How would you define your travel style?
We prefer budget adventure travel. We like the outdoors, and we camp as much as possible. If camping is not an option, then we like to stay in budget hotels or hostels. We find we get along with the people who stay at these places, and meet lots of interesting people. And we're always hiking or surfing on our trips. Our ideal day while traveling is being exhausted from exercise by the end of the day. We do go out sometimes at night, but for the most part we go to bed early and get up early. Sunrise is the best time for photography!
Somewhere tropical, with warm water and good waves. Either Panama, Nicaragua, or Dominican Republic.
What was your best travel experience?
We really enjoyed our stay in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. We had our own villa with an amazing view of the ocean. We surfed perfect waves, had $10 massages on the beach and $5 authentic meals while listening to crashing waves, ocean kayaked, and went hiking in the Manuel Antonio National Park. We couldn't have asked for more!
We were disappointed in our tour of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Ha Long Bay itself is stunning, but it was hard to have to stick to an itinerary that we had no desire of doing. Also, we visited during a Vietnamese holiday, International Worker's Day (May 1). This was our first mistake, but we didn't have any choice since we only had limited time in the country. All we wanted to do was stay on a boat for one night and cruise the bay. Since everything was booked for the holiday, we had to take a three-day tour that included staying on Cat Ba Island for a good chunk of that time. To make a long story short, the whole tour was completely disorganized because there were way too many people in the Bay that weekend, and we ended up spending most of our time sitting around, waiting.
Don't try to do too much in a small amount of time. Give yourself enough time to immerse yourself in the culture of your destination, or to just relax and enjoy the thrill of travel.
What have been your greatest challenges and rewards of travel writing?
Lately, it's been tough finding the time to write. We both work close to full-time jobs, so we work on the site and travel whenever we have time off. This is our passion, but sometimes life and work get in the way of a steady posting schedule.
Your most memorable travel mishap?
In Vang Vieng, Laos, we stayed at the Grandview Hotel by the River for two nights. Incidentally, we had paid for the first night before we checked in and the second after deciding we would stay a second night. We got separate receipts for these two cash transactions. Upon check out, we could only find one of the receipts, so we had no choice but to pay for one extra night. It was extremely frustrating, since we travel on a budget, but we learned a good lesson about keeping receipts in a safe place until check out. We did in fact find the second receipt, two hours later, being used as a bookmark in our guidebook. However, turning around was not an option since we were already on a six-hour bus ride, heading to Luang Prabang.
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5 comments:
Great interview. I definitely agree about finding time to write, sometimes the day-job stuff that funds traveling can get in the way!
I really enjoyed your interview! I didn't realize how similar we are in terms of how we like to travel and our lives (I love the outdoors but don't surf or do sunrises). You sound EXACTLY like us about 4 years ago. I love budget travel, like the cheap places, and just enjoy connecting with others who like to travel that way as well. Like you, I work full time and it is hard to write at times. Sometimes the writing feels like a full time job! So I definitely feel your pain and can relate to your style of travel.
@Rease - So true! Or the millions of other projects that most bloggers take on. :)
@BudgetTravelIntentions - I find that I get the most out of this type of travel. I've stayed in more expensive places and ended up having a horrible time because I didn't connect with or meet many people. I find that meeting people is one of the best things about travel. Here's a little secret... I want to be more of a morning person, but I have to drag myself out of bed to get up before the sun rises!! And yes, writing can definitely be a full time job.
I have a solution to your morning person problem - have kids! :) And yes, I just love budget options because it feels quiet and more authentic. Quite honestly, I just don't like luxury, being pampered, or served.
Haha! But if I have kids then I would be up early doing things for them! lol. I'm honest with myself and know that I'm too selfish for that at this point. :-)
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