Interview: Anshul and Uditi of Stamp That Passport

For our first interview series on People of the World, we are sitting down (virtually) with Anshul and Uditi of Stamp That Passport, a travel and lifestyle blog. We absolutely loved their style, way of living and values. Some of it is exactly how we feel and we felt connected to them on many levels.

Here’s what they had to say about their life and blog.

Hi Anshul and Uditi, it was seemingly fated that we came across your blog. Please share with us the story behind it. How did Stamp That Passport begin? What was the inspiration behind it?

Anshul and I are really passionate about exploring new places, especially going on road trips. We never wasted an opportunity to travel even before our marriage. We needed a blog space where we can express our trips in a more personal way and that’s how we came up with Stamp That Passport. Living in more that 10 different cities gave us enough opportunities and experiences to explore India and her varied culture very closely. Through Stamp That Passport, we try to share those experiences with our audience.

It was one January night when we returned Mumbai that we decided to start this travel inspired blog. We did some research on travel blogs, put together a few matter and Voila! We haven’t been able to stop since. Stamp That Passport became another reason for us to pack our bags and storm out of our door.

How would you define your blog? What style is it? And what is your style of travel?

Stamp That Passport is our travel inspired blog where we pen down our experiences from our latest trips. It’s got photostories, blog posts, and some really amazing itineraries to follow. We love interacting with our readers and hear their travel stories. But this is not where we stop. We are constantly trying to come up with something new for our readers. If you got any ideas, do let us know! 🙂

As the name suggests, Stamp That Passport is mainly a travel driven blog at the moment. However, we do have a few eclectic ideas that we are working on.

We don’t really have a style of traveling but we do prefer road trips if we get a chance. We love to drive around the landscapes and make pitstops at our will so that we can take more experiences. We also try to explore every city in a local way. We interact with the natives and eat at local food joints to understand more about a city.

Let’s get a bit personal now. Tell us about how you met and how travel has changed you two as individuals and a couple.

Anshul and I have been schoolmates and we’ve been dating for eons. We realized each other’s passion for traveling when we went away for weekends near Pune. Pune being a sub-metro dwells in the glorious Western Ghats and there are a countless number of places to visit in-and-around Pune, especially during monsoons.

Being married to someone who shares the same interest as you, an interest that goes beyond passionate, you find it easy to cope up with your passion. We made countless trips during the first year of our marriage and have only been adding more destinations to the list. To draw up our experiences into something meaningful we came up with Stamp That Passport one day.

After reading your post on “Breaking the fad: you don’t have to quit your job to travel”, we realized we have a lot in common. Tell us a little about it.

We haven’t spent much time in the travel blogging industry yet but after getting accustomed to some fellow bloggers and a few established, we realized how people are following this fad without actually giving a chance to the other front. Anshul and I have been traveling together for more than 5 years now and never have we ever felt the need to quit our jobs to make travel happen. We have always managed to make both ends meet and it has always worked out fine for us. We don’t call ourselves luxury travelers but living in an over-water villa does sound appealing to us.

Does the fad bother you?

No, it doesn’t. Quitting a job to travel is somebody’s choice of lifestyle and we have no intention to judge them. We just don’t feel that this is the ultimate deal for us.

How do you manage to earn, save and travel with the jobs?

We have regular jobs and have also taken up a few internships and freelancing work to earn more. We try to save to our last penny and travel as soon as we get an opportunity. We never let any holiday go waste and try to take our friends and family along.

Can you share some expert tips for people in the same situation as you and want to travel more.

We wouldn’t advise them to make a big deal out of this “people quitting their job” fad. You can travel do that with your jobs as well, you only need a little planning . Be on the lookout for hotel and flight discounts and own a credit card that earns you plenty of reward points. Let’s be honest; knowing when your next paycheck is coming does give you a mental security.

What do you think of travel snobs? You know the people who tell others that “this is the right way to travel” or “oh you travel luxury? You’re not a real traveler”.

We don’t bother ourselves from such snobs. We believe that traveling is supposed to be a new experience in which you always learn something new and you should always do it at your own will and pace. We want to comfortable in the way we travel not be directed by others. We do, however, welcome guidance and advice.

Last question, where is your next big trip?

Aah! We always love this question. We’re planning a small road trip in Himachal, which we call home, in mid-October and then a trip to Sri Lanka and Pondicherry near January.

What a great couple and super inspirational to us all. We hope to one day meet them, have a drink and indulge in good conversations.

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