woman solo travel – Let's Go Sightseeing!

I was nine when I went on my first school trip. More such school/ college trips happened when I was 15 & then 20. I traveled alone to attend my friends’ weddings in Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Uttar Pradesh when I was 25-26. Those same years, I visited Thailand & to Bordi with just my girlfriend.

I went on a solo trip to Australia when I was 27, to Gangtok when I was 32, & to Ladakh when 33. I visited Beijing with my girlfriends when I was 29, Bhagalpur with my mother when 31, & Goa with my niece at 32.

sightseeing, ibrahim shah tomb, bhagalpur, bihar, india — I go sightseeing at the Ibrahim Shah Tomb, Bhagalpur.

I roam around my city all the time for sightseeing, either alone or with my mother. Lastly, from the time I began my post-graduation till my early retirement from the corporate sector, I traveled alone for work.

Why do I list these? Because, I acknowledge that a female traveling, in India, is still a big deal. A female traveling solo, an even bigger one! An older male friend recently asked, “Why do women prefix their trips with ‘solo’? Why can’t they just say that they are going on a trip? Like men do!”

I had not come across this question earlier, but the answer hit me in a split second. It was because every time I have mentioned – ‘I am going on a trip.’, the first response is a question – ‘with whom?’ I guess so is the case with most girls, which makes us want to #SoloTrip.

nathu la, furry, dog, sikkim, india — On the way to Nathu La (Sikkim), I met this brat. Like it happens with all furry creatures, I befriended this pocket sized terror…

Women are brought up to believe that the world is a dangerous place. That they are better off within the confines of their homes, or only when accompanied by men. I have rebelled against this for as long as I remember. The world is only as bad or as good as we want it to be.

In all my solo travels, I have been treated with curiosity (sure) but also with awe & respect. Despite being an introvert, I have got into more conversations with strangers when traveling alone, than when in company. I have felt freer on my journeys alone. More introspective. More at peace!

And I wish more girls experience these moments of exhilaration for themselves.

sightseeing, Beijing — Fresh & raring to go sightseeing in Beijing

P.S. I thank my parents for instilling this independent spirit from an early age. They never stopped me from undertaking any kind of travel. Also, my spouse who encourages (not ‘allows’) me to travel solo every now & then.

I’ve been on a sabbatical for almost six months now. One of my sabbatical dreams was to travel. & I did – to Bali & to the Indian West Coast. I had one more desire which I wanted to fulfill but was unable to draw adequate courage for. I wanted to travel solo.

I had done this once before but somehow, I felt intimidated. I guess I’d got used to traveling in company; venturing out alone seemed a daunting task. With these thoughts in mind, I got reminded again why N is my soulmate.

He not just encouraged me to plan my trip but also booked it for me before I could change my mind. After evaluating options like Kashmir, the northeast & Tamil Nadu, we narrowed down on Sikkim. Good weather, not too difficult to access, pretty & safe – it ticked all the relevant boxes.

The little red thing at Rumtek Monastery

I browsed a number of travel websites before I narrowed down on a 4 days-3 nights package by Make My Trip. Being the travel control freak that I am, I made the lives of the MMT holiday experts hell with my queries & requests.

But by the end of these calls, I was relaxed & looking forward to my trip. My departure day began quite badly, unfortunately. Google Maps pushed me to a route to the airport which was unusual & I was caught in the morning office traffic.

I’m one of those who prefer to bide time at the airport rather than running at the last minute. I was terribly anxious by the time I reached the airport. The chaotic check-in counters of Jet Airways didn’t help matters.

There are just three pieces of advice I would give to Jet Airways: 1) Please streamline your check-in counters; 2) Please fly your flights on time; and 3) Please drop the cocky attitude you have towards passengers.

The chaos at the counter gave me minor panic attacks about missing my flight but I needn’t have worried. The flight was delayed. It began with 10 minutes, then 15, and then a solid three hours, out of which two were spent sitting in the aircraft.

The excuses varied: smog, only one runway being operational, and VIP movement taking place. The two hours in the aircraft were almost a hostage situation. The crew served water bottles only when many passengers asked for it.

Food requests were summarily shot down saying they can serve only once the flight takes off. I had to plead for at least a bun mentioning that I’d not even had breakfast given that it was supposed to be a 1025 flight. If the two hours of waiting had been at the airport, passengers could at least have eaten something. Mercifully, the crew member gave me a pack of cookies.

My folks were getting more & more worried with every delay as from Bagdogra, it was a 4-5-hour drive to Gangtok. Driving in the hills & crossing west Bengal – both seemed ominous at night. To assuage their fears, I’d to keep my own morale high.

I kept telling myself that the worst was behind me. & I was right.

To be continued…

(This is the first of the six chapters of the 500-words-a-chapter chronicle of my Gangtok trip. Back with Chapter 2 soon!)

Tag Archives: woman solo travel

A Girl Who Travels

My Gangtok Chronicle – Chapter 1

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