Traveller of the Month: Angie from Where Angie Wanders
Welcome to Traveller of the Month! Each month I’m featuring a fellow world traveller to help build connections within the travel world, share some travel wisdom, and give a little love to a fellow travel blogger. Especially in these tough times for travel, it’s important to come together as a travel community. It’s also a great time to relive some past travel memories, while we wait to make new ones!
Without further ado, meet the Traveller of the Month for May: Angie from Where Angie Wanders!
And if you missed last month’s, check it out here!
Who are you, where are you from and where are you now?
I’m Angie; I am a mature travel blogger and I am a Londoner born and bred. I have never lived anywhere other than England.
What’s your travel story? How did you get into travel and what kind of travel are you doing now?
I have been travelling for over 30 years as an independent traveller with my family or close friends. I have travelled by car, train, plane, boat, foot and bus, in fact all sorts of transport. I really enjoy city breaks to Europe and we go on a few of them each year with maybe one long haul trip thrown in for good measure.
When did you start your blog and what sort of stories do you share there?
I started my blog in August 2019 and I share global travel stories and guides. I travel to Europe quite a bit so have a 3-night stay section as that is a perfect amount of time for a taste of a new destination. I also have a luxury hotel and resort page. I love to write and after many years of wanting to do it, my son finally persuaded me to put my travel experiences in a blog so that other people could enjoy them and find out useful information in the process.
What do you do when you’re not travelling or writing about travel?
When I am not travelling I can be found walking around my local countryside in the UK or planning my next trip. I write everyday; it has taken over my life!
What’s your earliest travel memory?
At the age of 19 my boyfriend (now my husband of over 30 years!) asked me to go on holiday to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. I had never been on holiday before, let alone been on a plane, and Lanzarote was like another planet with its volcanos, camels and black sand beaches. That experience sealed my love and curiosity of travel for life.
What is the longest trip you’ve ever been on? Shortest?
3 months travel around the world with my 18 year old son is the longest trip I have been on. 8 countries over 12 weeks was a magical experience. My shortest would probably be a night in a hotel somewhere in the UK.
What is still on your travel bucket list? What have you recently checked off?
Japan, South America and the Azores are on my bucket list.
Venice was checked off last year after 29 years of waiting for my husband to book it (I did it myself in the end!).
Top 5 favourite travel moments
- Seeing giraffes on safari in South Africa. I just cried.
- Visiting Kangaroo Island in Australia and seeing koalas and kangaroos in the wild.
- Visiting Venice for the first time. It was everything I expected and more.
- Staying in the village of Hoi An in Vietnam. I fell in love with it and every time I see a photo or read a blog about it, I just smile and recall the amazing memories I have of it.
- Hiking Dove Lake in Tasmania with my son who hated walking before we began and who finished the hike saying it was one of the best things he had ever done.
What’s something you do/pack/eat on every trip?
I always pack English tea bags and I seem to end up eating pasta wherever I go in the world!
What destination would you go back to over and over again?
Vietnam for the culture, the people and the history.
What destination totally surprised you? What destination totally let you down?
Penang surprised me. I only booked to go there because at the time, I was meant to go to Bali but the volcano there was threatening to erupt and so Penang was my alternative. I fell in love with everything about it especially the street art.
Kuala Lumpur let me down. I felt it had lost its identity and it felt unsafe.
What destination is calling your name in 2020/2021?
If plans are able to continue then Norway, Poland and Mauritius for 2020 and the Azores, Ireland and Malta are on my radar for 2021
What is the best accommodation you’ve ever stayed in? What’s the worst?
Baros Water Villa in the Maldives was one of the best but there have been many equally as amazing that I have stayed in around the world. The worst was an Airbnb in Sydney that was nothing like described and stank of wet dog! We checked out after one night, didn’t get a refund but ended up staying in the Ovolo in Wooloomooloo, Sydney which was amazing but pricey.
What is an item you’ve bought that makes travelling so much easier?
I am a convert to packing cubes which I discovered when arranging my trip around the world. Without them, life would have been a pain as we were living out of suitcases for 90% of the time. Keeping everything in separate cubes so that items were easily accessible was a godsend.
Lastly, where can we find you online?
- https://www.whereangiewanders.com
- Facebook.com/whereangiewanders
- Instagram.com/whereangiewanders
- Pinterest.com/whereangiewanders
- Twitter.com/whereangiewand1
Thank you for joining my Traveller of the Month series, Angie! Head on over to Angie’s blog and social media channels to follow along on her adventures and stay tuned for June’s Traveller of the Month!
Loved reading this! Another travel blogger for me to follow. I love that her passion for travel started from Lanzarote. I used to love visiting the Canary Islands when I was younger. I’m eager to go back!
Thanks for checking it out! Can’t wait to visit the Canary Islands myself one day!
This was such a fun read! It’s really interesting learning more about other peoples travel habits and favourite destinations x
Absolutely! One of my favourite parts about being a part of the travel community 🙂