Standing in front of the nature’s lap, mesmerized by its vastness, beauty and serene, you feel intoxicated to the brim!
Travelling brings insight, many such experiences that you savour in your memory, not only for the moment but for the lifetimes.
This happens. This happened. This post filters the essence of Anshul’s visit to Sikkim.
While he was about to enter the OTP for the final booking of Shillong, I voiced for Sikkim based on inputs received from Guru at the nick. From 19th he was absorbed in the place, its beauties and bounties along with his friend, till 24th of April, when he boarded back to Bangalore. A read for all of us from him!
“Why one wants to travel?” a question not of need but a want. Its understanding enables us to sharpen and deepen our experiences as a traveler of life. A few ‘whys’ explored in travelling are here thus.
Anchor in travelling and a place becomes a run away zone for you. You are just tired of your regular work and you need a breather. Choose destinations, mode of transportation and stays accordingly. You don’t want to end up travelling too much or through tiring means. This can be a small gateway 200-300 km from your place wherever you do nothing but relax.
Show off? But true. The whole world seems to be travelling and posting on social media.There is nothing wrong in getting inspired with the same, rather this can be a great starting point when you want to share with your near and dear ones but if this becomes the sole reason to travel, one needs to plan it in a different way. A touristic location peppered with glamour, where one might end up spending a bit more, as whatever you are doing, you are doing to put it on canvas. This travel works well, if you go in groups then.
In case you love travelling, you are not doing this to revitalize, to run away or to show off but to know the world, the place and to yourself better. To dive deeper into the very adventure of the life, to feel the adrenalin rush, It’s about the experience that you are looking forward to. This zone keeps you on your toes to look for things, you want to feel more than you can see.
For family vacations, plan, plan, and plan and be ready for the surprises to be unveiled as you move. But this is cute, engages the members beautifully and meaningfully.
Travelling far off and spending time and money in this mode is more about revitalizing your thoughts and rejuvinating your spirit. Strenghing the bond with self. Solo or travel with a close friend is right choice. You want no disturbance or maybe a good book or means of self absorption to make you feel alive and breathe.
So, know your why and you shall make the best of your travel!
At the end of the day, it does matter why you want to travel, planning and budgeting becomes next important then. The more you travel, the more you get to know about yourself. Its about knowing your preferences and areas of focus. If you have Rs 100 to spend on travel, plan for Rs 70-75. Having no cushion to spend extra will keep your focus on the finances but not the journey.
First and foremost things, decide on number of days you want to travel, choose the destination based on your why, book tickets, roughly plan the itinerary and leave time and space for the parts to be covered at the spur of the moment, and finally hotel and accommodation booking (where you can have Hostels, hotels and home stays) followed by the cab booking. An elaboration on the last point.
Cab booking : This was the trickiest of all, as all 6 days we had to be in cab for almost half our time and as it was season time, was tough to predict the costing. This is where 70-30 theory comes into picture. Two of us were travelling, initially we had expected our trip to be around 25k (70% of what we had), and finally it turned out to be around 30-33k(100% of what we could spend).
But as airfare, hotels, food all that planning was done optimally; we weren’t worried to spend 5-7 K extra and made most out of the trip.
Further to this are things you don’t want to compromise with, for me, I just can’t stay in below average accommodations. After a long day out, I would want to recollect all the experiences that I had and not worry about basic hygiene or sanitation. So know where you can compromise and where you can’t.
Besides planning and traveling few more areas to focus.
Respect Time. You should have a rough sketch of what you will be doing at what point of time in your trip. It helps in ensuring basic checks & 20% flexibility works great to add cherry on the same.
On day 4 , we had to see Yumthang valley & Zero Point. On our way from Lachung, I saw a river flowing by the road and I felt great about it. Still I didn’t say anything much then, we kept moving; the driver suggested us to do Zero Point first and then Yumthang Valley on our way back. We did Zero Point and when I saw Yumthang Valley, I told myself it’s better to spend some time next to the river and not here. So I followed my heart and we skipped Yumthang and went to the river. The time spent there was one of the bests. Still we respected time, we improvised with what we saw but overall time taken in the day was the same and we were able to make most out of the day.
We all have individual stamina. So please respect your body. Know when to stop and when to stretch. Don’t stress beyond a point, you don’t want to come back exhausted or too much concerned about your health during the trip.
Try local cuisine as much as you can: Homestays are perfect options to enjoy that. Know the weather and pack then. Keep all the travelling essentials and things that you need urgently as per your focus of the journey and your requirement. To enjoy the shopping spree, have blocked time in your itinerary. First aid kit, dare you miss it!!
To sum up, embrace the journey, know your ‘why’s’, plan well, yet be open, be absorbed, learn from your experiences, treasure the memories and surrender into each moment. The journey becomes you and you the journey.
Thanks Anshul. Learned some amazing lessons from you.
Stay blessed always!!
God bless.
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