Shruti Haasan’s recent trip to Kodaikanal was among one of her many solo adventures. While travelling solo, which means exploring a new place alone, eating by yourself and meeting new people — pushes you out of your comfort zone, the actress feels these experiences are important and liberating.

Shruti shares, “I’ve always loved travelling alone or doing things alone. Be it eating a meal or watching a movie in a theatre, exploring a city, doing things by myself and meeting new people — it’s extremely empowering and enriching to be able to do things on your own. You wouldn’t have the conversations you have with locals when you travel in a group.”

Safety is of utmost importance to female solo travellers. The actress is aware of it and ensures she does her homework before choosing a place. She elaborates, “I travel solo to places that I know are safe. I prefer destinations that I have been to a couple of times before and where I know a few people. If you are a solo female traveller, you should get onto the forums online where other female travellers share their experiences. It helps you prepare better for a trip as you know what kind of environment you are going to enter.”

London has been one of Shruti’s favourite destinations to travel solo. “Discovering London on a solo trip was lovely. You can walk around and discover the history of the place and also the not-so-touristy belts. In fact, my first solo trip was to England and Europe many years ago,” she shares, adding, “I really needed to take a break from the situation I was in, the people I was around and needed to rediscover who I was as a person. I learnt to enjoy my own company and be alone. We are often conditioned to depend on others for emotional validation or just to keep us company, but to be able to sit down, not use your phone, read a book, enjoy nature and make conversation with new people… it is very empowering and enriching. You learn what is safe and what isn’t. It was really fulfilling and that’s the reason I love taking solo trips.”

For the actress, taking breaks and travelling is as important as staying focussed at work. She reasons, “It’s good to reset and restart your life. Getting away, taking a break and changing my routine has always helped me immensely, physically and mentally. You can get back to your routine with better energy. When you are working, you are perpetually focused, so when you take a break, you tend to laze around at home, binge-watch content on streaming platforms and not cook food. After some days, you realize you could have travelled on some of those days for a more enriching experience. If you plan your breaks as well as you plan your work life, you won’t feel that guilt of not living enough. Focus on your work, but also focus on taking time to recharge your batteries.”