Where to Stay in Thailand: Unique Lodges, Boutique Hotels and B&Bs Beyond the Beaten Path.
There is something about Thailand that keeps calling me back.
All posts filed under: Unique Places to Stay
How to Find the Perfect Airbnb and Make the Most of Your Travel Experience.
About this post: How to find a good Airbnb? Is Airbnb safe? Is Airbnb reliable? After several years of using and loving Airbnb on my travels, I’ve penned all my Airbnb advice in this post – including how to find a good Airbnb, Airbnb tips for guests and how to determine if your Airbnb will be safe and reliable. You can also read my Airbnb blogs for Europe, Sri Lanka and Central America with my top Airbnb picks in each region. New to Airbnb? Sign up with my referral and get upto 40$ off your first booking! I often wonder what makes a travel experience truly unforgettable. Take my recent trip to Georgia (the country) for instance. When our plans to travel to the remote Tusheti region got snowed on, we decided to visit a forgotten protected reserve near Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan and the Dagestan province of Russia. I was recovering from a flu, and even on a sunny day, wrapped up in layers and a warm hat. “Cold?” Otto, our potbellied, jolly Georgian …
Get Off the Beaten Path With My Gujarat Travel Guide.
On a chilly December night, I lay on the roof of a watch tower in the darkness of India’s stark salt desert – the Little Rann of Kutch.
Lessons on the Art of Living in Sri Lanka’s Hill Country.
The lifelong connections we make with people along the way is the very essence of travel.
7 Epic Yet affordable Airbnbs in Sri Lanka.
My incredible Sri Lanka Airbnb collection – eco-friendly homes with million dollar views, cool aesthetics, infinity pools and the friendliest hosts. As the first rays of sunlight streamed through my window, I drowsily opened my eyes to a panoramic 180-degree view of Knuckles Mountains. Victoria Lake shimmered below, as though waking up with me. My infinity pool beckoned for a morning dip. Laying in bed, I blinked a few times to convince myself this wasn’t a dream in which I had become a billionaire! It was just my incredible – yet affordable -Airbnb in the paradise island of Sri Lanka. Three years ago, on my first trip to Sri Lanka, I wrote: “It’s not a country for flashpackers. Our moderate budget only seems to afford drab guesthouses / budget hotels of average quality. No local insights, nothing memorable.” Airbnb changed that. Also read: How to Find the Perfect Airbnb and Make the Most of Your Travel Experience But on this trip to Sri Lanka, we found accommodations with million dollar views, the design quality of luxurious boutique hotels, and infinity pools that could easily make the coolest infinity …
Awe-Inspiring Uttarakhand Homestays: Tune Out of Life and Tune Into the Mountains.
Deep in the mountains of Uttarakhand, I discovered a secret.
Alila Diwa: A Little Bit of Goa and A Whole Lot of Luxury.
In Majorda Goa, a unique boutique hotel with Goan-Portuguese-Balinese architecture on the edge of the rice paddies. Welcome to Alila Diwa Majorda Goa! When I dream of Goa, I don’t hear the roar of the ocean or feel the sand on my feet. I hear the pitter-patter of rain on old Portuguese roofs and the chatter of women in their rice paddies. I feel potent home-brewed Urakh smoothly slipping down my throat, a burst of flavors from fiery curries on my tongue and my mind slipping into a susegado mode. Earlier this year, when I landed in India after a six-month sojourn across Central and North America, I knew I needed Goa as much as I needed a cocoon of luxury to call my own. Alila Diwa was the kind of place on my mind, and this is why I loved staying there: Floating on the edge You know that feeling of lounging on a relaxing beach chair, floating in a pool that has no edge, shades on your eyes to keep the sun out, the wind ruffling your hair, a cocktail …
10 Awe-Inspiring (yet affordable) Airbnbs to Stay in Central America.
Airbnb has changed the way I travel. Instead of pouring hours of research into finding unique accommodations during my Central America trip, I decided to rely on Airbnb and found private islands, organic farms and artistic, off-the-grid homes in the lap of active volcanoes – all at prices I could afford!
Guanaja Island: Sshh… A Secret in the Caribbean.
I had to pinch myself as my tiny 20-seater plane with an open cockpit, circled a lush mountainous island surrounded by the deep blue Atlantic Ocean. It looked a little like Isla Sonora from the Jurassic Park movies. The plane descended sharply as the hillocks parted to reveal a tiny airstrip, which ended just a few feet away from the ocean. The airport was only connected to the rest of the island by boat. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.
Heartwarming & Heartbreaking: Living With The Nuns of Ladakh.
On a sunny afternoon, I sit on the steps outside my room, gazing at the bare, brown mountains and their snow-clad peaks. I’m lost in thought when four kids, wearing maroon sweaters and warm stockings, their heads shaved off, come and sit next to me. Word has gotten around that I speak Hindi, and the curious ones have come to check for themselves. On first glance they look like young boys from the village, so I ask Aap sab bhai hain? (Are you brothers?). They solemnly nod no, point towards the nunnery, and tell me they are nuns. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, “sustainability influencer,” social entrepreneur, solo traveller, vegan, sustainable tourism consultant and environmentalist. But in my heart, I’m just a girl who believes that travel – if done right – has the power to change us and the world we live in.