Neel - The Sonder experience

Welcome to Travel Talks with Jay. Today I have Neil with me who previously worked with Baiju and he first came to Los Hospital as a guest two years ago almost nearly two years ago and then he decided to quit job and join Los Hospital. So welcome Neil. Thank you Jay. Thank you for this something. I think the first interview of my life. It's not an interview. We're just going to discuss about travel and how it is impacted your life. The first casual record it's at. Yeah. So to start with like what inspired you to travel and when did you start you traveling? I started traveling during COVID times when I think everything was work from home first COVID times. Like after the first wave I think around September 5th I think I left my home with one bag with a few clothes like typical Mumbai clothes. What was your first destination? Oh so it's a weird story like I had actually I didn't have any clue where to go. I just took an auto. Went to the Anjiri station and then just went up to the metro. Took her train to the metro and I didn't know where to go. I had just two options. I was just taking flight which are the cheapest. I found at least the cheapest. So I went to the airport and like showed in okay this is my ticket. The guard tells me sir come after one month. I'm like why? Sir because you have booked a ticket of 5th October. So I had booked a ticket in that excitement one month later. Oh my god. But I was like so much because I told my boys back home that your boys going on solo travel. So I just went around, came back like let the ticket prices go off. I booked again the ticket of that day and we reached Delhi. Delhi is where I was my first location. Never I think went to Delhi. It was the first time heard a lot of things about Delhi. So what's your view on Delhi coming from Mumbai because there's always like an argument going between which city is the best in India? Mumbai or Delhi? Oh it's good definitely there's a lot of things but I think being a Mumbai kind of thing you have pretty much adjustable to a lot of cities or different places. So I think I had went to the very open mind that let's see how the city goes and stuff. I met my friend in Delhi, met for a few hours and then I was planning for Manali or Ishikish. So I used to work basically night shift. So my work usually used to start at 12 o'clock at night. And I was at 6 o'clock in the evening. I was at the Delhi KDMC bus stand. So I had two options either to go to Manali or to go to Rishikesh. So as like let's go to Rishikesh because it was 6 a.m. and it's 6 o'clock and in 6 a.m. I can only reach Rishikesh. So that was the only reason of reaching Rishikesh that I had to start work. Okay. So around 11 o'clock at night I have reached the Luxmanjil of Rishikesh with my laptop in my hand logging in from the Rishikesh Luxmanjil. And that was my first hostel where I went. What was the hostel number? It was very famous actually in Ishikish. Just because that was cheap and there were foreigners in the pictures of booking. Okay. One way to look at the book the hostel. Yeah. Yes. That was the first all night at the hostel. Okay. And where have you been like after that? Like it's almost two years now. You started three years almost when you started traveling. So which places you have covered and what's your best places like? I was basically working from home and I had nearly five to six days of working. So I used to be at every place at least for three to four weeks. I think I am as a person as a very slow traveler. I really love to connect to the place, to meet with the locals, understand the place. And I don't base to like hurry in seeing everything. I don't have any pocket list to see. So every place that I stayed and nearly a street for three to four weeks. I think until I, until I cry and leave from that particular hostel out of place, I don't feel like I have been there. So I went to Rishi Keish, then went to Nenital, went to Jim Corvette, came back to Rajasthan, Udaipur, Jaipur, Goa, lost hostel, goa was one of the places. So I think Rishi Keish was really life-changing experience. I never imagined doing yoga on the banks of Kangaarivore. So that was really life-changing. I've sat down next to Kangaarivore, cried a lot. I think I had nearly a lot of solo time. I think Rishi Keish has a similar impact on a lot of people. People coming from even outside India and within people in India, it has a major impact. Most of the people are escaping their life while going to Rishi Keish and figuring their life out. So pre-joining lost hostel, you were a digital nomad who were working and traveling and now after joining the hostel, you became a host. So what's your view on them? Now you must have shift from being a digital nomad and hosting a digital nomad. So what's the difference now, like for you? Like how do you look at those people who are coming to hosting and working from there? I think the passion for people has always been there. To be honest, what I'm speaking right now, the communication was never that great because we went to an English school, but people in Mumbai don't really talk English to be someone or don't really communicate. But I think working in sales or doing random jobs from Dekat Lahn is from working to Jack Ten Jones. Like I have sold clothes to have everything like it and I've done. And all the seven eighties has been around like people's jobs. So I think connecting with people, listening to their stories, I think it's really that something excites me. I'm very much curious about the person that what person I meet. My question was related to the people who were digital nomads, right? So you were a digital nomad, you were traveling and working. So as a traveler, your view on them were very different, like because you were one of them. But as a host, what is your view on them now? People who are coming to hosting and working. Like what do you think of them now? I think it's a good amount of crowd that is doing nomads. Now that work for them has ended. I think that particular crowd has gone off back to the office. But everything is really amazing because you're normally networking and connecting with different people are working in different companies. You might not know, usually you connect on LinkedIn to people and you have to send their requests. You have to set up a meeting with people. But if you're traveling in a host, you're working in a digital nomad. You have some product manager of Google sitting next to you. You have some HR from Microsoft sitting next to you. You might have some one who has his own start-up, has maybe a good amount of value as no person. So you're sitting right? It is very rare and very few places that give you a chance to interact and connect very casually with such people. So that is really one of the nicest things. So you mentioned that Rishi case was a major life-changing event for you. Which brings me to a next question. Have you ever had a life-changing experience while traveling? Was it Rishi case or was it some other place? Can you describe it more? How would change your life? So I was staying in Goa shop for a few days. It's like a huge hostel where there's a nice property manager, Shubham, I think. So we had actually planned to go on a Tuesday to go to Kedarnath. And I have never been to Kedarnath. I've never seen snow in my life. So we had planned on a Tuesday. We'll go together on a bike to Kedarnath and come back. And on Monday I think in the morning it had started raining very heavily. It was around September October and started raining as like casually. So I don't know what happened to me. I think I just told him in the Monday evening that I don't think I want to go to Kedarnath. I'll move to Kasair very Mukteshwar. So Kasair is Mukteshwar is very, very chill places just near to Rishi case. I was like I'll do something happen. I was like I don't want to go to Kedarnath. I took my bag, went up to Kasair near Mukteshwar. Basically I was on the way. I took a bus and the rain has started continuously. It was 24 hours. It has rained out there in that time in the Rishi case. It has nearly been a flooded situation. I was on the way to Mukteshwar where entire it's a huge valley. It's completely raining. I was sitting next to the bus driver and a huge box of like stones fall off in front of the bus. Just in front of the bus. And I don't know. I'm the only tourist in the entire bus, all our locals. And I just get done because I just tied up my laptop, my bag. I don't know where to go. I'm in the middle of an entire valley. I get done on the bus and old man comes to me saying that so I said to me that and he said that if there's no need for work then don't go ahead. He basically told me that I heard there's a lot of damage on the road and everything. Things are not really good. Please go down. So I just I'm afraid it's raining. It's the valley. I'm walking up back on the valley. It's just looking for a lift. I didn't know there was a place called Nainital. Luckily there was one hostel in Nainital. That's ghost stops in Nainital. I find that and I safely reach there. I don't know who this old man is. I don't know what actually came up to my mind to not go to Kedarnath everything. I luckily reach Nainital safely. I say around. Next morning I see a video of a Innova in Kedarnath. Stuck in between the stones and it's raining. It's basically water is inside it and two people died from the Innova. Oh my god. So I think I really found that I don't know there's some energy there's some universe and energy that I really came up to me that a change in my mind to not go to Kedarnath. I don't know who that old man was. It came I think as a god to me just mentioning that do not go ahead. So I think that is the first time it really changed my life. I think I saw my death in that Innova that if I had changed my plan. That's an interesting story. So like are you religious person? I don't say I'm religious but I think small small incidences may be how it change it for how is it change it for you like before travel or after travel like were you religious before travel and then travel made you complete atheist. I like this is content in Juhu right. So I've tried across there's a Murthy of the god I've tried crossing that is content of the Murthy inside tries. There is something that stops me I could never go and really cross that Murthy and I've always come come back halfway from this content. This was me basically before not believing in anything but I think after such incidents in Krishikesh or such life changing things. Today it's been two and a half years every day I sleep listening to Krishna Das. Three minutes of Krishna Das and I just sleep off and why is that change? I think I think it's just about something that gives you hope something that makes your mind come and that is that spiritual energy that Krishna Das or the songs that come up is a beautiful Behramji there's a dream catch a song of Behramji and that is really a meditative song that's my seven-a-m song in the morning. So what's your view on the people who come to India now is being a host in Los hostel and you meet those people who are coming to India for yoga is spirituality and going for a pass now doing yoga TTC and you have you must have encountered with them and have multiple conversations related to religion is spirituality so how is it influenced you or what's your view on those travelers who are coming to India for that. I think people should have something that could just give them a positive energy and it could be anything for people it doesn't have to be a part of you are doing yoga or specific spirituality but I think if there is if a person finds something that is giving them a hope a positive energy making their mind come I think you should really look for it and it comes only when you just go out travel phase of experiences and it's written for you so I feel my journey out here is written I think if I because I was in Bangalore then I came to Mumbai some fine day I go to Rishikesh some fine day I come to Boa and everything happens I think everything is a journey. Fair point like what do you have lots of work which brings me to the most interesting question so you were a corporate person a few a few years ago and you were doing nine to five or like 12 to six job in the morning or the night then suddenly you took that courage is a step which most of the people are not able to take to quit their job without any security and just jumped into joining the lost hostel I still remember the call in January when I received it from you randomly when I was in work and you're like hey Jay I'm I've decided to quit your job because I got inspired by you and I'm do you have a support for me to join in the lost hostel because I want to learn how the hostel operates and one day I want to start my hostel and it did not take me a single second to decide to work with you because for me I always respect and admire those people who can take this first hardest day because everything can be figured out easily after that so how did that happen like what were the realisation and how this journey has been for you are you happy where you are right now after taking the decision and how is it going for you like I think I've done all the decisions that I've taken it's been very randomly I think I really do it one day at a time that has really worked for you I think like my first job and I was 17 my first job was a 4,000 job from them I have gone to 13,000 from 20,000, 23,000, 30,000 I've really grown up I've worked at until 10 companies I'm 25 right now and worked in 10 companies five of them are pregnancies and I have changed jobs just for 6,000 like I've literally changed jobs just for money literally for money and I never saved them I've worked for eight years but I've never saved a penny because I really lived one day at a time today I feel like buying I'll buy that obviously that time it was more of materialistic because like I remember buying a spark sandal of 500 rupees when I was 17 so even that moment I'll remember because that was my first earning so I think I bought and I got to things whatever I really wanted all the time I think that point of time it gave me the happiness but I was very much unsettled because how people are people know what they do on doing their lives I'm someone who will never know yeah so I think I'm 31st January was the last study of my job and then I was there's was a time I think I was in japan and the last time so I think once we live in smaller cities in smaller places I think you really realize what people are doing in the lives because in the city you're always running you always feel behind someone and that really puts you down all the time how much you're earning but I think living in smaller cities living in places meeting different people really inspired me to think beyond the concept of money beyond the concept of really chasing a CTC that's how Mumbai works so it's been like nearly one and a half years now to be honest this was a very very random experiment which I had been with my life and and this was not something because people think that people who take risk do it because they have a comfort of their home people think that oh you have a good backup that there is a new tool yeah people find those excuses but that is never the truth that is never the truth in my case I have a huge amount of loan on my back and still I think I wanted to take that risk because I I think I just knew that I would be able to do it I know I would be able to survive each day and I'm doing that and that's been the thing for me it's been one one and a half year for me working in a hostel hosting people from all over the world and it's been really really beautiful taking a decision I'll say yes it is difficult but sticking to it sustaining towards it is the most difficult thing because just how I can come I think it's easy to go but it's very difficult to stay back in that decision so I think I have found my own inspiration because there's no one else who's going to come to you and just say that oh you're doing good all of that is there but I think in the end you have to sit down and think that why you have done this and I think each day I have met at least one person who has inspired me with his or her own story and that has just pushed me for a day more for example like I have met a lot of women and I think I've been lucky that since I've been growing up I have been a lot around women as a friend so every woman has inspired me by her own story how the difficulties that they go through all the challenges that they face in the life and how they still come out of it I think that has been really inspiring for me a lot of people that I meet they have this stories so each day has been a new day for me it has been that new day for me yeah it's been going good so far you have your difficult times you break down a lot you feel like what are people doing back home I have now friends who are one is in the US Germany one is in UK everywhere living their life buying their cars and now today I'm sitting somewhere and go and I'm very 250 rupees t-shirt 250 rupees of a chapel and I'm sitting out here and sometimes you feel like what are you doing in your life where are you heading because I was I was I was I started working early so I was always ahead of people but suddenly you just feel behind everyone people are like I head of you on and settling down getting married but I think you have to decide what you really want in your life yeah isn't that the question I think we all have to ask was the real happiness for each one of us is it come out of money or is it come out of like actual peace and satisfaction that you have very inspiring me like this is one of the reasons like I look up to you and inspired by you and I hope you have inspired a lot of people who have come to the Los Hospital and stay with you here which brings me to my next question as you mentioned and like a lot of women have inspired you while from your early age and and you also made several of them while hosting in the Los Hospital have you ever fallen in love while traveling and can you tell us about that experience please yes I think love love does happen because this is a hostel is a place where you connect people very raw I mean if you meet a particular person in a city where you're going to date you're dressing up you're making wearing a rice shoes you're then you're meeting then you're having a bizarre then you're having a fancy place so all of this you're not really being yourself but in the hostel when you meet the people you're getting up in the same face you're meeting the same people you're walking on the beach you're going to some casual spot you're having a chat you're just having a break first very casual and there's a place where you really meet people and you connect people in a very raw way so yes you do connect to people but I'll so I always had one statement in my mind which really helped me to move on and I'll give that good that to people that is everyone has a check-out date so sometimes I had it because when I was traveling now that I'm here someone else has it so I think to keep myself sane I think you always say that you always should have in the back of the and everyone has a check-out date yeah people come in our life to teach us a lesson or to support us and they all go time to time but love happens and it has happened for now yeah okay so what was your view on holiday romances which happened around hostel and wild traveling because some of them last and do you think that people should walk on that or people should just leave like that what's your view on that like everyone have a check-out date I think considering it being a host setting I have casually I have the thing of making people meet because I think that my role is where it comes where you have to make people meet very casually so a lot of times even people don't know when I'm setting them up or when I'm making them meet so yes a lot I have given a term to such because I've seen so many love stories happening I've seen people extending the stage I have my sister my stage a lot of places so I've seen this ongoing where people meet and I've seen the entire love story of a lot of people and then obviously people have to part their ways for which I haven't given a term called as a traveller's breakup okay I've seen a lot of travellers break up and it should happen for sure because you never know whom you are meeting and you give a different perspective how has travel impacted you understanding of love and relationship like previously when you were not traveling and we all been conditioned from our society and culture where the definition of love and relationship was completely different when you started traveling how it has impacted like your view on that like what's your what were your view about love and relationship before and now I think back then it was obviously I think it comes with a lot of conditions because for example you're going on a bumble day it should come with or reading the bio what is in the picture then you talk more about what work you do how much you earn it's it's a lot of more conditioned to what kind of places you go and everything if you meet in a hostel it doesn't matter where you come from it doesn't matter how much you earn you really connect to that person and that's what makes you fall in love or makes you like that person so you want to say that like pre-travel you you think that most of it was superficial and while you're meeting the people is more like deeply connected definitely deeply connected now because yes I think you really can't draw and that I think what helps you to talk and I have I think I have become more of a conversation's person to be honest right now sex I think I feel sex is just another form of expression like how we are talking how we are laughing sex is just another form of a comfort and an expression so I think it's just about connecting to people having the conversation sharing different perspectives of life getting to know the difficult stories of people that helps you to move on and go there's a saying that I read like around seven years ago in my travel which goes like that maybe someone who will backpack with you so which brings me to my next question have you ever traveled with a partner and if not would you know I have not really traveled with a partner would you now maybe yes I haven't definitely like maybe to have a partner maybe live in a hostel and come to come to come to come as a couple are you scared I don't know I think it's more of a very utopian question but I think I really prefer traveling solo I have done solo but now I traveling with partner is also exciting because you get to understand each other a lot yeah so what do you would you do that there's one trip that I did this is for someone special in chill man would you do that but yeah so I've been to Mumbai a lot and I've obviously recently grown up in Mumbai and after coming here also twice or twice I've been to Mumbai for navigation but this time I went with my partner to Mumbai I think this was really different for me that nine hours of a train journey sitting down that train talking that sitting in that one place I think was really really beautiful for me to see that entire train and talking it was really really fun I think I discovered Mumbai from a different perspective this time because I am grown up in Mumbai so for us stardom or Shahrukh Khan or any other bollywood thing is very very casual for us I really don't want mind or even look back at the Shahrukh and walking I really would but yeah but I think for the first time some one from a different city came up to Mumbai I took her to Bandra bandstand that's where Shahrukh stays I took her to Mannath and very closely for the first time I saw that what really that excitement is for someone to see the Mannath Shahrukh Khan so really walked up and she was like oh look at what the things are there like yeah so it was really different for me it was really fun I would say sitting at marine drive having a chai having a smoke really makes me romantic man yeah I was special for sure any of you who's listening I think all of you should try that if you are in Mumbai which brings me to my next question like what advice would you give to someone who's hesitant to travel but interested in exploring the world like and because most of us find excuses not to pursue our dream like most of the people who want to travel but they say that why I don't have enough money or my family don't allow it or work excuse and all of what advice would you give to them I really have post people to just solo travel and and it's just about that one step of packing up your bag and reaching to a place I think as I always say in a hostel you are alone only till the hostel gate once you're inside any particular hostel or a space you're between people so it is and now that things a lot of hostels have come up so much information is out there on Instagram so many things are out there it is really really safe for people to travel at any part of India so because this is our country where people from different countries are coming and traveling I think it's time we should start exploring our places and be comfortable with our own places for sure so start up solo traveling guys it's just about half an hour of being in a dorm bed one hundred half an hour has gone and you meet someone amazing person which you might things become very well people what people don't have the money how would you recommend them to travel because I have met a lot of people where people have hitchhiked and come out they'll you don't know yeah so what are the ways like people can travel yes they don't have the money and the resources so because see you don't have to really travel in a classy budget or something like I have been to Mumbai goa I go into 50 rupees to be honest so this is what I do how yeah I just go to the station I pick up a general class ticket I sit at some place and I come so now you have to decide if you want a sleeper class or you need a flight you can just sit sit and come in line so you have different ways you have hostels where you can stay for 300 to find it with these you have to search walk around the places to find some good local food joints where a place is very kind of really good because I really to be honest I'm a very very basic person I don't really prefer fancy cafes and everything that's what we do back in the cities every day so four days give it to yourself live a place like a local person fair point and being a look and really helps you to understand places beyond what is there on instagram so which brings me to the closing session of this podcast my last two questions for you as being a host you must have met several interesting people was the one is most craziest story or traveler you met if you can share with us just one because personally the most craziest thing that I made was a guy from Germany who worked from Germany to India like that was back in 2017 and that guy still has impacted me it's been seven years I've met him but somewhere he has impact impact on me so I think that if I look back I think there are two three women again like whom I get most inspired from so one of them is someone not in this particular person I'm sure that I've met a lot of people so I was sitting and having a fool in my lunch in Rishikesh there's one cafe in Rishikesh so there I met a woman who was around like 29 30 years old and she had come up from a bike from Mumbai to Himachal and from Himachal to Rishikesh so this was the longest bike trip that she had done in her life and her story was like she was going to get married in three two next three two six months she just told me that I want to give these three two six months as for myself I don't know how my family is going to be I don't know my in-laws are going to be everything so it was an arranged marriage yeah sad and she just wanted to give those three months for herself and that's the reason she came on a bike from Mumbai to Rishikesh I hope all of them can do that I wish I really wish and yeah that was really inspiring but that was my first day of a solo trip so I can I can imagine every day you just meet so many people so get to know people talk with them sit with them not just about what do you do and how much were I from but ask their stories people need someone to listen up and it's really fun to listen to people yeah okay man very interesting man which brings me to the last question like if you have to describe your travel life at this moment what would be like few lines you want to say I think I since last one year people think that I am in one particular place so how am I traveling or I'm obviously because I'm in a hostel the drawback of walking in a hostel is you cannot move as per your wish as a traveler but the best part about being in a hostel is the world comes to you yes and there is no other place I have found myself where person from Israel UK, US, Germany, Australia can come to you and just talk with each other so as the world comes to me and that's the reason I've when I really just talk to people I can just call you know you're from London and when it's really yes you feel like because now you know the really the people of the world true true yeah so true like I personally agree with that like world comes to you and you get to travel being in the same place what more than that so yeah this is one way how you can save money and you can still travel fair point thank you so much need for sharing your views and stories and we look forward to working with you more and listening our stories thank you thank you so much for this cheers