One year on

It has exactly been a year since I started this blog and the journey has been the most interesting experience. If you have read my first post, I mentioned that starting a travel or food blog has always been on my mind since I started to fall in love with travelling. I was constantly looking for outlets to share my travel experience and tips with other people so that their next trip can be closer to being perfect by not making the mistakes I made or having ready information on where to visit.

A year ago, I wasn’t working and had some time on my hands so I decided to leave caution to the wind and signed up for a WordPress account. I had always blogged periodically since I was younger on Blogspot but I decided to start a brand new blog for this purpose. The start is always tough as I pondered on what kind of content I should be posting, what kind of layout looks good and whether there will be anyone interested in reading what I write at all? The first few posts were raw as I scrambled around for content and photos and daily I would refresh the sites to see the number of visitors to my site and wonder if I could ever make it as a travel and food blogger.

A few months after starting the blog, I started work and was not able to work on my blog in the afternoons anymore.  I wondered if I should stop this dream and get back to reality but I quickly realised that writing is something I really loved even though I might not be great in it to become a writer. Most importantly, writing about the 2 things I loved most in the world; travelling and food really gave me a sense of satisfaction.

There are definitely days where I struggled with content as I promised to update the site daily with a post and not being able to travel that often restricted my creativity and materials for my posts. There are also times where my companions get irritated with me as everything I see, eat or experience needs to be documented on camera first. Some days I wonder if it is worth it as I end up taking so many pictures on my trips, I wonder if I really enjoyed the trips.

As I braved on with this journey, it dawned upon me one day that the frustrations and questions I had in my mind were not all that important. I have learnt that blogging gives me a sanctuary where I can retreat into and simply indulge in doing things I like. Comments from readers and friends also tell me that the most important reason why I started the blog has been met. People actually find the information useful and I have friends asking me for trip plans. Encouragement left by fellow bloggers and travellers also got my motivation going.  By digging through my previous trips looking for photos and content, I also relived all the memories and experiences they have brought me that will never be forgotten.

I will continue this site as long as I continue to travel and explore food places and my promise to myself is to stop travelling only when I am no longer mobile. To continue loving this journey, I will continue to post regularly but not daily. My target for a start is to have a new post at least 2 to 3 times weekly. To make sure you do not miss my post, please follow my Facebook page or my Instagram with the same handle Elizbeartravel. Do also leave comments or feedback for me on any content you wish to see or improvements you think I should make. I can only say I am full of gratitude to all who reads my posts.

For now, my biggest goal is to go to the Camino de Santiago when I reach 60 years of age and complete the whole journey in 2 months. Before then, I have many places on my bucket list to strike off and share with everyone.