How I got past my fear of traveling alone in India as a woman

Given the relentless media coverage about gang rapes in India in the past few years, my decision to travel alone in Kerala for a few days seemed foolhardy.

Yet when I got off the train at Kollam from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital, I couldn’t tell if I was shaking from nerves or excitement.

I visited Munroe Island, a village in Kollam, last May. I had arranged for a short homestay and a tour of the backwaters with Vijeesh, a young man, and his family. I came expecting some beautiful scenery, but I left with more confidence in my ability to travel and a sense that my fears were misplaced.

Vijeesh, who learned English purely from conversing with foreign tourists, gave me a land tour first. We walked around the village where we saw a khadi cloth factory. Vijeesh also showed me a peppercorn tree, a pineapple tree, and countless other species of plants that I have forgotten the name of.

Then came time for the boat tour. Kerala is known for its backwater houseboat tours, yet, the houseboats with their loud noisy engines and extensive water usage have gained a reputation for destroying the pristine environment of the backwaters. Vijeesh’s tour came in a canoe -- locally made. Its engine was a long pole.

We took the long way around the backwaters. I had no idea where we were going exactly, but part of the journey for me, I think, was about getting lost and letting go. Of course, Vijeesh knew exactly where we were headed.

We passed a fishing pond, covered in nets to prevents the birds from stealing the fisherman’s livelihood. We passed houses and a small-temple. Vijeesh pointed out three different types of Kingfisher(the bird, not the beer) on the way. We also passed some of the ubiquitous houseboats.

The tour ended with a sunset on the river off of Munroe Island. The sun was a scarlet color -- painfully red.

I got off the canoe rather reluctantly. I would never get to experience this for the first time again. But this was appeased by Vijeesh’s mother’s excellent cooking. As I sat eating dinner, I realized that my fears about traveling alone as a woman in India were gone. Too often, media hype ends up scaring off potential tourists. While the intensive coverage is important in highlighting deeply serious issues of gender violence, it also often serves to paint a distorted image of the place at hand.

I knew that India was more than the brutal gang rapes in those articles, but this experience proved that.