I always get startled when people don’t understand the logic of travelling alone, or as you call SOLO Travel. How do you kill the boredom? What if you need some help? How can you carry all the backpacks? The questions never end. Yeah, I feel your concern but is quite difficult to dive into the logical explanations of travelling alone due to the variety of reasons solo travellers have when they plan to go for one.
So, what I am going to do is, tell you a story of mine so that you can come to know how I feel at times, and why I enjoy solo travelling.
Let’s go back to 2021, when I along with my wife and kid decided to explore Wayanad, one of the most sought-after destinations in Kerala, India, during a wonderful weekend. Being a passionate and self-taught photographer, I had all my gears packed up to capture the unusual landscapes and portraits that might come across during the journey. My wife as usual was very excited about her biannual ‘over the top’ outing, just like our daughter. Even though rain messed up our schedule, Wayanad didn’t disappoint us for all the sublime landscapes and imminent adventure spirit of that land. But, yeah, it did limit my chances to cover the area and make the most of the weekend to fulfil my photographic interest. That is when we changed our plans and came up with the idea of visiting an unknown Kariyathumpara on our way back.
It’s largely an unknown place to many and for that reason alone, it could surprise you when you reach there. It is like a place within a place, or could even say, an unusual landscape within an unengaging landscape. It might confuse you, but that is what you feel when you reach Kariyathumpara. It is a heavenly spot that is different from the usual but popular landscapes of Kerala. You feel like you reached a pristine hill station in Europe, and the ambience around is quite enchanting. Though this place is unheard of by many, it’s a popular hotspot for localites and you would be surprised to see it getting crowded within the opening hours during weekends.
So, we reached the place at a similar weekend with a decent crowd, and we were awestruck to witness the aura of this hidden gem. The scenery shook the photographer in me and within no time my bag was unpacked and the camera geared up.
Now, I can’t proceed with the story without giving a substantial introduction for my wife. She is the perfect example of a constantly supporting partner whom any guy with unconventional passions or unorthodox decision-making habits would dream of. She has been a stellar pillar for me when I decided to invest considerably in one, the photography setups with an eye for a career shift, and two, in travelling for life-changing experiences. I have been able to make quick and bold decisions in my life, thanks to her, but the sheer laziness in me constantly disappoints her.
So, the Kariyathumpara episode started with me wandering around with my camera and looking for mind-blowing frames. I acted like a teleporter myself, disappearing from one point and then reappearing in a different spot in a different posture. My wife who was initially excited about my exploration started to get bored and irritated equally by the lack of a chat partner and the increasing acts of our mischievous child with each passing hour. The smile eroded, frustration crawled up and wifey started walking towards me. Seeing her, I had made up my mind to leave the place, but she startled me by saying, “It’s already past noon, so me and baby are gonna go to any nearby restaurant so that I can kill the boredom and you can take enough time to cover everything and make use of this visit. Once we are done, we will come back to the same spot where we were before. So have a good time”. So, I was rejuvenated by the thought of trying multiple frames with contrasting compositions and light setups without having the guilt in my gut.
I wandered, covering the nook and corner of this wonderland, and loading my memory card with tonnes of pictures. I could see time sailing past me very quickly but had an eye on our original spot looking for my darlings now and then. Seeing that they hadn’t returned, for one moment I was enthralled by the availability of more time to explore the vivid streams and pastures repeatedly, but the next moment I got tensed about their no-show after 3 hours. But my foolish head convinced me that they were fine and they were making it late to give me ample time, “My bad”. Every few seconds, I had my head turned around to see whether they were back, and after some time I decided to pack up everything and go looking for them. That’s when I saw a few men approaching in my direction and I knew it must be for me as it was the last explorable point of this whole place and I was the sole inhabitant there. At first, I thought they were also super-passionate about landscapes and was happy to share the place with them. But in a few minutes, reality slapped my face bringing me back to normalcy. They asked, “Are you the guy by the name of @*%%#%?”, and I said “Yes”. They replied, “Are you out of your mind? Where are your wife and daughter?” This question shocked me to the core and I started imagining unthinkable things in my dark deep mind. I started shivering and my sweaty face asked, “What happened? They had gone to the restaurant and I was looking for them whether they are back.” The guy replied, “What are you doing here alone so far from all the other tourists, and why didn’t you get back to your people by this time. Your wife got so panicked that she lodged a complaint with us that you are missing, and we have come looking for you”. I responded, “Sir, I am sorry but I had told her I would be here and we had an agreement that they would come back to me after lunch and not the other way. So how am I the culprit here?”. The police noticed a change in my tone and he didn’t say much.
I returned with the officials and I could see all eyes of Kariyathumpara staring at me, pitying me and cursing me as if I had committed a murder. I got so infamous that even my orange-coloured flowery shirt became an instant hit and was the first identification item for the lookout team. I could even hear someone furiously asking me, “What the heck have you done?” I asked myself, have I committed a cold-blooded murder? Not to my conscience. Finally, we reached my wife and kid who were having mixed emotions. My wife was crying and our daughter was laughing out loud at the thought of her infamous father. I wanted to throw various intimidating questions at her, but seeing my red hot face, the police officer asked me to let go of my emotions and not make it more difficult for her.
I went straight and hugged her and our child tightly. We didn’t say a word, we kept on walking, got to our car and left the place. Only after half an hour, I was able to crack the case and unfold the riddling mysteries of the event. What happened is, once my wife and kid were done with their lunch, she took her phone for digital payment and found that it had drained out of charge. She had no wallet with her because she left it in my backpack. She had no resources to contact me, and she even tried to borrow a phone from the restaurant but they got suspicious for unknown reasons and didn’t hand over one. She even got panicked by the fact that I hadn’t shown up after so much time. She got nervous and started crying, and her mind began to work like a never-ending maze. The maze was further thickened by the approach of a family who explored the probability of people getting drowned in the nearby river thereby adding to her miseries. That’s when things took an ugly turn and the Police stepped in.
I couldn’t blame her. How can I? She has been super supportive of me, so supportive that she had to face these episodes of unfortunate events. Because of how I operate, how I indulge in everything and how much I absorb to my heart, I always get lost in time. That is how I began exploring the idea of Solo travelling.
Solo travelling is such an underrated subject for so many reasons. People come up with all sorts of doubts questioning the concept of solo travelling. It’s like a myth for many and so are solo travellers, but yeah we people do exist.
Why Solo Travelling?
Just imagine the idea of carelessly wandering without the need for adjustments. Waking up and shutting down your body to your own rules. Doing things that make you feel complete, and that even without any kind of deadlines. Here are a few facts cum reasons that excite me and make me feel positive about Solo travelling.
1) A parallel world
It’s a chance to break open my shackles and come out of the boring corporate world. It’s a chance to be as normal as I can in this world. Being a desk job warrior, I normally follow a pattern designed by my organisation, and it doesn’t involve anything creative or exciting. I have a 10 to 6 job which can even lead to extra hours, and my mind often gets lost in the fears of the imposing deadlines. The only time I don’t need to be critical of myself is when I travel solo. During such a journey, I create my own rules and prepare my to-do list with an open mind so that I can make changes without looking for anyone else’s approval. This is where I get the most creative and most content with my life.
2) Self Discovery
Humans are complex subjects and it is never an easy task to decode this mystical creature. Just imagine yourself stranded in an unfamiliar territory in an uncomfortable circumstance. This is where you properly understand who you are. My mind unravels in the most mysterious ways when I am not conscious of my surroundings or people around me. Solo travelling helps you to understand yourself and it gives you a chance to come out of your comfort zone and bolster personal growth and development.
3) Me-Time
Do things that make you happy and add more flavour to your life. I belong to the odd group that often prioritises family over themselves, and we often forget about ourselves thereby making it even tougher for us. We forget to ask ourselves what we want and whether we are satisfied. Solo travelling is the ‘Me Time’ which makes up for a lot of self-love lost over the years.
4) I am the King
For once, I am the master of myself and I only need to take orders that satisfy me. I no longer need to wait for the indifferent opinions of people accompanying me and compromise for them against my wishes. I can wait at the edges of hilltops staring at the dominance of nature for hours without being disturbed. Or I can snap pictures of my favourite subjects umpteen times without any hard feeling that I am making someone wait impatiently. Or even I can taste the food of my dreams without the pressure of filtering it on health traits. And even I can risk myself on new adventures and cry from the fear of dying without being judged by my friends or family.
5) Budget is the key
Travelling is not free, and hence you need to keep a check on your wallet unless you are rich or being funded by a swashbuckling salary. I don’t belong to that group and every penny I spend is accountable as the timing for the next journey depends on the success of completing the trip within the pre-approved budget. Solo travelling helps a lot in that aspect, as I can adapt to the situations and settle for the best outcome with less burden on my pocket.
6) Meeting New People and learning a new language
Solo travel often encourages interactions with locals and travellers from other places, leading to meaningful connections and friendships from around the world. Moreover, you might have to communicate in a different language than your mother tongue, and this constant interaction allows you to improve your language skills. So if you are someone who hasn’t done solo travelling out of fear or any other regular reason, it’s high time you approach this awesome way of travelling.
Hope to meet you guys somewhere in the future.