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All posts tagged: travel speaker india

17 Incredible Travel (and Life) Moments of 2017.

Published by Shivya Nath

2017 has been a strange year for me as a travel blogger.

December 27, 2017

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ABOUT ME

Hello! I'm Shivya Nath. In 2011, at age 23, I quit my corporate job 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 done a solo land journey from Thailand to India via Myanmar and travelled overland from the Persian Gulf via Iran to Armenia. I've lived with a Mayan community in Guatemala, volunteered at a coral reef restoration project in Cuba, lived in a nunnery in Ladakh (India), and shed my fears and clothes at onsens across Japan. I hope to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone and experience the world!

What's a life of travel like?

Why I turned vegan

PUBLISHED ON:

WHERE AM I?

Currently in: South Africa

Jan 2019
Thailand to India via Myanmar

Feb-Apr 2019
Iran
Armenia

Apr 2019
Austria
Slovakia

Jun – Jul 2019
India

Aug 2019
Uzbekistan
Tajikistan

Sept 2019
Bhutan

Oct-Dec 2019
South Africa

To invite me on a travel blogging campaign, see my Work with me page.

UPCOMING TALKS (2019)

3-5 May
PEP: Hyderabad

6-7 Jul
Vegan India Conference: Delhi

22-25 Aug
Mountain Echoes Literary Festival: Bhutan

To invite me as a speaker, see my Speaking page.

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How to find truly local, authentic experiences on

How to find truly local, authentic experiences on the road? I think where we choose to stay makes a big difference.⁣⁣⁣
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In the south of Lesotho for instance, by choosing to stay @semonkonglodge, we not only immersed ourselves in the region but also made sure that the money we spent directly supports the local villages. In this family-run lodge, all the staff and guides (nearly 50 locals) came from the remote villages of Semonkong, who otherwise have no choice but to go to the capital Maseru or further to South Africa to work. Some have even reverse-migrated in the process. ⁣⁣⁣
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With them, we discovered the mountains beyond the regular hiking trails, met local shepherds and farmers who only speak Sesotho, drank homemade beer in local shacks and learnt how Lesotho too, like the rest of Southern Africa, underwent a severe drought through 2018 and 2019. The rains finally brought relief. The valleys are lush green now, but they were dry brown for quite sometime. Cattle were dying, food and water were becoming harder to come by. ⁣⁣⁣
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That makes a place like Semonkong Lodge all the more essential. The majority of their electricity comes from hydropower (and switches off at 10 pm), they’ve used local materials to build, segregate all waste, offer filtered drinking water in glass containers, procure local ingredients from nearby farmers⁣ and have food options for vegans / vegetarians. The best part is, unlikely many eco lodges, they cater to travellers of all budgets - in camps, rustic rondavels and luxurious rondavels. ⁣⁣⁣
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I’ve started to believe that finding authentic experiences on the road begins with our own inclinations. Do we care to research and make different choices to support the community and conserve the environment? Because when we do, the universe pretty much leads us on a different path 👣⁣
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I’m curious, how do you decide where to stay when you travel? ⁣
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#theshootingstar #semonkong #lesotho #responsibletravel #shotoniphone

A pride of 12 lions – 2 males, 3 lionesses and 7 c

A pride of 12 lions - 2 males, 3 lionesses and 7 cubs - were gathered around the lifeless body of a pregnant buffalo. Now that the chase and kill were out of the way, the dominant male lion, one lioness and some of the cubs unleashed themselves on the raw flesh. The others stood guard around the precious meat. ⁣
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Together the pride slowly ripped apart the flesh. Their mouths, tongues and paws were covered in blood. One cub stuck its tongue into ripped flesh and drank the blood. Another pulled out the embryo with great effort and gobbled it up. A lioness bit into the jaw and ate all except the teeth. From the afternoon of the kill till the vultures arrived the next day, the pride of lions ate. So much that by the time they had to leave, many of them were knocked out by slumber, panting uncontrollably! ⁣
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Why am I sharing the gory details of a lion kill? Because many people ask me, aren’t humans designed to eat meat? If the above description revs up our appetite, then maybe it is. If the idea of an animal’s raw flesh, blood and innards spilling out excites us like it does the lions, then maybe it is. ⁣
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Most of our hunter gatherer ancestors did eat meat. But their bodies could only digest the bone marrow. The big cats ate the flesh, the vultures the carcass, the hyenas the bones, then humans sucked on the bone marrow.⁣
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If you think about it, unlike meat, we can eat fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts raw. Without fire or cooking. ⁣
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Besides, our teeth and stomachs are designed like herbivores, not carnivores. ⁣
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So you tell me, do you think humans are the same as these carnivorous predators?
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#theshootingstar #VeganSundays #shotoniphone #krugernationalpark #southafricatravel

It’s easy to forget that there’s a real person

It’s easy to forget that there’s a real person behind the Instagram posts we scroll through. So today I thought I’d get more real by sharing 11 random things you probably didn’t know about me:⁣
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1. I’m 5”2’ and played basketball for my school and university teams. ⁣
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2. I think wine and coffee are overrated. ⁣
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3. I got mugged while travelling alone in Costa Rica and it shook my faith in the world. ⁣
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4. I have very little control over my tear glands. I cry when I’m angry, sad, while watching movies and reading books. Mostly it’s not because I feel weak inside but because I seriously can’t control my tear glands. ⁣
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5. I stopped believing in god a long time ago. ⁣
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6. There are 3 countries I constantly dream about: Guatemala, Georgia and Thailand. Iran and South Africa are the latest additions 😉⁣
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7. I’m an introvert and will likely be found hanging out alone at conferences, networking events, big gatherings. Yes I’d rather stay home!⁣
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8. I turned vegan 4.5 years ago, after learning about the horrible things done to animals in order to obtain their meat, milk, eggs, silk, wool etc. I was almost sure that someday I’ll have to choose between travelling long term and staying vegan. But I’ve been to 30+ countries since, including Japan and Iran for a month each, and survived and mostly thrived as a vegan traveller! ⁣
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9. When people ask what I do for a living, my mom still says “isse ghoomne ka shok hai” 😂⁣
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10. I think of death often, because it’s something we all have to face someday. ⁣
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11. I’m the slowest reader. I like to take my time to absorb the emotions behind the words of a writer. ⁣
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Which one surprised you most? ⁣
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Your turn, I want to know something random and real about you, that you rarely share online 👇🏼⁣
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Post idea inspired by my friends over @nomadasaurus 👣
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📷: #shotoniphone ⁣
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#theshootingstar #keepitreal #writersofig #proudtobeIndian #lifeisanadventure ⁣

My latest blog post asks a pertinent question: “

Just a few kilometers after we crossed the border

Just a few kilometers after we crossed the border from South Africa to Lesotho, we saw a police block on the road. The burly officer waved us to stop. Here it is, I thought, no one lets Indian travellers get in so easily. He called out to another officer, then asked us something in Sesotho. Seeing the confused look on our faces as we asked him if he spoke English, he gave us a big smile. Relax guys, he winked, you’re in Lesotho now.⁣⁣
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That set the tone for our short but sweet trip. ⁣⁣
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At our first stop in Malealea, I explained to my female guide that I’m vegan and the food at the lodge is mainly meat, so we have to live off our store-bought food. She quickly explained that they mostly eat pap (corn meal) and moroho (cooked leafy greens) at home - and at the end of the hike, took us to a little shack in the village and helped us order the most delicious vegan meal with pap, moroho, beans and potatoes 😋⁣⁣
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The guy sitting next to us watched us eat a no-meat meal in amusement, then invited us to join him for beer and pool at the local bar! ⁣⁣
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An 82-year-old sangoma (local medicine man) who knew nothing about me threw some shells and bones to see my future and said 2020 will be a year of travel for me 😉 Although he also said I’ll have 2 kids, which I can tell you is never happening!⁣⁣
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A woman with sad eyes and sorghum beer on her breath randomly stopped me, started singing and made me (awkwardly) dance with her.⁣⁣
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We ended up sharing the home-brewed sorghum beer and grape wine (chumuku) with locals of all ages, but one elderly woman looked deep into my eyes and said, I can see that you’ll come back to Lesotho one day. ⁣⁣
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A village chief told me about all the land conflicts he’s handled. Then asked in all seriousness if I’m looking for a piece of land in Lesotho too. Not yet, sir, but maybe someday 💚 ⁣
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📷: #shotoniphone11pro

It’s not a diet, not a cult, not a fad, not a cu

It’s not a diet, not a cult, not a fad, not a culture, not a trend. I’ve talked about veganism here many times but maybe I jumped ship. What does it mean to be vegan anyway? ⁣⁣
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Being vegan is simply a pledge to stop exploiting animals - to the greatest extent possible. ⁣⁣
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That means not using animals for their meat, eggs, milk etc. Not separating them from their babies or castrating them. Not buying products made of leather, silk, wool and down feather. Not using toiletries and cosmetics tested on animals. Not supporting zoos, not riding animals, not using them to carry our loads. Not supporting the pet industry. ⁣⁣
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Should you do all of the above to be considered vegan? The labels don’t matter.⁣⁣
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If it breaks your heart to see someone beat up a dog or mistreat a kitten, you’re already inclined towards veganism. If you believe in equal rights, feminism, consent, kindness, empathy, freedom, not causing unnecessary suffering, you’re already inclined towards veganism.⁣⁣
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If that’s you, please go and google:⁣⁣ ⁣⁣
👉🏼 How milk, butter, cheese and other dairy products involve putting cows through forced pregnancies and the death of their male kids... and ultimately lead to their slaughter (even in India - the world’s largest exporter of beef).⁣⁣
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👉🏼 How many male chicks are killed (often grinded alive) to put a scrambled egg on a breakfast plate. ⁣⁣
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👉🏼 How to make one silk saree, 10,000+ silk worms are boiled / smoked alive before they can even become beautiful silkmoths. ⁣⁣
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Share your findings, thoughts and questions in the comments. Let’s talk 👇🏼⁣⁣
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PS: I’m bringing #VeganSundays back! Promise to make them more interactive, informational and introspective this time 🌱

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