Meet Archana Syngh

“Con teeeeeeeee partirooooooooooooooooooo!” (“Time to say Goodbyeeee!”) Good morning Britalians TV viewers!

That’s right, once again today, to the notes of this beautiful song by Marc…Andrea Bocelli, our two Britalian lovebirds Marco and Erica are virtually taking you to the very hot country of India- New Delhi, to introduce us to a travel blogger who has visited over sixty countries in the world, Archana Singh.

The florality of Erica’s and our guest Archana’s dresses prevails over the vertical blue and white stripes of Marco’s shirt. The extra touch, however, that unites flowers and geometry is sympathy: they want to put a big smile on your face! Yes, yours, you look at them!

Archana is not originally from New Delhi, she has been living there for 10-15 years. Her dad works in the army, so every three years he had to move. So now her permanent address is New Delhi.

But she can’t wait to get out of quarantine and get back to travelling, which has become her profession.

We are therefore honoured to have with us a true citizen of the world, who not only has travelled to sixty countries but also founded the blog Travel See Write. She has been, as Erica recalls, the top female traveller, top blogger, no top-less (Marco) and has been sponsored by BBC, NatGeo, Lonely Planet, Times of India.

Erica: What is the best experience you have had, the best trip?

It’s hard for Archana to say, every trip has been a memorable experience, full of memories. But she especially likes cold places, and she really carries with her the memory of the trip to Sweden where she was able to hike with reindeers: something extraordinary!

So to live with indigenous tribes of reindeer herders, to hike between Norway and Sweden, to pick berries during the hike and to prepare dinner with them, was exceptional!

Marco is always afraid of our guests being alone, not having a partner, travelling alone…

Archana travels alone, and on the way she always finds plenty of companions and makes lots of friends.

She doesn’t have a husband waiting for her at home, nor does she find casual partners on the road: she has always been single and loves to travel alone, to talk to the locals, she is always ready to socialise but without the commitment to something permanent.

When questioned by Marco, she admits that she does not believe in marriage to the extent that it is seen as a series of tags, rules to be respected, she prefers something with less commitment.

Erica: what is your ideal travelling companion like?

He must be fun-loving, not boring at all. He must be sarcastic but also intelligent because sarcasm comes from intelligence… a bit like Marco! Let’s get on with it!

And above all honest, who likes to take on challenges, because he believes in himself and for this reason he will certainly be able to overcome them.

When travelling Archana brings the essentials: a few clothes, a few shoes, little make-up (again, the essentials of washing your face, brushing teeth, protecting yourself from the sun and lipstick to look good), and lots of cameras.

In particular, she takes with her a camera with two to three lenses and her phone (with a spare one in case of unforeseen events) and finally her GoPro. And to support these of course lots of extra batteries.

Marco asks: What is the biggest mistake made while travelling?

Archana usually loses a gadget every trip she takes. She forgot her camera twice. So much so that her friends often tease her jokingly!

Archana loves dogs, she likes loyalty. 

On her travels, she still remembers the Swedish reindeer in particular, who would take her backpack and run very fast. But also the monkeys, who, according to Archana, love sunglasses more than bananas.

Marco: Are you a saver or a spender?

Archana feels halfway through. She saves, but is not too fussy either. For example, she prefers not to spend too much on drinks, clothes etc. and instead invests in gadgets and travel. This is also due to a constant of the Indian culture of temperament in spending and especially in this context of Coronavirus.

But serious savings Marco, not 10 pounds and a few pennies under the bed!

During her quarantine as a good blogger Archana interacts with very interesting people, she likes Instagram, to stay positive and share experiences and stories of people you have never interacted with, but who are curious and interesting.

She then writes to her old clients asking how their business went. He has many projects, for example on how to respond to climate change by raising awareness about recycling, reducing plastic use, changing one’s lifestyle, especially in India.

In this period of “pause” she has been thinking about how she will take his next photographs and she thinks that she will not be in front of the camera except as a small subject, and will often position herself behind it to emphasise the photo itself. And this emphasis on the landscape also goes hand in hand with giving value to travel stories, which she tells in interviews with people she does on her own show.

After the lockdown, Archana will rush to her favourite restaurant to eat good food, Italian food! No more Indian food, which she’s tired of eating, and better street food. And maybe she’ll take Marco’s advice: she’ll go there with someone who’ll pay for her lunch!

Marco: We want to call you back on this show so you can tell us more stories, if you’ve been in jail or caught by the police or in some kind of trouble!

Of course, Marco exaggerates, but every time Archana has been involved in some kind of trouble. Apart from the fact that every time she loses things or even gets lost herself, she tells us about the adventure of her journey from Zagreb to Serbia, which turned from tragedy into one of the most beautiful experiences she has ever had.

Travelling on a night train from Croatia to Serbia, she preferred not to sleep to check her things, except for half an hour. When she woke up with all her things in place, she went to catch the bus and realised that all the money (4,000) in her notebook was gone. In despair, she found a woman at her hotel who understood her and wanted to show her the true face of Serbia. So she showed her around and she had one of her most beautiful experiences!

It was really great to hear, as Marco said, about the travels and troubles of this young blogger, especially the fact that she is a woman travelling alone, a citizen of the world.

An episode not to be missed, also because at the end of it all you can see Erica preparing for her adventure, carrying a special backpack on her shoulders, wondering which backpack is?

Watch the episode airing now on Britalians TV.