I Travelled India 🇮🇳 for 100 Days straight | 100 Days of Dreaming (Compilation) | Monkey Magic

Summary

After leaving his job, Raunak begins a 100-day solo backpacking trip across India. The journey combines famous landmarks with spontaneous detours, missed connections, budget stays, and help from strangers. A recurring message is to stop waiting for the “perfect time” to begin and to stay open to the people and experiences encountered along the way.

Travel highlights

• Banaras (Varanasi): Raunak explores the ghats, visits Moksh Bhavan and hidden temples, listens to music on a boat ride on the Ganga, and tries lassi. Conversations about life and death prompt him to reflect on living fully.
• Meghalaya: He visits a Garo village, explores caves and a living root bridge, and checks whether a village promoted as exceptionally clean lives up to its reputation. He concludes that visitors should take responsibility for their litter.
• Manipur: In Imphal, he visits IMA Market, described as a women-run market, and rides a local friend’s scooter to Loktak Lake. He values the welcome he receives from residents.
• Nagaland: He treks to Dzükou Valley, visits a Naga heritage village and a World War II cemetery, and travels to Longwa, where the India–Myanmar border runs through the local king’s house.
• Assam and Arunachal Pradesh: He takes ferries to Majuli, then faces a difficult, improvised journey toward Ziro, spending a night at a roadside dhaba and later using a railway-station dormitory. He also boards a long-distance train from Dibrugarh toward Kanyakumari.
• Kanyakumari and Kerala: He visits Vivekananda Rock Memorial, then travels through Varkala, including the Jatayu Earth Centre, and Alleppey’s backwaters. Flooded roads disrupt a bus trip to Mysore, but he eventually gets through with help from other passengers and local buses.
• Karnataka: He joins Sachin on a roughly 70-kilometre, three-day walk alongside the Cauvery, camping near Talakadu and visiting old temples. In Hampi, he explores temples and historic sites, including the Vijaya Vittala Temple and its stone chariot.
• Goa, Pune, and Maharashtra: He visits Panjim, returns to his former film school in Pune, and explores the Ajanta and Ellora cave complexes. In Mumbai, he experiences Ganpati Visarjan, revisits Marine Drive, and takes a sleeper bus followed by a Rajdhani first-class train back to Delhi.
• Ladakh: The final leg includes a bus journey through the mountains, visits to monasteries and Kargil, and a trip to the remote Zanskar region. He visits Phugtal Monastery and describes the difficulty—and good fortune—of arranging transport in isolated areas.

Practical travel and lifestyle takeaways

• Don’t wait for perfect circumstances. Raunak frames the trip as a reminder to pursue meaningful goals even when the timing is uncertain.
• Check live train status. After an eight-hour delay, he recommends tracking train updates rather than relying only on the scheduled time.
• Be flexible with transport and accommodation. Ferries, buses, and shared taxis can be delayed or unavailable. Asking locals for help can reveal options that aren’t immediately obvious.
• Keep a firm budget, but plan for surprises. He avoids accommodation beyond his budget and sometimes uses station dormitories or accepts practical help from locals.
• Treat people with respect and gratitude. He repeatedly credits strangers’ generosity and concludes that simple kindness can make a lasting difference.
• Look for local experiences, not just attractions. Conversations, village visits, shared meals, and everyday encounters become some of the trip’s most memorable parts.
• Take care of yourself on demanding journeys. After becoming ill, he rests and uses a small medicine kit packed by his mother. In high-altitude areas, he emphasizes drinking water, taking time to adjust, and resting when needed.
• Let yourself slow down. The walking pilgrimage, quiet temple visits, and time spent observing the landscape lead him to reflect on staying emotionally open and curious.

The trip ends with Raunak saying he spent about ₹1,27,680 over 100 days. No full recipe is presented; food appears mainly as part of the travel experiences, including lassi, local meals, train food, and roadside tea.

Notable locations, people, and products

Locations: Banaras, Meghalaya, Imphal, Loktak Lake, Dzükou Valley, Longwa, Majuli, Ziro, Kanyakumari, Varkala, Alleppey, Talakadu, Hampi, Panjim, Pune, Ajanta and Ellora, Mumbai, Leh, Kargil, and Phugtal Monastery.

People and speakers: Raunak (the narrator), Ram, Chetan, Sachin, Baba, Raju, and Lotus Bhai. Many local residents and fellow travellers also help along the way.

Products and transport mentioned: Indian Railways, IRCTC, Vande Bharat Express, Domino’s pizza, shared taxis, local buses, and government backwater ferries.