From running off to the mountains of Himachal during college to running from the office to the mountains of Iceland, Anunay Sood has come a long way to become the young, popular Travel Photographer/Blogger he is known as today. With his mesmerizing photos accompanied with heart-warming and relatable stories of his travels, he’s managed to capture the heart of a massive Instagram audience. Let’s dive deeper into this adventurer’s adventures:
How did it all start?
I had always been very enchanted by the idea of seeing new places and learning the way other people lived. Even during college, I used to hop on a bus to anywhere, every opportunity I got. When I started working, I still couldn’t shake off the itch to travel so I did. Travel came first for me so I looked for jobs that would fund my travels as well as give me the freedom to travel whenever I wanted to. So here I am today, doing exactly that.
How do you earn?
I’ve always believed that you should earn for the goals you already have instead of creating goals based on how much you’re earning. I have a regular job at marketing, here in Dubai where I live, and I also do freelance growth hacking and photography assignments for brands and companies to supplement my earnings. I put 10-15% of it away as future savings, take out some as cost of living and everything else I save specifically for my travels.
How do you manage to juggle these jobs and travel as well?
A lot of times people say that it’s easy for me to travel because they think I have a lot of money but that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. It’s actually much harder because I have to give up on a lot of luxuries and social occasions to save for my trips. Plus freelance is practically a 24-hour job so I’m almost always working. Travelling is something I’m so passionate about from the bottom of my heart that I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I know I wouldn’t have been happy doing a high-paying secure 9-5 job with no freedom of vacation days. That’s what a lot of people don’t realize. If you love something, the struggle and also the gratification after the struggle is inevitable.
What do you think about the current travel culture?
The travel culture has changed dramatically since the rise of social media, both in good ways and bad. Traveling is relatively much more accessible and affordable and the whole concept is romanticized so much that it’s a very popular and well received activity now. But because of the huge boost in the travel industry, a lot of formerly quaint, culturally pure spots are being rapidly commercialized and exploited. This results in the place losing it’s authentic culture and charm and also takes a toll on the local environment and people.
Pollution and harm to the environment are big concerns these days and while I love and appreciate the travel community, I also always urge people to adopt clean, thoughtful and sustainable practices and be very respectful to people’s culture and environment.