Interview with TeaCake Travels

Friends, I would like to introduce you to travel blogger  Alice from Teacake Travels.

Me:    For the readers, please could you introduce yourself and your blog?

Alice:   Strong-minded, honest, inquisitive, straight-talking and in search of the next thrill, I’m Alice at Teacake Travels! It’s all about solo female travel in Asia and pushing your boundaries to reach your full potential through travel. It’s for the traveller who is on a path to find out more about themselves and test their limits but also for the armchair reader who wants to go deeper into life’s reflections and life lessons through all the experiences I put myself through.

Me:     What was the motivation behind starting this blog?

Alice:    What started out as just writing a piece for my friend’s blog about teaching English abroad quickly turned into an addiction to travel writing and promoting women’s rights. I always had it in my mind that I would write a book or make a zine but discovering blogging through all these ideas into one platform. I absolutely love it. It’s my baby, it’s real, it’s me and it’s proving to be a great resource for women to gain strength, courage and motivation to go out there on their own and conquer their adventurous dreams.

Me:      How do you fund your travels?

Alice:     Through many ways! I predominantly funded my travels for the first five years through Teaching English Abroad in South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. I adore teaching and get immense satisfaction by giving others the gift of English. Then the other things I love brought my money too. Playing the drums in bands, performing in Burlesque shows and now through Travel Blogging.

Me:      Which are favourite travel destinations?

Alice:   The challenging ones! I write about solo female travel in Asia and to date my most favourite country has been Bangladesh. The experience was fantastic because of the Bangladeshi people (possibly the nicest people in the world) and the food and the scenery and the architecture and (I could go on and on).

Me:      Where is your next travel destination?

Alice:     In July, I’m driving from the UK to Mongolia across 21 countries with four amazing women in 50 days to raise money for and document women’s rights. It’s all part of the Mongol Rally and it’s going to be one hell of a journey to follow. Make sure to follow along with us! After that, I think I’m gonna need some respite and TLC. I’ll be heading to Bali to catch some waves and recover.

Me:        What is it like to travel solo? Any tips for the first-time solo travellers?

Alice:       It’s the best! Please don’t be scared. This planet is awesome with amazing people and extraordinary places and if you want to find out who you are, what you want, what you need and what you want from life, solo travel is for you. There’s no better way to educate yourself on these matters. You’ll be challenged and treated to some life-changing experiences and your old-self will be thankful for taking the leap and deciding to travel. No one wants to leave this earth not having fulfilled their dreams. If you’re dreaming, seize the desire! If you’re travelling for the first time, check out my backpacking packing tips and build up for excitement and motivation here.

Me:         The best meal you’ve eaten anywhere?

Alice:         Kimchi Jiggae in South Korea. I’m nuts about Korean food. Even if I’m in Germany or made it to the North Pole, I’d go out of my way to find a Korean Restaurant.

Me:       Who is (are) your inspiration in the travel world?

Alice:      Women who do crazy stuff, strong stuff and stuff other women don’t do are pretty much my heroes. This includes Iris from Mind Of A Hitchhiker and Jessica from Comfort Is For Wimps.

Me:        Are there any books you read as a child that inspired your travel interests?

Alice:       Alice in Wonderland!

Me:       What is your travel motto?

Alice:     Grab fear by the balls, push your boundaries and reach your full potential through solo female travel. I use to travel for life lessons and to be the best person I can be by trying to learn from others and myself.

Me:        Name three hardest things/setbacks that you experienced through your blog?

Alice:      Setting up a blog is a bit of a minefield. I’m constantly learning new things and having to backtrack, making changes, chopping things up…it’s a never-ending learning process. I integrated Pinterest at a much later date than I really should have. I only learnt about SEO six months ago and I have a newsletter advertised but still haven’t sent one out! Rome wasn’t built in a day. That’s what I tell myself ><

Me:       Name 3 (personal travel stories) setbacks that you experienced in your travels?

Alice:     Oh man, where do I start? I accidentally became pregnant on my first serious backpacking trip and had to head to Cambodia for an abortion. Whilst I was there I witnessed a death at a funfair to add a cherry on top of it all and lately, I had to deal heavy-handedly with a Chinese guy.

Me:      Have you ever faced a ‘writer’s block’? If yes, how do you overcome it?

Alice:     Hell yeah. I hate it when that block comes and trust me, it can come every couple of months sometimes. I love writing and I love sharing my experiences with everyone. Sometimes the ideas and experiences come crashing across the ocean with full gusto but other times tumbleweeds are rolling across the desert in my mind. You can’t force yourself to write if the passion isn’t there. I just wait, keep on travelling and try to experience my days with full awareness for that next story to come along. It always does.

Me:      Any tools you can suggest that bloggers could use in their first year?

Alice:    Ooh yes! Travel Blogging is about 20% and 80% social media promotion. There’s no point writing a masterpiece if no one is going to see it. Get clued up on how to use social media and market yourself then use a couple of tools to help you manage all of it. I recommend Tailwind for Pinterest and Hootsuite for Twitter.

Me:     Any comments, suggestions.

Alice:   Feel free to pop me an email at aliceteacake@teacaketravels.com if you want to ask me anything and stay connected with the chaos on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!