Travel

Open to adventure

Published On: May 4, 2018 09:23 AM NPT By: Anweiti Upadhyay


Niusha Karki is Nepal’s first travel blogger and possibly one of Nepal’s first instagrammers too. She has been blogging about her travel escapades since 2015 and has been on Instagram since 2012. Her first memory of travelling is of when she was just two-years old and, since then, she has been travelling every year. In the recent years, she has actually been on multiple trips every year. 

Karki has been to Dubai, Malaysia, Thailand, majority of the states in the USA, Qatar, Turkey and various other places as a part of her expeditions. “Companies, especially the big luxury brands offer me a staycation at their residence and in return I have to give them social media shout outs and post content about them,” explains Karki on how travel blogging works. But, at times, Karki spends her own money on her travel adventures as well.

19-year-old Karki is currently on her gap year and she will jet off to the States in a couple of months to study sociology. She calls herself a luxury traveller and reveals that she only chooses themed boutique hotels for accommodation. Her latest trip was to Bali where she stayed for about a month. One of her favorite moments there was when she canoed barefoot, which was a first for her.

Making travelling her career was not something she planned on doing. She used to post about her journeys on her social media accounts – more specifically Instagram. Gradually, her followers increased and then she started getting sponsor offers from various companies all around the world. She also invested in good cameras that would help her with her blogging.

“Travelling has always been a part of my lifestyle. I think my parents have contributed a lot to it. They are big on travelling themselves and that’s where I got it from,” says Karki. Her frequent travel companions are her parents, her friends, and her boyfriend but she confesses that she doesn’t mind travelling alone either.

Warmer places are Karki’s favorite places to travel to because she suffers from migraine if the weather is too cold. But if she had to pick somewhere to live permanently, she would pick out a place which is pretty cold for the majority of the year because she really loves the idea of cozy living, swathed in blankets, which doesn’t really work when it’s hot. 

The only downside to travelling so often, according to Karki, is not getting to spend enough time with her family. And because she works as a social media manager at this Indian couture brand and produces YouTube videos too, her schedule had been pretty hectic in the last few months.

“Just before I left for Bali, my life was so busy I barely got four hours of sleep. I was juggling a lot of things with little time to actually take care of myself. So for the next two or three months I have decided to take it easy and enjoy life,” she says.

Do’s and don’ts of travelling
The biggest tip Karki has is to avoid over packing while travelling. She also suggests leaving your heels behind because you probably won’t wear it. “You have to be very mindful of your luggage and things you’re putting in it. And keep some space for the things you might buy there too,” she says.

She also advises you to not appear too touristy as this makes you prone to robberies and crimes. However, make it a point to talk to locals, she says. “That’s something I do every time I visit a new place. They can teach you much more about the place than the staff at your hotel,” she says. 

“Also, I almost always get lost when I’m wandering about but that makes for the most fun memories later on,” she says adding that she loves finding her way back as she always comes across beautiful new places within the locality that she would otherwise not have seen and experienced.  

Fashion on the go
Unlike most travellers, Karki tries to eat clean even when she is travelling. And because the hotels she chooses are almost always luxury hotels this is quite easy for her and she is also a vegetarian. Due to this, she does not have any problems with her skin and does not have to follow a long beauty or skincare regime to keep her appearance in check. Karki confesses that she forgoes all makeup products during the majority of her travelling days. Even on days when she has to put on some makeup, she keeps it to the bare minimum. Additionally, the few skin products she does use are organic.

“As far as clothes are concerned, I generally pack light dresses. It suits my style preference and makes it very easy to move around,” she says. Additionally, dresses are easy to pack as well. She just folds or rolls them and they make up one whole outfit just like that, which is simpler than packing a top, bottom, and an extra layer.

Dealing with anxiety
For someone who travels as much as Karki does, she still says she’s an introvert and also has social anxiety. And this is the reason Karki travels either alone or with people close to her who actually understand social anxiety and introvertism, and also why she likes everything to be perfectly planned before she leaves on a trip. 

“I’m travelling to a bunch of places a few months later and I’ve already planned everything about the trip including the budget,” claims Karki. This helps her avoid popular places or eateries she really wants to visit during their peak hours. She does a lot of research on the off hours for the places so that she can avoid large crowds. And during the times she gets a big wave of anxiety attack despite it all, she just heads out the door in search of a quiet place to calm herself down.


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