Travelling gets a person out of their comfort zone, away from all their normal pleasure and ways doing different things.
I have always been inspired by travel articles, wanderlust journeys and travel magazines. Besides that, I’m kind of a character who is enthusiastic to study about brand new culture and their population. Since I’m an easy going and the youngest member, my family constantly supports me in my decision. Therefore last year on October 29, 2016, I planned to go Singapore, the Lion City of Asia for vacation. It was my first experience to travel any international country so somewhere I was nervous but more than that I was passionate and eager to visit Singapore. I travelled alone to Singapore and I had transit in Malaysia and there I stayed with my cousin sister and her family in Gurkha Contingent Camp.
I was glad that I had no problem during my flight hours and I safely landed to Singapore by Thai Airlines. To be honest, I’m overwhelmed towards my own elder sister Dr Eshan Gurung and my brother in law Er Prasan Gurung who programmed the trip as a gift for me. My cousin sister and her family guided me throughout my stay, so first day I had an amazing experience riding in Singapore Flyers which was very huge and moved slowly, quite similar to ‘roti ping’. From there we could see the magnificent Singapore city, full of tall and big commercial buildings, river, colorful lights and smooth roads with no any traffic. Then went to a mall to have dinner, I ordered my favorite Korean dish. Next day, we travelled to wonderful Santosa Island by train because it was quick, neat and reasonable.
I was totally thrilled and amazed to witness the beautiful beach and it was obvious for me to swim since I enjoy swimming a lot and the weather was very hot too. I was just cherishing those memories from my heart; I was wishing to stopover and sit near the beach whole my life. I also went to fish Aquarium, Universal studio, different malls and parks.
Traveling on a student budget
Another interesting part for a shopaholic person like me is, shopping. But I was astonished and impressed by the structure of underground shopping malls because it was massive and all the clothing and cosmetic brands were there which I had seen only in the movies. At first I was super dazed, however later on I started to shop and buy things nonstop. Though the day was tiring I adored each and every moment of my trip.
The foodstuffs were also delicious, especially Korean, Mac Donald, KFC and of course my sister’s home made dishes. ‘Time flies like an arrow’ and my holiday came to an end after one week. It was heart breaking moment for me; on the other hand I had recollected so many fascinating memories and experiences. Nonetheless, I noticed that people of Singapore were literate, well mannered and disciplined.
Away from home, one comes to understand what ‘home’ actually is and what it means. Following year, in October 18, I decided to travel Thailand, The City of life. Actually my colleagues, relatives, family and dear ones were all quite surprised to see me travelling alone. However, this was my own decision to travel alone because I’m an adventurous individual who likes to live life to the fullest, wants to take advantage of time to meet new people and experience completely different life. As usual I safely landed to Bangkok, Thailand by Nepal Airlines and my hotels and outing schedule were already prepared by one of my brother Pratik who is studying computer engineering in Bangkok.
This trip was a kind of challenging for me thus I was very excited to explore a new state. The temperature was very hot and I could notice traffic also. First day I stayed at J S hotel in Bangkok and after resting a while went to a mall called Tescol Lotus and had some street chicken food for dinner. The next day I left for Pattaya and I had to go the bus station first and from there I had to take a bus to Pattaya which was 3 hours journey. Interesting part was, when I had problem with the name of the bus station and I had to ask people. I noticed that some were ready to help me and somewhere like ignoring though I do not know the reason.
I managed to reach Pattaya and by scooter I went to my hotel called Casa del Nardie since my booking was already done. Hotel was hygienic, friendly environment and was able to build up good bonding with the hotel owner. As I have already mentioned, I’m a shopaholic person, I visited malls, islands but my favorite moment was in Samae beach and Thien beach.
The grocery markets were easily available so there was no any problem for the food. Then I returned to Bangkok after three days. But I changed my hotel and stayed at BB House hotel which was near the train so it was accessible to go different places in the city. I went MBK center, Siam Discovery Mall, Paltinum Mall and many others. I discovered that the things and stuffs were reasonable and of low cost thus I felt lucky and did shopping a lot. Finally my trip again came to an end after one week but I was proud of myself because my confidant level was more build up, came to know more about myself and my potential.
To conclude, traveling is good for a person of any age. It not only helps people to form a better understanding of themselves, their beliefs and their lives, it also provides people with a better understanding of the world in which they live, even if it's beyond their immediate environment. And it may even help a person to feel connected to the many people living in the world, even if their lives never meet, even if their lives are so completely different that they may as well be from different planets. Therefore, next year again I’m planning my vacation to Europe.
(Amshu is a lecturer at Prime International School/Saraswati Multiple Campus and zumba certified fitness instructor.)
