She went on her first solo trip at the age of 18 and actress Kalki Koechlin says every time she travels alone the experience is liberating.
The 32-year-old actress says solo trips give a sense of freedom and strength, and women should not hesitate from traveling on their own.
"It is very important for women to travel on their own. Taking a solo trip is encouraging as a woman. It is a lovely, liberating experience. It gives you a lot of empowerment. You make choices for yourself. You have to be wise and have an understanding. I think it is very important for overall growth," Kalki told PTI.
The "Margarita, with a Straw" star has traveled across India alone but she finds South more tourist-friendly than the North region of the country.
"I find South of India very tourist friendly. May be it is marketed well. I feel the North is little more hostile regarding women. Overall, India is a really popular tourist destination. And we have huge potential to grow."
Contrary to the latest trend of clicking selfies, Kalki, likes to travel without her phone to enjoy the beauty of the place. She, however, wants a person to be there by her side to take her pictures during these trips.
"I wish I had a photographer boyfriend so that he could click my pictures when I travel. I don't like to click much as I prefer to be in the moment. But, I always regret it later."
Kalki, whose last solo trip was to Sicily, Italy, says traveling helps in deciding the priorities in life and gives her time to introspect.
"Every journey adds a lot more to your life. You come back with a lot of sense of priorities in your life. Sometimes we get so caught up with our daily routine that we don't even give time to ourselves.
"It makes us think about our relationships, it gives us time to self discover and make friends."
The actress is currently seen in Fox Life's travel show, "Kalki's Great Escape," which chronicles her journey to the region of Northeast.
"The show explores the hidden beauty of Northeast region and that is why I was interested to be a part of it. It is one of the most stunning parts of our country. We know very little about it. I have traveled to many parts of Himalayas, but never got a chance to explore this region."
The show also features her father Joel Koechlin, and the duo have traveled across the three states of the region- Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
Kalki says the show has given her a chance to spend some great time with her father.
"The experience of traveling with my dad has been special. I have done a lot of bike trips with my dad before but I was always sitting on the back seat. This show gave me a chance to travel on my own individual motorbike. It was great, after so many years I got to spend so much time with him."
The actress is impressed with the friendly nature and hospitality of the people of Northeast and would love to make another travel show exploring the other states namely Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
"The best part about Northeast is the openness of the people. People are really accommodating. We were staying in homestays, people were really helpful. The society is pretty liberal towards women. There is a lot of freedom for women.
"I would like to go back and make another show about the rest of the states which we have not covered this time.
