Episode 232 - Vaishali Patel, Solo Explorers
In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 6: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine shares a soulful conversation with Vaishali Patel.
Vaishali is an author, speaker, coach, and creator of the award-nominated Immersive India Tour, which was voted the UK’s number one city walking tour by The Times and The Sunday Times. Her book Solo Explorers empowers women to embrace solo travel for self-discovery and transformation. In her TEDx talk Your Body’s Intelligence, she explores how creativity can support self-awareness and healing. Through her coaching, tours, and talks, Vaishali helps individuals reconnect with themselves, express their stories, and lead authentically to create meaningful impact.
Early Travel Experiences and a Budding Passion
Vaishali Patel is a multi-passionate and multi-talented leader in the travel industry. In this episode, she shares how her own journey with solo travel has ignited a deep sense of confidence and independence for her personally and professionally.
Vaishali recounts her early experiences, from being a young girl captivated by British Airways commercials that painted a picture of possibility and worldly connection, to her first solo trip to Tokyo in 2010. What began with fear and uncertainty at Harajuku station quickly transformed into a realization of the inherent kindness and generosity of people around the world. "And I think that was such a pivotal moment in my travel, in my solo travels because it created there in my mind was, wow. Like people are really helpful, people are really generous," Vaishali shares.
This belief in the goodness of others fostered a sense of safety and trust, allowing Vaishali to embrace experiences far outside her comfort zone. She speaks of teaching in China and being "adopted" by local families, and of a man in Brazil who ensured she got home safely. These seemingly small acts of kindness reinforced her burgeoning confidence and challenged her preconceived notions about solo female travel.
On a road trip around New Zealand, Vaishali’s meeting of new friends on a tour and couch surfing in New Zealand also led to an "incredible journey" that solidified her transformation. Upon returning home, she felt palpably different, more confident and independent, with friends and family mirroring back a new, courageous version of herself. "It was such a liberating experience of all the conditioning, the… of my personality that people around me had told me that I was, and it was a new way to create my identity.”
Solo Explorers: Relatable and Inspiring Travel Stories
Vaishali’s experiences fueled a desire to empower other women to experience the same growth. Vaishali shares that after initially overthinking the process, the idea for "Solo Explorers" became reality during the 2020 lockdown; Vaishali interviewed 30 women from diverse backgrounds and life stages, seeking to create a book where any woman could find a relatable story and feel inspired to embark on her own solo adventure.
The book, she explains, focuses on four key areas of transformation through travel: self-growth and awareness, career impacts, pursuing passions, and the impact on relationships. Vaishali and Christine discuss how these stories collectively dismantle stereotypes and demonstrate the freedom travel provides, allowing women to redefine their roles and challenge societal norms. They emphasized that travel isn't just an escape, but a powerful form of connection and inner transformation. As Christine puts it, travel "wants to give you that version of yourself," even if you don't feel ready for it when you start planning.
Travel, Creativity, Healing, and TEDx
Vaishali and Christine make the connection between travel, creativity, and healing, inspired by Vaishali's TEDx talk on "Your Body's Intelligence." Vaishali highlighted how creative outlets like drawing, dance, and breathwork, much like travel, can help us become self-aware and heal from suppressed emotions.
She shares how her own creative blocks were linked to trapped emotions and how engaging in creative activities and travel helped her identify and work through them, stressing that these non-talk-based therapies can be incredibly powerful for those who struggle to articulate their internal experiences.
Women in Travel CIC Tour Guide Academy
An unexpected turn in Vaishali's journey led her to the Women in Travel CIC Tour Guide Academy. After meeting Alessandra Alonso, the founder of Women in Travel CIC, at an event, Vaishali was encouraged to try the program, despite never having envisioned herself as a tour guide. She found the academy to be a supportive environment where she could hone her storytelling skills and learn the business aspects of creating a tour.
This led to the creation of the Immersive India tour in London, a walking tour that explores East African and Indian Gujarati culture in the Wembley area. Vaishali initially had no grand expectations for the tour, viewing it as a creative outlet. However, through a series of serendipitous events, including a feature in The Guardian, the tour gained unexpected popularity, becoming a top-selling experience. Vaishali expresses that it is a great source of pride to see the tour bridge cultures and create understanding.
Transformation through Community-Based Travel and Tourism
As with any transformational and community-based tour project, the results are clear. Guests who may be initially hesitant to enter a temple or explore the shops on their own have the chance to leave a place feeling empowered and knowledgeable. Vaishali shares how the experience can give host communities – and herself – a newfound appreciation for her own culture, which she had previously taken for granted. "What I love I see is this... that it creates of a different culture... but this understanding that gets created... helps people to, I guess, accept and understand themselves as well as other cultures. And ultimately you then have harmony between people.”
Christine echoes, sharing that Vaishali's tour allows people to have a deeply immersive cultural experience close to home, challenging the notion that such experiences require traveling to far-off lands. This type and approach to travel celebrates our differences while using them to create harmony over division.
“Turn back and look at your own self for inspiration because you are more incredible than you know and more resilient than you know.”
Soul of Travel Episode 232 At a Glance
In this conversation, Christine and Vaishali discuss:
The connection between travel and our inner journey
How travel instills confidence and personal and professional transformation
The Women in Travel, CIC Tour Guide Academy
Vaishali’s unexpected journey toward creating a walking tour focusing on Indian culture that became a top selling experience in London
Bridging Cultures and Creating Harmony in our own backyards
Join Christine and Vaishali Patel now for this soulful conversation.
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Related UN Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goal #3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Sustainable Development Goal #4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Sustainable Development Goal #5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Sustainable Development Goal #10: Reduce inequality within and among countries.
Sustainable Development Goal #16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Resources & Links Mentioned in the Episode
Learn more and connect with Vaishali: https://www.solo-explorers.com
Connect with Vaishali on your favorite social media network! Instagram / Instagram / Instagram / LinkedIn
About the Soul Of Travel Podcast
Soul of Travel honors the passion and dedication of people making a positive impact in the tourism industry. In each episode, you’ll hear the stories of women who are industry professionals, seasoned travelers, and community leaders. Our expert guests represent social impact organizations, adventure-based community organizations, travel photography and videography, and entrepreneurs who know that travel is an opportunity for personal awareness and a vehicle for global change.
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Soul of Travel Episode 232 Transcript
Women’s travel, transformational travel, sustainable travel, social entrepreneurship
Christine: Welcome to Soul of Travel Podcast. I am your host, Christine, and today I am happy to be joined by our guest, Vishal Patel, who is the author of Solo Explorers, as well as many other hats that she wears.
Um, so we'll get into some of that as we move through your story. Um, but I am, I'm really delighted to have you joining us here for this conversation today.
Vaishali: Me too. Thank you, Christine.
Christine: Thank you. Well, just to kick off, I'm gonna turn it right over to you and give you an opportunity to introduce yourself to our listeners and tell them a little bit about the work that you're doing now.
Vaishali: Sure. Um, so like you said, I, I do quite a few things, uh, but the common thread between all of them is, uh, empowering others. So I'm the author of Solo Explorers. It's a Amazon bestseller. It is all about the personal and professional transformation that's available through traveling solo. And people that have read the book have fed back to me that they feel quite inspired and empowered to, uh, to organize their own meaningful and transformational travel experiences. tells a story of, uh, 30 women. Uh, and their inner journeys that they've gone through and the impact it's had on their life and, uh, the choices that they've made thereafter. So that's the, the book. I'm also, as you mentioned, um, I have experiences business. A part of that is the Immersive India tour. Um, and that is a. East African and Indian Gujarati, uh, culture in London. So we take guests on a, a journey through the temple, the foods and the um, the clothing and, uh, guests get to immerse themselves in all of that right here in London. So that's, um, that's another experience. Um, and I am very passionate about. Travel, creativity and wellbeing. And I, um, created a TEDx talk on the actual subject of using, um, well the power of creativity in becoming self-aware and in healing. Um, and so yeah, that, that's, that was really, uh, promoting the message that I wanted to get across. um, side of that, my background is marketing and I also coach people to do public speaking, so that's.
Christine: Yeah. Thank you. Um, I, I often have multi-passionate, um, guests, people that are involved in a lot of things, so I love seeing that. But I love the, the way you introduced the through line first. And I remember being at a networking event, um, many years ago, and there was someone who was. Talking about like how to network and how to engage with people quickly and let them know who you are, especially if you're in a place where people are, you know, throwing out business cards and not really focusing on who they're meeting.
And her tip was, you know, to say, I'm Christine, I'm passionate about gender equity. And I do that through, and then kind of listen all the things. So it's like that. That through line is really the, the important piece. And I think for so many people, it doesn't really matter what format it takes, as long as we're aligned with that thing that we most identify with as our purpose or our passion or our mission.
Vaishali: Yeah. What's yours, Christine? What do you, what's your through line?
Christine: Yeah, I mean, I, I think that it's, um, I'm like very good. I it is really. Supporting gender equity and empowering women through travel. That's, that's really what I work at. But the biggest thing for me is just equity and yeah, I really want women to feel powerful and equal. That's just what I've always focused on since I was little and it has taken all of these different twists and turns, but it's, it's always so great.
Once you are a little further in your journey and you can look back and you are like, oh, I see how I was. Doing that there and there and there, and then your through line is a little more obvious than maybe the beginning of your journey.
Vaishali: Yeah, I just got goosebumps when you said that about the, uh, about what you did as, as a child. And you might not know it when you were younger, but then, uh, like you said, when you reflect back, you go, oh yeah, that's kind of, that make sense. Now I get it. And then
Christine: Yeah.
Vaishali: what I'm gonna do going forward.
Christine: Yeah, and probably the adults in my life that had maybe that awareness that we're watching it, that probably could see it, you know, before I could. But I would love to maybe go back and talk to some of those people in my life and. Be like, did you notice this thing about me? Probably they even told me and I just didn't listen because I was a rebellious teenager or whatever.
But, um, well, to begin, um, you know, getting into your journey, I'd love to hear a little bit more about, um, you know, your travel experiences, how that has shaped you in your personal journey, and really how that has kind of informed and influenced what you do in your work today.
Vaishali: Sure. Um. Well, where do I start? So I think as a kid, I used to watch a British sheway adverts on tv. Um, I'm not sure if you saw them, the same ones, um, in the States, but here in the uk when I was a child, there was, they'd play these, um, adverts that would have these. This amazing, uh, world sounds soundtrack. So you'd hear like African beats and then, uh, you know, chanting from somewhere else. And it was just so uplifting to listen to that. And then you'd see a, an air steward buckling a little kid on a plane and the whole, um. The whole advert gave me a sense of possibility and um, like yeah, just possibility and, and worldly connection.
And, um, I remember being, feeling like I really wanted to work there and I ended up working at British Airways at, when I had a sandwich year at university, we had to do a one year placement, and I ended up working there. And I was, I remember, uh, our office was open plan and one side was all window and it. It was just majestic. I was surrounded by, know, pilots and air stewards and runway, and it was amazing. Um, and then I guess 20 years later I fell back into, into the travel industry through the book, which I'm gonna come. In a minute. Before that, um, I think it was probably 2010, where I properly did my first solo travel, uh, journey. I'd wanted to do it throughout my twenties, but I think I fell into this normal pattern of. We're gonna go to college, you're gonna go to university. And then, uh, you know, you find a partner, you settle down, you buy a house. And that was kind of a little bit of the mindset I was in until I'd say, and I did travel with friends. Um, I always wanted to do that traveling on my own, but never saw the opportunity until. I'd say, uh, 20 2009, like a few things happened in my personal life. A friend had passed away. Um, I'd come to a point in my professional life where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the marketing stuff, and I decided that I would just. traveling, go travel, uh, do it now, like this is the best time to go. And um, in January, 2010, I was in Japan with um, I was meeting a friend out there and while he was working, I remember thinking, right, well I should go and see the country. I should go see Tokyo. I'm here. Um, and I was so scared 'cause I'd not traveled on my own like that.
And especially in a city like Tokyo, where if you've ever been or you've seen it, it is. Full of people full of things. Uh, I don't understand the language. So I remember standing at Harajuku station with this map going, right, how do I work this? And these two people approached me and they said to me, can I help you?
And I was a bit taken aback and I said, okay. Uh, and they helped me. And I think that was such a pivotal moment in my travel, in my solo travels because. I created there in my, in my mind was, wow. Like people are really helpful, people are really generous. whenever I went on any trips after that, I had that in my mind and that is literally what I experienced. So, and also, um, I, um, what was I. I felt safe after that. I felt really safe 'cause I thought, it doesn't matter where I go, people are gonna help me. Um, and that really started, um, almost a two year travel solo travel trip. Later on, uh, when I went to China, I. And when I was in China for six months, I was teaching and traveling and young girls would, uh, come and approach me and talk to me, and then their families would adopt me on these trips.
And, um, you know, so they were looking after me. And then, uh, I went to Brazil and, um, I remember I would be walking in an area which I felt safe in. Um, and then, um, a, a man would say, oh, no, no, no. put me in an Uber and send me home. You know, like there, I always found people after me 'cause that's what I felt.
And, um, I've never had any, any other experience other than feeling safe and looked after. Um. There are people in the book that have had similar experiences that I think when we are women, we sometimes feel that much more afraid to travel solo. But a lot of women in my book actually think it's an advantage. but a lot of people tend to. take more care of you in other countries. Um, and, I'm gonna come to the other stories later, but yeah, that was my experience. I felt so safe. So I traveled and, um, I spent a year in Australia teaching, uh, just living out there, traveling. Um, I did a road trip around New Zealand, which was something I really wanted to do. Um, and I did it like in such a way that was so not the person. Um, it was so not me before I went traveling. It's, you know, people would think, you are Molly coddled or, you know, you're too scared to do something like that. And I literally landed, I was on a trip in Tasmania and I met somebody who was on the tour with me, and we both wanted to do a road trip around New Zealand, we met in Sydney. Sydney Library planned our trip, then met in Auckland separately, decided we needed to get one more person. this lady on a couch surfing. We went to her party that night, she said yes. The next day the three of us were at the car, higher place. We got a car and, and she introduced us a couch surfing.
So we. Pouch surfed around New Zealand. Uh, we got to the south island, decided we need someone else, and we picked up a hitchhiker from Washington and the four of us on this incredible journey around New Zealand. Um, that was always something I wanted to do before I went traveling, but I wasn't that person before. So, um, when I came back, I remember, uh, I felt different. I felt. Like I had definitely changed and I felt in, I felt more confident in myself. I felt more independent. and, know, people on my trip would mirror back to me of my personality that were so different to what people had said to me before I went.
So people say, you're so courageous. You just go, um, hiking by yourself. I was thinking I'm courageous. Really, a word I would've described myself, but I like it. I'll keep it. So it was, it was such a liberating experience of all the conditioning, the, uh, of my personality that people around me had told me that I was, um, and it was a, a new way to create my identity. So I remember sharing a lot of this with my friends and family via emails on Facebook, and women would say to me. You are so lucky or we are living vicariously through you. And I would say, I would think, no, no, no. You can do this. You don't need to. You can, if you choose this, you can make it happen. And I, at that point, I wanted to create something that would I. Inspire and empower women to travel solo. I wanted them to, uh, experience the growth and the transformation that is available through, uh, traveling solo. That sense of liberation and fun and, uh, just being able to like get to know yourself deeply. um, I. to think about a book, at that time I over overthought the process and I completely killed my idea.
And then I remember it was 2017 and I was on a leadership program and we could create projects. And I started again to think about this book, and I maybe interviewed one person. And then again, I started to overthink about the publishing aspect and stop the process. And it wasn't until lockdown, uh, 2020, when. I, the world stopped and, uh, I couldn't, I couldn't like focus on work or anything else, and it was just me. And at that point I. Went through all the projects that I wanted to do in my life and that I never did and just got closure for myself. But the book was something that came up for me and I, I started it then, and of planning it and all of that, I just went, let me just start doing the thing I love.
I just interviewed 30 women. I found 30 women through my network through asking people. It was very clear I wanted to talk to women from different backgrounds at different life stages. I wanted people to, anyone to pick up the book and find a story that they could relate to. Um, and over two and a half years, that was the book being published.
And, um, I continue to travel during that time. And, um, always, always, I. Try shaped me. I, that's all I can say. Every experience, every encounter, uh, all the adventures they've shaped me, um, made me resilient, a bit more adventurous, um, and courageous. Um, and I, I guess I bring that into personal projects that way of, being into personal projects.
And was through, um. When I finished writing the book, I was looking for an endorser and I was at World Travel Market, the big event, and I saw Alessandra Alonzo speak and she's the founder of Women in Travel, uh, the social enterprise. And when I heard her speak, I thought I would love her to endorse the message of the book, with how much she, um, you know, speaks for women. And, um, uh, we met up and she. Uh, told me about her tour guiding academy and introduced me to, um, something that I could do at the time when my mental health was quite poor because of Covid. um, decided to take it on and, and that's created this whole other, uh, tour business that, that, um, I've created.
I just realized, I've just talked so much.
Christine: It's okay. No, it's good. Um, I, I just was thinking as you were talking about, and you shared, you know, the, some of the, the things that happened as you were traveling that were kind of managed by a person you weren't before you got there, and then also the. Like the ways that people responded to who you were before you left and how they responded to you when you return.
And I think, I think that's one of the things that maybe gets overlooked about the power of solo travel and also is one of the, the greatest barriers. Because many times we don't know ourself as the person who can do the thing until we're doing the thing or until we've had the experiences that build us up.
You know, you didn't start with driving around New Zealand with four strangers. You know, you started in these other experiences and so I think it is really powerful for people to like give themselves the permission to evolve as a traveler into maybe these experiences. That feel far reaching, but also to really allow them to trust that they'll get there.
Because I think that's one of the most magical things about travel is like it wants to give you that version of yourself. It really does. Like you will become this person you want to be. And I can think of like certain days when I've been traveling where like I, I remember taking this picture of myself in Guatemala.
Getting into this boat to go out on Lake Alan and then go meet with a local healer. And like the beginning of that day, that woman took a picture and at the end of the day, that woman was different. Like it just was a different person because so many things happened that shifted my faith and my belief and my ex, like it was profound in one day.
And, and I couldn't have been the person at the end of the day before I had that experience, you know? And so I think, um, I think that's one thing that's really hard to convey. It, it requires a lot of faith and trust and, and putting yourself out there. But it is like, I've seen it happen to so many people where they're just like, I don't know.
That's not me. I even will encounter the same resistance now knowing what I know. And I, and then I have to check myself and be like. It's okay because you're planning this as the person who isn't ready for it yet, but, but you're gonna get there and then you'll be ready.
Vaishali: sometimes you, um, you don't even know you want it until you are traveling and then someone about an experience and you are not who you were before. So in that moment you might be thinking, oh yeah, I'll try that. Like I was in Brazil and I was staying with a lady and she's like, Hey, I'm gonna go surfing. said, okay. She says, you wanna come? I'm like, I don't know how to surf. I said, oh, there's teachers there. And I. Can't swim as well. So I was like, oh, I dunno. And I said, okay, I'll just come and watch you. There was a part of me that always wanted do it, but I was scared. I. I was like, okay, there's a teacher.
We're in shallow waters. It's okay. I'll give it a go. And um, I remember falling off this plastic board about 10 times the first attempt, and maybe managing a little tiny surf, you know, three times. And it was great. And I remember this one point the teacher's like, stand on the surfboards. I stood on there he pushed me off. I was so angry. I was like, why did you do that? And he said, that's what you were scared of, falling in the water, right? And you fell in and nothing's happened. And I was like, actually. And I, it was that I just switched Something just switched inside of me that it became so much easier to stay on that surfboard about, uh, 10 times the next day.
And I fell off about three times. So. It's experiences like sometimes you don't know you wanna do them until you are in the moment. and the other thing, uh, that I feel you develop through travel is your intuition and this relationship with like having a deep trust within yourself and just knowing that you're gonna be okay or that you are being directed in the right direction. and. Bringing that back to whatever you are doing in your life at any, any point thereafter, like being able to bring that same way of thinking, and acting back. That's, that's pretty special when you can, when you can do that. Um, yeah.
Christine: Yeah, I love that. Well, I know we've already kind of started talking about the book, so I think we should just go there and then we'll wind back to the, to the other few things I wanted to talk to you about. But, so you mentioned you interviewed 30 women and kind of got to hear their stories, you know, what travel did for them, how it impacted them.
So I. I would love to talk about this as something obviously comes up on this podcast a lot. Solo travel is really important in many women's lives. Like it's often the thing that allows them to become the person who shows up here, right? That they create whatever it was that they were meant to create after they've had that solo travel experience.
So I'd love to hear from you and through these other women's stories collectively, like how it inspires them and empowers them and. Like what has catalyzed in their lives?
Vaishali: Um, so there's many different, uh, things that they've created from, um, some, uh, women have come back to the. and the place that they were before and instead of thinking I wanna change my location, a lot of times, you know, we go, sometimes we go solo traveling. run away. and then we don't wanna come back 'cause we don't wanna face something in, in our location. some of the, some that, uh, some of the women have, uh, transformed in the book is that they've gone away thinking they wanna go somewhere else. Find and in realizing that they actually have to come back and face what they ran away from. what the solo travel experience does is give them new eyes to look at the situation they were in before that allows them to take different actions. You know, so there was one, there's a lady in the book who, um, you know, wanted to be in a relationship, wanted to found it difficult to make friends, and when they went to Italy and, and Europe, it was easier. Um, and then she wanted to create a life out there and, um. After some reflection and talking to friends and family realized that actually she just needs to come back and face her fears. And she did that. And um, she's now married with her, you know, she's got her family, she's got a great job and she's. Happy where she is. And she's created, um, children's books about, um, a little girl who travels around the world and she's, uh, created these little children's books that are for sale now, uh, about these adventures.
So she's, um, you know, taken her creativity and, and channeled it into creating books like that to empower your more younger children to learn about the world and travel. Um, the book I focus on four in travel. Uh, for self-growth, like personal growth, uh, self-awareness, women who traveled because of their careers there was traveling solo for their careers. Uh, women that solo traveled to pursue a passion. And fourth area is more about how, relationships were impacted. So either ones that they made or the ones that they were in. And, um, yeah, I, where, where do I even start? There's so much. There's, there's a lady that, um, was working, uh, in a, in a Canadian university, a mom has a 2-year-old boy had the opportunity to travel, uh, through work to. Teach in Africa. Uh, she was a Ling Ling, something lingua. Can't say it, but that's what she was in. And she um, uh, was so worried about leaving her 2-year-old and she. Questioned like, she's a mother, she's a wife. Can she do this? Her, her family were, were sort of like, well, you know, you, you don't do this after you had a family.
So that was the, the, the narrative around that. And her friends just said, you go. will help your husband take care of your boy, you go, and she decided to do it. Uh, she went out to Africa. She, um, built amazing relationships with women in Burkina Faso through her work. Uh, she. Um, was in a community where the culture's very different to, to hers in, in, in Canada.
So there was, uh, a, uh, you know, female genital mutilation going on. There was, uh, men who have multiple wives. There was lots of things that were very different. So she was able to see a different aspect of, of life. And when she retired. She decided to go back to Africa and create a charity, um, to empower these women, uh, in these communities.
And uh, her first project was they created a well for these women to take water. And the second one is a windmill so that they can create their own energy in their community. So that's just one really incredible story of the impact of, uh, this lady solo travel experience. In Africa. Um, there's another lady who, an Asian lady who when you get married, your life is you look out, you, you, you have a job and you have your kids.
That's it's set. Um, she got married and, uh, she went on a year. She, she went traveling. She went traveling for work to the Middle East and, um, Would meet her husband every seven weeks in different parts of the world, and they would have a, like a honeymoon every for, every seven weeks for the first couple of years of their marriage.
And, you know, it's so unheard of, uh, to, to do that. And, um, one of the ways that she was able to do that is by having these conversations with his family and, and, and him, and supporting each other's dreams so that she could do that. And through that she, know, did her higher studies. She went on to do some work around, uh, financial, uh, investments for women around the Middle East. Um, and then there's been, um, other women who have gone traveling for personal development and they've gone to India to do volunteer work or just see parts of the country and, um. been a fantastic self-reflection time for them to be able to, see what's stopped them in their life before, what they wanna create going forward. they've also had to, um, like deal with certain situations where their personal boundaries have been tampered with. So the unwanted sort of touching if you're walking down the street or on the train, and even that Really uncomfortable. And, and, and that has been an empower, a sort of a transformational journey for them because they were able to find their voice able to stand up for themselves or stand up for others. so that became, although not a pleasant experience, an opportunity for them to find their voice and, and come back and use that voice. So, um. And then relationships, like, um, there's people that have created, uh, friendships with a rickshaw driver or a homeless woman, and it continues on till now people stay in touch and, um, and things like that.
So there's, I mean, I can tell you so many stories. There were the most. I think the, the, there's a couple that are really powerful for me. One of them is a lady who, she was a music, she was a theater actress and she lost her voice. Uh, she ended up, she was going through a divorce. She wasn't in the best place and she was going to end her life. And she thought what she'd do is she would take her credit card, max it out by traveling around Europe and then end her life and, um. mom became aware of this and supported her to get the help that she needed to feel, uh, more em, uh, empowered and different about herself and her life. ended up doing that same trip to celebrate her life. And, uh, when she did that chip, she actually met people along the way who mirrored back to her, that she'd be a fantastic actress. And it's something she always wanted to do, but she didn't feel she had the confidence. And so then when she came back from that trip, she's gone into acting. Um, and I, I think that's such a powerful, such a powerful story about how travel saves lives as well. Um, and then another lady, she works in the, um, Navy, the US Navy, and, uh, uh, she, I was thinking, how could you be scared of anything? You're in the Navy, like I can be scared of anything. Um, and the one thing that she was, she was, uh, deployed in, um, Poland, and one of her fears was navigation, because all the signs were in Polish. And, um, so she's driving, trying to find her camp, but she doesn't know how to get there. Uh, she's worried about, you know, her car breaking down and not being able to get help and things like that. And um, so that was quite interesting that even people who are in the armed forces could have these fears. Um, but was interesting was she would travel around Poland with this sense of responsibility of representing the us. every interaction she had with, uh, with local people, would come across a certain way because she felt she was representing her country. And I thought that was quite powerful. Um, yeah. So, but there's so many other stories of incredible things that women have done and the
Christine: Yeah.
Vaishali: had.
Christine: Yeah. Well, and I love the kind of the ways that many of those stories exemplified, breaking down these stereotypes that that women are held to, and that would typically not allow them to be able to travel, but the act of traveling in and of itself begins to break. Break down those things and to show different ways of, of living and being and, and holding relationships and, you know, 'cause none of those things are true.
It's just the way that we've done things, right? So any one of us has the room to redefine what our roles look like in a, as a. Partner as a mother, as a employee. Like we're seeing it happen all over the place with, you know, people working remotely and taking gap years or family travel years. And I just think that that is a really incredible thing too, is, is how much freedom travel gives you, and then how that in turn like gives other people more freedom or shifts the narrative around what we can or cannot do.
By social norms. And so I think that that's really amazing. And then, you know, other women seeing their friends and colleagues and peers travel also tells more people that they have the permission to, to do that, to invest in themselves that way, or to feel that liberator then that free and to celebrate life.
And, and like you said, that, you know, the, the woman that ended up being able to spend that time. Enjoy traveling instead of in desperation. And I think that's interesting 'cause so many people kind of envision travel as this escape and, and often it's told, we're told it's an escape. Right. But I know we both really believe in the, that inner transformation and that inner journey.
And so really what it is, is it's connection. It's not escape. Like we, nobody really I think wants escape, but it's what we think. We're what we think we should want, I guess. Yeah.
Vaishali: it's okay if people see it as an escape, they are becoming conscious of themselves through the process and coming back to
Christine: Mm-hmm.
Vaishali: Even if they call it an escape. It's, it's that process of I need to be in a different environment to stop my daily stuff that I would normally do to find space to connect back to me and I, and
Christine: Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, I guess kind of to transition a little bit more to inner journey and mindfulness and connecting with our body, I would love to, um, talk a little bit about your, um, TEDx talk on your body's intelligence, and, um, if you can, I'll, I'll share the link so people can listen to the whole thing if they want to.
But if you would give us kind of an overview and then how. How these ideas tie into the work that you're doing and kind of the, the way that it informs what travel can be and the coaching that you do and things like that.
Vaishali: Sure. Um, so the whole idea of the, the, the topic of creativity being, uh, something that can heal, but also something that can, um, I. Uh, well, something that where we become self-aware and then it can also be, uh, a modality to heal. And I think it's very similar to travel. Um, you know, travel can be an opportunity to become self-aware as well as an opportunity to heal. Um, and so I talk about the many creative aspects like. Drawing or dance or, uh, acting, uh, breath work, um, you know, just, um, that sort of movement of our body moves the energy in our body. All of that, which is similar to travel. When you are moving and you are traveling, um, that also moves the energy from what you were to. What you could be. Um, and so the talk actually, so what I talk about is, a lot of the time, uh, a lot of illnesses in the body sometimes are caused by suppressed emotions. Right. So suppressed emotions. This could be from, uh, trauma, it can be from, uh, just not being encouraged to speak up as a child or whatever.
We our emotions down, we don't speak up, and then these emotions become trapped in the body. And they, they can cause illness. That's one of the things, the invisible impact of them is sometimes when you are, uh, like for myself, when I wanted to create projects and, and, um, do things outside of work that were more creative things, I would get stopped and I just couldn't understand why, I was. Driven. I knew exactly what to do, but somewhere in my body, I just would stop and I just couldn't move forward with a project and I couldn't understand it. And people would ask me or or be like, come on, you can do this. You are so driven. Why? And I just didn't know how to explain it. I just, I, I, I just can't. The sort of various creative methods that I had been doing since I was a child, like drawing or breath work when I couldn't sleep or like partner dancing in my twenties. Um, acting solo, traveling. It reflected things back to me, of me. It either reflected, um, like if I wanted to move forward with a partner dance, but I wasn't flowing with my partner. It made me stop and go, why can I not flow? But when I look at other people, they look beautiful, like majestic, almost flowing with each other. And it gave me an aspect to self-reflect and it became, I became aware, I was like, ah, I think I have some emotional, uh, intimacy cha, like I have some intimacy challenges there. And it then gave me an access to go and look at how can I break that down and, and help myself work through that. Go on stage and you just. Act and I would be someone who was always angry or aggressive and I'm thinking, why am I always this when I could be a hundred odd things? And then I realized, oh, I think you might have repressed anger, Charlo. then that gave me a chance to go, okay, I need to go look at how I can help myself with this.
So became self-reflection tools, but. When I went traveling, that also helped me to heal. It gave me a lot of space, being with nature, jumping out of planes, uh, you know, being, uh, doing, um, deep sea diving. All these activities that took me so much outside my comfort zone and gave me such an incredible feeling. Helped me to, I don't know, it created space in my brain for answers to show up. Um, and then I could go and, um, get some support. Um, why creative tools? Why travel? 'cause talk based therapies don't always work for everyone. And that was the thing I was finding really tough because I couldn't understand. So if somebody asked me, I couldn't explain anything and I felt, I felt really alone.
'cause I couldn't, I just thought no one understands me until I found this. Journey of being able to understand myself I wanted other people out there who, might be experiencing the same thing, where they don't understand themselves or why they're feeling blocked or can't explain it to people too. Have they their path and find a way that works for them. And then talk based therapies can also work after that. But initially it's like, why are you that, I dunno. I dunno, I dunno. It's not very helpful. So, um, that's kind of the I, how the talk came about. I wanted to, uh. It actually came back 'cause it was an opportunity to empower women in, um, Dominica to get more into entrepreneurship because they were um, staying in, um, violent relationships 'cause they were financially reliant on their husband.
So, uh, a lady in the government said, could you create workshops using these creative tools to help them get more into entrepreneurship? And so I thought, you know, I need to. raise some funding. I wanna get my credibility going, so I'll do the I'll, well, you know what, I'll do a TEDx talk and I, I declared it when I came back from Brazil, where I felt very connected to my feminine. I felt like my manifestation ability was quite white, was quite good. Um, and I declared it and, and it happened, and then we went into, I couldn't really build on it with the, in the way that I intended to. Um, yeah, so I, that's kind of how the, the journey opened up and how I see creativity and travel as similar modalities to become aware and, and help people.
And I encourage, there's someone in the book, a Lady Victoria, who went, um. A creative solo trip. So there's these companies that are doing creative, uh, group travel and you can go and you can, um, you know, paint or take photography classes or things like that while you are traveling as well. And, and that's doubly powerful, I think, to be able to, to do that.
Christine: Yeah, and I, I think it's really important because I, I, I think what you know, we were saying earlier is a lot of times when you're feeling. You lose your voice and you lose your identity and you lose that sense of power. And it is interesting how much that comes out in creativity or how, how reflective it is where, like you were saying, I can't, like, some people will feel like I can't write or I can't paint, or I can't sing, or I can't draw because you have that block and it's really hard to get at what it is.
So I think it's a, a really interesting way of listening to your body and. And understanding what is holding you back. And, and again here, like for this to be like a, a, a freedom for people who are feeling that and judging themselves or being really frustrated because it doesn't feel legitimate, but it's true.
Like it's, it's so incredible. And then all of a sudden, just like that man pushing you off the surfboard, like that could be the thing that changes everything. And you're like, I was afraid of all these things and. And none of them were true. Like I just am so attached to my belief and it's such a great way, both in creativity and in travel to just break down those things we think are true that we just use as like a safety net, but they're really just holding us back.
Vaishali: I mean, they are, I self-coach myself and I will draw back on the memories that I have of instances like that where someone pushed me off and I thought, you know what? If I'm going into something new, I just need the right teacher. I. You know, like that situation there, um, you know, when I jumped out of a plane, it was, so scared.
I was like, I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do it. But I think it was peer pressure. I didn't wanna be the odd, you know, the odd one out. So I thought like, I'm gonna do it. Um, and, and it was the most experience. So I think, um, you know. I, I also talk about this in my coaching and my training. We always go online and look on YouTube for inspiration, um, when we feel stuck or something.
And I always tell people, I want you to look back at your own life and think about all those moments where you thought you couldn't do something did it. Yeah. Turn back and look at your own self or inspiration 'cause you are more incredible than you know, and more resilient than you know. And, uh, yeah.
I always think these moments are, these experiences can, um, yeah. Enrich us so much.
Christine: Yeah. Um, okay, well we're gonna go to another spot where you both found a great teacher and maybe got pushed off a surfboard, but, um, you've mentioned meeting Alessandra Alonzo, um, who is definitely an inspiring teacher and leader. Um, she's been here on the podcast and her event. The I-W-T-T-F is one of one of my favorites, so I really always encourage people to attend.
Um, if possible it'll be happening in, in June this year in London. Um, you met and you ended up, um, kind of, well, you ended up going through the Tour guiding Academy and then, you know, setting off in this new endeavor. So I want to just talk a little bit about, um, about that process of. That nudge in that direction.
And then I wanna actually talk a little bit more in depth about the tourism and the impact that those are having. I.
Vaishali: Um, so I mentioned I was probably not in the best of mental health when I met Alexandra to endorse the book, and I was really missing, um, meeting new people like that I experienced through travel and I, I. loads. And so I wasn't traveling and that was really hard for me. Uh, I wasn't working. So, and I remember her saying, why don't you try out this tour guiding Academy? And I have to be honest, being a tour guide was never on my to-do list, my vision boards or anything like that. I love, I, when I travel, I always try and, uh, meet a local walking tour guide, but it's not something I saw for myself. Um, but when she suggested it, I, uh, and she said, try it out. Let me know what you think. thought, okay, you know what, what have I'll, um, use my creativity, storytelling, my passion for travel and bring it. And it was an incredible experience. I, I did the Tour guiding Academy with, I think there were five or six other women, and I learned to, uh, put a tour together. I learned to use my storytelling skills, um, and create immersive narratives like create immersive, um, moments on the tour through the, uh, teachings of, uh, one of the, the teachers there. And then I learned how to commercialize it. Uh, which I had no idea how to do. Uh, so I felt, uh, I had the, the support to create my product, the support to commercialize it. And, um, we, I just remember, I didn't think it would be big. I just thought, this is a great process. This has been fun. I met some great people.
I've learned some great things. Um, alright, let's, I'll go out. Every, every moment was created in the moment. it was just moment by moment creation. I had no goals. I had no idea what was gonna happen. And um, um, Alexandra would say, this mentor's gonna come with you to just see what the tour's like, okay, yes, let's do it.
Let's go. And what was interesting was the street, eing road where this tour happens, there's one street in Wembley in London. It's off the beaten track. It's. where I went as a child a lot with my mom, um, I'd miss cartoons on TV to go shopping, food, shopping with her. So there's a bit of a love hate relationship with that street where we'd go there and, um, you know, I take things for granted.
I'm from an Indian culture. I take everything there for granted. And so I'm on this, this. Pre tall tour, uh, with, uh, Claudia, who's from Slovenia, and she, I show her the, the temple and she's like, wow. And I'm going, it's just a temple. okay. And then she goes and tries this Indian refreshment and she's like, wow.
And I'm thinking, really? just have the after, after, like meal. I started to see the culture through somebody else's eyes. And, um, and she believed that this could be something that could make a difference for a lot of people. And I thought, okay, I'll give it a go. um, so from there we had, uh, I think we first launched at WTM in November, 2023.
And I had, uh, trade, press, press and trade come to the tour. And I didn't realize how much they'd love it. It was, it, it was such a surprise to me 'cause. It was not something I'd, you know, when you, when I really wanna create something, I put everything into it and I overthink it and I plan it. This wasn't like that.
This was just flow, like all I could say. It was flow saying yes and. In the moment. And, um, it grew it like someone from the Guardian came to experience it and then wrote to the whole spread in the Guardian magazine. And that filled my talk all of last year with people from, as far as Canada, the USA, who would come to see family, and then they would come on the tour, uh, had a. journalist from Austria. I've had, um, a SIS two sisters, one lives in Scotland, and one lives in um, Wales, who met in Wembley for my all. Um, so you know, the people have come experience. I. For birthdays, anniversaries, um, they go to India to get some, uh, some insights. different reasons people are coming the tour. Um, and it's just grown. I've worked with Intrepid Travel. I, well, uh, from a trade perspective to train their, um, trade partners in terms of how, um, I guess, uh, small tour groups. What the experience could be like, which I never thought I would be doing. So it's, it's helped me grow in, in ways that I didn't think was possible.
It's helped people who've come on the tour, expand their knowledge. Uh, it's helped them become empowered. So constantly have this feedback, like, I would have never walked into that temple by myself. Um. It's, you know, I'd look at it, I'd want to, but I wouldn't go in because I don't wanna offend anyone. Um, and things like that. Or people would say, I now know when I walk into an Indian area or shop what I can buy, what I would order in the restaurant. And it's that, that sense of empowerment, they feel leaving it like they've learned something new and they can make certain choices and probably impress their friends or family as a result of that.
But yeah, that, I, I think it's so important. I didn't have this, I didn't know the impact it could have at the start, but what I love I see is this. that it creates of a different culture, um, and vice versa. 'cause I learn about, uh, different cultures as well. but this understanding that gets created, um, helps people to, I guess, accept and understand themselves as well as other cultures.
And ultimately you then have harmony between people. And that's what I think is the bigger the picture it Um, cultural tools.
Christine: Yeah, and I think it's, what's so amazing is that a lot of times the people would expect to have this experience, they. Would think they would need to go to India, right? Or that they would need to go a far distance, not that they could maybe take a train somewhere that's pretty close to them and, and really be, have a sense of being immersed in another culture and learning so much and challenging themselves and growing and having that, that, that cultural bridge.
Like we, we really. Again, kind of just like in the way that we talk about travel, this is how we, we tell you you have that experience is that you, you go far away to have it. And um, I love that you're, this is really allowing this kind of harmony and this bridging of cultures to be in your backyard yard.
Yeah. Um, and, and I think too, the other thing that's really interesting is, as you were saying that it gives you an appreciation. For the things that you just thought were normal as well. Like it can, it can give you that sense of pride back in your own identity and your own way of being. And I think like in some ways we like kind of homogenize in order to feel safe and to feel belonging and to feel like, you know, the.
I don't know, I'm, I'm missing the words that I'm looking for, but like, sometimes there's that flattening that happens in order to feel like you're fitting in. So a lot of people lose that part of their identity, especially in big cities or, you know, we, we just really try to, to be the same and really our value is our differences.
And then being able to share the differences so that there's harmony and not, um, dissidents. I think that's really important.
Vaishali: I think what it, what it, one thing that it, I, I think about is that we're, we're the, we're the same but different. And that's what really comes across. I.
Christine: Yeah, I, I love it. Um, well, as we wrap up our conversation, I just have a. Few rapid fire questions for you, or I always like to say rapid fire ish 'cause we never know what's gonna happen. But, um, the first question is Vishal, uh, what are you reading right now?
Vaishali: Um, I am reading a book about, I think it's the Life of Sam, so. Can't remember the
Christine: Okay.
Vaishali: the Life of Sam. It's a, yeah.
Christine: Um, what is always in your suitcase or backpack when you travel?
Vaishali: I have a book called, uh, the Autobiography of a Yogi. I take that with me everywhere. I
Christine: Hmm. It's so good. I'm like looking for it on my bookshelf. So I have it on my bookshelf, but I also have it on Audible. I don't know if you've ever listened to it on Audible. I love it on Audible. It's like. The grandest adventure kind of on audible. It's so good. Um, that's amazing that you take it with you everywhere.
Uh, I would encourage people check it out 'cause it's probably not what they expect.
Vaishali: absolutely.
Christine: Um, uh, to me, uh, to Sojourn means to travel somewhere with the respect is if you live there. Um, where is someplace that you would still love to sojourn?
Vaishali: Uh, the Gala Islands. Yeah,
Christine: Yeah, if you go, I have the perfect person for you to go with, so you just let me know. Um, what do you eat that immediately connects you to a place you've been?
Vaishali: Oh God, what do I eat? That immediately connects me to a place, um, pesto. I eat pesto, I immediately connect to Italy and I love Italian food, so.
Christine: Hmm. Um, who was a person that inspired or encouraged you to set out to travel the world?
Vaishali: Oh, uh, two cousins who are based in the States, and when I was younger, they'd always come over and, um, they'd always be talking about where they're traveling and one of them would go on road trips and I was just like, oh, I want a lifestyle like that. And I think they, they really inspired me to travel.
Christine: Hmm. Um, if you could take an adventure with one person, fictional or real, alive or past, who would it be? I.
Vaishali: Oh, that's tough. Uh, who would I want to go traveling with? Um, I don't know why I, I, I have no idea why this name came into my head, but I'm just gonna say Andrew Bodine. I.
Christine: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Vaishali: just coming to my head, but so I guess him,
Christine: That's good. Well, I love, you know, the universe gives us messages sometimes, right? Um, okay, the last question, um, soul of Travel is a space for recognizing women in the industry. Who is one woman that you admire and would like to celebrate in this space?
Vaishali: Uhand. Yeah, definitely for her passion. She's very passionate, very dedicated, um, you know, a real deep desire to empower women, um, whether you work, whether they work in the travel space and the tourism space to elevate themselves or whether, you know, you're just stepping in, um, to become a tour guide, um, and to empower financial independence.
She's, she's incredible.
Christine: She is incredible and she has a big heart and a kind soul for sure. Yeah. Um, okay. Well, and, and she's why we're connected. So I'm also grateful for that because I know that somewhere in the, in the internet, our paths crossed because of that algorithm. So I'm appreciative. Um. Yeah. Thank you so much for this conversation.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and for helping to inspire other women to like to use travel as a way to really be them, their best selves in in their lives.
Vaishali: Thank you. Thanks, Christine. Thank you for the opportunity.
Christine: Thank you.
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