Shiivtal
The Heart of the Journey
Soft spot for peaceful corners, good chai and well-planned itineraries. She can sense scams before the Wi-Fi connects and will always choose the café with the coziest corner.
Two travellers. One suitcase. Lots of laughter.
We’re Shiivtal & Ankit – travel partners and the humans behind The Soulful Suitcase. We like trips that feel like real life: a mix of small mistakes, good food, unexpected kindness and honest tiredness at the end of the day.
Ankit
The Logic & Laughs
Keeper of maps, budgets and backup plans. Believes “five minutes early” is a personality trait. Turns into an unintentional stand-up comedian when sleep-deprived.
✈️How we travel together
Traveling as a pair is basically running a small international company – just with better snacks and no HR department.
- Shiivtal curates cafés, feelings and breathing breaks.
- Ankit negotiates taxis, tracks tickets and reminds everyone that money is not infinite.
Between us, one plans from the heart, the other plans from the spreadsheet. Most days, it works beautifully.
🧭The ideal travel partner
A good travel partner, according to us, is someone who:
- Doesn’t judge when you take 200 photos of the same temple.
- Shares snacks without pretending they’re “not hungry”.
- Understands that bathroom breaks are basic human rights.
- Knows some days are “see everything”, some are “see the pillow”.
📷Our philosophy
We don’t travel to prove anything. We travel to feel a place – its kindness, chaos, history, food and quiet corners – and then share the real version with you.
The Soulful Suitcase is our way of collecting those learnings: what worked, what didn’t, where we felt safe, when we were overwhelmed and why some days were perfect by accident.
If our stories make your trip calmer, funnier or just a little more “you”, this project has done its job.
✔️Travel partner do’s
- Divide tasks – one handles money, one handles memories.
- Plan together – dictatorship is for boarding queues only.
- Respect pace – sunrise-hike lover can coexist with slow-breakfast lover.
- Talk honestly – “I’m tired” is information, not drama.
- Celebrate small wins – like navigating a new city without snapping at each other.
⚠️Travel partner don’ts
- Don’t force each other into bucket-list items that feel like punishment.
- Don’t treat food choices as moral decisions – it’s a vacation, not an exam.
- Don’t ignore hanger (hungry anger). Solve with snacks, not speeches.
- Don’t rush every single day – this is travel, not a time-bound project plan.
- Don’t forget it’s a team trip, not a performance review.