Avantika Chaturvedi

Throwing it back to Koh Yao Noi and the sweaty adventure I had in this Thai island, one of the most beautiful islands I went to over my two month long trip to the country. This was a special day: cycling 12 kilometres to reach Pasai Beach; renting a kayaking and paddling a two person boat by myself for an hour; reaching the remote uninhabited island of Koh Nok; rappling up the cliff using ropes and climbing on all fours to reach the top of this view 💘 And then climbing back down to swim in the beach below 🌊 Can’t wait to embark on more such adventures soon. But for now, go visit waywardwayfarer.com for a complete travel guide on Koh Yao Noi and add it to your list 🫶🏼

The wind is a 🌬️ paid actor 🌬️🩵 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #vibes #travelreels #maldives #maafushi #indiantravelblogger #aestheticedits

About the nurse shark tours of Maldives… They’re all over Instagram and that’s also the first thing you see online when you google “things to do in the Maldives”. There is a certain spot around the South Male Atoll, close to islands like Maafushi where tour operators take you to snorkel with nurse sharks. The pictures and the videos look super enticing and I was extremely excited to not only swim around a shiver of sharks myself, but also for it to be my parents’ first ever snorkelling experience. But the reality of it came to us only after we had paid the money, hopped on the boat and actually ended up at that spot… The sharks are always there because they are being fed fish by the tour operators. And I have so many thoughts about this. All this time, I had assumed that these sharks just naturally tend to be here. Now in retrospect it sounds so silly to me that I believed that. And while the operators feed these sharks uncooked, raw fish — close to what their natural diet is, being fed fish (as opposed to hunting on their own) day after day creates a dependency because of easy access to food. This dependency over times weakens their hunting abilities, often to an extent where they can no longer sustain themselves and need to be fed to survive. And when bad weather or larger events like the pandemic arise, when these operators don’t have clients to take to sea and hence have no reason to feed the sharks, these animals will suffer. Not to forget, nurse sharks (like most shark species) are strictly nocturnal and they hunt and eat only at night. So this practice also messes up their natural body clock. It’s all such an interconnected cycle. It’s the butterfly effect, it’s one small ripple creating a bigger (badder) change. At the end it felt like I was in an open aquarium. Sure, these sharks are living in their natural habitat but are they able to thrive naturally, without human interference? #themoreyouknow

I’m just kidding…or am I? 🤪 Posting this to stir shit up in the family gc 🥰 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #familyvacation #sisterlove #indiangirlstravel #girlswhowander #maldives #maafushi #indiantravelblogger #indiantraveller

Did I just drop a big hint about where I am in real time? The only way to tell you’re an OG community member here is to guess my location correctly 🤪🏝️ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #islandlife #islandgirl #palmtrees #indiangirlstravel #indiantravelblogger #indiatravelgram

Went diving with @thedivesquad in Maafushi and I was NOT disappointed! Maldivian waters always have such special surprises for you when diving and this dive trip was no less. We went diving with eagle rays welcoming us and at one point we were surrounded by black tip reef sharks on all sides and it was spectacular! 🦈 I also saw soooo many dog tooth tunas on this dive. We also went to a shipwreck which has an air space inside it. I’m going to show more of that one particular dive in the coming posts ⛴️ My sister also went diving for the first time ever and came back with the resolution to do her open water course soon! So overall, a pretty successful trip I’d say 💙 @thedivesquad is a PADI 5-star dive centre and I would highly recommend going diving with them. They have a super cute dive shop near the harbour and all the dive professionals were incredible. But the best part was the after dive dance party we had on the boat. They played some old Bollywood music and until we docked back at the harbour in Maafushi, we were all dancing away in a circle. 🪩 Pretty cool way to celebrate some epic diving, I’d definitely go back here and dive with them again 🧜🏼‍♀️ #hosted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #maldives #maafushi #scubadiving #girlsthatscuba #paditv #scubagirl #indiantraveller #maldivesislands

The only reason my dad agreed to visit a local Maldives island was because of this floating bar… …and it turned out to be such a fail lol 🫠 We really went hoping for a popping bar with food and good drinks and instead got a near empty boat all to ourselves blasting early 2000s pop and serving a small can of beer for 10$ with red blue green lights sparkling the empty dance floor 😂 Well, you wouldn’t know if you tried it right? 🤷🏻‍♀️ This is Princess Vishwa, a floating bar just off the harbour in Maafushi Island. Since Maldives is an Islamic country, you cannot buy or consume alcohol anywhere except for the privately owned resort islands. But they’ve found a loophole around it and since this floating bar isn’t technically on a local island, it works! The bar is open from 4 pm until midnight every day and they have free shuttle on a small boat to the bar (which is only free if you buy alcohol at the bar otherwise they’ll charge you) So now that you know my side of it, proceed with caution 🤪 Tell me, would you go here anyway? 🍺 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #travelfail #familyvacation #floatingbar #maldives #localisland #indiantraveller #funnyvideos #travelreels

Which one are you, bestie? ☺️ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #travelhumor #familyhumor #indiantraveller #maldives #familyvacation #travelreels

I took the public ferry in Maldives for the first time ever! And let me just set the record straight — I’m never going back to speedboats again! To give you some perspective, I’m currently in Maafushi Island and the public ferry ticket cost 2$ per person. Whereas the speedboat costs 25$!! The time difference is definitely felt — the public ferry took 1.5 hours whereas the speedboat takes 45 minutes so that’s double the time. But for me if I’m paying 1/14th the cost I would otherwise, I’m more than happy! And when you’re travelling to an expensive country like Maldives on a budget, these small things can make the big difference. However, getting to the ferry terminal was a bit confusing. We were initially told the ferry will depart right from the airport. But at the airport we found out we need to go to Villingili terminal in Male City which was 5km away. At Vilingili Terminal, we were told it’ll actually depart from the MTCC Airport Express Terminal which was another 3 km away. Thankfully we had enough time on our hands to go around and were able to grab a ticket. The public ferries are super comfortable too, have windows and even a snack bar. Remember: public ferries don’t run on Fridays because it’s the day of Jumma and a public holiday in the Maldives. What else do you want to know about the public ferries of Maldives? Save and share this reel for your future Maldives vacation! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #maldives #publictransport #maldivesislands #indiantravelblogger #indiantraveller #budgettravel #indiangirlstravel #girlsthatwander #travelhacks

I left 2023 immensely proud of myself. Proud for learning the art of rest, proud for finally allowing me to be gentle with myself, to make mistakes and not make them my identity, to forgive myself and learn to move on. Proud for learning to seek help, for not feeling ashamed when I needed a community to get me through. Proud for learning the art of balance, of trying to let go of the extremes that I have clung to since the birth of my consciousness, of making peace with the grey. Proud for focusing on myself more than anything else. For starting to paint again, starting to read again, starting to dance again and sing off key again. For doing things simply because they brought me joy and not because they made me “productive”. For learning to let go of the constant anxiety of not being productive enough. Proud for trying new things and not worrying about doing it horribly wrong. Proud for recognising my emotions before they became the best of me, for allowing myself the time I need to sit with myself. Proud for learning to set boundaries, saying no and valuing myself the way I deserve. And most of all, proud for finding my adventurous, curious, exploratory spirit again. I missed that most of all. 2023 was a huge learning curve for me, a great big defining year. And not surprisingly, also the most challenging and painful one. But now I can say with faith, my inner child is at rest now. She is proud of what I’ve been, where I’ve arrived and where I continue going. I’ve allowed 2023 to be ~my~ year and for that, I’m proud.

Snowfall in my balcony 😍❄️⛄️🍧 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #snowfall #hailstones #chandigarh #panchkula

All your questions about driving a tuktuk in Sri Lanka, answered… …on my blog! The link is in bio and also on my stories 🔗 This a complete guide to renting and driving a tuktuk in this beautiful country + a discount code for your future adventures with @tuktukrental 🤑 In fact it’s so comprehensive, you won’t be left with any doubts on renting your own tuktuk after you’re done reading it 🛺 And well, if you do have any questions — I’m always here to help out 😉 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #srilanka #srilankatravel #tuktuk #tuktukride #roadtrip #srilanka🇱🇰 #indiangirlstravel #girlswhowander #browngirlstravel #solofemaletraveler #exploremore #travelreels

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from surfing (apart from well…learning to surf) is that no two people are on the same journey. Honestly, this fact is so glaringly visible when you set out to surf, I can’t even. You’ll see people catching a successful wave on their first ever try when you’ve been splashing and drinking salt water on your fourth lesson. I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it can get. And if you’ve ever tried surfing, I’m sure you’re all too familiar with that frustration. But don’t give up is the simplest (and the hardest) tip I can give you. Keep getting back up on that board again and again. Because sooner or later, you’ll catch that first wave and the past struggles and frustrations will make it that much sweeter. Surfing truly taught me to be patient, to continue carrying on, to get back up and go at it again. For surfing, and for all else in life. And for that, I’m truly grateful 🤙🏼🌊 Big thanks to @carelessaakash for this video and bigger thanks to the instructors over at @aquaticindicasurfschool for this incredible gift 🩵 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #surfgirl #girlswhosurf #surflife #mulki #karnataka #indiangirlstravel #indiantravelblogger #travelreels #exploremore #viralvideos #indiantraveller

I’ve not scene another place quite like Mulki 🤌🏼✨ At the meeting point of River Shambhavi and the Arabian Sea, is this village right off the NH66. It’s quietness, a welcome contrast to the roaring highway with its trucks and buses. Being quite literally the birthplace of surfing in India, you would think it’s a busy tourist town. At least, that’s what I thought. I couldn’t have been further from the truth. Mulki is, in fact, JUST a surfing village and nothing more. And that’s what makes it truly special. There are no cafés, no “things to do”. It’s not a vacation spot where you can tick off a list. The only thing you can do is surf. And when surf’s out, you eat by the plateful and then plant yourself in a corner overlooking endless paddy fields and grazing cows, and bury yourself in a book until it’s time to eat again. And in between, you go on long walks around the village, sometimes even to the noisy highway in search of a sweet treat. Or, you can rent a kayak or a paddle board and spend some quiet evenings cruising down the River. Even with such little to do, you’ll find that time passes here in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you’ve learned to recognise a wave, paddle for it, pop up on your surfboard and ride it to the shore. And now it’s time to say goodbye and head home. There’s nothing in Mulki, and that’s what makes it everything. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #mulki #mangalore #mangalorediaries #girlswhosurf #karnataka #surflife #indiantravelblogger #indiangirlstravel #exploremore #travelreels