I check travel blog every day, and I spend a good amount of time in it.
I love reading other people's blogs, specially from places I want to go, to get an idea, but also about what I call "epic trips", and I mean overland travel or going to places off the beaten track, and making an effort about your trip, not just buying a RTW ticket and a Lonely Planet guide.
I specially like cycling blogs, as we're about to start our cycling trip soon, (I think I read all of them but I'm open to suggestions) ... I must admit that I don't really read blogs about gap years or things like that...not that there's anything wrong with them...I'm just not interested...
I spend quite a lot of time writing my blogs also... part of it is because I write them in Spanish (for my family) and in English; if they would be just in Spanish I wouldn't get many readers and, having said that, I don't check my stats very often, but I love when I receive a comment or message from an unknown person who enjoys my writing... makes me feel it's all worth it in the end!!!
keep writing!!
Deni
Reply to this I publish my diaries at the beginning of the month so that the "hits per month" stats are higher, and always check TravelBlog at the end of every day in case someone has written a message. I could go on (guilt at not adding a new diary for more than two weeks, losing sleep over titles, editing diaries that no-one reads any more) but you probably already think I'm crazy!
Reply to this I admit it I am so addicted. First couple of months it was hard, now I look for things to write about (even if just to have words to go with my photos).
I check my stats, love messages from people and am soooo happy if they are a random reader. I was absolutely stoked the first time a photo of mine was found to be worthy enough to be featured - that means people like me voted for it!
I say I do it for family and friends, but I think it's for myself as well! Keep blogging, you won't get sick of it, you'll just want to do it more.
Cheers Jane
Reply to this I discovered this old forum thread today and wanted to see if I could renew interest in this topic and get some current bloggers to share their thoughts.
We are addicted to travel.
We love both the planning of the travel as well as the travel.
We enjoy blogging about our travel because it gives us an opportunity to keep those memories safe for the future. We love blog to book.
As mentioned above we love the messages we receive from friends and family. It is always a real kick to get a message from a fellow travel blogger and know they are reading along.
We have found this web site to be the best for planning future travels. A travel guide can provide you the basics when planning a trip but a community of bloggers like this one will give you the up to date information that you really need.
Over the years we have been fortunate to meet several travel bloggers and have developed friendships. This is a unique forum that allows us to meet world wanderers who are like minded and share our interest.
Keep on blogging.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Reply to this In response to: Msg #165856
"Addiction" has two connotations. The first is something that a person loves doing often. The latter is something that they do so often it causes problems in the rest of their life. I suspect I have the former but not the latter.
I like to travel, and don't get to do it that often. Reading Travelblog is one way to explore when I can't physically go somewhere. I read blogs almost daily. I post to remember past travels and share with family and friends.
At first, I also compulsively read stats on my own blogs. I loved seeing that people found my musings worthwhile, which was motivation to keep writing them. Now, the excuse to reminiscence is reason enough 😊
I suspect blogging crosses the line from 'enthusiastic' to 'crazy' when someone thinks about their travels more in terms of how it will look in photographs or on screen than in real life! The actual experience must come first, and the blog as an outgrowth of that.
Reply to this Ditto to all the above... and also I like receiving comments from non-TBers who Googled search a place and my blog came up. I just received a comment from a Canadian in Ottawa who lived in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia in 1960 as a 10 year old boy. He had googled "Eastern Hotel" which is where I went to school from 1966 - 1968, and my blog about my time there came up. This has happened many times.
I'm planning my next trip, so I search TB for the cities I will visit to find blogs from those who have been there. I send private messages asking questions, and get immediate responses. Sure makes planning easier!
Reply to this I guess I am as crazy as the rest of you! Great that you have started up this thread again.
It's always fun opening up the TB page to see what other bloggers have written and equally going on to my 'dashboard' to see if there are any messages/comments waiting for me. I love getting the comments and suggestions. It still surprises me that there are strangers out there that take the time to read my blogs, whether it be 3 or 30!
We are all on the same 'ship' so to speak, we are passionate about travelling, whether we are physically doing it, writing about it, reading or discussing it. What a great way to share our experiences and picking up very useful tips, advice and info!
Reply to this Ive only just started looking at the stats since this thread popped up. I noticed one thing....all of my blogs that have a lot of views..900 and over are about....Sex.
How I ended up in a cambodian brothel, I became a ladyboy and The bloody russians are all my best blogs apparently.
I actually really only discovered blogging a few years ago on this site, always faithful to TB. I write the blogs so I can get my grandkids to read them to me when im old and senile.....brothel? heroin dealers house? orphanage? unicorn fish? ohh nanna 😊
Reply to this The best thing about blogging is that you can go back over your past travels and reflect on how you have changed both as a person and as a traveller.
Many moons ago, I was a dyed in the wool backpacker. I'd turn a journey of several hours into a three day jaunt, just to save a dollar!
However, as I've aged, I can't be bothered with all that any more. Time has become a lot more precious to me and now I'd much rather stump up an extra dollar or two and get there twice as fast or enjoy the luxury of a nice clean room rather than share it with green mould and a bevy of bed bugs.
That said, I still draw a line when it comes to being ripped off. I will never yield to greed, despite the fact that it is the fault of many tourists and travellers themselves who actively encourage this kind of carry on.
Reply to this It's now been nearly a month since we returned home after nearly five months of travelling. I really enjoyed logging onto Travelblog to add or update just to keep family and friends updated with what we were doing. Now that I'm back, I feel a little lost and have been reading other blogs just to 'keep in the loop'. I don't know whether it's addiction, but blogging certainly adds another dimension to travelling and, I think, is a great way to connect with people. Not that it replaces the postcard, yet!
Reply to this In response to: Msg #166727
Hello Jane, Dean and Eleanor,
Welcome back. We've experienced that feeling of "lostness" and completely understand what you are going through. Our recent trip has come to an end also. Having been through this before we can give you a few suggestions that might make your transition easier.
1. Remember that you will travel again. This was not your one and only trip.
2. We really enjoyed turning our blogs into a book. On travel blog there is a blog to book option and you might enjoy reliving your adventure by making a keepsake.
3. We recommend that you continue to blog on occasion about your local area. You are the expert and we'd love to read your suggestions. It will make you feel like you are still exploring the world.
4. There are many Australian travel bloggers. You may want to make an effort to meet a few of them. Meeting fellow travel bloggers is a wonderful experience, a shared experience. If you need to know who some of them are let us know and I can give you a few names.
5. Most important-- plan another trip.
6. Plan the next long trip-- where you would go if you could take off again. Keep the mind busy and before long that trip will be a reality.
7. If you follow several of your favorite bloggers the blogs will be sent to you automatically when they publish. You won't have to hunt for your favorites. Always good to support other travelers on the adventure.
[Edited: 2013 Feb 25 17:09 - D MJ Binkley:42569 ]
Reply to this Jane, Dean & Eleanor,
Bob is right. Participating in the travel blog forums will introduce you to a community of like minded people. Hope you will join in more frequently.
Reply to this Merry Jo is a TB addict...spending all her time on the Forums as evidenced by her prompt response to my comment. Of course, what does that say about me!
Reply to this Hi everyone!
Thanks for all your kind words and feedback. It's great to know there's a wonderful community of like-minded people out there to share experiences, opinions and ideas. How easy it is to plan a trip now! When I think what it was like 25 years ago, I probably I called my mother once on my first big 'round the world' trip because it was so expensive. No ATMs, no Internet, no email, no computers!! Sometimes it was like taking a big leap into the unknown. Imagine travel 100 years ago! So even though I'm a bit of a luddite (no mobile phone for me yet - nor facebook account), I love a place like this where I can tap into things I'm interested in and, sometimes find things that I didn't know could be interesting.
Jane
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