From Fear to Comfort

Udaipur, India—Nearing the end of a four-month contract working with a Canadian nonprofit in New Delhi, India, I took a four-day weekend to explore a different part of the country—Udaipur, also known as the City of Lakes. It was one of the first trips I took completely on my own.

I had never dreamed of solo travel, nor did I have any role models in this respect. I had traveled around the world many times at that point, but mostly with family, or for a specific reason, like work or going to school. But I had never really explored a new place internationally and arranged the whole trip by myself for myself. But I had to explore what I could of this country with what little money I had in the little time I had left. And I wasn’t going to let fear get in the way.

I decided to go to the state of Rajasthan. It wasn’t far from New Delhi by plane, and had many options including Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur, and Jodhpur. They all sounded great, amazing, even. In the end, I chose Udaipur because it was the most doable for a four-day weekend.

By 3:30pm on a Thursday, I headed to the airport for my long weekend. To my chagrin, the flight was delayed several hours, so I didn’t land in Udaipur until 11:15pm, which undermined my plan to arrive at a decent hour into a place I had never been as a solo traveler. I grabbed the first taxi I could, which was an old classic Indian car—perhaps a Hindustan Ambassador and off-white in color. A lanky young Indian man wearing a cream-colored kurta and a headwrap who spoke limited English was my driver. Heading into Udaipur, the ride was a bit rickety as we drove through the dark of night. I did what I could to shake off my nervousness and just trust in the universe.

As luck would have it, the taxi broke down 15 minutes into the ride. I sat in the car while the driver tried to fix the problem. But after 15 minutes or so, he told me he had called for someone else to pick me up and bring me to my hotel.

There were no streetlights on this rural road from the airport to the center of Udaipur. Blanketed in the pitch-black darkness of rural India where light pollution was not a thing, the only lights that flickered were those of the massive trucks driving by, which both comforted and worried me at the same time as I stood at the roadside. I had gotten out of the car and waited, somehow feeling safer that way. But by now, I was nervous for real, my stomach a bit in knots. The driver was apologetic for the inconvenience, but I couldn’t help but think of what ugly things could unfold. I kept pushing the thoughts out of my mind. But the minutes continued to pass, and my dread continued to increase. I silently prayed to the universe that all would be fine.

And it was.

Ten minutes later, the alternate car arrived to pick me up. My first driver helped load my bags, then let me go without having to pay him a thing. After a 15-minute ride, I arrived safely at my haveli in Udaipur, and a wave of a relief swept over me. I took a shower and went straight to sleep.

*

Thankfully, the rest of the weekend went swimmingly. Exploring Udaipur with its historic forts, palaces, temples, and havelis was magical and like stepping back into time. I sauntered around to the various sites and scenes in this ridge-top town that overlooked Lake Pichola where the former summer palace of the royal dynasty of Mewar, now a five-star hotel, could been seen on a small island in the middle of this glistening lake. I also took some time to just “be”, sitting in cafes, sipping tea, and reading my Ruskin Bond novel, Rain in the Mountains. It was a perfect weekend getaway.

On my third day, I went on a tour to see the surrounding area. The bus was jam packed with local Indians. Save for me, there was not a single foreigner on the bus, nor did anyone speak English. Not even the bus driver, who was really just a driver and not a tour guide.

The long hours on the bus with locals at first made me feel so out of place, so alone, so totally foreign. But once we arrived at the first stop—the Ranakpur Jain Temple, it was easy to step out of my discomfort. As I walked quietly in the spaces between the countless intricately carved white columns and religious symbols, I was swept up in the temple’s energy. In my years of travel, I had seen countless churches and Buddhist temples. But Ranakpur Jain Temple was completely different and completely breathtaking. A spiritual experience I had not at all anticipated.

I got back onto the bus and sat in my seat awe-inspired and feeling curious about Jainism. And for the rest of the tour and the whole ride back to Udaipur, I forgot how awkward and alone I had felt earlier. Despite the lack of English speakers, I reached out for help a couple of times, and everyone was responded sweetly, even if we couldn’t exchange any words in our respective languages. It was a wonderful day.

*

Despite the brevity of my trip, I quickly came to feel comfortable and at home in Udaipur. I had been ending my days in the same dinner spot every night—a small and simple place called Anna Restaurant near my haveli so that I would have a short walk home after dinner no matter the hour.

During my first visit, the owner was darling and friendly. His name was Gurudat and he was about 5’ 8” with a medium build, and sported a thick, well-trimmed jet-black beard and head full of hair. Each night I came for dinner for the remainder of my trip, he always greeted me warmly and brought over his baby boy to say hello. I stayed for hours, eating, journaling, watching television, and chatting here and there with him and his staff as they went about their business on the restaurant floor. One evening I also met a couple of Italian travelers with whom I shared dinner. I felt so at ease ending my days in a familiar place after a day of adventuring into the unfamiliar.

On my fourth and last day, I ate lunch at Anna Restaurant but made it a point to go back just before departing to say goodbye and take pictures. Upon my arrival, Gurudat invited me into his family home upstairs from the restaurant where he proudly introduced me to his wife for the first time. We stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the town and took a photo together. And then I said goodbye.

I left knowing I would never see them again. But I carried with me, in perpetuity, the special memory of having made such sweet acquaintances in a rural town in a country of a billion people —the second most populous in the world, where I knew no one four days earlier when I had arrived.

In fact, everywhere I went in Udaipur, people were friendly and sweet to me, and I loved every minute of engaging with the locals. Though alone, I never felt alone. I had discovered the beauty of solo travel.

#1world1people #thepromiseofhumankind