I’m an anti-traveller…

Wait, no. I have travelled to a few places—but not really for the purpose of travelling.

Wait, nope. I actually have travelled just to travel.

Haaa… now I get it.

Enough confusion. Let me start from the beginning.

Growing up, my family rarely allowed me to travel because they believed it wasn’t safe. Most of their “no”s were reasonable, but I was still disappointed. So, I looked for a solution and found two options: travel without permission or stop wishing to travel.

The first one felt wrong, so I chose the second.

I stopped dreaming about trips and slowly became comfortable staying inside my room. I became a complete homebody, and everything went smoothly.

Even when my friends invited me on trips, I always said no – until one day.

My best friend, who is a complete travel freak, asked me to join her on a trip. I said I didn’t have the budget. She said I didn’t need to pay.

Then I said my parents wouldn’t allow me. She called them and got permission herself.

At that point, I had no more excuses, so I said yes.

We went to Trincomalee. We climbed, walked, and visited so many places. She enjoyed every adventure, while I mostly sat somewhere and observed people.

At the temple, on the beach, in the park, under the waterfall, on the bus everywhere, I just sat.

And whenever I sat, she sat beside me, and we talked.

In the middle of the waves, at the top of a mountain, and everywhere in between, we did the same thing: sit and talk.

She climbed mountains while pulling me along by my hand. She is an adventure freak, and I am the exact opposite. Maybe that is why they say opposites attract. 😂

She became my personal pick-me-up, and I became her passenger princess.

She has the freedom and confidence to travel alone, but she always puts me in her imaginary basket and carries me along for her bucket-list adventures.

Honestly, I am blessed to have her. Otherwise, my whole life might have ended within the four walls of my room.

I used to save travel reels only to send them to her- not because I planned to visit those places myself.

One day, I randomly asked her, “Where do you want to go?”

She said, “Galle.”

Without thinking, I immediately replied, “Let’s go.”

I still don’t know where that confidence came from.

But just to keep the promise I had made, I travelled alone on a bus to meet her, and then we went to Galle together.

And yes – even in Galle, we mostly sat and talked, bro. 😂

I have known her for nearly 15 years, but somehow, we still have so much to talk about.

The funny thing is, I work in a travel company, yet I have never felt excited about travelling. I kept rejecting every travel opportunity, and it made me wonder whether I was even suitable for my role.

I kept asking myself, “Why am I like this?”

Today, I finally found the answer.

I don’t hate travelling. I actually enjoy it.

My expectations of travel are simply different.

I don’t need a packed itinerary, endless adventures, or a hundred places to visit. I just want to discover a different view, find a peaceful place to sit, and have a long conversation with someone I love being around.

For people like me, travelling depends more on the company than the journey or the destination.

Even my type in men has always been someone who loves travelling. Years ago, I thought marrying someone adventurous would finally give me permission to fulfil all the travel wishes I had never been allowed to have.

Later, I realised that I no longer needed anyone’s permission.

But even after receiving that freedom, I remained a homebody.

So, here is my conclusion:

Thank you, Pappu, for being my travel companion and for carrying this reluctant passenger princess along with you.

Now, let us see where we sit and talk next and when my forever companion finally decides to arrive. 😁