After traveling for almost 10 years, and writing about my journeys for the last six years, some fundamental questions about discovering a new place, people and culture swirl in my mind often. Like a fly that revolves around our head with an uncomfortable buzzing sound. So here I am trying to answer those pressing questions and presenting you with a soliloquy of a sojourner; a quest! Take a glass of wine and let this black ink on the screen slowly touch you with the feelings resting in it; for words know the magic.

Traveling in the age of no unknowns
Somedays I feel I have to complete seeing this world before all-pervasive technologies don’t let the people keep any secret. Everyplace, everywhere, everyone is thinking alike; wearing the same clothes, eating the same food and reading the same book and the definition of beauty has become uniform. Being a traveler and being a protagonist of each of my travelogues, I need subtle nuances which no one knows. Before all unknowns become known and we land into an era of no unknowns.
Somedays I feel I have to complete seeing this world before all-pervasive technologies don't let the people keep any secret. #Travel #wanderlust Click To Tweet
Experience diverse ways of life
Somedays I feel an urge to drink the tea in a bhaar (a teacup made up of clay), the way I used to drink after office back in Kolkata, India. Somedays I feel I need to sit beside a reserved Swiss citizen who loves privacy and exchange silent glances. Somedays I pine for the comfort of easy-going Italians. Somedays I feel talking to an ethically upright German man. I did all these but nowadays I am scared; lest everyplace, everywhere, everyone becomes the same.

Uniformity or Uniqueness?
I, you and we all need stories to listen to; unique stories. We don’t want to listen to the same stories and see the same stereotypical travel pictures the umpteenth time. I feel, in this digital era it has become difficult to remain YOU. The constant bombardment of messages and encouragement to aspire and desire the same dream with similar fret and frenzy is obnoxious.
The constant bombardment of messages and encouragement to aspire and desire the same dream with similar fret and frenzy is obnoxious. #Traveler #Wanderlust Click To TweetComfort, convenience or experience?
Imagine a beautiful summer morning in a brand new place; everything is unknown there. The language, the way of life, food and culture, all are unfamiliar. The kind of place where you don’t know what to expect. This is uncomfortable but think about the experiences that it can offer you. No doubt sometimes, somethings will be inconvenient and uncomfortable but then you will get a break from all known and familiar things back home. A completely different day, all afresh which perhaps comes with a probability of teaching you a new perspective towards life. I have been choosing experience over comfort and convenience throughout my life and believe me, it’s a treasure. Hence the tagline of Travel Realizations is :


No doubt sometimes, somethings will be inconvenient and uncomfortable but then you will get a break from all known and familiar things back home. #Travel Click To Tweet
Soaking in or sharing?
Let me transport you in front of the beautiful Jenny Lake in the Grand Teton National Park in the USA. After reaching there, I saw the mist fill almost the entire area. I could hardly see anything. I was disheartened but didn’t give up. I secretly wished the sun to show. I waited with my anxious eyes. A few minutes later, to my surprise, I saw the blue of the sky slowly revealing and the sunshine slipping out from the clouds and a few distant tall pine trees. I was savoring all the details with full concentration. Now when I am writing about it, all the small changes are coming to me like pieces of cinema – colored slides slipping across the screen of memory.

Do you know why I could write about the nuances of my experiences? Because I was seeing; I was soaking in all without letting my phone distract me to share then and there. I want to share but not just those pretty pictures but also words that will communicate to you about the feelings; the joy and the essence of my experiences
Travel Inspiration – your own or borrowed?
Some scenes have always inspired me to travel and to make connections. I can’t relate to today’s digital-era inspirations as they tend to inspire to hoard things. I rely on my own little inspiration that I find here and there while traveling. Perhaps it can be…
- The winter sunshine on an old woman’s face
- The laughter of a child
- A small bird’s nest
- The sound of the coffee machine and the aroma of coffee beans inside a small cafe
- A parting kiss
- The sky full of stars and a crescent moon
- A traveler reading a book
- Sea of faces in a crowded place
- The curls of silent white steam from the steam train
- An isolated post office
- A quote inside an unknown museum
- A boat and a setting sun
Travel Realizations
To create a sense of urgency, I often see messages from travel-related websites inducing us to book a hotel room or a flight or a cruise. I feel an urgency to travel not for those conversion driven messages but because of an urge to talk to you before YOU become I or I become YOU.
I feel an urgency to travel not for those conversion driven messages but because of an urge to talk to you before YOU become I or I become YOU. #Travel Click To TweetThank you, readers!
I am a simple yet sensitive traveler who loves to experience the world. I love to write too but can’t imagine writing for six long years continuously without your support and encouragement. You inspire me every day with your messages and comments. As long as I will live, I can never quit writing. This blog has become my friend when I am amidst the crowd and accompanies me when I am alone. I have got a new direction, a sea of love and recognition. Thank you!
Leave a comment below if you have any questions or DM me on Instagram @travelrealizations

Similar articles from Travel Realizations
- Why do I travel?
- My Long Walks in Switzerland!
- A soliloquy of a mother!
- Solstice and Luminescence of Life!
- A lost summer