Ankita Sinha - anki on the move

Ankita is a female (solo) traveler from India who is currently covering different aspects of Milwaukee, America. Ankita quit her IT job to explore places & before she knew it, she was on a path of travel. Read about her adventurous life at anki on the move.

We caught up with Ankita to get know her a little better, about her travel diaries, on how she started a travel blog.

Can you tell us when and how did the travel bug bite you?

It’s been now almost 4 years that travel bug has happily infected me and I’d love it to stay.It all started when I went on an All India Road Trip with my brother covering 8500+ kilometers in 18 days.There after the journey has been a roller coaster covering 18 countries.
Four years back I quit my IT job out of sheer boredom to explore places, worked in travel and adventure firms and before I knew it I was on a path of travel.I started very small writing and vlogging mainly about Bangalore initially and then moved to different states and countries.

And how do you fund your travel ?(savings/work whilst traveling/other)

I wish travel comes for free. But as the real world would have it, we need to have sufficient funds to travel. Before I had quit my IT job, I had savings of about six months which helped me fund my further travel for a while. Thereafter when I joined subsequent adventure firms, I started earning on the camp basis and hence a part of my travel got funded. As my blog grew popular, I was mainly sponsored by the Tourism Boards and the Brands. I took part in various contests and won some and that’s how so far travel is going on smoothly. I do earn by various collaborations with brands. However they haven’t been significant contributor to my travel fund as of now.

How long have you been documenting your travel stories ?

I have been documenting my stories and travel vlogs for almost four years now. Anki on the move is about regularly exploring travel destinations and bringing experiences to aspiring travelers and a large community of travel enthusiasts through travel videos, conversational write up, adventure sports, fashion and experiences.

Can you share with us, that one travel memory that you cherish till date ?

There are so many that one travel memory would be unfair. However,my fondest would be the All India Road Trip. The journey took us to many states in India and the transition from one state to another was exceptionally beautiful. There have been many memories thereafter but this remains close to the heart since it was the first trip.

Have you been to any place, which turned out to be totally different to how you had imagined? If so, how?

That would definitely be Oman and Israel. Oman because you wouldn’t have had anticipated the adventure Oman can give you from watching 100 dolphins in the sea to jumping in the sinkhole to going offroading in the wadis. Oman took me by more than a surprise. Israel too was surprising for what I had thought out to be. While Tel Aviv is a fairly open minded all time party place, Jerusalem has biblical world in it. The contrast in two places was beyond my imagination.

Your preferred travel companions?

There have been times when I have traveled alone and I loved it. But the most preferred travel companion would be my family who is ready to pack their bags and go anytime anywhere. However, in the recent years that I traveled, I have realized the travel bloggers traveling together makes effortless company. The ones that I had great time are Sankara from Be On The Road, Siddharth from Sid – The Wanderer, Nisha from lemonicks and Srinidhi from enidhi. I wish I could travel with them and more often.

Do you have a bucket list? If so what is the first item?

Iceland tops on the top of my bucket list. Haven’t been there but would love to wander around geysers, hot springs, waterfalls and glaciers.

Your views & experiences (if any) on safety while travelling on your own.

Travelling alone is a mix of an elated self confidence while being cautious and making the right decisions trusting your gut feeling. When you are on your own you are solely responsible for everything. When I travel alone, I take good experiences as a story and bad experiences as lessons. The safety factor for most women is to not intimate someone too much rather maintain a distance and still enjoy the experience. The basics go a long way in every country i.e checking the hotel door locked properly, getting hint if someone is following you or is been lecherous and ignoring them or to go to a crowded place if feeling unsafe, to not wander alone in the middle of the night to any place you ain’t aware of. I think the best way to travel alone is to live in hostels, make new friends and travel along.

We all know that travel teaches us a great deal of things about life. Can you share with us what has travel taught you ?

I am still on a learning curve as most others but travel teaches you to let loose of control and worries because even if we had planned the most things go as they are supposed to. That’s why I semi-plan places – I know what places to go but I choose people and hostel mates to guide me what may be more at a place.

Travel teaches you to be more open minded and tolerant towards different cultures. Travel also teaches you that even if we may be different people from different countries, we are all one – enjoying life, celebrating festivals and respecting each other. Travel is a lesson more than any classroom and I am happy to have learnt the little basics that’s helps me in my life.

Is there anything you do on your travels or in your every day life to try to minimize your impact on the environment?

When I travel, I make sure that the garbage that I have goes into my backpack than the litter on the place and until I find the waste bin, I don’t throw it. I find it weird when people don’t feel irresponsible for making the place different than what once was.

Please share with us, your message to aspiring women travelers?

The world is your oyster and instead of dreaming about and waiting for someone to take you to places, be brave and travel.The world is more inviting than you have ever had known it to be.

We asked Ankita to give a one word substitute on few travel related questions.

1. If some one asked you to give up travel and choose exactly one thing to do in life, what would you choose?

Modelling

2. A fictional character would you most like to meet or travel with ?

Uncle Scrooge

3. One Dream Destination?

Antartica

4. Your most preferred way of travelling (Backpacking/Economy/Luxury)?

Backpacking

5. What describes you as a travel style as a woman, the best? Nomad / Diva / Aam Aadmi

Aam Aadmi

6. A traveler who inspires you

Neha Dixit from NDTV

You can follow Ankita on the below platforms

Facebook – Anki On The Move
Twitter – @ankionthemove
Instagram – @ankionthemove
Pinterest – Anki On The Move