I have been working as a Software Professional for more than 11 years now. The nature of work is such that one would mostly be occupied with work even over the weekends. My story wasn’t too different either. Both traveling and becoming a travel blogger happened to me by the Stroke of Luck. I had never imagined it would one day become my passion.
My work gave me a chance to visit Europe back in 2013. This was an opportunity to spread out my wings and explore the world. It instilled in me the confidence to plan out and execute weekend trips with friends. With this experience, I took up the challenge of going on a 4-Day Solo Trip to Singapore in 2014.
In early 2016 one of friends introduced me to Ladakh (I do not recollect knowing about the existence of this place before). The idea of visiting a place at an altitude of over 11,000 ft. above sea-level was thrilling. I had traveled before, no doubt but this trip to Ladakh apprised me to my love for the Mountains and passion for Traveling. The barren mountains and untouched natural beauty mesmerized me. Without a doubt I decided to travel again to this Heaven on Earth the very next year.
Now came the Twist in the tail! I was forced to take a week long leave from office (some mandatory leave policy) in March 2018. It was difficult to plan for an adventure with the short notice. I had already been reading travelogues and with a week’s time to pass, the idea of sharing my own travel experiences with the community struck me. I discovered about an Online Contest being held by Tripoto (one of the largest Travel community). The nature of the contest was that each Travel Blog would fetch Credits based on the content authenticity and information. The top 3 bloggers of the Month would be awarded a chance of Free Trek with IndiaHikes.
I too started my journey of being a travel writer. Initially, it was fun but as I moved up the ladder, the urge of winning crept in. For more than a decade, I had been seeing pictures of my cousin trekking in the Greater Himalayas. I would wonder if I could go there someday. Little did I know that my travel blogs would give me an opportunity to scale the mighty Himalayas. I had won the beautiful Hampta Pass trek on being the Second Runner-up for the month!
I had been an active trekker in the Sahyadri Ranges for quite some years now, but the thought of scaling up the Himalayas was incredible. Carrying heavy backpack (7-8 kg), battling the rains and cold weather, staying in small tents surrounded by the lovely mountains with unknown souls and being completely disconnected from the Internet for 5-6 days – it can’t get better than this!
I realized that prefer scaling a mountain and admiring the boundless horizons than writing lengthy lines of code sitting in front of the computer. I believe traveling has given me a new perspective towards life. Traveling has introduced me to a hidden soul within who also enjoys sharing vivid experiences with the community and encourage them to rediscover themselves.
Happy Tripping!
