“This isn’t a polished story but a heartfelt , raw take on life, escapes, and why one should travel.”

The Story

I had travelled before — quick weekend getaways, holidays with family & friends, short breaks from work.

But then one day, caught between endless deadlines and the quiet grief I was still learning to live with, a friend, almost casually, looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you take a trip?’

I smiled and brushed it off with, “Who has the time?”

Yet later that night, half-asleep, I remembered reading about whale watching in Mirissa in a Condé Nast magazine I had subscribed to on a whim. Something about that memory stirred me, and before I even realised, I had booked a group trip to Sri Lanka at 2 am- an impulsive decision that I can now call as my first life-changing ‘trip’.

At a time when everything around me felt heavy and superficial, that trip gave me something I didn’t even know I needed: the space to simply breathe.

I didn’t go searching for meaning. I just needed a break , a pause. But it was the first time where being between strangers and in an unfamiliar country helped me feel a bit more alive than the actual life.

Time passed, life unfolded, and once again I found myself unsure of things. I turned to travel—not because I had the answers, but because I remembered how being somewhere new had once helped me breathe. So I tried again, and to my surprise, it worked. It felt a little lighter, a little better.

Post that, I travelled to Bali, Egypt, Turkey, and South Korea. I didn’t always feel okay. I wasn’t always able to talk much. But I still showed up. I still booked flights. I still explored. It took courage to go that far, especially when I didn’t feel like myself. And yet, somehow, travel gave me enough strength to keep moving forward—even in silence.

That’s how it slowly became a pattern. Whenever life grew too loud or too heavy, I packed a bag. Travel became the one way I knew how to feel like myself again.

Then, slowly, I realised something: this wasn’t just an escape anymore.

It had become my happy space, my love, my passion. I started putting in extra effort to make it happen—juggling long work schedules, sacrificing rest, and even working while traveling—just to make sure travel stayed equally important.

That was when I really started manifesting the experiences I once thought were out of reach: visiting Japan during cherry blossoms, meeting Santa Claus near the Arctic , visiting storybook towns in Europe, watching Romeo & Juliet opera in Vienna , enjoying Sangria, Siesta and ‘futbol’ in Spain , taking breathtaking cruises & exploring beautiful vineyards all over the world and immersing in the cultures of far corners of Asia.

People sometimes think it’s easy. But it’s not. I’ve had moments when I felt worried, anxious, unsure. Times I was completely alone, in unfamiliar places, without a language and Google Maps to fall back on. But I would still come back excited to pack again—because through travel, I found what matters most…

To look for happiness in small things—people, cultures, nature, local food, post offices, hidden towns, early morning walks and the feeling of being unknown in a new place.

I usually don’t talk much when I travel. I observe. It gives me peace. It’s where I feel most grounded, most present, most like myself.

But travel brought out a better version of me. It made me more happy, funny, carefree, and reminded me how to enjoy life without overthinking and for what it is.

I felt more confident , independent and open. It made me kinder, more empathetic, curious about others, and very aware of how similar we all really are—how everyone is carrying something.

And unlike a lot of things and people in life, travel has never left. It has been the one constant that always gave more than it took.

It pushes me to take care of myself, to stay active, and to keep going even when I don’t feel like it.

It always reminds me that I am doing okay, actually – thriving in my own world. ☺️

Travel gives me my calm, my joy, my perspective and in many ways, an identity. It also makes the world see me for who I am. But more importantly, it has helped me see that too.

I’ve been lucky to go to places people only dream of. And I don’t take that for granted. It has made me a better human and given me happiness in its simplest, purest form.

That’s why I believe everyone should travel.

Because it challenges you. It changes you. It teaches you who you are when everything familiar is stripped away. And if you let it, it will show you just how much you’re capable of.

❤️❤️