My Traveling Inspiration came from Parents followed by Friends
Why do you proclaim yourself as a passionate traveler? I traveled first within the country to Faridpur with my family members in 1984. My first travel destination outside the country was India in 1985. I attended a function in Calcutta (now is Kolkata) with my parents. On both occasions, the base had set as a group traveler which comes from family first. Later I started traveling with my friends within the country post my SSC exam in 1990. I traveled to Chittagong (now is Chattogram) on a few occasions with my buddies. I traveled to Faridpur to attend Cricket Tournament in 1991-1992 from my college along with friends. Group traveling had become a habit in my traveling experience while I was a graduate student in India. In between the semester break, I used to be backpackers with my Bangladeshi Aligarhian community to travel Incredible India.
Being the passionate traveler, my habit of traveling mounted from India, and the passion continued. Visited West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh several times during my 3 years of stay in India. I traveled a lot within the country and a couple of occasions outside the country with my friends and family members. Till now I had captured every moment with my camera, taken 3R prints on photo paper, and archived well in photo albums.
Second innings of traveling continued with my better half, Ema
After traveling with my parents, the next phase of my traveling career began with my life partner, Ema. I tied a knot in 2003. The last 20 years of traveling from 1984-2003 made me more social and better conversant while I was traveling. Therefore, making travel plan along with Ema was very romantic and enjoyable. Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar was our first destination right after our marriage. Visiting my hometown, Gopalganj, and Ema’s hometown, Gaibandha, were in our bucket list which we did at the family level. We both cherish our hometown visit with profound gratitude. Before traveling abroad, we both traveled so many touristy places within the country as a passionate traveler. To name a few like Sundarbans and Barisal in South, Sylhet in North-East, and many places of Bangladesh.
International Traveling as a passionate traveler
When it comes to international traveling, we traveled to 8 countries together as a passionate traveler. Firstly, we have been to India several times. Secondly, we visited a couple of Buddha-lands like Nepal and Bhutan. Further, we visited great holiday destinations like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand within Asia. Moreover, we had a great family vacation in the USA and Canada a couple of times. All of our journeys took place in between 2008-2019. They were well captured and documented through social media platforms and my personal hard drive. I really thank the technological advancement because it is very easier now to archive through social media platforms. Previously it was very inconvenient to an archive of my first two decades of the journey.
Experiencing the Unexpected as a passionate traveler
After traveling with family and friends, I have adapted so many things during my journey and encountered bizarre things. Let me share a couple of my weird experiences with my folks. For example, I can recall my journey to Jaipur and Ajmer from Delhi with my sister’s family in 1998. For some reason, the highway was gridlock for a couple of hours. And I had a nature call in the bus that I adapted the situation in a nearby bush. I managed the situation with tissue and mineral water in the Rajasthani Highway.
Another instance happened in Guangzhou, China in 2010 when I was trying to explore the city alone. I needed to go to the loo but nobody understood my language. My lower abdomen was about to burst. Then I tried sign language to make Chinese understand and then they realized my problem. It’s my great learning from that China trip; you have to know body languages as well to apply in non-English speaking countries like China, Japan, Vietnam, and list goes on.
Awesome Travel Experiences
Lately, I have become adventurous in mind. The confidence in your ability to do anything will take you places. In my nomadic journey whether I’m traveling in a group or solo, my inner will took me to the places. Out of many experiences, Damnoen Sadouk floating market of Thailand was a great experience for me. Thereafter, India’s most inhabited place of Leh, Ladakh was the coolest place where I have fallen in Altitude Mountain Sickness. In the Bhutanese mountain kingdom, I have bruised my leg after falling from a railing while I was taking pictures. Moreover, on the remote island of Phu Quoc, my finger and toe were torn and bleed while doing the snorkeling. Finally, I have experienced Ranthambore Jungle Safari in Rajasthan in India. I considered the jungle safari as one of the most adrenaline trips in my 35 years of traveling experience.