Words by Jumana

With captions that make you want to shed your couch potato and go travel, the thing that sets travel page, @travelous_mv apart is that they are able to capture the “glimmers” in travel. To be able to convey the calming peaceful moments that will become treasured memories while traveling instead of just opting for the most touristy image is no easy feat. Whether it is taking in delicious lavender ice cream in the lesser-explored Cameron Highlands lavender fields in Malaysia, or swaying rhythmically on a nondescript, picturesque swing in Thulusdhoo, Travelous very skillfully captures the exact feeling of that moment. Their content is a treat for the eyes and the wanderlust soul.

We at Kaleo Media sat down with brilliant content creators and husband and wife duo, Ahusan and Azleena behind Travelous. Not only are they behind the wonderful page that will bite any viewer with the travel bug, but they are also successful entrepreneurs who personify what you can achieve through creative minds, hard work and the ability to truly enjoy the moments beyond the camera.

The man behind the lens of Travelous is Ahusan. “I’m a full time hotelier at the moment but photography and videography are a passion. I take the gear with me pretty-much anywhere I go – especially while traveling”, he explained. A former wedding photographer, Ahusan spoke of how he knows the importance of being prepared, “Before you go to the locations for instance, with the lavender fields, you have an idea for the angles of shots already sort of formed in your head. Photography and traveling are something I have always liked. She loves the food. We are both actually foodies”.

The owner of a cult-favorite baking business with a dizzyingly beautiful take on chocolate chip cookies at @azzlicious, Azleena is a chef whose love for food shines through one of the many reasons we love the traveling instagram blog. “It doesn’t matter whether we travel abroad or to a local island, food is our love language. We do a lot of research on the food scene before we go anywhere. Whether it’s a local eatery or some out-of-the-way restaurant, tasting the food is something we love to do. He likes making videos out of those as well”.

It felt like a lifetime ago when Azleena and Ahusan were first classmates. Ahusan was doing his Bachelors in Hospitality while Azleena was diving into culinary arts. Ahusan recalled how the Travelous page was around even back then, but it hadn’t taken the form it is in now. He noted,”My entire feed was blue at the time. That was the aesthetic I maintained back then because I loved the color blue. Whether it was snorkeling or sky or things like that, the entire feed was blue. It changed a lot after I met her”.

“Even from the beginning when I started taking pictures, I took everything myself. Even my own pictures. No one takes my pictures. I would put the camera on a stand, set the frame and connect with my phone to capture the photo. even now, when you see both of us in the frame, it is taken like that”.

Ahusan

“That was one of the things that I found fascinating about him. I prefer taking pictures like that even while traveling. There is more privacy and freedom that way”

Azleena

Azleena recalled how Ahusan helped her with her feed, doing product photography for @azzlicious. The current owner of food photography services at @capturedflavors, Ahusan recalled how it was Azleena that sparked that particular venture. “I had never done food photography before doing the takes for Azzlicious. I did it to impress her” he said with a laugh.

The one essential aspect that leaps off the page at Travelous is how they both encourage each other to enjoy the moment. Ahusan noted, “We may like capturing these moments but we also focus on stepping away from the camera to really slow down and enjoy the moment”. Azleena also recalled how, even when they receive the food for instance, it is always important to slow down and savor the food. “We actually don’t order food or choose destinations with the purpose of capturing it for a page, we just capture what we experience and not the other way around”, noted Azleena. That is the true essence of the authenticity that leaps off all of their work.

Azleena noted how the traveling is just getting started. “With Covid and restrictions as well as full time work, it has been very hard to get away and go to different countries but we love choosing locations that are a bit out-of-the-way and it is also very important to us that we have the freedom to get to these locations. For example, we wouldn’t actually choose tours and even at Cameron Highlands we rented a bike and moved around on our own”.

As for what you can expect from the future of the page, Ahusan and Azleena are looking forward to covering more ground. They said, “There are so many islands in Maldives especially that we would love to travel to so I am looking forward to slowly doing that”.