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Nomadic Journeys

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✈️ From Tech to Travel: Why I Became a Travel Advisor in 2025

📌 TL;DR (Too Long? Read This First)

I left Tech a couple of years ago and wasn’t sure what to do next. While helping with my nephew’s destination wedding in Thailand, I discovered a surprising love for logistics, creativity, and planning — especially around travel. Here’s the story of how that one event reshaped my future, and why I founded Nomadic Journeys and became a travel advisor in 2025.

🤔 Wait, you’re doing what? You’re starting a what?

So you heard that I’m starting my own agency, becoming a travel advisor, and your reaction was — “Huh? Why? Who even uses a travel agent these days?” Well to tell you the truth, that was my reaction too… until recently.

Let me back up and tell you how I got here.

👉 Learn more about what I do at Nomadic Journeys

travel advisor nomadic journeys priya kothari teotihuacan

🔄 The “What’s Next” after Tech

Many of you know that I’ve been wrestling with what I should do next. Having left the Tech world behind (and no intentions to return), I’ve been wanting to do something different — something new and fun. But it had to be something that brought out my creative side (which I didn’t know I had) while leveraging my technology background. Something where I could apply my problem-solving skills, customer-facing background, knack for project management, and ability to research and ideate.

I’ve always wanted to work with Wildlife – marine wildlife. Volunteering with turtles provided me that outlet for my passion. Volunteering as a product manager for Siren (a marine conservation data platform) helped me stay connected with my tech side. But neither felt big enough to be the next thing.

I’ve also always wanted to work in Travel. But besides my personal travel, I didnt know there were any options there. 

Then came the wedding.

💍 The Wedding That Taught Me ChatGPT (And So Much More)

My nephew’s wedding was a destination wedding in Thailand, with over 350 guests from London and India — 160 rooms, multiple events over 3 days. We had a full team: a wedding planner, a decorator, caterers, booked rooms, and someone to handle logistics. But guess what? Someone still had to project manage it all. That someone was my sister — with me by her side.

One thing we realized about creative services in India: they’re not exactly creative. They do cookie-cutter deliverables. But if you want to do something different… well, you’re on your own.

👉 Enter ChatGPT + Procreate + Canva + who knows what else. 

We quickly became ChatGPT pros and masters of efficiency.

  • Verbiage for the wedding invitation ✅ 
  • Hinglish (Hindi-English combined) verses for event boards ✅ 
  • Cute reminder poems with Hindi+English script ✅ 
  • Wardrobe planners for each themed event ✅ 
 
I dove into these tools and realized… I loved it. Every creative and logistical piece of it.

🧩 Turns Out I Love Logistics 😊

One of the most logistically challenging parts? Room assignments.

  • Who gets upper floors (no elevator) vs. lower floors?
  • Pool-facing rooms vs. back side?
  • Who needs to stay near whom?
  • Keep family groups together?
 
So much planning… I didn’t just handle it — I excelled at it. And I enjoyed it.

travel advisor nomadic journeys priya kothari wedding planning

🌏 And Right After The Wedding... More Trip Planning

Immediately after the wedding, my husband and I along with 2 friends decided to go on a scuba trip on a liveaboard. I had to co-ordinate luggage drop-offs at Bangkok airport so we didnt have to lug our wedding clothes on a domestic flight to Phuket. I had to book flights and hotel in and out of Phuket, which is where the dive trip was from.

Then back to Bangkok, pick up our luggage, stay the night at a hotel near the airport. And finally a 3-day stopover in Istanbul on the way back home – this needed a hotel, tour plans, etc too.

Planning… Planning… And more planning…

And it hit me: I’m not just good at logistics — I genuinely enjoy planning travel. The flow, the puzzle, the people – it gives me a high!

👉 See the travel planning services I now offer.

➡️ Coming Up in Part 2: Why Travel Advisors Are Back — and How I Launched NOMADIC JOURNEYS

Curious to learn more? In Part 2, Why Travel Advisors Are Making A Comeback — and How I Launched Nomadic Journeys. I’ll explain what a modern travel advisor actually does — and how Nomadic Journeys came to life.

In the meantime, if you’re planning a trip and want expert help with itineraries, excursions, or full-service travel planning, visit www.nomadic-journeys.com or contact me to get started.

👉 Reach out via my Contact page if you’re planning your own trip.