A solo expedition has always topped my bucket list. I’ve been discussing it with close friends and family of how I’ve always wanted to explore places all alone. And I have no clue as to why but Himachal was the destination to be on my own.
But before I proceed with this blog, one topic I’d like to clarify. This article isn’t about places to see in Himachal or top 5 cafes in old Manali. It isn’t about the monasteries in Dharamshala or tips on how to travel alone or say the 10 best activities in Himachal.
No! This blog is definitely not proceeding in that direction.
You don’t need an itinerary from someone else to visit a new city or a town. Before leaving, I received many suggestions from people on which places I ought to see. The treks I should be doing or things I need to plan while I am on the road or essentials to carry. I took the advice. But did my own thing. I discovered the mountains by myself. So I am certain I do not have the best itinerary to share with you all since I never planned this trip. But yes, my experiences are solely mine and to be honest this has been one of the best vacations of my life.
And this is what we will talk about in this blog.
Likhnewali_Womaniya
I had been planning my birthday vacation to Himachal for about 2 consecutive years. And considering the fact that I come from an overprotective Indian family, whenever I popped the solo travel question to my parents, it was difficult for them to digest. They lectured me on how it is not safe for a girl today to travel alone. And the exaggerated, emotional drama that followed kept me away from taking the final call. Also, I never got leave from work for a span of 10 days at a stretch. I could only take off on the weekends. So the trip was delayed every single time.
Besides, I think I never had the guts to make the decision. Hence the dream looked far from possible.
Likhnewali_Womaniya
But this year, I was freelancing and could afford treating myself with an adventure. My expenses were under control. So fitting in a small budgeted vacation to the mountains seemed within the limits.
But if I went through the same grind of asking my parents like the last 2 times, I was sure I had to take the denial once more. I played smart this time. I booked my flight tickets first and then informed them that I was leaving on the said date. Obviously, there were questions asked plenty of them actually. A few concerns raised, instructions given, situations explained but I was let off the hook. And the trip was finally going to happen.
A week away from the vacation, I was working on a few deadlines that I had to reach before I left. So the packing had to be done at the last moment. And I was not in the best health state you would expect a traveller to be in. Suffering from a cough and cold, down with diarrhoea ( no idea how that happened) and for the first time ever, I was on my monthly cycle while I was about to start the vacation. A conspiracy planned against my plan. But I am no quitter. I was taking this trip, come what may!
Leaving aside my health, I thought the trip would be a smooth sailing ride. But I’d be a fool if I assume that because the moment I entered the airport to check in, the board displayed a delay of flight by 2 hours. That meant I would be landing at 10 p.m. rather than 8. But it would still allow me to board the last bus from Delhi to Shimla which left at 11.40pm.
Unfortunately, an hour later the flight was rescheduled and pushed ahead by half an hour. No chance I would be boarding the last bus, I told myself. I had no plans of spending the night in Delhi because that would invite another couple of queries and warnings from home.
But yes as expected, I missed the bus as the flight landed at 11.05 pm. Left with no option but to book a hotel room, I had to stay back. A beginning, gone totally haywire.
And this was not it. The adventure had just begun.
Along the way, I dropped my phone in the public restroom which meant I was without a phone for an entire day until I got it repaired on the mall road the next day. The bus I took from Shimla to Manali was punctured thrice on its way, delaying the arrival by a total of 4 hours. I was thus walking in the old town of Manali with the cab driver in search of Zostel at midnight. The hostels I had booked at every destination were without a doubt the best ones in the locality but were away from the main squares. So wandering during odd hours at night was frightening.
And to top it all, I’d say the highlight of the vacation-I lost my wallet which included my cards, license, identity proof and cash at the airport while returning. Though that was sheer stupidity and carelessness on my behalf for having left the wallet in the ladies restroom, I was left without a penny on my return flight. So the last few hours of my vacation were spent at the airport police station lodging a lost and found report. And I returned home with barely Rs.200 which I took from a lady at the control room at the airport.
You might assume, it must have been a terrible vacation, after listening to the mishaps that occurred throughout my travel.
You know what? It wasn’t actually.
And if you ask me if I had an opportunity to correct any of the accidents that happened, would I?
Naa, I would deny it. I wouldn’t have wanted this vacation any other way. For the trip wouldn’t turn out to be as memorable, had I missed any of them.
But the most wonderful part about the trip was meeting a few beautiful souls at every lap of the journey.
Then be it Lalita and Vanita, the sisters who took care of me at Aapo Aap homestay in Shimla or Shivi and his mom, the owner of the place who made sure I was totally at ease. Anita aunty who gave me a tour through the mall road when I had left my phone to repair at the shop or Vidya who showed me the way back home.
Annu, Nimar, Faazil, Tushar, Pritam bhaiyya and Sharman bhaiyya, an extremely warm bunch of people that I found at Zostel, Manali. It has been a crazy stay with them. And my generous Flugler family in Dharamkot, how much ever I talk about them wouldn’t be enough. Veejay, who I met at 4 in the morning at Dharamshala bus stop and kept meeting daily during my 3 days stay there, having lived one of the most surreal evenings with him at Mcleodganj. Wasu, who sat beside me in the bus and spent the night talking about random stuff or Robert, the sweet Italian friend who helped me carry my bag through the unpaved road to Flugler at 6 in the morning. The list of people is endless.
And if not for these uneventful occasions, I wouldn’t have met a few of them. Even the thought of it breaks my heart.
Travelling alone has been liberating. Nobody holding me back or instructing me to do what I must be doing or shouldn’t. Drinking a coffee alone or sharing a table with an absolute stranger, walking down the street all by myself with no place to go or to have no cellular network. A damaged phone to capture the moments.
Smiling at strangers and starting a conversation in the middle of the road or making impromptu plans with a group of travellers and tagging along.
Having deep discussions with people I haven’t met before or may not meet again but yet it felt ideal to do at that moment. Every tiny piece of being alone on this journey resembled escaping into a world that I want to build for me with the people I wish to have around. I am glad I don’t have pictures of these moments for they wouldn’t do justice to what I have experienced. But these memories will remain immortal.
Travelling without a company has been a totally humbling experience. For the last couple of days, I have been a wanderer, seeking bliss in my own companionship.
And the way the trip unfolded and the things they taught me, I would prefer going solo to most of my vacations henceforth.
So my suggestion for you if you’ve been planning one for a long time is: book that flight, pack your bag and just leave!
Make that choice. Take the leap.
Discover what it feels to be there out in the world alone but with people all around!
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