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A La Solo - September 2006

Total Panic

Somewhere between flipping the pages of a Lonely Planet guide and practising Nepali phrases, I panicked. Confidence gave way to quaking in my hiking boots as I realised that people were trying to tell me that travelling alone through India was a VERY BAD IDEA. With my departure date looming I began to casually call around for a travel companion. "Oh hi! Long time no see! Hey, I'm going to India and Nepal in a month - you wanna come?" As the inevitable declines came in I resolved to hold my nerve - I didn't want to hurt my reputation of intrepid traveller did I? Then one night one of my closest friends called me up. She had initially declined the offer with a left-field response of believing we would not make good travel companions. However after a few glasses of Stone's Ginger Beer she had changed her mind. "I take it all back!" she cried, "We would make great travel companions, I really want to come with you!" In spite of our hysterical enthusiasm that night my friend was not as gung-ho as she first appeared. Over the next week or so she vascillated between wanting to go and wanting to do the sensible thing and wait for a better opportunity. Motivated by my own anxiety about going it alone I feverishly rewrote the itinerary, pushed my departure date forward and coaxed her toward a committal. We booked the flight.


The next day I had a distinct feeling of unease throughout the day which turned into high anxiety when I saw the missed call on my mobile. I knew it before I opened her email but it didn't stop the momentary feeling of devastation that followed. She had pulled out. Her reasons fuelled my stubborn resolve to prove everybody wrong. That a woman can handle anything on her own and find achievement and joy in it too.


And then...the panic. After losing my travel companion I began to doubt the wisdom of my plans. Originally, I planned to go overland from India to Nepal, go trekking, volunteer at an orphanage then make my way through India to my departure city - Bangalore. The overland route began to look like a challenge. First of all, India seemed to be filled with people of prize-winning ingenuity in scamming tourists (see traveller's tips in the Lonely Planet website for an entertaining sample). Secondly, the border crossing looked complicated and risky with Maoists beginning to extort money from vehicles crossing over. Finally, my tour company had a grim message that announced that due to the high level of bandhs (strikes) they were offerring people booked onto tours a chance to change tours. To my horror, everyone in my trek had already accepted the offer.

After many sleepless nights and agonised debating with friends, colleagues and family I came to the conclusion that I didn't know what to do.
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Grand Plans

The chocolate on the pillow of this trip is that after negotiating the screaming masses of India with kaleidoscope colours and smells I will get to see Nepal again! I visited Nepal two years ago when I won an entire tour group placement - yep that's right, a tour for 12 people! Disappointingly, my friends were unwilling to join me except for an old school buddy. Now if you think that I'm mad to travel alone then you didn't see me travel with family to a developing country. My brother quickly became rigid with culture shock upon arrival and refused to leave his hotel room or participate in the trek. My mother on the other hand, suddenly decided that as I was in charge of the finances she would sink into a prickly ball of hostility in between buying endless postcards and jewellery at twenty times the market value. My sisters and my friend compensated by being wonderful travel companions but that trip provided me with a solid warning not to expect people to act the same overseas as they do at home. I guess travel either brings out the best or the worst in you. It's the people who seek out challenges, enjoy the unexpected and embrace new ways of life that get the most out of a foreign country and I'm delighted to be one of them. Everyone else just seems to freak out. I'm not saying that I'm a brave person, I'm scared of spiders, job interviews, meeting guys, going to hospitals...you name it, I can run screaming from a lot of things. I guess my 'fear factor' just goes on holiday when I do.
Only 3 and 1/2 weeks to go!
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Bragging Rights

Three years is a long time. That's because three years is how long its taken to scrape together enough frequent flyer points to get a free flight to India! It seems the travel bug does not die from starvation, it only grows stronger! I've had tonnes of signs that I should go on this trip. Ok yes, I am the sort of superstitious moron who thinks that if the toaster stops working higher powers are saying, "Stop eating bread its making you fat!". But I'm certain that this trip is meant to be. One sign is that I managed to snatch the last available flight that I could have taken - mere coincidence you scoff? Well, I have a nice little tradition of always finding exactly what I want and its always the last one on the rack AND in my size. So knowing that I have the last seat gives me great peace of mind. This in spite of everyone else's attempts to fill me with fear and dread. People keep looking at me with horror when I say that I am travelling alone through India. Even people who COME from India have looked at me as if I said I wanted to lick a cane toad. What worries me is that the reaction has been worse than when I announced I was backpacking alone in the Middle East - only four months after Sept 11 for my FIRST TRIP OVERSEAS. Even I knew I was nuts. Still, the wonderful thing about taking a risk is the inevitable adrenalin rush, the feeling of triumph when you return safely, the heroes welcome, the words of adoration and then the inevitable bragging. It's all worth it, the jet lag, the sheer exhaustion, the never-ending haggling from dawn to dusk, the jelly-belly and con artists - the bragging rights are worth it all
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