- Fathima Aaliya on her travel lifestyle
Brunch sat down with her for a chat on her love for travel and more. Here’s what she shared.
How did you discover your love for travel?
From childhood I had a desire to travel; long journeys by train were something I enjoyed. So, soon after my studies, I started working in Bambalapitiya and I got the opportunity to travel everyday by train from Kalutara, which I really loved doing.
What inspired you to start a travel blog?
At first, we (Akmal and I) didn’t mean to start a blog, but soon after we met each other, we discovered that we loved short trips to nearby places, and we just shared our weekend memories on Instagram and slowly it turned into a blog.
Have you been anywhere which turned out to be totally different to how you imagined? If so, how?
Yes! Recently we went camping in Idalgashinna. As usual, we were getting ready to witness the typical sunrise. But when we got out of our tents, I just witnessed the most mesmerising sunrise I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It was a majestic sunrise which resulted in the surrounding area being covered by gorgeous, fluffy clouds. We felt like we were literally above the clouds! We never expected it or experienced it before. I would say it’s something that turned out to be totally different to how I imagined.
Have you had any bad experiences travelling?
Well, I won’t call it a bad experience, I would like to call it a lesson. Everything we’ve experienced has either turned out as the best memories or good lessons.
Our first camping experience was to Narangala and we had no idea what camping was, how to plan, or how to check the routes. We just went as one of our friends referred us to the place, so the four of us went on the journey.
We got down in the particular town and it was drizzling, so we thought of hiring an auto to reach the point where the hike starts. Unfortunately, the driver misunderstood the path we explained, and he dropped us at the opposite side of the mountain, which is a very hard and difficult path to reach the top, as it goes through a thick jungle. We were trekking through the jungle for hours and hours, yet we couldn’t even see an end.
And, as I said before, the four of us were trekking and at a point, suddenly, when we stopped, we realised one of our friends who was right behind me, was missing. We kept our backpacks in one place and started to search for him for hours, fighting with leeches as we went.
And thank God! A few hours later, we found him.
The path was divided into two at one point, one up and one down. He thought that we took the former and so he did too, but we had gone down the other path.
Then suddenly, there was no path! The footpath stopped. There was just no way. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere! Added to that, it was getting dark. I was so scared that we would have to spend the night in this huge, unknown jungle. We didn’t have any support from Google either.
A few minutes later, my husband said we had no choice but to make a path to reach the top by clearing the bushes and tree branches. We saw a light coming up from the top of the mountain, so we followed it to reach the top. In the morning, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise and an amazing view that made us forget every struggle, pain, and hardship we endured the night before.
The next day we hiked down from the opposite side and we met some villagers and told them what happened the day before. They said they were glad to see us alive. They also told us that the jungle is controlled by a creature called “Bodhilima”, and whoever comes through the forest loses their path. The creature doesn’t like men and it kills the men, and as there was a girl in our group, we were saved. The creature is afraid of women, they said. We were shocked to hear this story.
It was a good lesson for us, and from that day on, if we select a place to visit, we make sure we collect all the details about the place, study the different routes, try to contact a local resident for more details, and be aware of the weather, roads, public transportation, and other aspects.
How did you manage the pandemic?
We all were freely roaming in the weekends and long weekends, and suddenly this pandemic hit. It was very hard to digest and accept. It was very difficult to stay home without experiencing the greenery which we were addicted to. But we had no choice but to just recall our memories and enjoy everything that life offered us without complaining.
What was your most memorable travel experience?
As I mentioned before, the Narangala journey was the best and most memorable experience.
Do you have any advice or tips for aspiring travellers?
I would like to say only one thing: Please make sure to protect the place you travel to. Bring back whatever you take and dispose of it in the correct manner. It is heart-breaking to see how people behave on long weekends in the name of travel. Nature is a place we should love the same way that we love our home.
Do you have any plans for the rest of the year?
Yes. We have a list of places to cover, but we don’t think that the ongoing pandemic situation will let us go ahead with those plans. It’s better to stay home and safe until everything gets back to normal.
Instagram: @aaliya.akmal