Still second-guessing whether or not you should take that solo trip? Candida Louis has been there. She crossed that phase, went on ahead and crossed another 25,000 kilometres in her Bajaj Dominar bike. The Hubli girl was on her mission to ride from Bengaluru to Sydney on her motorcycle.
Her solo ride started from Bengaluru and covered the major Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia before she reached Sydney. And that’s 28 countries and 28,000 kilometres in total! No mean feat right? Well, this is not even the highlight. She kicked off her motorcycle expedition by travelling across 22 states in India, covering 32,000 kilometres solo.
While many people brush solo travel aside citing safety as the reason, Candida Louis comes off as a big surprise when she travels the world solo, let alone on her bike! When asked her thoughts on safe solo travel, she says,
“I rode for seven months in India alone, and being out there has changed my whole perspective on how people are. India is very safe if you know how to handle situations and travel with mindfulness. With my faith in God and a GPS tracker on my bike, I’m always good to go!”
What are the biggest roadblocks on her journey then? She has a rather interesting reply. It seems the only thing that scares her is not the challenge on the roads, but the paperwork involved in crossing the borders. “I find Myanmar and Thailand the most challenging given the humongous level of paperwork involved!”
Does everything else go according to the plan other than the paperwork and safety? “As if I plan my journeys”, she says, “I usually plan just the first two days of my journey. I take my journeys as they come. If I like a place, I tend to stay longer and that’s how it works.”
She sheds off her devil-may-care demeanour when she says the inspiration to travel to Bengaluru to Sydney is not just the experience of gushing wind on her face and her will to explore, but to honour the memory of late Alistair Fairland who died on his motorcycle journey from Alaska to South America. She happily took over the mantle to complete the ‘Change Your World’ travel fund project that Alistair swore to complete.
Candida’s journey is neither about taking the road not taken nor about women empowerment. This is as simple as acting on what you feel’s right for you. And this applies to things beyond travelling. If you have second thoughts about risking your day job to pursue music or even about moving in solo, stop thinking and start acting on it. You’ll still be okay.
Beyond the ifs and buts of solo travelling, there lie experiences you will never get whatsoever. Manifest the vacation of your dreams with Pickyourtrail!
Credits: Candida Louis_official