The question that made me fall in love with travelling

I’ve always wondered how people elaborate their experiences so beautifully through words. I love reading travel stories from magazines, blogs and and watch travel video logs in online media.The gorgeous landscapes and busy cities from hollywood movies always amazed me.

I was just a teenage boy who had a thing for travelling and also considered travelling as a difficult. task. Being raised in a middle class family struggling because of financial crisis , chance of spending money on travelling was pretty much absent.

Till I reach an age of 20 ,I haven’t set foot on another state in India.I have lived most of my life inside Ernakulam district in Kerala.When i was doing my Btech Degree in Trivandrum, the state of Tamilnadu was just 25 Km away. I always wanted to go there. As always, it didn’t happen.

I usually take train to go from home to college. At the end of my first year I met a foriegner in a train . He was taking photographs from the door. after couple of minutes I told him “be careful sir, its dangerous”. he said “okay” with a smile and asked my name and where I am going.At first I had a little fear and embarrassment about how my english would sound. But he was a cool guy and we talked a lot.

He was a columbian citizen and works as a teacher in London. It was his seventh trip to India and Third to Alappuzha. He was travelling with his wife. he asked me about my education and different places at cochin and I never felt so confident when I spoke English. After some time I asked him a question that made all the change in me . “Sir, out of all the countries that you visited, what made you keep coming back? there are so many beautiful cities, forests and waterfalls, what makes India special?. He asked me a question in return ”how many states have you travelled?”. I said “only Kerala”. He smiled and said “whichever country you go, all the parts of the country will have have a lot of similarities, something will say that you are in the same country. But in India, as you move from one point to another you can see, feel and experience the change. The cultures are mind-blowing, the food you taste from different states are delicious and vibrant, the landscapes are breathtaking . You can’t believe that you are in the same country and You won’t see another country like India.” When the train reached Alappuzha he told me. “travelling will teach you life and will make you a good human being ,ciao”. He picked his backpack and left.

From that day I never missed an opportunity I get to travel. It’s been 3 years and I have travelled through 12 states and 3 union territories . These trips made me realise how much blessed I am, how much I can achieve and how to be a human being. If I see a chance for travelling whether it is an official trip or a backpack trip, i will take it, and I am waiting for my next chance.