Travel-lone!!

TRAVEL-LONE

You are on a 9-5 job and then comes a phase where you get burned out and need a break from your routine life. So what's the best way to deal with it. Leave for a trip. Next you'll do is ask for a company. But none of your acquaintances have time as they all have busy schedules going on, so plan B??? Go SOLO!!!! 

You find a location which is not too far from your home city-state, fix the date, plan your mode of transport, book your trip, book your stay, pack your bags and off you go!! Sounds strange, right? Going for a trip all alone? 

In Indian societies this is surely a rare phenomenon as our society is based on collectivism which believes in taking others along. But the concept of solo travel is very common in western countries as their society is individualistic means to choose our own path. But in today's time many Indians especially the youth are adopting to this change and prefer to go alone to locations just to explore and experience a new surrounding. There may be a lot of eyebrows raised when a person decides to travel alone as to "Why alone?", "Why not accompany someone?", "Is everything alright?", "If anything happens who will take care?" etc.. So lot of such bouncers will be thrown at you, either you will hit an upper cut by convincing them by giving assurance of self responsibility or just leave it wide by ignoring them and just listening to your conscience. At the end of the day it's all about having self belief and courage to venture into the unknown and being on your own. Travelling alone is not everyone's cup of tea as not all are comfortable without a company. Going solo is all about discovering yourself, learning new cultures, meeting new people, exploring new places all on your own. It develops your self confidence, gives you a new perspective about life and the world around, transforms you as person and eventually refreshes your mind. 

Some people have been cynical about travelling alone as they feel it’s a western concept as their family system is broken. But in reality its very much an Indian concept. In the past many sages and monks have been travelling alone to the length and breadth of the country just to explore and attain knowledge about the world. Examples being Sri Shankaracharya who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir on his own to explore and learn. Some of us even follow these sages, so why not follow their path? Travelling alone can teach you a lot of things, it will make you more responsible, vigilant and develop a sense of accountability too. It will also make you self reliant, more confident, improves your decision making ability, also enhances your communication and social skills and above all, a lot of memories to share. It also helps you to manage your expenses. But on the hindsight, travelling alone also has its own disadvantages : 

Firstly, you will have to be extra careful about your baggage when going somewhere. 

Secondly there will be a lack of company who can take care of you when you are unwell.

But these negativities can be covered if we take more responsibility of our own.

So, at the end of the day I personally feel everyone irrespective of their age, gender, religion, caste, sexual orientation, etc. should travel alone at least once in their life time just to get an experience to remember.