[Straits Times] Book - World Without Maps

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Personal indie travel guides
SundayLife! takes a look at two niche travel guides to Tokyo cafes and India written by Singaporeans
By Jennani Durai

IT consultant and blogger Adrianna Tan has been to India at least 70 times in the last decade, mostly as a single female traveller.
When news of several rapes in India broke over the last two years, the 29-year-old found that there was "a lot of renewed interest in the country, in a negative way".
"There was almost a perspective that it is too dangerous, and women shouldn't ever go there," she says.
She decided to write a guide to travelling solo in India - mostly through the southern and coastal regions - as a woman. She is halfway through the book, titled Travelling Solo: A Modern Woman's Guide To India for now, and hopes to publish it as an e-book in May. She has raised $900 so far through crowd-funding website Indiegogo to help defray the costs.
"What I want is not necessarily to change anyone's mind but to share my experiences. I was often asked how I did it, so I thought I'd write a book on it since I find myself telling these tips and stories to people all the time," she says. "It's also a way to share a part of this country that I love."

She first visited India in 2004, when she was studying at the Singapore Management University. She had gone to Kolkata for two weeks with students from other universities here to work with a non- government organisation that combats human trafficking.
Her book will be part-travelogue and part-guide book.
"There are very few narratives of women travelling alone in India," she explains. "I'd like to share both my personal point of view and the 10 years' worth of suggestions and tips that I've learnt about how best to see this amazing country."
One of the book's key hypotheses is that travelling alone as a woman is going to be difficult anywhere in the world.
"I've never felt that walking alone in Bombay or Bangalore or any other remote region in India is more dangerous than in New York City or San Francisco," she says, adding that the only time she was robbed during her years of travel was in the Californian city two years ago.
She believes there are no "better or worse countries in terms of travel for women", but that certain aspects of a country's culture must always be taken into account.
"This can range from wearing culturally appropriate clothes to understanding what behaviour men and women there expect from one another."

One of the tips she shares in her book is something she learnt from an Indian friend very early on in her travels.
"He told me that if ever I felt uncomfortable with a situation, I should look for an older Indian woman and tell her I am feeling harassed, and she would take care of me," Ms Tan, who is single, recounts. "I've done that in two instances and it worked both times."
She is not quite sure why the method is effective, but thinks it could be because men who have an unhealthy relationship with women also tend to have a deep fear of older women.

Talking about travelling in India is a highly polarising subject, she has found.
"Unlike other countries, every person has an opinion on India," she says. "It's the sort of place that really inspires passion or distaste, depending on your experience. So it's a good place to write about because at least people care about it."
She also plans to create an app to help women travel safely in Asia.
"To me, this book is a great first step towards that."

World Without Maps | India for Independent Women Travellers