Anurag Kulkarni
Born and raised in Austin Texas, I’m a 22 year old from the USA.
Like many other first generation Asian-Americans I was expecting to go into an engineering field. However in high school, I realized that my true calling lay in the geosciences.
I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in General Geology from the University of Texas at Austin along with a certification in Environment and Sustainability and an independent research project. You could say that I definitely know my rocks.
As of 2024, I’m working as a researcher at Stanford University.
The general themes of my blog will be travel information from my experience in the field as a geologist along with my hobby of personal travel. I talk a lot about the cool science and anthropology behind some of our favorite destinations with every read.
Scroll to read about how I’ll be doing this!
My Travel Story
I have been traveling internationally and domestically since I was only a few months old to visit extended family in India. I always loved the process of travel and
My love for solo travel began in 2019 when I interned in Iceland for a company that was writing a travel guide on hiking trails in southern Iceland and contributed to their geology section. I have since returned to Iceland to study renewable energy engineering in summer 2021 and have continued on solo traveling to many other countries.
^ The Greenland Ice Sheet, as seen from a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Chicago
Travel for Science
Being a geologist, I get to see the Earth from a different perspective via the rocks I study. I find it fascinating at how landscapes evolve over millions or even billions of years in order to become the unique travel destinations that we enjoy today.
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Wherever I go I make it a point to investigate the local geology and I’ll definitely be including little bits of that in my posts with dedicated posts about the coolest places.
Geological Sampling at Eckman Canyon, California ^
Travel for History
I have always had a passion for history and constantly prove wrong the stereotypes about Americans not knowing geography or history 😉
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Wherever I go I make it a point to learn about the history of the area and how it contributed to the broader story of humanity as a whole. This theme will show up a lot in my articles
^ Pompey’s Pillar, Alexandria, Egypt
Travel for Culture
The different ways that we humans spend and enjoy our short lives are fascinating. Being from the melting pot that is the USA, I was exposed to a large variety of cultures which I now want to delve deeper into in my travels.
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I will be talking a lot about how the cultural practices I see in my travels have evolved through time and the meanings they serve taking a deeper dive into the stories that are commonly glossed over
Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ^
My Superlatives!
Favorite Place
The Icelandic Highlands
West of the Vatnajokull ice cap, the terrain is made up of rolling mossy hills soft enough to take naps on. There are crystal clear rivers and waterfalls cutting through the landscape. The best place in the world to disconnect from the chaos.
Least Favorite Place
Almagordo, New Mexico
Unfortunately I caught a 104 fever here and had a pretty miserable stay :/ The best thing about this town is its proximity to White Sands National Park. It also has the worst water quality of any place I have ever been to.
Greatest Adventure
Exploring the Dhofar region of Oman
Between July-September, the annual monsoon known locally as the Khareef comes into contact with the southwestern mountainous Dhofar region of Oman. The desert mountains turn a vibrant green with lush plant life and crystal clear mountain springs. Renting a car and driving along the cliffs of the Arabian Sea is a must here.
Best Vegetarian Food
Indore, India
Is there really any other answer for best vegetarian food that’s not India? I have been eating Indian food my entire life and the food scene in the central Indian city of Indore is by far my favorite with unique variants of poha, dahi vada, bhutta keech, along with Indian favorites such as chaat.