Our warming planet has completed seven laps around the sun since I first stepped foot on Kenyan soil and changed my life with #solofemaletravel membership. Having spent the recent years in South Asia, festering heaps of plastic waste have never been more in my face. Sustainable Habits From Seven Years Of Solo Female Travel Once… Read More


‘My mixie’ refers to the multiple countertop blenders I have come to know and love who helped make me into who I am today. My main mixie was purchased in Rishikesh and accompanied me to Parvati Valley and down to Gokarna. Our monogamous relationship lasted seven months. My Mixie And Me My mixie and me… Read More


Deep lessons and physical exertion dialed to 100 percent. Money concerns me less than ever. Tossed from one immigration official to the next, I chug the water I had just filled in my bottle as I am forced to go through security again while boarding has already begun, and sprint toward my Kathmandu flight in… Read More


Turns out February is a 28-day scam and a sixth of 2022 is already defunct and I want my money back. My emotions are rolling and coasting thanks for asking. The country I trusted through the vicissitudes of a pandemic and whose economy I contributed to with my life savings for two years invoices me… Read More


Days soaking in intense growth and pure magic. Being gentle with myself when I feel tender. My trip celebrates her fourth birthday. My unaltered hair turns 15-months-old. Monthly Mood: The Universe Loves Me life is a gift. you have not deserved it in the first place. it is not your right. it has been given… Read More


i have culture shock when i read my posts even though i lived those events—me, Day 1,378, WhatsApp chat Monthly Moods: From Lost To Ground Yet another month of working on myself and not letting life pass me by becomes two. I present a double monthly update. Cheers to new discoveries in already twice-lived places,… Read More


This ball of brown exudes nourishment as it glistens with moisture on the plate (or leaf). Paired with spicy vegetarian broths or rich and meaty sides, the earthy taste of ragi mudde has an advanced level of acquirement that falls somewhere between ceviche and balut. Perhaps what most distinguishes mudde is that it is not… Read More


To feast at weddings, rub charas, and be festive with the Hindu gods. Monthly Mood: ’Tis The Season New content… new About page old about page made into a post: About Vivian Alive TBT: Diwali Delights Happy 11 11(: After seven shaves last year, my hair turns one today. Not one snip or buzz, just… Read More


Celebrating today’s Diwali with ghee lamps floating on the Rishikesh Ganges and old writing from Diwali 2020. Diwali Delights Day 1010 14 November 2020 Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India My first Diwali injects me with an unexpected shot of nostalgia. The Hindu holiday is a blend of the Halloweens and Independence Days of my American… Read More


“Finally,” I thought to myself, “back on track with Monthly Moods out on the 11th.” How foolish I was. October 11th would have me living India instead of writing about it. Life creates the content. I just edit. Monthly Mood: Good Company Comes In All Shapes New content: Falling In Love With India’s Finest Aloo… Read More