Our blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award. Thank you to Kae from Curious Kea travel blog for her encouraging words. Kae nominated 6 travel blogs she finds “outstanding” and “awesome”, it feels great to be on that list. It’s very gratifying and motivating to see that our Journey Away from what we know, our discoveries have caught somebody’s attention.

This post is also available in: Français (French)

I had only heard briefly about the Liebster Award until now. It’s an online recognition for bloggers by other bloggers. It’s a way to put forward new blogs and connect with other travellers, learn more about each other.

Here are the award rules:

1. Display an image of the award and write about your nomination.
2. Thank and link the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Answer the 11 questions prepared for you by the blogger who nominated you.
4. Nominate 5-11 awesome bloggers who you think deserve this award, and create 11 questions of your own for your nominees to answer.
5. List these guidelines in your blog post.

Simon and I are both contributing to A Journey Away. While he takes wonderful pictures and makes the blog look nice, I’m in charge of the content, so we agreed I would answer Kae’s questions.

1. Who do you most like to travel with and why?

I love travelling with Simon of course. We have changed lifestyles a lot like leaving apart in different countries or together in a tiny tiny flat and now travelling. We’ve always been a great team and travelling together is another reinforcing experience.

2. What is your earliest memory abroad – why is it an unforgettable moment in your life?

My earliest memory abroad was a family trip to Tunisia when I was 14 but it was actually not that memorable. My first experience abroad by myself, on the contrary, was a turning point in my life. I was 20 years old and moving to England as an au pair. It was the first time I made a big choice for myself and I felt incredibly free. That’s also when I developed my love for exploring and travelling.

3. Have you ever been shocked or surprised by anything in a travel destination?

We went to Japan recently and to be honest I didn’t know much more that the usual clichés about it. I knew people were generally respectful, which is true – we sometimes walked in the least touristic streets without being scowled at – but I was surprised to see how kind they are as well. Most Japanese don’t speak English but it doesn’t prevent them from spontaneously offering their help if they see you struggling with anything. It made me feel very comfortable and that’s also one of the main reasons why I loved Japan so much.

4. Someone asks you for advice for their first ever holiday, offer three pieces of advice.

– Try as much new food as you can, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t travel for food?!
– come prepared, read about your destination but allow yourself to change your plans if an opportunity arises
– bring a notebook to write what you do day to day, describe your first impressions, how you feel. It’s so fun and interesting to go back to after several months or years.

5. What kind of food are you most eager to try?

We are going to Sri Lanka soon and I can’t wait to try the food there. Sure, I’ve tried Sri Lankan dishes in France but I wonder how close to the “real thing” they were. They have a lot of spices and flavours there that I’m really looking forward to discovering. I also believe it’s a great destination for vegetarians (unlike France).

6. If you could only eat one meal a day on a 7-day trip what food would it be?

As a vegetarian (including fish in my diet from time to time), my options are very limited in France and even more so in Asian restaurants there. Since we’ve been in Asia, I’ve realised that there are actually a lot of vegetarian dishes I really enjoy. For example I’ve found out that tofu can be very tasty when it’s well cooked! I’ve also been able to enjoy fresh spring rolls and I love them. So to answer your question, it would be vegetarian fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce.

7. What’s your most interesting experience with food abroad or at home?

Before we went to Vietnam to visit my brother who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, he told me I would probably struggle with food there. It turned out he was right but not in the way he thought. I was actually surprised to be able to find many vegetarian restaurants as well as street food options. What was the most striking though was that the menus of such restaurants are usually filled with “chicken”, “beef”, “oysters” etc. Vietnamese people make considerable efforts to make something 100% vegetarian look and even taste like meat, which I can’t really get used to and enjoy. Even Simon was fooled more than once!

8. What’s your favourite way to travel, plane, train, boat, or other and why?

I guess it depends on the route but I like taking the plane, especially when I’m lucky enough to have the window seat. I love seeing cities and landscapes from above, there’s always something beautiful to look at. Literally seeing things from above also helps me to put things into perspective and makes me feel relaxed.

9. Tell us an interesting short story about yourself that you haven’t already shared on your blog?

This is the story of how Simon and I met and why we were bound to travel together. I was studying in Paris and he was travelling through Europe with plans to go to Asia as well. He was looking for a place to stay and contacted me on couchsurfing. My place was very small and I didn’t feel comfortable to host a man I didn’t know so I said no but I was happy to practice my English so I suggested we went sightseeing together. That’s what we did and we never left each other since. So as much as I hate saying it like that, I guess we met online!

10. What would you say to someone who wanted to start a blog but was hesitant?

Stop asking yourself questions and just do it! It’s better to try it even if you end up stopping, whatever the reason, than wondering how it would have been. Before we created A Journey Away, I already liked reading blogs (not only travel blogs) and the blogger’s bio would always make me daydream. I’m happy that I took the leap and am now part of the blogging community.

11. Some experiences are truly inspiring, who has inspired you most in your life and why?

I don’t think I can name only one person. Many people among my friends and family have inspired me in different aspects of my life. Sometimes, even one word from somebody you don’t necessarily know gives you the courage to make a decision. We actually started to talk about long term-travel after briefly chatting with a couple that had just started a 2-year trip around the world in Jamaica, over 2 years ago.

My nominees

Here are a few travel bloggers that I think also deserve to be known and to whom we wish the best of luck in their blogging and travelling adventures.

Jen and Ryan, from Passions and Places 
Carly from Light Travels
Katarina from Path is my goal
Laure and Arnaud from On Part Quand (in French)
Rafika et Karim from Le Big Trip (in French and in English).

My questions to them:

1. When and how did you realise that you were a traveller?
2. What’s your main reason for travelling?
3. Describe what travel means to you in three words
4. What would be a dish you have discovered while travelling and that you want to cook again at home?
5. Would you like to make a living out of your blog? is it one of your goals?
6. Where is the most beautiful beach you’ve been to?
7. What’s the strength of your blog?
8. Which one of your blog post are you the most proud of and why?
9. What’s your best travel advice?
10. What’s the most peaceful place you’ve been to?
11. What’s the funniest thing that happened to you while travelling?

I hope you have fun answering my questions and I’m looking forward to reading your stories!

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