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Explore with Heena

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Explore with Heena

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explore with heena
Hey there!

I, Heena was born and raised in Mumbai but grew up in Sikkim, Manipal, Montenegro, Japan and all over the world.ย I enjoy exploring cultures, foods, sights, languages and meeting people. I have travelled through all union territories and most states of India. I have experienced about 20 countries including 45 of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Apart from blogging, I spend my time looking for greener alternatives in daily life, working out, collecting and writing postcards.

At the moment, I work remotely as a mechanical engineer, help SMEs in operating better, own a postcard shop,ย write a weekly column on sustainable travel and lifestyle for the Gomantak Times and write about Goa on LBB. I also teach Japanese language, do interpretations and translations.

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Welcome to Sikkim sign outside Pakyong airport and Heena
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Modern Sustainable Postcards

I make postcards on recycled paper with photos from my travels.

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Japanese language

I tutor, translate and interpret in Japanese and English languages.

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Partnered with

The Outpost – A restaurant worth visiting in Panjim, Goa
  • Favourite Things

The Outpost – A restaurant worth visiting in Panjim, Goa

By Heena / November 3, 2022
The Outpost is a new restaurant in the heart of Goa worth visiting while you are in Panjim. Whether it...
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Eco-friendly hostel in Goa
  • Backpack Tales

Eco-friendly hostel in Goa

By Heena / June 13, 2022
Sustainability is the act of living while keeping future generations in mind and the ecological balance at a constant level....
Read More
Matcha Warabi Mochi Recipe
  • Experience Japan

Matcha Warabi Mochi Recipe

By Heena / August 9, 2021
Matcha Warabi Mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet great for summer. This is a favourite of mine as well as...
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Is English language easy to learn?
  • Musings

Is English language easy to learn?

By Heena / May 31, 2021
Yes, English language is easy to learn as we tend to hear it more often that we think. English language...
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6 ways to learn Japanese at home
  • Experience Japan

6 ways to learn Japanese at home

By Heena / May 30, 2021
Here are different ways to learn Japanese language at home while the pandemic halted your offline class plans or may...
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Zero Waste Living
  • Musings

Zero Waste Living

By Heena / May 24, 2021
Zero waste living is the need of the hour especially in Covid times with the inevitable waste piling up in...
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Covid vaccination experience in Mumbai
  • Musings

Covid vaccination experience in Mumbai

By Heena / May 3, 2021
Started my covid vaccination experience in Mumbai on Monday making me one step closer to beating the Covid-19 blues. I...
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Is it safe to take a Goa trip in Covid times?
  • Backpack Tales

Is it safe to take a Goa trip in Covid times?

By Heena / December 13, 2020
A Goa trip during Covid Pandemic sounds crazy eh? We have stayed at home all lockdown but now may be...
Read More
Manali to Leh Cycling Experience
  • Backpack Tales

Manali to Leh Cycling Experience

By Heena / November 15, 2020
My Manali to Leh cycling experience was so unique and absolutely unforgettable. I cycled through the Himalayas for over 9...
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Unventured Cycling experience in Yercaud
  • Backpack Tales

Unventured Cycling experience in Yercaud

By Heena / September 27, 2020
My Unventured cycling experience in Yercaud remains second on my best cycling trails in India list after Manali Leh and...
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explorer.heena

๐Ÿ˜ƒ Thrilled to be recognised by the Corporation ๐Ÿ˜ƒ Thrilled to be recognised by the Corporation of the City of Panjim and co as a zero waste champion.

โ™ป๏ธ The goal is forever zero waste but itโ€™s important to remember that that is the ideal state.

๐Ÿ˜ However, Iโ€™m looking forward to all the opportunities that unfold while I move towards zero waste.

๐Ÿ’š Thank you all for always supporting me here, @veni_the_pooh for initiating the idea of writing the column on sustainable travel and lifestyle for the @gomantak_times and @ayya_waste_management for noticing my work and doing what you do.

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #sustainability #heenaexploresgoa #republicday
๐Ÿน Feni tasting at @fazendacazulo via @urbanaut_ ๐Ÿน Feni tasting at @fazendacazulo via @urbanaut_ 

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa
โ™ฅ๏ธ So grateful to Goa โœจ Follow @explorer.h โ™ฅ๏ธ So grateful to Goa 

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa
๐Ÿฆ‹ My first story on the butterfly beach for @lb ๐Ÿฆ‹ My first story on the butterfly beach for @lbbgoa . And with this I announce that I am now writing for them as a freelance writer ๐Ÿ˜

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #travel #lbbgoa
๐Ÿ๏ธ Summing up from the recent! 

Goa ๐Ÿ’ฏ

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa
โœ‰๏ธ Any trip I take is incomplete without a tri โœ‰๏ธ Any trip I take is incomplete without a trip to the post office! 

๐Ÿ“ฎ This one is Lucknow is close to a 100 years old and have a special picture cancellation!

#lucknow #india #blogger #postoffice
โ™ฅ๏ธ Congratulations @kush_92 and @metterahbek96 โ™ฅ๏ธ Congratulations @kush_92 and @metterahbek96 

๐Ÿ˜ So happy to be there see you guys tie the knot, make a whole lotta new friends and experience Lucknow once again!

#lucknow #indodanish #blogger #goablogger #lucknowblogger #india #wedding
โ™ฅ๏ธ Save this new BURGER FACTORY loc ๐Ÿ“ Find โ™ฅ๏ธ Save this new BURGER FACTORY loc

๐Ÿ“ Find it just up the slope from Dona Paul on the Bambolim road!

๐Ÿ˜‹ What to order?
๐Ÿฅญ ๐Ÿฅ‘ ๐Ÿฅฉ ๐Ÿ” 
๐Ÿง€ cranberry mint ๐Ÿ” ๐Ÿ” 

๐Ÿ’ญ Which one are you craving for at @burgerfactorygoa ?

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #lbbgoa #burgerfactory #burgerfactorygoa #burgerfactorypanjim #burgerfactorydonapaula #heenaexploresgoa #notsponsored
๐Ÿ’š Save this for a vegan (and vegetarians too) d ๐Ÿ’š Save this for a vegan (and vegetarians too) dessert fix in Goa!

๐Ÿฎ I was first introduced to @caramel.by.neela in 2020 and itโ€™s lovely to see it expand from classic to eggless to Caribbean, the Vegan variant! The best part is the creaminess, shininess and caramel flavour remains the same in all. Even though iโ€™m no vegan, the vegan variant is my favourite! 

๐Ÿฐ @sushegateaux goes all in to create the vegan biscuits in Serradurra and the egg replacement in the Baath from scratch. Having tried them both in her vegan variants, the baath was my favourite and that โ€˜no one can eat just one โ€˜ tag, absolutely holds true here! 

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #sustainability #gomantaktimes
๐Ÿ’š CLOSED - winner to be announced soon ๐ŸŽ‰ Gi ๐Ÿ’š CLOSED - winner to be announced soon

๐ŸŽ‰ Giveaway - Plastic free and natural wellness kit to kickstart your sustainable 2023.๏ธ

๐ŸŒŽ Join me in pledging to switch to plastic free skin care and wellness this year to keep single use plastics out of our bodies, our planet and hopefully the generations to come as well. 

๐ŸŒฟ But because we know it's not easy to find these, I am sharing with you my tried and tested choice since 2020 - @treewear . (Slide 1) Don't you want to try it already?

๐Ÿ† To stand a chance to win this Natural Wellness Kit (slide 2) from @treewear , all you have to do is

๐Ÿ’ซ Follow @treewear and @explorer.heena
๐Ÿ’ซ Pledge to switch to plastic free skin care and wellness this 2023 in the comments and tag 3 friends in the same comment
๐ŸŒŸBonus - Share this post on your story tagging both @explorer.heena and @treewear and share the screenshot to both our DMs.

Giveaway closes on 2023.01.09 2355hrs
Open to residents of India only.

โ™ฅ๏ธ Save this post for when you want to come back to sustainable skin care and wellness ideas!

#goa #goablogger #veganuary #heenaexploresgoa #treewear #treeweargiveaway #giveaway #newyear #newyearresolution #newyearresolution #zerowasteindia #zerowaste #sustainability #sustainableliving #reuse #zerowasteliving #ecofriendly #environment #plasticfree #carbonfootprint #sustainableindia #reducewaste #reduceplasticwaste #sustainablefuture #zerowastelifestyle #environmenteducation

PC: slide 1 - @explorer.heena , rest - @treewear
โ™ป๏ธ Want to keep the micro plastic out of your โ™ป๏ธ Want to keep the micro plastic out of your body even more this 2023?

โ˜‘๏ธ Weโ€™ve done the plastic free food and toys in the past but how about plastic free skin care and wellness products?

๐Ÿ˜ช Switching to plastic free skin care seems to be the toughest one according to the poll I had on my story.

๐ŸŽ But if you pledge to make switching to plastic free skin your resolution this year, you might just win the skin care and well kit from @treewear .

โฉ All you have to do is follow @explorer.Heena and stay tuned for the giveaway post!

๐Ÿ’ซ Follow @treewear for essentials that are great for you and the planets!

#goa #goablogger #veganuary #heenaexploresgoa #treewear #treeweargiveaway #giveaway #newyear #newyearresolution #newyearresolution
Merry Christmas yaโ€™ll ๐Ÿ’ซ ๐ŸŽ Sharing with y Merry Christmas yaโ€™ll ๐Ÿ’ซ 

๐ŸŽ Sharing with you a Christmas present from me to me! 

๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿ’ป Been following The Blender Guruโ€™s tutorial all month and finally have this chocolatey donut!

๐Ÿ’• Never have I been so addicted to work!

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #foodblogger #heenaexploresgoa #donut #blendergurudonut #blendergurututorial #blenderguru #blender
Uniqlo โ™ฅ๏ธ ๐Ÿ˜ Have you been here? โœจ Foll Uniqlo โ™ฅ๏ธ 

๐Ÿ˜ Have you been here?

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check www.heenas.in

#lucknow #heenaexploreslucknow #uttarpradesh #heenaexploresindia #lulumall #uniqlo
โ™ฅ๏ธ Save this for your trip to Lucknow - The m โ™ฅ๏ธ Save this for your trip to Lucknow -  The must eat guide!

๐Ÿ’ญ It was all a dream, is all a dream and Iโ€™m lucky to get to live it twice and I hope many more times.

๐ŸŸข PS: @ vegetarians, you have stuff to try too!

๐Ÿคค So here what you must must have:

๐Ÿ’ซ Chicken kaali mirch (+mutton biryani and shahi tukda) at @thedastarkhwanlko 

๐Ÿ’ซ @tunday__kababi__ at the OG restaurant

๐Ÿ’ซ Gosh ki Nihari (+kulcha) at the OG Raheem kulcha Nihari 

๐Ÿ’ซ Mutton biryani at Idris Biryani

๐Ÿ’ซ Makhan malai at Deepak Misra Makhan Malai

๐Ÿ’ซ Chole Bhature at @sonsshreelassi 

๐Ÿ’ซ Lassi at @shreelassisons 

๐ŸŒŸ PRO TIP 1: Portions are usually massive so choose the half size wherever possible

๐ŸŒŸ PRO TIP 2: Most shops resort to disposables so donโ€™t leave without your dabba, mug and cutlery!

๐Ÿค— Lucknowis are super hospitable so chat away with them and you ll know so much more, you ll be surprised!

โœจShare this with someone youโ€™d like to explore Lucknow with, follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in
๐Ÿ˜ต You need to see these gorgeous views first ha ๐Ÿ˜ต You need to see these gorgeous views first hand, the next time you fly out of Goa!

๐Ÿคซ Any F seat away from the wing is perfff!

๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ Tell me in the comments, which part are you looking forward to seeing from your flight?

โœจ Follow @explorer.Heena and check www.heenas.in for more such hacks!

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #coastalviews #goaairport #airasiaindia #goair #gofirst #indigoairlines #spicejet #vistaraairlines #airindia
โ˜•๏ธ @okcaramel has my favourite flavours - berr โ˜•๏ธ @okcaramel has my favourite flavours - berries and oranges!

๐Ÿคค I love my coffee black and even more when it comes plastic free!

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #collab #okcaramel #instantcoffee #flavouredcoffee #berrycoffee #orangecoffee
๐Ÿ† Closed ๐Ÿ’ƒ Winner @nj_mails ๐Ÿ”” GIVEAWAY ๐Ÿ† Closed ๐Ÿ’ƒ Winner @nj_mails 

๐Ÿ”” GIVEAWAY alert !! Read on ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ

๐ŸŽ„ The Christmas decor in the city got me decorating my house too!

๐Ÿ’ซ I guess living in Japan nature would do the job of giving the feel of each season. But in India you gotta do it yourself indoors.

๐ŸŒž So when the new year starts, I hope you ll have my 100% recycled paper calendar decorating your home too!

๐ŸŽ… GIVEAWAY : You could win a calendar from my collection on www.heenas.in *subject to availability

๐ŸŽ But how? 
1. Like this post
2. Follow me on @explorer.heena 
3. Tag one or more friend in the comments
4. Tell me why the stockings say Blank (last slide) in the DM only.

๐ŸŒŸ Add any of my posts to your story and make sure to tag me. (Private account send me screenshots)

๐Ÿง‘โ€๐ŸŽ„ And Iโ€™ll be picking one winnnerrr! Free shipping in India and shipping fee applies for the rest of the world.

๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ Ends on 2022.12.25 23:59 hours! 

โ—๏ธ This giveaway is not way related to Instagram and etc

โœจ Follow me on @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heeenaexploresgoa #christmasgoa #giveaway #christmastree #calendar2023 #sustainablecalendar
๐ŸŽ„Make ya Christmas greener this 2022. ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ ๐ŸŽ„Make ya Christmas greener this 2022.

๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ Some of those 10 ways

๐Ÿ’ซ Borrow cutlery and crockery from @koshaa.in for your next party!

๐Ÿ’ซ Thrift at @sale.swap.takeaway 

๐Ÿ’ซ Segregate your waste and drop it to @ayya_waste_management 

๐Ÿ’ซ DM me for the link of the carpool group in Goa

๐Ÿ’ซ For sustainable local presents, get in touch with me for calendars or shop them on www.heenas.in

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #sustainability #gomantaktimes
๐Ÿ˜ƒ @versus.goa has great food, yum drinks and 2a ๐Ÿ˜ƒ @versus.goa has great food, yum drinks and 2am feels, youโ€™ve been waiting to immerse yourself in.

๐ŸŒš Open from 8pm to 4pm, this one offers value for money unlike a whole lotta places in north Goa.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ The guys behind this favourite spot are super hospitable and really passionate about what they do.

โ™ฅ๏ธ This was my second visit and literally fell in love with it, a little bit more.

What you must have?
๐Ÿซ” The bloody cutlet
๐Ÿฅ” The potato chokha quesadilla 
๐Ÿฆ The butter garlic shrimp tacos
๐Ÿฅค Gin Sin
๐Ÿน Passiflora

โœจ Follow @explorer.heena and check out www.heenas.in

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #versusgoa #anjuna #collab
๐Ÿงญ @reflektsustainables โ€˜s hand soap sheets ar ๐Ÿงญ @reflektsustainables โ€˜s hand soap sheets are the travel companion youโ€™ve been waiting to take along.

๐Ÿˆ Whether youโ€™re petting your favourite cat, saving your dress from a dirty bench or bringing that child in you out on a sandy beach, these travel hand soap sheets got your back.

๐Ÿ’ง Just some water, one soap sheet and you get sparkling clean no matter where you are.

๐Ÿ’ซ 80 soap sheets in a tin box
๐Ÿ’ซ Super tiny and fits everywhere
๐Ÿ’ซ Cleans your hand really well
๐Ÿ’ซ Plastic free and sustainable

๐ŸŒทI absolutely loved the lavender fragrance but you can find them in Jasmine and Rose too.

๐Ÿ›๏ธ Use HEENA15 to get 15% off when you shop on www.reflekt.co.in

โœจ Follow @explorer.Heena and check out www.heenas.in

๐Ÿ“ธ Grateful to @lighterature_studios for helping me shoot this one!

#goa #goablogger #heenaexploresgoa #collab #reflektsustainables #travelhandsoapsheets #ReflektForChange #sustainablehomecare #sustainablepersonalcare #homecare #personalcare #plasticfree #zerowaste #ecofriendly #plasticfreeliving #plasticpollution #noplastic #gogreen #breakfreefromplastic #sustainablebrand #sustainablepackaging #zerowastelifestyle #ecofriendlyliving #wastefree #bethechange
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