The new-age women travellers are pushing the envelope in terms of wanting to hike, bungee jump, paraglide, raft and do anything that men do. This is where the services of an expert tour organiser gains prominence in terms of creating a life-time of memories. Priya Q, a travel and tour organiser, whose company, caters exclusively to women, other than family and mixed group tours, that veer away from the beaten track.
It was not love for the commercial angle that made Priya walk the road to start her own company, rather it was her passion and deep-rooted love for travelling that made her extend her own globetrotting experience. An employee of Microsoft, she was based in Delhi and Bengaluru before she quit and moved to Kochi after her marriage. Her partner Q, who is a renowned quiz master and also a passionate traveller himself, opened her avenues further.
Priya says, “I took a sabbatical from work to travel. It started off with places in Kerala, and then moved to Eastern and South Eastern countries. Then, we backpacked across Europe for four months because my husband is a big fan of Tour de France. We followed the entire cycle tour and then ended up visiting every nook and corner of the French countryside. We never stayed in hotels and did couch surfing and managed to make a lot of friends.” Soon after her daughter was born, Priya decided to set up her company.
About the name she says, “My husband and I contemplated a lot of names before settling down for this because everyone has a bucket list in mind. Actually, my site also has a feature where one can make their own bucket list of favourite places and give me a time frame.” Her GALS (Girls alone Specials) have taken group of girls to Ladakh and even foreign countries. She mentions that more women want to take a break from family and work and enjoy connecting with like-minded people and travel across the world.
Not for a moment has she regretted giving up her job and states, “A regular job would never have given me the freedom to travel and I have the flexibility of working from my home, looking after my daughter.”
Priya also adds that the warmth of the people across the world have made the couple extend their vacation because the locals personally took them around sight-seeing. She remembers an evening in Slovenia where her host Katrina and a couple of foreigners wanted Bollywood evening with bindis, dupattas, Hindi songs and dresses which Katrina managed to procure. That turned out to be an unforgettable event.
Priya loves to bake and has two blogs, one of which has her recipes and the other blog is about her travel experiences. Writing is something she is very passionate about. She loves learning new things and is currently learning to play the guitar.
In addition to all these, she loves to dance too.
