Traveller Profile - Kshitij from The Rustic Wanderer
This month I would like to introduce you to our featured traveller of the month; Kshitij, also known as the Rustic Wanderer. Kshitij is a travel and lifestyle content creator with an interesting story which I am excited to share.
Hi there, I was born and raised in India as the only child to my parents and acquired all my school education across various cities in India. Given the nature of my father's job, we moved quite a lot during my childhood and the nomadic lifestyle bug bit me even before I knew anything about it. After completing my schooling, at the age of 18, I decided to take a step further (think 2000 miles further) and opted for pursuing my UG studies overseas. This is how my solo travel journey began.
Since then, it has been over a decade since I have lived abroad and continue to do this. During this time, I've been to 25 countries spanning four continents and lived and worked in five of them and counting.
As someone who has been solo travelling around the world for well over a decade, I am on a mission to make solo travel accessible and comfortable for those looking to get started. I am especially interested in helping out those who have a 9-to-5 job and struggle to manage the time and finances to explore the world given the job-related commitments.
You will find Kshitij on social media platforms at - Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube or you can show your support on Buymeacoffee.
1. Why do you travel?
Over the years, I have honed multiple different skills and drilled down on some. Of these, my primary occupation is that of a researcher. Research is a fast paced environment which requires consistently coming up with innovative ideas, testing them and publishing those that have potential to benefit the community. In order to this consistently year after year, I need to look for new stimuli which is what I get when I travel. I get a lot of new ideas when I am not deliberately trying to look for them. Remember how people said they get new ideas in the shower? Well, me too and then I took it a step further. Traveling allows me to seek a change of environment, albeit temporary, so that I can interact with new set of people, learn about new cultures, try out new cuisines and spend more time in nature. This is what I look for when I travel.
2. Tell us your favourite: place to visit, mode of transport and source to get travel info.
I hail from India and as an expat, I only get to visit home once a year at best which hasn't worked out since the pandemic like most of us. So, I'd say India is usually on the top of my list when I start thinking about travel. There is only so long I can stay away from family, legit Indian street food and culture. Thereafter, when I am picking a place to visit, I am not much of a planner and I don't like to research much (ironic I know but I see travel as a time to rest my brain not engage it further into researching more :D). So, I just look up a few different places and pick one that I want to visit.
My favourite mode of transport is my feet. The way I travel, I call them The Rustic Bootcamps and the very few friends who have joined me know why that is the case. Firstly, I always go solo so I don't bring friends along and secondly, the aim of these boot camps is to get good sleep, eat as much as I want to (I like to break from my dietary regime during this time) and make up for this by walking. I walk up to 25 kms in a day during my travels so I don't have to watch my calories and I get to see everything I want to.
I used to skim read a few blogs to learn more about a place prior to visiting but as I said I am not much of a planner so I spend about 10-15 mins checking out 1-2 vlogs, ~one blog post, couple of pics and that's about it. The main source of my intel is when I land at the place and start chatting up with locals. If there is a language barrier, there is always someone who can help- hostel concierge, cab driver, another traveler, there is always someone
3. What is your favourite travel memory?
My favorite travel memory has got to be when I moved to Hong Kong back in 2010. Not only was this my first ever international journey but what made it special was that I managed to convince my parents to come along and see what life looks like outside India. They had a lot of fun exploring places with me and being able to support them in an alien country was the best feeling ever. Also, I got a free business class upgrade so that was a plus :)
4. What's the most important thing you've learned while travelling?
The most important lesson I've learnt is to adapt and improvise. This is the biggest difference between group and solo travel- when travelling solo, you'd have to take care of you no matter the circumstances. I've hiked remote areas (even deep in the Black Forest) all by myself. I've had to face horrible weather conditions. In HK, I've even had food poisoning but I had to deal with it all by myself and that made me stronger and self-reliant. These are some soft skills that books can't teach us but learning them while travels had made me stronger also professionally. Nothing is set in stone in real life so one has to stay liquid and improvise as needed.
5. Who would you love to sit next to on your next flight?
Tbh, I'd prefer the three seats all to myself. Before I became a vlogger, I always preferred the aisle seat to easily stretch my legs (6 feet tall people know what I mean) but now I also want access to the window seat to capture time-lapses but having all three seats I can lie down and stretch my back. The perks of solo travel :D
6. What's your best money-saving tip to travel?
People having different notions when it comes to money-saving and how much they want to save. Some people like to save every step of the way but for me, having traveled solo for well over a decade, I've realized where to save and where to "splurge". So, I always go for reputed carriers as opposed to budget airlines, 70% of the time I prefer hostels, 20% Airbnb and hotels when I am out for business trips. I am always on the lookout for side gigs- e.g., you can contact your hostel ahead of arrival to see if they need volunteers and you can barter your skills in exchange for a place to stay. There are many more ways of also making money on the go such as freelancing so I prefer to save some and make some money on the go to sustain myself while I travel.
7. How do you deal with the post-holiday blues?
Oh yeah! The post holiday blues are very real. But I've found that 2 things help me overcome them. 1.) sifting through my content and publishing it on my social channels after I am back. This way, not only I am creating travel content but also I am technically reliving those memories and the good times I had while I was away so it livens me up. 2.) reminding myself that there is always a next trip to look forward to. My last trip was back in January just prior to lockdowns when I was in Singapore to celebrate my birthday. Never did I know that I won't see the inside of an airplane for the next 2 yrs but still when I look back to my travel memories of the 25 + countries I've been to, it keeps me going until I am able to make fresh memories.
8. What's one thing you like to do in every place you visit?
In almost every place I visit, I like to look out for remote off-beat places to an extent that even if I were to mention that to a local, they are often surprised to learn about the place in as much depth as I know of it. For instance, when I was in Athens, a lot of people kept talking about the typical tourist circuit that exposes you to monuments and Greek history. While I loved doing that myself, here are two extra things I dug up: 1.) There is a secret code you could use at a prominent restaurant near the museum which then gets you a huge meal totally off books. How cool is that? 2.) There is a rather untouched natural reserve maintained by the Archeological Society and when I was hiking there, I barely saw a soul while the city was crowded. I had a very refreshing time up in the hills all by myself. Even had a mini picnic there with an awesome view and a sunset overlooking the sea.
9. Travelling can leave a big environmental footprint, how do you minimise yours?
This is very true and I try my best to minimize my own footprint. So, I try to walk as much as I can. I suppose if you find rental bikes with good biking lanes as in Netherlands, you could also bike around which should be better than taking a cab and also economical. Additionally, if I see some litter while hiking, I try to collect it and bring it down with me for proper disposal. So, I always carry extra trash bags with me so I can bring my own trash and then some.
10. Plan an around the world trip for us, stopping in one city only on each continent.
Oh! this is both tough and tempting but I'll give it a shot assuming there are no constraints.
Since I am in Europe at the moment, I'll start with the city of love, Paris. I'll stop by local cafes and grab as many fresh croissants and pain au chocolat as I can possibly stuff myself with.
Next, I'll make a move to Asia for which undoubtedly I'll pick home sweet home- India. Of the numerous cities, I'll pick the royal city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Not only because of the royal heritage and the amazing flavorful food, but this is also the city which I used to visit with my parents quite often while growing up. Perhaps one of the earliest travel memories so it has a special place in my heart.
Once you are done with your elephant rides, cultural dance night and eating the amazing Rajasthani cuisine with unlimited cuisine, it's time to move on to Oceania. Not that I've been there but if it was up to me, I'd pick Auckland. I hear there is plenty of nature and the dairy products are delicious and I'd love to try them.
Then we fly over to North America and visit Ontario. I strategically chose this city because I've always wanted to visit Canada and that too see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. I hear they are much better from that side of the world and I'd like to see it for myself. Also, there is a prominent Indian population out there too so I'd love to see how this influenced the cultural and architectural heritage of the country.
Then moving to Southern America I'd pick Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I've only seen the Brazil Fiesta on TV and I'd like to see it in real life. I love the vibes and seeing how people are enjoying their lives during this time and I'd love to be a part of this, first hand. Also, I bet Brazilian food is mouth-wateringly delicious. And another thing that's on my bucket list is to hike up the mountain with the Christ the Redeemer statue to see the sunset from up there.
Once I am able to do that, I'd make my way over to Antarctica to spend some time with the penguins. I want to see the penguins in their natural habitats and maybe try and click a few pics with a baby penguin. I'd also try and get permission to interact with the scientists out there and learn more about their life and what a typical day in their life looks like. I wonder how they get their ration and how they entertain themselves given the harsh outdoor conditions so I'd love to spend some time with them and get to witness this.
Wow, Kshitij. Thanks for sharing your insight into the world and I love the idea of your Rustic Bootcamps. That’s alot of walking. It was great to connect with you through the socials and I look forward to following your adventures through Europe.
To read past traveller profiles; click here.
Each month an enthusiastic traveller will share with us their personal stories from their adventures around the world. If you would like to be featured in the upcoming months then please drop us a note below…