Hi we’re
Agni & Amrita
A creative couple, explorer and the team behind Tale of 2 Backpackers.
Those close to us, describe us to be an eccentric, adventurer, travellers and storytellers. To us, life is indeed a thrilling episode and meant to be lived fully and happily.
We are always on the lookout for adventure, be it tasting new food, exploring a new place or trying to find history behind our heritage! When not in civilization, you might find us with our backpacks and camera, trekking in the wilderness of Himalayas, enjoying some colourful festival or in some obscure and nondescript place in the heartwarming company of a gracious host.
About Tale of 2 Backpackers – The Blog
When it started in 2014, the blog was all about randomly penning our thoughts and showcasing the Agni’s photography. And now, after years of experimentation, the blog has evolved into something much more.
The blog aims to give you useful information along with valuable tips and tricks to travel in India and around, both touristy and offbeat from an insider’s point of view.We share our travel experiences and the life lessons we achieved after travelling together for more than 15 years.
Along with all the serious tips, we also love to tell you untold stories about people and places and share with you our (mis)adventures on the road. After all, what is life without a bit of spice?
There has always been a debate whether it is possible to travel as much as we do while having a full time job. Well, Agni here has a full-time corporate job and I am a location independent digital nomad. Tale of 2 Backpackers, is thus, the best of both the worlds. Here you will get guide to be a digital nomad, as well as, tips to travel while having a full time job.
Through this blog, we aim to help you to travel smart with proper planning and budgeting. We believe that the cheapest way is not always the smartest way to travel and it is important to create an optimum balance between time, money and energy. And finally, learn from our travel mistakes.
Our Personal Travel Goals are, however, way simpler.
- To travel across all the continents with our Third World Passport. It might take a bit of time, but we are going to do it!
- Take beautiful pictures and make wonderful videos of the places we visit.
- To meet His Holiness Dalai Lama.
- Walk the Camino de Santiago.
- And so many more…..
Q. What kind of travellers are you?
We are neither hardcore backpackers nor luxury travellers. We are also not long-term nomads. As much as we love to wander around in the wide-open world, we also like the comfort of our snug home. So yes, we have a full-time job and we also find enough time to travel.
We have been travelling together for the last 12 years and gradually discovering the whole wide world. As much as we love to explore some offbeat villages in the Himalayas, we also would not miss visiting the Taj Mahal!
As for the choice of travel, we are as different as chalk and cheese. Agni loves mountains and nature and I am obsessed with history and heritage. And this becomes a topic of many of our heated discussions.
Q. How did you start your blog?
It was during Roopkund Trek in 2014 when one of our friends casually mentioned, “Why don’t you guys start a blog”? Once we were back to civilization, we researched about blogs and finally started our blog.
It was definitely not an easy road. The first couple of years were difficult. Hardly anyone read our blog. But we kept working hard. During the day we had our jobs and the evenings were dedicated to our blog. While I do most of the writing, Agni is the technical person behind the blog. It took some time to get there, but it was a remarkable journey.
Q. What is the blog about?
- Travel Guides and Tips about India and around that will help you to plan your trip.
- Unique Festivals and cultural insights.
- Ancient and medieval heritage of a place. After all, it is the route to know your roots.
- Ways and means to sustain yourself through travel blogging.
- Tips and ways to travel smart.
Hey! We’ve started vlogging! You can now follow our travel tales and adventures on YouTube as well.
She Writes. He Clicks
and the story goes on…
Agni
Flamboyant, creative and affable one, Agni can simply melt a heart with his smile. He loves to capture the beauty of nature, people and colours through his lenses and wants his photographs to tell stories.
He is a bit of perfectionist. Though it is a bit irritating at times, it is one of his best qualities in terms of photography and videography!
Agni is also a connoisseur of local cuisines. He simply loves his food and makes it a point to taste local cuisine and drinks wherever they visit. And he loves the mountains.
Amrita
Nerdy, moody and quirky with a head full of unmanageable curls, Amrita is always looking out for adventures. She is fascinated by mountains, heritage, architecture.
She looks for experiences while travelling and seeks personal connections with the people and culture. Amrita loves to write and has a weakness for books and dark chocolates.
She is terrible at Google Maps and often gets lost on the easiest roads. But with that, she finds a new place, a unique experience to explore.
Our Story
It doesn’t matter where you are going, it’s who you have beside you.
She said ‘Hi’ in 2003, ‘Yes’ in 2006 and finally they said, “I do” in 2011. And the rest, as they say, is history!
We first met at the University and it was a crazy ride thereafter.
Our first trip together was to Darjeeling. Our next trip was to Ooty where we travelled without taking any winter wear. The moment we got down from the bus, we were shivering in cold.
In short, we made a lot of wrong choices and plenty of travel mistakes. Missed flights, wrong dates, terrible plans – we did them all. And sometimes situations just go out of our control.
We had once got stuck in a riot in Jammu and Kashmir, something that was totally beyond our control. At the same time, we experienced some of the best hospitality in India at the same place.
A trek to Amarnath acted as the catalyst to transform us. We realized that life is meant to be lived by a compass and not by a clock!
Travel is not just about a relaxing holiday and ticking off the wish list. It means seeing the world with a new eye, experiencing culture and colours, trying out new food and meeting new people. It is about venturing into the unknown and pushing beyond your limits. Not losing our sense of wonder, travel has made us appreciate the little things of life. On the probability of sounding cheesy, travel has brought out the best in us.
In conclusion, it has been a lot of fun! And I am sure it will be greater in times to come.
Follow Our Journey
To follow our travel experiences and journey, you can follow us on any of these social media networks. We are mostly active on Instagram where we share our travel stories in form of photographs and stories.
We have also recently started our YouTube Channel. And it would mean a world to us if you subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get notified whenever there is a new travel video.
We also share our travel stories on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest as well.