Miles to go before I sleep

Waiting makes me reflect - especially waiting for a visa to arrive, 'coz that generally means travelling to a new place and starting all over again. And strangely enough, I enjoy relocating myself every now and then. The familiarity of unfamiliar surroundings comforts me. It has become part of me and I couldn't agree more with Alan Alda's words - "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." 

I left my city of comfort so long ago that I don't know if I will ever be comfortable there again. Travelling has changed me. I can't be any less dramatic, but the day I stepped out of my house to travel on my own I knew that this was a one-way road. I can only move ahead, and see the world to my heart's content. And there is no stopping to that. And that definitely scares my mom, if not anyone else. Like every other parents, my folks did want me to settle down at some point. But now they have given up on the nomad of their daughter. And I am glad they finally understood that I am a free-spirit that belonged not to one region but to the world. I choose to defy conventions and live life as I feel should be lived. Call me impulsive if u want, but we live only once. How many chances will we ever get?

I must have popped the travel pill long back when I spent hours staring at the Atlas my dad gave me. And I happily admit to have succumbed to that addiction, and become a total junkie. I have found myself in the delirious world of self-discovery, thriving friendships and an unquenchable craving to have some more. Life has become one big rave party, with no need to end in rehab. The realization that my dreams are limitless and that life can be more than a planned box of rules, is very liberating. Maybe thats what happens when you live in William Wallace's land for more than 9 months - 'Freedom' is what you perceive!

I consider myself very lucky. Not because I have drop-dead gorgeous looks, nor was I born with silver spoon in my mouth. I am lucky for the people I have met in my life. Many came and went, few stayed..and in whatever way they touched my life, they showed me something new. Earlier I used to assume that everyone thinks and feels like me, and that made me quite judgmental. But when  I met people who saw the world a little differently, caused an immediate shift. It made me realize that the world is a big place, and everyone's different. Every place I went taught me something new - history, culture, human relations, but mostly importantly about me. 


Travelling has helped me get rid of my inhibitions too.  Now I can happily talk to random people, and what I realized is that no matter where you go people love to be heard. You hear their stories and then you share some of yours. And the writer in me loves picking up on little stories here and there - the old couple I met in Dusseldorf airport told me how he (A Brit) fell in love with his Spanish wife without speaking a common language, or the retired marine at Paris CDG sharing his travel plans with his son in Australia. My experience so far has been like a book of world short stories, and its one heck of a page turner!


The road is life. I have been living a nomad's life for last 10 years covering 12 cities, 2 countries and now preparing for my 3rd. I am excited about it, and plan to fill-up my current passport in the next 4-5 years. Whats next? Naturally to keep travelling, making friends and sharing more stories. Travelling, for me,  is not running away from reality. But its my quest of finding what I believe in, and the path I wish to follow.