As I sit on the chair, with a laptop on my desk, escalating the gloom of not being able to travel, I keep wondering about my choices. One of them which conspicuously seeps into my life is – Were those days of planned Itineraries better or the ones which I have embarked on, in the last 2 years. I have been given the word travel as a birthright by my family but I have also been given “freedom” as doses that were like sugar-coated pills. Freedom to choose how you travel is one of my favorite choices. Here’s why.
After working for nearly 3 years in an Adventure Travel Company, I had created more than 200 + Itineraries for people travelling in the Himalayas. My high point doing this was to be transported while typing each letter of how one would travel. It was its own kind of joy, given to me at one stationery place and eyes on my laptop screen. I would often shut down my laptop at the end of the day feeling an uncanny achievement only a dreamer could cherish. I travelled while making those Itineraries. Once in a while, I even chose to trace the same words with groups of people, students and families embarking on the Itineraries I created.
Once I wrapped up my journey in the Travel Industry, I took a long haul of about a year to see places I had on my mind. In March as I signed off, I first decided to witness a village festival in Saloor Dungra Village by the name, Ramman. It was a planned Itinerary of 3 days from Dehradun – Auli – Dehradun which brought me some relief of having check-listed a mountain festival. A good break from the summer heat, only to return to a rather slow life back in Dehradun. But, for the love of mountains, one always has to return. After Auli in April, I saved Jibhi as my next destination in the month of June.
June is such a lovely word, it reminds me of summer heat and school holidays. So off I went on a bus destined to Himachal Pradesh, to explore the Jibhi Valley. A school friend from Doon & 2 more friends joined me on this trip which was to be one of the finest journeys within. We just had one thing planned, our accommodation for 6 days at Mud House Hostels in Jibhi. We let the rest be a part of this Impromptu journey. I had never undertaken a trip like this before, planning is my panacea for all ills. But it turned out, my ill was planning! I had got so used to the Industry ways, that I almost forgot about exploring without a plan.
And without much ado, I can say I began travelling in its literal sense from this very trip. The joys of uncertainty, of unavailability & unfounded sense of life, was far more enjoyable than knowing exactly what was next on the list. Someone wise told me once, ” Bad things happen to you so that you have a story to tell. One should always have a story to tell.” Well, the trip was not bad in any sense of the term but the unpredictable nature of life was my take away from it. From running out of cash to losing the right trail & late nights in the mountains there was “abundance” in it. It still feels like being in the Middle of a Memory for the longest time.
We returned home, but no more as the “Itinerary folks.” The journey changed the perspective & I realised the importance of it like never before. The restlessness however persisted & this was followed by my immediate relocation to Mussoorie, a nearby hill station from the Doon valley. I got myself a nice cosy house by the Spring Road & volunteered as a teacher in one of the Tibetan schools. As my journey of 30 days began, little did I plan on how it would unfold. The random trails I took on the much-unexplored parts of Mussoorie was my greatest high. The rendezvous with a local friend born & brought up in Mussoorie called forth a whole different love for this place which was not much of a fancy before, due to its easy access. The things I learned as a part of this 30-day journey turned into a book or a diary if you like.
And once I returned home from this 30 day romance, I took no time to plan yet another trip to Himachal, from where it all began! This time, The Kasol – Malana Circuit. Like tramps we walked on the streets we continued without a plan, only to chance upon the beauty of Nakhtan village, before we trekked to Kheerganga. But as the heart always grows fonder of the simple life, we stayed in the village a day longer, just to seep it all in. Once the trek finished, there was no stopping from another unplanned stay in the village of Kalga to celebrate our last night. There began the love for the unknown, the lesser planned choices. And if you have come so far with me, the joy of Impromptu travel is truly your choice, for what is to come next is best unknown. So, Impromptu Travel or Planned Itineraries? Well, it was just a rhetorical question.
