One solo trip to Nepal. No checklist. No filters. Just peace, people, and a lot of chai.
☕ Why I Booked a Trip Without a Plan
It all started with a headache.
Not the physical kind — the mental one. The “I can’t do this hustle anymore” kind. I was 26, living in Mumbai, and life felt like a constant scroll — Instagram, work, expectations, deadlines, self-doubt, and more Instagram.
So I did something crazy.
I googled “slow travel near India” and clicked on a random ad that said:
“Nepal, but without the rush — with HappyOuting.”
Two days later, I was in a window seat, flying over the clouds, looking at the Himalayas. No plan. Just a booking, a backpack, and a big need to breathe.
Kathmandu — More Than Just Temples
HappyOuting picked me up from the airport with a smile and a warm welcome. I was expecting loud streets, chaos — but Kathmandu was... surprisingly chill. My homestay had a tiny rooftop café where I had my first Nepali chai. Strong. Milky. Soul-hugging.
I didn’t rush to Pashupatinath.
I didn’t take 50 photos at Durbar Square.
Instead, I sat in a corner of Bhaktapur, sketching a temple with local kids, eating Newari snacks from a street stall, and talking to a 70-year-old potter who told me, “We live slow here. That’s why we live long.”
Pokhara — Where Time Slows Down
Next stop: Pokhara — and it was like nature whispered, “Take it easy.”
My lakeside stay had zero noise and full views of Phewa Lake. I’d wake up with no alarm, walk barefoot in the grass, sip lemon honey tea by the lake, and just… be.
I didn’t chase sunsets — they found me.
I didn’t post stories — I lived them.
One day, I took a bike ride to a hidden village café above the World Peace Pagoda. A group of locals invited me in for sel roti and stories. We laughed, we ate, and I finally stopped overthinking.
The Unexpected Lessons
In Nepal, I learned how beautiful life looks when it’s not filtered.
When chai takes 20 minutes to make — and no one’s complaining.
When strangers wave at you just for existing.
When your phone is dead but you’ve never felt more alive.
This wasn’t a vacation.
It was a reset.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t tick boxes.
I didn’t “do Nepal.”
I let Nepal do me. Heal me. Slow me. Remind me that rest is not a reward — it’s a right.
So if you’re burnt out, lost, tired of pretending to have it all together — book that random trip.
Let HappyOuting take care of the boring stuff.
And you?
Just bring your heart, your journal, and your love for chai.
Need your own slow escape?
Visit www.HappyOuting.com — they plan the calm so you can feel the magic.