Guest post by Pujya Priyadarshni

‘Travel’ – isn’t the word synonymous with excitement and discovery? But here I was packing my bags in apprehension. How do you begin a journey you have been agonizing about since the day of its planning? Will I survive the mountainous bus journey? The memory of a car accident witnessed in childhood rears its head each time such a journey looms.  Will I manage the trek? Recently recovered from dengue, the uncertainty of fitness levels were still raw. Two girls travelling alone. We both had been given a dose of the ‘be careful and not adventurous’ sermon by family and friends. It was with these, and many more, self-doubts the journey to McLeod Ganj began.

As we reached Delhi’s Interstate Bus Terminal on a cold winter night, all questioning thoughts abated. Chaos outside tends to provide the mind the privilege of order. The place…