Shivya Nath's Blog: The Shooting Star, page 6

What Solo Travel Has Taught Me About the World – and Myself.

There are plenty of perspectives out there about solo female travel – some that encourage women to travel solo, others that question it. Personally, over the last six years of frequently travelling solo as an Indian woman, I’ve found plenty of reasons to continue to “Say yes to the world”. Why travel solo? Read on:

As I boarded my flight to Japan earlier this month, the familiar anxiety and excitement of travelling solo to an unknown country overwhelmed my senses. I thought of the first time I h...

Japan Tourist Visa for Indians: How I Scored a One Month Visa.

Applying for a visa sucks. In this post, I simplify the Japan tourist visa for Indians. Including Japan visa requirements for Indian citizens, Japan visa fees for Indian passport holders, where to apply for a Japan visa in India and whether it’s possible to get Japan visa on arrival for Indians.

Until 2016, scoring a Japan visa on an Indian passport was a tedious process. You had to show an invitation letter from a sponsor in Japan, and from what I’ve heard, visa applications were lengthy and...

The Ultimate Vegan (and Vegetarian) Survival Guide for Japan.

Mission frickin impossible. That’s how a fellow traveller described my quest to spend a month as a vegan in Japan, exploring the country beyond Tokyo, Kyoto and the regular tourist trail – and sampling vegan Japanese food.

I took that warning seriously and got to work: A Japanese cafe owner in Bangkok helped me write in the Kanji script how to politely ask for vegan food, a friend whipped up homemade energy bars, I packed a ton of healthy vegan snacks and spent days researching the local cuis...

An Incredible Journey from Shimla via Reckong Peo to Kaza.

The drive from Shimla to Reckong Peo to Kaza is exhilarating but not for the faint-hearted. A once-in-a-lifetime experience!

I’m en route to Spiti and going through a “sometimes the journey is as beautiful as the destination” moment. The drive from Shimla to Reckong Peo to Kaza – with a stopover at Kalpa – easily claims Himachal Pradesh to be the most beautiful state in India for a mountain lover.

Enroute beautfiful view of the Betwa River.

I watch the mighty Himalayas blanketed in Cedar...

This Month, 11 Years Ago, I Quit My Full-Time Job to Travel.

Are you going to quit? My boss asked, intuitive as ever.

I hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t so much the organization I felt indebted to, as this man sitting in front of me who wasn’t just my supervisor but a mentor, friend and idol.

Yes, I somehow mumbled. I’m sorry.

What are you going to do then?

Move back to India, try to work with a non-profit, maybe travel.

We had big plans for you here.

I know… In my head: I hope the universe does too.

A journey that began way before “...

The Swiss Alps on an E-bike: 385 Km, 7 Alpine Passes, 6 Days!

I must confess that after spending a month living on Robinson Crusoe Island earlier this year, I was convinced I could never be “wowed” by my travels again.

I experienced weeks of intense withdrawal symptoms, spent days not wanting to get out of a four-walled room, missed deadlines, and reached out to a therapist to try to figure out how I could claw my way back into the real world. Her advice didn’t help, but the universe found me a way.

Route 1291: E-biking through the heart of Switzerla...

What No One Tells You About Visiting Kashmir.

Two weeks before we set out for Kashmir, some heartbreaking targeted killings had disrupted peace in the valley. Worried about whether it would be safe to travel, we contemplated cancelling our long-awaited trip.

To help decide, I sent a message to our Airbnb hostess in Srinagar, asking about the situation on the ground. She replied, quite astutely, that there’s trouble everywhere but only in Kashmir is it constantly reported in the media.

Others I reached out to in Kashmir had similar adv...

To Chile, With Love.

Dear Chile,

Before I landed within your borders, I had heard many people wax eloquent about the beauty of your mountains, forests, rivers and lakes. And no doubt, I was awed by their beauty too.

But I had no idea that it would be the beauty of your people that would really overwhelm me.

While quarantining in a drab hotel room in Santiago, the nurse who came for one of many precautionary Covid tests, told me that quarantine could be really isolating, gave me his card and told me to call ...

Why Robinson Crusoe Island Might Just Be the Most Unique Place on Earth.

Quién no conoce el bosque chileno, no conoce este planeta. De aquellas tierras, de aquel barro, de aquel silencio, he salido yo a andar, a cantar por el mundo.

Those who do not know the Chilean forests, do not know this planet. From those lands, from that soil, from that stillness, I have come out to walk, to sing for the world.

Pablo Neruda’s words echoed in my mind as I began experiencing the breathtaking landscapes and biodiversity of Robinson Crusoe Island (earlier called Mas a Tierra...

Turning 34 in Quarantine in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The plan sounded quite alright. Upon landing in Chile, I would spend five nights in quarantine in Valparaiso and four on the island – and be let out just before my 34th birthday, to embrace the spectacular beauty and connect with the remote island community of Robinson Crusoe Island.

But plans never work like they’re supposed to, do they?

Our tiny plane from mainland Chile to Robinson Crusoe Island got rescheduled three times. Each time, disappointed and desperate, I retreated to an exten...