105 days | 23 Countries | 56 Cities | 13 International Flights | 144 train and bus journeys | 4 Cruise Rides | 10000+ miles covered- My Euro Trip in Crux

Blessed are people who get opportunities to travel the world. And, being a Final Year student of the MBA Program of IIM Udaipur, I got lucky as I was among the handful student who got shortlisted for the student exchange program in France. Facts state that every year more than thousand students from India visit Europe for similar student exchange program but what became unique in my case was that I sneaked out time from my schedule and planned out some travel trips among most. I am no different from you or others. It’s just that I decided to take that leap of faith. I just had to make it happen.

Now, when I look back, I can definitely say this trip was probably the highlight moment of all these years of my existence. In these 105 days, I have experienced backpacker solo trips to random road trips, slept at airport floor to random street roads, experienced from 35°C to -7°C, travelled 15-22 Km almost every day on foot, hiked mountains, crossed Oceans, hooped on scooters, lived life in some of the remotest villages to some of the world’s most exotic islands, survived days on bread and cheese and met unimaginable amount of crazy and smart people from all over the globe. Indeed, it was an experience which could only be lived and is really difficult to express. Great things happen when you have the least expectations. And, it did…

Like with all beginnings, it wasn’t easy. I always wanted to experience a solo trip but never had the courage to try it in India. So, I decided to undertake one while I was still in Europe. I packed my bags, booked the first flight to Portugal and left in two hours (literally, that was what happened).

In these three and a half months, I had some of the most unexpected journeys to some of the most bewildering places like Corsica, Spain, Norway, Greece, Croatia, etc. to name a few. Throughout my journey, I met some pretty incredible people and had some amazing experiences with them. I wanted to travel and explore the places in Europe like a local, so I mostly avoided hotels and hostels. I stayed with a lot of local people in most of the countries I visited.

This journey has not only made me a better person as I now see myself connecting more easily with people, but I have also learned to respect and value people who might be different from us and are not easy to be understood. I have networked with students of other top tier colleges of India and have found friends for the lifetime, in them. And, lastly, I have traveled almost 12% of the world in these last 105 days.

I will end by saying – No matter wherever you’re, travel and meet people. We need not wait for the perfect moment and perfect time to start travelling. I, myself is now working on a start-up which will aim at the same.

Life is too short to wait, so start now. We have so much to explore, and so less of time. Damn, I started so late.

Contributed by: Prashant Bhansali