SN Spotlight: An Exclusive Conversation With The “Searats”

Always ready to set out on a journey, travel content creators are the storytellers of our time. With a camera as their companion and unquenchable curiosity to explore a new destination, these adventurous souls dive into the unknown, capturing the heart of diverse landscapes, vibrant cultures, and hidden treasures that define our world. So, let’s embark on this adventure together, unwrapping the tales spun by one of these passionate wanderers and travel content creators: “Travel with Searats!”

The Social Nation team spoke to Rashmee and Anant from Travel with Searats to uncover more about their travel journey and get some tips for those looking to get into travel content creation. Read on to know more.

We want to know the story behind your name, “Travel With Searats!”

First of all, we’re really happy that you called it “Travel With Sea-rats!” A lot of people call it searats, they think it’s our surname and we were quite surprised by that. When we were young, we used to love this cartoon called “Swat Kats” on Cartoon Network. So, there were two cats who would go around the city fighting crime and doing adventures. We wanted to be just like them, so we called ourselves ‘searats’ because we do sea adventures – just changed ‘kats’ to rats. Rashmee wanted two words joined together which is an animal name because she loves animals.

Your Instagram is a visual delight of your travels! What’s the story behind how you two decided to become travel influencers?

We met each other when we were 15 years old. We would sit on our college benches and dream about the world and the places we would travel to. Then we went on to do our respective jobs. Ultimately Instagram came to happen. I was working as a graphic designer and photographer at the time and Anant has been an amazing scriptwriter ever since we were kids so we decided that the best thing to do was to travel and make stuff around it.

In 2017, we went on an international trip and decided to get a GoPro for the first time. We shot videos and photos on it. Since Rashmee was a graphic designer she had pretty good knowledge about how colours behave with photos, so she could edit them really well and we started putting that out. And even I was pretty surprised, I looked at her editing and thought ‘Man! This is nothing like how I shot it. It’s amazing!’

Also Read: An Ode To Ankita Sharma, India’s First Wheelchair User Influencer

Couples often have different travel styles. How do you find a balance between adventure and relaxation in your travel plans?

It’s very hard, actually. But, we have a 9 to 5 rule – tab kaam ki baat karenge and uske baad we’ll chill and not talk about work. That’s the only way we’re being able to distinguish between the two things but it still seeps into each other because we enjoy it so much. Plus we live together so it’s not possible to not talk about it all the time.

When we’re travelling, we’re actually working so you have to create the most amount of content that you can. When we’re back home, we’re resting a little bit and then editing, so it’s the opposite for us. People come back from a vacation relaxed, we come back so tired that we need 2 days to just sleep and energize.

There’s been so many times where we think no more phones, we’re just going to have fun and then you see something really nice happening and I just pick up my phone and start shooting. She gets a little irritated at times, but we work well together. I (Rashmee) need that me-time to watch the sunset but then I start thinking what if this is that ‘million views’ reel?

How do you plan your content? Do you edit it while you’re on the trip or once you’re back?

Both. Some stories are a little harder, it requires a lot of thought to figure out what is the important part in this and what is not. So that requires a little bit of time, you can’t do it on the go. But easier content styles are where you’re just talking about a place, there’s no VO, just 3-4 well-shot videos put together and that’s all you need. We generally do the easier content while we’re travelling and when we come back we work on the ones where a little more depth is required.

Being a couple and travel buddies must be an adventure in itself! What’s the most unexpected thing that happened to you during a trip?

We went to Georgia and took a cable car right to the top of the hill. There was a really nice lake up there and now we are searats, you give us water, we are going to swim in it. So we were swimming, having fun and we didn’t realise where the time went by. At 5 pm the cable car stopped and now we were on top, there was nobody we were stranded. It was windy and very very cold.

No one told us ke 5 baje band ho jata hai, we were assuming ke koi watchman aake bolega ‘chalo niklo.’ As Indians, we’re so used to the handholding. They said you should have figured it out no one’s going to come to tell you. It was 3 of us in the middle of nowhere wondering what to do. Then we saw two people in an ETV going by so we requested them to help and they dropped us to another ski lift.

A ski lift is just a bench that is constantly moving and you just jump on it. There was nothing to hold on to, we were just screaming till we finally reached the ground. But my (Rashmee) car was on the other side of the mountain so we had to take a cab to get there. It was quite a mess, we vlogged it too.

If someone wants to start as a travel content creator, then what’s the procedure? How do they reach the monetization stage?

We followed the most traditional route. Don’t try to jump on the bandwagon when you’re young, you don’t have money, and probably don’t know where you want to take this. Just work on yourself, and your skills and earn money. Learn to be a part of that life also because it will help you when you become an influencer. Saving money and working for it is the only way I see it, I don’t have a shortcut for this. We worked, we saved, and were able to pursue our dreams because we had the backing of our savings.

In terms of those looking for monetization, there are many easy ways now but it depends on what are you providing. Like are you providing entertainment or helping people create their itineraries? Basically, taking a skill, monetizing that, and then funding your travel based on it. Initially, you will have to fund your own trips. You could also get an internship with these youth organisations where they pay for your stay and everything and you have to work in return. You get to travel around with a student pass and get 50% off.

Budget travel hacks are always a hit! What’s your go-to tip for saving money while still having an amazing travel experience?

Simple ones – hostels over hotels, Airbnbs are also a great alternative. Save money on food by eating locally like on roadside stalls. You could rent a car instead of taking a cab – depending on the place and how far you have to travel. Credit cards really help. There are certain banks that offer credits on plane tickets, so if you have enough of those, you can ultimately have a free trip by yourself.

Any favourite destinations you can recommend for a festive or romantic getaway in this holiday season of December?

Maldives. People have this perception that Maldives only has those fancy water villas and resorts but there is so much more to it. There are these local islands where you can indulge in their local culture, live with them, enjoy communal dinners, and experience the insane underwater life. You can do a budgeted holiday trip to Maldives, it’s not just a honeymoon destination.

Thailand is an evergreen place. It’s huge, and people just know a few things but Northern Thailand is beautiful with its hills and mountains – Chiang Mai and Chaing Rai. It also has no visa till March 2024 for Indians up to 30 days so you will save money.

Sri Lanka is also pretty good.

Instagram vs. Reality: Can you share a behind-the-scenes moment from your travels that was very memorable?

Oh, there is one where I (Rashmee) fell. And it is so funny because I was shooting him jumping into the pool so he was supposed to run from inside the villa and just dive in. I was running behind him holding the phone and shooting. There was a friend of ours also who said ‘Ye bohot funny lag raha hai, main bhi video leta hoon.’ So, Anant reaches the edge of the pool, he takes a dive and I slip so badly and fall. Our friend was laughing and he ended up taking a BTS of the BTS. People thought that I broke my tailbone but I was fine, So that was hilarious!

We played a quick travel-themed rapid fire with these cuties. Check out their answers!

If you could give one piece of advice to couples planning their first big trip together, what would it be?

Carry your own toothbrush and enjoy each other’s company.

Rashmee, your top three must-have items for every trip?

Sunscreen, Swimsuit, and Toothbrush

The best food discovery you’ve made during your travels?

Banh Mi in Vietnam

Who is your favourite travel content creator?

Salt In Our Hair – Hannah and Nick. They are a Dutch couple.

Travel playlist essentials: What’s your go-to song for a road trip and a beach day?

Rashmee’s go-to road trip jam: Yun Hi Chala Chal

Anant’s current favourite for a beach day: Bigger Than My Body by John Mayer

3 travel-friendly camera equipments?

GoPro, Gimble and Mic

What is Anant’s Dream Destination, Rashmee?

All water places!

Most Romantic Travel Destination according to you, Anant?

Iceland

What is Rashmee’s Dream Destination?

Iceland *wink-wink*

Lastly, any exciting travel plans on the horizon that you can give us a sneak peek into?

More than a trip, we’re actually learning how to paraglide. So, we’re going to Kamshet in Pune for that. After that, maybe Sri Lanka. And I (Anant) want to learn free diving, so Maldives for that. They have one of the best instructors. So, we go on trips to learn those things, that’s how we pick where to go.

Well, we already feel like planning a holiday right now! This interaction can prove quite useful for those planning to get into travel content creation or up their content game.