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jonathannunezg-blog · 7 years ago

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The Vagabonds

How often do you look at a photo on Instagram of a dreamy location somewhere far away, wishing you were there? And then there are photos of travelers who seem to tick off every place on your bucket list, while you’re sitting at work wondering how they do it! How does one become a fulltime nomad? Is it as romantic as it appears? In this new series called The Vagabonds, we speak with our favorite travel addicts to know more about what got them traveling, what goes into being a year-round wanderer, and lot more so that you can find inspiration in their journeys to step out and fulfill your travel goals.

1) Meet the traveling couple – Sandy & Vyjay

Reading about Sandy and Vyjay’s journey will make you envy them. This is a couple that fell in love with each other and with traveling together! Traveling not only helped them discover different places, cultures and food but also enriched their relationship and love. Perhaps it’s time to change the good old adage to ‘A couple who travels together, stays together!’

Tell us something unexpected but wonderful that happened to you while traveling?

We were at the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda on a Gorilla trek. As we focused on one of the gorillas, another one literally brushed past us, touching us. In retrospect, it was a wonderful experience interacting with the Mountain Gorillas that are an endangered species.

2) Travel changed my life, it gave me confidence: Abhinav Singh

In 2014, Abhinav Singh, like most MBA graduates, was busy crunching numbers at a leading bank in Mumbai. But his heart lay elsewhere. It was in the mountains in Uttarakhand, on the beaches of Pondicherry, in the colorful festivities of the Pushkar mela, and in countless other places he had traveled over the years. His frequent globetrotting even got him fired from his job! Instead of looking for another corporate job that would tie him down, Abhinav did what only a passionate traveler could do; he booked the Everest Base Camp Trek and he hasn’t looked back since. Read on to know more about his incredible journey!

What are your suggestions to newbies who are looking at building a career in travel blogging?

It is not easy to earn money from blogging. It is possible but you can’t depend on it as your only income, at least initially. I suggest start blogging while retaining your desk job. Only once you feel confident, jump into it full time. And professional travel blogging is not just pictures and stories. That’s what I thought it was when I started. A professional travel blogger is also a marketer, film-maker, writer, photographer, proof reader, SEO expert, editor and more rolled into one. It’s a one-man army and it ain’t easy.

3) The enviable adventures of a free-wheeling Yoga teacher, Namita Kulkarni

Hiking an active volcano in Bali. Trekking Mt. Le Pouce on an empty stomach. Being hounded by Bolivian pelicans. Getting bitten by a Balinese monkey. Holding a Bahamian jellyfish in her palms. These sound like the adventures of a National Geographic travel show host. Except they aren’t. These are the enthralling adventures and misadventures of a young Yoga teacher from India, Namita Kulkarni! Her travel stories are engaging, hilarious, thought-provoking, informative, and oh-so-wanderlusty. Read on to know how she got started, what she’s up to and lots more.

Tell us something unexpected but wonderful that happened to you while travelling?

Three years ago, I landed at La Paz, Bolivia around 7 p.m., knowing no one in the country. And the elderly man whose job it was to stamp my visa-on-arrival at the airport was simply in no mood to acknowledge me. The second he opened my passport and read out my nationality, he went ‘Indian?! No visa!’, slamming shut my passport and shoving it aside. Looking at me like I was way too unexpected a visitor who had no business being there. The way one might look at a zoo animal on the loose. I had all the necessary paperwork and documents, a US visa stamp, a yellow-fever vaccination, even an email from the Bolivian Embassy in India confirming that I would get my visa on arrival in Bolivia. Summoning all the basic Spanish I knew back then, I asked him to help me. The broken Spanish made him consider the idea that he could actually care about this fellow human here, so he assigned someone to help me. A long line and 50 USD later I was back at the counter with this guy. Twenty questions followed and I seemed to still not be making the cut. Then came the clincher – ‘What is your occupation?’ ‘Yoga teacher’ I said. Somehow this caused in him such an explosion of pure joy, he even busted out some karate chops from inside his cubicle. ‘JOGAA!’ he shouted as he held his hands in a chop mid-air for me to appreciate. ‘Exacto!!’ I agreed vehemently, assuring him that was exactly what I do for a living back home. The next second came the much-awaited stamp on my passport, and I walked out thanking Yoga for its far-reaching unexpected benefits!

4) Meet Archana Singh, a Brand Strategist who looks for untold stories across the world!

If you ask her when did she started traveling, Archana Singh won’t be able to tell you. She has been traveling since she was a toddler. She says, travel is in her DNA. She must be right, how else can she juggle traveling the world, writing about it, and being a successful brand strategist with such panache! An adventurous and spontaneous solo traveler, Archana explores offbeat places in search of untold stories. Her travelogues have been published in international publications and online journals. Read on to know more about this solo adventuress and her enthralling stories!

Tell us something unexpected but wonderful that happened to you while travelling?

I was in Ireland in September to attend a conference and a few days later I had to attend another conference in the U.K. So, I had planned to explore the countries in that free time. However, I was invited to visit Romania. Frankly, I never thought I’d go to Romania, it was never on my list. But that country completely blew me away. It’s so rustic and beautiful; it’s reminiscent of Europe before modernization! The people are so friendly and their hospitality is outstanding. Luckily, I was also able to attend a typical Romanian wedding and it was such a culturally immersive experience. I couldn’t believe how similar it is to Indian weddings in that it has loud music, the whole village comes together, plenty of food and wine, and lots of dancing. They even have a tradition similar to our Indian weddings where the bride’s sisters steal the groom’s shoes. Except, in Romania, the groom’s friends steal the bride herself and groom then has to pay his friends to get his bride back! Romania definitely surprised me, I loved that country!

5) From Travel Blogging To Hosting a Travel Series On MTV: The Incredible Journey of Parnashree Devi!

As a child Parnashree Devi would sit glued to the TV watching travel shows and dream about roaming the world. Little did she know that, she’d grow up to become a full-time traveler and even be part of a travel series on MTV! Before becoming India’s leading travel blogger, Parnashree worked as photo editor, traveling the world visually. Until one day, she hit the road and took her first trip to Mukteshwar, never to look back at a desk job again. Her travelogues will you make pack your bags and take a trip around the world. Read on to know her journey!

If you had to visit a place again, which one would you choose?

If I ever want to re-visit one destination, it would be Finland. My trip to this wonderland was a complete fairy-tale affair. Everything about this Nordic country is special. I loved it so much that I don’t mind moving to Finland for a few years, given a choice.

Resource : https://medium.com/itraveleo-direct/the-vagabonds-7cfe6a996bab

#travel #VacationsToGo #TravelGuide #TripPlanner #thingstodo

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