Welcome to HonestTravelTips.com

Welcome to my travel website!

My name is Rohit and I am the founder and writer of HonestTravelTips.com.

Why did I name this HonestTravelTips.com?

I named the website HonestTravelTips.com because all the tips here are just that…honest and independent. No one paid me to travel to these places or influenced me to write the reviews and tips.

When I was researching and planning my trips, I found that many websites did not give honest, independent information. A lot of travel blogs and guidebooks have people who look impossibly beautiful while travelling and are endlessly having fun. Let’s face it, not all places are amazing and travel is not always sexy, glamorous. 

I love travelling but I have seen my share of good, bad and the ugly. I decided to share my tips so others can maximize their travels and avoid the travel pitfalls that I encountered.

A little bit about me.

You are probably wondering who is this guy? Why should I read his blog? Why do I care about the travel tips that he keeps going on about? If you have these burning questions, well, here is a little bit about me.

After reading this, you will probably see a pattern. It seems that being curious about our amazing blue planet and all the beautiful, strange, amazing countries in it, is wired in my DNA.

I was born in the Fiji Islands. I am a 6th generation Indian born in Fiji. The British brought Indians to work as indentured labourers in 1800s. After a military coup that overthrew the government in Fiji in 1987, I immigrated to Canada at the age of 13 with my family. Canada is my adopted country but it is the country where I feel most at home. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, with some of the kindest people on the planet! J’adore le Canada!

After finishing my first degree (Bachelor in Cultural Anthropology), I spent a year backpacking in Asia (Hong Kong, China, Laos, Thailand and India) and returned to Canada to complete a law degree. After that, I went to work for the United Nations in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. While there, I also spent time travelling around in Central Asia. I then returned to Canada, got qualified as Barrister and Solicitor and worked as a lawyer for a number of years. I also taught law classes in Calgary, Canada. In 2013, I moved to the Netherlands where I finished a Master of Laws, became an accredited mediator, and worked at international courts in The Hague.

One of the best things about living in the Netherlands is that Schiphol airport is one of the most well-connected airports in the world. Many airlines operate out of Schiphol airport, all competing for customers. As a result, I have been able to fly cheaply to many different, interesting places. Within a 2-3 hour flight, I can be somewhere completely different! This is something that I love about the Netherlands as flying anywhere from Canada, because it is such a big country, takes that much longer and is that much more expensive.

I love travelling (and good food)!

Everyone has something that makes them weak in the knees. For me, travelling is one of the things that I absolutely love. Being curious about the world is in my DNA!

Travelling for me, however, is more than just seeing touristy sights. Yes, I like the touristy things but what truly excites me is learning about different cultures. How people around the world have organized themselves, what values they ascribe to, how their governments are treating them, why are some countries poor, why are some rich, why do some countries have laws, social systems that serve to make happy citizens, and some don’t… Things, we don’t read about in the news.

One of the things that make our planet truly special is all the diversity, including the diverse landscapes, cultures, religions, food, political and economic systems. I am thrilled to have to this website so I can share with you all of this glorious diversity! By sharing my travel tips and my photos, I hope to help others become better travellers, get inspired to travel, or just see how interesting, diverse and amazingly wonderful our planet is!