First – shout out to @RoadUnraveled for nominating us for this super fun award that we had no idea existed! Clearly – we’re newbies to this whole thing. And even though we’re definitely new to this world, we’re excited to really pick it up in the next coming months now that we have our date of departure nailed down.
Anyway – like us – maybe you don’t know what the hell the Liebster Award is so let me fill you in. The Liebster Award is an online award given to new bloggers by bloggers who have less than 300-1000 followers (I found mixed numbers on this?) It’s basically like a “pay-it-forward” type of situation. So, yay us! And thanks again to @RoadUnraveled.
So let’s answer the questions they gave us! Written by moi, Ashley.
1.) What one experience have you had that reminded you the world can be pretty small sometimes?
We’re from Portland, Oregon. There’s a bookstore here called Powell’s Books that is very local and is just blow your mind amazing. They also have these stickers with their logo that are really recognizable and can be found on bikes, laptops and cars everywhere here. In 2013, we were sitting a small cafe in Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand. The girl sitting right in front of us had this Powell’s sticker on her water bottle. We obviously had to say hi – and of course, she was from Portland. Such a crazy feeling to be so far and find something so familiar.
2.) What is the strangest food you have been served- and did you eat it?
For me – I like weird foods. I’m always into livers and gizzards and all that good stuff that you can find on skewers. I have yet to find a food I won’t try once. Except scorpion – I take that back, I didn’t eat the fried scorpion. For Kile – between bugs and testicles – he’s going with bugs. Maybe also that live goldfish at the state fair – not even kidding.
3.) What is the one city you would recommend to a new traveler?
I think we’re both going to agree on Victoria, B.C. for this one. For a new traveler – it’s easy to get to, it’s super welcoming, the people are way friendly, they have great food and a ton of culture and history without feeling too “shocked” about anything. We love it.
4.) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
We’ve been searching for this answer for a few years now. We’re still searching for our perfect place. So far – there’s been a ton of beautiful and amazing places in the world where I can picture us living. But then again – we haven’t seen a ton of what’s out there. It truly just depends on what’s important to you.
5.) How do you decide where you will travel?
I guess – in short, researching? We’re always on Instagram looking at people’s travel accounts, or Twitter, and of course travel blogs. We basically have just been picking places that look interesting and gorgeous and say – “let’s go there someday.” And you just gotta make it happen.
6.) What is the hardest part about travel- whether it’s short term or long term?
As a traveling couple, of course, when you have two people coming together to make big decisions there’s always a bit of struggle. But that’s minor. Mostly though – we’d say traveling, in general, takes a certain person. You’re out of your element and things are going to arise that make you uncomfortable. But the hardest part is keeping the bigger picture and perspective in mind that you’re doing something awesome.
7.) What one place would you never go back to again and why?
We both really can’t think of too many places we’d NEVER go back to again. That seems kind of silly. Unless it’s more of a super domestic type situation like the small town down the freeway we got gas in one time. But otherwise, it’s more like we don’t have time to go back because there’s too many other places to see.
8.) What is the best meal you have had while travelling?
SUCH a hard question to answer because we love eating so damn much. This question needs to be broken down by cuisine? What was the best Mexican meal? Greek meal? Thai meal? They’re SO different. For me – I want to say this delicious moussaka that we had in Katakolon, Greece. Freaking crazy good. For Kile – was this braised pork leg over rice from a stall in Thailand. I think it was $1.
9.) Do you have a travel goal (see a certain number of countries, visit a certain number of landmarks, etc.)? What is it?
Hmm. Is ‘see everything’ an answer? Right now we definitely have an open-ended goal. No ending at all. No “goal” necessarily either when I think about it. It’s more of just a “let’s go” type of attitude with no real end in sight.
10.) Why do you travel?
To experience life in every shape and form that it comes in. We want to see every culture, eat their food, participate in their holidays – everything! Traveling is the most eye-opening, mind-expanding thing you can possibly do. Hands down. It’s what makes us happy.
Ta-da!
And our nominees for the Liebster Award are:
And there you have it! Here are the rules for the bloggers we’ve nominated. Have fun!! Also – yeah, I know we bent the rules a bit. I want my blog nominees to answer our same questions because I think they’re fantastic! But the intent is the same.
Reinventing Our American Dream 