Female friendships. They could be the very best thing in your life. Your twenties are the most trying years, and the friendships formed during this decade, more often than not, weather the storms and stay. This is the decade when your girlfriends make drastic decisions that sometimes set them off on completely different journeys than your own. Some get promoted, others move to another continent, some get married and have kids, and others achieve remarkable feats.
While our twenties we undergo important transitions, often moving away from our long-time friends, it is also the time when we find new ones. At the risk of iterating a cliché, friendship truly is a journey. But if we are lucky, we find the best of our friends while being on our individual journeys.
Travelling solo as a woman is considered challenging, and many people dismiss it due to the stress of being on your own. However, one aspect of travelling solo as a woman we often overlook is the friendships we forge on our journeys. Cinema and literature have showcased some of the best stories of female friendships and travel that we can take cues from. Whether we are inspired by the scared and awkward Rani from Queen finding a friend in the bold and street-smart Vijayalakshmi in Paris or the widely different journeys that childhood friends Carmen, Tibby, Lena and Bridget go on in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, travelling and friendship have been mutually inclusive for many of us.
To celebrate International Friendship Day, we explore the new connections and the strong sisterhood we stumble upon on our trips.
A solo holiday could be the best way to make new friends. While we don't always set out with that intention, chance encounters with like-minded people can lead to great connections.
"I once met a girl at the Varkala railway station. She told me she was a trekker and did mid-luxury budget solo trips. We chatted while we waited for our train and connected on Instagram," narrates Shubhangi Chowdhury, a working professional from Bangalore. "For almost a year after that, we had no contact. And then, one day, she asked me if I wanted to go on a trek with her in DD Hills. I was hesitant at first but eventually decided to join her. It was so much fun, and we connected through deeper conversations. We are great friends now!"
As solo travelling gains significant favour with more women in India, several apps and travel agencies help design the perfect travel plans for solo travellers. These women-only travel platforms not only curate a great experience but also bridge connections between travellers. NomadHer, a global community app catering to women travellers, has the perfect slogan: "She Can Travel Anywhere," embodying the platform's commitment to supporting safe solo travel for women. The hugely popular app is used by women in 190 countries and provides services such as finding female travel companions, travel guidebooks, and travel camps.
Closer home, Wow Club, a women-only travel group founded in 2005, has been a companion to many travellers. Founder Sumitra Senapaty started this close-knit community when such a concept was nonexistent. She aimed to create an alternative space, a social network for women looking to form bonds away from their professional and family circles. "Women are worried about their comfort when travelling solo for the first time with a group of women who are not known to them. But their anxiety is put to rest pretty fast when they make friends in the group, who are a bunch of like-minded women," she says.
I remember reading a tagline sported by a community-based travel app that said, "You have friends all over the world, you just haven't met them yet," and realising how true it rang. I met one of my best friends while she was visiting my hometown, and we have been friends for nearly a decade now. But there are also those who drift away from childhood friends, only to reconnect years later on a trip.
"In March of 2022, a school acquaintance, Shubhangi Nagaria—someone I barely knew and was only connected with on Instagram—reached out when she was coming to Delhi. We weren't really friends back then, but she was interested in my travel plans, so we decided to go to Amritsar together," says travel influencer Bhavini Srivastava, who goes by the Instagram handle @bhavini2.0. This spontaneous decision led to an amazing trip and a newfound friendship.
Srivastava and her friend found common ground and learned they both enjoyed similar travel experiences and patterns. "We went on a 10-day trip to Kashmir, exploring offbeat locations and going on new adventures. We discovered that we love visiting lesser-known places, which made our time together even more special."
I have always believed that the bonds of female friendships forged during a shared experience are always stronger than regular friendships. That is why you cannot travel with anybody and come out still being friends with them. Travelling puts your logic, decision making and spontaneity to the test. If you and your friends survive a holiday together and your relationship remains intact, you know that that sisterhood is for life.
Sometimes, the best friendships can crumble because of the pressures of travel, and bonds formed with practical strangers flourish. "It's incredible to think that someone I barely knew has become one of my closest friends and travel partner. We now plan trips together regularly and keep creating great memories," says Srivastava.