Traveling Alone
(This appeared in the May edition of the Indiaah! magazine)
Traveling alone in India requires patience, a particular type of street smarts and most of all – tolerance. India, an incredibly social country, is yet to completely adapt to the idea of solo travelers.
In fact, India is surprised that people would choose to travel alone and spend all that money on themselves. It goes against two basic concepts in the country – frugality and family bonding.
When women are thrown into this concept, it becomes all the more complicated for people to comprehend and accept the fact that a women not only likes to travel alone but is allowed to do so.
My first brush with such an experience was in Pondicherry. I picked the town for a solo foray because I figured there would be some liberated people due to its French ancestry and would be more accepting of solo travelers. What I forgot was that the French left the state quite a few decades ago and the place is very much Indian, even if it has French-style architecture.
Pondicherry is also a ‘tourist’ city, as opposed to a place like Mumbai that has people visiting from all corners of the world for business or pleasure. Mumbai is open 24 hours and women traveling alone do not cause much consternation, even if it is not completely accepted.
There are pockets in Pondicherry where one can travel alone. Auroville, for instance, is a place meant for people seeking peace or just some alone time on a beach. It is frequented by Indians and foreigners alike. But Auroville, as beautiful as it is, does not particularly fall under mainstream tourism, where ‘solo travelers’ are a rarity. Or an oddity, depending on your point of view.
“Where are you from?” was the first question in encountered in Pondicherry. They wanted to know which country I was from, because despite my very-obvious Indian looks, they thought I was only ethnically Indian.
“No Indian girl goes backpacking alone in India” was the verdict.
Indian backpackers, particularly of the female variety, are rather rare.
There are more groups of women headed out by themselves, aided by organizations such as Women on Wanderlust (WoW) or Girls on the Go (GoG).
These organizations aren’t travel agencies but just help put together a trip for only women. The group is made up of only women, single or with friends. It is believed it would be easier to bond with other women, and also be easier for women from traditional households to actually go on a trip.
The organization takes care of everything from travel bookings to accommodations, and you have company to wander around, shop and eat.
The plan did sound great, except most of these organizations are fledglings and offer trips only to limited places. For an impromptu trip like mine, there was no choice but to fly single.
Additionally, I was not completely taken by the trips through organizations like WoW. I liked the comfort of an organized trip and traveling with women without worrying about safety, but I wondered if I would miss out on the chance of meeting other backpackers.
The journey was not a problem. Generally, a flight is the easiest option for a solo traveler. Trains are generally the second option as you can book an entire berth to yourself and sleep peacefully. Buses are at the bottom of my list. One never knows who you will be sharing a seat with, or the people who like to strike up conversations in spaces where there is no escape from.
Most buses in Karnataka, however, give you the option of choosing a seat beside another woman.
The first hurdle came when booking a hotel room.
In a city like Mumbai, nobody cares if you are traveling alone or not. The prices pretty much remain the same and there are also options for ‘single’ rooms. However, in a tourist town like Pondicherry, the concept of ‘solo travelers’ is just beginning to catch on and the options are limited.
Single rooms are few and tend to be claustrophobic, unless it is situated in Auroville. The room I was shown was tiny and consisted of a bed, wedged beside a table and underneath a television set that was poised to fall any minute.
But the good part about traveling alone is you are responsible only for yourself and can change rooms, hotels and more without any fuss.
The hotel manager was quite helpful in helping me find another place. He gave me a list of other options and even offered to store my luggage till I found suitable accommodations. So now all I needed was a strong dose of patience and shrewdness to find a good place and not be ripped off by the auto driver who was seeing a single woman = easily fleeced.
There are not enough single travelers in India for the hospitality industry to welcome them with open arms. Many are still adventurers, a niche crowd mostly streaming in from other countries. The costs remain high for the travelers, forcing them to choose packages and streamlined operations for their trips.
There is a lack of hostels and backpacker motels where people can hook up with other similar-minded people in a secure location. Sometimes, tours or packages for water sports and such refuse to accept single travelers.
But for those who do choose to step out there alone, with a little bit of patience, they can discover a world that often gets hidden when traveling with a group.
