Indian girl abroad: First solo-trip!

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions"                                                                                   - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

On November 2016, I won the StudyAdelaide student ambassador program held in India. I was selected as the first Indian Student Ambassador for StudyAdelaide out of 6500 candidates. It was one of the most unexpected and wonderful news I had ever received. Shortly after I got the news, there was a big announcement event held in Bangalore.

With my dad at the Press event!

Subsequently, I had a lot of conversations with the StudyAdelaide team and worked out that January 2018 was the best time for me to come over to Adelaide for a 5-week study tour which is a part of the prize.

I spent days fantasizing about the idea of traveling to a new country and exploring different people, places, and cultures. As the big day was nearing, I was filled with excitement, that I hardly could sleep the night before I boarded my flight.

Elated with the essence of traveling alone for the first time in my life, I reached the airport pretty early. I met some really nice people during my wait at the airport who gave me a few hints on how not to get lost during my transit at Singapore (which I was quite terrified of, btw. I think the primary reason for it was watching quite a few movies where people get on the wrong flight and reach a totally different destination). 

However, my flight was on time and I did not miss the transit flight at Singapore. The terminals at the Singapore airport were changed and I had to find my way to the new terminal. That gave me the wonderful opportunity to try out some authentic Singaporean cuisine (which I loved!), look at the incredible airport and have an amazing Skytrain experience.

After I reached the terminal and completed my security check procedures, I boarded the flight to Perth and landed after a three and a half hour binge on the big bang theory in the flight. I had to take care of my baggage and immigration check at the Perth Airport and found out that the airport staff was extremely polite and helpful. After the whole process, I found some time to grab a hot chocolate at the airport at Perth and wait for the flight to Adelaide.

After what seemed like ages, the flight finally arrived at Perth and I boarded the flight at 5 pm (Perth time). I got into my seat and dozed off. About 15 minutes prior to the land at Adelaide, I woke up to find, plane food placed on the tray before me. Though the flight was only for three hours, the time variance between Adelaide and Perth made a huge difference.  

When I finally landed at Adelaide airport, the time was around 11:00 pm. (Note: The time difference between Adelaide and Perth - 2:30 hrs, Adelaide and India - 5 hrs). After I collected my baggage from the conveyor belt, I spotted a man holding out an iPad with my name written on it. I approached him and he greeted me with a friendly smile and a few questions later, he led me on to the cab.

I got onto the Lexus cab and rode off to the arranged accommodation at the St. Ann's hostel. Excited and scared (in a good way) what the coming few weeks might bring, I could sense my eyes twinkling as I gazed at the Adelaide Oval and the other buildings which I had only seen on media. About twenty minutes later, I reached my accomodation. I received a warm welcome from the warden who was very pleasant in spite of the arrival being at late hours. On reaching the assigned room, I called my family members to update them on all that had happened. It was quite hard to fall asleep, but I somehow managed to! 

My first ever solo-trip, I would cherish the memories forever. From worrying about missing my flight to being mesmerised at the sight of the beautiful, completely new city, I knew for sure that this would definitely not be my last solo trip.

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