MY SOLO TRIP WAS A SHEER FANTASY FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, KINDNESS, WARMTH AND NATURE; ALL TRAVEL SHOULD BE
All our dreams can come true if we have courage to pursue them. My travel journey begins with full of dreams; dreams of wonders and adventure. I had just a dream and whole lot of curiosity. The curiosity to open the window to see places which I have never seen before. Travelling means either you are looking for something or either you are running away from something.
Definitely, I was looking for something. I travelled solo for 90 days and I never imagined the things would be my turning point of my life. I always had dream of travelling every nooks and corners of my country. But I had never imagined travelling alone.
Solo travelling is very new concept in our society. It was not easy for me to decide neither do my family. The feeling of insecurity, the uncertainties overshadowed over my dreams and expectations. Believing myself and convincing my family I decided to travel solo. I did a lot of works months of preparation for this.
Finally, I was on my way with full of fuss and anxieties. The first few days was very difficult to adjust with the loneliness, gears and decision making began to take new significant (where will I eat, sleep; should I do this/that). It continued for the rest of my journey.
This taught me; when it’s difficult to decide; just go with the flow, everything will start falling in the right direction. Eventually, self-confidence boosted over the period that helped me to explore the new places and a very new people. I travelled throughout Nepal from 19 September to 16 December 2018. Here, I’m sharing a few that remain close to my heart.
Gokyo Valley:
Everest region has always been centering of attraction on my travelling list. Particularly, Gokyo Ri gives the best panoramic view from the height of 5357m. The three layers of structures can be seen (Everest, Lotse, Makalu Cho You) and many other can be seen in the Himalayan ranges.
Below giant mountains, there can be seen largest Ngozumpa glacier and the small hamlet of few hotels called Gokyo valley which is also the highest settlement in the world lies with beautiful Gokyo lake. Even though I had terrible altitude sickness I could manage to enjoy its blessing view.
Bardiya National Park:
Wildlife safari, Tharu home stay, spending night in the tree house in the middle of the jungle, celebrating Dasain with Tharu host family were the especial memories. Spending night in the tree house was thrilling, normally outsider is not allowed to. After making rapport with local people I managed to experience the thrill. Middle of the night family of elephant shook our tree house, holding breath and seeing passing them was phenomenal. Sunrise and Sunset was also breathtaking.
Khaptad:
I encountered my first snowfall experience. When I reached there, it was already off-season. This led me to experience other side of Khaptad. I visited different religious places including Khaptad Baba. Going around the places was felt like I was in pilgrimage.
Rara lake:
What a coincidence, I was alone back with the pristine “Rara Lake” and it happened to be my 27th Birthday. Just me and the nature, I did miss my family but was surreal experience celebrating by myself with the nature.
She Phoksundo and Ringo valley:
I climbed one of the most difficult cliffs but as soon as I saw the waterfall and blue Shey Phoksundo, all my pain was gone. I learnt about Bonpo religion followed by the people of Dolpo. It was interesting to observe the lifestyle of the community. Luckily, I also got the chance to attain Mati Festival which is annually celebrated for four days. I spent most of my days volunteering in Trapriza School; the children tried their best to teach me Tibetan and I tried my best to teach them English.
Upper Mustang:
Walked up to Lo Manthang and Tibet border. 100s of mysterious caves has made this city of caves. Historical palaces, old monasteries, deserted colourful hills, mountains in the south, goat farming and Tibetan lifestyle are the most attraction of this place. I was the last visitors almost everyone was left to be safe from winter. I was all alone walking on those colorful dry hills, terrified to enter the caves.
Lumbini:
When I reached Lumbini, I just let my body flow with serene environment. I spent most of time meditating and recalling/reflecting all the hardships and cherishing moments of 87 days solo journey.
Accommodation, Expenditure & Safety
I was able to accomplish this with the help from Solo Travel Nepal, a community which inspires and supports individuals who are keen to travel and explore new places.
They sponsored my trip and gave me the required training. Although, I selected the destinations, I was able to manage and plan my accommodation and do a risk analysis through the guidance of Solo Travel Nepal. I was trained for the wilderness and to fight back and learnt first aid. I had my health insurance and the contracts of local police station, health post etc.
Overcoming the Challenges
I had worst altitude sickness while crossing Renjola Pass. Once I knew it was out of my control, I tried to descend to lower altitude. I was continuously vomiting and fainted. Luckily one of guy helped me to carry by bag and take me to the hotel. After couple of hours of rest, I recovered.
Try to catch up with a group along the way if there are any. Along my journey I hitch-hike on a jeep, all passengers were guys (6 guys). One of the men sitting next to me started harassing me. I tried him to stop, but he didn’t. Eventually other noticed and helped me. “Travelling with a group of man is always safer than with single”.
Weather forecasting can never be perfect. You can catch up with worse weather conditions than the forecast. I had to rest and delayed my itinerary just to recover from bad weather.
December is off-season to travel to the Himalayas. Most hotels are closed and I faced problems finding accommodation. One day I even survived eating a Snicker bar and another day, I just had Bhuteko Makai. It made me realise that it’s important to carry extra food.
Maintaining personal hygiene is another challenge, especially during menstruation. I was in the region where menstruation is considered to be impurity and the practice of Chaupadi still prevails. So, I had to keep it a secret. Keeping myself clean all the time was a challenge and also the cramps due to lack of proper food did not make the situation better.
Motivation is temporary. I had all the motivation to travel solo. However, along the way, I had many instances that I should not have done it. Depression, loss of energy, and loss of enthusiasm. I was physically and emotionally weak. I planned to capture best possible pictures and videos to document my journey, but I was not at best all the time. What keep me to continue was my self-discipline. This journey taught me new lesson that “Motivation and Discipline are two different thing”.
Travel sparks our imagination, feeds our curiosity and reminds us how much we all have in common. As I travel solo being totally responsible for myself, it’s inevitable that I will discover just how capable I am. Travelling pushed me to leave my comfort zone and lead to many secret (unplanned) destination. They said travel change your perception and which I found to be true.
Meeting people, listening their stories, hardships, getting to know the real people and places has taught me so much. I embrace the cultural differences as part of the rich fabric of life, and I am more patience, humble because of it. It also improves my decision-making process during emergencies.
My solo Trip was nothing less than sheer of fantasy. It was the journey of laughter, kindness, warmth and nature; all like travel should be. Smile became the greatest weapon throughout my journey and will always carry with me. Whatever my solo journey has to offer me, I accepted it graciously. Shelter, food, warmth of the mountains, hills and Terai, the love and the infinite laughter.
Heavenly destination, epic festivals, doesn’t mean much if we do not connect or share with the right people. People we meet shape the world the way we see. Travel teaches life is so simple just have curiosity to unboxed yourself. Ramesh Dai (met in Junbesi) who carries double his own weight load in hope that he could send his three daughters in English Private School one day.
Sarita DD (Bardiya) scarify her career to support the family. She believes family is the place to share the happiness. Pritam Chacha (Baridya) is grateful to god as god listened to his prayer, prayer of freedom from bounded labour and to have own house. Dolpali people taught me to dance by my heart and smile in eyes.
Follow her journey @shanti_raii
GETTING THERE: For more information on travelling Nepal email at mkt@alphahongkong.com
