Hello community!
Since in the last newsletter, I discussed reflections, I thought it made sense to talk about things I wish-to-do-this year, instead of discussing the cliched topic of resolutions.
Somehow, I feel resolutions should be flexible and abstract which can be deconstructed into smaller doable parts so that they see the light of day. Mostly we try and establish larger-than-life, unrealistic goals for ourselves in the hope that we would turn our lives upside down with a mere change of date, therefore putting ourselves into an unending loop of promises that are designed to be broken.
So, I thought why not start with a topic which I aspire to explore more this year, rather than resolve to do like an agenda or a to-do list. TRAVEL WRITING has been on my mind for long as I feel Travel is not an isolated event, rather it’s a series of dots that we hop onto at various points of time, which are capable of altering our lives from the experiences, sights and associations which we build while we travel.
Tryst with Travel
My tryst with travel has been quite sporadic and bumpy as my interpretation of travel was more as a stress-inducer (packing, unpacking, travel bookings etc. — I hate these chores to the brim) than being a stressbuster, because I was not trying to SEEK or EXPLORE. Earlier my definition of travel was to complete a checklist of touristy places, click some social media-worthy pictures, eat at fancy glocal food outlets, and finally return home; but that feeling of getting refreshed and recharged was missing. I guess it’s simply because I wasn’t trying to find contentment but instead flaunt an itinerary which made me splurge and not savor the trip.
So lately, I have started to NOT really plan my travel from tip-to-toe and rather leave some gaps for serendipity. Certainly, it does not mean I come unprepared, but I do not start framing scenic images before I land on the turf. In the last few trips that we have made as a family, few have been very last moment leaving us with less time to prepare or map out. That’s where the adventure began! I go with a blank state of mind, without anticipation, or expectations.
Since there was no checklist to be struck off, and no deadlines to finish the sightseeing, we felt no pressure and took it like a VACATION and not a marathon. The idea was simply to relax, try and see places of interest if possible, and mainly DISCONNECT from the overtly busy schedules.
Remember in the olden days when there was no social media, no internet, no GPS navigation, we still traveled. What was so unusual about that sort of travel? It did not hold expensive tags, neither did it boast of climbing the highest peaks, but it did have that one thing that I feel is a little missing from modern traveling and that is ‘enjoying the journey rather than the destination.’ Getting lost, detouring to an unknown but untouched place, walking barefoot to feel the earth, gazing at nature’s creation and feeling amazed, clicking pictures only when we are sure of the frame as there was a limitation of the frames we could capture, eating locally available food which was symbolic and exclusive to the location — all these have become things of the past.
But these trips had far more memorable memories as we were not trying to rush but live in the moment; we were waiting to see the sun rise and set and not click endless selfies with a fancy view; we were taking unknown turns to come to a dead end and laugh out loud; we were sipping a humble tea made in a roadside kiosk with endless cups of noodles — and still enjoying.
How Travel writing has inspired me
I have previously written about one of the spiritual trips that I took earlier in 2023, which again was unplanned but ended on a very beautiful and peaceful note. Also, my first ever blog post at Wordpress started as a travel post, where I documented a trip to Bihar, India to attend a family ceremony, thus the topic was always on my radar, but somehow I didn’t realize the power it holds within.
As a Substack reader, I love reading
Journeys and Jottings where she pens her experiences as a travel blogger while she explores the unknown parts of India and the world, in her myriad ways. It gives a first-hand account of traveling to untouched but authentic places to mesmerize our souls.Also, lately, I came across a LinkedIn post shared by Ajay Jain, founder of
bookstores in Delhi, who essentially started as a traveler and photographer but has now become an entrepreneur with his amazing bookstores. He explains in his post, how a travel trip changed his life forever and made him rethink his future strategy. Do read if you wish to get inspired!Concluding this post with a wish-list, specifically related to traveling this year:
I wish to travel to learn, seek, and absorb rather than create an album for others
I wish to create memories from travel that are capable of becoming life lessons
I wish to admire nature in its purest forms and get inspired by its grandness
I wish to heal within by immersing in slow yet meaningful travel
I wish to curate my trips rather than plan them so that they become reflections of my personality and not merely guided tours
I wish to spend quality time with family and friends rather than count days spent together
I wish to do nothing for the sake of doing something and learning the art of being in the moment
I wish to meet new people who continue to inspire, intrigue, or enrich me as an individual
I wish to savor my trips rather than feel their burden
I wish to travel more so that I evolve with each experience and journey
Hopefully, my next few posts will be about the recent trips I undertook and the experiences that I drew while I curated my travel.
Leaving this post by a thought which might resonate with a lot of you who love and live to travel:
Travel should be able to nourish our souls, make us look inward, recharge & replenish our depleting energies, enrich us enough to appreciate, admire, & respect nature’s grandness, connect with cultures, explore local foods, and above all return home full of gratitude, contentment and peace of mind —
Parul Kapoor
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Well said. My best travel moments( the ones that reached my heart and soul) have no photographs! Happy travelling ! Happy writing! Happy living!