List FestivalsFestivals RitualsCultural FestivalsWonderful IndiaAmazing IndiaBeautiful IndiaHappy IndiaIndia XxxPersonal AspectForwardKumbh Mela Festival Nashik, India People come to bathe in the Ganges in remembrance of a divine battle that broke the holy pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.Hong Mei and a sadhu in Varanasi. Hong Mei bought journals stamped with Ganeshas in Pahar Ganj (New Delhi) to be able to write during her long train journeys. The first Chinese woman to backpack across the country, she took home a year-full of memories and wrote The Farther I Walk, The Closer I Get to Me, a travelogue that is warm and full of sharp and honest observations about a country so close and yet so far away from her own. From meeting Aamir Khan during a chance movie shooting to spending long days in the sleeper class of India’s bustling trains, Hong Mei’s stories are fascinating and personal. “Very few Chinese go backpacking in India, and even fewer women. It’s not that we have an unfavourable view of the country.

We are simply oblivious. For most Chinese, India is just a country that existed long ago in fables like Journey to the West,” says Mei. After a year of backpacking across 33 Chinese provinces, her first trip abroad was to India in 2009. She had several experiences that year — watching protests by sugarcane workers, watching Indian politics unfold on election day in Mumbai, meeting Chinese immigrants in Kolkata and trying the local food. “Fifth-century Chinese explorers like Faxian and Xuanzang might have been the first Chinese to travel to India but, sometimes, it felt like it was me” she explains. villopoto backpack“Pretty much everywhere I went in India, the people could not believe that I was Chinese. tna backpack aritziaSome would pull out their Chinese-made mobile phones and smile; bubble guppies backpack with detachable lunch kit

others would do a little song and dance from Chandni Chowk to China. In Kutch, I was the first-ever Chinese to be issued an official travel permit to that restricted region. I felt like I had made history.” The impact the country had on her was not just emotional but spiritual. “This was the first time in my life I was surrounded by so much spirituality. China is now the world’s largest economy; we have everything we could ever want, except faith. But I never really thought about it until I arrived in India. I found myself sitting on the ghats of Varanasi all day long watching the religious processions. She was moved to tears after witnessing the Kumbh Mela. “This resilient happiness and contentment among the people here seems to spring from faith.” When Mei was in Mumbai, she took off on her own into Dharavi at night, only to be caught by the locals and the police. “We had initially gone on the slum tour but no photos were allowed. Ao I went back the next day unescorted to photograph the patchwork of corrugated metal rooftops.

I snuck into the grounds of the highest nearby apartment complex where a man interrogated me. Soon several men had arrived and wouldn’t let me leave. They accused me of trespassing, which was true, I guess,” she says. The police were called too. “An entire convoy arrived! Sirens and lights filled the slums of Dharavi. They put me in the back of one of the jeeps and we drove away. Dozens of slum children merrily chased after us. They brought me to the police station and then started filling out paperwork. In the end, they were very kind. They told me off and let me go.” Since she didn’t have a year-long visa, she had to keep travelling back and forth from China. When she went to Orissa, she was asked not to travel down south. “All tribal tours were suspended due to Naxalites closing roads, trains and trade. India launched a military offensive in response. Our driver was uneasy because I am Chinese. There was a rumour saying Maoist weapons are bought from China. If anyone inquired, I had to say I was Japanese or Korean.”

Hong Mei took a year to finish her book and would like to come back to India to explore more places. “I hope I can return to India and visit the regions that I was not allowed to visit last time, like the Northeast. I’d love to write a sequel to my book about backpacking through places like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, which no other Chinese has written about before.”It was 108 degrees and I had been wandering all day. I was alone, starving, and had no idea how to get back to my campsite. My passport, phone, cash, and credit cards were gone. I’d just been robbed at Kumbh Mela—ironically, an occasion for pilgrims to bathe away their sins in the holy river at the foothills of the Himalayas. Kumbh Mela, which takes place every 12 years, has been dubbed “the largest human gathering on the planet.” Pilgrims come from all over to meet their guru, smoke ritual charras, chant holy mantras, and eat prasad (blessed food). The sheer number of people—millions—who participate is astounding, and the more time I spent there, the more claustrophobic I became.

The final bathing day is the most important day of the festival, and I was anxious to photograph as many areas as possible. There were thousands of people on the bridge, all pushing to get to the main bathing site along the banks of the Ganges. The noise was deafening, and the mood turned violent. In the chaos, I held my camera over my head to protect it from being smashed. I looked down and saw that my purse was halfway unzipped. A rush of panic rose in my chest as I put my hand inside and found that my wallet and phone were gone. I knew all the safety issues, yet I was still in shock that this had happened to me, a seasoned world traveler. There were no tourists anywhere, and the majority of people did not speak English. The police were absolutely useless. I was on my own. And I have never been more acutely aware of my sex. Traveling solo as a female is challenging, but absolutely worth it. Because when you’re the one making all the decisions, handling all the problems, and taking all the responsibility, you learn so much about yourself: your strengths and limitations, your morals and ethics, and your capacity to soldier on no matter what.

My journeys—especially ones I’ve undertaken alone—have helped me figure out who I am as a traveler, a photographer, and a woman. But there are plenty of lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here’s hoping you can benefit from my experience and learn from some of my mistakes: If you’re new to solo travel, volunteering is a great place to start. It helps you get your bearings in a new place, while providing a community of people you can trust and share your experiences with and can lend meaning, depth, and perspective to your travels, while allowing you to give back to people in need. Group travel is another good jumping off point. It makes it easy to make new friends, and, because the tour company handles all of the details, it’s relatively hassle-free. You’ll also benefit from experts who can guide you through each experience and locale. I’ve had so many positive group travel experiences that I decided to make a profession of it. Traveling solo for long stretches can be challenging.

It’s not uncommon for folks to feel depressed or lose interest in continuing their travels altogether. It’s natural, and will pass. Stay in smaller hostels and hotels to ensure you have more contact with other travelers. Keep up your routines. If cooking centers you, try to stay somewhere with a kitchen. Write in your journal or listen to your iPod. Know when to treat yourself: Get a massage, attend a sporting event, or treat yourself to a nice dinner. Communicate with everyone you miss via Skype, Facebook, Twitter—pick your poison—or start your own travel blog. But, most importantly, commit to learning to enjoy your own company. Safety should be your top priority while traveling alone—and women often have to take special care to protect themselves. That being said, travel can be an empowering, even transformative, experience, and you shouldn’t rob yourself of that sense of adventure. Research your destination before you leave and make notes about cultural dos and don’ts.

The goal is to blend into, not stand out from, the crowd. Bring a whistle, buy a pocketknife, wear a wedding ring—whatever makes you feel more safe, wherever you are. We’ve all heard about women who have gone missing or have been found dead while traveling alone. While these stories are unsettling and often tragic, I refuse to let them stop me from doing what I love. Being a female travel photographer means I take on additional risk when I’m alone. Wearing a big, heavy, expensive camera around your neck and a mess of gear on your back can bring unwanted attention. But for me, more often than not, the advantages far outweigh the risks. I am continually amazed at the kind reaction I get from strangers when they see I have a camera, it’s almost as if it provides a passport to forging friendships around the globe. I’ve been given opportunities to photograph amazing places and unique situations; I’ve also been invited into people’s homes. Even with a language barrier, a simple smile can often get me in the door.