Firstly , I don't mean to slander ourselves but when I come here and see travellers / adventurers and hear their stories read their travelogues I am amazed at the risks they take.
Take backpacking for example , In so many countries abroad backpacking and travelling around for a couple of years after/before or during college is taken for granted, but back home even a 2 week trip by ourself is enough to raise eyebrows. My Mom would have had a heart attack if I said
"I am taking a break from college and going to tour india for the next six months". My dad would have probably driven me out of the house.
Maybe I am from a very conservative Tamil bramhin family and so I had these sort of restrictions but I didn't see any of my friends from other religions / castes doing travel or some really adventurous stuff either.
Of course there are a few exceptions, now from the Net I do know a few indian guys doing some mind boggling stuff (really long distance inter state cycling , riding , mountaineering etc). But I feel in the average Indian, (my self included ) the fear factor is too high to venture into the unknown. All My parents and perhaps everyone else suggested was to study well get a good job and settle.
Travel meant Summer trips with the complete family on Indian railways (my dad was in railways, so free train passes, and stay in railway guesthouses ) or going back to native for a month in Tirunelveli-Tamilnadu.
Take for example this lady>
Linda Bick, she is 61 years old (she says she feels like 16) and she is now riding on a Suzuki 650 for the past 2 years over 35,000 kilomoters from Spain on her way to Australia. Being young and healthy I still can't muster up courage to do something like that, even if I had the money .
Another thing perhaps is the Financial part, with the negative leverage of Indian Rupee, maybe most of us cannot afford to do something like this for purely financial reasons(atleast I could not). But I still think finance is not the only thing, is it something in the Indian Phsyce or the way our society is geared that encourages us to abhor adventure?
Starting this topic here hoping to get some opinions on this , what do you feel? do you feel the average indian is adventurous enough? What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done?
Maybe making enough for your bread and butter itself is an adventure out here, who needs anything else.
Atleast when I was there, Catching the 8:13 CST fast local before the 4th coach of the train enters the platform itself felt like an adventure of a lifetime.
Red Bull
4 Wheels move my body, 2 Wheels move my soul.