Skip to Content
The Grounded Hippie

The Grounded Hippie

Slow travel, real stories, zero gatekeeping.

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Destinations
    • Asia
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Uzbekistan
  • Travel Guides & Itineraries
  • Reflections
  • Contact Me
  • Work With Me
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Destinations
    • Asia
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Uzbekistan
  • Travel Guides & Itineraries
  • Reflections
  • Contact Me
  • Work With Me
Asia Bangkok Thailand Travel Itineraries

Hidden Bangkok: A 72-Hour Guide to the Old City

This 72-hour Bangkok itinerary skips the rooftop bars and takes you through Talat Noi, riverside walks, and the best things to do in Old Bangkok—slow, practical, and actually enjoyable.

updated on April 28, 2026March 28, 2026
Continue Reading
Laos Reflections Solo Travel

Solo Travel in Laos: The Honest, Unexpected Truth

Travel is the one time I get to show up fully for myself, and I cling to that freedom like a lifeline. I didn’t go traveling solo in Laos looking for a bucket list. I went looking for space. Space to breathe during a short midterm break, space away from …

updated on March 28, 2026November 2, 2025
Continue Reading
Laos Travel Itineraries

Discover the Magic of Slow Travel: 7 Days in Laos

Planning a trip to Laos? Here’s a 7-day itinerary through Luang Prabang and Vientiane — complete with train routes, travel tips, cafés, temples, and reflections on slow travel in Southeast Asia.

updated on April 17, 2026November 2, 2025
Continue Reading
Aditi Roy starting over at 40 as a solo female traveller and blogger
Reflections

Starting Over at 40: The Brutal, Beautiful Truth

I’ve rebranded more times than I’d like to admit, but this time feels different. I’m not chasing perfect or keeping up with algorithms — I’m simply coming back to the words. Maybe it’s not a new beginning at all… just a return to who I was always meant to be.

updated on April 14, 2026November 2, 2025
Continue Reading

Posts pagination

Page 1 Page 2

About Me

Aditi Roy
Aditi Roy

Hi, I’m Aditi. I’m an Indian woman who once swapped heartbreak for a backpack and never really looked back.

Since 2013, travel has been my quiet rebellion: from teaching in tiny Vietnamese villages and wandering through the backstreets of Bali, to chasing sunsets in Laos and losing my heart somewhere in the mountains of northern Thailand.

Now, I live in Pak Chong, a small town in Thailand where I teach English, write stories, and plan my next slow escape over endless cups of coffee.

The Grounded Hippie is where I share the unfiltered bits. The journeys, the stumbles, and the comebacks are all here to remind you that it is never too late to begin again.

About Me
Learn More About Me

Recent Posts

  • AsiaDestinationsThailand

    Is Thailand Worth Visiting in 2026 For Non-Party People?

  • Reflections

    Why I No Longer Travel With a Checklist

  • AsiaDestinationsTravel ItinerariesUzbekistan

    The Best 8-Day Uzbekistan Travel Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

  • AsiaDestinationsUzbekistan

    Bukhara Old City: The Ultimate Peaceful Sanctuary for Solo Travellers

Newsletter

The Hippie Souls Society! 🌿

Slow travel guides, solo itineraries, and no-nonsense stories from twelve years on the road.

Popular Posts

  • AsiaDestinationsUzbekistan

    What Uzbekistan Really Cost Me: An 8-Day Budget Breakdown

  • LaosReflectionsSolo Travel

    Solo Travel in Laos: The Honest, Unexpected Truth

  • AsiaBangkokThailandTravel Itineraries

    Hidden Bangkok: A 72-Hour Guide to the Old City

Follow me on Instagram

thegroundedhippie

🧳 Slow solo travel for real-life adults 🇹🇭 Stories + practical escapes 👩‍💻Itineraries, guides, & reflections ↓

Not every trip needs to change your life. Sometime Not every trip needs to change your life. Sometimes it just needs to give you a nice week, a few good memories, and a break from your usual routine.I used to be one of those people who wanted to see everything. If I had four days somewhere, I’d try to squeeze six days worth of sightseeing into them. I’d spend weeks researching attractions, plotting routes on Google Maps, and making sure I didn’t miss anything important.These days, some of my favourite travel memories are things that never would have made it onto an itinerary. Sitting in a café for longer than planned, wandering around a neighbourhood with no particular destination in mind, or stumbling upon a place simply because I wasn’t rushing to get somewhere else.The funny thing is that I enjoy travel far more now than I did when I was trying to see it all.I wrote more about this shift from collecting places to actually experiencing them in tomorrow’s blog post. If you’d like it delivered straight to your inbox when it goes live, you can join the newsletter through the link in bio 🔗
For legal reasons, this is not travel advice.🤭 For legal reasons, this is not travel advice.🤭
One of the biggest travel myths we collectively ac One of the biggest travel myths we collectively accepted is that international travel is only for rich people.Is it free? Obviously not.But a lot of us spend years assuming it’s completely out of reach without ever looking at the numbers.I’ve travelled to eight countries so far on a teacher’s salary. Not because I’m secretly wealthy. Mostly because I’ve learned what I’m willing to spend money on and what I’m not.That’s also a big part of why I started my blog - The Grounded Hippie.If you’re interested in having the most realistic (and obviously honest) affordable international travel, slow travel, and realistic travel advice for people with actual jobs and responsibilities delivered to you weekly, join the newsletter through the link in bio 🔗Let’s normalise travel again 🩵
🔗 Full breakdown on blog. Link in bio. [Uzbekist 🔗 Full breakdown on blog. Link in bio. [Uzbekistan Travel, Uzbekistan budget, Silk Road Travel, Central Asia, Budget Travel, Slow Travel, Women over 35, Indian passport holders, Solo female travel, Uzbekistan itinerary, Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent]
There is no other place I’d rather be doing this t There is no other place I’d rather be doing this than here 🩵🌻
De-influencing living abroad ✨🥲 De-influencing living abroad ✨🥲
Happy. I wanna be happy 😊🩵✨ Happy. I wanna be happy 😊🩵✨
The 20s version of me was very busy being a very t The 20s version of me was very busy being a very thorough tourist. Landmarks ticked, hostels booked, carrying overpacked backpacks across multiple geographical boundaries! As I grew older, the load became lighter (I now literally travel with a cabin suitcase) and the afternoons got longer. But, there were no big revelations, just that reality caught up as time passed. If you are wondering what it’s like to slow down, I write more of this on my blog. New posts go live on Tuesdays (for now!). Link in bio 🔗
Almost everyone has heard of this country because Almost everyone has heard of this country because it was all the rage in 2024/25 but suddenly nobody s talking about it anymore! 🇺🇿 In Uzbekistan, everything feels soo surreal. No rushing through ancient alleys, no suffocating crowds, just massive turquoise domes catching the desert light, clean tree-lined roads, and people who genuinely treat you like a long-lost guest rather than a transaction. ❤️Also, Indians can get a simple e-visa online for just $20 and there are direct flights from Delhi that drop you in Tashkent in under 3 hours, which makes it soo easy!! Uzbekistan feels vast, unhurried, and underrated in a way that’s becoming so rare in travel now ❤️No gatekeeping—I’ve just dropped a full, honest budget breakdown on the blog, including the real cost of booking those bullet train tickets before they sell out and exactly how far your rupees will stretch on the ground.Btw, another post drops tomorrow. Subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t have to rely on the algorithm to find me. 🔗 Link in bio.@uzb_travel #uzbekistantravel
Every country has a personality and I will not be Every country has a personality and I will not be taking questions on this.If you want the less funny, more detailed version of some of these places, I write about them properly on the blog. Subscription link in bio 🔗. [P.s. It's free!][solo travel Southeast Asia, Indian solo traveller, travel humour, slow travel, budget travel Asia, solo female travel, Thailand life]
Follow Me

About The Grounded Hippie

Hi, I’m Aditi. I travel solo, slowly, and on my own terms — sharing stories that prove exploration doesn’t come with an age or gender limit.

Categories

  • Asia
  • Bangkok
  • Destinations
  • Laos
  • Reflections
  • Solo Travel
  • Thailand
  • Travel Itineraries
  • Travel Resources
  • Uzbekistan
  • Visas

Recent Posts

  • AsiaDestinationsThailand

    Is Thailand Worth Visiting in 2026 For Non-Party People?

    June 23, 2026
  • Reflections

    Why I No Longer Travel With a Checklist

    June 16, 2026
  • AsiaDestinationsTravel ItinerariesUzbekistan

    The Best 8-Day Uzbekistan Travel Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

    June 9, 2026

Follow me on Instagram

thegroundedhippie

🧳 Slow solo travel for real-life adults 🇹🇭 Stories + practical escapes 👩‍💻Itineraries, guides, & reflections ↓

Not every trip needs to change your life. Sometime Not every trip needs to change your life. Sometimes it just needs to give you a nice week, a few good memories, and a break from your usual routine.I used to be one of those people who wanted to see everything. If I had four days somewhere, I’d try to squeeze six days worth of sightseeing into them. I’d spend weeks researching attractions, plotting routes on Google Maps, and making sure I didn’t miss anything important.These days, some of my favourite travel memories are things that never would have made it onto an itinerary. Sitting in a café for longer than planned, wandering around a neighbourhood with no particular destination in mind, or stumbling upon a place simply because I wasn’t rushing to get somewhere else.The funny thing is that I enjoy travel far more now than I did when I was trying to see it all.I wrote more about this shift from collecting places to actually experiencing them in tomorrow’s blog post. If you’d like it delivered straight to your inbox when it goes live, you can join the newsletter through the link in bio 🔗
For legal reasons, this is not travel advice.🤭 For legal reasons, this is not travel advice.🤭
One of the biggest travel myths we collectively ac One of the biggest travel myths we collectively accepted is that international travel is only for rich people.Is it free? Obviously not.But a lot of us spend years assuming it’s completely out of reach without ever looking at the numbers.I’ve travelled to eight countries so far on a teacher’s salary. Not because I’m secretly wealthy. Mostly because I’ve learned what I’m willing to spend money on and what I’m not.That’s also a big part of why I started my blog - The Grounded Hippie.If you’re interested in having the most realistic (and obviously honest) affordable international travel, slow travel, and realistic travel advice for people with actual jobs and responsibilities delivered to you weekly, join the newsletter through the link in bio 🔗Let’s normalise travel again 🩵
🔗 Full breakdown on blog. Link in bio. [Uzbekist 🔗 Full breakdown on blog. Link in bio. [Uzbekistan Travel, Uzbekistan budget, Silk Road Travel, Central Asia, Budget Travel, Slow Travel, Women over 35, Indian passport holders, Solo female travel, Uzbekistan itinerary, Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent]
There is no other place I’d rather be doing this t There is no other place I’d rather be doing this than here 🩵🌻
De-influencing living abroad ✨🥲 De-influencing living abroad ✨🥲
Happy. I wanna be happy 😊🩵✨ Happy. I wanna be happy 😊🩵✨
The 20s version of me was very busy being a very t The 20s version of me was very busy being a very thorough tourist. Landmarks ticked, hostels booked, carrying overpacked backpacks across multiple geographical boundaries! As I grew older, the load became lighter (I now literally travel with a cabin suitcase) and the afternoons got longer. But, there were no big revelations, just that reality caught up as time passed. If you are wondering what it’s like to slow down, I write more of this on my blog. New posts go live on Tuesdays (for now!). Link in bio 🔗
Almost everyone has heard of this country because Almost everyone has heard of this country because it was all the rage in 2024/25 but suddenly nobody s talking about it anymore! 🇺🇿 In Uzbekistan, everything feels soo surreal. No rushing through ancient alleys, no suffocating crowds, just massive turquoise domes catching the desert light, clean tree-lined roads, and people who genuinely treat you like a long-lost guest rather than a transaction. ❤️Also, Indians can get a simple e-visa online for just $20 and there are direct flights from Delhi that drop you in Tashkent in under 3 hours, which makes it soo easy!! Uzbekistan feels vast, unhurried, and underrated in a way that’s becoming so rare in travel now ❤️No gatekeeping—I’ve just dropped a full, honest budget breakdown on the blog, including the real cost of booking those bullet train tickets before they sell out and exactly how far your rupees will stretch on the ground.Btw, another post drops tomorrow. Subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t have to rely on the algorithm to find me. 🔗 Link in bio.@uzb_travel #uzbekistantravel
Every country has a personality and I will not be Every country has a personality and I will not be taking questions on this.If you want the less funny, more detailed version of some of these places, I write about them properly on the blog. Subscription link in bio 🔗. [P.s. It's free!][solo travel Southeast Asia, Indian solo traveller, travel humour, slow travel, budget travel Asia, solo female travel, Thailand life]
Follow Me
© 2026 The Grounded Hippie. All Rights Reserved. Blossom Travel | Developed By Blossom Themes. Powered by WordPress . Privacy Policy

The Hippie Souls Society! 🌿

Slow travel guides, solo itineraries, and no-nonsense stories from twelve years on the road.