Sunita Longchot

It all started when I was in middle school. I was barely 11 years old. During that time of the year, my dad had to travel to Guwahati for my mother’s treatment. I had a longing to see her. I insisted on travelling to where he was. But he denied it. I took up the challenge. Dad had said if I could do it, he would grant any wish. I asked people around, I took the bus. It was 11 hours or 12 hours of bus journey. When I reached there he was shocked and amazed at the same time! The event kind of seeded the passion to travel in me.

I left India in the year 2010, to do my MBA in the US. In 2013, I joined Cognizant on contractual basis. After 6 months, I became a full time employee. It’s not like I aspired to be an IT employee. I wished I could become a traveller for life but I am satisfied with the way it is now. In the entire year, I get opportunities to take leave for a month just to travel and explore places.

I am a backpacker. I love to see places from the eyes of a local. I prefer to stay in camp rather than in hotels or resorts. I accept the discomfort so that when I come back home, I appreciate the convenience. During one of those times, I visited Iceland, a country in Europe. Trust me when I say my jaws dropped when I saw how beautiful the place was. The place justified the name given to it “The Land of Fire and Ice.” I had an opportunity to explore different variations of the place — alluring landscapes, tempting waterfalls, enticing mountains and lakes and roads, especially the tectonic plate gap between North America and Europe, a dive into the “Earth void” and being able to fly through the clear water experience is what made Iceland so special for me, it’s my favorite place amongst the ones I visited.

From the travel diaries, I remember a very eerie experience when I had been to Montreal, Canada. There was a central jail turned into a hostel. The room, in which I was staying, was along a hallway, following to the bathroom. Whenever I needed to go to the washroom, I had to go all the way down the hallway. One night, I was reading a book, trying to sleep. It was 3 am, I felt something. I don’t know if it was real or just my imagination because my mind was already preoccupied with stories I had heard earlier. It was said that, a criminal charged with murder, had died here. The next morning, I had asked the receptionist. He was a traveller from France. Sometimes, some travellers took up some jobs to meet the expenses of travelling. He added more spice to the stories. It was kind of hilarious.

Last year was tough, when the pandemic took over. From March, we started working from home. For a couple of months, it was not possible to move out. After sometime, when restrictions were levelled down, I was able to go car camping. During that time, I also started Youtubing and started sharing my travelling experience. Apart from that I am also a big foodie. I have also shared some unique recipes from north-east India.

I guess this hunger to travel is never going to end. So far, I have visited 42 states in the US. I have plans for the future, when I return to India. As of now, I am enjoying my time, feeding my addiction over and over.

Total Work Experience: 7 Years (Cognizant)