The beginning of a travel guide
I love the way how things have
turned to my favor in recent years.
I was born to a very
impecunious family in a remote part of Nepal. As I grew up, it hurt the most to know that my
life wouldn’t be same as other kids. Education was out of question for me, as
my parents had to toil 24/7 to fulfill basic requirements like food and
clothing. They even complained how I was staying aloof and not helping them. Living
in scarcity and very limited options was suffocating me, and I wanted to get
out of it sooner rather than later.
I used to take great care and
interest while collecting food, timber, and herbs in the woods in order to get
right items required for domestic use and as ordered by my parents. I began to
know more about nature and how our life was dependent on it. On the long run, I
was eventually equipped with the knowledge so pragmatic and useful that my
whole life began to depend on it, and even bring about changes in later part of
my life.
I was very happy to see people
of different race and culture making efforts to come to our village. Those
tourists were often accompanied by travel guides and potters. I noticed those
guides talking relentlessly in broken English about my village without much
actual information.
I too began to long for expeditions and travel
and observe different parts of our country. I wanted to see places and people
from different places. I wanted to know more about the world we live in.
However, I needed money which I didn’t have. So travelling seemed next to
impossible in near future.
However, I was presented with
one easy solution to my problem which had been nagging me for some time. I
wondered with some degree of satisfaction that if I become a travel guide, I
would get to travel places and at the same time make money out of it. It would
not only get me what I wanted but also provide an opportunity for me to support
my family. The prospect of becoming a travel guide began to appeal deep inside
me. This is how I decided to become a travel guide.
I knew I would do better at the
job as it was what I longed for, and I possessed to some remarkable degree, the
knowledge of the geography, climate and wildlife of this country. There was
still one problem I could face- language barrier. I started with English and
planned to learn new language once I became good at English. I knew it would take
time to master language, so I became patient and continued to improve my
English. Then after a year, I applied to a travel agency in the capital city
for the job. Not only did I get the job, the agency was very happy to have me
in their firm. I was looking forward to travel with my first crew of tourists.
Travel Guide-The story
continues
Our village was one of the top
tourist destinations of our Nation where thousands of tourists flocked from
every corner of the world to see the place which a commoner like me had been
seeing from my childhood. In a way I felt like I have been living inside a room
full of treasures but just not being able to see it.
Luckily enough, my first
journey was set to be with a bunch of tourists to my own home district. It was
quite close to the capital in terms of distance but the area is so forlorn that
to an outsider, it seems like an alien place.
Explaining them about the
woods, soil, minerals and trail routes made me feel like a professor in a bunch
of freshmen students who seemed lost in their new college. Even with my broken
English, most tourists seemed persuaded with the information I shared with
them. Besides, only my grandfather could claim to have more knowledge about my
locale in finest of details than me.
I shared stories that have been
passed on through ages about places to those tourists. I used to get amused
when my father told them to me when I was a child, and I was hoping that the
tourists would like it as well. Sometimes, I reinvented the stories to amuse
them, and many a times I succeeded.
It was easier for me as
foreigners are treated as gods in every corner of our country. And everywhere I
went, I could always get help from them in making the tour entertaining.
I wanted to see different
places and my first journey started with my own district. It not only boosted
my confidence as a travel guide, but also made a good impression on those
Americans, who later on recommended other tourists to ask for me as their guide
whenever possible.
I became quite a popular figure
among tourist guides and travel agencies. It was not much but it was worthwhile
for me. It was rather my inclination towards travelling more than the knowledge
I possessed that made me good at my job.
After some good time travelling
around the country, I got opportunities to assist a team of explorers. With
them I got to know new ways of exploring the wild. It excited me the same way I
used to get when watching Man versus wild on the discovery channel. It was not
as entertaining as with other tourists but I got to understand the more about
wildlife.
I enjoyed travelling with foreigners as they
not only made my job but also paid hefty tips sometimes in a while. I was set
to add some explorations in my forthcoming tours with some gutsy tourists.
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