By this Author: katekendall

In this month's Industry Interview we chat to Stuart McDonald who's the founder of the popular go-to site for all things Southeast Asia, Travelfish.org. Stuart launched the site in 2004 along with journalist/editor Samantha Brown, both of whom have been based in Southeast Asia since 1997. Along with their two children, they live somewhere between a volcano and the sea in Bali.

Stuart in Don Khong, Champasak, Laos

How would you describe Travelfish?

Travelfish.org is a travel planning site for travellers heading to Southeast Asia. It allows people to research and plan their time in the region, drawing on our personal experience of 15 years in the region along with that of our dozen or so writers and on the greater Travelfish.org community. There's also plenty of scope for people to armchair travel on the site.

What do you love about Southeast Asia?

From a travel perspective I love the wide range of experiences, people and food available to be explored. I've always been a big fan of being on the move and Southeast Asia is great for that. There's boats, buses, trains and planes, each with their own distinct appeal.

It's also a region that you can make of what you will. Want a lazy beach holiday with cold beers and fresh pineapple brought to your deckchair – no problem. Looking for a more challenging motorbike trip through remote mountains – you can do that too.

In what order do you recommend to explore Southeast Asia?

For the first timer to Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are by far the easiest. Cambodia and Laos are also not too challenging, though the timetables are more of a guideline there.

While it hasn't been my experience, some find the Vietnamese backpacking experience to be a bit abrasive and difficult to deal with, meaning that some find it a challenging mirror to laid back Laos or Cambodia.

Indonesia though is where I'd say things are "at" for independent travellers looking to get off the beaten track. It's a vast archipelago encompassing a tremendous variety of cultures and landscapes. It can be a little uncomfortable going at times, but the rewards more than compensate. If you've been to mainland Southeast Asia and find it a bit too "easy", you want to hit Indonesia.

What changes have you witnessed in Asia since your launch in '04?

Big changes! The traveller demographic has changed. We're seeing a lot more short-term visits (people visiting the region for under a month) and, courtesy of low cost airlines like AirAsia, it is far easier to cover a lot of miles. We regularly see people trying to cover five countries in three months, where when we first arrived in Asia you were much more likely to meet people doing three countries in five months.

You used to be a hard-copy guidebook writer - what are your thoughts about them now?

I think there will always be a place for them and it need not be an either/or scenario. Paper has been around for a long time. I think what some of the traditional publishers have in their favour is their talent pool of extremely experienced, knowledgeable writers, and they should be leveraging that to produce quality product that can be regarded as essential. The last guidebook I was truly happy with was a '92 Lonely Planet guide to India.

You've been based in Bali for some time - do you think you'll ever head back to Australia?

Is my Mum going to read this?!

While we're very happy here in Indonesia, we have two young kids and at some stage we'll probably consider shifting back to Sydney to see they get the best education we can manage. That said, we've probably got another five years here or in the region at least.

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Check out our other posts in the Industry Interview series:

• Industry Interview with Steph of Twenty-Something Travel
• Industry Interview with Igor Bratnikov from GreenXC
• Industry Interview with Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere
• Industry Interview with Darren Cronian of Travel Rants
• Industry Interview with Sue Gough Henly

Mobile-friendly Travellerspoint

You might have heard us mention the new mobile-optimised site in our monthly newsletter. Well, we're pleased to finally share what we've created with you today.

The new site is linked directly from Travellerspoint when you visit on your mobile device or you can head straight to: m.travellerspoint.com.

The team here have been coding and designing non-stop to make it easier for TP members to enjoy some of our best features from their handsets.

We're now going to run through some of these improvements below:

Accommodation

Just landed and no bed to sleep in? No worries! On-the-go bookings have become super easy. Simply search nearby and you'll see results of properties available now. You can edit the list to filter by distance, popularity, price or name. My favourite's always price! When you find a suitable property, select the number of beds (covering the amount of guests) then review your booking and you're on your way to a good night's sleep!

Blogging

If you love blogging live, you can also post directly to any of your blogs hosted with TP through the mobile site. This includes photo uploading if you're using an iPhone. We're working with Aurigma Up app, so don't forget to check you've got it installed before giving uploads a go. As well as creating new posts, you can also edit and delete them. You'll have to register for a (free) member account, if you haven't already, to make the most of these features.

Guide

Our comprehensive Wiki Travel Guides created by real travellers (aka you) can also be viewed from the palm of your hand. Click 'Find guides nearby and around me' for content that's relevant to you in the moment.

Forums

The final piece is the Forums. Here you can catch up on the latest happening from TP members and post questions or comments yourself. Select a forum topic to narrow down the results – you'll find us fielding site queries in System Talk!

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Our new mobile site is by no means perfect or fully complete yet, but we'd love your feedback. Tell us what you think by posting in our Forums, Facebook Page or Twitter.

We're hoping to craft a better experience for other platforms (such as Android) over the coming months. Real-time trip mapping is also being considered.

So, go on, have a look and bookmark it if you find it useful.

Happy travels!

The Travellerspoint Team

Margaret at Yosemite National Park

In this month's Talking Travel series, we chat to prominent and respected TP blogger and photographer Margaret Metcalfe aka margaretm. Margaret has travelled, lived in other countries and learned foreign languages for as long as she can remember. Her nomadic beginnings conditioned her for the rest of my life and since then, she's lived in eight countries and travelled extensively, working as an English teacher and translator, and doing voluntary work. Broadly speaking, she believes in making things happen and making dreams come true ("even if others think you are crazy"). Her experience is that travel is one of the best teachers you can have in life.

Her husband is Catalan, they have two teenagers and her home is a multilingual environment where they speak a mixture of Catalan, Spanish, English and Cataspanglish. They moved to Mexico City a couple of years ago where, among other things, she works with Casa Daya, a home for abused teenage girls with their children.

With some of the children at Casa Daya

You've been travelling since you were eight months old - is there anywhere you haven't been?

Although I’ve travelled widely, there’s still so much of this world I haven’t seen and would like to. For example, I haven’t stepped foot in South America or Australia yet and I would definitely love to see more of Africa. I actually like taking the road less-travelled so am happy to end up where there aren’t many tourists.

Some of my travels have been planned but others have just fallen in my lap unplanned, like our current situation, in Mexico or the time my parents unexpectedly went to work in the Seychelles for a year. I was able to spend a couple of months with them and get to know a country I otherwise would probably never have visited. That’s why my blog is titled: “Wherever life takes us”. I’m not sure where I’ll be going in the future but I’m open to new experiences.

You're a resident and travel helper of Mexico City – what are you favourite things to see and do there?

Mexico City, one of the world’s largest cities, is an extraordinary place packed with Aztec, Spanish colonial and Mexican culture. There are more than 152 museums in DF alone and I’ve probably only been to about 15 of them so far! Cycling is one of my favourite sports and about eight months ago, I bought a mountain bike so I now go cycling around the Historical Centre with its thousands of colonial buildings and its Mexican character. Another of my favourite places is Chapultepec Park, an enormous park with boating lakes, a huge well-kept zoo, America’s only real Castle and the Anthropological Museum where I often go to find out about Mexico’s past. I really like Coyoacán, home to Frida Kahlo’s museum, which still preserves its character as a small colonial town, especially eating delicious tostadas Mexican-style in the market there. The canals and colourful boats of Xochimilco and the Aztec Pyramids of Teotihuacan are also well worth visiting. I’ve written about some of these places and what life is like in Mexico City on my blog.

Cycling in Mexico City’s Zócalo

You have over 1000 photos on Travellerspoint, what do you love about travel photography?

Looking back, I remember from a very early age flicking through travel books and poring over the photos and maps and having a burning desire to go and experience these places for myself. My parents also took slides of our early years in Asia and on our boat journeys and as a family, we loved to have regular slideshows and re-live those experiences. A photo can convey so much and it’s been a natural step for me to record my own travels using photography. I’m a very visual person so now when I look back at photos I took months, years or even decades ago, I can re-live the whole situation... the sights, the smells, the sounds, the heat, the event as a whole. For me, it’s a bit like writing a visual diary of my experiences.

I particularly like to document a country or culture, not just take photos of the main sights. It’s often the small details which make up the uniqueness of a place and that’s what I try to capture in my photos and share with others. I also like my pictures to reveal the best of a place… if you look hard, you can always find beauty, sometimes in the most unexpected places. Someone once asked me if I thought I could make Bradford look great and I hope I could! Photography has made me much more observant and curious and through it, I have discovered a great deal more about the countries where I’ve lived or travelled.

Your blog 'Wherever Life Takes Us' is updated every couple of days – what tips do you have for other bloggers struggling with updating?

I’m a new blogger myself and am experimenting and learning as I go along. My advice would be to focus on one or two aspects in each post, and not to try to include everything. Select just a few interesting stories, anecdotes, or experiences. It’s probably better to write several shorter posts on specific topics, events or places than one very long one on everything you’ve done in the last two weeks. That can be very daunting. I often spend time thinking beforehand about what I want to include in my next few posts (while sitting in the traffic in Mexico City!!) and that makes it quicker when I actually have to sit down and write or decide which photos I want to upload.

You don’t even have to wait to go on major trips or travels to start blogging about your experiences. Sometimes writing about things which are ordinary or everyday for you can be interesting and even exotic for others. Also most people have digital cameras nowadays so include photos... let your pictures speak for you and avoid having to write long descriptions. On occasions, you may just want to upload a series of photos and put captions to them. That’s also a valid way to share your experiences with others.

What inspires you about travel?

I’ve always been fascinated by the incredible diversity of this world in all its forms, whether in the natural world or among different cultures. The more I travel, the more I’m amazed at the new things I discover and had no idea about. Over the years, I’ve also met people from different walks of life and learnt that it is often the poorest who are the most generous and hospitable. Seeing the deplorable conditions that some people live in also makes me very thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had and encourages me to do something positive to help others who aren’t as fortunate as I am. I’m constantly inspired by the exceptional people I’ve met who have dedicated their lives to making this world a better place.

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Check out these recent interviews in the Talking Travel series:

• Talking Travel with Tammi Jonas (tammois)
• Talking Travel with Bill Lehane
• Talking Travel with Inspiring Travellers (JohnAndrea)
• Talking Travel with Andre Frieden
• Talking Travel with Vagamos

Every two months, we hold a photo competition for our members. The community shortlists the top photos and votes for their favourites. The photos below are the best photos from the Doors and Windows Photo Competition.

1. Photo Competition Winner: Look up in Udaipurwati, India. Photo by krunal.

2. Runner-up: A view in Puno, Peru. Photo by kostlin.

3. Runner-up: Almerían layering in Almeria, Spain. Photo by amartxa.

4. Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo by kostlin.

5. Overcome by sand in Eucla, Australia. Photo by a1132271.

6. Thessaloniki, Greece. Photo by bgh.

7. Fatima's Hand in Hombori, Mali. Photo by LuisDafos.

8. Window viewing in Cromwell, New Zealand. Photo by aimsuk.

9. A Blue View in Bergama, Turkey. Photo by kookie888.

Congratulations to krunal, who won the competition. They receive $100 worth of items of their choice from camera bag and case guru M-ROCK.

Runners-up kostlin and amartxa also receive an M-Rock voucher, this time for $30 each.

Thanks all for your entries and don't forget we have a fresh sunset and sunrise-themed competition kicking off next week!

Check out the results of past competitions:

• 10 Photos to Spark Your Sense of Adventure
• 15 Amazing Pink-Themed Photos
• Whimsical White: Photos from Around the Globe
• The Best Travel Photos of 2010
• Orange: 17 Brilliant Photos Featuring Orange

In this month's Industry Interview we chat to Stephanie Yoder, a freelance travel writer and founder of the popular travel blog Twenty-Something Travel. She is a non-9-to-5 enthusiast, a self-described "Girl who can't sit still" and on a mission to encourage others to launch their own international adventures. On a smaller note, I think she's got one of the best blog headers going!

Steph and a cute panda

What is Twenty-Something Travel?

There is this idea, particularly in the United States where I'm from, that you need to go to school, get a job, start a family, and then maybe when you are older you'll have time to travel. I think that's really a shame because in many ways your 20s are the ideal time to see the world: you have more energy, less responsibilities, and the lessons you learn while travelling can stick with you your entire life. I created my website with the goal of encouraging other young people to get out and see the world.

What inspires you to travel? What have been some of your most memorable experiences and destinations?

For me the most important part of travel is constantly learning and discovering new sights, foods and ideas. As a result, many of my favourite destinations were places that I knew very little about going in. Places like Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cambodia.

Vietnam was one country where I felt like I was constantly encountering new things. The country is so big and crowded and frenetic; there were always people to meet, weird shops to discover and new amazingly delicious street foods to try. I spent five weeks there and I was exhausted often, but bored absolutely never.

A shot from Vietnam

According to your blog, London is your favourite city – what is it about it that you love?

I love to travel, but I also honestly believe that there is enough going on inside of London to keep me busy for my entire life. I lived in London for a while in my early 20s and just fell in love completely. It's a huge city with massive amounts of history and culture. I'm also a huge book nerd so I love it's many literary associations. There is always something going on, something to do, some new little corner to explore. In all my travels I've never found another city that gets my imagination and sense of romance racing the same way. I love it and I miss it everyday.

What words of encouragement would you give to people wanting to do a big trip but are a little hesitant?

The absolute hardest part of executing a big trip is actually making the decision to do it. It's such a big mental block and a lot of people struggle with the choice. Once you actually commit to making it happen, the rest falls into place fairly easily.

It can be really daunting to upend your life - but hey you've only got one chance to live.
I've never met anyone who has regretted taking time off to travel, but I've met plenty of people who wish they had.

I've never met anyone who has regretted taking time off to travel, but I've met plenty of people who wish they had.

You often journey solo: what advice do you have for young female travellers?

The idea of travelling alone is so much more scary than the reality. Even now before I set off somewhere on my own I get kind of nervous, but then once I push off I'm so glad I did. Travelling alone gives you so much freedom: you don't need to take anyone else's needs into account when deciding where to go, what to have for lunch, whether to nap all afternoon. It's very liberating and, as long as you possess basic common sense, much less dangerous than the media would have you think.

Travelling solo at the Forbidden City in Beijing

You've been referred to as an upcoming travel blogger to watch – what factors have contributed to your success and what's or more importantly where's next?
I just celebrated my two year blogaversary (yes, I made the term up), and nobody is more shocked than me at the amount of attention my blog as gotten. I am first and foremost a writer so I am really grateful that I can use my blog as a platform to share my thoughts. I write a lot about my personal experiences and emotions, but I try to connect them with the same universal travel truths that everyone experiences. I think as a result a lot of people feel like they can identify with what I have to say.

Right now there is so much going on! I'm home in the United States for the Summer working on some projects and writing. I've launched a second site called Everywhere Connection, with my boyfriend (who is also a travel blogger) and I'm working on some other still-to-be-announced projects. In the fall I will be headed to Central and South America for the first time - exciting!

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Check out our other posts in the Industry Interview series:

• Industry Interview with Igor Bratnikov from GreenXC
• Industry Interview with Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere
• Industry Interview with Darren Cronian of Travel Rants
• Industry Interview with Sue Gough Henly