Humans Of Travel

I am an artist and I love to travel, so I combined the two.
I paint the world on the go, various hostels and cafes that I visit, I take up art jobs there, paint their walls and turn them into beautiful spaces. Sometimes it’s abstract and sometimes each wall tells a tale.
Everyone seeks inspiration and for me it comes majorly from travelling to different places.
My art helps me go places, I conduct workshops both online and offline and then of course there are projects I undertake. With my art I feel a part of me now lives in that place, and it’s a beautiful feeling. I could add to the beauty of various places I have been to and I feel immensely grateful.

I once headed to Jibhi, Himachal Pradesh for a wall art project for an accommodation space. It was absolutely beautiful and I was super excited about this project. This was just before the first lockdown, the weather in Himachal during that time was cold & pleasant at the same time, with little chances of snowfall.
The property owner wanted us to wrap up the project at the earliest, it was soon going to be season time and a rush of tourists in Himachal. And he said if we completed the project within three days he would take us on a trip to Jalori Pass. He also mentioned there were high chances of experiencing snowfall in Jibhi and I thought that would be such a blissful experience.

My team & I completed the project within 48 hours, it was a wrap up and as promised, the owner took us to Jalori Pass. And to my utmost expectation, I experienced a snowfall for the first time in my life and it was pure bliss. I had tears in my eyes, the snowfall felt like an incentive to our hard work.
For me such things of nature are a sign of things going right and this was amazing.
I love travelling solo and meeting people and experiencing new cultures everywhere. It makes my art so much more meaningful. To travel, stories and art around the world…

I am Avantika Garg and I am an official Human of Travel.

Every place tells a story and every story has a place. And I capture and create stories around places I visit. I love how every place has a story of its own, for it has been visited by so many, there are so many experiences that live in that place and that fascinates me.
I want to capture and present it to the world through my lens. And so I create lots of content on the go. I am a content creator.

Since my childhood days, travel has been a way to reconnect with myself. Driving to destinations, has been an equal journey to within as much as to the destination.

Thoda filmy hai, but my story is quite inspired by the movie ‘Yeh Jawaani hai Dewaani’. It’s when I watched this movie, I decided to go on a trek, up in the snow clad mountains. And so there I was, in Sar-pass, Himachal Pradesh.
It was hard to convince my parents but I had made up my mind and I really wanted to take this trip. 13000 ft above sea level, bad connectivity, a place I had not been to before, my first solo trip, well it all did sound crazy and I was very nervous but I embarked on the journey.
I started from Mumbai, and honestly I was very skeptical in the beginning, but the closer I came to the mountains, I started losing the sight of my fears.
And there I was, at the top of the mountain, feeling a sense of accomplishment, having done it solo, it was all so worth, truly magical. I had never travelled before on my own so this was a feeling I cannot describe in words. Being surrounded by snow, hugging nature while it hugged me back, it was all surreal.
And the Snow-slide, that one was for the books. I was at the top of the snow covered hill, my legs up in the air and I glided like a ‘block of butter on the surface of a hot pan’. That was one amazing ride.
I still get jitters when I think of that moment. So much of me was out there, every moment felt like it should last forever. It felt so alive.

After this trip, I took to travelling more often, ‘kyon ki life mein break toh banta hai’ and I take such breaks as much as I can. Travelling now feels like second home.

I am Maulika Shah and I am an official Human of Travel.

From my experience in a corporate environment, one thing I most definitely knew early on was that a 9 to 6 was not something for me. The life I wanted to live was always out there, but I was stuck in the daily routine and was never able to explore. I always questioned myself, why, when and how…

But the idea was to get out and travel solo and so I decided to visit Russia, all by myself.
I always like to depend on information online to plan my trips, and this time too I used all the information from the various travel blogs and travel community forums to help me prepare for one of the best adventures of my life.
I used to confirm my queries on the internet regarding my next pit stops, things to do, etc. On this one travel forum I inquired about what mode of transport I should take to my hostel & a local, Irina, offered to help me. She wanted to make sure I explore the best of the places and have a great time in Russia.
But I was hesitant, as suspicions inside our minds often do, especially in a foreign land and I declined the offer. But I was sort of guilty of turning down someone trying to help and so decided to meet her on one of the days, during the day time, I just wanted to make sure it was all safe.
When I actually met her, it felt like meeting a long lost friend. We hit off instantly and it turned out she was a really nice, kind hearted person who simply wanted me to experience the best of her country and in fact save me from getting ribbed by cabbies and malice. Together we explored various places and learning about stories from someone who has stayed there all her life made the experience incredible. My trip to St. Petersburg will always be a reminder of my friend Irina.

I realised after this trip that travelling is not just visiting a place, it is a way of getting exposed. It is being open to the discomfort out there, and finding comfort and solace in being in a place where you mostly don’t know anyone. Most importantly it helped me restore faith in being human. I don’t get suspicious anymore about people wanting to help, & I mostly explore new places with the locals now.

I am Shrawanti Saha and I am an Official Human of Travel.

We are from the beautiful sunny city of Bangalore & we always travel together as a family. But it wasn’t exactly like this all the time, especially after Kabir was born.
There was sort of a stagnancy, because travelling with a little one, we weren’t sure.

But the travel bug in us didn’t let us be & we took on to 13 cities in 12 months from Goa to Pondicherry to Amsterdam to the States.

Travelling has an impact on all of us in numerous ways, and for us as a family, it helped us bond better & it constantly helps us see the best of each other

In the winter of 2019, we went to the Dolomites in Italy for a Skiing experience. Pavan & I had taken lessons before and we were very keen for Kabir to try it. He was only 2.5 yrs at that time. We had shown him some videos of other kids skiing and he was quite excited about the whole thing. Watching him in all his gears & getting into the snow on his tiny little skis, is a feeling we will never forget!
Of course, he fell several times & he did have his moments of wanting to give up, but he took his time & every time he would get up and try again.

The following year we visited France & he tried to ski again, and this time he was more confident, more aware of his body & mind and eager to hit the slopes. Watching him ski, being so daring with something he had not done before, was an absolute delight

As parents it’s moments like these that you live for. We feel extremely grateful that we are able to give Kabir such opportunities where he constantly challenges himself, only to get better every time.

We have escaped every huddle and pushed all boundaries to get to all these places and experience magical moments that define us. No restriction was an obstruction and one thing that definitely changed is the mindset, that “travelling with a little one is not possible”.
We are so happy that we could do all this with Kabir and give him some of the best experiences of his life.

So next time someone says how will you travel with a child? Tell them: A family that travels together, stays together!

We are Anu, Pavan and Kabir (now 4) and we are the Official Humans of Travel!

Have you ever planned a trip and nothing went according to the plan? My trip to Alibaug; in 2019 with a close friend; was a series of mishappening but with a sweet surprise towards the end.

We left from Pune and reached our hotel in Alibaug in the afternoon. After waiting for good 10 minutes the manager came up to us to tell us that he had given our room to someone else. Furiously, I dialled the customer care number of the website through which we had booked our accommodation. They apologised and booked us another room in the hotel. It was raining heavily outside and the hotel was 5 km away. We hopped on our moped and reached the hotel drenched from top to bottom. We went up to the reception only to find out that the booking site had compensated the amount we paid for the previous hotel. But now we were supposed to pay ₹8000 extra! I again called up customer care and they again booked a room in another property. Frustrated, we once again drove all the way to that address only to find out that the hotel DIDN'T EXIST! There was nothing there! We tried booking another hotel nearby, but they said their employees were on a strike.
We really thought that the universe does not want us to have this small vacation- we felt so dejected! But we had to go somewhere and that's when we found this homestay. We settled in and I had only ₹500 left in my pocket. It was 10:00 at night and we were starving, so I went out to get dinner. I was doubtful as to how I'd manage to buy everything in just 500 bucks. I found this small food joint and I waited until the food was being packed. The entire road was flooded with water and suddenly I saw a ₹500 note floating in the water on the road! I picked it up instantly and that was sheer dumb luck just waiting for us! I bought some more food, snack and beer for the two of us and ensured the two of us at least ended the day with a nice dinner!

The ₹500 note was the beginning of a wonderful trip. Day 1 was sh*tty but we managed to keep a tiny flicker of hope alive and that’s what made the rest of the trip eventful!

I am Adityavardhan and I am an Official Human of Travel!

As ‌a‌ ‌kid,‌ ‌I‌ ‌used‌ ‌to‌ ‌believe‌ ‌that‌ ‌every‌ ‌aeroplane‌ ‌flies‌ ‌to‌ ‌‌just ONE ‌destination-‌ ‌London.‌ ‌I‌ ‌was‌ ‌obsessed‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌country! Soon after my 10th board exams, my parents granted my wish of visiting London. Within‌ ‌48‌ ‌hours‌ ‌after‌ ‌my‌ ‌exams,‌ ‌I‌ ‌found‌ ‌myself‌ ‌on‌ ‌a‌ ‌flight‌ ‌to‌ ‌London‌! Finally, I reached my dream destination and I remember every detail of it. There‌ ‌was‌ ‌this ‌place‌ ‌called‌ ‌‘town‌ ‌centre’‌ ‌near‌ ‌my‌ ‌aunt’s‌ ‌house‌ ‌that had a ‌massive library‌. I being an‌ ‌avid‌ ‌book‌ ‌reader, was super excited to visit it. ‌What's funny is that my‌ ‌15-year-old‌ ‌self‌ ‌thought‌ ‌she‌ ‌could‌ ‌walk‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌library‌ ‌all‌ ‌alone‌! ‌I‌ ‌reached‌ ‌the town‌ ‌centre‌ ‌and‌ ‌obviously got‌ ‌confused‌ ‌since‌ ‌it‌ ‌had‌ ‌two‌ ‌gates. Still, I kept walking and entered ‌‌the‌ ‌east‌ ‌gate‌ ‌only ‌to find myself completely directionless ‌that too with ‌‌a 5% battery in my phone! ‌I‌ ‌panicked‌ ‌but tried really hard to contain it.‌ And instead‌ ‌of asking someone for help,‌ ‌I‌ ‌decided‌ ‌to‌ ‌figure‌ ‌it‌ ‌out‌ ‌myself.‌ I ‌was on‌ ‌the‌ ‌verge‌ ‌of‌ ‌passing‌ ‌out‌ ‌due‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌unbearable cold weather. So I‌ ‌gathered‌ all my energy‌ and started running towards ‌the‌ ‌west‌ ‌gate‌. While running I bumped into my Aunt. Woah! What a relief. I almost thought I'd end up in serious trouble.‌ But I got lucky, and then happily enjoyed the entire day in that beautiful library. ‌I spent a month in London and I grew fond of exploring new places.‌ ‌I‌ ‌remember not shedding even a tear before leaving for this trip ‌but‌ ‌when it was time to leave, I was overwhelmed with a bittersweet feeling. ‌

We as humans usually find a home in each other, but for me,‌ its ‌a ‌place‌ ‌which‌ ‌
turns‌ ‌me‌ ‌into‌ ‌a‌ ‌storyteller.‌ ‌I‌ ‌have‌ ‌embraced‌ ‌every‌ ‌place‌ ‌I‌ ‌have‌ ‌travelled‌ ‌to‌ ‌and‌ ‌if‌ ‌there‌ ‌is‌ ‌anything‌ ‌that‌ ‌soothes‌ ‌me,‌ ‌it‌ ‌is‌ ‌travelling‌ ‌and‌ ‌exploring‌ ‌different‌ ‌cultures.‌ ‌
‌
I‌ ‌am‌ ‌Saakshi‌ ‌Nikam‌ ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌am‌ ‌an‌ ‌Official‌ ‌Human‌ ‌of‌ ‌Travel.