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The Shooting Star

Just a girl who travels.

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  • Romania photos

    One Year of Travelling Without a Home.

    by Shivya Nath

    Much has been learnt, more has been loved - and the one thing that has remained constant is my desire to keep moving.

    September 17, 2014
    Comments 123
    Reflections

3 years ago, I gave up my home, sold most of my stuff and embraced a nomadic way of life. This journey has taken me as far within as with my feet.

indian travel bloggers, indian travel blogs

LATEST

Advice for the Young and Penniless Who Want to Travel.

Published by Shivya Nath

This is all the advice I wish someone had given me when I was sixteen.

June 21, 2017
Comments 32
Travel Inspiration, Travel Tips

Not Your Typical Travel Guide to Taiwan.

Published by Shivya Nath

I knew nothing about Taiwan except stinky tofu...

June 1, 2017
Comments 22
Asia, Taiwan, Travel Guide

Bombay to Barcelona: How Travelling Inspired an Indian Street Kid to Chase an Impossible Dream.

Published by Shivya Nath

His story is the story of so many kids we ignore every day on India's streets.

May 3, 2017
Comments 36
India, Maharashtra, People, Stories from the road

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STORIES FROM THE ROAD

India, Maharashtra, People, Stories from the road

Bombay to Barcelona: How Travelling Inspired an Indian Street Kid to Chase an Impossible Dream.

His story is the story of so many kids we ignore every day on India's streets.

May 3, 2017
Comments 36
Central America travel blog
Latin America, Offbeat, Reflections, Stories from the road

6 Months, 6 Countries: Epic Memories from Central America.

This week, I made the long journey back to India from the Americas. Having a glass of wine at the bar on my Virgin Atlantic flight, I got chatting...

March 12, 2015
Comments 63
Romania life, Romania culture, Romania people
Culture, Offbeat, People, Romania, Stories from the road

Romania, You Can Fool The World With Your Smiles, But Not With Your Heart.

Romania had one hell of a way to welcome us. We had dragged ourselves out of the flight after 20 hours in transit, when 3 burly ashen-faced men stopped...

August 13, 2014
Comments 51

ABOUT ME

Hello! I'm Shivya Nath. In 2011, at age 23, I quit my corporate life with a dream of traveling the globe. 2 years later, I packed up my life into a backpack and decided to hit the road indefinitely. I travel slow, seek offbeat and local experiences, stay in a place for a few weeks or as long as it inspires me, and move on.

I've hitch-hiked along Romania's northern countryside, lived with a Mayan community in Guatemala, journeyed along Canada's great wilderness by train and swum with black tip sharks on Malaysia's east coast. I hope to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and discover the world!

Read more about me here.

Wonder what a life of travel is like? Find your answers here.

Published on:

"The difference between living and existing is how much wonder you find in the beauty around you."

Shivya Nath

INSPIRATION

June 21, 2017

Advice for the Young and Penniless Who Want to Travel.

This is all the advice I wish someone had given me when I was sixteen.

by Shivya Nath
Comments 32
December 12, 2015

How I’m Funding My Adventures Around the World Through Travel Blogging.

I started 2015 on a private island in Panama, with 150 rupees ($2.5 USD) in my account. That’sย the lowest...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 117
Indian travellers, Indian solo travellers, women traveling alone
May 18, 2015

21 Months on, My Nomadic Life Feels Normal.

21 months ago, when I packed up my home into a backpack and decided to hit the road indefinitely,...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 63
March 20, 2015

I Travel Because…

We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate....

by Shivya Nath
Comments 31

"An adventurous life does not necessarily mean climbing mountains, swimming with sharks, or jumping off cliffs. It means risking yourself by leaving a little piece of you behind in all those you meet along the way."

Shawna Grapentin

GO NOW

August 1, 2015

In Photos: Incredible Moments in South Africa.

These are all the reasons I want to make 2016 the year of Africa for me, and hopefully for...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 40
Kazbegi, Kazbegi photos, Stepantsminda
July 6, 2015

If You’re Looking for the “Shire”, Come to Georgia!

Somewhere deep in the Caucasus mountains, I sip a glass of fine Georgian wine, watching the clouds playfully swirl...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 37
Virgin Atlantic flight bar, Virgin Atlantic new upper class
September 25, 2014

The Coolest Way to Fly Out of India!

There are airlines that fly you from one part of the world to another. And then there is Virgin...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 44
Goa monsoon, Goa rains
September 2, 2014

Offbeat Goa: 12 Mind-Blowing Experiences.

On a rainy Goan afternoon, wrapped up inย my blue poncho, I drive my bike past verdant rice paddies, abandoned...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 37

The thing about solo travel is, you can never feel 100% ready. There will always be a tiny voice at the back of your head asking, "Are you crazy?"

Shivya Nath

SOLO TRAVEL

September 19, 2016

Solo Travel Moments That Left Me Scared Shitless.

Every once in a while, I look back at my travels and think of the moments that have changed...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 47
April 9, 2016

Practical Ways I’ve Learnt to Stay Safe While Travelling Alone.

The thing about traveling alone is, you can't truly open yourself up to adventures if you're constantly worried about...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 39
solo female travel india, solo travel tips
July 2, 2015

Solo Travel: To Go or Not To Go?

Come with me, for if you never step out that door, you'll never know how far you can walk.

by Shivya Nath
Comments 44
April 3, 2015

How I Conquer My Solo Travel Fears.

Here’s a confession: Even though I’ve beenย solo tripping for years, sometimes the idea of being somewhere remote by myself,...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 44

"Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from."

Seth Godin

TRAVEL TIPS

June 21, 2017

Advice for the Young and Penniless Who Want to Travel.

This is all the advice I wish someone had given me when I was sixteen.

by Shivya Nath
Comments 32
February 7, 2017

How to Score a Schengen Visa on an Indian Passport.ย 

Take my tips and tricks, and make your Europe travel dreams come true.

by Shivya Nath
Comments 29
October 22, 2016

How I Manage Visas on My Indian Passport As I Travel Around the Globe.

That's the thing about traveling the world on an Indian passport; frustrating though it is, it is totally worth...

by Shivya Nath
Comments 84
August 5, 2016

Charming Hideouts to Truly Experience Island Life in Mauritius.

Living in a typical Mauritian fishing village, I felt like an islander myself.

by Shivya Nath
Comments 32

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

H. Jackson Brown (no, not Mark Twain)

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My latest blog post is up - "Advice for the young and penniless who want to travel" ๐Ÿพ Read it on the-shooting-star.com or at the link in my bio! . . An excerpt: "Travelling with the junior Indian football team to Germany was a reminder of what it is like to be sixteen and feel both, the yearning to see the world and the hopelessness that you must put your dreams on hold till much later in life." . . This is all the advice I wish someone had given me when I was sixteen. Read & share with those in their teens and early twenties with itchy feet! Then tell me, what were you like at sixteen? ๐Ÿ˜‡ . . Photo --> Throwback to Svaneti, Georgia! #theshootingstar #wanderlust #travelblogger #georgia #liveauthentic On that lazy Sunday afternoon, my host family invited me upstairs to join them for their ritual Sunday lunch (though I cooked something in my apartment downstairs since they mainly eat fish on Sundays and couldn't wrap their head around veganism ๐Ÿ˜‰). The daughter was home from Ljubljana, and turned out she loves travelling too. We opened an old school atlas and flipped the pages and with it our big dreams to experience little corners of this big world. . . When it was time for me to leave and get on with my lazy Sunday, two of the brothers asked me if I'd like to drive with them to Triglav National Park, an hour up the mountain by car... where they keep cows on a mountain pasture. Turns out, traditionally in Slovenia, several families own a single pasture, keep their cows together, and take turns to manage them. Each must spend 3 days at the pasture per cow, and my host family did their 15 days for their 5 cows in May. . . Since I've turned vegan, I've taken every chance to observe dairy farming traditions, because what we read online is hardly ever the same as what we see with our own eyes. At first, I felt happy to see the cows idling freely in the mountain pastures, even if their ears were pierced with big tags and their backs painted with numbers. Then three older farmers came out of their hut, with big pumping machines. The 35 odd cows were herded into a stable, and milked within minutes with sophisticated pumps. Inside was a mini factory to make tonnes of cheese, butter and cottage cheese. . . Curious me found out that it was the same story on this "free range pasture" too. The male calves are "sent away"; the female cows are impregnated year after year; and their milk is pumped out for 10 straight months. I guess it could be my bias that made me feel like the cows looked so angry, even when the youngest boy of my host family (11 years) tried to go close to them. It reaffirmed my reasons for not eating cheese, butter, milk or any form of dairy in the last two years... . . I had to leave and hike in these stunning meadows, but I couldn't stop thinking of those angry eyes in the pastures... ๐Ÿ˜” . . #theshootingstar #slovenia #triglavnationalpark #vegantravel Have you ever felt like you were destined to go somewhere and meet someone in particular on your travels? . . I totally felt that way living with my host family in the Soca Valley, in a little village home to only 70 people! From feeling apprehensive on the first night when the host told me that he was alone at home because all his family were out that weekend for different reasons... to being let into a dark part of the family's history... to being looked upon as a messenger of sorts, being their first guest from India in 8 years ๐Ÿ˜‡ . . When I first said goodbye to Slovenia and left for Croatia and then Bosnia & Herzegovina, something kept tugging at my heart. Like I had unfinished business, like I still needed closure. So even though I really wanted to stay on in Bosnia, I just followed my heart back to Slovenia, to Soca valley, to a little village of 70 people, to the home of one kind, warm, welcoming Slovenian family. Because sometimes the heart knows something the mind doesn't ๐Ÿ’™ . . In the photo --> My hosts, father and son, on a wooden bridge above the Soca River, when they invited me to join them on an evening drive around the village ๐Ÿพ . . #theshootingstar #ifeelslovenia #socavalley #passionpassport #livethere @airbnb Lately, a lot of you folks have asked me about my "sponsors" - apparently some genie-like people who fund my travels ๐Ÿ˜œ . . So I thought it's time to un-rub that magic lamp and tell you the truth. There ain't no sponsors. I fund 80% of my own travels, and the other 20%, I travel on assignment for travel-related companies whose travel philosophy matches mine, and create content for themโœ๏ธ . . How do I fund 80% of my travels? Through travel blogging... I've worked for years to build an engaged, organic readership, and like-minded brands recognize the value of my honest opinions in the travel space. I also try to accumulate loyalty points from airline and accommodation websites I love. And I'm always on the hunt for good travel deals and money saving ideas. Like recently, when the folks @matrixtravelcompanion reached out to me, I discovered a new app to score awesome last minute discounts on hotels and short-term apartment rentals (check it out; it also lets you discover travel ideas / activities in your given location!) ๐ŸŒ . . Ultimately, whatever I earn and whatever I save, I spend it on travelling. Because like a wise soul once said, you can't buy happiness but you can buy a plane ticket, and that's kind of the same thing ๐Ÿ˜‰ . . So if you dream of travelling long term, stop looking for a magic lamp or a genie or "sponsors". Start experimenting with your skills, come up with a savings goal, and make it happen. The link in my bio is a compilation of all my travel secrets, if you want to know more about how I made it happen๐Ÿ‘† . . Photo --> My "office" in the backdrop of Mt Krn in the Soca Valley ๐Ÿ˜ . . #theshootingstar #digitalnomad #livingoutofasuitcase #livethere #workhardanywhere Water so blue, you'd think someone painted it. Mind=blown by the Soฤa River in Slovenia ๐Ÿ˜ . . Turns out, scientists have been studying it for a long time but no one knows yet what makes the color so blue! It's mostly rain water mixed with a bit of glacial water... . . Also, no one seems to know why it's called Soฤa. Earlier on in Croatia, I learnt that Slavic languages have their roots in Sanskrit, much like Hindi. Found some common words while chatting with a local - "Piyo" means to drink in both languages; "ลพivio" pronounced similar to "jiyo" refers to living in both languages. Now I wonder if Soฤa - pronounced socha, refers to the Hindi word for thinking. Soฤa Valley, the valley of thoughts? ๐Ÿ˜‡ . . Just marvelling at the beauty of nature and words, standing on a rickety old wooden bridge above this brilliant blue river ๐ŸŒ . . #theshootingstar #socavalley #sloveniatravel #igslovenia #ifeelslovenia With all that yearning and love, decided to spend my last week in Europe in Slovenia... because life is too short to make promises to come back ๐Ÿ˜‰ . . That's my neighborhood, in the backdrop of the magnificent Mt Krn in the Soฤa Valley ๐Ÿ˜ . . And you, ever felt such a strong connection to a place that you went back right after saying goodbye? ๐Ÿพ

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