Month-long European tour made her brave and changed her forever
Travelling solo across ten countries, she became open with new thinking
By Kul Bhushan
A month-long solo tour of Europe… When Priya, a young and single bank executive, shared this plan with her parents, they were horrified. “What? Are you crazy?” was their initial reaction. “And how much would you spend on this trip?” they wanted to know. It was working out around Rupees five lakhs (Rs 500,000). “Five lakhs! No way are you are going to spend this huge amount! Remember, you have to get married soon and you will need every Rupee you have for that. After marriage, you can go on a honeymoon with this amount. Or you could buy a new car.”
Priya was not convinced. She argued that marriage was not on the horizon and has unlimited budget and what if her husband does not want to go on a honeymoon to Europe? And a car can be bought anytime in instalments. “I was taught that I cannot think big because it is only for the rich, high-class people, out of my reach,” she mused. And she was travelling all alone. Don’t worry, she replied, in the first half of 2024, more than 15 million Indian nationals travelled abroad, which is higher than the same period in 2023.
Shattering these prejudices of family and friends was tough but she managed. “I started travelling because I used to read blogs, watch vlogs and many articles about solo travelling and it always fascinated me. Listening to stories by relatives of their distant travels made me curious. Travelling made me explore the unexplored,” she says.
Half A Million
After spending more than a month on the web to plan her trip, she found that a one-week package tour of Europe was priced at Rs 150,000 to Rs 170,000 and a two-week package was more than Rs 250,000. Since she had applied for leave for a full month, she wanted to spend all that time in Europe. Meanwhile, her travel budget rocketed to Rupees over half a million!
Was group travel an option for her? In group travel, you make friends and enemies almost instantly, everyone does not have the same taste or priority. As the tour begins, you quickly identify one person who wants to dominate everybody all the time. Then you will soon identify one person who is always late and keeps everyone waiting. Everyone does not have the same idea of touring, sightseeing, shopping, museums or street music. So, you have to compromise. Some group members are always energetic and raring to go while others are slow and burnt out. Grouses and gossips dominate conversations and when disagreements become quarrels, mini-groups are formed and the atmosphere becomes sour. So, after talking to many people who had survived package tours, she concluded that going solo was best for her.
After deciding on the destinations to visit, Priya searched the web for youth hostels in the city center, as well as information on public transport, restaurants, major tourist spots, nightlife, and air and railway connections, among other details. She then finalized her trip and booked her air tickets.
“After I boarded the plane, I could not process the feeling that I was flying abroad on a connecting flight to Barcelona vis Zurich. I had a stopover for only 30 minutes at Zurich so I missed the connecting flight,” she recalls. Fascinated by seeing a different world: smart lounges, handsome men, sparkling shops, no wonder she missed her flight but got on the next one. She made a video call immediately to the family to show some facets of western culture to them.
Nightlife in Streets
On reaching Barcelona, she took the bus to arrive at the hostel in the city centre. Awed by the unique architecture, she found street walks were different with roadside cafes and ladies in short dresses, smoking in public, drinking beer. The white wheat beer tasted different. “I enjoyed the freedom of travelling alone,” she says. The heart of the old town is full of cafes, clubs and bars in Gothic Quarter in the legendary Las Ramblas, Maria Cubi and Santalo streets where people are drinking, dancing, laughing and enjoying till sunrise. No wonder the young crowd from India makes a beeline for Barcelona.Read More… Become a Subscriber
Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 10 January 2025
An Appeal
Dear Reader
65 years ago Mauritius Times was founded with a resolve to fight for justice and fairness and the advancement of the public good. It has never deviated from this principle no matter how daunting the challenges and how costly the price it has had to pay at different times of our history.
With print journalism struggling to keep afloat due to falling advertising revenues and the wide availability of free sources of information, it is crucially important for the Mauritius Times to survive and prosper. We can only continue doing it with the support of our readers.
The best way you can support our efforts is to take a subscription or by making a recurring donation through a Standing Order to our non-profit Foundation.
Thank you.
