NihshabdBlog

Category: Travel and Lifestyle

  • Worst Travel Experience: Why I Have No Travel Horror Stories

    Worst Travel Experience: Why I Have No Travel Horror Stories

    What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?
    View all responses

    What’s the Worst Travel Experience You’ve Ever Had? Mine Was… Nothing! 😂

    My worst travel experience? Well, I honestly don’t have one! When it comes to the worst travel experience, I have no travel horror stories to share. 😂

    No missed flights, no lost luggage, no terrible hotel experiences that made me question my life choices. Nothing that would qualify for a dramatic retelling with background music and a slow-motion flashback.

    Apparently, my travel history has been behaving itself rather well.

    And here I am, sitting down to write about the worst travel experience, with absolutely nothing to complain about. What a wonderful problem to have!

    My Travel Mishaps? Practically Nonexistent!

    Of course, I am not saying every trip has been perfectly smooth.

    Travelling comes with its own little surprises. Sometimes the weather refuses to cooperate. Sometimes the journey takes longer than expected. Sometimes you reach a destination and realise that your carefully planned itinerary has decided to take a vacation of its own.

    But honestly, these things are part of the experience.

    I don’t think every inconvenience deserves to be labelled a disaster. Sometimes, you just shrug, laugh about it, and carry on.

    After all, if we expected everything to go perfectly while travelling, we might as well stay home and stare at the ceiling. At least the ceiling won’t cancel our plans!

    When Your Travel Memories Refuse to Cooperate

    The funny thing about this prompt is that I actually sat down and tried to remember something terrible.

    I searched my memory like someone looking for a misplaced suitcase.

    Was there a journey that made me regret travelling? A destination that disappointed me? A moment when I wished I had never left home?

    Nothing came up.

    My brain was apparently on a holiday of its own.

    Perhaps I have been lucky. Perhaps I simply remember the good things more vividly. Or perhaps my memory has a very efficient editing department that quietly deletes all the unpleasant bits.

    Whatever the reason, I am not complaining.

    Why I Prefer Happy Travel Memories

    For me, travelling is about exploring new places, experiencing different cultures, enjoying the journey, and making memories.

    I love the excitement of visiting somewhere new, discovering little things I wasn’t expecting, and coming back with stories to share.

    And even when things don’t go according to plan, there is usually something funny or interesting to remember later.

    Not every trip needs to be an adventure worthy of a survival documentary.

    Sometimes, a peaceful journey, a beautiful destination, and a few happy memories are more than enough.

    So, What’s My Worst Travel Experience?

    Honestly? I don’t have one.

    And I hope it stays that way!

    I would much rather continue collecting happy memories than have a spectacular travel disaster just to make my blog post more interesting.

    Although, if life insists on giving me a travel mishap someday, I hope it at least comes with a good story and a funny ending.

    Because if I have to suffer through a travel disaster, the least it can do is provide some excellent blog material. 😂

    What about you? What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had? Was it a funny mishap, a travel disaster, or something that still makes you cringe when you think about it?

    .

    Until The Next Whisper,

    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © Nihshabd | The Silent Stories That Speak to the Soul. All Rights Reserved. 

    .

    READ MORE :How to Meet New People While Travelling: Just Smile

    Personal Mantra: Four Little Rules That Keep Me Sane 😂

    Local Food While Travelling in India: The Best Food Memories

  • How to Meet New People While Travelling: Just Smile

    How to Meet New People While Travelling: Just Smile

    What’s the best way to meet new people while traveling?

    View all responses

    What’s the best way to meet new people while travelling?

    I have a very simple theory.

    Smile.

    Yes, that’s my entire strategy. No networking skills, no carefully rehearsed conversation starters, no “How to make friends while travelling” Google search. 😄

    My Very Complicated Travel Strategy 😄

    Although, being an introvert, I do need a little courage before I actually use this strategy.

    Put me in a new place, surrounded by people I don’t know, and suddenly my mind becomes extremely busy.

    Should I say hello?

    Will they think I’m being too friendly?

    What if they don’t respond?

    And then my brain helpfully adds:

    Maybe just look at your phone. That’s socially acceptable.

    How I Meet New People While Travelling

    But I’ve noticed that a smile makes the first step much easier.

    I smile at the person sitting beside me, someone I meet at a café, another traveller looking at the same view, or even a stranger whose eyes happen to meet mine.

    And quite often, they smile back.

    That little exchange changes something.

    There is suddenly a tiny bit of familiarity between two people who knew absolutely nothing about each other five seconds ago.

    Sometimes it becomes a conversation.

    Sometimes it becomes a recommendation for a lovely little place.

    Sometimes it becomes a shared laugh.

    And sometimes… it remains just a smile.

    That’s okay too.

    You Never Know Where It Might Lead

    I don’t think travelling is about coming home with twenty new friends. I’m not running a friendship collection centre. 😂

    For me, it’s about those unexpected little connections that make a journey feel more human.

    A smile doesn’t ask questions. It doesn’t expect anything. It simply makes the other person feel a little more comfortable.

    And perhaps that matters when you’re somewhere unfamiliar.

    Because when everything around you is new, a little warmth feels strangely familiar.

    So, if you ask me how to meet new people while travelling, I’d say:

    Don’t try too hard to meet people.

    Look up from your phone.

    Make eye contact.

    Smile.

    Let the moment decide what happens next.

    Maybe nothing will happen.

    Maybe you’ll have a two-minute conversation.

    Maybe you’ll meet someone whose story stays with you long after the trip.

    That’s the fun of it.

    You never know what a tiny smile might start.

    And honestly, for an introvert, that’s about as adventurous as socialising gets. 😄❤️

    What about you?

    When you’re travelling, are you the one who happily starts a conversation with strangers, or do you also need a little courage—and perhaps a smile—to break the ice? 😄

    Tell me in the comments: what’s your favourite way to meet new people while travelling?

    .

    Until The Next Whisper,

    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © NihshabdThe Silent Stories That Speak to the Soul. All Rights Reserved. 

    .

    READ MORE :  Best Local Food While Travelling in India, The One I’d Ride Through Life With 🐎

  • How to Explore a New City Without Following a Map

    How to Explore a New City Without Following a Map

    What’s the best way to explore a new city?

    View all responses

    How to Explore a New City Without Following a Map

    What’s the best way to explore a new city?

    My answer is simple: make a plan, and then be prepared to completely ignore it. 😂

    I have noticed that exploring a new city rarely goes according to the itinerary. You may have saved ten places, marked five cafés and decided exactly where you’ll be at 11:30. And then you see a beautiful little street and suddenly your carefully planned schedule becomes completely irrelevant.

    That, to me, is the fun.

    Walk around. Take a wrong turn. Stop somewhere because the smell of coffee is stronger than your common sense. ☕ Sit down, watch people, and let the city introduce itself.

    If you really want to explore a city like a local, don’t just chase famous landmarks. Visit a neighbourhood market, sit in a small café, notice the old buildings, listen to the sounds around you and observe how people live their everyday lives.

    The best things to do in a new city are sometimes the ones nobody recommended.

    Eat the local food, even if you cannot pronounce its name. In fact, especially then. 😂

    Because local food and culture can tell you more about a place than a dozen glossy travel brochures.

    I also believe in travel without an itinerary once in a while. Not completely, of course. I still need to know where my hotel is. Getting lost is romantic only until your phone battery reaches 3%.

    But there is something beautiful about discovering a new city slowly—one street, one conversation, one cup of coffee and one unexpected detour at a time.

    Take photographs, but don’t spend the entire trip looking at the city through your phone.

    Look around.

    Sometimes the best memories are waiting in the place you never planned to visit.

    So, explore a new city with curiosity, comfortable shoes and a little sense of humour.

    And if you get lost?

    Congratulations.

    You’ve probably found the adventure. 😄

    What about you?

    Do you prefer exploring a new city with a carefully planned itinerary, or do you enjoy getting a little lost along the way?

    Tell me in the comments—I’d love to know how you discover a new place.

    If you enjoyed this post, have a look around Nihshabd for more stories, thoughts, and little observations about life.

    .

    Until The Next Whisper,

    —Rajeshwari 🧿💕

    © NihshabdThe Silent Stories That Speak to the Soul. All Rights Reserved. 

    .

    READ MORE : Budget Travel Tips: My Advice (That I Don’t Follow) 😂

    Budget Travel Tips: My Advice (That I Don’t Follow) 😂

  • Local Food While Travelling in India: The Best Food Memories

    Local Food While Travelling in India: The Best Food Memories

    What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

    What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

    Local food while travelling is one of my favourite parts of any trip. And this is such a difficult question for an Indian. 😄

    Because honestly, the list is way too long. If I start writing about everything delicious I’ve eaten while travelling, one blog post definitely won’t be enough. I might have to start a separate food blog! 😂

    We don’t just travel to see places.
    We travel with one eye on the view and the other on “Yahan kya famous hai?” (What’s famous here?) 😂

    Local Food While Travelling in India

    I’ve had those huge, buttery aloo parathas in Murthal, with pickle on the side and a steaming cup of chai. If you ever go there, pakke se try karna! (You absolutely must try them!) You may plan to eat just one. Good luck with that. 😄

    Then there’s Lonavala in the rain.

    The wet roads, the clouds passing almost at eye level, the thick mist, the little waterfalls appearing all along the way, the beautiful ghats…

    Lonavala in the rain. 🌧️

    And then, after all that, reaching Lonavala and having a hot bhutta (roasted corn).

    Honestly, the bhutta probably tasted better because of everything that came before it. ❤️

    Clouds, mist and monsoon magic. ☁️

    If you ever plan a trip to Lonavala, go during the rains. That whole journey is an experience in itself.

    And then there were the chole bhature near the Golden Temple in Amritsar—because apparently visiting a holy place and then immediately looking for good food can peacefully coexist. 😂

    A little memory from Attari. 🇮🇳

    But if I absolutely had to choose one…

    I would probably pick that samosa I ate in Varanasi.

    Nothing fancy. No beautiful restaurant. No elaborate presentation.

    Just a simple, hot, perfectly crisp samosa.

    Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi. 🙏

    But that first bite did something unexpected.

    It reminded me of my hometown.

    Of the samosas I had been eating since childhood. The kind of food you grow up with, without ever realising that one day, a simple bite of it might bring back so many memories.

    Maybe that’s why it tasted so special.

    It wasn’t just a samosa.

    For a moment, it felt like home. ❤️

    And maybe that’s the magic of food.

    You can travel miles away from home, discover new places, try unfamiliar flavours—and then, suddenly, one familiar taste can take you right back to where you started.

    We remember the places we visited, the photographs we took and the things we saw.

    But sometimes, it’s a smell, a flavour or that first bite that stays with us the longest.

    Maybe that’s what I love about travelling.

    You go looking for beautiful places, monuments and new experiences…

    and sometimes, years later, what you remember most clearly is that one thing you ate somewhere. ❤️

    And yes, I do have a picture of one of our thali meals in Varanasi. 😄

    One of our meals in Varanasi. 😋

    But honestly, I’m usually so busy eating that I completely forget to take pictures of the food. 😂

    Maybe that’s why my travel gallery has plenty of roads, rain, clouds, temples and places…

    and surprisingly few pictures of the food that I remember so well!

    Now tell me—what’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while travelling?

    Or better yet, what’s that one dish you’d happily travel all over again just to eat? 😄❤️

    .

    Until the next whisper,
    —Rajeshwari     🧿💕

    © Nihshabd by Rajeshwari

    .

    If you enjoy little stories about travel, food and the memories we bring back home, you might also like this one:

    This Is Not Hunger. This Is a Samosa Situation.

    A Tradition Woven With Love: Our Tirupati Story

    Coffee Is Not My Favorite Drink. It’s My Quiet Beginning.

    I Don’t Have a Favorite Restaurant… But This One Wins Every Time!

    It Was Never About the Place

    🦋 A Little Something to Keep

    Some food memories deserve a little more than a place in our camera roll.

    I made a little printable quote from today’s story for you. 🦋


    nihshabd_local_food_travel_quote_a5.pdfDownload