I am writing this from a cafe in Langkawi, Malaysia, by the beach and the view is soothing.
The weather has surprisingly turned pleasant today, which is why I am out. After retreating indoors for the past few days in the afternoon due to the heat, I’m now enjoying the fresh air.
It’s been over 2 years since I started blogging, and I have skipped the ritual of writing an annual recap post for two reasons: I am too lazy, and I didn’t find the motivation to put it on my blog.
But this year, I have finally decided to write. I have put my thoughts into three different categories or labels, as I couldn’t think of any other way.
Travel
CONTENTS
I have been actively traveling for over 3 years now, mostly alone, and two out of these were after I quit my full-time job.
Considering these years, 2017 was the best of all. I travelled for over 6 months in total, excluding the ones that I missed or said no.
In these months, I travelled to four countries and many destinations in India, both in the north and the south, and rediscovered my love for Goa, which I have visited four times (and you’ll probably see me more in Goa this year too!).
My year started with two week-long trips to Goa, which was followed by a press trip to Nepal, where I trekked to Ghorepani Hills and was elated to see the Annapurna mountains of the Himalayas.
I continued in India after Nepal to volunteer with Zostel in Himachal for over 6 weeks.
I had volunteered for only a few days before, and this was the longest stint, and I enjoyed it throughout.
I learnt about hostels and picked up new skills, apart from meeting many people who shared stories from different walks of life with me.
After many awkward interactions, the introvert in me eventually loosened up.
I explored other parts of Himachal after volunteering, heading to Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala, and Kangra.
I couldn’t go to Spiti or Ladakh, both of which have remained top on my list of places for long time now, as the weather wasn’t right and they were shut.
My next stop was in Jammu, and I visited Vaishno Devi shrine as well.
I was supposed to head to Kashmir from Jammu, but I received mixed suggestions about travelling alone at that time, as the entry city, Srinagar, was tense because of unrest.
So I was disappointed, but had to let the plan drop. I headed home after 13 weeks or slightly more than 3 months.
This has been my longest time on the road so far, and it was an insightful experience.
I enjoyed most of the time being alone and didn’t encounter any extremely dangerous situations, but it wasn’t easy either.
I took this step to test the waters, to see how far I would go and how long I would love to be on the road.
Apparently, my travel pattern changed after I quit my full-time job.
One of the reasons I quit was the fixed annual leave.
Once I no longer struggled with that, I wanted to experiment with my travel style and lifestyle in general.
But I didn’t get the full chance to figure it out in 2016. So I made this long sojourn in 2017 and figured that I do like traveling slow and for longer durations.
Well, I cannot say for sure whether this will always be the case, but I am always open to experiments!
It was the second week of May that I arrived, and I took a few short trips later in South India, including Coonoor, Munnar, Ooty, and also returned to Goa.
I collaborated with brands on these trips, and it was both work and pleasure throughout.
In July, I was on cloud nine when I discovered that I was one of the bloggers selected for the highest bloggers’ meet in Khardung La.
However, destiny had other plans, and I was forced to withdraw from participation, which made me unhappy.
I had to forgo a few other press trips this year, as well as some collaborations that would have taken me to beautiful places.
A few because I couldn’t relate to my brand, and others simply because the timing wasn’t right.
But I have learnt that these things are a part of my job.
I might not be able to make it all the time, as life gets in the way, and I have to accept that.
It mainly was outside India during the second half of the year.
I headed to Goa once more for over a week before starting my second-longest trip of the year.
I started in Malaysia, where I spent some days wandering around Kuala Lumpur before heading to Vietnam for three weeks.
I fell in love with the country – the diversity, food, mountains, and the people.
From riding the ATV to hiking in the national park to driving all day to almost make it to Hai Van Pass in central Vietnam, it was an adventure and fun all the way.
I was lucky to be spared by the fury of the storms and the rain that flooded many cities, including Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh.
It was all just mountains and me next, in Laos, where simplicity and elegance were at best everywhere.
I travelled from north to south, starting from Luang Prabang and ending in the capital, Vientiane, with a stop in Vang Vieng.
Four weeks passed like a breeze in Laos, despite the laid-back feel of the country.
Just after 8 weeks in these countries, I ended 2017 in Malaysia again, and this country is also the start of 2018.
I backpacked for most of the time, sleeping in airports, bus stands, and railway stations, hitchhiking, volunteering, and doing anything else that came my way on the road.
I am learning to travel frugally every year, and things have improved this year.
Work
2017 was the year my blog transitioned to the next level in terms of opportunities, growth and recognition.
This whole journey, as a travel blogger/travel writer, has been a learning experience every day, and I am still refining and strengthening skills that were initially scary and uncomfortable.
But I have dived into this head-first now, and it doesn’t look as scary as before.
My readers grew from the faces and people I know to total strangers, which was the first sign of positive change at the beginning of the year.
Thankfully, this has only improved over the year, and the curve has been trending upward so far, but I still have a long way to go.
My website received the highest readership ever in the week of March.
The open letter to the parents of India on why the daughters must travel solo ‘went viral’ to put in the Internet lingo, which I hadn’t expected at all.
I was happy when Youth Ki Awaaz agreed to republish it, but became happier when it did well there, gathering over 28k shares, with women and young girls writing to me about their fears, thoughts or their lives in general.
I loved reading them and interacting with my readers – one of the many things I love about blogging.
Later, a HuffPost editor from the US approached me and she republished it in the US region of HuffPost.
You can read the post here: An Open Letter to Indian Parents – Why You Should Let Your Daughter Travel Solo At Least Once
This was also the most-read article on my website until recently, when my other posts, including the travel guides, took over, but this piece was the one I enjoyed writing the most this year and is close to my heart.
I was invited by the United Nations India officials to apply for the national award for women who are breaking the glass ceiling – an effort by the UN to recognise and facilitate women from India who have been making a difference in this world in their chosen paths.
Of course, I didn’t win the award, but I felt happy to be just invited to participate.
Because some people believed that my writing had made a difference.
Some of my posts were featured by tourism boards, including the Goa Tourism Board, which promoted and featured my content. Overall, these were my best blog posts of the year (in no particular order)
India
Offbeat Goa Travel Guide – Your One Stop Guide For Undiscovered Goa
Backpacker Beaches in Goa – Your Complete Guide To Goa’s Off-Centre Beaches
A Backpacker’s Travel Guide to McLeod Ganj & Dharamshala
Fort Tiracol – When I Drove To The Northern Most Place of Goa
10 Things To Do in Bir, Himachal
Vietnam and Nepal
Hue – Discovering A Slice of China in Vietnam
15 Top Things to do in Pokhara, Nepal – A Travel Guide
Open Cremation at Pashupatinath Temple – A Gravely Encounter in Kathmandu
Nagarkot, Nepal – Exploring The Villages in the Himalayan Valley
Collaborations/Features
I didn’t take being published in bylines seriously this year. I contributed to many publications, but I didn’t focus on approaching publications as much as I had thought.
This year, I hope to make it more publications and as well as in print, which I have been looking forward.
The Solo Globetrotter was featured as one of the top blogs in Solo female travel category by Holidify.
The website was also featured among the top 100 solo travel blogs worldwide.
I was interviewed by Stayzilla, Bong Yatra and Trell, where I shared my journeys as a solo traveler and a blogger.
I worked with many brands this year, again a lot more than I had the previous year, and obviously, I want to continue collaborating with more and more brands this year as well.
Life
This was the most challenging part to write because I realised, while penning this post, that I had hardly spoken about my life as a regular girl, apart from that of a travel blogger.
Maybe because I am not comfortable sharing my deepest thoughts or my life.
But I realized that the readers ought to know the girl behind The Solo Globetrotter. I think it’s time for me to come out of my shell, and I am taking baby steps with this post.
Also, I started getting questions from you, the readers, and from people in general that I met or connected with me online, and these days it has become a regular.
Some of them are related to solo travel, and many are about how I manage to travel.
I am going to write a detailed post in the coming days, but for now, it is about 2017.
Until now in this post, I wrote about all the positive things of the year in the world of travel and blogging, as that’s what I chose to share.
Because negativity is something that I don’t wish to project anywhere. But life or truth is not always rosy, right?
Quitting my well-paid, full-time job that I didn’t like was the most challenging thing I had ever done. Or that’s what I thought then.
However, life threw challenges at me on a whole new level that I had not known before. I made some mistakes and took a few decisions off the path, which many considered insane and even said aloud.
I lost people who were my world and had to let go of the things that I couldn’t change.
I fought depression, tears, and sleepless nights that became a routine, feeling like a warrior in this battlefield called life.
And it didn’t stop there. I had taken my health for granted, completely forgetting to take care of myself, dealing with life, and ill-health hit me.
Working for long hours with no breaks or sleep or a healthy diet took its toll finally.
I kept traveling and doing things, but was forced to take a pause and introspect everything, which made me question my life’s choices, including the profession that I chose out of my passion.
Not seeing monthly paychecks steadily prepares you for many things that you wouldn’t imagine considering otherwise, but the instability can cause demotivation from time to time, sometimes to the verge of making you think that you are crazy, crushing your morale.
Plus, multiply that by tenfold when you are the boss, and there is no one to push you.
And, I had many such moments. But 2017 was probably when I learned to embrace it as one of my occupational hazards, and I think I would deal with things better this year.
It is tough managing hundreds of things alone and running them.
But hard work is the only way I know (and learning to work smart), and I love the things that I do – traveling & writing, and they propel me every day, and I know that I wouldn’t trade this for anything.
And above all, you, the readers, have been my constant strength, inspiration and support, and I thank you for all these. Please continue to do the same.
Looking Forward
I don’t plan my travel well in advance, and hence can’t speak of travels for the year 2018 at this point.
But I have many things planned for the year for blogging.
I have numerous stories to write, and I plan to share them this year!
Plus, you’ll see more of the person behind The Solo Globetrotter.
That’s all for now from my side. Stay put on my journeys and let me know your thoughts! As always, your thoughts inspire me! Wish You a Happy New Year!
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