‘I believe that when you go to a place you need to  give something back’ - Rutavi Mehta

“My first solo trip was when I was 16 years old, and going to Kolhapur. I travelled in a regular ST bus. I remember changing buses, as well. I never thought it as a solo travel or anything like that; these terms are new. I distinctly remember -in that trip- meeting a woman who was riding a bike. She was wearing the traditional Maharashtrian attire and was riding a Rajdoot. She was actually around 70 years old! We got chatting and she was telling me about the time she had done a road trip on a bike with her husband and the idea just stuck,” says Rutavi Mehta, international travel blogger, solo adventurer and social media evangelist.

Hotelier to Biker and Solo Traveler

Over the years, Rutavi has donned several hats of a hotelier, sales and marketing executive, social media strategist and internet marketer. But if there was one thing that has been a constant, it’s her love and passion for travelling. “The first skill that I learnt and practised was photography. I soon took up a project with Royal Enfield. It was during this time I learnt how to ride a bike. I was fresh at that point in time, and simply couldn’t understand the concept of a rider with a camera. After understanding the conceptual difference between a rider and a biker, I wanted to ride a bike from a photographer’s perspective,” says Rutavi.

Soon, she joined Urvashi Patole and was a part of The Bikerni. “It was through Internet marketing I heard of Bikerni and started learning that style,” says Rutavi. All this was happening when Rutavi was a part of the hotel industry. It was during this time she decided to start something of her own.”I quit and went to Qatar to meet my sister. It was a good decision, because, here, I was exposed a lot more to travel and tourism. I made my first pitch to Qatar Tourism. I took marketing and social media together for a travel project with them. The pitch was on ‘I Love Qatar’. That was my first individual assignment,” says Rutavi.

After this, like they say, there was no looking back. Rutavi went ahead to work with several tourism boards, developing several concepts and ideas with them. “I’ve worked heavily in the travel and social media space. One such project was the ‘Kerala Blog Express.’ 25 bloggers across the world were taken around Kerala and they wrote their experiences in each place,” says Rutavi.

Travel the Responsible Way

Talking about women travelling solo, Rutavi says, “It’s a beautiful experience; I’ve always enjoyed travelling. Whether it is solo or with a group, travelling is about self-discovery,” says Rutavi. Apart from this, Rutavi’s also a big believer of responsible travel. “Every year, I teach in the schools of Ladakh for a month. This is an experience in itself. I’ve had to walk for several kilometres to reach these schools; I teach various things like how to read a book and remember a character, and many other things. I started going to Ladakh from 2001. I believe that when you go to every place you need to give something back. You take so much from every destination, why not give something back?”she says.

Another time Rutavi took a project in Lakshadweep. Rutavi says, “I was intrigued how logistics are managed by the inhabitants of the islands. Being accessible only by waterways, there are several restrictions. There are small tribes there and most live a regular life. But the island is only five kilometres. The maximum island size is 12 kilometres, which is Kalpenni. I wanted to explore the island. I wanted to do a small documentary on how Lakshadweep can be developed by the boards, but, unfortunately, the project got dropped.”

At the base of Everest

A strong believer in the community, Rutavi always plans and tries to do travel meet ups across different parts of the country. Currently, the head for Mumbai Travel Massive, Rutavi will be organising different travel meet ups in the city. She’s also been a part of the Everest Challenge, which is aired on NDTV Goodtimes. “I haven’t been a very athletic person. So it’s actually a surprise that I was a part of event. I just applied for it without knowing what an Everest Base Camp actually is. I have never seen this kind of activity; I was one of the finalists, and was extremely surprised. I even planned my travel to Rajasthan, but I got a mail saying I was shortlisted! To cut a long story short, I was a part of the event and it was difficult. On the way back, I even fell down and hurt my leg so bad that I had to be carried by a Sherpa. Everyone had to stay back a whole day because my leg was in a bad shape. They were very supportive. I learnt sharing, and how powerful the human mind is. The power of will is what I learnt. It’s like they say going up is optional, coming down is mandatory,” reminisces Rutavi.

On a Rickshaw

This April, Rutavi is also set to be a part of the ‘Rickshaw Run.’ “I heard of Rickshaw Run in 2010. While I was reading about the event, I was surprised to know that being an event that is held in India, there are no Indians. I found it extremely strange. They were passing my hotel that time and they were staying there. So I asked them about the event and why only foreigners. They told me that the event that we run by the company Adventurists did not target Indians. So from 2007, there hasn’t been a single Indian who has been a part of the event. I happened to know travel bloggers who were to be a part of the Rickshaw Run; there were only two of them, Derrick and Brian, and they asked me to be a part of it this year,” says Rutavi.

The route goes up to Shillong and needs to be completed in 12 days. Every aspect of the trip needs to be managed by the team. Rutavi will be the first Indian travel woman blogger to be a part of this run. Their team is called ‘Team Romanchak,’ and has a very Indian touch to it.