I was telling my friends that since I moved to Europe in 2008, one of the biggest cultural shifts for me was on how to celebrate the New Year’s.

In the Philippines, it’s all about the family. As it’s a week difference from Christmas, I had mostly spent it with my family in our place. We light our fireworks and join in a potluck dinner together with our neighbors. It’s all about the karaoke, the lechon (suckling pig) and the amounts of noodles to consume (eating noodles was supposed to bring you long life).

At home, I never spent New Year’s Eve with friends – it’s not that I don’t want to celebrate with them but rather they were also together celebrating with their own families.

When I moved to Europe, I noticed the difference. While Christmas is often spent with families, New Year celebrations are reserved to be with friends. It’s about the drinking, the dancing and the partying. Instead of insane amount of noodles, you get insane amounts of alcohol (not that I’m complaining )

And in the four years I’ve been here, with the exception of last NY eve spent with my mom, the rest was spent partying in Prague, Brussels and this year in Macedonia.

And my recent New Year’s Eve in Skopje was one for the books.

My trip to Macedonia didn’t start well. I was supposed to be in Macedonia for a 10-day trip for both Christmas and New Year, but I got sick at the beginning of my holidays and I had to stay in Brussels for an extra week.

And to add, I almost missed my flight after a long night out.

But luckily, I managed to still squeeze in a 3-day trip to Skopje.

I arrived in Skopje on the 30th of December and was welcomed by my Macedonian friend, Danco, and his family to their home with a dinner fitting the cliché “for a king”. After the big dinner, it was a bit of drinking and then off to rest.

As I’m only there for a couple of days, we had an early start in the morning of New Year’s Eve, and have spent the entire day going around Skopje.

But as the day turned into night, the preparations have set in. We got home, went for a short nap and started preparing for the long night ahead.

The night started with some food and drinks at Danco’s place. Together with his friends, we celebrated with food, wine and good share of Rakia – a staple liquor in the Balkans.

After the pre-drinks, we continued the night to a Kafana, a sort of bistro restaurant staple to the Balkan region. It started with a gracious serving of food – a food plenty of cheese, cold cuts for the starters and mouth-watering roasted pork for the main course. If there’s one thing that Macedonia does well, is with its meat roasting.

The place erupted at around 10.30pm when they started playing traditional Macedonian dances. We danced the Oro, resembling a circle dance. As one of the only foreigner-looking guy in the crowd, definitely there was some attention drawn to my dancing (unfortunately, I wasn’t too good).

It was criss-cross of dancing and eating – with a few involving dancing on top of the drums, and a lot of circling. And as one of the three Asians in the room, the DJ even played Gangnam style and of course, we became the star of the show.

The night continued until the wee hours of the morning and after plenty of eating, drinking and dancing – at around 4am we called it a night.

I like the fact that travel allowed me to discover new and fun ways to celebrate New Year’s. Looking forward to how I’ll celebrate it next year!

What are your favourite New Year celebration moments? Do share them in the comment box below!

New Year’s Eve in Skopje is a post from: 25travels.com

I’ve always seen the importance of making the beginning of the year a special one.

My parents told me that the actions you do at the start of the year will be a sign on how your life will be for the year ahead.

In the beginning of 2012, I was travelling in the streets of Paris with my mom. And 2012 continued to be a year filled with amazing travel memories.

This year I was travelling again in Macedonia, visiting a friend in the capital city Skopje. It was this moment at Mount Vodno that made it for me.

On the first day of January, even after a long night celebrating New Year’s Eve, we all agreed to have an early start and visit Mount Vodno, one of Skopje’s highest and most famous peaks.

It’s a 40-minute drive up from the downtown Skopje to the base point of Vodno.

From the base, there are several ways to go up to the peak. You can hike for two hours or drive up for another 30 minutes, but we took the most scenic way which is through a cable car.

The cable car ride costs 100 Macedonian Dinar (roughly 2€) for a 5-minute ride up. The cable car system opened a couple of years ago and was one of Skopje’s cultural and tourism development projects.

As we ascend towards the peak, the clouds slowly started to blanket the view. The once brown mountainside turned to white, the trees gone.  The feeling was surreal.

The first thing you see once you reach the peak is the towering Millennium Cross and is said to be biggest cross in Europe. It was  built in 2002 to celebrate the 2000^th year since Jesus Christ’s birth.

There was also a large Macedonian flag towers the sky and the ground.

But it was mostly the view that got us. Standing at over 1000 meters, we were greeted with a blanket of clouds that covered the city view of Skopje and the surrounding towns. It’s a nice feeling, to be on top of the world and get that experience of as if you are in a storybook.

We spent most of the time taking photos, playing tourists with gangnam style jumping shots.

I had time as well to reflect and just enjoy the scenery in front of me.

We came back down to the base just as the sun was about to set.

I’m lucky to have celebrated and traveled on New Year’s in several places across the world. I’m hoping that this year will be an even better year than the last and that travel will continue to play a strong part of the year. And I’m looking for more moments, literally and figuratively, of being high above the clouds.

*Special thanks to Yuma for the photos.

Celebrating the first year of 2013 over the skies of Skopje is a post from: 25travels.com

While everyone was or wanted to be in London for the Olympics last month, I decided to go the “off the beaten path” and go instead to Manchester for the games.

There weren’t many options anyway – I’m one of the few lucky ones to score a pair of tickets to a game at all. Manchester or London –  I just couldn’t turn down an opportunity to be in the Olympics.

Aside from London, the Olympics actually happen in places outside the capital city. There was sailing in Dorset for example and football practically anywhere with huge arenas like Newcastle, Cardiff and Manchester.

While we didn’t have tickets to see the Olympic superstars like Usain Bolt & Michael Phelps nor the sexy ladies playing beach volleyball, the fact that I got tickets, I couldn’t care less.

The tickets I got was to see the football quarter finals. It was an expected set for a Spain and “another team” but La Roja didn’t get in. In the end, it was a game between Japan and Egypt.

It was an adventure I can’t miss – so together with Roy of the Riding Dutchman – we went on an epic weekend to the UK!

Manchester’s Old Trafford was 70,000+ people full – and probably only 10% were Japanese or Egyptians. There were mostly English, Spanish and some who, like me and Roy, are just there for the games. This meant that all cheers were neutral, and everyone was just waiting for a goal.

There were times were almost no one paid attention to the game and just waiting for their turn to do the mexican wave.

And with that crowd, I can say that the waves WERE the highlight of the game.

The game didn’t disappoint though. The first ten minutes of the game, there was already a goal. Then a red card was given before the end of the first half. The game finished with 3-0 for Japan.

It was a win-win for all – for the players for putting a good game and for the audience who were given a shot to shout GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! several times.

But because of our limited time, we didn’t get to see Manchester. But hands down, Manchester played a good host and we felt everyone was really welcoming. Public transport to and from Old Trafford to the centre was free. There were free maps, ponchos in case it rained, and smiling volunteers everywhere.

The game only lasted two hours but it’s a memory that I’ll keep for a while. Happy to finally tick-off the Olympics in my non-existent bucket list.

Oh and yes, I bought myself a gold medal. I’ll proudly show this to my grandkids someday.

(A special thanks to Roy btw for letting me use his photos on the blog)

Have you been to the Olympics? How was your experience – share them below!

The 2012 Olympics in Manchester?! is a post from: 25travels.com

After grabbing beers with these guys a couple of weeks ago, I (drunkenly) join the awesome group of Team Purple for Lowcostholiday’s Blogger Relay.

The rule of the game is simple – rank your top three travel memories then pass on the baton to another travel blogger. So far, I’ve read a lot of interesting experiences from my team mates, and now it’s my turn to share my stories. 

Bronze : Football – London 2012 Olympics

The bronze medal goes to watching the 2012 Olympic games live.

Being at the Olympics has been a dream since I was a kid. And since moving back to Brussels early this year, I knew that I won’t let this one pass knowing that the games are only 3 hours away.

I eventually ended up watching the football quarter finals in Manchester’s Old Trafford and seeing the women’s marathon in London the day after. The atmosphere was great – Old Trafford was full with 70,000 screaming fans and the game winner, Japan, eventually was fourth overall. The games were highly organized and the streets were full of smiling English people – which I guess came from how proud they were of the games.

While I’ve only seen two games it’s already a worthwhile visit. It’s these moments of seeing history unfold in front of you is one of the rewarding notes of travel. The Olympics happen only every four years and seeing it is a story that I will tell my kids and grandkids about.

Silver : “100 meter freestyle” swimming with Whale Sharks

One of my most memorable travel experiences to date was swimming with the whale sharks in Donsol. This experience was turning point in my own appreciation of travel.

First, it was because it opened my eyes to the opportunities of travel within my own country. The Philippines is known for its untouched beaches, diverse wildlife, eclectic sceneries and culture. I’m lucky to call this country my home and in the past years, I’ve been working on also discovering my backyard.

Every January to June of the year, groups of whale shark visit the waters of the once sleepy town of Donsol. The encounter tours are arranged through the town’s tourism office, and after getting briefed on the dive, you are brought to the open seas. It’s a cat-and-mouse race as it all relies on your luck to spot whale sharks. We only had two encounters during our trip, but it was all worth it.

Second, I clearly remember that on that same boat, I met Nathan, an English backpacker, who at 25 years old has already travelled to 70 countries. I remember being inspired from what he had accomplished yet equally hopeless knowing that this may never happen to me. But still, I made a promise then – that I too will travel the world someday.

Little did I know that now that I’m 25 – I’m actually living the life that I only hopelessly dreamt four years back. It was a dream turned to a reality – and through this blog – I hoped that I too, like Nathan, will inspire others to do the same.

Gold : “Modern Travel Icositepentathlon*” – 25 by 25

Finishing my 25-country challenge definitely brings home the gold.

The race was long but I finally got to the finish line last June. The journey spanned to more than four continents, hundreds of cities and millions of miles. I’ve seen beautiful places, met awesome people and learned a lot more about the countries I stayed in and the rest of the world that is waiting to be discovered.

I’ve seen the sunrise in Angkor Wat and sunset in the Sahara desert. I’ve sense the movement of time from the ancient cities of Rome to the modern skylines of Hong Kong. It was a whirlwind of a journey, something that I can’t really narrate in a short post but the entire journey definitely counts as one very long travel memory.

Finishing this goal affirmed my belief that you don’t need to be rich to see the world nor devote your time solely for travel. I’ve done it with a full-time job and with often shallow pockets – but I made it, and other people like you can do it too! What you need is dedication, careful planning and strong drive to see the world.

At the end of the goal, I realized that it was not a sprint but a marathon – It’s not how fast you finished but it’s about the journey.

–

That’s it for this set – and now I’m passing the #teampurple baton, halfway across the world, to Josh and Caroline of Travelling 9 to 5. Keep the Team Purple baton going!

What are your top three travel moments? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!

My Top Three Travel Experiences is a post from: 25travels.com

This week, it’s all about making conversations in the Philippines. Look at the image below showing a common conversation:

(*photo credits from Jay Cabrera on Facebook. )

Person 1: Bababa ba?
Person 2: Bababa.

Do you notice anything interesting about the phrase?

First of all, this is an actual conversation. Despite only using one syllable, it actually means a complete thought.

Well just to give you a bit of background, the conversation is in Filipino, the national language of the Philippines. The country’s official language is Filipino and English, with regional languages  such as Cebuano, Ilokano, Bicolano, Hiligaynon and Waray-waray as auxiliary languages. In total, the Philippines has more than 170 regional languages.

And together with 400 years of Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and American influence, our language had evolved into a melting pot of words. As an example of this influence, to say “How are you?”  is “Kamusta ka?” a derivation of the Spanish “Como esta?” and to say thank you is “Salamat” which is similar to Bahasa’s use of “Selamat”.

The Filipino language evolved into something unique – albeit weird in some cases. But don’t worry, we don’t babble monosyllabic phrases all the time.

The etymology of the words in this conversation is unknown. But to translate:

Person 1: Bababa ba? = is it (elevator) going down? 
Person 2: Bababa = it’s going down

Baba actually means down.

Here are some other “strange”  words:

• Lalala (to worsen as like to being sick)
• Bobobo (to become more stupid)
• Nganganga (open someone’s mouth)
• Kakasa (to nudge a gun)

For some real phrases:

• You are pretty! -  Ang ganda mo!
• I love you – Mahal kita
• How much? – Magkano?
•  Goodbye – Paalam

Well, the next time you meet a Filipino in an elevator – be sure to mention bababa ba? 

What other quirky words / phrases in your own language. Share them below!

About Filipino Friday: Every Friday, I’m going to showcase something unique about my home country , the Philippines. It can be a place, food, experience, custom or tradition that highlights what we our 7,107 islands can offer. I hope that through these posts – I can help bring awareness about the Philippines,  it’s beauty, hidden sites, quirkiness and diversity.

Are you a travel blogger? I’m inviting you to take part of Filipino Friday with me. All you need to do is post something about the Philippines every Friday. Contact me if you’re interested.

Filipino Friday : Bababa ba? Bababa is a post from: 25travels.com

The prequel, or the reason why I stopped blogging in the first place, will be in a blog post soon – so as not to have a ranting post as my first entry in weeks.

But while my blog had remained quiet for the past weeks, I actually kept on travelling and boy did I travel a lot.

And so as not to spoil everyone, here’s a short summary on what I’m doing in the past few months and the posts I expect to write in the next coming weeks.

Finished my 25-country goal

Yes, you heard it right, I finished my goal last June!

While the blog didn’t have any post (yet) to celebrate the culmination of the goal, I had my Facebook and Twitter updates with photos and status updates. I conquered a surprisingly snowy spring weekend in Sweden for my 24th and finally capping it off with weeklong tour of Portugal and a big celebration at Festas de Lisboa.

Thailand and my brief return to Asia

And three weeks after I finished my 25travels goal in Portugal, I headed into backpacker’s mecca – Thailand. It was my first trip back to Asia after leaving the Philippines at the end of 2011.

We travelled for two weeks long across Thailand hitting the rowdy streets of Bangkok, then partying it “half-moon style” in the island of Koh Pha Ngan then to putting our adventure gear on in the northern hippie city of Chiang Mai. Lots of great stories for sure!

In London 2012

And finally, just a couple of weeks ago, I witnessed history as I became part of the thousands who had made it to London 2012. With the Olympics happening only every four years and the games happening a mere three hours from here, I knew that I have to make this one. From getting tickets, to being at an actual game and to making London as one of my favourite cities to be in (and live in too) – it was short yet very memorable experience.

And of course, I will be writing about what will be the next journey for me after my 25-country goal while still continuing to write about finding the balance between travel and working full time. So be sure you refresh your RSS feed, follow me on twitter and facebook, cause the man on a mission is back on the road!

The Blogger Rises Again is a post from: 25travels.com

And lately, I’ve seen travelers looking at short-term rentals as an option for their accommodation. It recently hit mainstream and thanks to Roomorama, who approached me recently to review one of their places, I had the opportunity to try it.

What makes Roomarama different?

Roomorama is an online platform for finding short-term room and apartment rentals when you travel. It offers accommodation option that gives you the opportunity to live like a local – something that often hotels and hostel dorms lack. Roomorama allows you to choose between getting your own apartment or a room rental in a shared apartment. I decided to go for the latter.

How does Roomorama work?

The roomorama process is simple, and it works like any other booking site. You type in your location, the dates you are going and the number of guest expected, and you will get a list of available options. You select and inquire on a couple you like and wait for your host to confirm availability. You take your pick on the ones that have confirmed and you book.

My personal experience was very easy, but because as I was paying with a credit card, I had to pass through an extra
step to confirm my credit card use and sign a docusign sheet to confirm my booking. I guess it’s an added security for meand for the host but I haven’t encountered it when booking for hostels and hotels online. It was a step that caused a bit of delay since I have wait to have access on a PC in order to confirm and I can’t do it on my mobile. It’s a small thing though.

Picking the right destination

Having a couple of travel plans these months, it was challenging to pick the right destination to work with Roomorama. I’ve had Sweden, Portugal, France and Thailand as my options. I chose Paris, where I was expected to stay for a night, to try it out.

We know that Paris is notoriously known for very expensive, sometimes less-than-the-value, accommodation. I’ve been to Paris several times and stayed in a ritzy hotel in Champs-Elysees, a basement pretending to be a hotel room, and even a grey bench at Paris’ Orly airport – with the last two being disappointing experiences.

My Parisian Roomorama Experience

It’s always a pain to find accommodation in the city but thanks to Roomorama, I think I found the sweet spot.
I rented this room on a shared apartment in 11th arrondisement of Opera Bastille. The location is great with lots of stores, restaurants and access to public transport a short five-minute walk away.

Take the metro and you are 10 minutes away from the famous Parisian sites like the Tour Eiffel, the Louvre, Champs Elysses and Montmartre.

The room may cost 150€ to 200€ if you have the same room in a hotel, but through Roomorama, I got the room for half the price. Definitely on a Parisian summer, that is a budget score.

The room I got has a foldable yet comfortable sofa bed, a set of good books to read (that made me wish I could stay more), and wi-fi access. It also has huge windows that let natural light in.

Prior to coming, my Parisian host, Wilfried, took time to send me directions to his place, including some tips on interesting spots near his place. You rarely get treatment like that when you are booking a hotel or hostel. Staying with a local gives you the advantage of knowing the destination from a local point-of-view, which for a traveller is more enriching than the staple tourist activities.

My experience with Roomorama introduced me to the option of short-term rentals – and thanks to my short yet very interesting stay in Paris – I’ll definitely considering staying in one again!

Photos from Roomorama –  credits 

Big thanks to Roomorama.com for my accommodation in Paris. All opinions and views expressed in this post are my own.

Getting in the Roomorama bandwagon in Paris is a post from: 25travels.com

The same thoughts go for my travels as well. Sampling the local food is a surefire way to immerse into a new destination.

I’ve done a big share of that here in Brussels, sampling the Belgian culinary offers with dangerous consequences.  But hey, it’s food, so who I am to say no?

My recent trip to Hungary had us going through the Budapest nightlife, getting the best out of the amazing ruin bars experience. But after every party, there is the usual appetite for some food.

Hungary is not really known for its culinary prowess but it’s not an excuse for a chow. Here are some of my favourites and in my opinion, the must-tries!

Langos

This is the food to die for … and literally death looks imminent after finishing one langos. Why? Langos is made with deep-fried dough smothered with your choice of toppings. It’s like pizza but deep fried and gleaming with oil. Like our favourite Italian dish, it comes with various toppings like ham, cheese, garlic, yoghurt and cream but you can also order it without any toppings. The sour cream and cheese combination is the most popular.

Langos is best experienced after a long night out as it’s good for draining all the alcohol out of your body.

Pogacsa

Moving on to healthier pastries, we have pogacsa. It’s a round pastry baked with cheese often mixed with the dough. The cheese makes it taste salty and sweet at the same time. It can also be baked with pork skin, cabbage and onions. It’s great for breakfast but can be consumed as a snack too.

Pogacsa is a popular and staple food in the country. They are so well-regarded that they even have festivals for it. And they have reasons for celebrating this sumptuous bread. Travellers in Hungarian stories are usually depicted carrying pogacsa when they go on their trip!

Retes

Retes is Hungarian’s answer to the German strudel (more like equivalent). It’s a pasty pie cooked with plums, strawberries, apples, cheese or chocolate as filling. It’s then topped with confectionery sugar.

One fun fact: Did you know that the round version of rétes was also known as “lie-in” rétes, because it was given to women who just had come from child birth.

Kolbasz

Kolbasz are better known the English-speaking world as “Hungarian smoked sausages”. They are often prepared with paprika, and eaten dried and in small pieces. Kolbasz is prepared depending on the region where it came from. Gyulai and Csabai are the two most famous ones. It’s my favourite food from the bunch – and has this special ingredient that makes you want to eat more (maybe it’s just me though).

Turo Rudi

Hungarians are so crazy for Turo Rudi’s that they even ran out of stock when we attempted to buy from one of their supermarkets (and it wasn’t even zombie apocalypse).

And what is there to go crazy for? Honestly, I don’t know.

Well, Turo Rudi is a chocolate candy filled with curd and can come in a variety of flavours. It literally translates to English “curd bar”. Doesn’t sound very appetizing though. But believe me this polka-dot packaged delight is a treat.

That’s it – I don’t think you’ll be rushing to Hungary anytime soon with this post. But with a good ruin bar nightlife, amazing sceneries and now good food, I don’t see any reason not to go! Bon appetit!

Images from helmsjan, 1yen, JuditK, robot-girl and Backpack foodie – under creative commons at the time of posting.

Have you sampled any of these Hungarian culinary treats? What are the other must try delicacies of Hungary? Share them below.

Hungry? Food treats to love in Hungary is a post from: 25travels.com

I experienced all the four seasons in one weekend but I still had a great time in Stockholm.  

But I’m not here to talk about my trip to Sweden (sorry readers, but I’ll keep it for other blog posts).

But while on top of the Gondolen view deck overlooking the Stockholm twilight,  I realised that my 25-country goal is soon coming to an end.

Rewind back to five years ago, I never thought that travel will play a large part of my young life. If I asked my 19-year old self then, “How I see myself five years from now?” – I can say “starting a career as a lawyer or a journalist” – a statement with no trace of travel aspirations.

I never thought I would travel as I had now. This 25 countries before I turn 25  goal is far-fetched and a goal reserved for globe-trotting travel journalists, National Geographic documentary filmmakers or young millionaires, but not for a Filipino guy who just graduated from university.

Society dictates that we must follow a normal pattern to life. It starts with graduating university, getting  job, growing a career and raising a family, then once you become successful, you may travel and see the world! 

My life started the same way but I made a choice. I am not waiting until the end to see the world.

I am still working on a full-time career, working at a 9-6 job and clocking in my timesheet everyday.

And still, I  travel and have no thoughts of stopping.  I’m happy to continue to have a balance of travel and work. 

But it didn’t come that easy. Working on a full-time job, the amount of holidays to map out and the money to pay for travel, made  it  difficult  to achieve my goal. But after three years and looking at my list, I feel that I accomplished a lot already.

And now, I am one country to go from achieving my list – and it feels great! And to help sort things out, here’s a simple Q&A just to explain my travel plans for country 25 and the destinations after that.

What will be Country 25?

To be honest with you, I am still open to options on where to go. All I know is that it’s in June – I am going to make it!

I’ve already have a few destinations in mind. Romania, Serbia, Portugal, Iceland and Norway are some of my choices to cap off my 25 country adventure.

How would I make my choice? It really boils down to the activities available in the country as well as my financial status. I have a little over a month to decide but regardless of the decision, I think it will be an epic trip!

What’s next for 25 travels?

Well, of course, obviously my website is named 25travels and have been built on the foundation of my 25-country challenge, it’s a question on what will I do next with my blog.

Just to assure you, I will keep on travel blogging and I’ll be keeping the name! But the idea of having 30travels lingers in my mind

What will be my next goal? 25 countries in the next 25 years? Maybe. I have already something in mind, but I will keep it for now and announce it soon!

Where are your next travels after Country 25?

Finishing my 25-country goal doesn’t mean that I am stopping my travels. It’s motivating me more actually.

After visiting Country 25, I’m set to travel to Thailand in July for a two-week trip. 

I’ll be hitting the UK late summer to see the Paralympics with Neil of Backpacks and Bunkbeds (@packsandbunks) too. And definitely, I’m open to doing trips around Europe – Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland and Estonia perhaps are on my list. And a possible return to Budapest (yes, again!), Prague and Berlin. I still have to hit Barcelona too!

These are just ideas – if you have destinations that you like to suggest –feel free to comment!

I think I’ll leave it to that – and as always you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Happy travels!

Thoughts on Travel and that Country #25 Dream is a post from: 25travels.com

For this edition, I’m lucky to have Euan & Rachel of Our Wee Trip - the adventurous (and good looking) travel couple from Scotland. They left their jobs, packed their bags and set off to see the world! They’ve recently finished their Asian trip and are now travelling across Australia. They keep their blog regularly updated so be sure to follow their stories and adventures!

Here’s my short interview with Rachel & Euan.

Names:Rachel Bielinska & Euan Black
Where are you from? We are both proud to be Scottish!
Website: www.ourweetrip.com
Twitter Handle: @OurWeeTrip
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/OurWeeTrip

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

We’re a mid-twenties, Scottish couple who met at university – Euan’s a PR Pro and Social Media Geek, and Rachel’s a Marketing Graduate and Shopaholic. We realised last year we had a decision to make – settle down in Scotland, or pack up and see the world. Six months later and here we are, sitting doing this interview in a café in Laos. We definitely made the right decision!

Why did you decide to start a travel blog?

We both love to write and take photos, and Rachel worked in digital marketing for the last year so it just made a lot of sense – we thought we had the ingredients for a good travel blog!

It’s turned out to be a great decision – we’ve met loads of people, been given tonnes of advice by other bloggers and had a great fun maintaining it.

What’s the most challenging part of being a travel blogger?

Trying to pick the best photos to put on the blog! We’ve got literally thousands of shots we know our friends and family would love to see, but it takes so much time processing and uploading them. We’ll have to invite everyone round when we get back and have a slideshow marathon!

Can you tell us about your first travel experience?

Rachel: I’ve been abroad every year since I was 2 when my Mum and Dad took me on my first holiday to Greece (the story goes that I was determined not to get on the plane!). I’ve travelled throughout Europe and the US but this trip is my first travel experience as a backpacker. I was nervous, but I’ve loved every second!

Euan: My first real travel experience (independent from my parents) came when I was 16 and went with a few friends to stay in Barcelona for a week. We had the time of our lives and it was at that point I caught the travel bug.

What’s your favourite destination and why?

Rachel: Italy. The scenery is just breathtaking and the food is amazing. I couldn’t eat pasta at home for a long time after my last trip to Lake Garda – it just didn’t even come close to the how it tasted in Italy.

Euan: Almost impossible to answer – I’ve visited so many amazing places! But Mauritius stands out, as does Croatia. I would recommend anyone travelling round Europe to stop off in Croatia. It’s a beautiful country and I reckon it will become really popular with travellers in the next few years.

If you can travel with a real or fictional character, who will you travel with and why?

Rachel: Euan – cheesy I know but I don’t know anyone else that would carry their own 90 litre rucksack on their back while also carrying my 70 litre rucksack on their front! It’s also nice having your own personal body guard to walk you to the toilet in the middle of the night when you are on a sleeper train or in a hostel with a shared bathroom!

Euan: I should really say Rachel now shouldn’t I?! How about Bear Grylls – the survival expert/adventurer. Some of the stuff he does is awesome and I’d love to travel like that for a while – living off the land.

What’s your favourite travel quote (from a book, film, TV show etc)?

Rachel: “No road is long with good company” – Unknown

Euan: “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” – Jack Kerouac, On the Road

If you have one flight ticket to go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where will you go?

Rachel: Krakow, Poland. My paternal grandfather was Polish and there is something special about Krakow. I find it so welcoming and comforting. It’s an amazing place to just sit in a cafe and watch the world go by.

Euan: A bit of a contentious answer, but I’m going to go for Bora Bora. It’s not really a ‘travellers’ destination, more like somewhere you go for a luxury holiday. But I don’t care – I could swim, snorkel, scuba, and fish…brilliant!

What is the strangest thing you have eaten, drank or experienced on your travels?

Rachel: I think you find something strange happens nearly every day when you’re travelling but I still can’t get over how publicly and loudly everyone belches in Asia!

Euan: On my first backpacking trip around Europe, I was at a club in Valencia, Spain and there was a gun fight…that was quite an experience.

Advice to fellow newbie travel bloggers?

Make sure you take advantage of travel time – we always make sure our netbooks are charged up while we are travelling so we can be productive during long waits at the airport or even during boat journeys!

“Our Wee Trip details the adventures of us, a young Scottish couple, as we travel through Asia, New Zealand and Australia in search of exciting and ‘different’ experiences. We’ve scuba-dived in Thailand, fished for squid in Halong Bay, watched the sun come up over Angkor Wat, and had many many more amazing adventures we love sharing on our blog. There are also lots of great photos and videos!”

All photos in this post are Rachel and Euan’s property but are hosted on this blog’s flickr count. All rights remain with them.

Do you want to be interviewed on our next session of Talk with a Travel Newcomer? The only requirement of course is that you have to be a newbie travel blogger. Contact me if you’d like to be featured!

Travel Blogger Feature: Euan & Rachel from Our Wee Trip is a post from: 25travels.com