●Hi, I’m the one behind the camera
A type-A introvert who loves the planning as much as the travel.
Application developer by day. Catching Auroras by weekend, vacation, and most evenings after dinner.
Meet me in 30 seconds
- Based in
India. With a long list of places I'd rather be.
- Shoot on
Fujifilm XT30-II with a 27mm pancake and the kit lens, iPhone 17 Pro.
- ABOUT ME
I go by my pseudo-name, Ina, and I hate showing my face on the internet.
- Day job
Computer Engineer. Which is why this whole site exists.
The long version, if you're the kind of person who reads About pages.
Hi! Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
This introvert from India is still finding it weird to talk about herself in the third person, so we're not going to do that. Hi, I'm Ina. I made this blog. I called it Catching auroras because it's a twist on "catching sunsets" and auroras have been on my list of things-to-see-before-I-die for as long as I can remember. Every trip, even a small one, feels a bit like that to me: magical, whimsical, and hard to forget.
Independent travel, to me, is no tours, no group itineraries, no shortcuts.
Plan obsessively before you go, so you can actually relax once you're there.
I created this site as a tiny creative outlet - somewhere to pour the
four things I'm passionate about: travel, photography,
obsessive trip planning, and building things on the web. My day job is
as an application developer, but building this site has easily been my
favourite pastime these last few years months. (If a link is broken,
it is probably my fault. Please email me.)
I also shoot and own every photo you see here. I'm a self-taught Lightroom and Photoshop user, and used to use a Nikon DSLR when I started out. I recently upgraded to a Fujifilm XT30-II with a 27mm pancake and the standard kit lens, and I am obsessed with it. I mostly travel with my husband, who's been drafted as my unofficial photographer for every trip.
If you've read this far: welcome. Make yourself at home. Open a dozen tabs. I hope something here actually helps you plan something fun.
What makes this blog different
How I actually travel
Four opinions I hold about travel blogs and what I try to do differently here.
No tours, no shortcuts
Every itinerary on this site is one I planned myself, from visa to last train. No package tours, no itineraries generated by a non-human intelligence. If a café or a ryokan is here, I booked it, ate there, slept there.
Written from India, for India
Visa notes for an Indian passport. Flight options from Delhi and Bangalore. Rupee conversions. The context most travel blogs keep skipping.
Obsessively planned
Every itinerary is one I've tested, rebooked, and whinged about. The planning is half the trip for me. Sometimes more.
No stock photos. Ever.
Every frame on this site is mine, shot on a Fujifilm XT30-II or an iPhone, edited in Lightroom. If a photo looks familiar, it's because I took it.
Where I've been
The places I've written travel guides for. Pick one to dig into. More coming your way.
What you'll find on the blog
Four kinds of posts, roughly. Pick whichever one sounds most useful and start there.
Destination Guides
Browse guides →
Itineraries
Browse itineraries →
Packing essentials
Browse packing lists →
Currently
Updated April 2026
- PlanningAlways, always planning a trip to Japan.
- ReadingIsles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson.
- Draftinga 10-day South Korea itinerary from Seoul to Jeju.
- Last tripEgypt, Jan 2026.
If you made it this far, come say hi
Let's stay in touch
I used to have a bookstagram until the algorithms wore me out. I'm (mostly, sort of) active again on the three places below.
- Instagram for the photos I couldn't fit into a post
- YouTube occasional, moody, slightly over-edited travel vlogs
- Pinterest mood boards for trips I may or may not take
Or get the occasional email
No schedule. No filler. Just a note when a new guide goes up or when I've found something worth sharing. Unsubscribe with one click, no hard feelings.
A few things people ask
Who writes Catching Auroras?
I write every guide, shoot every photo, and build the site myself. I mostly travel with my husband, who’s drafted as my unofficial photographer.Is this blog useful if I'm travelling from India?
That’s the whole point of the blog. Every guide has visa notes for an Indian passport, flight routes from Indian metros, rupee conversions, and the small logistical stuff most Western blogs quietly assume you already know.Are the photos on the blog stock images?
Zero stock photos. Everything you see is shot by me on a Fujifilm XT30-II or an iPhone, and edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. Photos of me are taken by my husband, who has to listen to me go on about NOT CUTTING OFF MY LEGS IN THE PHOTO!
Some of my earlier photos were taken on my old Nikon DSLR.Why "no tours, no shortcuts"?
It means I plan every trip myself – visas, transport, accommodation, day-by-day routes – without using package tours, group trips, or pre-built itineraries. Some trips are slow, some are packed. All of them are mine, start to finish.Why "Catching Auroras"?
It’s a play on “catching sunsets”, except auroras have been on my dream list forever. Every trip, even a small one, feels a little like chasing one: magical, whimsical, and hard to forget.