Saturday, Apr 20, 2024 | Last Update : 09:05 AM IST
Fearless in the us
Anjana Vijayadas, who loves travelling shares her experiences during her 12-day recent US trip.
Every once in a while, a woman decides to take a leap of faith — a small step towards the unexplored, shattering the perceptions of society thereby creating a space for others to get inspired. Anjana Vijayadas is one such person, who has time and again proved that it is alright for a woman to travel alone. Her recent solo trip to the US is one that would kindle the wanderlust in you and create an itch to pack up and break the mould.
Anjana with the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street
A senior executive at an IT company, Anjana has had her tryst with solo travel before. “The idea to travel alone happened in 2015 when I went on a solo trip to the UK. It wasn’t exactly a planned one, but this US trip was well-planned. I went there in March and stayed there for 12 days.”
9/11 Memorial
Going into details of her trip, Anjana elaborates, “I covered Washington, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and was in New York for four days from where I went to Connecticut and then to Boston, Rhode Island and returned to New York. My time in New York was the most memorable one. Ever since the travel bug bit me, I always wanted to visit New York, go to the Time Square and just watch the lights. Other then NY, I loved Rhode Island a lot, the place was just amazing. The entire place was by the seaside. It is a calm and quiet place unlike New York.” Everything went as she planned it. “How I went about this is by visiting tour websites, getting a glimpse of the itinerary and charted out the places to visit on each day.”
Sharing her learning experience during the trip, she says, “The whole experience of being there made me tackle things by myself. I arranged all my accommodation through Air B n’ B and my stay at Rhode Island was a lovely experience. My host were a nice couple in their mid 60s who were almost like a tour guide. They took me around showing me places,” she smiles.
A word of advice she would share with women who have chained up their wanderlust is this “I would always encourage my friends to travel alone — be it inside the country or outside. Every girl should travel alone at least once in your lifetime. Meet new people, make new connections and friends.”
