I absolutely love blogging and writing, and taking photos of everywhere I go…but I don’t think Mr S necessarily loves it all the time. Amongst other things the inability to switch off and simply be in the moment is compromised by the constant need to take photos, tweet and Instagram. Which is why I loved this month’s travel link up topic #travelbloggerproblems, here are my top ten:
1. When you first arrive in a hotel room you’re not allowed to sit down or touch anything no matter how tired you are.
Mr S and I have developed a drill for this. We put all suitcases, bags and coats in the wardrobe and he has to stand in a corner or outside while I photograph the room and all the details. About twenty minutes after I’ve taken pictures of everything and exhausted all possibilities, he’s allowed to sit down / take a shower / have a sleep.
2. The FOMO becomes even worse…you don’t want your readers to think you went to some gorgeous exotic destination and laid by the pool the whole time. Oh no, you have to go on every possible excursion, see every temple and rock formation.
3. You can’t just go to Starbucks / McDonalds / Pizza Hut for lunch. Every meal has to be a local and authentic experience otherwise you aren’t doing it right…there’s a caveat however for when you’ve had food poisoning and just want a ham and cheese toastie.
4. And when you do go for aforementioned authentic meal, you’re not allowed to start your feast until you’ve taken 200 identical photos, done a tweet and an Instagram.
5. Even if you’re absolutely terrified of heights you must force yourself to go in a cable car / sea plane / helicopter because not only will you take the most amazing photos but it’ll make a good story for your blog.
6. You really just want to see all the touristy things but you have ‘uncover hidden gems’ in order to look different to other bloggers and to find unique experiences for your readers.
7. You realise that you’re never going be one of those Instagram models with tanned long legs and beachy waves in their hair as you spend your whole time with cream all over your mosquito bites, fighting the frizz caused by humidity and feeling chunkier than normal with all the authentic food you’re eating.
8. You can never switch off as every moment needs photographing and recording and subsequently tweeting and when you realise you got drunk at that beach bar and forgot to take a picture of that perfectly Instagramable cocktail you beat yourself up about it. And then there’s the worry that you’re not in the usual time zone for most of your followers and what if you start to lose them….
9. You start to realise you need new clothes as the same dress seems to appear a lot on your blog…
In St Lucia…
In Bali
In South Africa
In Cannes
And in Florence…
It’s really comfortable ok…
10. Travel blogging forces you out of your comfort zone, it makes you do things you’re scared of, eat things you’d never normally try, venture off the beaten track, meet up with total strangers…it’s weird but it’s wonderful and starting a travel blog is one of the best things I’ve ever done.
