Traveling Alone in India: Am I Crazy?
As I awake from my slumber and look out the bus window, I’m transported back into a dream. Clusters of pine trees arise from amid the clouds and reach out to the Himachal sky. I instinctively turn left, but there isn’t anyone to soak in that view with. In my long battle with my parents on traveling alone, I forgot to think it might be intimidating. And intimidating it is.
I immediately look back at my a-second-ago-dreamland, only to feel a desperate moment of anxiety. My mind is retrieving everything that’s been planted in it about a girl traveling by herself in India. Putting my sweaty palms together, I’m almost tempted to pray that the bus doesn’t break down, that IÂ don’t get stuck in the dark on this isolated road, that no one tries to rob me of my insignificant belongings, that I don’t get kidnapped, murdered, raped, killed…
A 20-hour journey to Spiti awaits me, through dirt roads and landslide-prone zones. Where’s the romance in traveling alone, I wonder.
We stop at a roadside Dhaba to grab a bite. I get off, determined to make small talk with the first approachable person I see. I spot a victim, a young girl who seems to be by herself too. I take my food and sit opposite her, forgiving myself for the desperate attempt. We eat in silence for half the meal, and I abruptly break it asking her if she’s going to Spiti. Half way, she replies, and my small talk instantly becomes a full-fledged conversation. By the time we’re back on the bus, I’ve regained my confidence to enjoy the breathtaking views again. I had forgotten how easy it was to make friends, especially in India, where everyone has a story to tell and a million questions to ask of you.
Through my days in Spiti, I meet people from all parts of India and the world. Some become acquaintances, some friends and some close friends. I meet people who marvel at the notion of me traveling alone, primarily Indian families. I meet people who’ve come in search of life’s answers, found some in the mighty Himalayas, but mostly left realizing that the answers are really the folks they love back home. Some nights, I stay up thinking about my own folks…
I learn to hitch-hike up mountain roads. I learn about Syrian music, Israeli food and books from Europe. I hear tales of social good from Denmark, Auroville and Gujarat. I meet a Belgian couple who cycled all the way from Belgium to Southeast Asia, took a flight from Singapore to Kerala, and cycled up into Nepal; they’ve been on the road for 2 years, 4 months, and Ladakh is their destination next. I share life stories with strangers, and dreams with people I may never see again.
I discover the romance in solo travel. I wouldn’t do it any other way, in India.
Welcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.
what an adventure! What is that place in your last picture?
It was indeed 🙂 The last picture is a hike to Key monastery, perched atop a hill in the distance. It’s located in the Key village of Spiti valley in India. A must, must visit 🙂
This is seriously a trip/journey of a life time. You are fortunate to be able to travel as the way you are as not everyone gets the chance. Admittedly, not everyone has enough courage to be able to take on a adventure especially on their own, against all the odds. However, reading about your adventure it just makes me feel as if I am able to bring into vision your experience.
I hope to one day, plan an adventure to South Asia and travel freely. I’m somewhat planning this now but not sure when it will become possible.
Thanks for sharing with us.
I’m glad you could experience it with me, at least virtually 🙂 And you’re so right, I consider myself very lucky for the option & courage to travel. It teaches you so much more than anything else in life.
I hope your South Asia trip materializes sooner than later. It’s a beautiful place to visit, especially the Himalayas. Let me know if you need help with planning or any recommendations 🙂 Its volume of places to visit can be intimidating.
Yes – thank you for your offer – I will take any help I can get…
Well written mam!!!!
Thanks Gaurav 🙂 and welcome to The Shooting Star!
Shivya,
I think you are on a travel spree. Interesting travelogues.
Chitra, I just got back to work from 2 months on the road. The 2 months flew by, and the days are crawling now. Such is life! Thanks for reading, as always 🙂
Wow, looks like you had quite an adventure.. 🙂 here’s to more travels..
Thanks Aarti, I did indeed 🙂 Welcome to The Shooting Star & hope you continue to join me virtually on my journeys!
Woohooo…Someday(pretty soon) I am going to hit the road, just like that 😀
And you’re going to love it, just like that 😀
hey,
u r nt crazy..just have the guts to travel solo.go girl..thanks for the inspiration..i would start putting my solo travel proposal before my family..wish me luck..
Good luck Gautami! Let me know if you need any tips & tricks. I’ve learnt plenty by now 😉
ohh ofcourse shivya. my first task is to convince my mom..and thats the toughest part..
There is a certain romance to solo travel. You just have to work a little bit more to find it. I think starting conversations with people is key. I interviewed by hotel owner for a story while traveling alone in Ireland and it was an interview I know I won’t forget. There are so many stories out there to discover about people and I think solo travel opens you up to them even more than traveling with someone.
So true, Suzy. It takes time, yes, but once you discover the romance, you just can’t do it any other way. I read a solo travel post on your blog, about walking alone into an Irish bar and ordering beer, and that was my trigger to just do this fearlessly. Thanks for being that inspiration 🙂
Great, great post. I am just wrapping up my time here in Nicaragua. Having come here alone, I too discovered adventures and make friends with people that I hope to see again some day. I was a little freaked out before I left, but now in the end, I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Oh wow, that’s great Claire! Nicaragua must’ve been a rather interesting experience 🙂 I’m glad we both manage to discover the charm in solo travel. Cheers to us!
You have gone places girl and I admire you for that, in all my 34 years I havent met anyone as gutsy as you, why even me would hardly dare to travel alone to offbeat places. Admire your passion for travelling and seeing that nothing stops you from enjoying yourself.
And I am proud you are Indian 🙂
Thanks Austin 🙂 It definitely took guts to do it alone, but India is such a beautiful place, how can you not? Hope you dare to do it soon too, with your long break coming up. The anxiety is so worth the thrill.
Sounds beautiful! I love that people who have been on the road for a while are so open to sharing their stories and talking to strangers. There’s something special about the bonds you make while travelling. I think that is what draws me to travel 😀
You’re so right Audrey, I think it’s what draws me to travel too. It’s amazing how we start with fears & intimidations, lose them along the way, and come back a person full of stories & friendships.
If you’re crazy, so am I! I have traveled for more than a year altogether in India, by myself. Loved every moment 🙂
Mariellen
AKA Breathedreamgo
Wow, that’s amazing Mariellen! It must have been a lovely experience. I shall read all about it on your blog & look forward to connecting with you more on the blogosphere 🙂
sincere appreciation to your courageous step of knocking down the mundane way of traveling…. a free spirit you are…
Keep traveling and Keep posting
Vishnu
Thanks Vishnu 🙂 Hope to do more of it!
I must say that more i read you,more i become determined and inclined towards travelling!!You are truly an inspiration Shivya! 🙂
There’s so much joy in travelling that there’s abundant of it for people who are travelling in company or solo. I live and earn to travel and it’s not something that I want to do but need to do or else I become a wreck. And because it is such a high priority need, I tend to do most of my travelling alone. Like you, I’ve been able to soak in the experience, at times with heightened intensity, when I travel alone. Nothing limits me and the singleness and detachedness allows me to find new people and reaching out to strangers, finding out about their lives and making new friends.
But in 2007, an extremely unfortunate occurred in Munsyari, where my own driver crept in to my room and tried to attack me. I too was staying in the Dak Bungalow. Luckily, I survived, didn’t get killed, but was badly hurt. But more than getting physically hurt, I was traumatised for almost a year and a half. Fear is unreasonable and I was scared of a lot of things that kept building up in my head. And the first thing that hit me, after the incident, was the thought that I may never be able to travel alone again. And that thought was so depressing that it continued to make me sick in the stomach every time it came. It has taken me time to overcome my fears (not all, but a lot of them), but I have managed and I’m working on others. And this has happened mostly because I could not imagine a life without travelling.
So when I read the headline of your article, I was hoping to find some new tips and things to keep in mind, especially for a single female traveller not only in India but also overseas. And though reading your experiences have been delightful, I could not come across any suggestions. Though I’m still a firm devotee of solo travelling, after that horrible incident, I feel it’s important to ensure safety without overdoing it and becoming paranoid. Will you have any thoughts on this?
Heart-wrenching to hear your story, Jaya. I must say that you are very, very brave for keeping alive the love of travel, in your mind.
My only suggestion would be that you slowly try to get back on your feet. Instead of going solo, go with a friend or join a group trip, and try to venture out for a day trip by yourself. Keep a pepper spray with you, as a confidence booster. Try to take a trip to another country, maybe like Singapore, where you’ll surely feel much safer than here in India. But don’t try to push yourself too hard. Stay in your comfort zone until you really feel you are ready to get out of it again.
All the best and hope to meet you on the road sometime. Be safe and keep in touch.
Wow what an inspiration! I have travelled europe alone but I couldn’t think of a place I would want to visit alone back home in India. I was planning to go somewhere this weekend for a week or so..spiti seems like a good idea. Do you have any other recommendations? From delhi
Reblogged this on Subbublogs's Blog.
Hi Shivya
Greetings from Malaysia
It takes great courage and determination to travel solo for being a girl.Wow! What an inspiration to solo travellers out there!Well I am also a solo traveller and had travelled quite a bit.I will be flying into Delhi on 8th Aug. 2013 and planning to go to Kashmir and Ladakh and will be flying out of Leh on 23rd Aug 2013.I need some help from you regarding this trip.I intend to do a circuit, visiting interesting places and ending up at Leh on the final leg.Please keep in touch with me via email.Thanks.
We should go on a girls trip sometime 🙂
I have travelled most of the Europe alone and would certainly like to do so in India.
So do you take tours or plan everything by yourself ?
🙂 I prefer to plan by myself. Not a fan of group tours!
Its good to see you have the courage to travel alone. In my case I badly need the company of my best mates.
Keep traveling, keep updating. 🙂
Try a solo trip sometime, even if just for a weekend. It changes the way you think about so many things, yourself included 🙂
Lovely post. I still can’t find it in me to travel solo in India. Getting the parents to agree will make it easier.
Which was the organization that you volunteered with?
I know what you mean. But I’ve realized that convincing yourself that you want to and have the courage to do it makes it easier to convince parents.
I volunteered with Ecosphere in Spiti.
The last picture looks similar to a place I visited sometime back. Diskit Monastery. Kashmir.
Another awesome must visit place in India.
Ladhak, Pangong and most importantly Turtuk.
I haven’t been to Ladakh or Kashmir yet, and can’t wait. Hopefully this summer! Thanks for the suggestions, Dency 🙂
ahhh.. I want to do this someday! 🙂
hlo shivya thanks for travelling solo ,at least you prove it that india is safe for travelling,just for some few rotten eggs weare getting a bad name .also if in near future if you are travelling solo to any hill station speacially the north do let me know.
Hi Shivya,
Lovely to read about your travels,have never travelled alone and have only travelled in groups-the single girls ones…wanted to travel alone this december for a short trip and enjoy new years eve all by myself…any suggestions for any place in India ? Let me know,
Thanks
cheers
My brother has just embarked alone on a backpack trip to Himachal for 5-6 days. Being his elder brother and far away from him concerns me and a seach on how many people go backpacking alone in the Himachal brought me to this blog. I am still finding the answer to my question: Is it sane to travel alone, not for somebody might harm you, but just the mental attitude. Guess he needs some alone time in the hills.
Hi Shivya, I want to congratulate you for ur will power and self determination.
u r so right, its so common to hear from people in India who just cant accept the idea of traveling alone.
However, I would certainly like to know that the solo or alone trips you have written about in ur blogs, are the ones u have taken because u just wanted to see and explore it all for urself, or were they part of ur job commitments as u mentioned
I ask this because sometimes people relate solo travel to job commitments only and doubt people’s real intentions to travel solo on their own just because people believe traveling solo means an anti-social behaviour!
What you are doing is just terrific! I am myself planning a solo trip to Goecha La in himalayas and will be leaving in 2 weeks! Cheers to you for the inspiration 🙂
That’s awesome Sathya, all the best!
Hi i am vivek, i am currently preparing for govt. jobs. I have been to very less places with famliy since my childhood but i am inclined towards travelling places, feel the nature and want to leave the hustle-bustle of life behind, i just want to come out of my comfort zone. For that i am planning for travelling solo from months but i am very confused as how to start and from where to start, what all things i need, how to manage accommodation while on a trek as i never did it solely. I want to get rid of this thing which is stopping me. Primarily i am seeking for trekking in india basically in hilly and mountainous areas. Can you mention some links where first time solo travellers seek wisdom 🙂 my mail is [email protected] incase you want to inbox something. Thanks for taking time. 🙂
U said u left the corporate job at the age of 23. So how did u manage to get money for the trips?
Hey Shreya!
So very happy to have stumbled upon your blog! Beating myself over the fact that I hadn’t found it earlier! 😀 Your blog has been trulu inspiring and has led to make my first solo trip!. Going to Nepal for a week! Can’t be any more excited!
Regards,
Neha
Reblogged this on Santa's Reindeer and commented:
Beautiful blog by an inspiring writer, a must read….
Just read the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed..Loved it.. I’ve always loved climbing mountains…something so spiritual (although its probably just my imagination) but i love the silence of the mountains…Should try doing a solo trip soon…Good work..Cheers!
Hey Shavya,
It’s my first day onto your blogs, I have gone through many of your blogs in a single day:-) you have got a great guts to achieve this all alone, my big bow to you. Thank u for narrating your experiences so beautifully and you indeed have enlightened the environ concern in many of your followers, am too one among them. keep going, thumbs up on your completed expeditions and the best wishes for your upcoming, would like to read more from you… Cheerss!!!!!!!!!!
Forgive me for misspelling your name Shivya;-)
Hi!
I don’t know where to begin. I’ve spent a whole month searching about you and finding some inspiration from you to lead my life the way you are. There’s only one thing, how do we convince our parents that it’s a safe world out there? If you have a post about it, I’ll search. Otherwise, I’d love to hear from you.