In Conversation with Clueless Compass!
Meet Gautham and Thara, an amazing travel blogger couple from Kerala.
TRAVEL AND TELL NO ONE!
But why must you tell no one, when you’ve got tons of stories to share about all the amazing things you’ve done?
Travelling to your heart’s content is the greatest dream of many. A journey has different dimensions to it, and provides many perspectives to those seeking to bask in its beauty. From recreation, to necessity, to passion, to even simply something that kills boredom, the reasons for travelling are endless and diverse.
PaperKin is extremely delighted to have met with Mr. Gautham and Mrs. Thara, popularly known as the Clueless Compass, a travel blogger-couple with more than 22K fan followers on Instagram and other social media platforms. They have been voted as the No 1 travelling couple in Explorer Awards 2018, and have been featured on many leading media platforms!
Here are some snippets from our conversation with this amazing traveller couple!
1. Goutham and Thara, a passionate traveling couple from Kerala who chased their dreams of seeing all the beauty on this earth. How did it start, this unceasing travel?
We met in 2012, on Facebook! Both of us are avid cinema lovers. We struck a friendship online over discussions about films. Then the bond slowly grew strong as we discovered more and more of our interests and compatibilities. Our first trip together was to Kashmir when we were still dating! We went on a honeymoon to Rajasthan after our marriage. Two months later, we thought we would go abroad for another honeymoon, and that was it! It never stopped. After every trip, we wanted to see another place and soon travel became a part of our lives. We were not crazy about travel before we met each other. Of course, who wouldn’t want to travel? But travel never came into our discussions when we were dating. Most of our discussions were about cinema. Travel happened later. We have been travelling together for 5 years now.
2. Handling your career and passion with the same priority is something remarkable and something that most young people forget to do. How do you manage both?
We have written a detailed blog post on cluelesscompass.com about how to balance travel and work harmoniously. If you plan the trip schedule and holidays properly, it is very much possible to travel without disturbing your work to a large extent. What is important to realize is that your work is what enables you to travel and your travel rejuvenates you to be more productive at work. So both are equally important.
3. You’ve been to around 16 countries and have been voted as India’s No 1 travelling couple. Could you tell us one system that’s not there in India, that you think must be implemented here?
It is not about the system, but the mindset of the people. But we would say, waste management. Almost all the countries we have been to has better discipline & systems than India when it comes to keeping the surroundings clean.
4. Here comes the much-cliched question…YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE SO FAR?
Our most favourite place so far is Istanbul. We were there only for 5 days, yet it felt like we belong to that place. We explored the city completely on foot and therefore got familiar with the roads and streets. Istanbul is a cultural feast for travellers. The history, architecture, music and culture of this place will leave you awestruck. You can see a mix of European and Asian culture in the city. Also, Istanbul has a variety of cuisines that are finger-licking good. If there’s one place we want to go back again, that would be Istanbul.
5. Each time you travel, what makes you come back to Kerala? What do you think is unique to our country and state?
What makes us come back is the taste of Kerala. No country’s cuisine can beat the food back home. And maybe the monsoons, though the last two gave all of us a hard time.
6. There are a lot of people, especially women, who dream of travelling, but factors like family, security and fear stop them from even dreaming. What words do you have, for those who had to bury their passion?
What we would like to tell them is “never postpone your happiness”. World is a lot like your home town. If you are sensible and sensitive towards their culture and way of living, you can be at ease at a foreign country as much as you can at your hometown.
7. Supposing you were given a chance to be born somewhere else, which place would you guys choose?
What matters is not where we are born, but where all we choose to be. We choose to be in a different place on the globe every time we have the time and money for it.
8. What do you guys think was the greatest advantage for you to be able to conquer all your dreams of travelling?
The ‘bring it on’ attitude we share when it comes to a new adventure is our greatest advantage. Our confidence and the habit of planning is our biggest friend in travel. Also, we consider ourselves as the best team players.
9. Where is your next big stop?
Iran. The Persian adventure of Clueless Compass will begin in a few days!
