Travel Like A Travel Chameleon

Traveljunkieindonesia.com – Hi travel junkies! Travel is life. And if you miss travel, you miss life.

Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.

So, check this out! travel like a travel chameleon:

Name: My real name is Yafieda but friends call me Fie for short.

Hometown: I was born and raised in a small town called Kajang, famous for its’ satay dish.

Residence: Currently living in Kuala Lumpur but will be moving to Cambodia by end of this month for my next job.

Travel Blog/website: travelchameleon.net.

Twitter: You can find me at @fienuts

Short Bio: My blog the Travel Chameleon is about the journey of a Malaysian girl, who loves a good road trip to uncover familiar places of interest by blending in with the locals when I’m not flying around the world.

This year I launched a personal campaign called #RoadTripMY which is a road trip to various places in Malaysia for a weekend getaway. I wish to inspire people to see the world differently even if it meant taking a two hours drive to the next town. When I’m not on the road, you can find me at the beach with my sunglasses and slippers, instagramming the world.

How did you first get into travel blogging: I first got into travel blogging by coincidence when I started a personal online blog years ago. I was working full time but wanted to see the world and soon this became the reason for travel blogging. I started to focus more about sharing stories of past travels while planning for future ones. It grew from there!

What do you love most about being a travel blogger: I love how we can tell stories from our personal experience, connecting us with other travellers and readers. I’ve met so many new friends along the way who share the same passion and learned a lot from them.

What’s the secret to creating a successful travel blog: I am still learning at this stage but I would have to say that the most important thing is to be yourself and write the way how you would tell the story to a friend. It is more relatable that way and there’s more engagement with the readers. It’s also important to know the objective of having a travel blog whether it be monetary reasons, to connect, to win awards, so that you know what to focus on as you write. It also gives you something to look forward to at the end of the day.

How do you get your blog noticed amongst the millions of other blogs out there: Oh dear this is a tough one. I guess to stand out you’ll need to have a good niche or focus on your blog content so that the blog is more attractive. I used to write on many different topics until I found out that there is high interest for road trips in Malaysia. If you’re not sure of your niche, try out a few topics and see which picks up the most interest among the readers. That does help in focusing on what type of content to put in the blog.

What advice would you give to fledgling travel bloggers: Persistence is key and don’t give us easily. As we write, there will be hundreds of new travel bloggers emerging every day. It’s important to keep your focus and continue learning in order to improve or be better.

How do you make money out of travel blogging: I have yet to make a big amount of money through travel blogging until today. Maybe it’s also because I’m doing this out of love and hoping that the money will trickle in after. While my travel blog is still growing, I had a few opportunities of paid write-ups and ad placements. Besides that you could also try out affiliate programmes like Agoda, Amazon which offers income with banner placements.

How do you fit in blogging while on the road: I have a notebook which I bring with me everywhere and it is useful when I need to jot down description of places, the budget and other travel notes. These would then be transferred into stories on the travel blog which I would do after the trip is completed. I try not to blog while on the road because I prefer to be in the moment and soak in the full experience during traveling.

What’s your most epic travel story: That would be in Myanmar where I travelled with three girlfriends on a 16 hours overnight train ride to Bagan and then on a 12 hours bus ride to Inle. The train ride was epic because we saw a change of scenery at each small town stop and the sunrise was just incredible.

During the 12 hours bus ride, the driver would stop to pick up locals along the way and they would pull out the aisle seats which were folded up in the first place. None of us could walk at the bus aisle because all the seats were filled up! The trip was worth it though when we managed to catch the dancing fishermen at Inlelake. That was one trip that’s hard to forget.

What is your favourite destination so far: Each destination has a place in my heart because the experiences were all different. If I had to choose one it would be New Zealand because it was an overdue family vacation and it’s such a road trip haven for people like me.

What’s been your biggest travel disaster: I would have to say flight delays but it only happened twice. Other than that, so far there hasn’t been any major issues during traveling.

What are your top gadgets that you always take travelling: My camera, handphone and ipod.

What’s your favourite phrase in a foreign language: ‘Toilet’ in every foreign languages available.

Would you ever do any other job: I’m still employed and currently love doing both of work and travel blogging because of its nature revolving around creativity.

What’s next on your bucket list: Finishing up Asia before exploring other regions. There’s still so many things to see in this part of the world. Taking the Tran Siberian experience is part of that list.

Favorite travel blog/website(s) – besides Traveljunkieindonesia.com, of course!: www.danywhere.com – For art and travel stories, www.fivefeetflat.net – For female solo traveling, www.rambleandwander.com – Travel stories of Middle east and travel photography, www.theplanetd.com – Inspiring travel stories of around the world, www.travelsofadam.com – For hipster lifestyle and traveling, www.glamouroustraveller.com – For travel and fashion.

What has travel taught you: To see the world differently, to be more patient and to have an understanding of one another.

Best travel tip: Take your time to explore the world instead of rushing it. You may never know what you can find along the way.

xxx

Happy Sustainable Travels!

Follow us on Instagram @TravelJunkieID, Twitter @TravelJunkieID & like us on Facebook.