On most days, you will find 61-year-old Molly Joy working at her humble grocery shop in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. But on other days, you will find her travelling the world! Having travelled to 11 foreign countries in 10 years and many other Indian cities, Molly’s life runs on the quintessential work-save-travel-repeat philosophy.
According to On Manorama, the grocery shop was opened by Molly’s husband Joy 26 years ago, who worked as a casual labourer. He passed away 18 years ago and Molly’s main source of income came from the grocery shop. After her son got a job and her daughter got married, she found that she had more money in her hands.
One day, one of her neighbours asked Molly if she would want to go and travel with them. She said yes. Initially, she visited places like Ooty, Kodaikanal, Madurai, Mysuru and others. It was then that her fondness for travel increased. Soon, her neighbour asked her if she would travel abroad with them along with a group. Molly said yes again.
In 2010 she got her passport and in 2012, she made her first trip abroad on a 10-day trip to Europe. It was then that she realized how vast the world was. So after coming back from the trip, she started saving for her next trip! She went on to visit Singapore, Malaysia, Netherlands, Italy, New York, London, Washington and everywhere else that’s on the list of a travel lover.
However, after her trip to the US, she ran a little low on savings. She has spent a total of Rs 10 lakhs on her trips so far. But she doesn’t want to stop. She keeps reading travel magazines and chalks out her journeys. She trusts travel companies to guide her and take care of her while she is travelling, which is mostly in groups because that’s cheaper.
Molly has never taken a loan for her travel and most of the money comes from her income from her humble grocery shop. Sometimes, she pawned her gold jewellery to sponsor her trips but later paid her debts. She is a class-10 graduate and has no regrets about not studying further, for she realizes that if she would have had a regular job she wouldn’t have had the freedom to travel the way she does.
Her favourite destination became London after she went on a 15-day trip to the UK. She travelled from Amsterdam to Rome via a cruise which was a memorable experience for her as well. But one of the best moments for her was witnessing the majestic Niagara Falls.
We hope she gets to tick off every other place that’s on her bucket list!