Varun Vagish is an Indian solo traveler known for his travel vlogs. He is known for popularizing the concept of hitchhiking and couchsurfing through his travel vlogs.
Contents
wiki/bio
Varun Vagish aka Mountaintrekker was born on Tuesday, 29 March 1983 (age 39 years; as in 2022) in Delhi, India. His zodiac sign is Aries. Since his parents were government employees, he spent his childhood in several cities, including Narora, Tarapur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Rawatbhata and Asansol. He did his schooling from Atomic Energy Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tarapur. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in communication and journalism-related programs at the University of Delhi from 2000 to 2003. From 2003 to 2004, he pursued a PG Diploma in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. In 2012, he received his PhD in Mass Communication from MD University, Rohtak, Haryana. He has also worked as a journalist and newsreader, academician and PR professional at All India Radio (AIR). In an interview, he talked about his love for traveling and said,
A major part of my childhood was spent in Maharashtra. It’s funny I hated math as a kid. So, my mother, who was a teacher, asked one of her colleagues to tutor me so that I could learn better. I used to make the excuse that madam is unwell today, bunk the tuition and go. At that time I was at a place called Tarapur (India’s first nuclear power station) in Maharashtra and the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) were nearby. So I used to take my bicycle and go to the mountains alone for 2-3 hours. That is a very memorable experience from my childhood days. And the love for mountains had developed in me since childhood.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
He belongs to an OBC Hindu family.
parents and siblings
His father was a government employee, and his mother was a teacher.
Wife
He is unmarried.
travel vlogger
He has traveled to over 25 countries and his travel videos on his YouTube channel, Mountain Trekker, have received over 200 million views. He traveled and popularized the concept of hitchhiking and couchsurfing among the Indian people during his travels. In an interview, Varun talked about his trip and said that it was a trip to Shimla on a motorcycle when his boss gave him a day off when he was working as a journalist; He stayed for a few hours at a Gurudwara in Shimla and then returned to his home. According to Varun, he was so thrilled by this trip that he decided to become a travel vlogger. When asked in an interview whether his parents had approved of his decision to become a travel vlogger, Varun replied,
No, both my parents and I were confident that it was a good option and that I would do well in it. I was getting a chance to fulfill my dream and my parents supported me in this. He had seen how difficult it was for me to juggle a job with traveling and blogging and he felt I should focus all my time and energy on what I loved doing. Plus I had already started getting good feedback for my work, including an award from the Government of India for promoting tourism, and they felt I was on the right track.
After his parents’ consent to become a travel vlogger, Varun created a YouTube channel where he started posting videos related to his travels. In an interview, he mentioned his Himalayan adventure in 2007, which is very close to his heart. He said,
I cannot forget the bus journey which was my first time to travel on the roof of the bus while coming back from Hemis Gompa. Can’t forget the first sip of the local salted butter tea with a slice of local traditional bread made from yeast and grains. The vast plains near the Indus River, the climb to Khardung La and the best part – my two-day long return journey in an HRTC bus from Leh to Manali, which passed through some of the most amazing landscapes in the world. This was Ladakh for me in June 2001. It was almost untouched. Unlike today, the main Leh market had few shops and very few vehicles. That was my first trip to Ladakh and will always be close to my heart.
Soon, his videos became popular, making him one of the most popular travel vloggers in India. Reportedly, the reason behind the popularity of his travel videos is that he explains his money management strategies while traveling through his videos. In an interview he talked about these strategies and said,
The basic thing I always believe and tell people is that when you are traveling, it is not about the money, but about the adventure you are taking. The second big thing is trust. If you want to enjoy your trip you have to learn to trust people. If you want to go hitchhiking, you have to trust people when you ask them for a lift or want to stay at a stranger’s place. I too had problems in the beginning, but once I started trusting people I realized how beautiful it feels. The world is not as bad as we assume by watching news channels and shows showing negativity.
According to Varun, the idea of budget travel came to him through an Australian traveller, whom Varun hosted in Delhi in 2004–05. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I once hosted a man from Australia in 2004 or 2005, whom I hosted in Delhi. We became good friends and I got to learn a lot from him. I asked him how he was able to travel so much with limited funds. One great piece of advice I got from him is that when you want to travel on a budget, you have to limit your needs and wants. You should be prepared to use public transport, you will have to curb luxuries and live a simple life if you want to make the most of your trip. Secondly, you can use the internet to earn to meet your expenses, you can opt for freelance jobs and use whatever skills you are good at. There are plenty of opportunities to make money online; All you need is an internet connection and a laptop. You can run a blog, create a YouTube channel or even create a website and monetize them to make money.”
Later, through his travel vlog, he introduced people to a new and exciting aspect of traveling on limited funds, known as volunteering. Talking about this in an interview he said,
Another great option is volunteering, which is not very popular in India yet. It is a concept where you volunteer your services and in return you get free accommodation and food instead of payment for your service. I recently uploaded a video of a girl I met in Turkey, and she shared her experience of how she traveled the world without spending money, as she offered her services in exchange for basic needs. Is.
Varun Vaghish in Oman
fact
- Varun has received the National Award from the Government of India in 2006 for promoting tourism.
- He has more than 1 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.
Varun Vagish gets YouTube Gold Play Button for crossing 1 million subscribers
- Before becoming a travel vlogger, Varun worked as Deputy Manager – PR, Eastern Coalfields Limited.
Dr. Varun Vagish, Dy. Manager-PR of Eastern Coalfields Limited is making waves on YouTube. An avid traveller, he runs a YouTube channel ‘Mountain Trekker’ in Hindi and has over 3 lakh subscribers with 28 million views. Doordarshan ranks him as one of the best YouTubers of India. pic.twitter.com/BUZedl3Tmt
– Coal India Limited (@CoalIndiaHQ) 26 July 2018
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn