Latest News

Why women travel solo
Friday, August 27, 2021 IST
Why women travel solo

Ladies are boldly exploring the world to find meaning and purpose, catching the bus on their terms

 
 

* Solo women traveller’s voices are heard everywhere, on social media, in blogs, and are being heeded to by travel companies who are now designing packages for solo travellers
 
* Travelling solo for most of these women is also not just about going from one place to another, but also about creating awareness for conservations, eco-tourism, and building their own brands by being featured on television and in print media
 
***
 
Not long ago, in a pre-lockdown era, it was morning and the sun was shining bright above the waters of the Kaveri in Coorg. As I gleefully sat in a boat with some strangers, a young woman asked, with a glint of admiration in her voice: “solo travel?” In a country that is ranked as the most dangerous for women, female travellers in India are risking the thrills and pleasures of going solo. Despite the real and perceived dangers, female solo travel has become increasingly referred to as “sexy”. Solo women traveller’s voices are heard everywhere, on social media, in blogs, and are being heeded to by travel companies who are now designing packages for solo travellers.
 
Why do these women travel solo? To start with, there are various kinds of female solo travellers, ones who travel when they find the time, ones who retire and travel, ones who despite having a husband/partner prefer going solo, and yet others who, bravely quitting their desk-bound jobs, travel full time for a living. Many of these are digital nomads, travel writers, travel bloggers, storytellers, travel photographers, and travel entrepreneurs who earn most of their living through travel. The narrow confines of an office drives these solo female travellers to quit their regular jobs and seek the outdoors and the unknown. These women are choosing to travel solo because it doesn’t just give them joy, but because it is the way they find meaning and purpose in their lives.
 
Travelling solo for most of these women is also not just about going from one place to another, but also about creating awareness for conservations, eco-tourism, and building their own brands by being featured on television and in print media.
 
Shivya Nath, a 33-year-old from Dehradun gave up her job to travel full time, became what she calls a ‘nomad’, and sold most of her belongings. She wrote a book about travelling solo across the world and even created merchandise to raise funds for afforestation. She funds her travels primarily through her blog, The Shooting Star.
 
Most of the women who travel solo do it for the thrill it gives them. They fall in love with it, unable to stop. Sharanya Iyer, a Mumbai-based travel blogger who has been inside a volcano in Iceland, dived with turtles and intimidating shipwrecks in Indonesia and skydived in Dubai, writes in her blog, Truly Nomadly: “I was smitten and bitten by the notorious travel bug and once it does, boy is the disease downright incurable! Three solo trips later, I’ve discovered another new love — my own company and the freedom it came with.” What might have started as a bucket list becomes a veritable passion. Many of the women describe travelling solo as a form of restless energy, an itch.
 
But what about the life-long single women who travel alone because that is how they live?
 
Sujata Chakraborty, a 50-year-old long-time solo traveller and singleton from Mumbai says, “I got tired of coordinating leave and plans with others. Travelling solo is very liberating. I can spend time doing exactly what I want without taking into account others’ considerations. I live alone and take care of a lot of my entertainment alone. So travelling solo is just an extension of that.” Chakraborty also says that the pleasures of travelling solo are aplenty, similar to the pleasures of being single and living alone. “The freedom to choose activities, or take a break when I wish to, not having to share the car or the hotel room, etc,” she explains are some of the things one can get used to. Manisha Mangret, a 33-year-old IT professional and animal activist living alone in Noida, told BLink that she chose to travel solo because “it connects me to myself and lets me experience my own perspective”.

 
 

Scholars of singlehood have noted the stigma of being alone in public. It is very easy to feel excluded and discriminated against as a solo female traveller. As Chakraborty says, “It’s amusing when people cannot handle the fact of a woman travelling alone and opt to give you (unasked) company at a restaurant. There is always curiosity. Holidaymakers, friends and family wonder why I’m alone and not married”. A little boy in a tea stall at the Sela pass in Arunachal asked her where her husband was and she was once also questioned for about half an hour by the police in Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
 
But there are also some heart-warming stories of solo travel. Mangret, a long-term singleton, recounts an incident where it was around 3am and her bus left without her. “I could have been terrified but I chose to remain calm and hopped into another bus knowing all my stuff could be lost because it was in a previous bus. To my surprise I saw the first bus driver who drove back to find me,” she says. Other such stories abound in the blogs of women travellers making for veritable adventure tales.
 
The growing acceptance of female solo travel might be market-driven, designed to sell travel packages to women, urging them to spend more to experience more. But solo women travellers aren’t falling for that trap. They are boldly exploring the world to find themselves, to create meaning and purpose, to earn as they travel, and to live their best lives solo.

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
Mana, The Mystical Last Village Of India Where Gods Live Next Door

Quite accidentally, sometime in August 2017, I found myself standing outside the famous town gate of Mana. The trip to Valley of Flowers and Badrinath should have i...

Recently posted . 1K views . 3 min read
 

 Article
Uttar Pradesh has a beach and we’re just as surprised!

Chuka Beach   Yes, it turns out that all these days, Uttar Pradesh had a beach and being a quite, non-touristy spot, it has bee...

Recently posted . 1K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
DESTINATIONS IN INDIA WHERE EVEN INDIANS NEED A PERMIT TO ENTER

Destinations in India where even Indians need a permit to enter

Recently posted . 1K views . 0 min read
 

 Article
11 Secret Hotels In India Where You Can Truly Get Away From The Internet

These hideaways are the sacred saviors from the city rush. You not only need tranquil swish of wind and the silence of the forest but also a calm and undisturbed re...

Recently posted . 1K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Travel and Leisure

 Article
The Dark Side Of Goa

I had always heard that there's more to Goa than meets the eye but never experienced it myself. On a recent visit to the sunshine state, I decided to put on my ...

Recently posted. 662 views . 3 min read
 

 Article
MEGHALYA – THE JEWEL OF THE NORTH EAST

While I have had the pleasure of growing up in various places in the North East as an Army child, I recently had the opportunity to revisit Meghalya as an adult wit...

Recently posted. 880 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
5 OF THE WORLD’S MOST SACRED MOUNTAINS

5 of the world’s most sacred mountains

Recently posted. 772 views . 0 min read
 

 Article
Bhutan ends free travel for Indian passport holders. Add Rs 1,200 per day to your trip

Bhutan recently decided to end free travel for Indian passport holders visiting the country. The country will now charge a fee of Rs 1,200 per day.

Recently posted. 746 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Travel Buffs Rejoice! Indian Govt to Reward Tourists Visiting 15 Domestic Destinations per Year

If you are a travel enthusiast who loves to explore the colours, culture and diversity of the homeland, then here is some great news for you! Go ahead and make exte...

Recently posted. 605 views . 2 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

Life gives us new lessons each day not for learning but to improve our understanding.
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top