay connected and that was about it. I was surely back after my trips but it was always about the next trip in my mind and even for them. Well that's inevitable I think.

Lastly, answering directly a question most of you must have had - Yes, I had a remote job and do freelance work as a video editor and that's how I managed my travels. It definitely was fascinating as I had imagined myself doing this way too many times earlier!

Although it was surely difficult - Waking up early, sometimes sleeping late, skipping breakfasts, network issues and the anxiety it brought uff. In the end though all I care about is the moments I could create, absolutely precious.

They were felt and lived to the fullest as I knew they are gonna pass the very next minute. And as I look back now, half of them are me with nature and the other half were with the people I met.

Oh I met some amazing souls last year :') I cannot express enough gratitude and love for these travelling souls. Thank you is all I wanna say right now. So yes, on your solo's you may meet some absolute genuine souls that you may keep in your memories forever (It just brought a smile on my face :))

And yes, I understand it's not easy to trust people in a world where it's difficult to even trust yourselves. But here I would like to say just trust the travellers (I hope you won't let me down my travellers yea?).

Jaate jaate ek baat, if you wanna create your own definitions of this world, go and see the world through your eyes. Unlearn and learn about things in a way you understand. And you will see for yourself how unique of a person you already are!

I have struggled to note down all of my thoughts in this concise blog and hence would love to write more about these topics separately (Please let me know if you have some questions).

.

.

.

Randomly, let me give a special mention to google maps though, it has made my trips way easier and definitely has helped me know more about the place especially geographically.