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Thinking on their feet

Go it alone
Last Updated 23 July 2017, 15:59 IST

Yes, she is real. Her propensity is to discover the world -- on her own terms. That ‘she’ is the woman who is travelling the world solo, without her significant other (read married, in a committed relationship, or somewhere there). Many a time, she is asked ‘And why would you do that? Sans famille?’

“Travelling solo is a revelation, it gives you confidence, prepares you for unanticipated situations and gives you charge of them, reminding you that you are on your own in this world and it is always your mess and you’re the one who’s got to clean it up… for yourself,’’ says Geetika Gupta, a teacher and blogger.

Her first solo trip without her husband was to Kasol last year. “It is absolutely important to travel alone at least once in your life,’’ she says. The raised eyebrows notwithstanding, these solo sojourners are more audible and visible on social media. Naturally, many are following suit.

“I had travelled solo even before I got married,’’ informs Akanksha Bumb, co-founder and COO, F5 Escapes. “My first solo vacation was to Shekhawati when I was 19. Probably, that is the reason why I never considered solo travel a big deal, even after my wedding.” “Your interactions with places and people are very different when you are on your own.

You guide your pace and you are more observant. I tend to write more on my solo trips. But I will not be so arrogant as to generalise it. A lot of people genuinely don’t enjoy solo travel and not always because they are afraid. They want someone to share the experience with, and that is a beautiful feeling too,” she says.

Chaitra Mukund, yet another travel enthusiast’s first solo trip was to a yoga and wellness camp at Swaswara, Gokarna four years ago. “That was minus my husband and daughter,” she recollects. ‘’When we travel with family, it’s a home away from home. Solo travel is important, in order to be with your best friend -- which is yourself. Spending time with yourself and women from different walks of life helps you evolve and get better at and with life,” she says.

On the face of it, these travels may look all hunky dory. But it isn’t so. “There was this one time a ruffian pointed a gun at me in a slow moving night train -- to snatch away my rucksack. I was near the toilet waiting for the station to arrive. I did save myself by thinking on my feet. I don’t think having anyone else on that journey with me would have made it any different,” Akanksha avers.

Travelling solo comes with its own challenges. “It’s not like those carefree trips with the husband or the family where everything is being taken care of. It about seeking help from the locals if need be, it is about being friends with strangers even if you don’t like them in the first place, it is about being prepared for the adversities,’’ Geetika adds.

“It’s about doing things on your own -- be it making reservations, hiring taxis, finding a new person at every nook and corner of the city and struggling to see who is worth seeking help from and who isn’t,” she adds. “The list is endless and so is the learning. No matter how many barriers you face from your friends and family, you should always travel solo, at least once in a year,” avers Geetika

Being on the road, on your own also brings in a kind of digital detox and helps in finding that solitary groove. “Women are adept at handling situations a lot better than we think,” says Chaitra. Her love for travel has got even better after she started leading these trips.

So as the story goes, the next time these travellers are asked ‘sans famille?’ They are ready to retort, ‘who wants company?’

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(Published 23 July 2017, 15:59 IST)

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