Not all who wander, are lost!

I read this quote somewhere and it stuck with me.

So, who am I? What is my passion? What do I enjoy doing the most? What gives that sense of euphoria, that state of exhilaration that separates you from the real world?

Over the years, it has come down to two things… teaching and travelling.

I’ve been a teacher since the late 1990’s – 1999 to be exact. My first class was Grade 1, 63 students, 8 boys, and all the rest were girls! My very first year of teaching, straight after my training. I was all of 18 years old. Was it memorable? Of course! Was it challenging? Most definitely! It was also a learning curve for me, my ‘entry’ into what made a teacher, and my eyes into the future of what I thought was in store for me.

Fast forward to 2003… I had just completed my bachelor’s degree and we moved to Bangalore, where I joined a local school. This is where my love for travelling started. My group of friends at school, an animated lot of 4 other ladies, were way older than I, but we were close and hung out together a lot, even after school and on holidays. All of them were single, which made things even better.

Our first trip was to Pondicherry, which is a small town close to the beach. We had the best time there! This was my first time ever, travelling with friends. I had only ever travelled with my family before this, so this was a very exciting experience for me. As teachers, our salary was meagre, but that did not stop us from having fun and doing whatever we wanted to do and experience. From eating yummy street food, to walking on the beach, to sleeping in a beach hut, listening to the waves, and star gazing as we chatted, laughed and gossiped about everything under the moon! We also did a day trip to Velankanni, which is a sacred place for Catholics. This was just a few months after the devastating Tsunami had hit that area on 26th December 2004. We saw firsthand, the damage and destruction it had caused. No doubt, we had a lot to talk about on our trip back to Bangalore. Such a memorable trip!

2011, I had got a job in Dubai! My first stint as a teacher abroad. I was there for 3 years but homesickness got the best of me, and I was back in Bangalore, every chance I got. Although I appreciate that it was a different experience, living and working abroad was not for me. However, during my time there, as I gathered the courage to venture out on my own, I made it a point to visit all the Emirates, mostly alone but also with school colleagues. Ras Al Khaimah, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ajman, and even Oman, were the places I visited, each offering their own experiences.

2014, and I was back in India, moving to Ooty for my teaching job there. This was where I did the most international travelling – Sri Lanka, Australia and Thailand. All beautiful countries with beautiful people, amazing cultures and of course the food was delish! Each country deserving their own posts for sure! I also visited Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Fort Cochin and some other places in India, as part of my experiences with the dorms I was attached to.

All the while though, there was always something that seemed monotonous and too ‘scheduled’ for me. Although I prefer an organized schedule when it comes to school and teaching, I am an on-the-spur-of-the-moment kind of person! I love when plans materialize, but I love it even more when they were unplanned and just kinda fell into place.

So, why cannot travelling be like that? More than that, why do we need an ultimate destination? Afterall, the fun is in the travelling and not really when arriving at the destination! When I travel, I like to see places, not just ‘a’ place! So, why should we limit ourselves in that way?

I think, without a destination, our travel will not only be more fun and exciting, but also more budget friendly and easy on the wallet. We can chip and change our plans according to where we are at that point in the journey, and so, can even change where we are heading.

So, if you have a car or a bike, and some money, pack a backpack, buckle up and go! Destination Unknown! The thrill will be so much more, and you will want to do this on repeat for sure!