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The Sunshine Blogger Award is recognition for all the bloggers who are spreading positivity and good vibes through their blogs.
I was nominated by one of my favourite bloggers and fellow Irishman John, over at carpediemeire.com. Thank you for the nomination!!
The rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award are as follows
- Answer the questions of the blogger who tagged me.
- Create a new list of questions.
- Tag in 11 other bloggers who spread positivity through their blogs.
The questions put to me are as follows;
1. What inspired you to start blogging?
Originally it was part of a plan to start a tour business. I had this vision of running my own budget tour company for backpackers. The blog was a way of getting my foot in the door. Although my immediate plans have changed for myself and my blog, this is definitely something I still wish to pursue in the not too distant future.
2. What destination in the world would you most like to return to?
Because I am travelling long term at this time, it is hard to pick a place. In the past it has always been Bangkok. I have spent quite a bit of time there over the past few years and it is the city I crave most when I am at home. Whether that will change, I am not sure. Hong Kong, Paris and very recently Istanbul are three places that I would return to in a heartbeat.
3. Which would you rather have 1 million now or 15,000 every month till you die?
15,000 without a doubt! I could blow one milllion quite quickly through pure stupidity, but a huge steady income like that would go a lot, lot further.
4. What is the story behind the name of your blog?
Honestly I stumbled on it by accident. I’m proud to be Irish (hence the “Irishman” part). The word “Roaming” perfectly describes my travel style. There’s nothing forced or meticulously planned about how I travel. I pick a destination and I explore it! Therefore I am the “Roaming Irishman.”
5. What is the weirdest food you’ve eaten?
Balut!! This is sold in a few countries around South East Asia. It is a duck embryo, boiled and eaten from the shell. I was unfortunate enough to have the pleasure of eating one in Vietnam a few years ago. It looked disgusting, smelled foul and tasted a hundred times worse than anything I had eaten before. Luckily there were quite a few beers on hand to wash it down.
6. If you got stranded on a deserted island what’s the one thing you own that you would want to have with you?
It’s a toss up between my phone and my dog. My phone for the hope that I would get an opportunity to check the football scores, being away from that would kill me. However my dog could keep me company and stop me going insane. Tough choice but I would have to say, my dog.
7. What is your main goal for your blog?
I would be lying if I said the end game wasn’t to eventually monetise it. As far as content goes, my plan is for the site to be more than just a travel blog, a place where people come looking for information. This is what I want for my website eventually, somewhere that informs people of the best things to do and places to eat from around the world. In the near future though, I just want it to look the way I always planned on it to. I have been on the road for close to 7 months. In that time, I have built and ran my blog purely from my iPhone. This is not ideal and I can’t wait to revamp the whole thing when I get my hands on my laptop. After all that, I plan on getting started on my tour business, although I wouldn’t be against finding a business partner for that particular plan.
8. How has blogging changed your life?
I wouldn’t say it has changed my life, since my blog has only been live for the past 5 months. It has changed the way I travel though. I am more determined to see and eat everything on the road. Less likely to be found sitting at a bar every night drinking, now I have plans for each day, what I need to eat and what I need to see. It has certainly been a positive change in that regard. It also gave me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people on social media, some of whom I hope to have the pleasure of meeting in “real life” one day.
9. What’s the best advice you can give to fellow bloggers?
Do not expect miracles overnight. These things take time and if you are not prepared to put in the time and work then maybe blogging isn’t for you. If you really want to succeed, keep pushing and pushing, set yourself realistic goals and work your ass off to meet them.
10. Has your blog taught you something about yourself that you didn’t previously know?
I’ve learned that I can be persistent when it comes to getting things done. For example, when in China I overcame a huge threat to my blog when I couldn’t access my website for days on end. However, patience and perseverance helped me through! Traits I didn’t fully realise I had until then.
11. Which book, movie or song title best describes you?
An Idiot Abroad. I don’t agree with this but my girlfriend is convinced that this completely sums me up.
Here are my questions!!
1. What is the biggest challenge you have faced since you started blogging?
2. What city or country do you feel best suits your personality?
3. Have you ever visited a destination and were left totally disappointed, if so where?
4. What 5 words best describe your travel style?
5. What blog post do you feel most proud of and why?
6. If you could eat any meal from you travels right now, what would it be?
7. Do you blog alone or do you solicit help from friends or family for certain things such as proofreading or ideas for new blog posts?
8. Do you set goals in relation to your blog posts? For example, setting yourself a specific date that your post needs to be published by.
9. Have you ever gone to a bloggers conference, if so, was it a worthwhile experience and if not, do you hope to in the future?
10. Do you feel that blogging comes naturally to you or have you had to take steps to improve your writing?
11. Do you have any regrets since you started blogging?
My nominations for the Sunshine Blogger Award are as follows.
Of course, if any of you guys have already been nominated for this, I apologise. No pressure to do a post, it’s only a bit of fun if you have time to write it 😁
Love your answer to that last question. It’s great getting to know you more, but I’ll be honest I had more fun drafting the what if questions. Thanks for being a good sport and not saying what idiot write these