About me

I have been listed as Top Travel blogger from India more than 25 times. I didn’t know this is where I was headed to when I gingerly started traveling solo a decade ago.  I have been travelling since 2008, mostly as a solo traveler. What started as a deeply personal journey, triggered by a personal tragedy (I am still not ready to talk about it!), has now translated into a blog and a career. I was going through a rough phase in life and was living without a purpose. Then suddenly travel happened to me, as if by divine intervention and I found the true calling of my life. I started as a solo traveler. It helped me feed my hunger for loneliness, brooding and some serious soul searching (How else, do you think, I lost much of my hair,eh!). It helped me rediscover many hidden facets to myself and my Incredible India.  From an introvert, travel has turned me into a forced extrovert. Thanks to travel, from a self destructive person, I have turned into a positive, happy individual.

Pls click below link to read my journey. This blog went viral:

FROM BEING FIRED FOR TRAVELING TOO MUCH TO BEING ONE OF THE TOP TRAVEL BLOGGERS OF INDIA- THE JOURNEY OF NOT QUITTING!

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Me in Canberra (Australia). It was my first solo international trip. Pic by: A stranger

I now want to dedicate my entire life to travel. Trust me itā€™s the best job in the world (though demands lot of hard work and supreme personal sacrifices ā€“ more on that later) More than 200 destinations in 21 states of India and 10 countries and 10 years later, travel has turned me into a better person. I never thought one day I will end up winning photography awards and my travel pictures and my stories will be published in Indiaā€™s leading travel magazines, newspapers and online portals. It still freaks me out when people tell me I am an inspiration to them. This was not my vision when I started to travel. That said, itā€™s now impossible to go back to a mundane life.  Travel is now my reason of existence.

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Me atop a chakadi from my memorable trip to Rann Utsav, Rann Of Kutch, Gujarat. Pic by: Vipul Sinha

In November, 2014. I was fired from my corporate job of 6 years, for traveling too much. In fact, I was the only one who was not ever promoted in my 6 years in corporate life. I worked towards not getting promoted deliberately year after year while my colleagues left no stones unturned to ensure their promotion. After small bouts of depression post my firing, I finally realized that it happened for good. As soon as I stopped pretending to look for another job, I booked Everest Base Camp Trek. The trek cleared many things in my head. It made me realize what I really want in life. The immense support from friends and family helped me sail through. My parents have a big role in helping me achieve my dreams.

However I donā€™t want to glamorize travel. This blog is a labor of love. I have spent many sleepless nights, suffered small big struggles everyday to create this blog. I created this blog in order to organize/record my memories, share my stories and empower/inspire my audience to lead a more fulfilling life travelwise. But I always discourage people to follow my example.  In fact I keep warning people not to quit their job for traveling. What worked for me might not work for others.

Though I enjoy all genres of travel but I am passionate about adventure, trekking, rural tourism, spiritual, wildlife, eco- tourism and specialize in luxury travel. My writing style is experiential with deep respect for the destination I am traveling to. The recurrent theme in my writing is that of soul searching, seeing things in a positive but realistic way and conservation/protection of culture, environment, destinations, wildlife and local people et al. I share brief facts at the end of my blog.

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Me aboard the only luxury train of South India, the Golden Chariot

LISTED AS TOP TRAVEL BLOGGER FROM INDIA 

A Soul Window is mentioned as the Top Travel Blogger From India 15 times in just 2 year:

  • Featured by leading newspaper Hindustan Times as one of the best Twitter handle for Travel related queries. The article on me was published in the print version
  • Lonely Planet Magazine India mentions me as one of the top travel bloggers from India in November 2017 issue.
  • Skyscanner features me as one of the 5 travel blogs to follow this year
  • Best Travel Blogger of India by GrabOn
  • Hostelavie features me as one of the Top 7 Indian Travel Blogger
  • Outlook Traveler nominated me as one of the 8 travel bloggers from India for their annual awards 2017.
  • Travel Triangle featured me as India’s most influential travel blogger.
  • 20 Indian Micro-influencers to Boost Your Influencer Marketing Strategy by Crafting Genuis
  • Thrillophilia mentions me as one of the top travel bloggers from India. Check here.
  • We Travel Solo lists me as Top 20 solo traveler of India.
  • Hello Travel mentions me as one of the Top 5 Adventures from India. Check here.
  • Filtercopy features me as one of the Top 5 honest Travel Bloggers from India
  • Holidify mentions me as one of the top 100 travel bloggers of India under ā€˜adventureā€™ category. Check it out here.
  • Jio Joo featured me as one of the best Travel Bloggers in India
  • Tours in India featured me as Top Travel Bloggers in India.
  • Trip Crafters listed me as one of the Top Travel Bloggers from India.
  • Top Travel Bloggers from India by Twinkl.
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Me receiving first prize from Atul Kasbekar (He looks the other way in this pic though, lol) Pic by: Nishant Bajpayee

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

  • Won 1st prize (Out of 36,000 entries) in Entertainment category in Mumbai Meri Jaan contest judged by ace celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar. The prize winning pictures as well as many of my Mumbai pictures are displayed at a permanent Zillion gallery in Mumbai, which is Indiaā€™s largest photo
  • Won best travel blogger (Adventure) award by ICIT Blogging Awards 2018 in association with Gujarat Tourism
  • Won 1st Prize in a Photography contest conducted by I-Next newspaper in Lucknow in 2008
  • Won 1st place in culture category in a photography contest conducted by DNA newspaper on world photography day. It was also published in the paper and exhibited in R City Mall, Ghatkoper, Mumbai.
  • Won consolation prize in professional category in CIDCOā€™s annual ā€˜Frame it fineā€™ photography. My picture was hence published in CIDCOā€™s 2014 calender.
  • Was shortlisted twice as Indiaā€™s top 50 contestants out of 20, 000 plus entries for the biggest travel blogging contest ā€“ ā€˜Grab Your Dreamā€™.
  • Was shortlisted as Indiaā€™s top 10 contestants for a travel contest conducted by Ceat
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Me receiving best blogger award in Rann Of Kutch.

MEDIA LIMELIGHT

  • Shortlisted for the audition of Fox Traveller Channelā€™s show ā€˜Life Mein Ek Baarā€™ (Hosted by actor Purab Kohli)
  • Was a semi-finalist for Mr. Lucknow 2008.
  • Learned acting from Anupam Kherā€™s acting school, Actor Prepares, Mumbai.
before after

My Viral Tweet

My Your Story interview goes viral!

MY PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION:

  • Permanent exhibition of many of my photographs at Indiaā€™s largest photo gallery, the Kanakia Zillion Gallery at BKC. I also won first prize in the same contest judged by ace photographer Atul Kasbekar.
  • Selected for a group photography exhibition conducted by the photography group ā€˜Mumbai weekend Shootā€™. It was also listed in Bombay Timesā€™ Friday listing: Whatā€™s Hot!
  • 2 of my pictures were exhibited in a group photography exhibition in Lucknowā€™s Lalit Kala Akademi.
  • Group Exhibition of my photographs by DNA newspaper on world photography day in R City Mall, Ghatkoper.
  • My travel pictures were exhibited at Inorbit Mall, Vashi.
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DD Kashir interviewing me at Dal lake, Kashmir. Pic by: Ashfaq

MEDIA EXPOSURE

Abhinav Singh has been interviewed by:

  • Newspaper Times Of India on Everest Base Camp Trek
  • Newspaper Hindustan Times interviewed me, featuring as one of the top Travel related Twitter handle from India
  • Your Story Hindi- Viral article
  • Featured by Aaj Tak Online
  • Featured by Treebo Hotels
  • Home Grown– Stories Of 10 Indians Who Quit Stable Jobs To Pursue Their Passions
  • Indiatimes on getting fired for travelling too much
  • Radio One, Mumbai interviewed me on Travel
  • Red FM Kolkata interviewed me on revoking of Article 66 A which prohibits freedom of Speech
  • Ishq 104.8fm, Noida
  • Tripoto – How Full-Time Travel Is Actually A Full-Time Job Unless You’re A Millionaire
  • Indiatimes quoted me on Ancestry test
  • I Diva interviewed me on Freelance life.
  • Interviewed by iTraveleo
  • We Travel Solo as top 20 Solo Travelers from India
  • Itch list on travel
  • Itch list on traveling with siblings 
  • Blog by Anushree Ganguly
  • 101 Vacations on Travel
  • Interviewed by Stayzilla on Travel

PUBLIC SPEAKER:

  • Spoke on ‘Why you should not quit your job to travel’ hosted by F5 Escapes.
  • One of the speakers at the Travel Blogging Unplugged International Blogging Event-
  • Spoke about Jordan at a travel event in New Delhi.
  • Spoke about my travels at an event organized by India Diaries in Mumbai

SERVED AS A JUDGE:

Judged True Wanderer 7.0 by Wrangler

I judged an international Travel Photography contest organized by Akshayapatra.

COLLABORATION WITH TOURISM BOARDS

I have worked With following Tourism Boards

International: Jordan, Canberra (Australia), Sharjah (U.A.E), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Scandinavia Tourism Board, Tokyo Wonderland.

Indian: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka.

I have also worked with following Brands:

Singapore airlines, Sri Lanka Airlines, Air Arabia, Golden Chariot- Luxury Train, Princess Cruises, Bhutan Bookings, Wildcraft, Wrangler, Columbia Sportswear, PATA, IIFA Awards, Skyscanner, Hard Rock cafƩ, Golden Chariot (Indian Railways), Ministry of Environment, Forest and climate change and FICCI, GIO Adventures, Bikat Adventures, Club Mahindra, Myntra, Tata, Clear Trip, Ceat Tyres, Aamod Resorts, Khyber, OYO Rooms, Treebo, Scout My Trip, Rupa Publications, Notion Press, Outbound Konnections, Think Strawberries etc.

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My parents are my guiding force. Without their support I would never have been able to achieve my dream. This article in Lonely Planet Magazine India is about my trip with them to Bhutan. It also features their picture. Needless to say, this article is closest to my heart!

TESTIMONIALS

When fellow blogger Spain based Kemkem Casinelli who blogs at Next Bite Of Life surprises you with a testimonial. Thanks Kemkem, I have loved your honest work and travel tips as much! (Pls zoom to read). To read the blog she mentioned about, pls click here

Kemkem Testimonial

 

PUBLISHED WORK OF ABHINAV SINGH :

Print:

Print: 18 years of experience of writing for Top print magazines of India

  • Published in National Geographic Traveller India, both print and online.
  • Many pictures and writings published in Lonely Planet Magazine India. E,g. : Traveling with parents
  • Picture published in BBC Travel
  • Worked as the main photographer for Outlook Traveler getawayā€™s maiden city guide on Mumbai called ‘Aamchi Mumbai’. Pictures published in other Outlook Traveller getaway guidebooks as well.
  • Scuba diving in Tarkarli in Mint
  • Story on Kila Raipur and Pachmarhi in Travel3sixty, in flight magazine of Air Asia
  • 9 Stories in Railbandhu, Indiaā€™s railway magazine. Includes 4 cover stories.
  • Cover Story on Heritage walk in Old Hyderabad in Go Getter magazine. Go Air’s in flight magazine.
  • Story On Bhimbhetka in Shubh Yatra
  • Pictures on Ladakh published in the in-flight magazine of Jet Wings.
  • Won prize in photography contest done by DNA newspaper.
  • Picture featured by Times Of India newspaper
  • Opinions published in Menā€™s Health and Outlook Traveller magazine.
  • Times Of India shortlisted and published my picture on world photography day.
  • Picture published in Marathi newspaper Pudhari 
  • Cover Story on Rann Of Kutch in Railbandhu, Indiaā€™s railway magazine.
  • Cover Story on Unseen Rajasthan in Railbandhu.
  • Cover Story on Sabarmati Ashram and Gandhi Trail in Railbandhu.
  • Story on Naneghat trek in Railbandhu
  • Feature story in Terrascape travel magazine
  • More than 30 of my articles, captions and film reviews published and won many 1st prize in Filmfare
  • As part of ā€˜A day In the Life Of Indiaā€™ contest, one of my pictures was published in Times of India.
  • Times Of India shortlisted and published my picture on world photography day.

Online:

  • We Nomads
  • Travel Yaari
  • Femina
  • Culture Trip
  • Multiple travel articles on Tripoto
  • One of my pictures was selected as Editorā€™s pick for a contest on Better Photographyā€™s website.
  • Won a Photography contest conducted by National Geographic Traveler Magazine online.
  • PETA Campaigns: I was the official photographer for PETA Indiaā€™s celebrity launches and events for more than a year. I covered campaign launches by Actress Amrita Rao, Lauren Gottlieb, Sunny Leone, Raveena Tandon and the stars of Fugly. Also shot for fund raising event by PETAā€™s founder Ingrid Newkirkā€™s on her annual India It was published across PETAā€™s website and social media platforms.
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Me around Pangong Lake, India. Pic by: Manjulika Sehgal

WORKSHOPS:

  • Participated in a workshop on Travel Photography /Documentary Photography / Photo The workshop was conducted by renowned photographer Mr.Fawzan Husain (He has worked with India Today and Mid Day)
  • Did a workshop in Travel Writing by eminent writer and editor of Femina magazine, Ms. Sathya Saran during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival,. Mumbai, 2012. Also received appreciation from her on my writing.
  • Did a workshop in Travel Writing by eminent travel writer Mr.Dilip Dā€™souza during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival,. Mumbai, 2013
  • Won a photo contest on Hindustan Times NO TV day and was chosen for a street photography workshop with Hindustan Timesā€™ National Photo Editor Mr.Gurinder Osan.
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Me in Petra, Jordan.

 Formal training in Photography :

  • Completed basic course in photography from National Institute of Photography(Mumbai) under the tutelage of commercial photographer Mr. Dharmesh Sachade.
  • Completed advanced course in photography from Udaan Institute of photography(Mumbai) under the tutelage of celebrity photojournalist Mr. Arko Dutta.

 Education:

  • Hotel Management from Institute of Hotel management, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
  • M.B.A. from Lucknow University, Uttar Pradesh

Link of my online Travel related platforms ā€“

I have good number of followers across social media. I have built a following by fair means over many years. My social media impressions run in lakhs per month.
 
I enjoy high engagement on my posts. The break up is as below:

Contact details:

Email me for collaborationsā€“ [email protected]

Click Here To Work With Me

25 thoughts on “About me”

  1. While reading your blogs I was feeling reading my words. I realized that you’ve similar way of email as me then hey we share birthday too. One too many similarities. Keep it up.

  2. Pingback: FROM BEING FIRED FOR TRAVELING TOO MUCH TO BEING ONE OF THE TOP TRAVEL BLOGGERS OF INDIA- THE JOURNEY OF NOT QUITTING! | A Soul Window - Top Travel Blog from India!

  3. Pingback: 2017 IS MY BEST TRAVEL YEAR AS BLOGGER FROM INDIA YET! A QUICK REVIEW! | A Soul Window - Top Travel Blog from India!

  4. Pingback: SHORE TEMPLEā€™S DEEPEST MYSTERIES AND OTHER MIND BOGGLING FACTS. INCREDIBLE INDIA! | A Soul Window - Travel Blog from India!

  5. I like your way of writing. It is pure and beautiful. Will look forward to reading more of your travel stories. Follow you on Facebook as well. One thing that inspired me is you never gave up. Keep it up Abhinav ji.. .Have lots of fun. Bless you šŸ™‚

    1. Thanks a lot. Trust me, living life on my own terms has been very tough. But it’s worth all the pain. So glad, you enjoy my writing! I will try to improve more. šŸ™‚

  6. Abhinav… Bhai hai tu apna. Let me try and pen down my thoughts about you based on whatever limited vocabulary and writing skills, I have. So to begin, I know you from our office days and still cherish the mutual feeling we had about our mundane job and the camaraderie ( always wanted to use this word ) we shared ; By “we” I also meant to include great philosopher of our times, Mr. Geet Hukerikar.

    Dude, I envy you for living the dream of all modern day workers like me : A workplace and the work which we actually love and where you dont have to crawl through the week until the God’s gift ,Friday arrives.

    Having said that , I know your journey has not been easy to say the least. But when I see you today, being so successful, relaxed and happy, It makes me feel very very happy too.It is because I know ,you have worked sincerely and faced hard times to reach this current state of your life.

    Finally, You are an inspiration and much more than that, a great friend and a person.#FullRespectBro. Hope we continue to keep in touch. God Bless !!!

    1. Hi Sagar. So happy to see this comment. I still fondly recall our conversations at office. In spite of being able to make a living out of travel blogging I have immense respect for those who have a day job. Neither my life not their life is easy. We all have our battles. I hope I will write a guide soon on how to travel with your job without compromising on your promotions. Yes, it’s possible. Hope I write that blog soon. Happy travels to you. May all your travel dreams come true.

  7. After reading this, it feels great to know you Sir.
    And, trust me on that, you have been an inspiration for me since the day we met at Delhi.
    I remember what you said me, ‘Kuch bhi karna life me, Blogger mat banna, qki bahut pareshani hai isme.’ I know it was out of your experience in this field, but i can’t help falling for it.
    I just thought that, no matter how hard it would be, what’s wrong in giving it a try. And, since then all my Photography, Blogging and Travelling has some inspiration from you.
    I have been following you on all platforms just to get more and more inspiration from you.
    Don’t know what the days ahead gonna bring in, but if i continue doing it you will be a guiding source for that.

    1. Thanks Suman. Haha. You still remember my words? Yes blogging is indeed a tough pursuit. It’s not easy and glamorous at all. I feel a sense of responsibility when I hear words like these. That’s why I don’t want to build a false aura around blogging and misguide aspiring bloggers. Yes do give it a shot and see what works for you and what does not. And most importantly do it along with a day job. It’s not easy to earn money out of blogging, at least in the beginning. All the best to you.

  8. That’s why I never left my job and work hard for promotions also. After all, that’s what funds my outings, and my wife’s expensive demands šŸ˜Š

    Good to connect with you, Abhinav!

  9. “I was fired from my corporate job of 7 years, for traveling too much”. I was chuckling at this statement. As a long-term traveler and a full time travel blogger, we all know how difficult it is to balance a full-time job and travels, not to say you are working on growing your blog at the meanwhile. but lol let someone go because he travels too much? Really? It is their lose not to recognize your skills and your adventurous spirit, and your creativity. And you did really well by keep up your hard work and make your dream career happen. It is so inspiring to see you from just start traveling solo for battling hardships in your life to be a successful travel writer. Reminded me that what does not kill us just make us stronger.

  10. Great blog Abhinav and the narrative about yourself is honest yet inspiring. Look forward to reading many of your posts and also your body of work mentioned above:)

  11. Hi Abhinav
    Reached on your blog accidentally through a Facebook post. Enjoyed it a lot. I am a fellow blogger and also a travel editor. After working as a travel and web editor at various media, I now publish my own monthly travel tabloid, only of its kind in Hindi in country- Awara Musafir (ą¤†ą¤µą¤¾ą¤°ą¤¾ ą¤®ą„ą¤øą¤¾ą¤«ą¤æą¤°). I would like to use one of your blog posts for my forthcoming issue. Please let me know, if you are interested and also your mail id, where I can contact you.

  12. Geet Hukerikar

    Dear Abhinav, as I know you from our office days you were always an avid and passionate traveler..even in job you used to take out whatever time you could to travel, click photos and share your stories of travel passionately with other colleagues. We were awed by your enthusiasm, zest and love for travelling and how much hard work and sacrifice of time (even ratings at times) you used took to make your dream and passion of travelling come true. It was a secret known to all in the office that one day you would fly from the corporate nest of job which was never meant for you, into the blue skies of travelling where you rightfully belonged.

    You took the risk and burnt your bridges willing to face hardships and challenges..no! you took them head-on to live your dream. You paid the price you had to pay to live your dream, maybe a bit more than one has to pay.. but in the end I am really glad that the risk paid off and today you are flying so wonderfully high in the blue skies travelling to all places in India and around the world, snapping pics and telling the world your stories of beautiful travels whilst sharing with all beautiful pictures clicked by you during your journeys.

    I sincerely hope and pray that you keep soaring higher and higher, living your dream, reach out to one and all and become the best travel blogger that there is!

  13. Ankita Srivasatava Chadha

    Abhinav if I read or see anything related to travel or blogs or writing… 1st think which strikes me is you and nobody else….
    There is always a feeling of proud for u…. Its so so so heart warming to see you grow and make a name for yourself in the travel industry as I am witness to your struggles and your perseverance.
    May you just excel and achieve all the goals you desire whether Everest or destination next door.
    Lemme tell you just one thing… “Very few get the opportunity to follow their dreams….”
    You are able to follow your dreams despite all the failures and struggles.
    Itā€™s not easy to walk on a tightrope…. “aap ladkhadaate ho”…
    So there will be many hurdles, ladkhadaaoge, giroge… but the feel of following your dream and desire is just priceless…
    I wasn’t able to follow my dreams because of my circumstances and was scared too, that whether I will be able to or not, so thatā€™s why feel really happy when I see you following your dreams….
    I know this write up has become very long…. but was meaning to write this for so long…. so just wrote…
    Cheers…. Luv U… Follow ur dreams….
    “You Have Made It Big-Make It Bigger”

  14. As an office colleague from a different department, I had known you as a happy go lucky fellow, mostly because of general office staff perception that you took leaves more too often. I would eventually realize, these were for the numerous adventure expeditions you looked forward to, A few of the your adventures I heard of was Watching turtles going back to sea, Goa, Rajasthan, Capturing Mumbai in the wee hours and many others and Everest Base Camp of all things!!!. Perhaps what changed my thoughts about you was an article authored by you. Simple, clear, correct dose of humour, honest travel opinion, refined language , all coming from a fellow who when with friends, spoke only vernacular and rather streetish and crass lingo at that!!! As I began following your work keenly, the commitment showed, all your trips began to make sense with the articles spewing your love and enthusiasm for travel. News of your retreat from regular office (word ā€œOusterā€ would have been appropriate, didnā€™t want to sound rude) perhaps didnā€™t surprise me much. But your choice after calling it quits to rather spend all your savings on more travel rather than for mere survival spoke volumes. As your articles and travel inputs gain further readers and you accumulated photography awards ( I lay my claim to one such award, where my suggestion to you to take part eventually got you on the winning list! ), the growth from a passionate travel enthusiast to serious professional with commendable work portfolio is something that I am proud to witness ( In your blogā€™s trademark, the view from my #SoulWindow is Proud! )

    Folklore of ā€˜Follow Your Passionā€™ of successful people are commonly heard and as I sit down always to give ā€˜elderlyā€™ advise to my younger cousins in regards to career choices, among the list of stories, the one genuine and live example that I generally give is that of Abhinav Singh, perhaps more on the struggles one has to undergo to follow oneā€™s passion and the commitment. I have seen at such close quarters the rejections/ criticisms you have faced, yet you relentlessly pursued travel/ adventure. I truly hope you too become part of folklore. With your passion, it ainā€™t impossible!

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