Founder’s Note

It’s been over two years now that things have been this way and I’ve been giving in to this habit. I have a support group but contrary to what these groups are for, we encourage each other’s addictions. Why shouldn’t it be like that? After all, we got into this together.

Well, I’m not sure how or when it started. It’s been a while and these kinda things leave your memory a little hazy (if you know what I mean).

Things have reached a point where this is all I do. I work to support my habit. What is this ‘substance’, you may ask, and all I can tell you is that you can only experience it for yourself. I can’t tell you but I can guide you. I can show you where to find it. I can lead you to the feeling. The one you get when fresh untainted air hits your face early in the morning, the feeling of jumping headfirst into a pool of bone-chilling water, the smell of wood and pine cones burning, the warmth of tea made on an open fire in a small cafe covered in snow and soaking in the sunlight which showers you just for two hours in a day. The feeling of being under the open sky, nature, and its beauty.

“Screw this! I’m going to travel.”, “Yay! Backpacking”, “#Wanderlust” and “#nofilter.”

Great travel post ends. Back to life. Then “Take me back already!” and “throwback” to the trip I took two years ago and it’s hello nostalgia! and everything that comes along.

This is something I read all the time whenever someone puts up a post after they have gone out of the city limits for a few days. It sounds annoying and amazing at the same time! And to be honest, I don’t know how and what I’m saying is any different. But I have realized that I’m not addicted to “#wanderlust.” What I’m addicted to, is the experience of not ever having to ‘throwback’, and being able to experience all of this again and again. I go to a new place every alternate month and return for more awesomeness with the people I love. I’m addicted to going for reconnaissance missions that are sometimes not even required. I’m addicted to lugging heavy equipment up steep mountains, even on a hot day to hear the musicians I like, play for me at places so far away that there is nothing and no one around us for miles. I’m addicted to cooking a gourmet meal in the middle of the forest, using minimum supplies and ensuring maximum flavor. I’m addicted to lighting a campfire in the windiest and wettest of places. All of this and so much more… But most importantly, I’m addicted to sharing this experience with the people I love and the people who don’t know about these amazing experiences that I’m lucky enough to live over again and again.

I’m a Vagabond and this is my job, but it’s hardly ever been a job, apart from the times when I have to go to the office for a few days a week and write such blogs. So, the point is, this is one addiction that needs no rehab. All you need to do is keep looking for more experiences and they only get better. I know I plan to do this and I want to share some of my ‘maal’ with everyone. I want everyone to be part of this community.

My name is Jinks and I’m an addict.

Shajin ‘Jinks’ Shaji