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.

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!