I’m excited to share that I’m moving to Bali for a short stay of three weeks. This move is part of my plan to make the most of my career break. My intention is to embrace slow travel, explore nature, learn how to surf, and meet new, interesting people. I also sense that this might mark the end of an incredible two-year phase of my life, filled with some of the most insane travel experiences and adventures.

In this post I want to 1. Re-evaluate my relationship with travel and 2. Recollect all the major experiences over the last 2 years (And leave it on the internet for my and your easy reference whenever needed)

My evolving relationship with travel

I grew up in a very small town in India, where travel was considered a luxury. Our family trips were limited to one or two annual journeys—summer visits to my grandparents’ house and winter trips to nearby destinations, often up to 12 hours away by train. In fact, I didn’t travel by plane consistently until I was 22. For me, travel was always aspirational, a way to fill the gaps in experiences from my childhood.

With the rise of travel influencers, travel became a major trend among my generation. There was a time when the number of countries one had visited was a bragging right in social circles.

I’ve moved past this phase. A big contributor to this shift was my experience from October 2022 to April 2024, when I lived abroad and traveled extensively. Now, I no longer travel for the bragging rights, to boost my self-esteem, or to escape the monotony of daily life. Instead, I aim to integrate travel into my lifestyle to experience new cultures, cuisines, activities, and to meet fascinating people.

An article from Tim Ferris’ blog that I recommend to read and personally resonated with: https://tim.blog/2013/07/14/how-to-travel-21-contrarian-rules/

Recollection of my travel experiences (From Oct ’22 to Apr ’24)

1. Berlin (The city I was living in): From Oct ’22 to Oct ’23

2. Riga (Dec ’22)

3. Budapest (Jan ’23)

4. Prague (Mar ’23)

5. Krakow (Apr ’23)

6. Paris (Jun ’23)

7. Stockholm (Jun ’23)

8. Copenhagen (Aug ’23)

9. Tallinn (Sep ’23)

10. Amsterdam (Sep ’23)

11. Lisbon (Oct ’23)

12. Warsaw (Oct ’23)

13. Bali (Multiple times in this period)

14. Kuala Lumpur (Feb ’24)

15. Singapore (Mar ’24)

16. Ho Chi Minh, Hoi An and Da Nang (Apr ’24)

I will maybe write more detailed posts about some of the memorable trips and instances. But for now, me and you can just scroll through the pictures!