To help you get to know us even more, team members are publishing some personal stories from time to time. Today, we are starting with Rajeev who would like to share with you his passion of being a guide and how it has all started. Enjoy reading 🙂
Why have I chosen this career path?
I never really sat down and gave it a serious thought before today. Why have I chosen this career path? It makes me wonder how almost unintentionally I have come to choose this career as a tour guide and how lucky I am to have fallen in the right place, as they say in French “bien tombé”. I was asked once, “How did the ‘travel bug’ catch me?” to which I responded, “Well I think I was born with it”.
The start of my "career"...
My journey as a tour-guide began in 2012, when I joined a French NGO-quasi Travel Agency “echangeons le monde”; a major turning point for me who came from the background of eternal ennui, i.e. accounting and management. I started from scratch of course, and it was a steep learning curve for me. I enjoyed it through and through. My rough university French got a major revamp and polish, and my confidence boosted too.
History, culture and religion have always fascinated me and they still do. Nepal has been a melting pot of the two great religions of the world; Hinduism and Buddhism. One could never get enough of different facets of these two schools of thought. They have immensely contributed in the culture, life-style, tradition and values of Nepal and having born into this rich culture, how can one not share it with the rest of the world.
What is the best thing about being a tour guide?
If you ask me, it’s bridging the cultures. It’s how I try and make my clients see, appreciate and connect with the differences. Being a cultural guide, I have to pay attention to the smallest of details & every little nuance. What might be a norm in Nepal could be a total shock in other countries and vice-versa.
These few years of working as a guide has made me realize the richness I possess that money can’t buy. I get to meet people from all over the world, from all walks of life, people of all color, shape, size and nationalities. It’s wonderful, there are very few dull moments, and everybody is different. None will ever react to one commentary in the same way. I have made good friends along the way and many of these meetings have been greatly enriching.
It is a highly satisfying feeling to see my clients realize their long time dream of seeing this country, and a very pleasing experience to make them explore, discover and unveil Nepal.
Being independant and having full control
Creating Asha Travel with my friends has given me great opportunity to express myself as a cultural guide. Our newly established travel agency has no linkage to any foreign intermediary. Thus, we have full control over the program organisation and therefore we can focus on showing you the real Nepal 🙂
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