When I go back to this question – I always imagine of that kick of why do I travel? But there is no one reason for this. Each incidence happened directed me to pack bags and travel to places – in search of answer!
Initially when I was young, I used to travel with my parents. Of course as middle class typical Indian family, we used to think that travelling costs hefty and thus used to avoid fancy places and had only been to religious spots around my small, sweet birthplace Jamshedpur! More on my birthplace later 😊 but we had been to nearby places especially and to some of the neighbouring states.
Its always fun to be out with family, having religious bath in Ganga, worship in temples and do shopping – overall a mental peace and satisfaction. Trying out the local cuisines and clicking pictures with siblings in funny poses to which I can laugh seeing afterwards and few best clicks for showoff as a social bee especially to make relatives jealous 😉 Being with family, is a lot of relief as you don’t have to think much and just enjoy the waves at sea, the jungles at safari, the sunshine at mountains… a wholesome experience after-all.
While being engineering student at college, I have also got opportunities to travel while taking part in national competitions with teammates. This had a whole new experience. For first time I was out of course with teammates but you can’t expect teammates to take whole responsibility of you, neither they expect from you the same. Also the whole purpose of being out was to be at competition, enhancing knowledge and networking but still we did spare a day for going out to visit famous places around! It does give sense of collaboration, relief from regular stress, increases bonding as I got to know my teammates better in terms of habits and lifestyle
Then I landed up in a job that involves travelling as job. No I was not a travel blogger then, neither it was a travel or tourist company. I am a mechanical engineer and I got PPO from Bajaj Auto Ltd for enhancing service quality in aftersales of their superbike division – KTM. In brief, this job profile gave me wholesome time to travel to places as my job was to look after the vast area of Maharashtra, demands me to know the market, meet stakeholders and know the customers from inside out. So this was the time which totally changed me to a person who came to be known for making the best travel plan, knowing the best eateries and cuisines and where to find the best stays.
In this profile, I deepened my negotiation skills with hotels, and also while dealing with stakeholders. This is very much needed when you are tight on your budget but want to really experience a stay at a better hotel. The more I met people from different cultures, the more my myths got clarified. It started challenging my preconceived notions after I experience the nuances of the place.
These all experiences together with self realization that the answer to all mysteries inside and outside your soul lies in actually experiencing it, made me what I am today and why my heart runs on miles I make and not the minutes!
I am not the kind of traveler you are imagining i.e. a nomadic one or the one who only moves from one street to other. I am just like many of you. Plan it – Ask it – Do it ( Even if alone)
Sometime it works and sometime it doesn’t but don’t worry. Just collect all your courage and believe in yourself and Do it😁
My love for travel didn’t begin in some faraway land. It started small — with road trips during summer holidays, family visits to new cities, and long train rides watching the world blur by outside the window. But life always has plans for you!
I am a mechanical engineer from NIT Rourkela graduated in 2017 and one of the beautiful things that happened to me was to land up as an area service manager in super bikes segment of Bajaj Auto Ltd ie KTM being based out in Pune.
Loved it!