How has it already been a month since my last letter? Time flies. And especially when your mind is fully stimulated with new experiences and views pretty much 24/7.
Traveling. I love it so so so much. I feel addicted to it. It makes me feel so alive. More alive than I thought is possible. One thing I’ve realised lately is that I much prefer traveling together with someone rather than doing it just on my own.
Well, I do enjoy my own company. A lot. But it gets lonely. If I spend too much time on my own I sort of start living in my mind. And I loose interest in doing touristy stuff. I find that very interesting because knowing myself I always thought I would love traveling solo and I would want to head out on a trip long term. Yet here I am finding out that I do indeed prefer traveling with a travel buddy and taking slightly shorter trips which means I go full in and once I am back I can relax and slowly plan the next trip.
One other big thing I have learnt about myself is that I am not so big into planning. I don’t enjoy spending hours reading about places that I am going to want to visit. It’s a big one for long term traveling. It gets on top of my nerves and I get stressed. When you’re on a trip together with someone it becomes sooo much easier because on the days when you don’t feel like doing much research you don’t have to do it because you have your companions who can do some research and you can decide together.
I get stressed if I have to do multiple activities during the day. I prefer having max 2 things planned. I like going with the flow a little and getting tips from friends or fellow travelers that I’d meet on the way. It’s the best. To let yourself go into slight unknown. To have the flexibility to leave a place after one night if you don’t vibe with the town. To have the flexibility to change plans the day of or the day before. I like that kind of freedom. I am not saying that you should fully dive in. It helps massively to have a rough plan. And to plan time for yourself and for rest.
Talking about rest - that is one thing I struggle with a lot. I struggle to stay in one place for a longer period of time. I get so bored. I get an itch that I need to go somewhere and do something. Especially when traveling. I have tried an all inclusive holiday once and that was soo hard I was almost waiting for the time to be over so I could move on to the next thing you know. I think I am realising that one of the best ways for me to do this ‘rest thing’ is to do it together with someone and I would say 2 or max 3 days of it. Perhaps I have this mindset because I am a freelancer too. If I don’t get things done, no one will do that for me. I only have myself to rely on. So sometimes I guess I push myself a little too hard. But hey so far this is my thing. It’s working right now. And for those of you who don’t know - I work remotely so I do work during my travels. I always squeeze in at least a few hours a day for that. Sometimes it does get to me because it can get quite intense but I love it.
Anyways, back to my travel diary. What I love about traveling is the simplicity of life. I find that in Europe we tend to overcomplicate everything. We forget to slow down. And live for the small moments. It feels so refreshing. Seeing how happy people, relearning that we don’t need much to find joy. Getting excited about very small things such as enjoying a cup of tea or sharing a meal.
Gonna share some photos of some small moments from places in and around Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Here’s a photo from a small town around 12h bus ride up from New Delhi. This is Manali in Himachal Pradesh. A very cute mountain town with open cafes and restaurants which are quite cold to hang out at during winter. It was very cold there and quite hard to find a place to warm up but we made it work. I do really recommend this town for those who are obsessed with hiking because there’s plenty of places to visit!
I went to Himachal Pradesh with Alice. I’d say one of the best travel buddies one can have! We had so much fun together. I can’t even fully describe it, feel like you need to experience traveling with her. It’s so easy and effortless and she is the most loving and supportive person ever. We always laugh till our stomachs hurt but also could just sit next to each other in pure silence doing our own thing you know. To me those are the best kind of people.
Not gonna lie it is very difficult to choose what photos to share with you all. I don’t want to over spam you plus there’s a limit of images you can put per newsletter sooo I will share more stuff in the next one!
Hope you’ve enjoyed this! And please do leave a comment if you have any questions or if there is anything more specific that you would like to see more of on here. This is an open space for you and me so you’re more than welcome to share any thoughts!
Lots of love,
Kotryna
India can be quite draining too! Love reading your thoughts.