Beyond The Grid Episode 5: When Travel Stories Cross Borders
A recap of our live conversation with travellers @am_travelling_ (Amba), @thevoguishaffair (Shreyasi) and host Aakash Khanwani.
Some travel stories don’t sit quietly inside suitcases. They wander. They spill over borders. They linger in city streets, inside old souks, in the glow of skylines — and sometimes, they bring strangers together on a live chat that feels more like a warm living-room conversation than an online session.
Episode 5 of Beyond The Grid was exactly that. A cosy hour of laughter, honest reflections, and heart-first travel tales with two creators whose journeys look different but feel deeply connected.
Here’s everything that unfolded.
A slightly chaotic start (like all good travel plans)
The live began the way many trips do — with a bit of network confusion, some “can you hear me?” and a lot of laughter. Amba joined from Dubai, managing the early glitch with grace. Moments later, Shreyasi popped in with her signature smile. Within minutes, the three of them were chatting like old friends reuniting in a café.
Meet the travellers
Amba (@am_travelling_) Global storyteller, architect, and Dubai resident—her worldview is shaped by culture, community, and the beautifully messy in-between spaces of cities.
Shreyasi (@thevoguishaffair) Fashion-forward travel creator whose lens captures not just outfits, but the everyday magic of the people and places she meets.
Hosted by: Aakash Khanwani, who, this time, watched the guests take over with joy.
Warm-up: What’s your 2026 travel vibe in one word?
Aakash opened with a gentle icebreaker.
Amba: “Luxury.” After years of backpacking and student-budget travel, she’s manifesting a little pampering — calmer stays, slower days, treating herself to the soft life.
Shreyasi: “Parents.” Her wish for 2026 is to take her parents on their first international trip — a dream fueled by love more than itineraries. (The comment section melted instantly.)
Within minutes, they were already planning to explore Dubai together.
Rapid-fire: Short questions, long laughter
The segment was chaotic in the sweetest way, with Dubai as the backdrop to nearly every answer.
Dubai in one word
- Amba: Safety
- Shreyasi: Luxury
A travel fail they still laugh about
- Amba: Forgot her passport on a road trip to Musandam — only realising at the doorway while friends drove off.
- Shreyasi: Wore heels to the airport, tripped, turned beet red, and vowed never again. (The chat agreed: airport + heels = NO.)
Beach or desert?
Both: Beach, especially in the gorgeous winter weather.
Burj Khalifa or Old Dubai?
Amba: “Still Burj Khalifa — you feel something every time you see it.” Shreyasi: “Both. You can’t compare their vibes.”
Coffee or karak chai?
Amba: Coffee Shreyasi: Karak chai (They immediately promised to try each other’s choice next time.)
The heart of the conversation: Travel that crosses borders
Why Dubai?
For Amba, moving to Dubai wasn’t just a relocation — it was a childhood dream. She grew up between Oman and the UAE, always imagining Dubai as the city where culture meets comfort. “It shaped how I see people. How open, safe, and warm a place can be,” she said.
A UAE experience travellers overlook
Both creators agreed: Old Dubai. Too many rush to the glitz and miss the quiet rhythms — the lanes, the morning walks, the waterfront stillness, the simple neighbourhood cafés.
Architecture that left Amba speechless
The Museum of the Future. As an architect, she marvelled at its engineering — no columns, no traditional structure, just a futuristic marvel wrapped in calligraphy.
A misconception about the Middle East
That travel here must be expensive. Both insisted that Dubai can be luxurious or budget-friendly, depending on how you design your trip.
Something travellers should feel, not just see
The everyday life — morning cycling tracks, evening beach walks, winter skies, and the calm of living like a local, not a tourist.
Over to the fashion queen
Does Shreyasi plan outfits before travelling?
A firm YES. From daytime looks at Burj Khalifa to dinner fits at the same place, she loves intentional dressing.
Her dream travel experience
London at Christmas — the lights, the music, the Oxford Street magic, the nostalgia of her husband’s student days.
Best food moment in Dubai
Urla, a restaurant with a stunning view of Burj Khalifa — her birthday dinner there became an unforgettable memory.
A chaotic fashion fail
Visiting Dubai in July. Full makeup. Extreme heat. You can imagine the ending — melted eyeliner, ruined pictures, and a very irritated creator.
Fact or Fiction: The Dubai edition
- Dubai is only about luxury → Fiction
- You need a huge budget → Fiction
- Hidden food spots over fancy restaurants → A split vote
- Moving to Dubai turns you into a shopaholic → Fact, both agreed instantly
- Overdressing in Dubai → Always
No hesitation on that one.
A few ticks, a few crosses
- Red-eye flights? Cross
- Screenshotting every metro map, café menu, and reel? Tick
- Carrying deodorant wipes? Only if you dare go out in summer
- Overdressing? Always a tick
Their final takeaways for travellers
Amba’s UAE travel hack
Choose experiences intentionally, find quieter spaces, and explore the less-Instagrammed Dubai — from serene beaches to neighbourhood morning routes.
Shreyasi’s bucket-list truth bomb
Buying gold in Dubai isn’t the cost-saving secret Indians think it is — the prices are nearly the same as India. (This sparked a lively chat.)
Perfume tips?
Yusuf Bhai perfumes were a crowd favourite in the comments — especially for high-quality dupes of luxury scents.
Connections that stayed long after the live ended
What made this session special wasn’t the facts or tips — it was the warmth between three travellers who had never met but shared a common rhythm. They laughed at each other’s misadventures, planned future meet-ups, promised mutual chai-coffee trials, and unlocked the beauty of Dubai through two very personal lenses.
Beyond the Grid felt truly “beyond” this time — beyond cities, beyond borders, beyond screens.
Join us for the next one
If conversations like this make your heart wander a little, follow our upcoming lives. We bring travellers from around the world together — storytellers, creators, culture-seekers, explorers — to share what maps can’t show.
Come for the stories. Stay for the connections.
