In 2012, I travelled to Sikkim to attend a four-day leadership and adventure camp organised under the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) programme. It was my first trip to Sikkim and outside Assam and the first time I had travelled so far from home on my own.
Like most teenagers, I was excited about travelling to a new place, meeting new people, and experiencing the mountains for the first time. I carried a small notebook with me and spent those four days writing down my experiences, observations, and memories.
I had no idea then that those handwritten notes would eventually lead me to travel writing, public speaking, and entrepreneurship.
My First Trip Outside Assam
The camp was held at Chemchey in South Sikkim. For someone who had rarely travelled outside Assam, everything felt new. The winding mountain roads, the landscapes, the weather, and the people were unlike anything I had experienced before.
One of the best parts of the programme was meeting participants from different parts of Northeast India, West Bengal, and Bhutan. Until then, most of my interactions had been limited to people from my own surroundings.
During those four days, I listened to different stories, learned about different cultures, and made friends from places I had never visited before. Some of those friendships continued long after the programme ended.
The days were packed with activities—public speaking sessions, discussions, team tasks, trekking, rock climbing, rappelling, and other adventure activities. Some activities pushed me out of my comfort zone, but they were also a lot of fun.
Looking back, I think the biggest lessons I learned during that trip were to be open to new experiences, not to be afraid of making mistakes, and to step outside my comfort zone.
The Small Notebook That Started It All
Throughout the camp, I kept writing in my notebook. I noted the places we visited, the activities we participated in, and my thoughts about the journey.
I wasn’t trying to become a writer. I was simply documenting my first major trip so that I wouldn’t forget it.
Years later, those handwritten notes eventually became an article on my travel blog.
At that time, however, I had no idea that the habit of writing would stay with me.
Years passed. I completed my studies and life moved on. But I continued documenting my journeys and experiences. Gradually, some of my articles started getting published in The Assam Tribune, and I began earning as a freelance content writer.
For the first time, I realised that writing could be more than just a hobby.
When Writing Became More Than a Hobby
While pursuing my Master’s degree at Pondicherry University in 2018, I participated in a travel writing competition and won. That recognition gave me the confidence to take my writing more seriously.
In 2020, I launched The Gypsy Chiring, my travel blog where I share stories, travel experiences, and practical tips from Northeast India and beyond.
Starting a website was a learning experience in itself. I taught myself how to build and manage a website, learned Search Engine Optimization (SEO), made plenty of mistakes, and gradually improved.
The blog became a place where I could share stories about cultures, traditions, festivals, and places that are often overlooked.
Some of my most meaningful experiences came from travelling across Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and other parts of Northeast India. These journeys changed the way I look at tourism and reinforced the importance of local perspectives.
Writing and blogging also became especially meaningful while I was dealing with the grief of losing my mother in 2021. During that difficult period, I participated in a travel writing competition organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya, and was fortunate to win. The recognition encouraged me to continue doing what I loved.
As I continued writing, my work reached a wider audience. In 2025, my article on exploring Nagaland through local experiences was published in Outlook Traveller. I was also interviewed by the Singapore-based travel platform Trip101 and quoted in The Daily Jagran. The Gypsy Chiring was later selected among the Top 5 nominees in the category of Best Travel Blogger/Vlogger in Northeast India at the Northeast Tourism Awards 2025.
These opportunities showed me that there is an audience for stories from Northeast India told through a local perspective.
What began as a habit of writing down travel experiences slowly grew into a recognised travel brand and connected me with readers, travellers, tourism stakeholders, and local communities across Northeast India and beyond.
How Writing Led to Public Speaking
Public speaking was another lesson from that camp in Sikkim that stayed with me.
Over time, writing not only improved my storytelling but also gave me the confidence to speak in front of larger audiences.
This eventually led to opportunities to speak at colleges, tourism events, and community programmes.
Over the years, I have spoken about tourism, culture, travel writing, and community-based tourism at various institutions.
Last year, I spoke on the Anthropology of Tourism in Northeast India at Arya Vidyapeeth College in Guwahati. I also had the opportunity to speak to tourism students at Istituto Tecnico Antonio Zanon in Udine, Italy, about my journey as a travel blogger and tourism in Northeast India.
More recently, I was invited as a panellist to discuss Indigenous Knowledge Systems at an event organised by the NGO Kohua in Assam.
Building Tales of Northeast
Travelling across Northeast India taught me a lot about the region, its people, cultures, and traditions.
In 2026, three of us—a friend from Tripura, another from Naharkatia in Assam, and I—came together to start Tales of Northeast, a travel company focused on cultural, experiential, and community-based tourism in Northeast India.
For years, I had been writing about local experiences, village life, festivals, and lesser-known places across the region. Starting a travel company felt like the next step.
Many of the experiences we now offer travellers are inspired by the journeys, local interactions, and stories that I have been writing about for years.
Through Tales of Northeast, we help travellers experience Northeast India through local guides, homestays, cultural events, and community experiences.
Looking Back
Looking back, it is amazing to think that this entire journey started with a four-day camp in Sikkim and a small notebook.
When I boarded that train in 2012, none of this was part of a plan. I simply said yes to an opportunity.
I still have that old notebook from Sikkim. Looking back at those handwritten pages today, it is difficult to believe how far that first travelogue has taken me.
