Sometimes a journey doesn’t take you further away, but instead brings you closer to yourself. And you realise that, even though you’re travelling solo, you’re not alone at all. In fact, it creates connection. This time, Rosa’s journey began in India. A mystical place where time seems to stand still, where you can’t help but slow down, and where you naturally surrender to the rhythm of local life. An Elusive Corner of the World.

Travelling to India alone as a woman felt like quite a big step. India had always intrigued me more than any other country. That sense of mystery began over ten years ago, when two friends returned from a trip across the vast Asian nation full of adventurous stories. One of them, always impeccably dressed and someone I’d expected to dislike India entirely, absolutely loved it. The chaos, the people she met, the colours, and above all, the adventures she experienced there. The other, a well-travelled flight attendant who seems to live more in the world than in any one place, having lived in eight countries and speaking five languages, was relieved when her trip came to an end. She found it overwhelming, the people too persistent, and the streets and hotels dirty. From that moment on, I knew one thing for certain: India would undoubtedly awaken something unexpected in you and clearly refused to fit into any neat category.

Over the years that followed, the country remained an elusive corner of the world in my mind. Its extraordinary diversity of people, the many religions and belief systems living side by side, its role as a spiritual sanctuary, thousands of years of traditions, fascinating rituals, breathtaking landscapes ranging from the snow-capped Himalayas to tropical beaches, sprawling cities, one of the most flavourful cuisines in the world, and the particular type of traveller it attracts.

Sometimes a journey doesn’t take you further away, but instead brings you closer to yourself. And you realise that, even though you’re travelling solo, you’re not alone at all. In fact, it creates connection. This time, Rosa’s journey began in India. A mystical place where time seems to stand still, where you can’t help but slow down, and where you naturally surrender to the rhythm of local life. An Elusive Corner of the World.

Travelling to India alone as a woman felt like quite a big step. India had always intrigued me more than any other country. That sense of mystery began over ten years ago, when two friends returned from a trip across the vast Asian nation full of adventurous stories. One of them, always impeccably dressed and someone I’d expected to dislike India entirely, absolutely loved it. The chaos, the people she met, the colours, and above all, the adventures she experienced there. The other, a well-travelled flight attendant who seems to live more in the world than in any one place, having lived in eight countries and speaking five languages, was relieved when her trip came to an end. She found it overwhelming, the people too persistent, and the streets and hotels dirty. From that moment on, I knew one thing for certain: India would undoubtedly awaken something unexpected in you and clearly refused to fit into any neat category.

Over the years that followed, the country remained an elusive corner of the world in my mind. Its extraordinary diversity of people, the many religions and belief systems living side by side, its role as a spiritual sanctuary, thousands of years of traditions, fascinating rituals, breathtaking landscapes ranging from the snow-capped Himalayas to tropical beaches, sprawling cities, one of the most flavourful cuisines in the world, and the particular type of traveller it attracts.

Then, at the beginning of 2026, the time had finally come. I was heading to India all by myself. For a month, a manageable amount of time, I thought. There was another reason for the trip. I was attending the wedding of a close friend who was marrying his Indian partner. Suddenly, there was no avoiding it. I was finally going to see, taste, smell and experience India for myself.

Perhaps mystical is the perfect word for India. Ask around, and people either fall deeply in love with it or prefer to stay away altogether. There seems to be very little middle ground. At least, not in the stories I had heard.

Now that the moment had arrived, I secretly worried that, despite being an avid traveller, I might not like it at all. Would I cope with the crowds? Would I feel safe? I decided to keep my expectations low and simply let the experience unfold.

It also felt like the perfect opportunity to take a yoga teacher training course in a country that even has its own Ministry of Yoga. After the wedding in bustling Kolkata, I planned to retreat into an ashram and spend some time in the Himalayas. As a devoted nature lover, it sounded ideal. And so, I did.

After seventeen long days living according to the ashram’s schedule, from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., immersing myself completely in the world of yoga, including meditation, breathwork and chanting mantras, because no, yoga is definitely not just the poses most of us know in the West, and eating the same simple, unprocessed meals three times a day, I felt stronger, healthier and fitter than ever. But that wasn’t all.

My preconceptions about India, that I would get sick or feel unsafe, had already disappeared on my very first day. As I happily wandered through the village looking for local shops and the beach, I was constantly greeted by smiling residents, readily helped whenever I lost my way, and frequently offered delicious food. In the tiny village where I stayed in Kerala, in southern India, I felt completely at home from the very beginning.

In India, people eat with their hands. And before long, so did I. Every morning, I dipped a savoury rice pancake into spicy chutneys with one hand while sipping a warm, creamy chai tea.

I felt incredibly light and happy, grateful for the chance to glimpse local life. I shared meals with people who lovingly offered me chai at every opportunity and prepared regional delicacies for me. There were magnificent trees, playful monkeys, and religious processions that regularly filled the streets in the evenings.

What a privilege it is to step outside your own little bubble and see with your own eyes that the world is so much bigger than the version you know. The worries that had seemed so important back home suddenly felt insignificant, a mere speck of dust in the universe. The distance allowed me to look at my life from a different perspective and realise how often I worry about things that are not truly problematic at all.

Ironically, before leaving for India, I had been so nervous that I found myself inventing excuses not to go. Yet once I was there, surrounded by India’s chaos and mysticism, all I could think was: Why didn’t I come sooner?

It’s fascinating how our minds work whenever we approach something uncomfortable. Once again, I experienced firsthand that our fear of stepping outside our comfort zone is almost always greater than the reality itself.

In a world that feels increasingly polarised, experiences like these are more important than ever. They are the moments when you personally discover that your perspective on life is not the only one, and certainly not necessarily the right one. You realise that thousands of cultures and ways of living exist, and that beneath those differences, we are all human beings simply seeking love and happiness. That feeling cannot truly be captured by a pen or a camera. It is something you have to experience for yourself.

One day, sitting on the back of a scooter driven by a new local friend who, without hesitation, spent his free time taking me to hospital and translating conversations with the doctor when I developed an eye infection, he told me stories about his childhood, his mother’s cooking, and his interest in yoga, something that set him apart from many of his friends. At the same time, he was curious about my life on the other side of the world. As we rode through the Indian countryside and he spoke animatedly about his upbringing, I felt that familiar sensation once again.

This is why leaving home from time to time matters so much. If you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, and if you are reading this, chances are you are, it allows you to gain a personal glimpse into lives and worlds very different from your own. And as a bonus, many of the problems you considered important instantly fade into the background. What a privilege it is to experience moments like these.

More and more women are drawn to softer journeys. To slower, more intentional ways of moving through the world, where presence matters more than pace. Where does this growing desire come from? Read more in our trend article.