TravelingSaurus has received a second Leibster award (read about the first one here)!Thanks to a CoupleofBackpackers for nominating me: they recently posted about their visit to the Tintin museum in Brussels (well, just outside Brussels), and I’m so SO excited to find fellow Tintin and Snowy aficionados! They are backpacking while working full-time, with a goal of going to all of Europe before they hit 30, which is just awesome. Did I mention they like Tintin? Oh wait, I did. I have to get to Brussels soon!Just a reminder, here are the rules for the Liebster Award:
1. Write a blog post thanking the blogger who nominated you for the Liebster Award, and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions that your nominator asks you.
3. Nominate 10 bloggers of our own, with under 600 followers, who you think are awesome and deserving of this honor.
4. Create 11 questions for your nominees.
5. Display the Liebster Award logo on your page.
6. List these rules in your post.
And here are my answers to CoupleofBackpackers questions!
1. How many countries have you visited?
Right now I’m at 24. Soon to be 26 (in a week)! I’ve always taken about one trip a year, but I’ve really started traveling way, way more in the last few years.
2. Have you planned any trips for 2015 yet?
Yes! I’m one of those people who plans WAY in advance. We have two 2015 trips planned, one in January and one in June. First one is in Latin America!
3. What is the longest amount of time you have traveled in one country?
I spent over a month in Finland when I was in high school. I typically don’t stay in one country for more than about 10 days to 2 weeks, since I work full-time too. Most recently, last year we spent about 10 days in Uganda.
4. Rough Guides or Lonely Planet guide books?
I’ve unfortunately never heard of Rough Guides, but since I felt like an idiot, I just googled them and they look really cool! I am not a huge fan of Lonely Planet books, probably because I don’t think I’m really their target demographic (as you’ll further see in questions 5 and 6). That said, they do have some excellent books for places that other companies don’t bother writing about–like Bhutan, where we are headed next week. That was a very long, unnecessary answer of “neither”.
5. Hostel Dorm Rooms or Private Rooms?
Um, much to the horror of some of my closest friends, I’ve never stayed in a hostel. I really, really like privacy and personal space. And bath robes. And fluffy beds. And nice hotels.
6. What is the best hostel you have stayed in?
Yup, you read that right, I’ve never stayed in one. I’ll never say never, though…who knows, there may be a time and a place where it happens.
7. Have you ever worked whilst abroad?
Nope! I haven’t, probably because I’ve never been abroad long enough to work.
8. Describe your ultimate dream trip.
I always go with a trip around the Indian Ocean–hitting Madagascar, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Oman (technically Arabian Sea, I suppose), the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Would love to just fly from place to place, and sail around the islands only, as my stomach and open ocean don’t exactly get along.
9. Do you keep a travel journal?
Occasionally. I have kept notes on most of our Africa trips. Now that I have a blog, I think I’ll use it as sort of a travel journal. I don’t really enjoy writing a lot down, as I tend to have a good memory.
10. How long have you been blogging?
It’s my three month blogiversary! I can’t believe it’s been three months, and I can’t believe that most people have been at this for three years…or six. I feel like I am really, really behind.
11. What is the worst thing you’ve eaten abroad?
We went to a home cooked lunch in Zimbabwe. There was some type of cooked green that had so much grit in it, that it was completely inedible (to me, though I’m picky mcpickster). We wanted to be polite, so someone asked what was cooked with the greens and they looked at us like we were crazy and said “probably sand”. It was one of the most incredibly awkward traveling experiences I’ve ever had.
My nominees:
As is usual with the Liebster these days, some/many of these blogs have already received a Liebster. But whatever, it’s fun to receive another! If nothing else, just a shout-out to these blogs. While they are each quite different, they all have a unique take on travel and really great content.
1. The Traveling Tortoise
2. Bag and Spoon
3. Mountains and Passports
4. The Globe Trotting Graduate
5. Second Hand Hedgehog
6. Serendipitous Travel
7. Passport Addict
8. Kendra the Escapologist
9. Gem Goes Wandering
10. The Let’s Go Ladies
Questions for the nominees:
1. What’s your traveling style? I.e. luxury? Affordable luxury? Backpacking? Glampacking? Your own unique style?
2. How do you finance your traveling habit/lifestyle?
3. What city or town would you move to if you had to pick one?
4. Do you have one piece of travel gear that you just can’t live without?
5. How many continents have you been to? Do you want to see them all?
6. Pick something that makes you nervous when you travel.
7. What’s the best local beer you’ve ever had (or wine, if you aren’t a beer drinker)?
8. What’s your one sentence opinion on selfies in sensitive cultural or historical places?
9. Do you prefer history museums or art museums?
10. What is your number one dream destination that you haven’t been to (yet)?
11. Are you pretty content with your current blog, or are you always thinking/itching/looking to do a revision, update, or tweak?
