12
Jul
2016
0

Destination next….

My last day at work is done. I have given back the laptop and the keys to my drawer. So, now what? Really, there is a big unknown that I am staring into. For most part of the day, it lets me dream and makes me feel excited. However, there are some moments when I do feel lost. But I have Ankur and a really supportive family, so I bounce back again pretty soon.

Let me talk out loud and share my plans. For starters, I am going to live my dream and travel for a few months. Where am I going… is a truly a function of my budget. There are three regions that I am contemplating …

1. South America: Machu Pichu, Amazon, Salar-E-Uyuni and Galapagos. This means visiting Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Equador.

Macaws in Peru

Macaws in Peru

2. Trans Siberian Journey: I want to start in Shanghai, visit the Gobi desert in Mangolia, enter Russia to take a dip in Lake Baikal and then continue to Moscow and St. Petersburg by train.

Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert

3. Backpacking through Europe: Explore big cities and small towns in France, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
In terms of having time at hand, I have plenty. Time is not a constraint any more.

Paris... such a dream city....

Paris… such a dream city….

INow lets talk about the budget for the trip…. South America is going to cost me a lot of money. The cheapest flight to get to Brazil from India is more than USD 1500. And I still haven’t thought of any flights between countries in the South American continent. While the continent is really high on my bucketlist, ticking this item is very very expensive proposition.

Salar-e-uyni in Bolivia

Salar-e-Uyni in Bolivia

China, Mangolia and Russia have been on my bucketlist for a long time now. I want to see the Terracotta Army at Xi’An, walk over sand dunes of the Gobi Desert and take a dip at Lake Baikal. With the Russian Rouble devaluing, it’s a great option to let me travel a lot of days on a relatively smaller budget. Russia is also promoting tourism in order to attract visitors from India and getting the visa is a much more streamlined process.

Terracotta Army in China

Terracotta Army in China

Visiting Western Europe will be an expensive proposition as well, but not as expensive as South America. While the Indian Rupee has weakened against the Europe over the past few years and our trip to Europe has become much more expensive as compared to 2012, flights to Europe from India are still affordable. Maybe Brexit will have an impact as well. Eurail connects the continent well and there are plenty of accommodation options for backpackers.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany

Where I go will depend of how much money I can make while I am on the road. Freelancing will help me get there. So will photography. I am keeping my fingers crossed and taking up assignments in the space. Needless to say, I need a lot of support and good wishes from each one of you!

I don’t want to travel by dipping into my savings. Depletion of the kitty will make me jittery and force me to get back to the corporate grind sooner than I would want to, and the thought does not make me too happy at this point in time.

As a solo woman traveller, which of the above three options do you think I should choose? Do you think there are other ways that will help me make money while I am on the road?

As I haven’t been to any of the destinations mentioned above, all pictures in the post are courtesy Wikipedia. 

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3 Responses

  1. Trans-Siberian looks interesting Sonia. Not that it’s cost effective but it also has Gobi desert and Lake Baikal 🙂 🙂 I’m so excited on which destination you gonna choose and looking forward for the post and pictures 🙂 🙂

    1. I am excited about it too…it was be such a cultural revelation…China, Mangolia and Russia. Just that, I would be travelling in October…so wondering what the weather will be like?

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