I am happy to share with a guest post by Varun Phogat (also known as gypsyh0rse on Instagram). He is a Social-Worker & Traveller, in his late twenties and has already been to 40 countries. Born in New Delhi, he spends most of his time between India, England and Canada and runs two NGOs (check the links in the bottom).
In this post he shares how he approaches traveling. Enjoy!
When you’re a shy, quiet 5-year old, you don’t know what to expect from a new city. Things get trickier if you don’t know your next destination. However, as time passes, you learn to adapt, grasp and learn from each new place, and that’s what travelling is about for me.
If there’s one thing that has passed down from generation-to-generation in my family, it’s the love for exploring. My father had his own take on this: he’d pick the starting point of the journey and make his way around the country as he went along. When I was younger, I didn’t quite understand this phenomenon. Now, it’s my mantra.
Back in the summer of 1996, I vividly remember waiting at the train station when I was told we didn’t get a spot on the train (we were on the waiting list.) I had a mini panic attack. Does this mean we’re going home, I exclaimed!
My father looks down at me and says, “We’re just taking a small detour.”
‘Detour’ was an understatement. We started our tour in Jaipur in north-west India, went down to Mumbai towards the center, then Ooty down south and flew to paradise – Andaman and Nicobar Islands – as our last spot.
It was on a cruise we took from Port Blair to Neil to Havelock where I got my second travel lesson: ‘travel like a child.’ At that moment, I couldn’t make sense of it. But as I have travelled one-third of the world, it’s one I keep going back to and wish to pass on to you. Travel freely, fuel the curiosity and explore the city like you would have as a child. Have a laugh with someone new, share your life story with someone unknown for a new vision – a new way to adapt, grasp and learn.
Varun’s NGOs:
