Meet the Travel Blogger and Youtuber - Tharsh

Hey readers, 
Welcome back to The Daily Sunlight Interview Series!
I know we all miss traveling and wish that we could leave everything right now and just go on a nice vacation. Let's hope that we can do that soon. In the meantime, we can only imagine ourselves doing that. Or, if you are really hopeful, you can actually start planning your travels. Tharsh is a blogger and a Youtuber who shares his travel experiences and has great tips for you as well. If you need ideas of where to travel next, do check out his YouTube channel and his blog: The Journal of An Explorer. Oh, and here's a fun fact: Tharsh has visited 27 countries, how amazing is that? 

To start off this interview, tell us a little about yourself.

Hi, my name is Tharsh and I’m 25 years old. I am ethnically Eelam Tamil, but was born in London, and I continue to live there to this day. I started travelling when I was in university. In my second year I finished my exams a week before all my mates, so I decided to take a mini trip through Europe by myself and I immediately caught the travelling bug and have been travelling whenever I can to this day. I’ve been to 27 countries so far, and my aim is to go to at least 100 countries so that I can say that I’ve been to half the countries in the world. 

What is one thing you always bring with you while traveling?

Call me a millennial, but I always take my camera with me. By no means am I a professional photographer, but I’ve always enjoyed taking scenic photos of all the places I’ve visited, and I would love to create some kind of scrapbook one day. 

Do you have any stories that you would like to share about any of your experiences while traveling?

I went to Switzerland a few years ago by myself, and as a part of my trip, I took a day trip into Chamonix, which is a mountain town in the Alps. It’s also the closest town to the Mont Blanc, there’s a cable car that takes you right into the heart of the Alps. Whilst on this day trip, I made friends with a traveler from Australia, and it was just so great getting to know him, and we still keep in touch even though I haven’t seen him since that day. This experience really showed me that there is no harm in talking to new people and that there are lovely people all around the world. 

Do you think that the pandemic will conflict with your future traveling plans? Do you think it is going to be more difficult for you to travel in the future with Covid-19?

Initially I was hoping the pandemic would be over in a few months, but the fact that it has dragged on for so long and has caused devastation across the world has meant that travelling seems like a very foreign concept at the moment. I’m secretly hoping I may be able to fly away towards the end of this year, but the way things are going I won't be surprised if I’m not able to fly abroad until 2022. It is frustrating as I’m in my mid 20s, and this is probably the best time of my life for me to be travelling, however in the grand scheme of things people have lost so much in this pandemic and therefore I can’t really complain about not being able to travel. 

You have a great selection of postcard collection, when did you first start collecting them?

Thank you! I think around 2015? I’ve always wanted to buy some kind of souvenir on every trip i go - but there’s a limit to how many key rings you can have! So I decided to collect postcards, they're usually very cheap and you can find them all over the world! 

What is something interesting you have learned that stays with you?

I think not judge people based on what other people have said. Before I went to Barbados, my family told me to be very careful (according to them people from the Caribbean aren’t trustworthy) - however this couldn’t have been further from truth, everyone I met on my trip was lovely and was always willing to help out. 

Your Instagram is filled with beautiful photos. I see a balance of both mountains & beaches. Do you think you are more of a mountain or a beach type of person? Why?

I’m definitely a mountain person, they’re just so beautiful and majestic. Honestly one of the wonders of nature, and being a bit of a geography geek, I just love them and would 100% always visit a mountain over a beach. Beaches can be relaxing, but they’re quite similar wherever you can go and usually get bored very easily. 

After reading your blog, I can see that Iceland has a piece of your heart and you wish to return there to see the northern lights, have you ever visited a country more than once?

Yes! Being of Tamil ethnicity, means that I have family all over the world, as a result I think I’ve visited France at least 15 times? Also been to Canada a few times, and the same with other countries in Europe. 

Have you had any bad experiences while traveling?

No, not really.. I’ve been quite lucky to be honest! The worst that’s ever happened to me is that I lost my driving license whilst clubbing in Barcelona and almost lost my phone on the way to the airport in Barbados - but other than that it's all been fairly good experiences so far! 

Do you always plan out everything beforehand or do you sometimes let life surprise you?

I like to plan everything in advance, it’s often cheaper (as you can book things in advance) and also a more efficient use of time! On occasions where i haven’t really planned anything, I often find I waste a lot of time working on what to do, and then whatever I do tends to not be that great. 

Where do you plan to travel next?

So last year I turned 25 and my sister turned 21 in the same month, we were planning to go on a family holiday to Dubai to celebrate the occasion, however Covid laid waste to those plans. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we might be able to go this year!

What’s one travel tip you’d recommend highly to anyone planning their next trip given the current situation of Covid-19? 

I haven’t really been travelling during Covid, so I don’t know if I can really offer any insightful advice. But one thing I would recommend is that people be flexible; Covid-19 is an ever-moving threat, and situations can change quite dramatically. I highly recommend booking tickets/hotels that come with free cancellations or amendments, it will save a lot of hassle! 

Is there anything you would like to add or share in this interview?

I would love it if your readers could check out my YouTube channel! Unfortunately, most of my content is UK based due to the pandemic, but I’m hoping I'll be able to make some international content soon!

Thank you so much, Tharsh, for taking the time to answer my questions and let our readers know you in a more personal level. I hope that once it is safe out there, you can get back to your traveling journey. I loved reading your blog posts and hopefully we will get to read more posts in the near future. I am also very excited to see more of your YouTube videos. Stay safe! 
Readers, if you haven't seen his latest video, you can check it out by clicking the link below: Exploring Surrey | Frensham Pond


Here are Tharsh's social media links, do show some love!
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUEuf-PFF9OBiw9_n6snzCABlog: https://thejournalofanexplorer.home.blog/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejournalofanexplorer/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tharshbala


Readers, where have you traveled last and where are you planning on traveling next when you feel safe? Let me know in the comments! 

~Thank you so much for reading & happy blogging ~