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TRAVEL INTERVIEW ROUND UP: ONE YEAR OF WEEKLY TRAVELERS’ INTERVIEWS

Lainie Liberti and Miro of Raising Miro

Lainie Liberti and Miro of Raising Miro

One year ago, I started interviewing travel bloggers who caught my interest. Lainie Liberti of Raising Miro was my very first interview, airing on Wed, March 9th- exactly one year ago today! Interviewing fellow traveler bloggers was really fun: getting to know them more personally, hearing about their travels and experiences, and discovering what they’ve learned along their journeys. It was so enjoyable, in fact, that I continued interviewing travelers every week for an entire year. To date, I’ve done 48 interviews. Seems the interviewees’ fans have been greatly enjoying the interviews, too, based on their comments. After all, it’s a great chance for them to get to know their ‘travel heroes’ more personally.

evening with travel bloggers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

evening with travel bloggers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 So, what can we learn from one year of interviews?

#1.  Not surprisingly, travel bloggers are out traveling the entire world.

They’re like a whole army of travel reporters swarming out over the globe, visiting every nook and cranny, and sharing their discoveries via photos, stories, destination guides, tips, books, and videos.

Collectively, they’ve been reporting on Central and South America, the Caribbean, USA and Canada, Europe, Middle East, Central Asia, SE Asia, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, South Pacific islands, and even Antarctica. Literally everywhere. Their writings, photos, videos, books, and websites have been dramatically impacting the traditional travel industry. They are making travel information infinitely more accessible, and more personal, to people all over the world.

Dave and Deb of ThePlanetD at Everest Base Camp

Dave and Deb of ThePlanetD at Everest Base Camp

#2. Some have become quite famous in the travel industry and online.

They are paving the way for travel bloggers to more fully be incorporated into the industry. A few notables include: Canadians Dave And Deb of ThePlanetD, Australians Caz and Craig of yTravelBlog, American Matt Kepnes of Nomadic Matt, American Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere, Malaysian/Dutch Keith Jenkins of Velvet Escape and German Melvin Boecher of Travel Dudes.

Hip hip hooray for travel bloggers!

Ordinary traveler in Newcastle, Australia

Americans Scott and Kristy of Ordinary traveler in Newcastle, Australia

#3. Also not surprisingly, travel bloggers hail from many different countries.

I’ve interviewed Americans, Canadians, Brits, Irish, Germans, Swedish, Turkish, Australians, New Zealanders, Malaysians, Singaporean, and Korean travelers. No doubt travel bloggers from other countries, who I’ve yet to discover, are out there blogging, and in other languages as well.

Although bound by their infatuation with international traveling, they are an extremely diverse group of people, in terms of who they travel with, how long they travel, interests and activities, destinations, and focus.

Runaway Juno at Jeju, Korea

Runaway Juno at Jeju, Korea

 #5. For instance, who do they travel with?

*  There are solo women travelers such as: Juno of Runaway Juno and Janice Waugh of Solo Traveler

solo men such as: Anil Polat of FoXnoMad and One Step 4 Ward- Johnny Ward

couples such as: Erica and Shaun of Over Yonderlust and Jess and Dani of Globetrotter Girls

and families such as: Theodora and Zac of Travels With a Nine Year Old

Nancy, John, Davy and Daryl of Family on Bikes Vogels

Barbara Weibel in Puma, Nepal Cultural Home Stay

Barbara Weibel in Puma, Nepal Cultural Home Stay

#6.  What’s their favorite method of sharing travels with their audiences?

* Some are predominantly writers like Barbara Weibel of Hole in the Donut and Nellie Huang of Wild Junket.

* Others focus on photography like Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere and Bethany Salvon of BeersandBeans

* Still others make travel videos, including Nathan and Sofia of As We Travel  and  Ant and Elise of Positive World Travel.

Wandering Earl in Malaysia

Wandering Earl in Malaysia

#7.  Do they live somewhere or are they gypsies?

Length of travel varies tremendously, from those who take weekend retreats and short 1-2 week vacations to those who are traveling nomadically for years on end.

*  Some live a ‘normal’ life with a home, family, full-time job then travel and blog extensively on the side. British Heather Cowper of Heather on her Travels. American Matt Long of LandLopers  and Canadian Leigh McAdam of Hike-Bike-Travel

 

Some are expats, based overseas with full-time work.

Connie Hum of ConnVoyage or Todd Wassel of Todd’s Wanderings

 

* Others are full-time travel bloggers who’ve set up shop overseas and travel out from there.

David Lee of GoBackpacking

Jason And Aracely of 2 Backpackers in Argentina

Jason And Aracely of 2 Backpackers in Argentina

*  Or are location independent from other online work such as website design or website maintenance.

Simon Fairbairn of Never Ending Voyage and Shannon O’Donnell of A Little Adrift

 

Some ventured out for a 1-2 year RTW trip, then returned home to a settled life, still blogging about their adventures, advising people on RTW trips, and making shorter travel jaunts.

Cameron and Nicole of Traveling Canucks

Jason and Aracely of 2BackPackers

 

Long-term nomadic world travelers ‘global gypsies’, like myself, include Earl Baron of Wandering Earl  and  Jasmine Stephenson of Jasmine Wanders

Sherry Ott in Sahara

Sherry Ott of Ottsworld in Sahara

#8. How did they become long-term travelers?

*  A few went for a summer break and just never returned! They realized travel life was it for them.

Earl Baron of Wandering Earl and One Step 4 Ward- Johnny Ward

* Then there are the corporate runaways, who realized that toiling in an office was rendering them miserable. They plotted their escape, quit, and hit the big wide world.

Sherry Ott of OttsWorld

Michael Tieso of Art of Backpacking

Family on Bikes- entering Honduras

Family on Bikes- entering Honduras

#9. How do they pay for a life of travel?

Travel Blogging- David Lee of Go Backpacking

Full time work in home country- Heather Cowper of Heather on Her Travels

IT work / website design- Simon Fairbairn of Never Ending Voyage

Work overseas- Todd Wassel of Todd’s Wanderings

Personal Savings- Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere

and one-year sabbatical- Family on Bikes Vogels

Cam And Nicole of Traveling Canucks

Cam And Nicole of Traveling Canucks

Conclusions:

 There’s no one single way to travel. Budget to luxurious. Weekend jaunts to long-term nomadic gypsy. And no single inspiration or reason to travel. From outdoor adventures to visiting remote villages to relaxing in resorts. Whatever suits you, do it that way.

There’s also no one way to afford a life of travel. As that great old adage goes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way!” All these travel bloggers figured it out for themselves. You can do that too! People obsessed by travel can and do find ways to make travel life a reality. Doesn’t matter if you’re single or have a family. Doesn’t depend on being rich or independently wealthy. Go figure it out.

Lash with Globetrotter Girls- Dani and Jess

Lash with Globetrotter Girls- Dani and Jess

Have you enjoyed these travelers’ interviews? Which were your favorite?

All interviews are still available on LashWorldTour: Traveler’s Interviews

AND… Join me for another year of interviews!

I’ll be interviewing more writers, photographers, videographers and adventurers. Vacation travelers, nomadic long-term travelers, and expats living abroad. I’ll be expanding to include other people working the travel industry such as flight attendants, travel agents, and more. And I’ll be interviewing locals in various countries about their lives.

Get inspired by more world travelers! By writers, photographers, videographers, and adventurers.

Get the low down on their favorite places, what they’ve learned on the road, and useful travel tips.

Learn more about your favorite travel heroes. Learn how you can travel the world too!

Erica and Shaun of Over Yonderlust in London

Erica and Shaun of Over Yonderlust in London

CALLING OUT:

To all long-term travelers and/or travel bloggers: If you’d like to do an interview with me, please write me and ask! No doubt I can feature you this coming year in travels. Meanwhile, bon voyage and happy trails.

Cheers, Lash

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  1. TRAVEL INTERVIEW: Andi Perullo of My Beautiful Adventures - LashWorld » LashWorldTour

    […] LashWorldTourTravel Blog offering Cultural Insights, Travel Tips, and Tales of Adventure from 14+ years of world travelsHOMEABOUTAbout LashWorldTourAbout LashContactWhat’s in a name?LashWorldTour Travel MapLash’s Travel Fast FactsMissionsWorld Travels Overview: 1991-2011PressDisclaimerCOUNTRIESASIABALI- INDONESIABalinese CultureDiving in BaliBicycling in BaliAmedSanurBali MiscBANGLADESHBRUNEICAMBODIASHANGHAI- CHINAHONG KONGINDONESIABaliJavaLombokJAPANLAOSMALAYSIAKuala LumpurPenangLangkawiBorneoDiving in MalaysiaMalaysia MiscMYANMARNEPALPHILIPPINESSINGAPORESRI LANKATHAILANDVIETNAMAUSTRALIAEUROPEENGLANDSPAINS AMERICABRAZILUSAAdventuresBicycle TravelCycling in Bali SeriesHikingMotorbike TravelScuba DivingSky DivingSurvivor TV CrewTravel DisastersWWOOFCruisesTravel TalesCulturePhoto GalleriesTravel Tips10 Free Things to do in… SeriesAccommodation TipsFlight TipsLuxury Travel TipsMoney TipsSafety TipsWhy Living Overseas is Better SeriesMisc Travel TipsBeyond GuidebooksTravel ResourcesTRAVEL INTERVIEWSBook ReviewsHotel – Tour – Museum ReviewsLINKSTravel StoreFREE eBookTravel Books StoreLash’s Guidebooks to Bali wp_flash_img_show will display here (config: default)« Working Crew on Amazon Survivor pt 2 – First Week in the Amazon TRAVEL INTERVIEW: Andi Perullo of My Beautiful Adventures 2013/02/17 by Lash WorldTourAndi Perullo of My Beautiful Adventures relaxing in Santiago – ChileTRAVEL INTERVIEW: Andi Perullo of My Beautiful AdventuresGorgeous Andi Perullo is quite a remarkable, diverse and unusual young American woman. First of all, she’s a Chinese  medicine doctor with her own wellness center in Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s already rather unique for a young American woman.But that impressive achievement isn’t nearly enough to satisfy adventurous, high-spirited Andi. She’s also a major travel fanatic who is set on exploring the entire world. She’s already made quite a dent in her long travel Bucket List, which she has posted prominently on her travel blog, My Beautiful Adventures.In this interview, we delve into Andi’s passion for travel and the details of her bucket list adventures. Here we go…Buzios – BrazilQ1. There’s not much about you personally on My Beautiful Adventures, Andi. Please tell us a bit about how you grew up and how you caught the travel bug.My mom jokes that I was born with a suitcase in my hand, as I have always had an insatiable desire to explore the world. Neither of my parents like to travel, so I am not quite sure where my gypsy spirit comes from? The travel bug really bit me hard in my early 20’s when I was engrossed in Graduate School.Over the last decade I have visited over 40 countries, many of which I have returned to repeatedly. I have lived all over the States, but never abroad. I grew up mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina and surprised myself by returning to my hometown to establish some roots once I was done with my studies.My traveling has yet to slow down, even though I own a successful Wellness Center where I practice Chinese Medicine.Easter Island – My BEautiful AdventuresQ2. You have a very exciting and diverse travel bucket list that you feature prominently on your site!Tell us a bit more about your list: When did you make the list? How long have you been working on achieving all these travel goals? Is it a set list, or do you add more adventures to it over time?My Bucket List, which I created when I started my blog in 2010, grows with each passing day. I believe I began with around 30 items and now I have over 60. I have no doubt that it soon will be over 100. I do not take the list too seriously, rather I use it as inspiration and motivation for future adventures. Q3. Do you have any particular order or general plan about when you’re going to complete the adventures on your list? Or is it more like, whenever you can fit any of them in during your lifetime?Nope! My life is constantly filled with surprises and changes of plans. I have just decided to go with the flow. I know that I will never be able to see and do everything I want in my lifetime and I am content with that, because I live my life to the fullest every single day.Andi bungee jumping in Macao Q4. Are there any adventures on your bucket list that you’ve already completed, which you found out you actually hated when you did them? Or perhaps didn’t enjoy as much as you thought you would? If so, which ones and what happened?Every adventure on my Bucket List that I have crossed off has been extraordinary and life changing, thus I do not regret any of them.Having said that, bungee jumping in Macau was the scariest thing I have ever done. In the moment I did not enjoy it all and I almost backed out from the paralyzing fear. However I somehow found the strength to go through with it and I am so proud of myself. I felt pretty sick for the rest of the day, but it was worth it! Q5. One of your goals is to live abroad for 1 year. Is there any particular country you’d like to live in? If so, why that country? Do you currently have anything in the works right now for living overseas? (in other words, Can you see when / where you’re going to manage this adventure yet?)I would love to live a year in my husband’s homeland of Argentina, however we are busy building our life in the United States, so I do not see that happening any time soon. Our dream is to one day own a pousada in Brasil. It is our favorite country in the world! This will probably happen once we have finished raising our future children.Andi with her husband, Lucas in Buenos Aires, BrasilQ6. Another goal is to write a book. Any particular topics you have in mind? Again, how’s that goal shaping up? Any books in the pipeline right now?The book will be a romantic travelogue and will be based upon my life. I have yet to officially start writing it, but I have already written it in my head. I just need to find the time to put my words on paper. Q7. How close are you to achieving your goal of visiting all 7 continents?I was really close a couple of years ago, however all of the money that I had saved for my trip to Antarctica was spent on my dream wedding in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We want to start a family and buy a house in the next couple of years, so all of our money that we are saving is going towards that now. Honestly, I have no idea when I will be able to step foot on the last continent, but it is my #1 travel goal. Q8. One of the many goals you have completed is staying in a Presidential Suite of a Hotel. How was that?! Please tell us all about it.My husband and I were invited to Chicago two New Year’s Eves ago by the Hyatt Regency to attend and cover their annual Ballroom Blitz. I had no idea that we would be staying in their Presidential Suite and we were shocked when we walked inside and were greeted by a grand piano, a full bar, and a pool table. Thankfully, it snowed during our trip, so we had an excuse not to leave and to enjoy our surroundings to the fullest. Q9. I noticed you haven’t explored much of SE Asia yet. Is that a region you’re not especially interested in? Or have you just not found the time to explore it in depth yet?Sadly, I have never found the time to explore it, although I have been to Thailand twice. I will get to the rest of SEA one day! I am especially interested in doing a surfing retreat in Bali and diving in the Philippines and Palau.Andi at Ayers Rock – Australia Q10. Thus far, what are your 3 favorite places in the world and why?This is such a difficult question to answer! I am going to pick five, three is impossible, and not in any particular order. 1) Brazil 2) Argentina 3) Cuba 4) South Africa 5) Australia. I am not sure that I can say why other than I felt an extra special connection to these countries when I visited them.Andi Perullo of My Beautiful AdventuresQ11. What’s up for you and My Beautiful Adventures in 2013?I began 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My husband and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day in the Cayman Islands. I have a lot of domestic trips planned, but in this moment no international trips yet. My intention is to travel overseas several times before 2014. We are flirting with the idea of going to Panama for our anniversary in May.—————————————————————————————————————————————————Thanks so much Andi for filling us in on your Bucket List adventures and your great love of travel.  cheers, LashFollow Andi: My Beautiful AdventuresFB personal page: andiperulloFB fan page: MyBeautifulAdventuresTwitter: @andiperullo Twitter – @andiperulloInstagram: @andiperullo—————————————————————————————————————————————-You might also like: 1-Year Round Up  of  Travelers’ Interviews——————————————————————————————————————- /* /* Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published.Name:Email:Website:Message:You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> […]

  2. Meet Lash - A Pink Nomad, World Traveler | Inditales

    […] for nearly 2 years. After one full year of interviews, I published a post talking about just that: One Year Round-up of Travelers’ Interviews.  Please check it out for the […]

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