BLOG HOP: BEHIND THE SCENES WITH BRITNEE & MARK

This week we were honored to be part of Twelve Countries’ Blog Hop: a short Q&A that lets us talk about our writing and share some of our favorite bloggers. The couple who featured us, Scott and Emily, must be superhumans because not only are they traveling around the world, but are doing so with a baby! Find out how they do it while living in a new country each month at TwelveCountries.com. As for us, you may be following along and already know us, but here’s a special behind-the-scenes look at how we work:

What are we working on/writing?

It feels like we are constantly moving as we transition to a new city almost every week and sometimes every few days. It’s easy to get behind on our posts when we’re always distracted by new surroundings, but Mark usually takes the lead in making sure we stay updated on the blog. We like to write at least one blog post about each major stop we’ve been in while Mark shares a photo gallery for almost every city as well. Currently we are in Kathmandu, Nepal, and are heading out to trek the Annapurna Circuit tomorrow! So next on the blog we’ll be working on the stories and photos from this awesome place.

How does our work/writing differ from others of its genre?

We have a passion for travel like many others. We chose to publicly share our passion and follow the example of several bloggers before us. While we were planning for this trip, we read other travel blogs and were grateful for them paving the way and showing how it can be done. We wanted to pass on the good vibes and hope that our writing and photography inspires others to make their travel dreams a reality. We also chose a travel route that we haven’t seen any other bloggers take on, so we hope our journey will open the minds of future travelers of the different possibilities.

Why do we write what we do?

Originally the idea to blog about our journey came about as a way to report to our family and friends back home. Later we decided that if we are traveling for an entire year then we should make it exciting for others following along. Three months before we left we spent countless hours improving our design and layout, and creating insightful posts. There were times when we worked full days at work and would come home to work on our blog until 1 or 2 am in the morning. Our investment paid off as family, friends, and even media and strangers were excited for us when we began our trip. We continue blogging in hopes of inspiring friends and strangers alike to travel more. As time goes by, we’ve also realized that documenting as we go has helped us better recollect what we’ve done. Memories are valuable and the blog will always be something we’ll have to look back on.

How does our writing process work?

Mark writes in his journal first and then revises it into a blog post while I prefer to type out bullet points and then fill in the blanks to make a post. Mark enjoys writing about our personal experiences and his thoughts on our surroundings. I like to focus on the practical facts about places we’ve been such as what to see, cost, how to get there, etc. It’s a changing process though as every now and then we’ll switch it up and I’ll share a personal experience and he’ll write about a noteworthy sight to visit. Overall, our different writing styles help balance our blog and provide a variety for our readers.

Enough about us! Let’s get on to the best part where we get to share some travel bloggers we like to follow:

Kim and Brian

I stumbled across Kim’s blog several years ago when she was in the beginning stages of quitting her job to travel. It’s been fun to watch her blog grow and see the adventures she and her husband, Brian, take on as they’ve become veteran travelers. Their most recent adventure was road tripping across the U.S. for seven months as ambassadors of the Get Out More tour for Backpacker Magazine. We had the pleasure of meeting them at one of their stops in Salt Lake City where they gave us wise advice like “push through the bad days when you want to go home” and “use newspaper to dry out your shoes.” We wish them the best of luck in their next adventure in Mexico! Follow them at www.so-many-places.com and www.wanderingsasquatch.com.

Andre and Kadri

We recently met Andre and Kadri, an Estonian couple, through mutual acquaintances while we were in Istanbul. To follow their dreams of traveling Andre left his job of nine years while Kadri ended her projects in public relations. They then proceeded to sell all of their possessions before embarking on their travels. So far they have hitchhiked in Eastern Europe and are making their way to the Middle East. This intrepid couple have no fears of traveling except for maybe tearing off a toenail! We admire their fearless attitude, and can’t wait to see where their journey will take them! Follow them at http://chasing.ventures.