Solo Travelling- A Leap of Faith #travelsolo

People ask me why I travel alone?

Like most of the experiences I have heard from my fellow travellers, my first solo trip was also not intentional. I and a couple of my friends planned to travel to Spiti valley but they canceled at the last moment. So as they say, ‘a man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready’. I was tired of accommodating other people’s changes in the itinerary, or last-minute cancellations in travel plans. So I decided to travel alone on the life-changing journey of mine.

To my surprise, it was not as scary as I expected. There were many fears in my mind as I left my house and made my move towards the ISBT. The biggest ones were: "What will I do on this 9 days long journey?" , "What will I do if someone mugs me and leaves nothing?" , "What if I get bored?" and those were never-ending worries.

But then as I sat on the crowded bus and started my never-ending journey, I realized that worrying about the obvious thing is not going to make the journey easier. At that moment I accepted that it's my decision to go alone and it's obviously the best one made by me in a long time. This is the place I have been planning to go for more than a year now. And the best part is that I am going on the trip with the best companion one could travel with, ME.

As the journey progressed, all the feelings of anxiety and fear turned into joy and excitement. I don't know maybe it was excitement all along. There were around 50 people on the bus when I got on, with whom I could converse with, listen to the stories of how crowded we tourists have made their towns, learn from their travel experiences, share food with and it was not at all scary anymore. And then there was one person with whom I could talk about anything, ME. After those frivolous worries passed by, I started to focus more on the journey and how I could make the best use of these times.

A bit into the journey, my mind started answering all the paranoia that was troubling me. Questions like what was I going to do for the next 9 days? I am going to make a lot of friends and enjoy these mountains as they are meant to be. What if someone mugged me? I realized that the people I was around were so sweet that if they could give up their seat for me and sit on the floor for a 14-hour long journey, these people were not going to harm me. What if I am stuck somewhere alone and have no one for help? Well, then I just sit there and enjoy its beauty till any help came, because trust me someone will come for help. What if the place I am staying in has people that are making me uncomfortable? Then I just switch my hotel to a hostel. And at the end of the trip I had no more questions left in my mind. It was a totally different experience in the end. I could have never imagined that solo trips can be so much fun. I could roam around wherever the road took me. No need for permission or informing someone, no need to have a fixed plan at all times, no need run here and there, just stopped and sat with the river wherever I wished to. The craziest thing I returned with were the friends I made on the trip. We still talk and plan trips together (though they are never successful :P).

It was a life-changing journey for me and I can promise it will be for you as well if you just take that LEAP OF FAITH. For me, the leap of faith was sitting in that bus and everything changed from there. It was not an easy start with but trust me you can make it happen and you will return with a better version of yourself. Traveling solo helped me understand myself in a much better way. It helped me leave my comfort zone and made me do things I always wanted to do but was afraid to do or was afraid that I will be judged by my fellow travelers. There will always be obstacles, its the rule of life, but keeping that positive mindset will surely make it happen for YOU.