KOCHI: Molly Joy is a born traveller. The bug bit her when she was 50. Her early years were in poverty, and she was one of the bread winners in the family even from age 10.
Now, the 62-year-old is a veteran having visited 16 countries. Her last jaunt was to Russia in 2023, and wishes to launch herself on a sojourn again once she puts together enough money or some magnanimous sponsor chooses to help her.
Her life now is in stark contrast to her childhood at Chitrapuzha near Ambalamukal in Trippunithura. “My father was a stone mason and I was the eldest in the family. Things at home were such that there were days when I went without getting even a mouthful of rice. My father’s job was very irregular. He would work for a week and then remain idle for another. So, money was not coming in and there were too many mouths to feed,” says Molly.
Her ordeal continued even after marriage, as her husband also did not get regular work being a stone mason. He passed away in 2004 making the going difficult for her and her two children. “I then opened a vegetable store in a room adjacent to our house.”
The struggle continued till 2012 when her daughter and son settled into their respective lives. “My daughter was married off and my son got a job in the Gulf. With the children all settled, money became surplus Since. Soon, my son too married and I became all alone in my house.”
It was then that travel came calling, and she got an invite to join a friend on a trip to Europe. “I discussed it with my son. But I had only `1 lakh in my account. I was told that to get the visa, I would need around `1.5 lakh in my bank account.”
She was not one to be stopped. It was her long dream to board a plane and go on a tour, so she collected the money to get that visa stamped on her passport.
“That was the start. After visiting Europe, the travel bug bit me very hard,” says Molly. In 2017, she visited Singapore and Malaysia. In 2019, she went to London, the Netherlands, Poland and Belgium on a 15-day trip. “I celebrated my 58th birthday at a hotel in London.”
The Covid stalled her trip during 2020, but she resumed it the very next year, this time to the land of dreams as she calls the US.
The travel saga continued in 2022 when she went to Bangkok and Pattaya. This time, she had a buddy in Vlogger Arunima. “The trip was sponsored by a tour operator,” says Molly.
Hungry for more travels, she embarked on a trip to Russia in 2023. “The cost for the trip was around `2.5 lakh. Though the owner of Benny Tours and Travels, which had contacted for the trip, helped me, I had to arrange the rest of the funds. So I pawned my gold chain for `2 lakh and boarded the flight,” she says.
Russia did her well, not her finances. She loved the country, its climate and its envrions, but the trip set her back financially. “Now, I can only think about the next trip after I have redeemed my gold chain or if someone sponsors me. The earnings from the shop are not as good as before.”
But determined as she is to travel, she hopes to tide over all these roadblocks soon. “Travelling is now in my blood,” she says like a true wanderlust.