Andrea Rees Wins Travel Massive Trip to India!

Travel Massive success stories are about sharing successful encounters that Travel Massive members have while at Travel Massive events across the globe.

The following is a guest post by Travel Massive community member Andrea Rees and part of our Global Theme this month #TMResponsibleTourism.

In August 2014 Toronto Travel Massive celebrated its 4th anniversary with an India inspired event. India Tourism and Intrepid Travel were co-sponsors and a 15-day Intrepid Travel tour in India was given away in a tweet-to-win contest, I was the lucky winner! 

I set off on the Unforgettable India tour and my very first visit to India and the Asian continent in February 2015. Intrepid’s tour took me to the bustling city of Delhi, the Holy city of Varanasi, in nature as we sailed the Ganges River, in search of Bengal tigers in Bandhavgarh National Park, off the beaten path in rural towns of Khajuraho, Orchha and Chanderi and finally to the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra.

As someone that loves solo travel I was a little apprehensive and wasn’t sure what to expect on my first ever group tour. To appease my introverted nature, I opted for a single room. Turns out the 4 other travellers did as well. We were quickly known as the ‘single supplement group‘ and enjoyed a laugh when 5 tents were set up for our group of 5 travellers on our overnight campout by the Ganges.

We were also a group that enjoyed time together getting to know one another, eating meals, exploring and shopping in our free time. I love that Intrepid utilizes local transportation and local guides. In many cases it offers them an opportunity to earn a sustainable living. I’m happy to have experienced India with 5 others, a trip I will not soon forget. I’m sure this solo traveller will embark on another Intrepid Travel group tour in the future. 

A big thank you to Leigh, Mike and the Intrepid Travel team as well as the Toronto Travel Massive team for all the wonderful meet-ups and opportunities you work so hard to put together. You can watch my Unforgettable India tour on video too.

Andrea blogs about travel and photography with an iPhone at wanderingiPhone.com. She also founded The Heart of a Woman Project, a women’s mobile photography development initiative in 2013. For more information about Andrea visit her at Travel Massive.