Sometimes I sit quietly on a lazy day, letting my thoughts wander back to where it all began. I ask myself, “If I could meet the little girl I once was, would she be proud of me today?”
In kindergarten, our teacher once asked, “What’s your aim in life?” My classmates confidently replied: Doctor. Pilot. Engineer. When it was my turn, I had no idea. I simply glanced around, and repeated someone else’s answer, never from the heart.
The questions repeated multiple times over those years. Each time some rehearsed copied answers, I want to be blah blah blah which I never meant at all!! Because truthfully, I had no clue where my life was headed.
Childhood in the Suburbs of Kathmandu
I was born and raised in the quieter suburbs of Kathmandu. My little world was limited to where my feet had touched — the streets of Kathmandu and neighboring districts, hillstations surrounding them, occasional trips to my parents’ ancestral home in Nuwakot, and the places I could see from the bus window.
Yet, I was always intrigued by the conversations about “Bidesh” (foreign countries). People spoke of vast seas, snowy mountains, airplanes, and faraway lands and my ears would perk up at every such conversations.
I was clumsy, painfully clumsy. No matter how many times we repeated the dance steps, I could never get them right. I’d topple off my bicycle, trip while playing, and sometimes even while just walking. During hide-and-seek, I was always the first one caught. Honestly, I’ve lost count of how many times my parents had to rush me to the nearest clinic, to get my knees, elbows, or toes dressed frequently.
Still, they loved me with an unwavering patience. Fortunately, my saving grace was that I was a bookworm that earned me brownie points. My landlord family would often pass along their old books, and those pages became my windows to the world. Through those stories, I wandered far beyond the streets of Kathmandu, into places I couldn’t even pronounce yet but longed to see someday.
The Turning Point – An Atlas and a Wild Plan
I can’t say exactly when my obsession with travel began. Maybe it was in my blood—my parents, despite being daily wage laborers, always made time for small trips. Temple visits, picnics in neighboring districts, movie outings, restaurant dinners, zoo visits—anything that was within their capacity. They didn’t have much, but they understood the value of experiences over possessions.
Or maybe it was the stories of Marco Polo, whose adventures sparked more curiosity and admiration than any other biography I had read until then. The idea that a single person could journey across continents, documenting wonders unknown to most, fascinated me.
Perhaps it was the books I devoured, transporting me to fictional places—Narnia’s snow-laden forests, the bustling streets of London in Dickens’ tales, or the wild adventures of Enid Blyton’s characters.
Or maybe it was that old black-and-white televisionshowing me glimpses of a world outside my little world, documentaries on African safaris, Bollywood movies shot in Swiss Alps, news from across the world particularly from episodes “Bishwa Ghatana”. Every frame of it was the reminder to me“There’s more out there.”
But the real turning point came in grade 6 when our curriculum required an atlas. My father couldn’t get it because atlas was sold out, so I threw a little tantrum until he found one from a different publication.
When I first flipped through its pages, I was disappointed by the boring maps until I noticed the tiny pictures beside them. The bluest lakes. The whitest snow. The greenest forests. The grandest monuments. I was hooked.
Right there on the middle fold, the world map I planned my first “world trip.” I would walk from Nepal to China, cross into Mongolia, then Russia, Europe, the Americas, Latin America, and finally Africa. Weeww what a dream!!! I had no idea about visas, oceans, borders, or the fact that walking to Brazil wasn’t exactly practical. But that was the moment I decided: I will be a traveler.
Reality Check – Money, Passports, and Paperwork
Of course, the real world turned out to be more complicated. As I grew older, reality hit hard. The world was not as simple as my childhood imagination. It was hugeeee, I couldn’t just hop on to other countries like hiking to a hill station. Travel required money, visas, and endless paperwork. My Nepali passport meant extra proof at embassies and immigration checks. For a while, I suppressed my dreams. But the desire never left.
So, I worked on building the means to make my dream possible.My family supported my dreams and my partner, who I later met, shared my love for travel. We started with small steps by starting our own business in 2015. My first “international” trip was a college trip to India in 2016 where we took most gruelling train rides but that was my first train ride, the biggest roads I had seen, and the bluest sea in Goa. Later, we saved from our first business to take a package trip to the UAE.
From there, we traveled independently for business to China and backpacked across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, staying in hostels and meeting other travelers who inspired us further.
Slow Travel – Finding Our Rhythm
As our dreams grew, so did our reality checks. Fast-paced itineraries weren’t sustainable. That’s when we discovered slow travel — staying longer, breathing in each place, tasting all kinds of food, and working remotely as we explored.
We spent months in Chiang Mai, lived in Dubai with residency, and eventually settled for a long while in Bali, Indonesia — a place we never wanted to leave. Over the past 8 years, we’ve traveled to more than 35 countries across Europe and Asia, creating stories that I’ll share in my upcoming blogs.
Looking Ahead
Travel has given me breathtaking moments and messy, frustrating ones too. It’s shaped me in ways I never imagined back in that kindergarten classroom. There have been breathtaking highs and moments where I questioned everything.
But one thing’s certain I wouldn’t change a thing.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for being part of my journey. Your support means the world. In the coming posts, I’ll share travel tips, stories, and reflections from the road. Whether you’re planning your first trip or dreaming from your desk, I hope my journey reminds you that dreams even the naive ones can take you further than you ever imagined.
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