CHENNAI : With their round-the-clock job and round-the-world travelling plans, Chennai-based Rebecca Roy and Gowthaman Ilambarathi, know the secret to work-life balance. This wanderlust couple who have visited and documented 24 countries so far, locked the 52nd spot on Forbes India’s list of India’s Top 100 Digital Stars 2023. The couple talk about how their love for travel translated into an Instagram page @odysseyoftwo.
Excerpts follow:
On travel
G: We get a lot of exposure from meeting people and exploring places and cultures. Apart from enjoyment and adventure, it’s an investment for both of us.
R: It is mutual. Whenever we earn money, we always keep a large sum for travel. It is something that me and Gowtham connected on, and that is what keeps us stronger as well.
On making it to the Forbes India’s list
G: The social media influencing industry lags a bit in the South when it comes to people getting awards and recognised, as compared to the North. When Forbes happened, it was a very big surprise for us. It was a very happy moment as we finally got recognised. When they said that we were going to be featured in Forbes we didn’t expect this rank at all because it was an overall category of influencers, not only travel or photography. The recognition is more important when it comes to influencing power. And when you work with brands, and when your followers look up to you, the genuineness of what we share is validated.
R: We have not got any awards so far. This is one of the first awards that we got, and it is huge. It feels like all our hard work came through. Such recognition boosts your confidence...that all of this is worth something and somebody is saying, ‘You are doing a good job. Kudos!’
On the places they visit
R: We have our bucket list. Otherwise, it depends on the food and weather. During Christmas, we wanted to look at all the Christmas markets and one of our trips was like that. The Northern Lights was on our bucket list, and we travelled to Norway. For food, we wanted to try Vietnamese cuisine, so we headed there.
G: Most of our itineraries are customised by us so that we explore the city/country at our pace and try not to miss out on any significant location. For this, we choose English-speaking countries, where we don’t need a guide and can communicate with the local people.
On the Northern Lights post going viral
R: In 2023, we did two Northern Lights trips. The first one was in March. I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday by watching the Northern Lights. We travelled to Finland and it was memorable and stunning. Once you see it, you get so addicted that you want to see it again.
G: After Finland, we were so eager to see the Northern Lights again. Because we didn’t document it the way we wanted, we ended up planning a Norway trip. This time it was our best because nobody was there. It was Rebecca, a camera tripod and I on a cliff overlooking the sea surrounded by snow. The lights usually get stronger at midnight at a particular time and place, and when we were there on the cliff, the Northern Lights just boomed.
On pressures to post updates
G: We like clicking photographs and documenting them. It started for personal reference but now we are doing it like for Instagram as well. So when I take a photo, I don’t have the pressure to post it now. When we visit a place we enjoy there. Then when we take a car or taxi or a train back, we post it then, because when we do that we see the photo again. So we get a memory of the place again. All these things make us connected to the place again. There are no pressures, we love doing this.
On managing passion and profession
G: I am an ENT and rhinoplasty surgeon. We only travel once every three months for seven to ten days, and take two big vacations for 15 days — one in December and one in the summer. I plan my surgeries around my travels so that nothing is affected. I always keep my phone connected wherever I am so that I don’t miss any patient’s questions or queries. It’s hard, but we love doing it.
R: The biggest plus point is we have built a team in Chennai to take care of things when we travel. Before we travel Gowtham hustles to match all those days where he’s going to miss out. I think it’s a balance between us. He handles his profession when he’s in Chennai and I handle Instagram. I am a healthcare manager too so we manage our set-up as well. I think one of the main things is that in Odyssey of Two, we have two people involved. Somebody’s always on the ‘gram to take care of that balance.
On their favourite memory
G: We are big-time foodies. One thing that we loved was Vietnamese cold coffee. Every day we explored new cafes and had them.