My First Solo Trip

Taking solo trips is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

When I was in Kodaikanal—not my first solo trip, but definitely an awakening—someone asked me,

“What brought you here?”

I took a second, but I already knew the answer.

“To find myself.”

That answer wasn’t really about Kodaikanal. It was about every solo trip that came before it.

I’ve now taken more than five solo trips, not just across India but even abroad. But to understand why that answer came so naturally, we have to go back to where it all began.

My first solo trip.

I was never someone who believed I could handle everything on my own, especially something as intimidating as planning and taking an entire trip by myself. I always found myself asking people to come along because I didn’t think I was capable of doing it alone.

After I finished my undergrad, I desperately wanted to travel. But the people I had planned to go with had gone their separate ways. I felt disappointed, confused, and honestly a little lost.

Around that time, I stumbled upon Zostel.

Of course, I had heard of the brand before and knew they had hostels across India, but this time I actually explored what they offered. I spent days looking through their hostels and trips, overthinking every possible scenario.

Eventually, I decided to take the leap.

Now I knew how I wanted to travel.

The only question left was, where?

I watched countless YouTube videos of female solo travellers. I remember binge-watching Curly Tales and convincing myself that if so many women could do it, maybe I could too.

Goa felt like the perfect place to begin.

So I booked my hostel, my flight, and started packing.

The hardest part wasn’t booking the trip.

It was convincing myself that I was strong enough to handle whatever came my way.

But something changed the moment I got into my cab to the airport.

For the first time, I felt this newfound confidence I had never experienced before. I knew my way around the airport. I wasn’t anxious anymore. I was excited.

While boarding my flight, I met a girl who worked as an air hostess. She was flying to Goa to spend time with her friends.

Our seats were one behind the other, and we chatted for a while during the flight. We never met again after parting ways at Goa airport, but I still remember that brief conversation. Funny how some people become a small but memorable part of your journey without even realizing it.

When I reached Zostel, I hadn’t expected to be surrounded by so many friendly faces, all eager to talk, explore, and get to know one another.

One of my roommates from that trip is still a close friend years later.

Not every decision I made on that trip was a good one, though.

One of my biggest mistakes was not double-checking my flight booking.

Instead of booking my return flight for April, I had accidentally booked it for May. I didn’t realize until it was time to do my web check-in.

I panicked.

I had booked the wrong flight. It wasn’t fully refundable, I didn’t have enough money to book another ticket for the same day, and I was too scared to take an overnight bus.

For a while, it felt like I’d completely messed up.

But eventually, I figured it out.

I stayed one extra day, booked a flight for the following day, and made it home safely.

It wasn’t the end of the world.

It just became one more lesson: always check your booking details more than once.

That first solo trip changed something in me.

It taught me that things don’t always go according to plan, but most of the time, you’ll find a way through them.

Since then, solo travel has taken me to Coorg, Gokarna, Kodaikanal, Pondicherry, and even Phuket, Thailand.

Each trip has given me stories I’ll never forget.

But none of them changed me as much as that very first trip to Goa.

Because I didn’t just discover a new destination.

I discovered that I was far more capable than I had ever given myself credit for.

And maybe that’s what I’ve really been searching for all along.