The ultimate couple-thing to do: Sell everything you own to travel the world together 

There are young couples who give us goals and then there are those who redefine them. Here's a couple who sold everything to travel the world together
Twenty nine-year-old Ruchika Shankar and 30-year-old Avinasha Shashtry have travelled across seven countries so far
Twenty nine-year-old Ruchika Shankar and 30-year-old Avinasha Shashtry have travelled across seven countries so far

Twenty nine-year-old Ruchika Shankar and 30-year-old Avinasha Shashtry’s story is straight out of a movie. They first met through common friends when Avinasha was just out of the airport from his Nepal trip and Ruchika was planning her trip to Malaysia. Their first conversation was about travelling. Little did they know that they would be sharing these stories for life. Now that we've had our 'aww' moment, let's find out why this couple is redefining goals. 

Ruchika and Avinasha left their full-time, fat-cheque jobs and sold everything they owned to travel the world together. Making us a tad jealous, Ruchika tells us how they decided to let it all go, quite literally. "I am from Delhi and my husband is from Bengaluru. After our wedding in 2016, we were living in Bengaluru and were taking sporadic vacations," she begins. Obviously, that wasn't enough for the travel junkies and one day, following a simple conversation, they decided to sell everything to live a fulfilled life. 

"We consciously saved up a bit of money for two years. We didn't spend much on our house, cars, furniture or even our wedding. We just called our parents and a few of our closest friends, walked down to the registrar's office and got married. We bought minimal furniture and kept our expenses down to the bare minimum. All this so that we could easily give it all up and travel full-time. And we did, in November 2016," narrates Ruchika.

My favourite place would be exploring the ruins of Angkor. We’ve read about it and heard other people’s stories several times, but there’s nothing like waking up at 3 am and watching the sunrise over the magnificent ruins. We decided to spend a month in Siem Reap, Cambodia living close to the ruins and witnessing the beauty as many times as we wished. And seeing it during the rains was an absolute spectacle

Ruchika Shankar, traveller

The deposit for the apartment along with some of her savings, which rounded up to about ₹3 lakh, helped them take the first leap. Their travels were further supported by freelance jobs. "My husband is a freelance software consultant and I am a freealnce writer and social media consultant. We also run a successful travel blog called Second Breakfast where we share our travels and experiences. We also work with tourism boards and several travel and lifestyle brands in the capacity of professional travel bloggers," she says.

With their determined love to travel and explore, the couple has travelled to seven countries — Nepal, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia. While their favourite country is Vietnam, Ruchika confesses that they met the best people in Taiwan. "I love long drives, so my favourite experience would be the long road trip in southern Vietnam. We drove along the coast for miles with swaying palm trees along the pristine countryside, lush green fields, and then up to the mountains among fragrant coffee plantations and waterfalls. It was an epic road trip," says a shy Avinasha, who steps in to narrate his experience. 

While this does seem like the perfect 'happy-go-lucky' life, it does not mean that it is without its own set of challenges. While irregular incomes can scrap some travel plans, staying fit and eating healthy is another challenge that the couple encounters. "There is so much delicious local food to explore. This completely throws your diet off track. But this year, we are going to fix this," she promises herself.

Keeping the promise: The couple met at the airport and after dating for a few months, decided to travel together



Fortunately, this couple did not pack their bags without a plan. Their planning started two years before they set out to explore the world. "We spent a lot of time building connections and relationships that would give us freelance work. We've ensured that we have enough savings put aside for emergencies and we never let each other slack off with work," says Ruchika, revealing some of their travel secrets and adding that this was the best decision she ever made. "If you really want something, make it your priority. Follow your dreams relentlessly and tune out all the negativity. And also understand that you don’t have to live your life according to society’s textbook; live your life how you want to," she advices. 

And the couple did relentlessly follow their dreams. From convincing their parents, who believed that they would quickly get bored of the tours and the trips, to making a budget that would last — the couple is truly living the dream. And they intend to continue doing so with their next plan to cover North America and then explore South America. "Our Facebook and Instagram community is growing and we plan to make over 100 videos this year and collaborate with companies to create content that helps our audience get the most out of their travels. We want to inspire more people to find jobs like us and travel indefinitely," Ruchika concludes. 

Reach out: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=second%20breakfast

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