Lone girl on a bike
Candida Louis, who is riding through India solo
On a solo trip to explore India, Candida Louis, from Bengaluru, has so far covered over 11,000 km. After she explored most of North India, she is now down South and she was in Hyderabad on Thursday, before heading towards Bidar on Friday.
Candida says, “I was part of a TV show where we were supposed to cover 30,000 km across the country. I rode with them for 25 days after which they stopped because they did not find sponsors. My company, Infosys, had given me three months’ leave. I did not want to waste the leaves so I decided to go on the ride, alone.”
The twenty-four-year-old biker, who has been riding for the past eight years, has been on a lot of solo and group trips.
“The locals help me with directions and suggest places. I start interacting with them and love to hear their stories. I mostly interact in English and a little bit of Hindi and Kannada because I don’t know any other language.”
Candida rides in the mornings and has no safety concerns since she believes that India is a safe country. “My parents keep tracking me through their phones. And so far nothing has gone wrong and people have been very friendly. I do get a lot of stares but other than that people are really supportive.”
“It doesn’t get boring at all. Every single place and every new destination is a new experience. There is always something to do — people take me to different places and show me around. Before coming to Hyderabad I met another woman rider. She had informed her group and they invited me over for dinner at Garden Restaurant. Since I didn’t have a mobile charger and navigator for my bike, they even gifted me one. People are really sweet.”
Talking about another such incident, she adds, “When I went to Rameshwaram, I met a fisherman and asked him about snorkeling. He asked ‘Why do you have to go to a hotel, I will take you snorkeling’. He then took me to his house, introduced me to his wife and children before we went snorkeling. When we were back home, his wife had cooked for us.”
Candida has covered over 11,000 km but so far she has spent just '50,000. “The trip is self-funded. The only major expense I have is that of the fuel.”