Traveller of the Month: Lauren from The Planet Edit

Welcome to Traveller of the Month! It’s that time again – on the first Tuesday of each month I feature a fellow world traveller and blogger to share their story, create new connections in the blogging world and get inspired by their travels!

Without further ado, meet May’s Traveller of the Month: Lauren!

And if you missed last month’s, check it out here!

Who are you, where are you from and where are you now?

Hey Riana, thanks for having me on your blog! My name is Lauren and I’m a 25 year old travel writer and blogger based in London. I’ve lived in London my whole life and adore the city, but I do like to escape to explore other destinations as much as possible.

What’s your travel story? How did you get into travel and what kind of travel are you doing now (or were you doing pre-pandemic)?

My fascination with the world began from a fairly young age. My dad is really into travelling and the great outdoors, having done some exciting stuff, like sailing across the Atlantic, cycling across Southeast Asia, and climbing in the Himalayas. I guess that inspired me, and I thought, I want to do that too! When I was younger, we used to go camping in France every year as a family, and he would always push me and my younger brother to try outdoor pursuits; we would go hiking, cycling and canoeing on our holidays.

Now, I gravitate towards outdoor and wildlife orientated travel. I love to make hiking, cycling and wildlife-spotting part of my travels, and always strive to travel as responsibly and sustainably as possible.

When did you start your blog and what sort of stories do you share there?

I started my blog back in 2016, although it was called Lauren’s Travel Diary at that point. I would post diary-style entries about my time travelling, but as I learned more about blogging, I began to gravitate more towards writing posts designed to inform and inspire.

Because of this, I felt that “Lauren’s Travel Diary” didn’t really reflect my content anymore, so I made the decision to rebrand to The Planet Edit in March 2020. I love the new name and feel like it represents what I’m about a lot more effectively, as I write about backpacking, wildlife, adventure and responsible travel.

What do you do when you’re not travelling or writing about travel?

When I’m not travelling or writing, you’ll probably find me curled up with a cup of coffee, out riding my bike or enjoying a good pub quiz with my friends.

What do you want to inspire other travellers to do?

The pandemic has forced us to pull back from tourism and reflect. During this time, we’ve seen aviation-related carbon emissions drop and wildlife return to areas where they haven’t been seen in years. It’s important that we try to maintain this as much as possible!

With this in mind, I really want to inspire others to travel in a more sustainable way. How can we ensure that our travels are as environmentally-friendly as possible and don’t cause negative impacts to the places that we visit? My blog contains a lot of ethics discussions, guides to help people travel more responsibly and inspiration to encourage travellers to get off the beaten path, in a bid to inspire more sustainable travel choices.

What is your most unique travel moment?

The most unique travel moment I’ve had would have to be the trip I undertook in 2019. I challenged myself to cycle from London to Istanbul to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. This was an extraordinary time of my life, where I spent 89 days cycling across the European continent. It was heaps of fun and I met some really interesting people along the way.

The highlight of that trip was definitely cycling through Serbia – I didn’t know too much about the country, but it was astoundingly beautiful and the people were so warm and hospitable.

Top 5 favourite travel moments?

This is a difficult question! But if I really had to choose…

• Reaching the stunning Ala Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan after a 2 day hike
• Volunteering with pandas in China
• Cycling through the Djerdap National Park in Serbia
• Driving a 4×4 across Australia’s Fraser Island
• Spending Christmas on an adventure cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam

What destination is calling your name in 2021/2022?

I had an overland tour through South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe booked with G Adventures for July 2020 but, obviously, that was cancelled due to the pandemic. I’m hoping to reschedule this when it’s safe to do so – I cannot wait to visit all the national parks and see some of Africa’s best wildlife in their natural habitat.

Some parts of Africa are really struggling right now due to the drop in tourism; funding for wildlife conservation has been cut, anti-poaching units have decreased and unemployment is rising. I think it’s important that we get back to tourism in Africa as soon as it’s safe to do so.

If you could go on a worldwide trip, visiting just one city on each continent, which cities would you pick?

I love this question, although it’s definitely hard to choose…

• North America: Vancouver – it’s surrounded by mountains and just looks beautiful.
• South America: Cusco, as it’s the launching point for Machu Picchu!
• Europe: Prague – it’s a city I’ve always wanted to visit but haven’t yet gotten round to it.
• Asia: Tokyo – need I say more?
• Australasia: Queenstown! I suppose it’s more of a town than a city, but it’s the adventure capital of New Zealand!
• Antarctica: As there are no cities here, I guess I’ll just have to visit the penguin colonies 😉

What is your favourite travel-related book, movie, TV show or podcast?

I used to be obsessed with this documentary series called Departures, which follows the journey of two Canadians called Scott and Justin as they travel the world. They go to some truly incredible places, and their friendship, banter and positive outlook on the world makes for a really inspiring watch. It used to be on Netflix but is now available on Amazon Prime.

Which other travel bloggers inspire you?

Right now, I’m loving Along Dusty Roads, The Common Wanderer and Anywhere We Roam. Their blogs are just so stunning and really focus on exceptional photography to bring their stories to life. Improving my photography is one of my goals for 2021 as I feel as though my skills just aren’t up to scratch, so it’s great to draw inspiration from these guys. I also really enjoy reading Lost With Purpose and Against The Compass, as they write about super interesting and off-the-beaten track destinations.

What is your process of writing a blog post?

I’m not as organised as I’d like to be when it comes to writing blog posts! I have about 50 drafts saved in WordPress with haphazard ideas and random thoughts. However, I do find it quite easy to come up with ideas while I’m travelling, as there are always new experiences to talk about and new people to meet who will inspire me. I usually come up with an idea and do a “brain splurge” where I just start to write without thinking too much. Once I’ve finished my brain splurge, I’ll go ahead and edit so that it flows and makes sense, then add photos and tweak for SEO where needed.

What is your favourite blog post that you’ve written and why?

I think it would have to be my London to Istanbul bicycle diary as it’s a really personal post about my bicycle tour across Europe. It’s quite raw and unedited and reflects what I saw and how I felt about certain situations along the way. It’s also one of my most successful posts, so that helps me to love it even more!

How have you been coping as a travel blogger during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Pretty badly, if I’m honest. I’ve felt quite trapped throughout the pandemic, and my perpetually itchy feet have been driving me crazy. I’m usually a fairly sociable person, but there were times during the UK lockdown when I didn’t leave the house for about 2 weeks! As for my blog, I feel that my motivation has tanked. My weekly posts have dropped to fortnightly posts at best.

However, I’m feeling optimistic for 2021 and can’t wait to see the world open up again and get back to writing. The pandemic has shaken me to my core, and I know that when I can travel again, I will appreciate it in a way I never could have before.

Lastly, where can we find you online?

You can find me over on my blog, The Planet Edit and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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Thank you for joining my Traveller of the Month series, Lauren! Head on over to Lauren’s blog to check out her epic bicycle journey and learn more about responsible tourism. And stay tuned for June’s Traveller of the Month!