I’ve been on the road for roughly four weeks now, and I’ve learned just one little thing. Travelling, especially solo, is like playing a role-playing game. You have a backpack with limited space, an initial inventory of items, a couple of quests, and so on.
Then, as you go along the way, you meet fellow travellers, some of whom you travel along with for a while. Your inventory increases as you get some new items and then, you toss others. Just like a game, your health bar fluctuates throughout the day. Finally, you find a bed for a minimal amount of gold.
Like a game, you also level-up as situations change, and you learn new things either facts or skills. As you go forward, new locations are unlocked, and each bird’s eye view helps you see what a particular place is all about. There are cutscenes like beautiful sunsets or a random event, like missing a bus, which stirs a new quest up.
You get extra experience points for unique activities like climbing up the hill or taking a zip line. However, you have to be wary of your health and stamina bars.
Just like some modern games though, travelling is also make-your-own-adventure.
In that sense, you don’t have to talk to everyone, you don’t have to visit every place, and you don’t have to complete every quest. The idea is to be able to free-roam for the longest time.
It is up to you to find how comfortable you are with what you’re doing. It is up to you to decide whether grabbing that artefact or extra experience points is worth losing half of your stamina bar.
Just like a game, it is also up to you to decide to save your progress and turn the game off for a while.
I think that is the most important lesson I learned in the four weeks during travelling solo through Rajasthan and a little before and after it.
I think
If you’re looking to read about my experiences and thoughts during and from the journey, you can join me on Instagram. That is where I share most spontaneously. I think I click