Meet the Nomads – Mariellen Ward of Breathe Dream Go

Mariellen Ward is the author behind Breathe Dream Go which is a blog centered about her travels in India. She provides a lot of information and perspective about her experiences travelling in this country. Her blog will definitely inspire you to visit India.

I’ve been reading her blog a lot lately and been getting a lot of useful information about various destinations in this country. I also enjoy reading her personal reflections about the things that she experienced here.

Get to know more about Mariellen and visit her blog at Breathe Dream Go.

Check out my short interview with Mariellen.

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“I think I was born to be a traveller but it took a long, long time for me to fully realize it. There were two “awakenings.” The first was when I was around 30, and living in Japan — and I realized I thrived on culture shock. The second was years later, when a series of losses and the ensuing depression sent me on a journey of self-discovery. That’s when I went to India for the first time, for six months, in 2005-06. And that was it. That was the trip that changed my life and I’ve probably written about a million words about in the last six years. Since, then, I have I let the pretence of trying to have a “normal” life go. I still have a home base, a small apartment in Toronto, but most of the time I am home, I am sitting at my desk plotting and dreaming about my next trip and how to make my travel financially feasible.”

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

“Haha, funny question. It’s all good! I travel with the attitude that everything that happens was meant to happen, it was all meant to teach me something. Usually to relax and go with the flow. However, having said that …. there was the night I was sick in Dharamsala, North India, and a massive rain storm was thundering overhead. I was in a small guest house on the side of a hill with a tin roof and the power was out. I thought the world was ending. But the worst part was that I had seen an ENORMOUS black hairy spider, the size of a large tarantula, in my bathroom a few days before … and I had to go in there, in the pitch black, all night because of non-stop vomiting and diarrhea. Fun times.”

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

“Just about every moment I am travelling in India is the best. I love it there and feel so at home and at the same time so alive. But if I had to pick one, it would be the day I ventured forth before dawn to walk 14 kilometres into a small town in North India with my yoga teacher, 12 other ashramites and about 10 million pilgrims. It was the most auspicious day of the Kumbh Mela 2010, the largest spiritual gathering on earth — and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I wrote about the entire day, and what happened when I got separated from my group, on my blog in Alone and at home at the Kumbh Mela.”

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

“The biggest realization I’ve had is that I am a free spirit. For years, I wondered if there was something wrong with me because I wasn’t tied down with a husband, mortgage, career and kids. I could just never find my place. Now I think it’s because my place is on the road. Well, more accurately, on a train. Whenever I picture joy in my imagination, I picture me standing between train bogeys in India, with the door flung open to allow the sunshine to stream in. The warm breeze is blowing, my hair is flying, a couple of Indian people are grinning at me, and picturesque scenes of the rural Indian countryside are flowing by. That’s happiness to me, the feel of movement, the joy of being in India.

But I’ve realized a lot of other things, too, such as how strong I am, and how I can handle a lot more than I ever thought. And about how kind most people are. I wrote a blog called “The Top 5 Things I’ve Learned after a Year of Traveling in India” about this.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“I have nothing else going on in my life. True! My whole life is built around my love for travel, writing and blogging. And my cat.”

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

“This is a tough one. I travel alone and I’m not very celebrity oriented. I think I’ll go with Mark Twain because he had a great adventurous spirit and he was funny!”

Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?

“Definitely India, but please don’t ask me to name ONE place in India! People ask me that all the time. I usually buckle and say Rishikesh, or Jaisalmer, or if I’m feeling very specific I’ll say Aurovalley Ashram near Rishikesh, or the Windamere Hotel in Darjeeling or the sand dunes outside of Jaisalmer (where I went on overnight camel safari — one of the best nights of my life). If really pressed to name the one, single patch of earth that I love best, it is a tiny ghat (stone steps) on the banks of the Ganga (Ganges River) near Aurovalley Ashram. This is a place near the start of the river’s long journey, and the water is fresh and clean. There are few people on the ashram side of the river and none on the other side: across the river is a large national park, so all you can see are mist covered hills. Graceful birds fly low over the water, and the river sings as it passes over shoals. I love standing there and staring across at the jungle, knowing it is filled with huge elephants, sleek leopards, cheeky monkeys and wily snakes. Makes me feel like Mowgli.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?

“The most important thing you can pack is the right attitude. With the right attitude it doesn’t matter what camera you have, or backpack, or shoes. What’s the right attitude? Well I think it’s to travel with all judgment suspended; to go with an open mind and open heart; and to treat everything that happens as a gift, a teacher.”

What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?

“Well, I am not very detail-oriented so there are lots and lots of stories like this one: I showed up very early in the morning at the very busy New Delhi train station with a waiting list ticket — and I didn’t know it. This is a typical Mariellen story. The train I wanted to get on was going to Haridwar, the site of the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering on earth, and every train was booked solid for weeks in all directions. I bought a ticket online and didn’t realize I had a waiting list number — 48. I thought it was my seat number! My porter and I ran up and down the train platform trying to find a conductor or someone who could help me and we were told it was impossible. With three minutes until the train was leaving, I chanced upon a second class car conductor who quickly sized up the situation and gave me his seat. I jumped on the train seconds before it pulled out of the station and gave the porter, who stood by my side through the whole ordeal, a huge tip.”

What do you think about yourself?

“I think I am a very creative person with strong spiritual leanings; I tend to be a bit serious, but I have a very light-hearted and irreverent side, too. I don’t live the way other people do — I live in my own world a lot of the time, because I have a lot of imagination and I’m a very prolific writer. I’m a died-in-the-wool non-conformist. I don’t have to TRY and be a non-conformist, I just am. If everyone is zigging, I’m zagging. So, I’m a bit of a maverick, not a recluse, but I definitely follow the beat of my own drum. I secretly believe in magic. I don’t know why I have such an affinity for India, it is perhaps the central mystery of my life. I was told in India, by a Vedic astrologer, that I have two personalities, and I agree: one enjoys the simple austerities of ashram life; and the other goes crazy shopping for jewelry in Delhi.

I think I’m very lucky, very blessed. I believe I was put on earth to travel, tell stories and hopefully inspire others to breathe, dream and go.”

“My blog is a labour of love. It was born from my no-holds-barred love for travel in India, and it has evolved to also cover what I call “meaningful adventure travel” — which is not destination specific. I am a writer first and an everything-else second. I have learned to take half-decent photographs and I’m taking a video editing course. But I was born to be a writer. I love telling stories.” – Mariellen Ward

Editor’s Note: all pics are provided by Mariellen

Next: Bret Love of Green Global Travel. Previously: Matt Gibson. For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.