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This week we catch up with our audio production assistant Shalini Kulkarni, who has been on the road backpacking in South America since July of 2017. Shalini knew she wanted to do a longer term trip since graduating university, and decided the time was right when she finished paying off her student loan after working for a few years. Paring down an initially ambitious travel plan, Shalini landed in Cartagena and has been having a great time learning the travel ropes (and Spanish!) and getting comfortable in South America, allowing some of the initial cautiousness she arrived with to relax.

Working for a few years before taking off has allowed Shalini to put some of her trip saving towards developing new hobbies, like a new love for trekking in Peru which has led to her visiting some great lesser known places like the Inca site of Choquequirao and the Guaviare region in Colombia. In addition, Shalini took some measures before the trip that allowed her to save a little extra like downsizing her apartment and getting an travel points credit card which is now allowing her to fly to Asia for only the taxes. On this episode we talk to Shalini about some of the other things she did to budget for her trip before she left, how her travel expectations have lived up to the reality of her day to day travel, some of her trip highlights so far and more.

Enjoy!

What we talk about in this episode:

• The inspiration behind Shalini’s decision to embark on a big backpacking trip through South America and South East Asia
• The positive reaction of her family and friends at the news of her taking off for the trip, and her surprise at even her boss encouraging her to travel long term
• How she decided to start her trip in South America after needing to pare back an initially super ambitious travel plan, and how it can be tricky settling on how many destinations you can squeeze into a trip
• Her experience landing in Cartagena, Colombia on the first day of her trip and not knowing what to expect, and how it’s natural for some initial overcautiousness to relax once you get the feel for a place
• It still pays to be prepared and take certain precautions to try and avoid problematic situations like Amanda and Ryan’s friends experienced in Arequipa a few years ago
• Some of the differences Shalini found in her experience traveling through South America versus what she was expecting, like learning how to appreciate downtime and that she needed to make language learning a priority to connect with locals and help get what she wanted out of her trip
• Her appreciation for starting in a place where she needed to start learning Spanish right away to talk to the people she was meeting, as opposed to starting in a more touristy area of the continent where she would have been able to get away with speaking only English for a while
• How sometimes being an English speaker can hinder your ability to practice the foreign language because locals will switch to English once they identify your accent
• Her experience as a solo female traveler feeling relatively safe everywhere she’s been, the relative ease with which it’s possible to meet people as a solo traveler, and learning how to trust her gut and say no to experiences she doesn’t feel comfortable with
• Her advice to travelers sitting on the fence about taking a big trip (Just do it!)
• Some of her trip highlights so far including Medellin and Jardin, Colombia, Mindo and the Ecuadorian coast, and developing a hobby for trekking in Peru
• How her new love for trekking is causing her to revise her itinerary in Bolivia and going forward
• How meeting other travelers who have visited places in Canada she’s never been has caused her to realize she needs to prioritize seeing more of Canada
• Experiencing ups and downs as part of normal travel days and finding a balance between fast and slow travel
• How she decided on her travel route through South America, including adding Colombia to her list last minute because of Narcos, but nixing some sightseeing she was planning to do after experiencing the hopeful vibe of Medellin now
• Some of the lesser known places she’s visited and recommends like Choquequirao and Huaraz in Peru, Mompiche in Ecuador, and the region of Guaviare in Colombia
• How where she decides to go day to day is based on some pre-trip research using primarily travel blogs and recommendations from travelers she meets along the way
• Her experience traveling South America as a vegan, how she’s found it’s easier than she thought it was going to be, and how there are incredible vegan restaurants in most cities around the world
• Amanda and Ryan’s experience with a less than ideal Colca Canyon tour compared to Shalini’s great experience with the trek, but her close encounter with a tarantula in Cuyabeno, Ecuador
• Some of the steps Shalini took before she left to budget for the trip and save money, including opening up an airline points card, moving into a smaller place (and later back in with her parents), hosting a few garage sales and having mostly nights in with her friends
• How although she is backpacking, because she was working for a few years before her trip she is able to be a bit freer with her budget and enjoy some little luxuries along the way
• How sometimes spending the extra money is worth the delicious restaurants or new experiences and hobbies you can pick up along the way, like the money she spent on multiple treks in the south of Peru
• Where she’s heading next in South America and Asia, planning day to day, and her future plans now that she’s hooked on travel

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Music Credits:

www.bensound.com