I was kindly given a newbie-blogger award by Emily at Innocent Nomads.

It reminds me of when my 6th grade basketball coach gave me ‘Most Improved’ at the end of the year. It was saying I had been terrible, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. This award isn’t bad though, because they aren’t saying I’m bad, just that I’m new. (Let’s hope). The biggest perk is it connects me with other bloggers, and I get to give the next award out! I could never have been a teacher because I always play favorites. I was meant to give out an award at some point, so this is exciting.

Unlike a chain emails I’ve never passed on, I am happy to send this award on to other newbie travel bloggers. The rules  of the Liebster Award state technically they should have less than 200 twitter followers, which I did when I received this.  I’m just a little behind on getting this post up.

So, I have been given 10 questions to answer, and after I do, I’ll make up 10 questions for the newbie’s that I choose.

 

Here are the questions that Emily sent me:

1. How many languages do you speak or do you ever learn some of the language of the country you are visiting?

I obviously speak English, and I can speak Spanish a little bit. Considering how many years I studied it, I should know a lot more! I’ve been in India on and off almost a year, and I haven’t learned much- there are MANY languages, not just Hindi. Many of my Indian friends don’t even know Hindi.

2. What country are you visiting next?

I am meant to go to Austria with my boyfriend to visit his dad in Vienna over Christmas.

3. What is the first thing you pack (not counting your passport or underpants)?

Contacts. I always say I’m at a disadvantage if my plane crashes and I’m stuck on an island. My contacts will dry up, I wont have extras, my glasses will break, and I wont see a polar bear coming after me. Then I’m dead.  Or I’m watching too many re-runs of Lost on TATA Sky India.

4. Do you prefer to travel solo or with friends?

It’s equal. I have to have a mix of both. Maybe every other trip should be alone.

5. Do you prefer hostels or hotels?

Hotels. Of course! Hostels are cool for budgeting but I would never choose to stay in one instead of a private lush room, even if it means I won’t make any friends.

6. What is your best or favourite travel tip?

In general, my favorite tips to give are on packing. I’ve become really good at it. I always remind people to pack things they would wear at home, not something from an REI catalog. I also love to give solo female travelers tips on safety, especially here in India.

7. If you could live in any country and never leave, where would it be and why?

Tricky… I live in India now and have no plans of leaving. But if I had to pick somewhere else, it would be Mexico. Rural Mexico. I went last year with my boyfriend and it was unbelievable. The food, the cowboys, the cartel… it was like a movie. Full of beauty and empty of tourists.

8. How spontaneous are your trips?

Nowadays they are very spontaneous. Last night friends called from Bangalore saying come to a music festival for a few days, then we’ll bus down to the beach. Two minutes later flights were booked. It’s a little difficult, because with blogging now I do need to do some research ahead of time to be fair to my readers.

9. If you could sit next to one person on a plane, who would it be (dead or alive)?

Someone really skinny so I could have more room… No, it would probably be my grandma who I keep telling I want to take to Alaska. She’s my number one supporter when it comes to adventuring. You probably thought I’d say Leo Dicaprio or Ryan Reynolds, but then if I fall asleep in my curled up little ball and drool a little, I’d only embarrass myself.

10. Name your top three favourite blogs!

  1. Liz at Young Adventuress. She’s funny, real with her readers, and seems like someone you’d want to travel with (not just read about).
  2. Alex at Alex in Wanderland. She’s the first travel blog I found, and I was hooked. She is a talented writer and photographer, focusing a lot of diving and beach life!
  3. Shivya at The Shooting Star. She’s an Indian blogger here and I love her site as a reference when I’m looking for a nice getaway. I also love that she inspires girls to travel India solo.

 

Here are the rules for the nominees:

  1. .    Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog.
  2. .    Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
  3. .    Nominate other bloggers for the award who have less than 200 followers.
  4. .    Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer

Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

These blogs I’ve recently found, are fairly new, and I follow. My nominees are:

Drew @ the hungry partier

Kristian and Kinda @ the travel chicks

Auston and David @ two bad tourists

Megan @ nomadic megan

 

Now for your questions! I’m not making them too serious because I want this to be fun, and I want your readers to enjoy the answers!

1. Have you fallen in love abroad (for more than 2 days?)

2. What do you ALWAYS pack that’s just nonsensical?

3. Where’s the place you’ve gotten lost the most?

4. If you could change nationalities for a day (of somewhere you’ve visited) which would you choose?

5. Have you ever spent more than double your budget?

6. What’s the thing you miss the most while you travel- that makes you homesick when you think about it?

7. Where’s the craziest parties you’ve been to?

8. What’s the strangest food you’ve eaten abroad?

9. What tourist destination have you seen that was a complete disappointment?

10. What travel tips would you tell your readers if you could only give them one?

11. Name your top 3 travel blogs! (yeah, this is more than 10, sorry!)

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