Namaste, Hi, Hola, Hello, Kia Ora!
I’m Vaibhav Mehta – an Indian, actor, dancer, singer (my mom begs to differ on that one), traveller & now a steemy travel blogger who absolutely knows his shit. Not.
[That's me multitasking in life. In general.]
Born in Rajasthan & brought up in Hyderabad, I am an engineering graduate (usual route to doing anything else in India) who makes a living as a professional actor.
[Look at the non-engineering dreams in those graduating eyes]
Living multiple lives through different characters and entertaining people is what I enjoy doing, hence, the choice of being an actor.
I find people fascinating which is why though I like being alone (coz I love intelligent company), I like being surrounded by people too because they help me build characters for my roles, quench my thirst for new stories & teach me more to life than what a college or a university can.
I feel life's too short & precious to be spent just in one's home or an office cubicle.
The world has innumerable sights, experiences, memories that are waiting to happen and my selfish self just wants to be a part of all of them. And that's why I succumbed to the temptations of wanderlust.
WHY THIS NAME - "Wandering - Veggie"
I basically am a vegetarian who eats eggs & seafood (a pescatarian apparently). However, when I'm travelling abroad, I have this irresistible urge to scout for & eat vegetarian food and since I'd taken to travelling like fish to water, I became drum-rolls - Wandering Veggie
I go by the name The Wandering Vegetable (my instagram and blog) but then Steemit told me to limit my username powers and I was like..
I was working as an actor in Dubai playing the male lead in a Broadway-style Bollywood dance musical called Jaan-e-Jigar staged at Bollywood Parks, Dubai Parks & Resorts. Just incase you want to see the scale and grandeur of the show, WATCH THIS -
(entry's at 0:36 wink wink)
All was hunky dory. It'd been a year where I had worked my ass off each day and had not taken a single leave at work performing shows regularly, entertaining the hordes of people that would turn up to witness Bollywood in all it's glory.
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[Clicked before performing the 100th show of JeJ, the wig doesn't look too bad on me, does it?]
HOW & WHY DID I BECOME A TRAVELLER?
It was the same show that we performed day in & day out. I can't pinpoint a particular reason but I guess the amalgamation of exhaustion, monotony of work & getting bored of people around me triggered something in me that had to be addressed. I wasn't enjoying my work. I felt jaded and needed an injection of freshness.
It was the need to feel rejuvenated- just a break to recharge my batteries & give me a new perspective not just at work but at life.
So I packed my bags and did my first solo self-funded trip to Spain in April, 2017 & the rest as they say is history!
[Having the time of my life in a secret island in Mallorca, Spain]
I'd returned to work only to feel energised, content & happy with myself. I was a goofball of energy ready to take on anything & everything. Infact besides acting in the musical, I'd started hosting a dance reality show called Bollywood Parks Dance Off & the positivity that I carried from my travels even rubbed onto my hosting.
Ever since the travel bug bit me, I have continued this balancing act between acting and travelling. I'd finally found out one love that could nourish another (acting) & that was - Travelling.
[Tasting wanderlust in Mtskheta, Georgia]
THINGS I GAINED FROM TRAVEL
[Spending time with elders I could not afford to purchase from a souvenir store in Baku, Azerbaijan]
It made me a different person. A better person. I fell head over luggage in love with travelling. The smell of an immigration stamp on my passport page felt like limited edition perfume to me.
All I knew was that there were 195 countries on the planet and that I'd rather see them than die wondering.
[Soaking in the breeze at the top of surreal looking Christchurch in New Zealand]
The whole idea of waking up in a different country, heading out exploring unknown places not knowing where I'd go next, meeting strangers, experimenting with food, experiencing foreign culture, collecting memories; appealed to me.
Such is the situation now that the moment I'm sitting on a flight to one country, I'm already planning a holiday to another.
[Broadcasting the live episode of The Humping Bachelorette with my friends in Kandy, Sri Lanka]
I started a travel page the_wandering_vegetable on Instagram on the 3rd of December, 2017 and haven't looked back since. Seeing the immense love & support from people for my work, I felt the need to give back the love by sharing my travel stories & experiences. So I decided to be a travel blogger
When I lived my travel dream in Maldives
GOALS
I've always believed in the power of collective success, so I hope here at this amazing new platform of Steemit, I inspire you, get inspired by you and we create something so beautiful that it encourages others from the community to travel too.
My aim's to travel to as many countries on this planet that I can and host a travel show.
So a huge shoutout to @hungryhustle for bringing me on this platform and A big bear hug to the people who support this dream and want to build something together. And to the haters, I'd just like to..
Make no mistake, it'd be great if this platform can help me sustain my travels in the future, but the underlying reason for creating this account remains - my eternal love for travel.
As Jack Kerouac rightly said -
"Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain"