HYDERABAD: Monicca and Shreenath got married in 2019. An HSBC bank employee, she had only experienced “make-my-trip-style travels”, whereas Shreenath was “wild”. Obstructed by Covid, they finally started planning their travel in 2022 and 2023, they went backpacking across Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, for six months, ending their trip with a climb all the way up Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. They also decided to do an Everest Base Camp trip in 2022, which Shreenath said was an “epic undertaking.”
Monicca took a sabbatical from her work for six months. “I had a very supportive environment where people were letting me pursue whatever I wanted,” she said, mentioning that there were initial inhibitions from her family. Talking about her experiences, she said, “Each country was unique in its way. For example, the food was very good in Thailand and Indonesia’s scenic beauty was mesmerising. You get to learn so much about cultures and people in other countries.”
Bringing in some insights on her mountaineering experience, she said, “Despite all the preparations, when you’re on the trail, that’s when the reality hits. No words can do justice to how beautiful it is. In the city, you just wake up, hustle and go back to sleep, on repeat. But there, you are kind of cut off from the world and are very self-aware. You do the trek silently and that is a lot of time to introspect about yourself. It’s a very wholesome experience. I don’t like to use the phrase ‘conquer a mountain’. It’s a very humbling experience for me. You need nature’s blessings to reach to the top.”
She highlighted that eating healthy throughout their trip helped them in their climb up Kilimanjaro. “There are a lot of affordable and nutritious choices available very easily. We got to bed in time and got up early to continue our journey,” she said.
However, the smooth trip was also peppered with a few challenges. “Land border crossing is still an easier experience for a couple as compared to a solo guy travelling. I’ve seen a lot of Indian travel vloggers who would just appear at land borders without any proper documentation. That usually creates a lot of suspicion. Also, their immigration process involves a lot of bribery and clear racism. White privilege gets served whereas brown folks have to get their formalities done on their own,” he said.
CE asked Monicca whether it is safe for women to travel alone in these countries. She replied, “It is extremely easy for girls. It’s pretty safe, actually. Keep in mind a few things like don’t roam around in the dark in deserted places because things can go wrong depending on which country it is. But you don’t have to fear theft. At land borders, when they look at a girl they don’t feel she is going to cause too much trouble. If you plan everything in advance, you should be okay.”
While kayaking in Laos, they almost lost their entire cash and equipment. Instead of getting disheartened, they kept going.
When asked what advice he would give to travellers, Shreenath said, “I don’t know why we are see our entire lives from the perspective of our professions. When we met some interesting people backpacking across Africa, just taking a break, find meaning and explore different facets of life, it was eye-opening. We need to decondition a lot. We’re missing out on the romance of life. Also, I don’t know what privilege we think we have when we are being rude to the local population there, while they, in return, are extremely humble.”
Moving ahead, the adventure-hunting couple aims to climb all seven summits in seven continents and if possible, travel across the world in a caravan.