The more you travel, the more you realize how little of the world you’ve experienced; the world is filled with unexplored magical moments. Imagine crossing oceans and visiting the most terrific places across the globe, connecting with dozens of people with different visions, cultures and life experiences all while getting paid for it. This is exactly what Nomad Shubham does for a living.
A 22-year-old who has travelled to more places than the years he has lived, Shubham Kumar is a full-time traveller who posts his travel adventures on YouTube, gaining the love of over 2.5 million subscribers. He is known for his unique travel content. He aims to learn a tiny bit about each country’s unique cultural traits and tries to absorb their language for basic communication.
Most Indians are expected to follow a predefined path— complete your 10th board exams followed by your 12th board exams and then graduate (preferably with a medical or an engineering degree) and secure a well-paying job. People who deviate from this path are fearless and, dare we say, a bit rebellious. Let’s have a chat about someone who decided to bid farewell to an ordinary life.
The Beginning of the Journey
Originally from a small village in Bihar, Shubham moved to Patna to pursue his 12th board after securing 92% in his 10th board exams. Later, he moved to Kota to prepare for IIT, completing rigorous study sessions that lasted around 10 hours every day.
As someone who always wanted to travel but never had the right time to do so, he stumbled across a video called ‘How to travel the world with almost no money’, a video that was about to take him places, quite literally.
And with the thought “If this guy can do it, why can’t I?” revolving in his head, he got up, packed his bag, and travelled from Kota to Jodhpur, Jodhpur to Bikaner, and Bikaner to Jaisalmer back to Kota in the blink of an eye.
The thrill he experienced was irreplaceable and he knew that travelling was the only thing he was meant for. Almost an immediate decision followed this short trip with him leaving his institute without informing his parents, asking his friend to fake his attendance for a couple of months.
Several short trips followed this decision, and in no time, he ended up in Russia at the age of 17 years. Russia was the first foreign country he ever visited, and now he has been to Russia more than ten times.
The Love for Travelling
If you’re wondering how a 17-year-old guy from a small town who barely has a hold on life could have so much money to travel worldwide, we recommend you watch the video ‘How to travel the world with almost no money.’
At the beginning of his journey, he used to save up whatever money he earned by teaching mathematics online, all the pocket money that he received and spent it on travelling. He used to spend approximately 400 Rupees daily, including accommodation and visa expenses. How
Hitchhiking is the solution to these inexpensive travel adventures, where you travel by getting a free ride in someone else’s road vehicle. Shubham’s trip from India to South Africa was a planned hitch-hike. When talking about accommodation, he would directly ask for work in exchange for food and accommodation in hotels and hostels.
Couch-surfing, which is temporarily staying at other people’s homes, is another way Shubham manages to make his trips inexpensive. On his trip to Russia, a family offered him to live with them in exchange for work for 5 days, where he taught a little girl English!
Leaving engineering and travelling seemed like a daunting decision and wasn’t easy at all.
Shubham says in one of his videos.
He used to ponder over his future, worrying about travelling at the risk of giving up his graduation. But it all worked out pretty wonderfully in the end.
Shubham has been travelling for more than 5 years, has hitchhiked over 50,000 km and has visited over 58 countries including Spain, Russia, Serbia, Tanzania, Azerbaijan, China, Mongolia, South Africa, etc. gaining a whole lot of love and life with each country he steps foot in.
A human being filled with spontaneity and a zest for life, he’s making countless memories and wonderful experiences, one country at a time.
