I come from a Bengali family which loves to spend holidays in tourist places, especially hill stations. Summer vacations meant we needed a literal ‘chill break’. Manali, Shimla, Mussourie, you name it and my parents must have taken me for a vacation there.
Cut to the present – I am a 22 year old girl and have taken several trips with my friends around the North and Northeastern India. As I figured recently, there is an underlying commonality among the trips I planned myself with a freehand later (my parents gave up on all the planning). I was on a constant lookout for places which are away from the crowd, in the lap of nature where ignorance is in fact bliss.
Do I like solitude? Yes. Do I like mountains better than beaches? Yes. I like quieter mountains. It is quite simple. I have had enough with hotel rooms that have destroyed nature’s beauty and it’s bounty and reckless people who are not interested in exploration but exploitation.
On my first trip without my parents to Old Manali, I preferred staying at a hostel, of whose Manager told me about how in India we only promote tourists and he hopes to change some of them into travellers. What is the difference between the two? The dictionary says that the former are set of people who travel for pleasure while the latter simply described as people who travel often. I assume motivations for the latter crowd can be anything, from adventure sports to an escape from the mundane everyday life. Travellers, as he further added, are more responsible as they explore the unexplored as they backpack. This statement depicted what travelling means for him. Likewise I have my own understanding of what is travelling and plan my itinerary around off-beat locations even if I visit an well known places. Travelling for me is a conduit which gives me freedom to be out-of-sync with the world and be in tune with my heart’s desires. For what is better than walking in the wilderness and soaking in the drizzle that welcomes you when you enter nature’s domain. To hear Buddhist chants from the faraway monastery, as you close your eyes and breathe nature. To capture sun which looks like melting honey, before it hides behind the mountains.
During my visit to Kasol, I found a hostel situated a kilometer away from the main town square, which required a small trek, crossing a river on the way. I did not have many options to choose from when it came to food as the place provided dinner which you had to eat irrespective of your liking. That did not really matter as the view and the place was exactly as per my fancy – a little away from the maddening noise-making crowd, in a beautiful place, without the artificial frills that hill stations offer. My trek further to Kalga brought me to a quaint café with basic bedding and lodging but a breathtaking 360 degree view of lush green mountains paving way to snow clad ones. Nothing could be better than sitting by yourself with a piping hot cup of coffee and a book, while icy breeze touches you and the sun shines overhead in all its glory.
Lately I visited Kangra Valley, and visited McLeodganj. To my dismay, the sight of incessant traffic and honking ruined the whole experience. This was at it worse since the entire North was burning (our North is not like theirs) and tourists flocked to this popular spot. I rushed back to my quiet little place situated in a small village called Sakri, where I jumped into the hammock and went back to my reverie.
I am sure many of you reading this will relate with me or think that I am eerie. If my idea of travelling seems strange to you, try finding out your own. Trust me, travelling will become a wholesome experience when you know what it means to you.
Rambling About 