Are you brave enough to travel to a new country without a return ticket? Meet Bhavana, author of The Art of Slow Travel, as she takes us on an exciting journey of her belief that slow travel can bring about a deep and rich encounter with an unfamiliar culture. As a seasoned traveller herself, Bhavana helps us understand what it means to immerse oneself in another world fully and how the concept of slow travel can transform the way we perceive our surroundings. Her book, The Art of Slow Travel, is a culmination of her own experiences and aims to inspire and guide readers on a journey of discovery - both internal and external - to gain new insights and perspectives.
Bhavana Gesota is an Indian American former technology professional, world slow traveller, artist, writer, thinker, and meditator. She was born and raised in Pune, India, before moving to the USA for work after 25 years. Over the past 25 years, she has lived in 9 countries, worked in 7 for extended periods, and travelled to 22 more across 5 continents.
From her experiences of taking six-month sabbaticals to her encounters with minimalists on the road, she has collected valuable insights that will help you pack not just your suitcase but also your life into a travel-friendly format. She'll also shed light on the nuances of a slow travel lifestyle and how it differs from a nomadic lifestyle, giving you new perspectives to consider before jetting off on your next adventure.
She reflects on the beauty of slow travel and how it has enabled her to forge lasting connections with people from all walks of life. Her tales of adapting to foreign lands, navigating visa processes, and embracing digital nomadism will inspire you to break away from the conventional norms of travel.
Let's enjoy her story.
To connect with Bhavana: https://www.bhavanagesota.com/
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Thank you for listening - Hasta Pronto!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Daniela SM (00:08):
Hi, I'm Daniela.
Welcome to my podcast, becauseeveryone has a story, the place
to give ordinary people, stories, the chance to be shared and
preserved.
Our stories become the languageof connections.
Let's enjoy it, connect andrelate, because everyone has a
story.
Welcome my guest, BhavanaGesota.
(00:33):
You know how I am so curiousabout nomadic people.
Imagine when I came across thebook the Heart of Slow Travel, I
devoured it and it wasfascinating, a perfect book.
I contacted Bavna and here isher story in between the lines
of her book.
Bhavana is an Indian American,former technology, professional
(00:57):
world slow travel artist, writer, thinker and meditator.
She was born and raised in Pune, india, before moving to the US
for work after 25 years.
Over the 25 years, she haslived in 9 countries, worked in
7 for extended periods andtraveled to 22 more across 5
continents.
But she doesn't care about thenumber of countries.
(01:19):
She cares about the space ofserendipity that happens while
slow traveling Isn't thatamazing.
It sounds so fascinating.
In this episode, she reflectson the beauty of slow travel and
how it has enabled her to forgelasting connections with people
from all walks of life.
Her tales of adapting toforeign your lands, navigating
(01:42):
visa processes and embracingdigital nomadism will inspire
you to break away fromconventional norms of travel.
So let's send you her story.
Welcome Bhavana to the show.
Thank you, daniela Bhavana.
I am so honored that you'rehere, because when I came across
your book, the Heart of SlowTravel, I was so excited because
(02:03):
it was exactly what I waslooking for A how to book with
all details and a perfectsummary.
Bhavana Gesota (02:10):
Thank you for inviting me, Daniela, and I am
really happy that you found mybook useful.
Daniela SM (02:17):
Yes, it is amazing.
And so Bhavana, where are youlocated?
Bhavana Gesota (02:21):
I am in Bali, indonesia, at this time.
Daniela SM (02:24):
Yes, yes, and then when we talk the first pre-chat,
you were in India.
Bhavana Gesota (02:29):
That's right yeah.
Daniela SM (02:30):
So how long are you going to be in Bali for?
Bhavana Gesota (02:33):
Well, I got here in May and I expect to stay
here till October or November,something like that,
approximately.
Okay, fun.
I don't fly with return tickets, as you might have read in the
book, so I don't know yet, butthat's the general idea.
I do have a ballpark idea thatI'm going to be here till at
least the end of September, andthen likely in October and
(02:57):
November, as well, all right.
Daniela SM (02:58):
wonderful.
This is not your first time inBali.
What has attracted you tocontinue going back?
Bhavana Gesota (03:04):
All right this is my third time to Bali.
Actually, my trips to Bali havebeen incremental, so to say.
The first time I was here wasin 2012.
And at that time I was, I had aproject running in Kuala Lumpur
, malaysia, so I didn't have alot of time free time, but I
flew here on a weekend.
It was just a short weekendtrip and it was one of those
(03:26):
things that I felt, oh, Idefinitely want to come back
here again.
You know just sort of a feelingwith the way things are, the
atmosphere, the smallness andthe way the local people have
continued to preserve theirdaily traditions and their
festivals and their culture.
So then I came back again in2018.
(03:48):
I was a long guy, but I cameback again in 2018.
That was for about three months, I think, and now I'm back here
again with the idea of beinghere for six months.
Why do I like Bali?
I love the Balinese people,their culture, their traditions
and the way they have continuedto preserve it.
If you come to Bali, you'll seethat pretty much every day is a
(04:08):
ceremony for them.
Life itself is a ceremony andpeople are constantly,
constantly preparing for someceremony or the other.
There's not more than two daysthat pass by without something
small or big event happeningover here.
I think all of that kind ofreflects in their attitude
(04:30):
towards life and in the way theylive their life.
Daniela SM (04:33):
Sounds wonderful.
Bhavana Gesota (04:34):
Yeah, they also have a long tradition of arts,
of dances, folk dances and artslike paintings and carvings.
They're still keeping that verymuch alive.
Daniela SM (04:46):
That sounds like a beautiful place to go and visit.
And Vafna, what prompted you towrite the book the Slow Travel?
Bhavana Gesota (04:53):
If I have to go back to the beginnings, I always
wanted to travel, even when Iwas a child.
I was mainly driven bycuriosity, because back in those
days, when I was growing up inthe 70s and the early 80s, there
was no internet.
Only thing we had was geographytextbooks and national
geographic magazines, othersorts of magazines that kind of
(05:16):
gave a clue into the worldoutside India, which is where I
was growing up, and I was alwayscurious as to what lay beyond
the borders of the country thatI was growing up in.
But at the same time I kind ofalways had the feeling that I'm
going to end up traveling.
I don't know why.
It was just one of thoseinstinctual feelings that I just
(05:39):
knew that I was going to end uptraveling.
And that's actually what endedup happening, and not out of any
kind of design or a lot ofplanning from my side, but it
just so happened that I firstbegan to travel for work, and
those were really short trips,as it began with traveling for
work within the United Statesfor a week, for a few days, to
(06:03):
different parts of the UnitedStates.
Then that continued on tobecome international travel for
two weeks or three weeks, youknow, to countries like Costa
Rica and Israel, places that Inever even had dreamed of or
ever thought of actually going.
As I continued to meet morepeople through my work travels,
(06:26):
the lust for traveling to placesoutside of work also began.
But then, you know, at thattime I was working, so I and I
was working in the United States, and I think everybody knows
that in the United States youdon't get more than three weeks
of holidays in a year.
Many people get only two weeks,not even three weeks.
You know, it was like ajuggling, a balancing act, and I
(06:48):
would always be thinking if Igo during Thanksgiving, you know
, I get two extra holidays,because Thanksgiving is not
really my oh how do you say?
Ritual or a festival, but weget holidays and there are
weekends around it.
So every day was counted andplanned for and I was able to
make trips, like for two weeksor 12 days, you know, and take
(07:13):
really ridiculous red-eyeflights where I would land back
in San Francisco on a Mondaymorning, go home, drop my bags
and go straight to work, becausethat way I would have more time
.
You know, maybe an extra day.
There was no time to get backand relax or recover or anything
like that, but that's how I wastraveling and it just kind of
(07:33):
slowly wetted my appetite formore.
Eventually, when I took a longsabbatical from work, I decided
that this kind of like goingaway for 10 days is just not
enough.
You know, it was just notenough for me.
I wanted to stay longer in manyplaces and I wanted to live
like how the locals live.
So when I first took my firstextended sabbatical from work,
(07:54):
that's exactly what I did.
I went on long trips.
I think I spent about twomonths in Greece and Turkey
instead of one month.
I started to recognize there'ssomething really beautiful and
extraordinary that happens whenyou go to a place without like a
strict itinerary of visiting 10places in two days and running
(08:15):
from one place to another, whichis how I used to before when I
was working.
And after doing that for anumber of years, with on and off
going back to my working life,I just felt that I wanted to
share what I had experienced andgain from it.
Also how to, because a lot of myfriends kept asking me you know
, how do you go about organizingall these things that you do?
(08:38):
And the idea of going somewherewithout a return ticket is sort
of uncomfortable for many people, you know, because people want
to be more planned than mine isnot so planned.
But that's what the beauty liesbecause you make space for
serendipity, you make space forthe trip to take you instead of
you taking a trip.
You allow the journey to kindof take you to places that you
(09:01):
had never even thought of orexpected, not just in the
external way but also withinyourself, and encounter in a
different place, within adifferent framework, where
you're still kind of living yournormal life but away from your
home, gives you an opportunity,gives us an opportunity to free
(09:21):
up, to sort of explore manyother depths and parts of
ourselves.
That's kind of why I felt likeI really wanted to write a book
on slow travel, to make it feellike it's more accessible to
people who have always thoughtthat they would like to but they
never felt that they could, forvarious reasons.
Daniela SM (09:41):
That sounds beautiful.
Bhavana Gesota (09:42):
Your story really starts when you were
younger than yeah maybe myrecollection is, I guess,
probably eight years or nineyears old.
The first fascination was withthe geography textbooks.
You know, we learned geographynot just about India but about
the Tundra region and the ArcticPole and Alaska and the
(10:03):
prairies and the steppes inIndia and our geography
textbooks we had the worldgeography in there.
And also I kind of remember,you know, when I was a kid we
used to play this game at homewhich was one of my favorite
games to play.
We would open a world atlas.
So it was me, my brother andsometimes my uncle and father
would join in and you wouldrandomly open a page in the
world atlas and one of us wouldlocate a place on that map and
(10:27):
the other person had to find it.
I remember being fascinatedbecause you know we were
browsing through the world atlas.
There were maps of places likeMongolia and Siberia and
different mountain ranges whosewords were also a bit difficult
to pronounce for us, but it wasjust fascinating for me.
Daniela SM (10:45):
Bhavana, do you think that it's part of your
personality, then, to be soadaptable and flexible that you
can just buy a one-way ticket?
Bhavana Gesota (10:53):
I think it's part of my personality.
I think there are people whoare like me from many different
parts of the world.
The idea is about freedom andnot having to restrict yourself.
But also from my own personalexperience, whenever I've gone
on like multi-month trips with areturn ticket, I have
(11:15):
invariably ended up changing ittwo times or three times and
ended up being the penaltiesthat go with having to change
your flight.
So in the end I decided it'sjust not worth it.
I might as well not buy areturn ticket until I'm sure.
Daniela SM (11:31):
And is it okay for some countries that you can
enter a country without a returnticket?
Bhavana Gesota (11:36):
Yeah, for some countries it's okay and for some
countries it's not.
If you are going to dosomething like that, you must
check in advance and find out ifthe country that you're going
to will allow you to get inwithout a return ticket or not.
So also it depends on likevisas, like if you require a
visa ahead of time, even beforeboarding the flight.
(11:58):
If you need to apply for a visato an embassy or a consulate,
then the likelihood that you'regoing to require to show return
ticket is very high.
Many countries which give visaon arrival to citizens of
certain countries don't reallyneed to.
So here's an example Thailanddoes not require an outbound
(12:20):
ticket to actually get in, butthat's because me, being a US
citizen, I get a visa rightthere when I enter Thailand.
I don't need to apply for itahead of time.
But some countries may need toapply for a visa ahead of time
at their local embassy, so theyhave the likelihood of having a
return ticket is high.
(12:41):
But, on the other hand,indonesia requires that you have
a return ticket or an outboundticket, like you don't have to
come back to your same to thedestination from where you are
flying out, but so long as youhave an outbound ticket that
shows that, okay, you are, youdo plan to leave Indonesia, so
they need you to show that atthe airport when you land in
(13:03):
Indonesia.
Daniela SM (13:04):
But you didn't though.
Bhavana Gesota (13:06):
No, I do.
But what I do is I buy arefundable ticket for a date
ahead of time, which are moreexpensive.
Refundable tickets aredefinitely more expensive, but
they're refundable.
So that's the key word thererefundable.
You can get in and then, onceyou are in, you can cancel the
ticket.
You get the full refund back,then buy a regular price ticket
(13:28):
for when you're ready toactually leave.
So it's kind of like a hack andessentially what they're trying
to do is they want to make surethat you don't end up staying
there illegally forever and everand ever.
Daniela SM (13:40):
Okay.
Bhavana Gesota (13:41):
That's their main concern.
So long as you don't have anysuch wild intentions, I think
it's okay, because you know, Iknow I have an intention to
leave.
I don't have the intention ofcontinuing to stay here
illegally.
I feel okay with, like,canceling the refundable ticket
and buying a regular priceticket when I'm actually ready
to leave.
Daniela SM (13:59):
Yeah.
And so going back to you andyour travels, obviously it was a
slow process because, yes, youalways wanted to travel.
You got a job that permittedyou to go somewhere and work
from there, yeah, and then Imissed that part where you
started to work and you could goto places, but then you decided
(14:21):
to take vacation or you wereworking all the time I took an
unpaid sabbatical from work thevery first time.
Bhavana Gesota (14:28):
I didn't actually resign, I didn't
actually quit.
It was an unpaid sabbatical forI think it was six months, if I
remember correctly, and theidea was that after six months I
would go back to my job.
But actually after six months Idid not want to go back to my
job.
I did resign at the end of sixmonths.
But, yes, no, I was not workingat that time, during that,
(14:49):
during those six months.
Daniela SM (14:51):
So lucky you that you had a job that will give you
a sabbatical and also you havea.
You know, your knowledge andyour expertise are easy to be a
digital nomad.
Right, you had those advantages.
Bhavana Gesota (15:02):
When I started traveling, that was like in the
late nineties and early 2000s,and at that time the concept of
digital nomadism was actuallynot there.
In fact, working remotelyitself was considered a total
no-no, not even for a day in aweek.
I remember in the company thatI used to work for in the
(15:25):
Silicon Valley of California,there was no way I could any of
us could work even a single dayremotely from home.
I mean remotely meaning I'm noteven talking about another
country or even another statenot even from our home.
So back in those days, workingwhile you're traveling was an
absolute, not even a possibility, not even a remote possibility.
(15:48):
It was very, very rare.
And so, yes, I was lucky that Ihad a job where I could take a
sabbatical, as you said.
I mean, it wasn't easy, becauseagain taking a sabbatical for
six months, unpaid sabbaticalfrom your career for six months,
was again a big no-no.
At that time, nobody.
(16:08):
There were very, very fewpeople who might be doing that
At the time, or at least Ididn't know anybody in my
circles who did that.
I think that has changed now,especially after COVID, but it
was already changing even beforeCOVID.
But COVID kind of accelerated.
It is that a lot of people areokay with working remotely now,
(16:28):
a lot of employers are okay withworking remotely.
So this is now actually or evenI would say that the
opportunities for traveling sloware even more have opened up
even more, because the bigquestion or the big obstacle
that many people have is whatabout the finances?
Daniela SM (16:47):
Yes, of course.
Bhavana Gesota (16:49):
Many people might be able to do it, which
what they were not able to dobefore, is working remotely.
And again, there are someprofessions where you just
cannot work remotely.
Everybody's situation is soindividual, daniela.
It's a balancing act.
I didn't know that this is whatI was going to do right 20
(17:09):
years ago.
I didn't know that this is howmy life was going to unfold.
But at every stage we have totake stock of what is our
present situation, what I wantto do versus what I can do.
There's always this balancingact between want and can and the
money, the finances, and try tomake the best of that situation
.
We just try to make what we can.
(17:33):
Way back, when I first startedtraveling, I only had three
weeks of holidays in a year andI had to spend at least 10 days
of that time in India to see myfamily.
So I was left with very little.
So I worked with what I could.
I counted every single day,every weekend, every public
holiday like Christmas orThanksgiving, and tried to make
the max of what I could.
(17:54):
As life moved along, I had moreopportunities and so I made the
best of what I could.
So that's basically what Ithink we all have to do if there
is a desire to do something.
Daniela SM (18:07):
And how was that decision to say I'm gonna take a
six-month leave of absencesabbatical?
Were you scared?
Were you worried the B familywere saying, oh my god, what a
crazy thought.
Or how was that?
Bhavana Gesota (18:18):
What I recall is that I was not afraid at all.
I just knew that this is what Iwanted to do.
I didn't stop and think what ifI just did not stop to
deliberate on what if thishappened?
So what if that happened?
So what if, when I return, Idon't have a job?
I just decided that this iswhat I wanted to do and I did it
.
But people around me they weremore sort of like you know,
(18:43):
worried than I was, because Igot a lot of warnings from my
friends around me saying oh youknow, this is career suicide.
When you come back, you may nothave a job, they might fire you
, you will not be able to findanother job.
Nobody hires a person who has asix-month gap on their resume.
And I thought, no, no, I'm noteven going to think about it.
(19:04):
You know, I will cross thebridge when I come to it and for
some reason, I don't know why,but I was not worried about that
at all.
Daniela SM (19:13):
But you seem to be like this sad person that knows
where, the direction that you'regoing, and you're always calm
and you know what you need to do.
Bhavana Gesota (19:22):
No, no no, no, not always, but I don't have the
personality to plan the next 10years of my life.
I just cannot plan that aftertwo years, this is what I should
have achieved, or after fiveyears, this is what I should
have achieved, or after eightyears, this is what I should
have achieved.
And because I don't have that,I guess that frees me up to be
(19:45):
more relaxed about the decisionsI make.
Daniela SM (19:47):
And also you are kind of not following society
patterns.
Bhavana Gesota (19:52):
Yeah, definitely not.
Daniela SM (19:53):
Are you having issues with your family members
or your friends because you'renot doing what the institutions
said that you're supposed to?
Bhavana Gesota (20:01):
No, not really.
People are free to obviouslyprovide their advice and their
opinions and their concerns andthey're all valid At the end of
the day.
I look inside myself and lookinside myself and I don't feel
that worried in the sense that Ifeel that whatever the
situations that might come uplike, let's say, going back when
(20:22):
I first took an unpaidsabbatical and people around me
were worried if I was fired frommy job, would I be able to get
another job?
Would any employer hire me?
I looked inside myself and Isaid that why would anybody not
hire me?
I mean, I have the skills, Ihave the experience.
A potential employer is going tothink, oh, she had a career gap
(20:42):
of six months and if that's thereason that they don't want to
hire me, then I don't want towork with that employer.
I felt quite certain thatthere'll be somebody out there,
some employer out there, whowill recognize the value of
taking a six-month break andgoing traveling and actually
consider that as a differentsort of an experience and hire
(21:04):
me.
So I was pretty certain at thattime that I wouldn't actually
be out on the streets oranything like that.
Daniela SM (21:10):
Yes, you got this amazing personality of being
sane and confident Amazing.
I think.
People are constantly in thesearch of having your style, so
that's amazing.
Bhavana Gesota (21:22):
Thank you.
Daniela SM (21:23):
So what happened then?
You did six months and then youwent back.
Obviously you didn't want thejob.
Bhavana Gesota (21:28):
No, no, I didn't want my old job, so I resigned,
and I also did not want to goback to work right away, so I
did not.
I actually did not go back towork for one and a half years,
so a total gap of two years, wow.
And I went traveling again.
I went to Guatemala after a fewmonths and I spent some longer
times in India, since I was nolonger constrained with the
(21:50):
three weeks of holidays in ayear.
I think my biggest trouble withworking with my job was the
three week of constraint.
That was really troubling me alot.
I think it's such a shitty work.
Low work-life balance of peoplein the United States app.
I was still lucky with threeweeks.
Some people get just two weeksand I just can't imagine.
So I was also more drawntowards the European style of
(22:14):
working, because I felt likethey had a higher work-life
balance and, to the course of mywork, I had met a lot of
European colleagues and I wouldalways be comparing yes, you
guys get six weeks of holidaysin a year and here we are stuck
with three.
That was really the problem Ihad with working in the United
States, so I didn't actually goback to work.
(22:34):
I did not want to go back towork.
So I had a total gap of twoyears and then I was running out
of funds to sustain myself.
So I decided I need to get backto work now and I did actively
search for a job and it took meabout three months to find a job
and I did, so I went back towork.
Daniela SM (22:51):
Back to work for three weeks holidays.
Bhavana Gesota (22:53):
Yes, there was no choice because I was in the
United States.
There's nothing you can doabout that, wow.
Daniela SM (22:57):
And how was that feeling?
Feel again being trapped inthis system of three weeks.
Bhavana Gesota (23:04):
A little bit, yes, but the job that I had, it
was a consulting job.
Even though I was working for acompany, I was a consultant for
their product.
So I ended up traveling forconsulting reasons to different
clients Pretty much nonstopafter that.
So, yeah, I was traveling but Iwas working.
(23:25):
So I was traveling for work andI had to travel to places that
I didn't really fancy going tobut I had to go there because my
clients were there but I endedup traveling.
So I didn't really miss thatpart of not being able to go
anywhere and being constrainedwith just three weeks of holiday
Because I was already travelingbut a lot.
So at that point in time, thosethree weeks of holidays I had,
(23:48):
I would.
I wanted to actually come backhome and not go anywhere Because
I was already on the roadpretty much every week.
Daniela SM (23:55):
I see Okay, and so what is one of the things that
you like the least being on aplane at the airport?
What is the one thing that isnot as fun from traveling, slow
traveling?
Bhavana Gesota (24:06):
Packing, packing is not fun for me at all.
It's my dream.
It's my dream to travel withjust one small suitcase, that I
can actually put it on the planewith me and go.
But I'm just, I'm just not ableto do that.
It's a challenge that I cancontinuously work with and I'm
amazed, I'm really amazed, atpeople who travel with just the
(24:28):
minimalists over here.
I have an example in my bookabout this guy I met in Mexico,
in San Cristobal de las Casas,and he was actively practicing
minimalism.
So he was actually travelingwith just a day pack, not even a
backpack, just a day pack.
So he probably had like onepair of floats, one laptop,
(24:49):
sandals that he was wearing noextra sandals or anything like
that and some of the smallthings, but it was just a day
pack, nothing else.
That is really amazing.
For me, packing is the biggestchallenge, not airports.
I usually end up overpackingmore than what the airlines
allow by at least a couple ofkilos, and then there's always
(25:09):
this manuring that happens forme and the airport If there's.
Sometimes the airline is morerelaxed and they let you pass
with an extra kilo or two kilos,but then otherwise you know how
to remove stuff and put it inmy carry on, because they don't
really weigh the carry on soseriously.
So in fact they also advise youat right there, if you can take
(25:29):
out some things and put it inyour carry on, that will reduce
the weight.
And some constantly manuringthis at airports, because some
airports have gotten some trashbins at airports have gotten a
lot of my stuff, because I'vehad to also throw things away.
Especially, you know, Iremember Frankfurt Airport.
That's my, that's my, the, youknow my, my airport of terror,
(25:56):
because I eventually have endedup throwing stuff at the
Frankfurt Airport.
Oh no, yeah.
So packing, packing is mydisaster.
I'm not good at being minimal.
Daniela SM (26:04):
Yes, for me it's stressful.
I can travel with few things.
I have a thing about it's notgoing to fit, it's not going to
fit and then I get reallystressed about that.
So my husband always helps meto.
I said this is what I want totake, and he's always small is
not match and then if you makeit, fit to it.
That's all but so what happenedin Frankfurt?
Bhavana Gesota (26:21):
I had exceeded the airlines baggage limitations
by a considerate amount andthat was like way back.
I think it was in 2006 orsomething like that, and I was
not paying attention to theweight limitations because I had
zoned somehow that allinternational flights allow.
(26:41):
What is it?
I can't remember 23 kilos to be23 kilos per bag Right, so I had
assumed that, and at that timeI was flying to South Africa at.
I was at the airport and I wasshocked to find out that 23
kilos per bag are not allowed ifyou're flying to South Africa.
It was my mistake.
I should have checked thatahead of time.
I didn't.
It was my big assumption thatinternational flights mean 23
(27:04):
kilos.
This was in 2006.
But, so it was not a couple ofkilos that you can just adjust
somehow, it was a considerableamount and I had to throw a lot
at Frankfurt Airport.
I threw a lot at the FrankfurtAirport and but there were some
books that I did not want tothrow Ended up doing was I ended
up boxing it, couriering itfrom Frankfurt Airport to a
(27:25):
friend of mine in Germany.
Daniela SM (27:27):
Wow, that's amazing.
And I guess the traveling atthe beginning maybe you were
having more clothes than now,and so what has happened is that
with your travel, you havebecome your style of
minimalistic.
You just maybe won't be thatguy that you met in Mexico, but
you are much better than youwere 20 years ago.
Yes, exactly I am.
Bhavana Gesota (27:51):
I've learned so much from my own mistakes.
I've learned from beingcareless about checking certain
things.
So now I'm more prepared.
Now I'm still overweight, butonly by a kilo or two, usually
not like how it used to be.
It's still overweight.
But you're right, I'mminimalistic in my own way.
(28:11):
Definitely I don't think I'mgoing to be like the guy I met
in.
That's a long way ahead of me.
Daniela SM (28:17):
Yes, I was listening to YouTube video from this lady
who they say they soldeverything and they're having a
minimalistic life.
You know.
The story also is that theymoved from one apartment to a
house they has downgrade manytimes, so they have done the
exercise already a few times.
Well, for example, us, we'vebeen in the same place same
house for 27 years.
So we have accumulated morethan you know, and every day I
(28:40):
said, oh my God, we should haveless.
Once you start yeah, Iunderstand yeah slowly get it,
but there's some people that canand think it's a style I don't
feel like.
Minimalistic is one way.
I think it's minimalistic yourway.
Bhavana Gesota (28:52):
That's absolutely true Minimalistic,
your way or style.
I think I've given someexamples in the book.
There were these true extremeexamples.
One of these one was of thisguy who was completely
minimalistic with traveling withjust a day pack that I met in
Mexico, against another girl Imet in Peru and she came with
two suitcases but one suitcasewas full of shampoos and
(29:16):
cosmetics and tubes and tubesand tubes.
All her cosmetic requirementsof soaps and shampoos and
conditioners and what have you,for a whole six months were
packed in one whole suitcase.
When she was leaving she hadnot used all of them and she was
wanting to sell those offbecause she wanted the space.
(29:37):
She wanted to empty thatsuitcase so she could put things
that she had bought in Peru andtake them back with her.
So that's another example.
When you're packing you don'tthink so At least we need to
pack one whole suitcase full ofshampoos and conditioners and
cosmetics if you're going awayfor six months, toothpaste and
(30:00):
whatever.
That's the range we can be fromthere to there or somewhere in
between.
We learn as we go.
In the book I have a I think Ihave a chapter on packing and
I'll try to give some tips onpacking and things to consider
and so on and so forth.
But it's really something thatwe just learn as we go along and
(30:25):
do it a couple of times orthree times.
Daniela SM (30:27):
I have learned with my travels which is not as much
as you, for sure, but that Ialways bring a bit more than I
actually need.
However, I am quiteminimalistic in the sense that I
don't bring too much,especially if we go to a warm
vacation.
If we go for a winter vacation,that there's more items that
one must bring and it becomesbulkier, right.
Bhavana Gesota (30:49):
And it's one thing when we are going on a
sort of a holiday for a week or10 days, because we are usually
restricting ourselves to aspecific region, so we are most
likely not in 10 days going tobe going to regions with
multiple different climates.
But when you're on a slowtravel journey which is usually,
(31:09):
you know, we are out for fourmonths or six months or eight
months then there is a higherpossibility that you could end
up spending some time on thebeach and some in the mountains,
where it could be very cold orit could be snowing.
So on this kind of trip you endup sort of having to pack for
different types of weather, andwarm clothes is what really, you
(31:30):
know, takes up the bulk ofspace in the bags and also add
to the weight.
Daniela SM (31:35):
Yes, exactly, and shoes too right.
Bhavana Gesota (31:37):
Yeah, you want to.
If you want to go hiking, thenyou have hiking boots and then
you have sandals.
You know that you can wear, onan occasion, something nice.
So now we are two women talking.
You know, I'm sure if it was aman I just need one pair of
slippers and one boots andthat's it, or.
But here we are, we think weneed this, and maybe that too,
and that too, and then it startsadding up.
Daniela SM (31:58):
Well, my husband.
He's the kind of person whowill pack for if we need it.
I go with a small suitcase andhe's the one who has the big
suitcase.
At times I've been usingsomething that he brought yeah
you bring this and he packed.
And what do you do aboutexercising, are you?
You're always sitting, youalways force yourself to hike,
so how do you do exercise?
Bhavana Gesota (32:18):
Well, different things.
I mean.
I do practice yoga, not everyday, but that's been a more
consistent form of, so to say,exercise for me.
I walk a lot Once you'reoutside the United States.
Basically, you don't have a carin the United States.
You're forced to have a carbecause that's the only way to
go from point A to point B Inmost other parts of the world.
(32:40):
I don't need a car, I have notneeded a car, so I end up
walking a lot, other than takingpublic transportation.
But even if you're takingpublic transportation in other
parts of the world, you have towalk till the train station or
the bus stop or what have you.
I end up walking a lot.
I do go on hikes, though that'snot every day or every month or
something like that, thoughthose are more, you know, once
(33:02):
in a few months or somethinglike that, but for a daily basis
, I walk a lot.
Daniela SM (33:06):
You walk a lot to go from point A to point B, or you
just walk.
Bhavana Gesota (33:10):
Yes, yes, yes.
So here's the thing I try tointegrate my exercise in normal
life instead of, you know,setting out one hour aside just
for walking.
You know if I'm going to thegrocery shop, the farmers market
or wherever that I need to go,I walk if it's walkable.
(33:31):
So generally walking about 4 to5 kilometers in a day is normal
.
And if there's an opportunityto rent a bicycle then I do end
up getting a bicycle.
So between bicycling andwalking, those become more of my
daily regular things to do.
And then there is yoga.
Daniela SM (33:49):
I do treks once in a while.
I know what you mean.
I also feel like we're alwayssitting all the time and we're
driving, we're sitting, we'resitting in our office we're
sitting at home when we eat,we're sitting at home when we're
watching TV we're alwayssitting.
It's important to walk.
I'm glad that you get that.
Bhavana Gesota (34:05):
Yeah, now here, for example in Bali, you need to
have a scooter to get around,because it doesn't really have
the kind of publictransportation systems like in
Europe or even in India.
So I do have a scooter, but,for example, if I want to buy
vegetables and fruits, thenthere is a shop which is about
half a kilometer away from myplace and instead of taking a
(34:28):
scooter I just walk.
I walk there, I walk to thelaundry place, I walk to some of
the cafes around here andBhavna.
Daniela SM (34:35):
So now you've been traveling for many, many years.
So what is your process now topick up country?
You're going back to the placesthat you really like, or are
you still innovating and addinga new one, a new country that
you?
Bhavana Gesota (34:48):
haven't been.
Now I basically, as a choice, Iwould only choose to go to a
place that I have been to beforeand where I know people, where
I kind of know the lay of theland, I know how to go about
organizing things, because it'sfaster, easier, quicker.
So no, I'm not really addingany new countries to my list.
(35:10):
You know because that's anotherthing that people ask as soon
as you say that, oh, you're atraveler.
So how many countries have yougone to?
At first, we began to travelinternationally for work in 1997
.
So it's been quite a many years, and so I'm expected to give a
really big number, like 60, 70or something like that.
And actually I don't have,because many times I've gone
(35:33):
back to the same place again.
It's not about numbers, it'snot a number game at all.
We should go where our heartcalls us.
Daniela SM (35:40):
People that I spoke to.
They said also that they gettired of traveling so much
because they lose that sense ofcommunity.
Is that something that you feelthat has happened to you as
well?
Bhavana Gesota (35:51):
Yes and no.
So here's the thing.
The question is, why would Icome back to Bali again?
Or why would I go back to Peruagain?
Peru is another country thatI've been back to a number of
times and I've actually stayedthere for six, eight months at a
time, a lot more than I have inBali.
But what makes me go back thereagain and what makes me come
back to India again versus,let's say, why have I not gone
(36:17):
back to Kuala Lumpur, forexample?
Because I was there for a fewmonths as well.
And one of the things is havingthe sense of community and
having a community and how easyit is to actually blend back
into the community or form acommunity.
If I'm going back to a certainplace, it's certainly one of the
big reasons is community Isbecause I feel a sense of
(36:41):
community over there.
I feel the sense that I havelike-minded people or that I
will meet like-minded people inthese places, because I have had
that experience in the past.
So I have the lust to exploreas much nature as I can see the
mountains and the lakes and thewaterfalls and the jungles and
(37:01):
the forest.
That is definitely a draw thatwould also definitely take me
back to that place again.
But more than that, it's thecommunity, because as human
beings, we are wired.
As social beings, we need tofeel connected with people
around us in some way or theother.
That actually is the biggestreason why I would go back to a
certain place again Is thepeople and the community, the
(37:25):
sense of community, which alsogives you a sense of belonging
and a sense of home.
Daniela SM (37:30):
Sometimes I struggle thinking that I want to be in a
community with people that arelike-minded.
However, I feel, too, that youcould be just closing your
opportunities when you are justwith your group of people.
Bhavana Gesota (37:43):
I think a balance is good.
If you have the buffer, orlet's say the cushion of people
that you can connect with, thenyou can make space to connect
with people who are notlike-minded as a way to broaden
your horizons.
But if you're consistentlyaround people who are on a very
different wavelength than you,then it's exhausting.
Daniela SM (38:06):
Yes, that's true.
So you have written this book.
You keep working, you keeptraveling, and I know you don't
like to plan, but is thereanother book that you're
thinking of writing or whatother plans you have for the
next few years?
Bhavana Gesota (38:22):
First of all, I'm not doing any kind of job
right now, so I'm actually notworking.
I quit in 2016.
So, yeah, I do have anotherbook in process I don't know
when that's going to come outbut I do have another book in
process, not about travel, butsomething else.
I do think about going back towork, but I'm very clear that I
don't want to go back to thecorporate world and I certainly
(38:44):
don't want to go back to thetype of consulting that I was
doing before.
That's very clear.
So, at the moment, I have acouple of other things that I
feel really interested in, and Ithink I have the skills and the
qualifications for that.
I might actually start lookingfor full-time work or part-time
work, actually.
Daniela SM (39:03):
You haven't worked since 2016, so how do you keep
updated?
Do you have a routine?
Bhavana Gesota (39:09):
Oh yeah, I do.
I definitely keep myselfupdated.
I do take breaks from it alsofor periods of time where I
don't want to read any news orconnect with the world, but I do
keep myself updated.
For me, taking this break wasbecause I wanted to spend a
significant amount of time withcreative projects, so giving
(39:30):
life back to creativity in mylife.
So the first two years aftersince 2016, I spent I was more
consistent with picking up mypaintbrush and painting and I
took classes.
You know I signed up for thesummer school at the School of
Fine Arts in Kusco.
I took a summer program inLondon because I had a project
(39:53):
in London, so it was easy.
For me, this time has been moreabout learning, rediscovering
and reinventing myself, to findout what kind of work and what
is it that will really give mefulfillment and meaning meaning
to my life Because I know thatthe tech world is kind of over
for me, or at least in the formthat I used to work in is over
(40:13):
for me.
Nothing against technology andI think if I could find
something, that in which it'sstill technology but it's used
in a way that is more meaningfulfor me, then I would have I
don't mind working withtechnology at all, so a lot of
this time has been reinventing,spending a lot of time with my
mom in India, which is alsosomething that I lacked in my 20
(40:36):
years of being away, which I'mreally grateful for that.
Daniela SM (40:39):
Sounds wonderful.
Do you feel that you have foundyour purpose?
I?
Bhavana Gesota (40:43):
think so, yes, but how that translates into
concrete terms and how that,whether that translates into a
job or whether that translatesinto a different form of working
, I don't know that yet.
We always have how to makechoices in life.
We never get everything.
You get something, you losesomething.
(41:04):
That's just how it goes withany decision in life.
You make the choice of goingslow traveling, packing up your
house, and going slow travelingfor a year or two years.
What have you?
You lose something in theprocess.
Definitely, you lose thecomfort of your home, of having
all your things around you, ofyour consistent circle of
friends.
(41:24):
You give up that because youthink you're going to find
something different and more,and something that you are going
to appreciate more by going ona slow travel trip.
And that's why we do it right.
That's why we make thesechoices, because we think that
this is going to be good for me,it's going to add something of
value to my life.
(41:44):
When I went on my first unpaidsabbatical a long time ago six
months and I packed up my twobedroom apartment in California
the first month, I was totallyfine.
You know, because I was away, Iwas gone.
That's what I wanted to doafter the first one.
You know what I missed the mostout of everything?
I missed my bed, because I wassleeping in different places and
the beds were definitely not ascomfortable.
(42:06):
As I missed my paradise.
I was like, oh my God, my bed.
So yeah, we're always going tomiss something from our previous
life.
Daniela SM (42:13):
I'm reading a book of Anomalik Traveler and she
also mentions that she missesher bed.
And I remember, Dave and I wewent on a 10 day trip and we
slept in nine different beds andI thought that was too much.
Yes, I love my bed.
Bhavana Gesota (42:31):
I wouldn't do that anymore If I'm traveling
and if I have to sleep in adifferent bed, which basically
means a different hotel roomevery night for the next 10 days
or two weeks.
Absolutely no, that would be adisaster for me.
Daniela SM (42:43):
Yes, we get more particular as we age.
Bhavana Gesota (42:46):
Yeah, when I was 25,.
Yes, a new place each day.
Yes, that's what I want now.
Daniela SM (42:51):
no, I definitely understand that.
Bhavana, t hank you so much forsharing your story and for
being in beautiful valley andstill spending some time with me
.
I really enjoy your story.
You're most welcome, Daniella.
Bhavana Gesota (43:05):
It was a pleasure.
I'm happy you enjoyed my book.
I hope that people who listento this podcast get something
from it, and thanks so much forinviting me.
Daniela SM (43:17):
Yes, and I hope to meet you in person one day soon
in Peru or Bali or anywhere else, keep me posted.
Bhavana Gesota (43:24):
You never know.
That's one of the beauties ofslow traveling.
I meet people from other, fromplaces that I have met them
before, and suddenly it'sbeautiful.
Daniela SM (43:32):
Yes, that's true.
Yeah, thanks you, Daniela.
Thank you, thank you.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Today's episode I am Danielaand you were listening to,
because everyone has a story.
Please take five seconds rightnow and think of somebody in
your life that may enjoy whatyou just heard, or someone that
has a story to be shared andpreserved.
(43:53):
When you think of that person,shoot them a text with the link
of this podcast.
This would allow the ordinarymagic to go further.
Join me next time for anotherstory conversation.
Thank you for listening.
Hasta Pronto.
Hi, I'm Daniela.
Welcome to my podcast, becauseeveryone has a story, the place
to give ordinary people, stories, the chance to be shared and
preserved.
Our stories become the languageof connections.
Let's enjoy it, connect andrelate, because everyone has a
story.
Welcome my guest, BhavanaGesota.
(00:33):
You know how I am so curiousabout nomadic people.
Imagine when I came across thebook the Heart of Slow Travel, I
devoured it and it wasfascinating, a perfect book.
I contacted Bavna and here isher story in between the lines
of her book.
Bhavana is an Indian American,former technology, professional
(00:57):
world slow travel artist, writer, thinker and meditator.
She was born and raised in Pune, india, before moving to the US
for work after 25 years.
Over the 25 years, she haslived in 9 countries, worked in
7 for extended periods andtraveled to 22 more across 5
continents.
But she doesn't care about thenumber of countries.
(01:19):
She cares about the space ofserendipity that happens while
slow traveling Isn't thatamazing.
It sounds so fascinating.
In this episode, she reflectson the beauty of slow travel and
how it has enabled her to forgelasting connections with people
from all walks of life.
Her tales of adapting toforeign your lands, navigating
(01:42):
visa processes and embracingdigital nomadism will inspire
you to break away fromconventional norms of travel.
So let's send you her story.
Welcome Bhavana to the show.
Thank you, daniela Bhavana.
I am so honored that you'rehere, because when I came across
your book, the Heart of SlowTravel, I was so excited because
(02:03):
it was exactly what I waslooking for A how to book with
all details and a perfectsummary.
Bhavana Gesota (02:10):
Thank you for inviting me, Daniela, and I am
really happy that you found mybook useful.
Daniela SM (02:17):
Yes, it is amazing.
And so Bhavana, where are youlocated?
Bhavana Gesota (02:21):
I am in Bali, indonesia, at this time.
Daniela SM (02:24):
Yes, yes, and then when we talk the first pre-chat,
you were in India.
Bhavana Gesota (02:29):
That's right yeah.
Daniela SM (02:30):
So how long are you going to be in Bali for?
Bhavana Gesota (02:33):
Well, I got here in May and I expect to stay
here till October or November,something like that,
approximately.
Okay, fun.
I don't fly with return tickets, as you might have read in the
book, so I don't know yet, butthat's the general idea.
I do have a ballpark idea thatI'm going to be here till at
least the end of September, andthen likely in October and
(02:57):
November, as well, all right.
Daniela SM (02:58):
wonderful.
This is not your first time inBali.
What has attracted you tocontinue going back?
Bhavana Gesota (03:04):
All right this is my third time to Bali.
Actually, my trips to Bali havebeen incremental, so to say.
The first time I was here wasin 2012.
And at that time I was, I had aproject running in Kuala Lumpur
, malaysia, so I didn't have alot of time free time, but I
flew here on a weekend.
It was just a short weekendtrip and it was one of those
(03:26):
things that I felt, oh, Idefinitely want to come back
here again.
You know just sort of a feelingwith the way things are, the
atmosphere, the smallness andthe way the local people have
continued to preserve theirdaily traditions and their
festivals and their culture.
So then I came back again in2018.
(03:48):
I was a long guy, but I cameback again in 2018.
That was for about three months, I think, and now I'm back here
again with the idea of beinghere for six months.
Why do I like Bali?
I love the Balinese people,their culture, their traditions
and the way they have continuedto preserve it.
If you come to Bali, you'll seethat pretty much every day is a
(04:08):
ceremony for them.
Life itself is a ceremony andpeople are constantly,
constantly preparing for someceremony or the other.
There's not more than two daysthat pass by without something
small or big event happeningover here.
I think all of that kind ofreflects in their attitude
(04:30):
towards life and in the way theylive their life.
Daniela SM (04:33):
Sounds wonderful.
Bhavana Gesota (04:34):
Yeah, they also have a long tradition of arts,
of dances, folk dances and artslike paintings and carvings.
They're still keeping that verymuch alive.
Daniela SM (04:46):
That sounds like a beautiful place to go and visit.
And Vafna, what prompted you towrite the book the Slow Travel?
Bhavana Gesota (04:53):
If I have to go back to the beginnings, I always
wanted to travel, even when Iwas a child.
I was mainly driven bycuriosity, because back in those
days, when I was growing up inthe 70s and the early 80s, there
was no internet.
Only thing we had was geographytextbooks and national
geographic magazines, othersorts of magazines that kind of
(05:16):
gave a clue into the worldoutside India, which is where I
was growing up, and I was alwayscurious as to what lay beyond
the borders of the country thatI was growing up in.
But at the same time I kind ofalways had the feeling that I'm
going to end up traveling.
I don't know why.
It was just one of thoseinstinctual feelings that I just
(05:39):
knew that I was going to end uptraveling.
And that's actually what endedup happening, and not out of any
kind of design or a lot ofplanning from my side, but it
just so happened that I firstbegan to travel for work, and
those were really short trips,as it began with traveling for
work within the United Statesfor a week, for a few days, to
(06:03):
different parts of the UnitedStates.
Then that continued on tobecome international travel for
two weeks or three weeks, youknow, to countries like Costa
Rica and Israel, places that Inever even had dreamed of or
ever thought of actually going.
As I continued to meet morepeople through my work travels,
(06:26):
the lust for traveling to placesoutside of work also began.
But then, you know, at thattime I was working, so I and I
was working in the United States, and I think everybody knows
that in the United States youdon't get more than three weeks
of holidays in a year.
Many people get only two weeks,not even three weeks.
You know, it was like ajuggling, a balancing act, and I
(06:48):
would always be thinking if Igo during Thanksgiving, you know
, I get two extra holidays,because Thanksgiving is not
really my oh how do you say?
Ritual or a festival, but weget holidays and there are
weekends around it.
So every day was counted andplanned for and I was able to
make trips, like for two weeksor 12 days, you know, and take
(07:13):
really ridiculous red-eyeflights where I would land back
in San Francisco on a Mondaymorning, go home, drop my bags
and go straight to work, becausethat way I would have more time
.
You know, maybe an extra day.
There was no time to get backand relax or recover or anything
like that, but that's how I wastraveling and it just kind of
(07:33):
slowly wetted my appetite formore.
Eventually, when I took a longsabbatical from work, I decided
that this kind of like goingaway for 10 days is just not
enough.
You know, it was just notenough for me.
I wanted to stay longer in manyplaces and I wanted to live
like how the locals live.
So when I first took my firstextended sabbatical from work,
(07:54):
that's exactly what I did.
I went on long trips.
I think I spent about twomonths in Greece and Turkey
instead of one month.
I started to recognize there'ssomething really beautiful and
extraordinary that happens whenyou go to a place without like a
strict itinerary of visiting 10places in two days and running
(08:15):
from one place to another, whichis how I used to before when I
was working.
And after doing that for anumber of years, with on and off
going back to my working life,I just felt that I wanted to
share what I had experienced andgain from it.
Also how to, because a lot of myfriends kept asking me you know
, how do you go about organizingall these things that you do?
(08:38):
And the idea of going somewherewithout a return ticket is sort
of uncomfortable for many people, you know, because people want
to be more planned than mine isnot so planned.
But that's what the beauty liesbecause you make space for
serendipity, you make space forthe trip to take you instead of
you taking a trip.
You allow the journey to kindof take you to places that you
(09:01):
had never even thought of orexpected, not just in the
external way but also withinyourself, and encounter in a
different place, within adifferent framework, where
you're still kind of living yournormal life but away from your
home, gives you an opportunity,gives us an opportunity to free
(09:21):
up, to sort of explore manyother depths and parts of
ourselves.
That's kind of why I felt likeI really wanted to write a book
on slow travel, to make it feellike it's more accessible to
people who have always thoughtthat they would like to but they
never felt that they could, forvarious reasons.
Daniela SM (09:41):
That sounds beautiful.
Bhavana Gesota (09:42):
Your story really starts when you were
younger than yeah maybe myrecollection is, I guess,
probably eight years or nineyears old.
The first fascination was withthe geography textbooks.
You know, we learned geographynot just about India but about
the Tundra region and the ArcticPole and Alaska and the
(10:03):
prairies and the steppes inIndia and our geography
textbooks we had the worldgeography in there.
And also I kind of remember,you know, when I was a kid we
used to play this game at homewhich was one of my favorite
games to play.
We would open a world atlas.
So it was me, my brother andsometimes my uncle and father
would join in and you wouldrandomly open a page in the
world atlas and one of us wouldlocate a place on that map and
(10:27):
the other person had to find it.
I remember being fascinatedbecause you know we were
browsing through the world atlas.
There were maps of places likeMongolia and Siberia and
different mountain ranges whosewords were also a bit difficult
to pronounce for us, but it wasjust fascinating for me.
Daniela SM (10:45):
Bhavana, do you think that it's part of your
personality, then, to be soadaptable and flexible that you
can just buy a one-way ticket?
Bhavana Gesota (10:53):
I think it's part of my personality.
I think there are people whoare like me from many different
parts of the world.
The idea is about freedom andnot having to restrict yourself.
But also from my own personalexperience, whenever I've gone
on like multi-month trips with areturn ticket, I have
(11:15):
invariably ended up changing ittwo times or three times and
ended up being the penaltiesthat go with having to change
your flight.
So in the end I decided it'sjust not worth it.
I might as well not buy areturn ticket until I'm sure.
Daniela SM (11:31):
And is it okay for some countries that you can
enter a country without a returnticket?
Bhavana Gesota (11:36):
Yeah, for some countries it's okay and for some
countries it's not.
If you are going to dosomething like that, you must
check in advance and find out ifthe country that you're going
to will allow you to get inwithout a return ticket or not.
So also it depends on likevisas, like if you require a
visa ahead of time, even beforeboarding the flight.
(11:58):
If you need to apply for a visato an embassy or a consulate,
then the likelihood that you'regoing to require to show return
ticket is very high.
Many countries which give visaon arrival to citizens of
certain countries don't reallyneed to.
So here's an example Thailanddoes not require an outbound
(12:20):
ticket to actually get in, butthat's because me, being a US
citizen, I get a visa rightthere when I enter Thailand.
I don't need to apply for itahead of time.
But some countries may need toapply for a visa ahead of time
at their local embassy, so theyhave the likelihood of having a
return ticket is high.
(12:41):
But, on the other hand,indonesia requires that you have
a return ticket or an outboundticket, like you don't have to
come back to your same to thedestination from where you are
flying out, but so long as youhave an outbound ticket that
shows that, okay, you are, youdo plan to leave Indonesia, so
they need you to show that atthe airport when you land in
(13:03):
Indonesia.
Daniela SM (13:04):
But you didn't though.
Bhavana Gesota (13:06):
No, I do.
But what I do is I buy arefundable ticket for a date
ahead of time, which are moreexpensive.
Refundable tickets aredefinitely more expensive, but
they're refundable.
So that's the key word thererefundable.
You can get in and then, onceyou are in, you can cancel the
ticket.
You get the full refund back,then buy a regular price ticket
(13:28):
for when you're ready toactually leave.
So it's kind of like a hack andessentially what they're trying
to do is they want to make surethat you don't end up staying
there illegally forever and everand ever.
Daniela SM (13:40):
Okay.
Bhavana Gesota (13:41):
That's their main concern.
So long as you don't have anysuch wild intentions, I think
it's okay, because you know, Iknow I have an intention to
leave.
I don't have the intention ofcontinuing to stay here
illegally.
I feel okay with, like,canceling the refundable ticket
and buying a regular priceticket when I'm actually ready
to leave.
Daniela SM (13:59):
Yeah.
And so going back to you andyour travels, obviously it was a
slow process because, yes, youalways wanted to travel.
You got a job that permittedyou to go somewhere and work
from there, yeah, and then Imissed that part where you
started to work and you could goto places, but then you decided
(14:21):
to take vacation or you wereworking all the time I took an
unpaid sabbatical from work thevery first time.
Bhavana Gesota (14:28):
I didn't actually resign, I didn't
actually quit.
It was an unpaid sabbatical forI think it was six months, if I
remember correctly, and theidea was that after six months I
would go back to my job.
But actually after six months Idid not want to go back to my
job.
I did resign at the end of sixmonths.
But, yes, no, I was not workingat that time, during that,
(14:49):
during those six months.
Daniela SM (14:51):
So lucky you that you had a job that will give you
a sabbatical and also you havea.
You know, your knowledge andyour expertise are easy to be a
digital nomad.
Right, you had those advantages.
Bhavana Gesota (15:02):
When I started traveling, that was like in the
late nineties and early 2000s,and at that time the concept of
digital nomadism was actuallynot there.
In fact, working remotelyitself was considered a total
no-no, not even for a day in aweek.
I remember in the company thatI used to work for in the
(15:25):
Silicon Valley of California,there was no way I could any of
us could work even a single dayremotely from home.
I mean remotely meaning I'm noteven talking about another
country or even another statenot even from our home.
So back in those days, workingwhile you're traveling was an
absolute, not even a possibility, not even a remote possibility.
(15:48):
It was very, very rare.
And so, yes, I was lucky that Ihad a job where I could take a
sabbatical, as you said.
I mean, it wasn't easy, becauseagain taking a sabbatical for
six months, unpaid sabbaticalfrom your career for six months,
was again a big no-no.
At that time, nobody.
(16:08):
There were very, very fewpeople who might be doing that
At the time, or at least Ididn't know anybody in my
circles who did that.
I think that has changed now,especially after COVID, but it
was already changing even beforeCOVID.
But COVID kind of accelerated.
It is that a lot of people areokay with working remotely now,
(16:28):
a lot of employers are okay withworking remotely.
So this is now actually or evenI would say that the
opportunities for traveling sloware even more have opened up
even more, because the bigquestion or the big obstacle
that many people have is whatabout the finances?
Daniela SM (16:47):
Yes, of course.
Bhavana Gesota (16:49):
Many people might be able to do it, which
what they were not able to dobefore, is working remotely.
And again, there are someprofessions where you just
cannot work remotely.
Everybody's situation is soindividual, daniela.
It's a balancing act.
I didn't know that this is whatI was going to do right 20
(17:09):
years ago.
I didn't know that this is howmy life was going to unfold.
But at every stage we have totake stock of what is our
present situation, what I wantto do versus what I can do.
There's always this balancingact between want and can and the
money, the finances, and try tomake the best of that situation
.
We just try to make what we can.
(17:33):
Way back, when I first startedtraveling, I only had three
weeks of holidays in a year andI had to spend at least 10 days
of that time in India to see myfamily.
So I was left with very little.
So I worked with what I could.
I counted every single day,every weekend, every public
holiday like Christmas orThanksgiving, and tried to make
the max of what I could.
(17:54):
As life moved along, I had moreopportunities and so I made the
best of what I could.
So that's basically what Ithink we all have to do if there
is a desire to do something.
Daniela SM (18:07):
And how was that decision to say I'm gonna take a
six-month leave of absencesabbatical?
Were you scared?
Were you worried the B familywere saying, oh my god, what a
crazy thought.
Or how was that?
Bhavana Gesota (18:18):
What I recall is that I was not afraid at all.
I just knew that this is what Iwanted to do.
I didn't stop and think what ifI just did not stop to
deliberate on what if thishappened?
So what if that happened?
So what if, when I return, Idon't have a job?
I just decided that this iswhat I wanted to do and I did it
.
But people around me they weremore sort of like you know,
(18:43):
worried than I was, because Igot a lot of warnings from my
friends around me saying oh youknow, this is career suicide.
When you come back, you may nothave a job, they might fire you
, you will not be able to findanother job.
Nobody hires a person who has asix-month gap on their resume.
And I thought, no, no, I'm noteven going to think about it.
(19:04):
You know, I will cross thebridge when I come to it and for
some reason, I don't know why,but I was not worried about that
at all.
Daniela SM (19:13):
But you seem to be like this sad person that knows
where, the direction that you'regoing, and you're always calm
and you know what you need to do.
Bhavana Gesota (19:22):
No, no no, no, not always, but I don't have the
personality to plan the next 10years of my life.
I just cannot plan that aftertwo years, this is what I should
have achieved, or after fiveyears, this is what I should
have achieved, or after eightyears, this is what I should
have achieved.
And because I don't have that,I guess that frees me up to be
(19:45):
more relaxed about the decisionsI make.
Daniela SM (19:47):
And also you are kind of not following society
patterns.
Bhavana Gesota (19:52):
Yeah, definitely not.
Daniela SM (19:53):
Are you having issues with your family members
or your friends because you'renot doing what the institutions
said that you're supposed to?
Bhavana Gesota (20:01):
No, not really.
People are free to obviouslyprovide their advice and their
opinions and their concerns andthey're all valid At the end of
the day.
I look inside myself and lookinside myself and I don't feel
that worried in the sense that Ifeel that whatever the
situations that might come uplike, let's say, going back when
(20:22):
I first took an unpaidsabbatical and people around me
were worried if I was fired frommy job, would I be able to get
another job?
Would any employer hire me?
I looked inside myself and Isaid that why would anybody not
hire me?
I mean, I have the skills, Ihave the experience.
A potential employer is going tothink, oh, she had a career gap
(20:42):
of six months and if that's thereason that they don't want to
hire me, then I don't want towork with that employer.
I felt quite certain thatthere'll be somebody out there,
some employer out there, whowill recognize the value of
taking a six-month break andgoing traveling and actually
consider that as a differentsort of an experience and hire
(21:04):
me.
So I was pretty certain at thattime that I wouldn't actually
be out on the streets oranything like that.
Daniela SM (21:10):
Yes, you got this amazing personality of being
sane and confident Amazing.
I think.
People are constantly in thesearch of having your style, so
that's amazing.
Bhavana Gesota (21:22):
Thank you.
Daniela SM (21:23):
So what happened then?
You did six months and then youwent back.
Obviously you didn't want thejob.
Bhavana Gesota (21:28):
No, no, I didn't want my old job, so I resigned,
and I also did not want to goback to work right away, so I
did not.
I actually did not go back towork for one and a half years,
so a total gap of two years, wow.
And I went traveling again.
I went to Guatemala after a fewmonths and I spent some longer
times in India, since I was nolonger constrained with the
(21:50):
three weeks of holidays in ayear.
I think my biggest trouble withworking with my job was the
three week of constraint.
That was really troubling me alot.
I think it's such a shitty work.
Low work-life balance of peoplein the United States app.
I was still lucky with threeweeks.
Some people get just two weeksand I just can't imagine.
So I was also more drawntowards the European style of
(22:14):
working, because I felt likethey had a higher work-life
balance and, to the course of mywork, I had met a lot of
European colleagues and I wouldalways be comparing yes, you
guys get six weeks of holidaysin a year and here we are stuck
with three.
That was really the problem Ihad with working in the United
States, so I didn't actually goback to work.
(22:34):
I did not want to go back towork.
So I had a total gap of twoyears and then I was running out
of funds to sustain myself.
So I decided I need to get backto work now and I did actively
search for a job and it took meabout three months to find a job
and I did, so I went back towork.
Daniela SM (22:51):
Back to work for three weeks holidays.
Bhavana Gesota (22:53):
Yes, there was no choice because I was in the
United States.
There's nothing you can doabout that, wow.
Daniela SM (22:57):
And how was that feeling?
Feel again being trapped inthis system of three weeks.
Bhavana Gesota (23:04):
A little bit, yes, but the job that I had, it
was a consulting job.
Even though I was working for acompany, I was a consultant for
their product.
So I ended up traveling forconsulting reasons to different
clients Pretty much nonstopafter that.
So, yeah, I was traveling but Iwas working.
(23:25):
So I was traveling for work andI had to travel to places that
I didn't really fancy going tobut I had to go there because my
clients were there but I endedup traveling.
So I didn't really miss thatpart of not being able to go
anywhere and being constrainedwith just three weeks of holiday
Because I was already travelingbut a lot.
So at that point in time, thosethree weeks of holidays I had,
(23:48):
I would.
I wanted to actually come backhome and not go anywhere Because
I was already on the roadpretty much every week.
Daniela SM (23:55):
I see Okay, and so what is one of the things that
you like the least being on aplane at the airport?
What is the one thing that isnot as fun from traveling, slow
traveling?
Bhavana Gesota (24:06):
Packing, packing is not fun for me at all.
It's my dream.
It's my dream to travel withjust one small suitcase, that I
can actually put it on the planewith me and go.
But I'm just, I'm just not ableto do that.
It's a challenge that I cancontinuously work with and I'm
amazed, I'm really amazed, atpeople who travel with just the
(24:28):
minimalists over here.
I have an example in my bookabout this guy I met in Mexico,
in San Cristobal de las Casas,and he was actively practicing
minimalism.
So he was actually travelingwith just a day pack, not even a
backpack, just a day pack.
So he probably had like onepair of floats, one laptop,
(24:49):
sandals that he was wearing noextra sandals or anything like
that and some of the smallthings, but it was just a day
pack, nothing else.
That is really amazing.
For me, packing is the biggestchallenge, not airports.
I usually end up overpackingmore than what the airlines
allow by at least a couple ofkilos, and then there's always
(25:09):
this manuring that happens forme and the airport If there's.
Sometimes the airline is morerelaxed and they let you pass
with an extra kilo or two kilos,but then otherwise you know how
to remove stuff and put it inmy carry on, because they don't
really weigh the carry on soseriously.
So in fact they also advise youat right there, if you can take
(25:29):
out some things and put it inyour carry on, that will reduce
the weight.
And some constantly manuringthis at airports, because some
airports have gotten some trashbins at airports have gotten a
lot of my stuff, because I'vehad to also throw things away.
Especially, you know, Iremember Frankfurt Airport.
That's my, that's my, the, youknow my, my airport of terror,
(25:56):
because I eventually have endedup throwing stuff at the
Frankfurt Airport.
Oh no, yeah.
So packing, packing is mydisaster.
I'm not good at being minimal.
Daniela SM (26:04):
Yes, for me it's stressful.
I can travel with few things.
I have a thing about it's notgoing to fit, it's not going to
fit and then I get reallystressed about that.
So my husband always helps meto.
I said this is what I want totake, and he's always small is
not match and then if you makeit, fit to it.
That's all but so what happenedin Frankfurt?
Bhavana Gesota (26:21):
I had exceeded the airlines baggage limitations
by a considerate amount andthat was like way back.
I think it was in 2006 orsomething like that, and I was
not paying attention to theweight limitations because I had
zoned somehow that allinternational flights allow.
(26:41):
What is it?
I can't remember 23 kilos to be23 kilos per bag Right, so I had
assumed that, and at that timeI was flying to South Africa at.
I was at the airport and I wasshocked to find out that 23
kilos per bag are not allowed ifyou're flying to South Africa.
It was my mistake.
I should have checked thatahead of time.
I didn't.
It was my big assumption thatinternational flights mean 23
(27:04):
kilos.
This was in 2006.
But, so it was not a couple ofkilos that you can just adjust
somehow, it was a considerableamount and I had to throw a lot
at Frankfurt Airport.
I threw a lot at the FrankfurtAirport and but there were some
books that I did not want tothrow Ended up doing was I ended
up boxing it, couriering itfrom Frankfurt Airport to a
(27:25):
friend of mine in Germany.
Daniela SM (27:27):
Wow, that's amazing.
And I guess the traveling atthe beginning maybe you were
having more clothes than now,and so what has happened is that
with your travel, you havebecome your style of
minimalistic.
You just maybe won't be thatguy that you met in Mexico, but
you are much better than youwere 20 years ago.
Yes, exactly I am.
Bhavana Gesota (27:51):
I've learned so much from my own mistakes.
I've learned from beingcareless about checking certain
things.
So now I'm more prepared.
Now I'm still overweight, butonly by a kilo or two, usually
not like how it used to be.
It's still overweight.
But you're right, I'mminimalistic in my own way.
(28:11):
Definitely I don't think I'mgoing to be like the guy I met
in.
That's a long way ahead of me.
Daniela SM (28:17):
Yes, I was listening to YouTube video from this lady
who they say they soldeverything and they're having a
minimalistic life.
You know.
The story also is that theymoved from one apartment to a
house they has downgrade manytimes, so they have done the
exercise already a few times.
Well, for example, us, we'vebeen in the same place same
house for 27 years.
So we have accumulated morethan you know, and every day I
(28:40):
said, oh my God, we should haveless.
Once you start yeah, Iunderstand yeah slowly get it,
but there's some people that canand think it's a style I don't
feel like.
Minimalistic is one way.
I think it's minimalistic yourway.
Bhavana Gesota (28:52):
That's absolutely true Minimalistic,
your way or style.
I think I've given someexamples in the book.
There were these true extremeexamples.
One of these one was of thisguy who was completely
minimalistic with traveling withjust a day pack that I met in
Mexico, against another girl Imet in Peru and she came with
two suitcases but one suitcasewas full of shampoos and
(29:16):
cosmetics and tubes and tubesand tubes.
All her cosmetic requirementsof soaps and shampoos and
conditioners and what have you,for a whole six months were
packed in one whole suitcase.
When she was leaving she hadnot used all of them and she was
wanting to sell those offbecause she wanted the space.
(29:37):
She wanted to empty thatsuitcase so she could put things
that she had bought in Peru andtake them back with her.
So that's another example.
When you're packing you don'tthink so At least we need to
pack one whole suitcase full ofshampoos and conditioners and
cosmetics if you're going awayfor six months, toothpaste and
(30:00):
whatever.
That's the range we can be fromthere to there or somewhere in
between.
We learn as we go.
In the book I have a I think Ihave a chapter on packing and
I'll try to give some tips onpacking and things to consider
and so on and so forth.
But it's really something thatwe just learn as we go along and
(30:25):
do it a couple of times orthree times.
Daniela SM (30:27):
I have learned with my travels which is not as much
as you, for sure, but that Ialways bring a bit more than I
actually need.
However, I am quiteminimalistic in the sense that I
don't bring too much,especially if we go to a warm
vacation.
If we go for a winter vacation,that there's more items that
one must bring and it becomesbulkier, right.
Bhavana Gesota (30:49):
And it's one thing when we are going on a
sort of a holiday for a week or10 days, because we are usually
restricting ourselves to aspecific region, so we are most
likely not in 10 days going tobe going to regions with
multiple different climates.
But when you're on a slowtravel journey which is usually,
(31:09):
you know, we are out for fourmonths or six months or eight
months then there is a higherpossibility that you could end
up spending some time on thebeach and some in the mountains,
where it could be very cold orit could be snowing.
So on this kind of trip you endup sort of having to pack for
different types of weather, andwarm clothes is what really, you
(31:30):
know, takes up the bulk ofspace in the bags and also add
to the weight.
Daniela SM (31:35):
Yes, exactly, and shoes too right.
Bhavana Gesota (31:37):
Yeah, you want to.
If you want to go hiking, thenyou have hiking boots and then
you have sandals.
You know that you can wear, onan occasion, something nice.
So now we are two women talking.
You know, I'm sure if it was aman I just need one pair of
slippers and one boots andthat's it, or.
But here we are, we think weneed this, and maybe that too,
and that too, and then it startsadding up.
Daniela SM (31:58):
Well, my husband.
He's the kind of person whowill pack for if we need it.
I go with a small suitcase andhe's the one who has the big
suitcase.
At times I've been usingsomething that he brought yeah
you bring this and he packed.
And what do you do aboutexercising, are you?
You're always sitting, youalways force yourself to hike,
so how do you do exercise?
Bhavana Gesota (32:18):
Well, different things.
I mean.
I do practice yoga, not everyday, but that's been a more
consistent form of, so to say,exercise for me.
I walk a lot Once you'reoutside the United States.
Basically, you don't have a carin the United States.
You're forced to have a carbecause that's the only way to
go from point A to point B Inmost other parts of the world.
(32:40):
I don't need a car, I have notneeded a car, so I end up
walking a lot, other than takingpublic transportation.
But even if you're takingpublic transportation in other
parts of the world, you have towalk till the train station or
the bus stop or what have you.
I end up walking a lot.
I do go on hikes, though that'snot every day or every month or
something like that, thoughthose are more, you know, once
(33:02):
in a few months or somethinglike that, but for a daily basis
, I walk a lot.
Daniela SM (33:06):
You walk a lot to go from point A to point B, or you
just walk.
Bhavana Gesota (33:10):
Yes, yes, yes.
So here's the thing I try tointegrate my exercise in normal
life instead of, you know,setting out one hour aside just
for walking.
You know if I'm going to thegrocery shop, the farmers market
or wherever that I need to go,I walk if it's walkable.
(33:31):
So generally walking about 4 to5 kilometers in a day is normal
.
And if there's an opportunityto rent a bicycle then I do end
up getting a bicycle.
So between bicycling andwalking, those become more of my
daily regular things to do.
And then there is yoga.
Daniela SM (33:49):
I do treks once in a while.
I know what you mean.
I also feel like we're alwayssitting all the time and we're
driving, we're sitting, we'resitting in our office we're
sitting at home when we eat,we're sitting at home when we're
watching TV we're alwayssitting.
It's important to walk.
I'm glad that you get that.
Bhavana Gesota (34:05):
Yeah, now here, for example in Bali, you need to
have a scooter to get around,because it doesn't really have
the kind of publictransportation systems like in
Europe or even in India.
So I do have a scooter, but,for example, if I want to buy
vegetables and fruits, thenthere is a shop which is about
half a kilometer away from myplace and instead of taking a
(34:28):
scooter I just walk.
I walk there, I walk to thelaundry place, I walk to some of
the cafes around here andBhavna.
Daniela SM (34:35):
So now you've been traveling for many, many years.
So what is your process now topick up country?
You're going back to the placesthat you really like, or are
you still innovating and addinga new one, a new country that
you?
Bhavana Gesota (34:48):
haven't been.
Now I basically, as a choice, Iwould only choose to go to a
place that I have been to beforeand where I know people, where
I kind of know the lay of theland, I know how to go about
organizing things, because it'sfaster, easier, quicker.
So no, I'm not really addingany new countries to my list.
(35:10):
You know because that's anotherthing that people ask as soon
as you say that, oh, you're atraveler.
So how many countries have yougone to?
At first, we began to travelinternationally for work in 1997
.
So it's been quite a many years, and so I'm expected to give a
really big number, like 60, 70or something like that.
And actually I don't have,because many times I've gone
(35:33):
back to the same place again.
It's not about numbers, it'snot a number game at all.
We should go where our heartcalls us.
Daniela SM (35:40):
People that I spoke to.
They said also that they gettired of traveling so much
because they lose that sense ofcommunity.
Is that something that you feelthat has happened to you as
well?
Bhavana Gesota (35:51):
Yes and no.
So here's the thing.
The question is, why would Icome back to Bali again?
Or why would I go back to Peruagain?
Peru is another country thatI've been back to a number of
times and I've actually stayedthere for six, eight months at a
time, a lot more than I have inBali.
But what makes me go back thereagain and what makes me come
back to India again versus,let's say, why have I not gone
(36:17):
back to Kuala Lumpur, forexample?
Because I was there for a fewmonths as well.
And one of the things is havingthe sense of community and
having a community and how easyit is to actually blend back
into the community or form acommunity.
If I'm going back to a certainplace, it's certainly one of the
big reasons is community Isbecause I feel a sense of
(36:41):
community over there.
I feel the sense that I havelike-minded people or that I
will meet like-minded people inthese places, because I have had
that experience in the past.
So I have the lust to exploreas much nature as I can see the
mountains and the lakes and thewaterfalls and the jungles and
(37:01):
the forest.
That is definitely a draw thatwould also definitely take me
back to that place again.
But more than that, it's thecommunity, because as human
beings, we are wired.
As social beings, we need tofeel connected with people
around us in some way or theother.
That actually is the biggestreason why I would go back to a
certain place again Is thepeople and the community, the
(37:25):
sense of community, which alsogives you a sense of belonging
and a sense of home.
Daniela SM (37:30):
Sometimes I struggle thinking that I want to be in a
community with people that arelike-minded.
However, I feel, too, that youcould be just closing your
opportunities when you are justwith your group of people.
Bhavana Gesota (37:43):
I think a balance is good.
If you have the buffer, orlet's say the cushion of people
that you can connect with, thenyou can make space to connect
with people who are notlike-minded as a way to broaden
your horizons.
But if you're consistentlyaround people who are on a very
different wavelength than you,then it's exhausting.
Daniela SM (38:06):
Yes, that's true.
So you have written this book.
You keep working, you keeptraveling, and I know you don't
like to plan, but is thereanother book that you're
thinking of writing or whatother plans you have for the
next few years?
Bhavana Gesota (38:22):
First of all, I'm not doing any kind of job
right now, so I'm actually notworking.
I quit in 2016.
So, yeah, I do have anotherbook in process I don't know
when that's going to come outbut I do have another book in
process, not about travel, butsomething else.
I do think about going back towork, but I'm very clear that I
don't want to go back to thecorporate world and I certainly
(38:44):
don't want to go back to thetype of consulting that I was
doing before.
That's very clear.
So, at the moment, I have acouple of other things that I
feel really interested in, and Ithink I have the skills and the
qualifications for that.
I might actually start lookingfor full-time work or part-time
work, actually.
Daniela SM (39:03):
You haven't worked since 2016, so how do you keep
updated?
Do you have a routine?
Bhavana Gesota (39:09):
Oh yeah, I do.
I definitely keep myselfupdated.
I do take breaks from it alsofor periods of time where I
don't want to read any news orconnect with the world, but I do
keep myself updated.
For me, taking this break wasbecause I wanted to spend a
significant amount of time withcreative projects, so giving
(39:30):
life back to creativity in mylife.
So the first two years aftersince 2016, I spent I was more
consistent with picking up mypaintbrush and painting and I
took classes.
You know I signed up for thesummer school at the School of
Fine Arts in Kusco.
I took a summer program inLondon because I had a project
(39:53):
in London, so it was easy.
For me, this time has been moreabout learning, rediscovering
and reinventing myself, to findout what kind of work and what
is it that will really give mefulfillment and meaning meaning
to my life Because I know thatthe tech world is kind of over
for me, or at least in the formthat I used to work in is over
(40:13):
for me.
Nothing against technology andI think if I could find
something, that in which it'sstill technology but it's used
in a way that is more meaningfulfor me, then I would have I
don't mind working withtechnology at all, so a lot of
this time has been reinventing,spending a lot of time with my
mom in India, which is alsosomething that I lacked in my 20
(40:36):
years of being away, which I'mreally grateful for that.
Daniela SM (40:39):
Sounds wonderful.
Do you feel that you have foundyour purpose?
I?
Bhavana Gesota (40:43):
think so, yes, but how that translates into
concrete terms and how that,whether that translates into a
job or whether that translatesinto a different form of working
, I don't know that yet.
We always have how to makechoices in life.
We never get everything.
You get something, you losesomething.
(41:04):
That's just how it goes withany decision in life.
You make the choice of goingslow traveling, packing up your
house, and going slow travelingfor a year or two years.
What have you?
You lose something in theprocess.
Definitely, you lose thecomfort of your home, of having
all your things around you, ofyour consistent circle of
friends.
(41:24):
You give up that because youthink you're going to find
something different and more,and something that you are going
to appreciate more by going ona slow travel trip.
And that's why we do it right.
That's why we make thesechoices, because we think that
this is going to be good for me,it's going to add something of
value to my life.
(41:44):
When I went on my first unpaidsabbatical a long time ago six
months and I packed up my twobedroom apartment in California
the first month, I was totallyfine.
You know, because I was away, Iwas gone.
That's what I wanted to doafter the first one.
You know what I missed the mostout of everything?
I missed my bed, because I wassleeping in different places and
the beds were definitely not ascomfortable.
(42:06):
As I missed my paradise.
I was like, oh my God, my bed.
So yeah, we're always going tomiss something from our previous
life.
Daniela SM (42:13):
I'm reading a book of Anomalik Traveler and she
also mentions that she missesher bed.
And I remember, Dave and I wewent on a 10 day trip and we
slept in nine different beds andI thought that was too much.
Yes, I love my bed.
Bhavana Gesota (42:31):
I wouldn't do that anymore If I'm traveling
and if I have to sleep in adifferent bed, which basically
means a different hotel roomevery night for the next 10 days
or two weeks.
Absolutely no, that would be adisaster for me.
Daniela SM (42:43):
Yes, we get more particular as we age.
Bhavana Gesota (42:46):
Yeah, when I was 25,.
Yes, a new place each day.
Yes, that's what I want now.
Daniela SM (42:51):
no, I definitely understand that.
Bhavana, t hank you so much forsharing your story and for
being in beautiful valley andstill spending some time with me
.
I really enjoy your story.
You're most welcome, Daniella.
Bhavana Gesota (43:05):
It was a pleasure.
I'm happy you enjoyed my book.
I hope that people who listento this podcast get something
from it, and thanks so much forinviting me.
Daniela SM (43:17):
Yes, and I hope to meet you in person one day soon
in Peru or Bali or anywhere else, keep me posted.
Bhavana Gesota (43:24):
You never know.
That's one of the beauties ofslow traveling.
I meet people from other, fromplaces that I have met them
before, and suddenly it'sbeautiful.
Daniela SM (43:32):
Yes, that's true.
Yeah, thanks you, Daniela.
Thank you, thank you.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Today's episode I am Danielaand you were listening to,
because everyone has a story.
Please take five seconds rightnow and think of somebody in
your life that may enjoy whatyou just heard, or someone that
has a story to be shared andpreserved.
(43:53):
When you think of that person,shoot them a text with the link
of this podcast.
This would allow the ordinarymagic to go further.
Join me next time for anotherstory conversation.
Thank you for listening.
Hasta Pronto.
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