Welcome to Manisha on the Move.

I am Manisha, the name behind this adventure travel blog, a space dedicated to sharing my experience from around the world. I have rarely stayed in one place for more than a few years, and this space is where I stories, travels tips and itineraries, and experiences gathered along the way.

I was born in Luxembourg and just 3 weeks later, boarded a plane to La Paz, Bolivia, where my parents were living at the time; something I do not think you are allowed to do anymore, as you now have to be at least one month old to fly. Bolivia was my first introduction to the world, and having returned more than once, I was known by my parents and family friends as a paceña (native of La Paz).

When I was 2, my family moved to Viet Nam, an age I do not remember clearly, through certain images have stuck with me. I remember the house we lived in, it was big (or was that because I was small?) with high ceilings, and a particularly vivid memory of feeling “watched over” by a lizard while trying to sleep – not ideal, considering I have never been the biggest fan of lizards. After Viet Nam, we spent some time in Luxembourg before returning to La Paz once again. This second time in Bolivia came with clearer memories: kindergarten, elementary school, and my sister being with us.

Altogether, we spent about 4 years in Bolivia before moving to Africa, a continent where I would spend much of my childhood. Our first stop was Guinea-Bissau, a small country off the coast of West Africa. Looking back, I now understand how challenging life there could be, but as a child, those realities were easy to miss. When we arrived, the country was experiencing political instability, following a coup d’état. I remember once having to attend a birthday party early, before it even meant to start, because my mom did not want us getting caught outside if tensions escalated.

I attended a French school in Guinea-Bissau, where I learned French. Due to limited infrastructure, all my assignments had to be sent to France to be graded, including audio recordings of me singing songs or reciting poems. It feels almost comical now. Some years, class sizes were highly off; one year, there were only three students in my class, and I was the only girl. Despite these challenges, my memories of Guinea-Bissau are filled with fun and warmth.

Just getting started in Africa, I moved 3 years later to southern Africa, in Gaborone, Botswana, where I also switched to the British education system. That adjustment was not easy. I remember being placed in the lowest maths group in a school with three levels. Despite being fairly strong in maths, I slowly worked my way to the top. A classmate once told me I was the only person they knew who made that climb.

Until then, Luxembourg (and Europe more broadly) had been a place I visited once a year, a way to stay connected to what felt like our only constant: our family home. Living full time in Europe came later, when we moved to Brussels, Belgium, after 4 years in Botswana. Once again, I had to adapt. This time to a large European school with students of all ages and nationalities. While adapting had become second nature, what I struggled with most was finding my place socially, navigating teenage years as a quiet, reserved person far outside my comfort zone.

Our final move as a family was to my sweet island, Barbados in the Caribbean, a place that will always feel like home to me. It is hard to put into words what that island means to me, but after the challenges I faced in Brussels on a personal level, Barbados played a huge in helping me grow into the person I am today. I finished high school at an international school there, and in a tragically funny twist, only truly understood how the International Baccalaureate worked once it was already too late. I survived it, graduated, and later moved to the UK for university with a study year abroad in Canada.

Since graduating, I have moved between Brussels and Luxembourg for work, especially during peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic, spent a year in Cabo Verde, and today, you will still find me in Africa, currently in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.  

This blog is a space shaped by all of that movement. I have lived in 11 countries, travelled to over 75, and returned to many places more than once. Manisha on the Move is where I share these experiences, from travel tips and in-depth guides to stories from the road and reflections on what it feels to start over. I hope that Manisha on the Move inspires others to get out there and explore the world, whether that means booking a flight or taking a leap into a new chapter somewhere new.