Read This Blog: Connvoyage

Behind the blog: I found Connie Hum’s blog when she guest posted for my Favorite Travel Memories series. Connie seems truly fearless, whether it comes to sampling the local delicacy, crashing an Indian wedding or holding a giant snake. Although she’s spent the last couple of months in Southeast Asia, it hasn’t been all bucket drinks and beach parties, as she has volunteered every step of the way. You won’t find ConnVoyage on many top travel blog lists, but that’s a big reason of why I love her blog so much!

What’s in a name?: “Like a lot of travel bloggers, I wanted the name of my blog to be associated with travel and have my name incorporated into it, as well as something that could be easily remembered. My good friend, Leigh, helped me come up with ConnVoyage, which (we hope people get) is a play on my name and the French phrase for “good trip” or “have a good journey” (bon voyage) because well, who wants to have a bad travel journey? Somehow, I think not too many people make the connection…”-CH

Why should you read?: “I think travel is so much more than just the places you see. It’s about the experiences we gained along the way and the incredible people we are bound to meet. Plus, I’m a HUGE lover of food and discovering the best hole-in-the-wall places for food is a passion of mine. I hope that, through my blog, people can share in my experiences of travel, remember some of the great memories they’ve had at a particular place or gain some helpful advice on the places I hope they will one day visit as well! Plus, it’s fun to read about the (mis)adventures other people can get themselves into in new situations!”-CH

Favorite posts: “My favorite posts are either ones about food or the local people I’ve come into contact with in my travels. I know there are a lot of people out there who love to eat as much as I do and writing food blogs and taking photos of the food is so fun because I get to brag about what delicious meals I’ve been indulging in and hopefully get people to try something new the next chance they get. My favorite food post is the Hoi An local cuisine one because the little town of Hoi An in Vietnam has just so many local specialties, all of them delicious!

Getting to know the locals is also a great topic to blog about because I think some people forget about that aspect of travel. As travelers, we can get so wrapped up in getting from one place to another and seeing the sights, that we forget that the thing that makes these places so special are the people who live there and they’re the ones that can really make a particular place so memorable for us. My favorite locals post is about me belly-dancing in the streets of Cairo at a neighborhood wedding on my last night in Egypt. I had great difficulty traveling around and was very frequently frustrated but after a fun night dancing with the locals, everything negative about my trip up to that point was erased from my mind and I’m left with nothing but amazing memories.”-CH

I first have to mention Connie’s Bucket List, who makes me feel like a major underachiever! She’s crossed off some amazing things already. I know she already mentioned the food of Hoi An, but I couldn’t get over the adorable clothes she had custom made there! I am dying for her yellow dress. There’s also the cautionary tale of checking references before volunteering, as she learned the hard way in Nepal. And I had to link to the aforementioned snake picture, which makes this Mekong Delta Days post priceless.

What are your favorite blogs to read?: “This one is a hard one! I admit, I’m not a great follower of blogs. I read TONS of blog posts every chance I get, but I don’t always read from the same bloggers. I like reading about different travel perspectives and experiences so I’m pretty much all over the place when it comes to reading blogs. Generally, I’m inclined to reading blogs about places I’ve been to so that I can share and compare the experiences, places I’ve been lusting to go to so that I can get myself worked up about why I haven’t gotten there yet, special experiences while traveling because that’s pretty much the whole point of traveling (in my opinion anyway) and the food blogs because, and I cannot stress this enough, I really REALLY love food. If I really had to do some shout outs, here are the ones that I frequent most often than not:

1. My Beautiful Adventures: So darn inspiring and some of the most envy-worthy destination photos on the net, not to mention Andi’s infections positive outlook on life!
2. Wandering Chopsticks: Excellent food blog, concentrating mostly on Vietnamese food, with amazing recipes and mouth-watering photos!
3. YTravelBlog: Incredible travel bloggers who really put in the effort to help out other travel bloggers. Their site is full of travel blog goodies, such as guest blog posts and travel advice.
4. On Our Own Path: A couple traveling together for only two years AND they still love each other?!?! A lesson to be learned by all traveling couples, plus they’re just so cute together!
5. Todd’s Wanderings: Another great resource blog from a 10-year plus traveler with great photos who seems to love food almost as much as I do, and he’s pretty funny too.
6. Caroline in the City: A great outlook on how to see the world that reminds us that the experiences of travel doesn’t just mean crossing international borders. It’s about exploring out of the ordinary, even in your hometown. [Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t pay/force her to write that? Haha, thanks Connie!]

So there you have it, another installment of Read This Blog Tuesday. Be checking your inbox because you never know when you could be next!