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Hi, itâs Akari. Have you ever travelled alone? Travelling solo sounds lonely, but I became a solo travel lover because of this trip. Today, Iâm going to share about when I travelled alone to Nepal for the first time!
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In March of 2018, I visited Patan, Nepal for three weeks. I went there by myself because I wanted to escape my life in Japan, and I thought it was better to be alone to think about how I want to live my life. In Japan at the time, I was doing something I didnât want to do and I was struggling with that. Why Nepal, you ask? Iâm sure youâre wondering haha. The reason is simple. I wanted to go far away from Japan in terms of distance, culture, and religion. And I found a travel agent who can send me as a volunteer to Nepal for a good price. I stayed with the family of the travel manager. I used a travel agency to travel to Nepal because I was totally afraid of staying in Nepal alone regarding safety and hygiene.Â
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Although I went to Nepal to be alone and escape from reality, I actually never felt lonely in Nepal and I met new people in this new world. In other words, I couldnât be alone because I realised that people cannot do anything without the help of others in the world. In Nepal, I was always helped by someone around me, like my host family, new friends, people hanging out on the streets because I didnât know how to live in Nepalese society. I did my research on Nepali culture and religion before I visited, but it was not enough. In Tokyo, I thought it was possible to live alone as long as I had access to information, but I noticed that interacting with people makes me happier and more active! Talking with others can make me open-minded and I can find new joy from ordinary things. For example, when I wanted to get off the bus, I needed to ask the man who collects the fare to stop the bus because thereâs no button to notify the driver and occasionally the buses change where it stops. It seems inconvenient but it was a good chance for me to communicate with people, and I enjoyed the unexpected events.
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I met two Nepali friends when I was volunteering at Mother Teresa's house. First, I want to tell the story of Moni. She was a nursing student, and she also worked as a volunteer there. She guided me to a famous Hindu temple after volunteering, and she taught me some religious concepts in Hinduism and how to pray in the temple. When I experienced the religion, I saw the beauty in the temple. I was really surprised when she put flower petals in the water into her hair, but I also put them in my hair. When I went to the temple and did something holy with her, I felt something special in my heart. I couldnât understand what it meant to pray to God, but I felt something holy along with her kindness. After that, we got on the same bus and headed to our homes. We are different in religion, but we had similarities. For example, we thought âmusic on the bus is really cool,â âour studies are really hard,â and so on.Â
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The next day, I became friends with Sunny. She was also a nursing student, and I met her while working at Mother Teresaâs house. She was really worried about me because I was a teenager and travelling alone. So, she guided me around town and taught me about Nepali culture. When I was walking with her, I felt that she had a big heart and she treated me as her sister. Before we went home, she bought me samosas* and flagged down a bus for me. I was really moved by her kindness because I had never experienced such kindness from someone I just met for the first time. Even if I donât see them again, I have to always remember them because they made me realize that interacting with people is important to feel "love", and it can lead to warm friendships. Thanks to them, I was able to really enjoy everything in the moment.
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*Samosa = a popular street food which is fried or baked with a savoury filling, such as spiced meat, and vegetables shaped into triangular in Nepal.Â
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This is only a fraction of my experience in Nepal. I was helped by others a lot during this trip, and I still remember the people I talked to. Although I travelled to Nepal to try to be away from people and escape my reality, I interacted with a lot of people and I enjoyed my reality there. When I went back to Japan, I tried enjoying the moment right now because I learned from the trip it is important to be happy for the moment. And then, Iâve been able to concentrate on what I really wanted to do, and I tried not doing what I donât really want to do anymore. And, I feel like my worries are tiny things when I value the connection with people because I donât have to be worried alone. This trip didnât make me lonely, but made warm relationships with people. I can see what is happening in front of me as important and interesting things by experiencing the trip. I realised that there was no more lifelessness Iâve struggled with before going travel alone. Traveling is amazing, isnât it?
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It sounds weird that travelling alone doesnât make the traveller feel lonely, but itâs true. If you are in a difficult situation and struggling, itâs not a bad idea to escape reality. I believe you can find another place of your own in the place you escaped to. You wonât be alone, you can interact with people wherever you run away to. The place where you go is your reality.Â
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Iâd be so happy if you could share your experiences from a trip or your feelings with me! Bye :)Â
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Images by Akari