Solo Trip - Little Courage and A Whole New Experience

For a person like me who is always surrounded by friends and families throughout life, the idea of going on a SOLO TRIP is a strange one. I always thought about how a person could go on a trip all by himself. With one to talk to and enjoy with, he must feel like a complete loner. But all my misconceptions came to an end when I went for MY FIRST SOLO TRIP.

It all started when my friends and I entered into our late 20s, getting into relationships, or getting married. Our hangout plans started to happen only on WhatsApp and social media only. I started to feel alone and started reading articles about how to deal with the situation, and most of the articles revolved around going on a solo trip, but still, I didn’t have the courage to go on a solo trip.

Then one day, one of my friends invited me to his marriage in Rishikesh, and I went for it. I had never been to Rishikesh, so I decided that I will stay back with a common friend to explore Rishikesh after the marriage. The next day, that common friend decided to come back to our hometown due to some urgent work, but I was not ready to go back as I really wanted to spend some time in Rishikesh. So, I decided to stay back all alone and booked a hotel stay with little excitement and lots of nervousness.

Next Day, everyone left, and I started my Solo Trip. When I reached the hotel to check-in, I kept on thinking that the manager might be judging me. Soon I was in my room and rested for a couple of hours with nervousness still in my heart. In the evening, I decided to go for a walk.

My hotel was situated at the banks of River Ganga near Laxman Jhula, and when I started to walk around, my nervousness started to wither away, and the excitement started to fill my heart when the cool breeze from River Ganga soothed my body and soul. I visited numerous temples, had a couple of snacks, and clicked a few photographs too. I even spent a couple of hours near the river with my feet immersed in water, and later I trekked for around 2 km on a small hill to spend time near a small waterfall. The next day, I explored more nearby places on foot as I had no planned itinerary, so I went for anything that I could explore.

The trip made me realize few things like you can spend any amount of time you want at a place without having to deal with a selfie freak friend who enjoys his phone more than nature, or a friend who is always in a hurry to visit more places rather than exploring a few or a friend who always wants everyone to follow him. This first solo trip of mine has changed me a lot, made me more confident, self-reliant, and self-motivated. I learned to enjoy my own company and considered myself as an explorer (too early to say but not just a traveler anymore).

After that trip, I went for two more solo trips. One to Udaipur and the Mount Abu in Rajasthan and the other to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj in Himachal Pradesh. Now, solo trips always stay on my mind. I have started reading about destinations to explore around the world to plan my future trips. Next on my bucket list is the unexplored areas in Rajasthan, a city of culture and heritage.

In the end, I would like to say that whoever fears or hesitates to go on a solo trip must gather some courage to give it a try and uncover a whole new experience of traveling and get more closer to yourself then you will ever be otherwise.

You can also read more about other top travel places travel on TBO Academy to plan your next travel.