Even though being a freelancer gave her a lot of freedom, but for her, that wasn't enough. By the end of it, she found disappointing herself and her clients professionally. The pressure of not meeting the deadlines would drive her crazy, and she would sit in front of the computer staring on the screen for hours and then complaining of a headache. She realised that what she was doing was not right, so she decided to do something about it and started making plans to leave.
Then came a project that first got dropped because it was challenging and but later got her passionate about - To shoot a wedding film. Yes, a wedding film! It took one year to finish the movie, and the bride loved it! It didn't bring any money to travel; infact, it went over budget. She was getting restless again, and she just wanted to run away at that moment. So one day, she got the call from the same bride client, and she asked her if she would want to come to Bangkok for a small video shoot. She said yes, even without knowing what assignment was. All she wanted was a ticket to go out of India. She told the client that she doesn't intend to come back to India and told her all about her plans to travel and gave her a white butterfly.
The White Butterfly
She gifts this beautiful artefact made by an artist Milan Rai in Nepal, as a token of love, peace and appreciation to helpful and kind people she meets.The Journey Began
Her work made her travel to many places in India and Nepal in the past. She had previously hitchhiked from Delhi to Ladakh and Delhi to Nagaland and spent one year in Nepal. But her life took a twist when she got this assignment in Bangkok for which she left India last year in October 2018 and never went back. She has hitchhiked and walked to make her way from Bangkok to Pai to Laos (where she stayed for a month) then another six months in Cambodia and then to Vietnam, where she is currently located.Jobs She Has Taken Up
Sometimes when she wants to stay longer, she would find herself taking up month-long volunteering projects or taking up jobs like teaching English. She has sold samosas, set up parantha stalls, sold rum punch, took up mural painting assignments to make sure she gets a place to stay and food to eat. She takes up whatever works for that place, and her heart agrees to! Sometimes, she also takes up paid jobs that help her get visas.Skills She Has Learnt While Travelling
So while travelling from place to place, she makes sure she keeps on learning new skills from people she meets. She has learnt Fire Spinning, and she is currently learning beginner-level music.What's In Her Backpack
She has two t-shirts, two Pyjamas and a pair of slippers and shoes.Her Adventures and Misadventures
She lost her camera, and her laptop broke down during her journey. She hasn't taken any pictures of her journey during the last one year but has some paintings which she created. Interestingly, she has never paid for the stay at any of these places in the past year.When She Had A Narrow Escape
Once she was at a wedding party in Cambodia. Everyone was drinking except for her. All she had was a couple of beers in a matter of four hours. She left the wedding venue, and she was interested in learning more about the fire-dancing that was being performed nearby. She asked for a glass of water, and she doesn't remember anything after that. All she knows is getting up on an island in the middle of nowhere with punch marks on her body. She has learnt Krav Maga while she was in India, and the skill came handy for her self-defence. A few days later, she heard the news of a girl dying in a similar kind of situation.Her Future Plans
She has no plans as she believes in living each day as it comes. The sense of freedom is what she loves about her life, and she is not giving up on that. So even without having savings and running source of income, she is living up the life she always wanted to, one day at a time.The Reaction of Her Family
Her family has now starting to understand that she doesn't fit at home even though they miss her and want her to be back.Proving A Point
She wanted to prove that even if you don't have money or job to define your identity, you are still a human being, and there is enough love in the world to turn things around."We all are fighting our darkness and that one interaction can either make it darker or touch it with light. Kind people are like light that makes the world better."So she just kept moving, hitchhiking and walking and giving white butterflies. Most of the time, people were so generous that they would be happy to host without asking for anything.
How Travel Changed Her
Travel has been helping her heal, listening to herself and learning to respect her feelings. Excitement to make each heartbeat count is what travel does to her. Meeting interesting people, learning things from them. Some people are travellers for life, and some people travel to go back home. She doesn't know which category she belongs to.Some Paintings She Made In The Last One Year
