From inhaling the fresh and non-toxic smell to soaking in the warm sunlight, there’s something different yet soothing about mountains. Apart from being far, far away from the intolerable hustle-bustle of metropolitan cities, it has a sense of calmness to be surrounded by the mighty mountains.

I love travelling and I have been on a gazillion vacations – with my family, friends and well, boyfriends – and each trip had a different vibe and fun with it. Like with a bunch of different friends, we have a mixed bag of diverse vibes on a vacation.

However, this time, I decided to travel with three male friends and trust me, it turned out to be the most brilliant trip of all time. No, I’m not kidding!

During our entire month-long planning, what we heard the most was – akeli ladki jaaogi teen ladko ke saath? And no, this didn’t just come from some nosey relatives but also some friends and colleagues!

I chucked their thoughts and remarks in the dustbin, packed my bags and left for what the universe had in store for me.

From car seats to bunk beds, we shared everything and not for a second, I felt awkward because it was so much easier to loosen up with them. During the nights, rather than sobbing around for our exes, we sang and danced our hearts out like no one was watching. And, we came up with innumerable inside jokes.

We discussed serious topics like relationships and marriages, which we are made to believe that men might not be interested in. They, in return, bolstered my knowledge of essential topics such as alcohol, sports and cars. We never ran out of things to talk about and never realised how the nights turned into mornings.

While I’m someone who over-plans each vacation and stresses about little things, these three men were more relaxed and mellow. Yet, we all went along quite well.

We all love mountains and decided to book everything as soon as possible. Being in the snow-capped mountains, we embraced our adventurous sides. We hopped on and tried some new cuisines and local alcohol.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my female best friends and there’s always something new to look forward to with being on a trip with them. However, this week-long vacation brought changed me for good.

I choose to be in a comfort zone during all my trips, to be honest. And on this one, I stepped out of that zone. From going out for a quick solo walk at sunrise to having breakfast alone with a warm sun and good music, it brought a different side to me.

Honestly, our friendships with each other are much stronger because of this single vacation. Even though we know each other since our childhood, we learned about each other’s likes and dislikes. We caught up on things that were too awkward to talk about earlier. 

Cheers to the never-ending conversations, dances, smokes and getting drunk. We might make our money back but we’ll never get this back and now, we all are on each other’s list for travelling together and we can’t wait for our next adventure.

I would like to tell each woman reading this article, who is too scared to plan a vacation with their male friends because society/rishtedaar kya sochenge, this is the sign. Never let anyone stop you from doing what you love. From having some ‘unconventional’ discussions with my male friends to rediscovering myself, this was a life-altering experience for me.