An Interview With Travel Blogger Will Tang

When I was looking through travel blogs, I came across one that I particularly liked, called Going Awesome Places. I got the chance to interview Will Tang, the creator of Going Awesome Places. The goal of the blog is to inspire others to travel by giving them advice and guidance from a first hand perspective. Included in the blog are travel tricks and tips, suggested itineraries for trips, travel hacks to save money, and several other useful resources. As an example, here is a recent article that he wrote about eating Ramen in Japan.

Question 1                                                                                                                                                

Q: How long have you been a travel blogger?

A: I've been a travel blogger since May of 2012 so that's 7+ years and running!


Question 2                                                                                                                                                

Q: How did you get started? 

A: I started my blog after quitting my job and traveling Asia in the summer of 2012. As part of that, a friend had asked me whether I'd be starting a blog. I didn't really think about it before then but thought it might be a fun way to catalogue my trip. It totally started off as a hobby and I had no idea what I was doing but once I got back from my trip, I realized that people were somehow discovering my blog and from there I decided to dive more seriously into the industry. 


Question 3                                                                                                                                                

Q: What is your typical day like as a travel writer?

A: Emails, social media, and either working on a blog post or editing a video. 
     If there are events in the city such as through Travel Massive, I'd be in downtown Toronto.  


Question 4                                                                                                                                                

Q: Where is your favorite place you have traveled?

A: Favorites have to be New Zealand, Iceland, and South Africa.


Question 5                                                                                                                                                  

Q: In your opinion, what is the most underrated place that you have traveled to?

A: The most underrated place I've been to in the world has to be Newfoundland in Canada.


Question 6                                                                                                                                                

Q: What is your favorite place you have visited in France?

A: Since I am pretty interested in WWII history, I was fascinated by Northern France so I quite enjoyed my time in Caen. 


Question 7                                                                                                                                                

Q: What advice do you have for students who are traveling on a budget?

A: Stay in hostels or if you're in a group, look into Airbnbs and homestays through Booking.com. 


Question 8                                                                                                                                                

Q: Do you have any traveling hacks that you have figured out during your travels?

A: Pack light and do that by going in with the mindset that you will be washing your clothes along the way and that means your socks and underwear. Quick dry shirts are also super helpful.


It was great to be able to talk to Will about his travel adventures and his advice for people who are traveling on a budget. If you would like to know more tips and tricks from a traveling expert, I highly recommend reading Will's blog, Going Awesome Places.

The Pros & Cons of Staying in a Hostel

During my solo travels, I often stayed at hostels instead of hotels. Before staying at my first hostel, I had heard a lot of negative rumors about them, primarily that they were unsafe and dirty. However, after seeing firsthand what it is like to stay in a hostel, I think that they are a good option, IF you take several factors into consideration. So, based on my experiences, here are the pros and cons of staying in a hostel.

PROS:

1.  Most of them are cheaper than staying in hotels.
• Each hostel has many price ranges depending on the type of room you choose. If you stay in a room with several people, it will be less expensive than if you choose to stay in a private room. Still, even the private rooms will likely be less expensive than most hotels.
2.  It is easy to meet new people.
• This is especially true if you are traveling alone. When I stayed in a hostel in Bruges, Belgium, I met three other people that were staying in the same hostel as me. We ended up spending a few hours walking around the city together and I made three new friends from South Africa and Spain! 
• In addition, there are several hostels that are designated as "party hostels" if you are looking for a more social scene. The hostel I stayed at in Bruges was called St. Christopher's, and there was a bar inside where I met many people from several different countries. (I realize this could also be a con if you are looking for a more quiet vacation. If this is the case, I recommend finding a hostel that is closer to a bed-and-breakfast style).

CONS:

1. You might have to stay in a room with complete strangers. 
• Yes, one of the pros is that hostels are cheaper, but this might mean that you have to stay in bunk-bed style rooms with other travelers. You can either choose to stay in a co-ed room or in an all female / all male room. When I went to London, I opted to pay a bit more to stay in an all-female room, and other than having different sleep schedules, I did not mind having roommates. 
2.  A lot of hostels are located far from the city center. 
• This is definitely something to keep in mind when looking for a hostel. Many of the cheaper options are farther away from the main tourist sites, which presents a safety problem especially if you are by yourself at night. I would recommend paying a little more for a hostel that is walkable from the city center, so you can ~safely~ walk back at night.  
3.  You'll probably have to share a bathroom.
• All of the hostels that I stayed at had communal bathrooms with private showers. This is something that is just part of the experience of staying in a hostel. On the bright side, you'll likely only be staying in the hostel for a few days, and it will make you truly appreciate having your own bathroom back home.

As you can see, the first two cons can be eliminated depending on your budget and room preferences. While I opted for a more expensive room in hostels that were closer to the city center, other friends I know have stayed in rooms with 7 or 8 other people and used an Uber to get back to their hostel at night because it was farther away from the city. They explained that because it was only for a few days and they were with other people, it just added to the adventure of their trips. As long as you are safe and comfortable with the social aspect that is inevitable when staying in a hostel, I would say that the pros outweigh the cons and you will definitely come back with more stories to tell than if you were staying in a hotel!

How to Get Over Homesickness

When you move to a new country without your family or friends for a few months, you likely will go through a series of different emotions. A lot of people refer to this as the emotional stages of culture shock. It is often represented by an image like this:

Although each person's emotional stages will be different depending on their circumstances, many people will experience this roller coaster of emotions. Inevitably, at one point or another during your time abroad, one of these emotions will be homesickness, either for your family, friends, or just the familiarity of something you realized you took for granted in your hometown, such as being able to walk down the street and order a pizza at 10 pm.

Regardless of the reasons, being homesick is a natural emotion that many people will experience when they are in an unfamiliar surrounding for an extended period of time. Here are some tips for how to ease this negative emotion.

• Make a list of all of the positive things that happened throughout your day. 
• My sister gave me this tip when I told her I was feeling down during my first week abroad. Even if it is only one or two things, looking at the positives about each day will help you to remember everything that went right, rather than searching for the negative things that may have happened.
•  Don't spend too much time worrying about what your friends are doing back home. 
• In the beginning of my time in France, I often would look at social media just to see what my friends back home were up to. This led me to think that I was missing out on new memories and fun times, and obsessing over what I was missing back home made me miss out on making new memories with new friends in France.
• Don't compare yourself to other people. 
• Because I had other friends studying abroad in different countries at the same time as me, I got into the bad habit of obsessively looking at their Snapchat stories or Instagram posts and comparing myself to them. This comparison led me to believe that I was missing out or doing something wrong... I would ask myself questions like: Why haven't I made new best friends yet? or Why haven't I traveled as much as my other friends have? In reality, people only post the best parts of their lives on social media, and they usually leave out the not-so-happy emotions that they are likely feeling too. Also, everyone is in a different situation, so if you haven't made best friends by the second week you are abroad, don't panic! It will happen if you put yourself out there!
• Keep in touch with your family and friends back home!
• Whenever I was having a particularly hard day, I would try to FaceTime my parents or my friends. Just seeing familiar faces helped me tremendously and reminded me that I always had people to talk to who would cheer me up. However, talking to friends too often is not always the best idea because you might miss out on making new friends and truly experiencing your new home. Yet, the occasional FaceTime catch-up where my friends filled me in on the latest boy drama or my mom let me talk to my dog was often just what I needed to change my mood. 
• Spend a night watching your favorite shows. 
• When I was feeling homesick and missed the familiarities of home, I would take the night off to relax, eat comfort food, and catch-up on all of my favorite shows on Netflix. Taking a night off and just watching a familiar show calmed me down and allowed me to re-energize for the next day. 
• Don't wish away your time abroad!
• My biggest advice when you are feeling sad is to live in the moment. A negative thought that sometimes popped up in my mind was, "Maybe I shouldn't have studied abroad." I thought that I was missing out on a semester's worth of inside jokes and parties with friends back home. However, while there will be things that you inevitably miss out on, I had to remind myself that I was given the opportunity to live in another country for five months... not everyone gets this opportunity! So, the first time I thought this, I made a list of the reasons why studying abroad was a great opportunity that I then consulted anytime I began to regret my decision to study abroad. Also, just getting some fresh air and exploring my new city always helped to ease my worries. 

I hope these tips help anyone that may be experiencing homesickness or just general sadness while studying abroad. Whenever you're longing to be home, try exploring your city or reaching out to a new friend to hang out–because I guarantee that most everyone feels the same way too at some point during their time studying abroad.

Traveling as a Solo Female

Traveling to a foreign country, even with a familiar group of people, is a challenging task in itself. However, add to this the stress of traveling solo, and more specifically, traveling as a solo female, and it presents an even more taxing experience. I traveled to a few countries by myself, and it was definitely stressful to plan, but very rewarding afterwards. Because it was my first time traveling solo, I was looking for a blog that discussed the challenges of traveling as a female, and tips for having a safe but fun trip. 

That's when I came across the blog "Adventurous Kate," which is labeled as a solo female travel blog. The author, Kate McCulley, is an experienced traveler who writes this blog for a living. One of the things that I like the most about her blog is her style of writing. She manages to intertwine serious safety tips with humorous stories about her travel adventures. 

One of the tabs in her blog is called "Destinations." This tab lists all of the countries she's traveled to (78 out of 195 countries!), and a detailed description about each place. For example, her article on France includes a whole section about safety as a female traveler, the best neighborhoods to stay in Paris, and 100 travel tips for Paris, among many other France-related articles. 

My favorite section of Kate's blog is called "Solo Female Travel." In this section, she addresses all of the common concerns about traveling alone as a female, as well as many misconceptions people have about solo travel. One of the articles in this section, "Top 10 Travel Safety Tips for Women," proved to be very useful when I was planning out my solo excursions. The intro of this article begins:

Is it possible for a woman to travel the world and stay safe? Absolutely. Even if you steer clear of resorts. Even if you go to developing countries. Even if you don’t speak the local language. Even if you’re traveling alone.

 I created this site so I could help women travel safely and independently around the world. And after five years, it’s working—I get daily emails from women who have gone on their first backpacking trips, their first non-resort trips, their first solo trips, all because sites like mine gave them the confidence to do so. They survived, they thrived, and they had the time of their lives.

But the women who took these trips did so well in part because they prioritized their safety while traveling. What does that mean? Well, this list of travel safety tips for women will give you an idea!

Following this, she lists her 10 useful tips which includes safety advice such as, "Spend extra money on staying safe." After traveling to several countries alone, I strongly agree with this advice. When you are traveling on a budget, you will often try to find the cheapest hostel to stay in, which often ends up being far away from the city center in a room of ten strangers. Rather than risking your safety to save a couple of dollars, I recommend following Kate's advice of "paying more to stay in a central neighborhood with lots of lively activity instead of a cheaper, quiet residential area where you feel isolated." When I stayed in Bruges, Belgium for a night, I opted to pay ten dollars more for a single room for myself at a highly-rated hostel, and the extra privacy and less apprehension I felt as a result was definitely worth it. 

Kate has many more articles like this one that are very helpful for female solo travelers. Even if you aren't female or are traveling with a group, her advice applies to anyone who is planning a trip to an unknown place. From first-time travelers to experienced backpackers, you can never have too much advice on traveling safe.

Weekend Travel Tips

Probably the most stressful part of studying abroad was making sure I wasn't wasting a single moment. I had the chance to live in France for five months so I wanted to make the most of living in Europe in any free time that I had.

To do this, I spent a couple of weekends traveling to other countries and the rest exploring France. Since I had never really planned a weekend in another country before, I was very unsure of what type of transportation to take, where to stay, and what to do while I was there. Luckily, I came across the website GoOverseas, which has several travel articles about studying abroad. 

One of the articles that was particularly helpful was "28 Essential Tips for Weekend Travel While Studying Abroad." It is written by Andy Steves, who has a student tour business in Europe and just so happens to be the son of notable travel writer Rick Steves, so I knew that his tips had to be legitimate.

Andy addresses several of the common apprehensions of traveling in this post. One of the points that helped in my time abroad discusses the misconception that you have to spend every weekend in a different country. He explains: 

When looking at the calendar and scheduling weekend trips across the continent, ensure that you leave enough time to actually immerse yourself in your home city and local culture. Often, we're so excited to travel that we miss out on the true experience–living in a new city, speaking a foreign language, getting to know the neighborhood, and meeting locals.

In the beginning of my semester abroad, I was anxious to always be doing something exciting, and I felt that I was missing out whenever I didn't have any travel plans for the weekend. However, like Steves explains, it is just as important to stay in your home city so that you can experience the culture of the city that you are studying in. So, on the days when I had no plans, I would try to explore Reims. Sometimes this involved taking a 20 minute walk around the city, or running on a new bike path. Other times it was as simple as reading a book in front of the Cathedral and people watching for an hour. 

In addition to this helpful tip, the article includes several more tips and advice for traveling on a budget, which was very useful to me. I highly recommend checking out the rest of the article as well as Andy Steves' other travel posts to help you plan for your semester abroad!

Ten French Phrases You Should Know Before Visiting France

Whether you are visiting France for a few days or several months, it is helpful to know some basic French. These 10 phrases are essential to memorize to help you as you travel around France.

1. Bonjour! Comment ça va?—Hello! How are you? 
2. Parlez-vous anglais?—Do you speak English? (VERY IMPORTANT)
3. Je ne parle pas Français.—I don't speak French. (Also very important and the #1 phrase I used while in France)
4. Excuse-moi—Excuse me
5. S'il vous plaît—Please
6. Je voudrais...—I would like... (Used for politely ordering food)
7. Bonne journée!—Have a good day! (Many people will say this as you leave a store or restaurant, and it is polite to respond back with the same phrase)
8. Comment tu t'appelles?—What is your name?
9. Merci beaucoup!—Thank you very much!
10. De rien!—You're welcome!

Although this is a small list, it will be very helpful to navigate France even with these ten simple phrases.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: A Guide to Traveling in Europe

When traveling around Europe, there are several options for transportation depending on your budget and which country you’re visiting. 

• Buses: Taking a bus is the cheapest option for traveling, but it also takes the longest amount of time to get to your destination. There are many different companies that offer cheap bus rides around Europe. For example, I often took the bus from Reims to Paris. Although the ride takes 2 hours, it usually only costs $6-$15. I also took a bus from Reims to Brussels, which was also a long bus ride, but the cheap ticket was worth it. My favorite sites for booking buses in Europe were Flixbus.com and Oui.scnf. 

• Trains: France has a high-speed rail line that runs through most of the country called TGV. This was my favorite way to travel because it was faster than the bus and it ran more frequently. The only downside is that it is more expensive. To illustrate, a train from Reims to Paris takes around 40 minutes and costs between $25-$50. It is also more convenient because it arrives and departs from the two main train stations in Paris: Paris Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord. I also took a Eurostar train from Paris Gare du Nord to London, which, again was much quicker but more expensive than a bus. 

• Planes: Of course, if you plan on traveling to somewhere other than a nearby city or a neighboring country, the typical choice is to take a plane. Yet, it is well known that flying is not a cheap endeavor. If paying $100 or more for a flight isn’t in your budget, and you have extra time, there is usually the option of taking a bus or a train instead. Sure, this will take up to 12 hours longer to arrive, but you will be saving a lot of money in the end. If taking a plane is your only option, your best bet is to plan your trip ahead of time, so you can buy your plane tickets a month or two before you leave. This way, the tickets are a lot less expensive than if you buy them a couple weeks in advance.
  
  
  As this shows, traveling throughout Europe requires choosing between planes, trains, and automobiles. There are pros and cons of each mode of transport, so the best option depends on your budget, schedule, and destination.