Why I Blog About Travel...

MikeW checking out Ljubljana! (source - MikeW)

After two years of blogging about travel, I have realised I am writing in an overcrowded part of the Internet.  Blogs about travel, independent travel, budget travel and backpacking are numerous.  Many of those writing have established their space on the web longer than The Rough Guide to a Lonely Planet and have reached further around the globe than I can possibly hope to do at this current moment in time.  So, why do I choose to write about travel when there are thousands of others doing very much the same?  The simple answer...I like it!  Travel and experiencing other places are a genuine passion of mine and I love to share this with others.  As I have written about before (The Art of Travel Blogging), I do not like to scribe trip reports for you as I find, on the whole, reading other peoples' similar blog posts dull and incredibly self-indulgent.  And, besides, so many people can write these types of posts better than I ever could.

Am I hoping for a press trip?  Are the 'Rough Guide', 'Lonely Planet' or a national newspaper going to beat down my door so they can fly me out to South Africa, tasked with a 2500 report on wine trips to the Stellenbosch?  Of course not!  I am utterly and completely realistic about the potential for this to happen.  It just isn't going to!  So many other bloggers out there have a larger following, a more regular readership and seemingly write more than I can on a more frequent basis.  Is the hope that I can make this a full time job?  If only!  A pipe dream at best.  Even those that write about travel full time report that pay is low and can often be disproportionate to the work and effort involved.

So, if I am not doing this for the 'free' trips or to earn a crust, my objective is clear.  I am here to inspire YOU!  To encourage you to travel.  To see the world.  To break free.  To explore.  To take that adventure.  To set sail.  Do it!  Then, one day you might decide to inspire others with your writing too!

Happy travels!

PS - If there are any rich benefactors or wealthy patrons out there with money to burn...you know where I live! ;)

Latvia and Lithuania...Conquered!

A shot of the tower in Cathedral Square, Vilnius

I am back on British soil!  Well, I've been back a week and a bit now and from a really cool trip to Latvia and Lithuania!  Both Riga and Vilnius, although similar cities; having an historical centre along with a great expanse of green, forest land surrounding both capitals, were great fun.  I highly recommend a visit to both.  The fears I expressed in my last post were completely unfounded (as I had predicted) and I managed to meet some cool people as part of my explorations somewhere new to me!  Once again, the trepidation I felt prior to my trip was completely unnecessary.

Me and the view from the top of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Riga

Favourite bits, you ask?  In Riga, I enjoyed the views from the Academy of Sciences (AKA Stalin's Birthday Cake).  It was so strange visiting a tourist attraction, in a capital city, where I was the only person there, but for a couple of giggling Latvian girls.  I also loved creating some impromptu art at Galeria Darbnīcā - www.grafikaskola.lv, where I was helped by two patient ladies who put up with my wavering artistic temperament during the hour and a half I spent at their workshop.  In Vilnius, the main highlight for me was heading out for the afternoon to Trakai; a castle on an island in Lake Galvė - www.trakai.lt.  Overall, a top trip!