A Man Traveled 11 Indian States In 9 Months Without Spending A Single Rupee. Inspirational For Steemit Travelers

mysurrounding (1)(1)in #travel • 7 years ago (edited)

Journey Of 11 States And 20,000 Km Without A Single Rupee Spent

“Life is a journey full of learning and travel is the best teacher, is something I truly believe in. When I was in college, I used to give motivational talks to people about following their dreams and passion and why it was important to live the life they always wanted to live. These always ended up in too many questions: How to go about it? Is it even feasible?”

Vimal Kumar is an engineering dropout , a poet , a composer and a motivational speaker from India . A year ago 1st July 2016 he started his unique different journey of travelling across India without spending a single rupee. He always wanted to do something outside the box which will be he known for , but being from a middle class family there was lot of financial issues going on with his family , so he choose to travel in such weird and risky way.

“I was always a weird kid. I started taking tuitions when I was in Class 10. I dropped out of my final year, I began a startup. I used to write, compose music, script short films. My mom knew I will survive anyhow. So she supported my decision on one condition — that I would keep in touch. On the other hand, my relatives never understood. They’d tell me, ‘You have gone crazy! Why don’t you take you a regular job?’ The views have certainly changed now, they are looking at me in a new light.”

Vimal's decision of travelling was not supported by anyone , his friends , family, society , but it dint bothered him a lot. He just took his bag and left towards highway saying "I will be back in few days".

Vimal had lot of hitchhike, couch-surf, sleep at stations, camp at places, he did whatever needed to somehow manage food and free rides, most important [art was telling stories to people who were with him for very short time. While Vimal was on his journey of learning with nothing someone taught him farming, another took him snorkeling, someone taught him photography, another one, blogging.He traveled all states from South India and South India and other states, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and West Bengal.

“My body was giving up. I decided to cross the road to get to the sitting area of a small closed shop opposite the road. Two guys on a bike stopped me and enquired. I told them I was a traveller on my way to Lambasingi. They asked me if I had food, I negated it. They asked me how would I manage. I said I’ll figure out. They had two packets of rusks (dry bread), they gave me one and just left. I don’t remember their names or faces. I ate the bread, drank water from the pump and moved on. But I’ll ever be thankful.”

Vimal Meet lot of generous people while he was on his journey. A businessman who gave him a ride and invited him to stay in a star-hotel in Kozhikode. He meet a man on bus in Munar , he took Vimal to his small hut in village , provided him with a food (fish curry) and family of 4 slept down on floor reserving a bed for me (Vimal). It was the best hospitality I ever received in my life says Vimal.

When Vimal left from home he just had a couple of clothes, a sleeping bag, and a tent. In addition he was carrying a smartphone ,a camera and a first aid kit, but when he returned back he had an extra bag full with him .

“A German guy gave me an Iphone for free when my phone was dead stating I needed it a lot more than he did. I had one extra bag of things when I came back, even that bag was gifted to me.”

Future Journey - Vimal says

“I am currently in a phase of giving back. The first phase is me inviting travelers who pass by my town and city to enjoy my hospitality in my home.

The second phase will include starting a social enterprise to make a broader impact on society. This won’t be restricted to just the travel space. For e.g. when I was in Kolkata, I went to Sonagachi, which is South Asia’s largest red light area. I have seen the condition and struggles of commercial sex workers. And there are so many stories that have impacted me, I want to be able to effect change through them.”