She’s got her heart set in all things pretty as she traverses the romantic side of the world, picking memoirs from places and taking home a piece of her travels.
Phejin Konyak, who spent most of her childhood in the convent, thought it ‘so repressive’ that she yearned for freedom…“I wanted to watch the sunset and the moon at night, but our gates were closed early. That is why I yearn to be free, to see beyond the walls.”
Today, her passion to explore the unknown has found her the freedom she always longed for as she intrepidly discovers the magical realm of travelling. In her words… “Travelling broadens the mind, teaches us about the people, cultures and the world beyond the boundaries which we are in.”
She has travelled extensively in Nepal and Bhutan but her first goal lies in exploring all of India which she says is “so diverse and the most fascinating country in the world”. Once she covers the Indian sub-continent she plans to go to Sri Lanka , Pakistan and China .
Talking about her 9-day Annapurna Base Camp trek in Nepal , she says it is one of the best treks in the world. She also plans to go back to do the Everest Base Camp (20-day trek) sometime soon. Deeply enthused about it, she adds that “Travelling is the greatest teacher where knowledge is gained first hand by experience”.
The Himalayas for her has become an obsession now that every year she goes back to trek in the Himalayas whether it is in India , Nepal or Bhutan . The best thing about going places she says is that it gives one time to ‘relax, reflect and explore oneself’.
Her love for voyage actually started very young even as she grew up reading geography and social science text books and enjoyed learning about different places and people.
Interestingly, she teaches in a school in Shiyong Village of Mon district where she also lives. But more than the teacher in her, she wanted to become a travel writer when she was small. Part of her dream has been fulfilled in the trips she consistently undertakes now.
She gives a piece of her heart when she says “I do want to see Nagaland as a Tourist destination”, but pointedly stresses that it must be “in a constructive way”. She hopes to initiate a substantial kind of tourism along with the concerned authorities and work together in putting into place a better style that will not prove disastrous in the long run. “If we don’t protect our wildlife and conserve our environment, we’ll face disaster in a few decades,” she explains.
It is also her wish that “we stop depending so much on government jobs and instead start our own enterprises”. Towards this end, she notably encourages her village womenfolk to make handicrafts so that they can sell it directly to her many guests visiting her from around India and the globe.
“We also have a Tea Plantation where we employ village people,” she informs.
At present, she and a friend of hers from Turkey are also sorting out solutions to take two girls from Shiyong village for cleft lip operation. “Her mother is helping us with finance from Turkey ,” she adds.
As a woman who travels and sees the world outside, firstly she is glad to be born with such liberal parents and into a liberal Naga society which she says “gives us freedom to choose whatever we want to be.” “I also found it perfectly safe to travel on my own” but states that “you have to have confidence, be informative and adapt to situations.”
On the other hand, she enjoys knitting, collecting maps and cultivating vegetables but still insisting that travelling is her foremost love, albeit a ‘chronic problem’ in her words, she feels that because of this love she has become more open in her outlook towards life and people. “I grasp things and ideas easily because of my exposure,” she states.
When it comes to the Naga Youth, this is what she has to say: “I feel that Naga youth should try to contribute more to make a pathway for the future by being hardworking, enterprising and sincere. We should stop depending on outside people and blaming the government and politics for everything, and instead start putting into action new ideas which we learn from the very examples we see elsewhere.”
Phejin studied at St. Paul ’s High School Dimapur before she joined Patkai Christian College and is a student of Delhi University and IGNOU as well. With her soul and mind in the right place, she has found the sights she loves, and with the same spirit of youth, zeal and vigour, she is ready to go explore more of the world.
It is also a matter of pride that she had done a TV shoot with world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay for his Great Escape series which has already been aired in the UK in January 2010 by Channel 4. Besides, she has received a call from Lonely Planet TV, Melbourne. But this is yet to take shape.
Clearly a woman of substance, she has also been featured in Reader's Digest magazine regarding travel in Nagaland as well as other local newspapers and magazines.
Today, her passion to explore the unknown has found her the freedom she always longed for as she intrepidly discovers the magical realm of travelling. In her words… “Travelling broadens the mind, teaches us about the people, cultures and the world beyond the boundaries which we are in.”
She has travelled extensively in Nepal and Bhutan but her first goal lies in exploring all of India which she says is “so diverse and the most fascinating country in the world”. Once she covers the Indian sub-continent she plans to go to Sri Lanka , Pakistan and China .
Talking about her 9-day Annapurna Base Camp trek in Nepal , she says it is one of the best treks in the world. She also plans to go back to do the Everest Base Camp (20-day trek) sometime soon. Deeply enthused about it, she adds that “Travelling is the greatest teacher where knowledge is gained first hand by experience”.
The Himalayas for her has become an obsession now that every year she goes back to trek in the Himalayas whether it is in India , Nepal or Bhutan . The best thing about going places she says is that it gives one time to ‘relax, reflect and explore oneself’.
Her love for voyage actually started very young even as she grew up reading geography and social science text books and enjoyed learning about different places and people.
Interestingly, she teaches in a school in Shiyong Village of Mon district where she also lives. But more than the teacher in her, she wanted to become a travel writer when she was small. Part of her dream has been fulfilled in the trips she consistently undertakes now.
She gives a piece of her heart when she says “I do want to see Nagaland as a Tourist destination”, but pointedly stresses that it must be “in a constructive way”. She hopes to initiate a substantial kind of tourism along with the concerned authorities and work together in putting into place a better style that will not prove disastrous in the long run. “If we don’t protect our wildlife and conserve our environment, we’ll face disaster in a few decades,” she explains.
It is also her wish that “we stop depending so much on government jobs and instead start our own enterprises”. Towards this end, she notably encourages her village womenfolk to make handicrafts so that they can sell it directly to her many guests visiting her from around India and the globe.
“We also have a Tea Plantation where we employ village people,” she informs.
At present, she and a friend of hers from Turkey are also sorting out solutions to take two girls from Shiyong village for cleft lip operation. “Her mother is helping us with finance from Turkey ,” she adds.
As a woman who travels and sees the world outside, firstly she is glad to be born with such liberal parents and into a liberal Naga society which she says “gives us freedom to choose whatever we want to be.” “I also found it perfectly safe to travel on my own” but states that “you have to have confidence, be informative and adapt to situations.”
On the other hand, she enjoys knitting, collecting maps and cultivating vegetables but still insisting that travelling is her foremost love, albeit a ‘chronic problem’ in her words, she feels that because of this love she has become more open in her outlook towards life and people. “I grasp things and ideas easily because of my exposure,” she states.
When it comes to the Naga Youth, this is what she has to say: “I feel that Naga youth should try to contribute more to make a pathway for the future by being hardworking, enterprising and sincere. We should stop depending on outside people and blaming the government and politics for everything, and instead start putting into action new ideas which we learn from the very examples we see elsewhere.”
Phejin studied at St. Paul ’s High School Dimapur before she joined Patkai Christian College and is a student of Delhi University and IGNOU as well. With her soul and mind in the right place, she has found the sights she loves, and with the same spirit of youth, zeal and vigour, she is ready to go explore more of the world.
It is also a matter of pride that she had done a TV shoot with world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay for his Great Escape series which has already been aired in the UK in January 2010 by Channel 4. Besides, she has received a call from Lonely Planet TV, Melbourne. But this is yet to take shape.
Clearly a woman of substance, she has also been featured in Reader's Digest magazine regarding travel in Nagaland as well as other local newspapers and magazines.
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