I Am Young, Jobless, Broke But With An Insatiable Desire To Travel.

The second most question they ask me is ‘How much do you travel?’ The first is of course ‘Shaadi ka kya socha hai?’ if you haven’t guessed it. I somehow do not have an answer to both of these questions. I started travelling from my school days. The annual family vacations to a new place every year made me eagerly wait for the holidays. But that was pure rejuvenation, in a time when I did not even know what that word meant. Today my idea of travelling has changed and rejuvenation is probably the last thing there. And marriage? Aren’t Facebook posts annoying enough to add mine to them? Whatever.

They call me so lucky to be able to cover destinations. They probably consider me too rich to afford so many travel plans. To set the record straight- I am pretty much jobless. I left my previous job because there wasn’t much work left. The field got uninteresting. It has been months since I quit.  I am still struggling to find a job that will give me the satisfaction and kind of pay I deserve given my experience of about 3 years. I give interviews, get rejected. I am awaiting the call back since months now. I do some freelancing as and when I get and earn some.

So how exactly do I manage to travel so much? Travelling doesn’t require money as much as it requires the passion and curiosity to explore. Luxury travel is amazing but cheap thrills are better. Local transport which takes about Rs. 30-80 to cover kilometres is way better than booking a private car with AC which drops you directly at destination. Meet locals in the bus, chat up with the conductor, ask him the road further, be proud you reached the place somehow on your own. I don’t exactly remember staying at a hotel with a well-furnished room, hot water shower or in built restaurant (unless it’s a family trip). Not that I stay in shady places all the time, but not necessarily do I follow the recommendations on the websites for the cheaper places. That remains about the way I choose to travel.

On my journeys I have met new people, built new friendships, learnt about their lives, picked up their style of dealing with situations when stuck together and of course returned home with truck load of memories. Laugh out loud regardless of the person you just met knows you enough or not. Do not be the reserved one, it will only make creating memories difficult. When on a journey, time travels faster so before you find commonalities to bond over, it will be time to leave.

There’s a desire, there’s a lesson, there’s an experience which every journey gives, be it for a day or a week. If you’re willing to pick them up on the way, your road will be never ending…

I do not have a fat bank balance, but whatever I gather, I spend it wisely on a travel plan than on End Of Season sale. I don’t mind repeating the same clothes in different destinations, because for me the place is more important than the need to click a selfie there and check in on social media.

Get out of the idea that travelling is expensive, alter your course to make it fit in your budget. Eat local lousy food at times, sleep on the floor, walk and cover the distance. You will remember it better. Remember, the way you were raised is not the only way to live!

I would like to build myself a career out of my passion. I am working towards it, but they say I am not experienced enough. That encourages me to take on newer venues.

Again it is very difficult to convince parents to grant you permission for every other plan you make. But once you get it, don’t forget to tell them stories about what you learnt. They are so eager to know about your adventures. And when you share it all with your loved ones, you relive it much better. So that’s how it works for me. I sit with my pictures and narrate stories, introduce my characters and end it with a moral. It makes you so inquisitive to even search for stories.

I am seriously jobless but I’ve kept myself diligently employed in my journeys. I travel hectic if need be, get drained out but the sleep that follows is nothing compared to the ones after daily chores.

I can only do this only till the time I am young, not tied to too many responsibilities and within a year or two I might have someone’s family to take care of along with my own. I know one thing for sure, that I do not wish to regret of not heading out when I could very well open my doors and leave. I do not bring souvenirs back home, a thing that I am always taunted for. But my memories weigh equal to any souvenirs to offer others.

I want to be myself, dance, drink, chill, have fun, learn, grow and return back to my abode. All this when happens on a journey than within the confines of 4 walls is definitely soul filling. So whenever they ask me how much do you travel? Well, till it doesn’t fill my soul!