https://www.scmp.com/rss/517598/feed Avantika is a travel blogger and freelance journalist in India who writes about the great outdoors and travel. She has been published in National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel + Leisure and others. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Upon exiting Port Blair airport in India’s Andaman Islands I am met with a stream of cabbies offering to take me to the ferry for Havelock or Neil, the archipelago’s two most popular tourist islands. When I ask to be taken to the Port Blair bus station instead, my driver is confused, eyeing my obvious tourist get-up. He is intrigued when I tell him: “I am going to Mayabunder.” As if the Andaman Islands – an archipelago of around 200 Indian islands geographically closer to Thailand and Myanmar... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3275465/homestay-indias-andaman-islands-aims-keep-karen-peoples-heritage-alive-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3275465/homestay-indias-andaman-islands-aims-keep-karen-peoples-heritage-alive-tourism?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Aug 2024 05:15:10 +0000 I was 18 years old when I first travelled independently: a short camping trip to Parashar Lake, in Himachal Pradesh, India. At first, finding myself alone more frequently than I had foreseen, I was disappointed – many solo female travellers on Instagram raved about their experiences, after all. So, like any other oversharing teenager on the internet, I took to social media to rant. And that is when a stranger popped into my DMs to tell me about Couchsurfing, which offers introductions to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252631/how-women-travellers-facebook-group-host-sister-offers-members-safe-place-stay-and-introduces-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3252631/how-women-travellers-facebook-group-host-sister-offers-members-safe-place-stay-and-introduces-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Feb 2024 07:15:11 +0000