Age is no barrier when it comes to travel
Manny's Travel Inspiration
My story began in 2010, when I got an opportunity to work overseas. I moved to Oman, a middle eastern country known for its Oil resources. My boss was a flamboyant man in his early 50’s who loves travelling. A frequent flyer, he would often leave the city and remain overseas for weeks. It might be a Business trip, holiday, new business proposals, Inspections, you name it. When he returns, he would tell us all of his adventures; how he spent many nights in remote locations without a guide, how he interacted with people, how he learnt to cook local cuisines
The more I hear his stories, the more I wanted to embark on the nomadic adventures of my own. But one thing which was going through my mind is the cost . That's where I came across the term "backpackers", people who travel light & in the most economical way. I wanted to do it on a budget and see how it goes.
The Trip Which changed my perspective
The same year, I was on a Business trip to China, it opened my eyes even more.
There, in the wonderful small town of Wenzhou, I met three girls from the factory where I was monitoring a process for a month. They showed me that you don't need huge money to travel and they were enjoying every single day of their life. They were three young people who were living my dream of traveling around the world. I am a picky eater and still have issues with the choice of food. Being in a remote place, all I had is local food, which I got used to it after a few days. I travelled on my own navigating with basic mandarin translation. It was so much fun & exciting. The locals were so much interested in taking pictures with me. Now I understood what foreign actually meant
It was all together an eye opening trip and when I got back to Oman, I set up my own travel goals for the year. I still had doubts whether it will work out or not until I met a travel partner.
Backpacking Days
Comfort Vs Cost, I chose the latter. I had a like-minded friend/Colleague, his name is Nidhil, who was ready to join me in this travel journey. First point ticked, got a travel companion, half my expenses covered and he was good in Photography (lucky me).
Then we made certain rules for ourselves.
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Travel by public transport and take shared rides.
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No first-class trains or deluxe buses, no booking of exclusive private cabs.
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Stay at budget hotels & eat local cuisines
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Not to book any packaged tours from Oman. Try to get some good deals at the local tour offices Pre-book only shared transfers to hotel/hostel after landing in the airport.
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We chose destinations with cheap tickets.
We had the best travel adventures together. Our favorite were Phuket, Goa and Dubai
Travel Companion
I always wanted a life partner who will be my travel companion. To be the least, she must at least have a travel aspiration. I met Deeps online and when we were chatting, I was quick in asking about her liking towards travel. She said she has never been out of the country, but she wanted to go around the world with me.
Things moved slowly around us. Miles apart, we enjoyed the long distance relationship for 2 years and got married in 2015
After our marriage, We did have our Personal , professional & travel goals set. We stayed in India for a brief period before moving to Norway. hardly we got a chance to go around India, which still remains a regret for us. We have travelled close to 20 countries together and we hope it continues life time. I wish to take Deeps to the places where I've travelled before when I was single, but for now we wish to travel to a place where we both have never been.
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