5 Myths Indians have about traveling

Ever since I remember, foreign trips and frequent traveling are considered to be a part of rich lifestyle. If you are going on foreign trips you must be very wealthy or you have spare money to spend on travel. No middle class family easily approves their child to travel. If you seek permission for your trip, they will be hesitant.

Even if you have sufficient funds to travel, your parents would rather prefer to invest the money or buy some solid thing rather than spending on traveling.

For Indian parents its just a waste of time, money and also it’s something which hinders us from focusing on better and important things in life like marriage, kids and stable future.

Another reason why Indian parents don’t like their children traveling is because they don’t think their child can ever survive without them being there as children are always dependent on their parents.

If ever a girl asks her parents if she could travel solo or even with her friends, the response will be ‘ go wherever you want but with your husband after your marriage’. There are so many myths and assumptions about traveling.

1. Traveling is for the rich.

People often say this “you travel a lot, you must be rich”. Its not about the money, its about the passion. I won’t say traveling doesn’t need money, but I would definitely say it’s not expensive. It’s all about how you plan your travels and how you manage your everyday expenses and save for traveling. Only the rich travel is a big myth. Its not about traveling to abroad always, it can be exploring your own country, staying in hostels, eating in NOT-SO-EXPENSIVE restaurants, etc. This makes traveling easily affordable.

2. Travelers don’t want to settle in life and have a family and career.

Traveling doesn’t make a person unstable. It’s a part of your life like any other thing. If you have a zeal to travel and explore every hook and corner, you’ll come out as a fool to the society, a human being who expertise in wasting every penny on travel but the irony is we save to travel and manage our accounts, just like you save to buy a house or invest in something else. You have one life to live, so follow what your heart stays. You can be stable and have family even while traveling.

3. Traveling is a wastage of money & time.

Traveling is said to be wastage of money & time but instead it’s an investment in itself. You invest your money in shaping yourself in a better way. When you travel, you just don’t roam around and waste your time, you meet people and you learn about new things, you take care of yourself and your belongings in a foreign land, you become responsible, you do things you never imagined doing. Your mindset changes, you grow in a better and a different away. You see and experience things you haven’t before; you become open to new things. And this is what matters the most, investing in something that makes you a better version of yourself.

4. Traveling is not safe.

It isn’t just a sexist comment but it is often assumed that not only women but even if a male travels abroad it might be dangerous for them.I wouldn’t blame the parents or the family fully because what all is going on in today’s world and whatever they hear and see, would definitely stop them from letting their child travel alone and without them. Adding on to this, Cultural difference and unawareness has also made it difficult for them to understand that there is a world out there and people can be generous and nice too. Mere assumptions have made people generalise other people and judge them on cultural basis and not humanitarian grounds.

When you get out of your home, you meet people who make you believe that world is not as bad as you think, some might make you believe otherwise and you have to be careful with them, but looking a the brighter side, there are wonderful people out there, when you meet them, you get to know them, you share your stories and thoughts, some you connect with, some you don’t, some you need to be cautious of and trust your gut. After all this when you will be back home, you’ll realise how beautiful the world is and how you can fell in love with people from different worlds.

5. Solo traveling is boring.

That’s the most common and prevalent thing that I’ve heard about solo traveling. Solo traveling is known to be tedious but in reality it is the most daring and self-indulging thing to do. Alone might sound scary but you get to spend time with yourself and do things as per your wishes. You get to be a little selfish and travel on your terms. You get to know a lot about yourself, your likes and dislikes and what you prefer as a traveler. You come out of your comfort zone and grow because you are on your own. You do things just for yourself. It might sound boring but I think it’s the most exhilarating thing one could do ever in their lifetime.