There are so many benefits of travelling solo and when it comes to solo women travel, it brings along with itself its own set of challenges. A woman when travelling alone should ensure to follow some safety norms to make a successful and hassle free trip. There have been instances when I had to travel alone in a country like USA. I felt that more or less safety norms are similar everywhere in the world. Out of my own experience, I am listing 9 travelling tips for solo women that if followed helps you experience a fantastic trip.

Experiencing sounds from instrument

9 Travelling tips for solo women 

1. There should be some two trustworthy people known to you who should know about your whereabouts all the time. So , leave your itinerary with them. If need be, you should be easily accessible to them and vice versa.

2. Never walk around with earphones on as you become less alert and more vulnerable to target by unwanted nuisance.

3. Don't show that you are a stranger. Look confident. Only ask routes from authorities. Once I had boarded a cab but when I got in the cab, something didnt seem right as the cab was a very big black car and the person driving it was hell handsome with jet black goggles on. Also, the cab was having a great fragrance. Never in my life I had such a cab. Since everything seemed so rosey , my gut feel gave me a hint that something was not right. I immediately got off the cab. Travel with authorised taxis so you know they are trust worthy. Before boarding the cab, ensure the cab doors are not child locked. After boarding the cab if you still feel that something is not right, get down the cab and stay at the public place till the time you get a new authorised booking.

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Nidhi KM

I am a beach lover. Given a choice, I always prefer beach destinations. The sight of sea, waves and fresh sound along with water sport activities refresh my senses instantly. The trip becomes even more successful if my room faces the ocean. I love the view of sea all day. Till date I have been to multiple beaches. Although I would not say I have visited many beaches but have visited enough to be able to give my preferences to fellow travellers.
If one is only on a beach trip to India then one must visit below five beach destinations .

Top 5 beach destinations in India

1. Port Blair- Having a scenic beauty in vast Indian Ocean with Marine National Park and ample islands to its kitty, Port Blair is one of the most famous beach destinations in India. Havelock island is another worth going destination there. There are cruises that one can experience. Clear transparent waters in Port Blair is a blessing for India. Some travellers even say that the waters in Port Blair are the best. Best time to visit is throughout the year but October to May is good for adventure sports and activities. There are many things to do in Port Blair like visit Chidiya Tapu, Cellular Jail, Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.

Port Blair

2. Kerala is another beach destination that has got beautiful beaches with lush greenery around. I have always loved being there and enjoy it's beauty. Kovalalam beach, Valakar, Marari, Alleppey beaches to name a few are must visits. Kovalam is a fantastic one with well established market by the sea. Light house is an attraction there. There are many wellness resorts by beaches. Backwaters in house boats are a must must experience.

Alleppey

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Nidhi KM

Let your strength make you unstoppable- Sangeeta S Bahl

I am always fascinated with Mount Everest. When I had gone to Nepal, got to see Mount Everest through Mountain flight. So, my trip brought me close to the highest peak of the world. Soon after that a  TV serial named 'Everest' started. I used to regularly follow it. I never missed an episode of the same. The serial brought me closer to the peak. I came to know little bit about challenges of climbing Mount Everest. The emotions  that a climber goes through and how Everest tests them. Truly The SagarMatha ( Nepali name of Mount Everest) calls only a few. The third instance that made me think again about Mt. Everest was when I read on Facebook that the mountaineer Sangeeta S Bahl is planning to climb the world's highest peak in April-May 2017, I wanted to talk to her. Good that she was available for the discussion and I was so glad that I got a chance to speak to her! I wanted to know a lot about Sangeeta S Bahl that made her 'Sangeeta S Bahl'. When I had an interaction with her, I was totally inspired and positive. So, here is the snippet of my interaction with Sangeeta S Bahl, the 'to be' Everest Climber. Sangeeta is planning to climb Everest in April-May, 2017. 

Sangeeta S Bahl , The Mountaineer

My interaction with Sangeeta S Bahl, the mountaineer

Q1.) What was the inspiration of first trek?

First trek was of a pilgrimage that happened immediately after my baby.  Manisha Mahesh in Himachal is a pilgrimage that takes 14,500 ft. to climb.  We took only 3 days. It was a quick trek for us. There is a lake at Manisha Mahesh
Second trek happened when my husband was turning 50 and wanted to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in South Africa. His brother was supposed to go with him but he had to miss it due to some reason. So my husband gave me the offer. I asked him what needs to be done to trek. My husband said you have to be fit. So I lost weight and did cardio. So, I started getting trained.  Four months later I climbed the 19,341 ft. in 8 days. At that time I was 47 years old. Camp for the last base was at Karafu camp. We climbed for 11 hrs and came back in 6 hours. Mountains are sacred and one shouldnt be there for a long time. Pay a sacred and come down quickly. When we reached the top, it was snowing. The beauty of mountain is that the base has desert all over. The top snows. At the top there was white out and extremely cold. Hard to believe that I was at the top. The thing that I noticed was that I was able to climb up without difficulty. Only I was tired and nothing else bad happened.

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Nidhi KM

Heal yourself in nature @ Kairali The Healing Village

I was invited for an experience at Kairali The Healing Village as part of Wellness bloggers meet Edition 2 by Ayurved Sutra. I had heard a lot about Kairali which is famous across India and abroad as well. I was waiting eagerly for the day to reach Kairali and experience the Wellness treatment. When I reached there it was a unique welcome!

Kairali The Healing Village

There were beautiful red seeds along with tikka and a stole.

Swagatam Thali ( Welcome plate)

As they say people don't get checked in but get admitted to the Kairali The Healing Village. The whole process is based on how best Ayurved can heal a person and bring fitness level to a better quotient.

Greenery all around

As I was welcomed at the reception I was offered my favourite green coconut with a slice of hom grown fresh Mausami (sweet lemon) which had a strong fragrance enhancing experience of drinking coconut water. Way to my room and the whole area there was lush green covered by huge trees to give a soothing effect from scorching heat in summers there in Palakkad.

Green belt hovering Kairali The Healing Village

My cottage faced a jackfruit tree amidst greenery which was an appeal in itself as I had seen the Jackfruit fruit tree for the first time in my life.

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Nidhi KM

Jackfruit Tree

Your food is your cure says Geeta Ramesh, Kairali

I had heard a lot about Kairali The Healing Village. It is famous both in India and abroad. I was really curious to meet with the brains behind Kairali so when I got an opportunity to meet with them at Kairali I was very excited. Owners are a fabulous couple. Below is the snippet of our conversation.

Mr. K.V. Ramesh and Ms. Geeta Ramesh

Interaction with K.V. Ramesh and Geeta Ramesh

What was the inspiration to behind Kairali?

Mr. K.V. Ramesh said that he belongs to an Ayurvedic family and Ayurveda runs in their blood so he used to always see his father studying Ayurveda and doing research on the same. He used to see how medicines were being prepared. They had a factory in Bangalore which they shifted to Palakkad and after while they opened a treatment centre in Delhi it was a huge success. People loved its products and the treatment that was provided at the centre. On public demand since they already had land in Palakkad, they decided to make a resort.

What is your vision for Kairali?

We want to have presence across the globe. We already have 42 centres in the world and are planning to open centres in almost all countries. Also, there is ample space that we have opposite this resort. We plan to have a high end property for who's who of the world

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Nidhi KM

A sea of opportunities at SATTE 2017

This year's SATTE was different as it was the first time that SATTE had introduced awards. I was the part of inauguration Ceremony of SATTE 2017 that was held at Le Meridien , Delhi.

Chief Guest, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Govt. of India ( TBC ) along with Mr. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Mr. Surendra Patwa, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India, Mr. Subash Goyal, Chairman, Stic Travel and Member, National Tourism Advisory Council, Mr. Dato Seri Mohamed Nazri, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia and Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India inaugurated the show amidst an industry august gathering from the travel and trade fraternity.

First of all Mr. Mahesh Sharma introduced various aspects of India as a tourist destination to our guests. He also mentioned that Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has taken tourism in a big way and to new Heights. Tourism generates employment, revenue and more. India is a land of spirituality, Vedas, Upanishad , truth of nonviolence, Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha, Amir Khusro. 

There was a dance performance by India and Srilanka

He then awarded to achievers in various categories of travel, tourism and hospitality.

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Nidhi KM

Blog your way up says BlogX @ Shangrila Eros

BlogX is a conference where bloggers and content managers connect and network with Industry leaders. The event happens at a large scale.

I was curious to go to BlogX meet at Shangrila Eros presented by Air Asia. I reached there at lunch time. First I had food which was delicious.

I then attended the Travel Hackathon competition for Air Asia sponsored by Air Asia. We were divided into four groups. We were asked to create a hack for Air Asia and present in just two minutes. Each group decided their speech and presented. I am sure although not all teams won but Air Asia got ample ideas.

After that there was a full blown session on Blogging tips by Iftekhar Ahmed, India's top affiliate marketer, blogger and influencer. I found those tips really useful in terms of how to get due credits for your photographs, how to get back links from good sites, submit a deal, help a reporter and more. 

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Nidhi KM