Travel happened to me by accident. Having lived a very sheltered life for most of my life, I impulsively decided to go on a solo trip during my college break and then there was no turning back.
The thing that attracts me to travel is the various perspectives and life lessons that it offers me.
Engaging With Local Communities
As a travel experience curator, I visit remote locations in the subcontinent, spend weeks or even months engaging with local communities and search for niche experiences. After my personal explorations, I curate an experiential itinerary for those who would like to experience what I did but don’t necessarily have the luxury of time as I do.
Curation is an art. A lot of thought and care are taken while doing it. By opting for curated travels, one is ideally approaching exploration as an art form. By opting for curated itineraries, you tend to experience a lot more than a normal package tour or backpacking route would offer. On a curated trip, you are entirely immersed in local cultures, art, and music and more mindful of your journey, which naturally makes one savour every moment, something that I have not personally felt in other styles of travelling, be it backpacking or luxury travel.
Recent Curated Trip To Sikkim
My most memorable journey is the exploration of Sikkim. There’s a reason why I have spent more time in this region (about 8 months) than any other place. Sikkim opened my heart to many revelations- living slowly in harmony with the environment. My time with indigenous communities in Sikkim and Arunachal restored my faith in humanity.
My recent curated travel program in Sikkim, which I named “Kongchen Lyang” is a 360-degree immersion of Indigenous Sikkim to promote slow, sustainable and immersive travel that gives back to the community. We learnt the monastic arts from a local artist, renovated a portion of a 19th century Buddhist Monastery, explored hidden caves, went foraging, and made beer from foraged produce. We also learnt to make some local dishes, and bamboo handicrafts from a local artisan and were part of an intimate live performance by an indigenous band. From what my fellow travellers told me, it was perfectly curated.
‘Want To Explore Central India And Foreign Locations’
I have been to all of the Himalayan States, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, West Bengal, Orissa and all of the South Indian states. I want to explore Central India (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) more immersively very soon.
If I get the chance, I would love to curate something from Italy and Japan as well.
My advice to people wanting to try curated experiences is to look at exploration as an art form and not confuse it with travel agencies or operators. Curated travel experiences are more genuine and come from a place of passion, not profit.
Travel experience curators like me are doing what we do for the love of exploration. Sure, we would like to earn some profit, but it’s mostly to sustain or support our passion for exploration. At least that’s what I’m aiming for with my passion project – “Map My Stories”.
If you, too, have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com
