Chronicles of Wanderlust
NEPAL
If the seven cardinal sins were to be rewritten today, bet Wanderlust would be one of them.
The rush and chaos at the Delhi airport surrounds me as I wait for my flight back home. I am sifting through my notes, trying to relive the last few days. For the first time, I am not really looking forward to going home. But people I have waiting for me, tug at my heart. A guy who misses me more than I could ever understand. A best friend’s wedding. Parents, waiting.
“You can’t go alone. What if you fall sick? You’ll need somebody to take care of you, won’t you?”
“Travelling alone could be a bit more expensive. Are you sure you are ready for this?”
“You could wait for 6 more months and we could do this together.”
Yes, it was scary. I had always enjoyed being by myself. However, dining alone and watching movies alone is not quite the same as dusting my backpack and trotting off to a foreign country. Sure, as is the case with everything else, sitting in the comfort of my room, looking up and reading about other solo travellers online seemed easier than actually doing it. Along with the many advantages, there were a few disadvantages, too. More than disadvantages, they were actually practical discomforts. Who do I leave my luggage with if I want to use the restroom at a bus station? What if all the single rooms had already been booked? Yes, these were just two of the ‘few’ I encountered. But I survived.
Nepal. It was the perfect choice. A backpacker’s haven. Safe for solo female travellers. Close enough to ‘home’. On my first night in Katmandu, sitting by the bar and sipping the local beer (Gorkha) whilst listening to the local star sing a Bollywood song that I faintly remembered the lyrics to, I thought to myself, ‘not so ‘foreign’, after all.’
On the days to follow, I travelled my way through the country. From Pokhara to Bhote Kosi, Thamel and most parts around Katmandu. From rickety bus rides to giving in to a few luxuries like the local spa, I had them all packed in the 10 days that I had for myself in that amazing country.
I found myself to be a nicer person in the foreign land. And why shouldn’t I be! I was having a ‘good hair day’, everyday!
It was probably the soothing sound of water gushing through the rocks not very far from my tent or the breeze so gentle, one could almost hear it, that I even managed to make friends with a Pakistani while staying at the Last Resort. For those who may know me, this was quite a personal achievement, given my defence brought-up and my innate need to hate everything Pakistani.
The farther from home I got, the closer I got to look at myself. Yes, I still want to get married, someday. But the urgency had evaporated. Yes, I still like the security of a fat paycheck at the end of every month but the need to be stuck in a job I no longer enjoyed had disappeared. Yes, I still long for company and love meeting people, but I am no longer embarrassed to say that I spent the weekend alone!
It’s true. There is lot of material to read up online and in bookstores about this place. But nothing had prepared me for the warmth and comfort that it offered. I could stroll down the alleys of Thamel after an early dinner and nobody would cast a dirty glance at me, which I knew I wouldn’t dare to do back home. And I’m more than happy to count Nepal as my first ‘foreign experience’.
It took sincere efforts from a lot of people to make this trip as memorable as this. Funny how I knew just one of them, that too, as a mere acquaintance before I had booked my tickets.
So if you want to travel, don’t wait for the ‘right guy’ or the ‘right time’. Spin the globe. Pick a place. Buy the tickets. And create memories.
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