Alex Strand a resident of San Francisco lost his job at GoPro in December last year, when the company shut its entertainment division down.

Unlike a lot of us, Alex did not sit down sulking in the aftermath of job-loss or overburdening himself with looking for another.

Instead, he came up with a rather innovative idea.

Alex transferred an undisclosed, but modest, amount to a fiscally responsible friend and asked some of his dear friends to plan a ten day trip “to any part of world” between 3rd and 20th January 2017.

He also laid down certain rules, which his friends required to stick while they were planning for his trip.

There were several conditions ranging from sending him to a place he had not been before, to not planning a trip anywhere in the North America continent.

Then his friends obliged and planned a wonder full 13 day trip to India and Nepal.

Alex told that why exactly his friends picked India

Alex said that his friends did not want him to have a relaxing trip, so they put him into a place where he would find fun challenges every day. They selected India for a few reasons, but mostly because none of them had been there. They wanted it to be unfamiliar, so a place they have never been was important. They wanted it to be challenging, so the language barrier was key. They wanted it to be exhausting, so the vastness of the country was vital.

He said that he was only able to spend 13 days in India and Nepal, so he did not get to see as much as he would have liked. But, he did try to make the most of his time and had fun visiting the few places. While listing down six Indian cities, including Delhi and Darjeeling, and two Nepalese cities that he visited.

Alex said that he found India was “more real” than expected. He said what he meant by that was yes, India was colorful and exciting, but importantly he finally got the chance to meet Indian people and see how they lived – and that is the exciting part.

Alex spent most of his time trying to get off the beaten path and getting to know people, who lived there, rather than spending his time with other tourists. Alex said his most memorable times were getting to know local people in Darjeeling. “They were so spirited and it was such an awesome experience spending the day running the half marathon with them”, he said.

Alex said the best thing about the country was getting immersed into a culture that’s totally unfamiliar to him. The food was incredible and endless. He did not have the time to eat all of the food that he wanted! The people were also incredible. So welcoming and hospitable, he said.

Alex said, the worst thing happened to him was no matter how hard he tried, nobody would serve him spicy food!! “I love spicy food, he said. But nobody wanted to serve him. Or perhaps they thought that Alex was requesting that the food with no spice. Next time Alxes visits India, he will learn how to say “I like spicy food in Hindi, he said.

The most remarkable thing he most experiences was the history throughout Delhi and the country, something we do not have in America, he said.

India’s traffic system works so well! It was chaos every time he got into a car, he said. Alex was amazed that he reached where ever he wanted to go. He said Indians are some of the most skilled and aware drivers someone will ever see. “Perhaps, you could do without honking your horns so much, but hey, it works! He said.

Alex said the trip was extremely rejuvenating.  Whenever you let go of control and put your fate in to someone else’s hands, it’s a liberating experience.

We spend so much of our lives working for somebody else, so it was nice to spend time by myself – free of obligations. I also understand it’s a luxury and I’m grateful for the ability to do this.

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