Traveller of the Month: Rachel from The Historic Traveller

Welcome to Traveller of the Month! Each month I’m featuring a fellow travel blogger to share new stories on the blog, meet incredible travellers and spread the travel love around!

Without further ado, meet August’s Traveller of the Month: Rachel from The Historic Traveller!

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

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

Hey! My name is Rachel. I’m a travel blogger from Yorkshire, England. At the moment, I’m grounded in England but usually I’m in another country as often as I possibly can be!

What’s your travel story? How did you get into travel and what kind of travel are you doing now?

I’ve always travelled with my family around Western Europe, largely France, but when I was 19, I decided to give solo travelling a go. I started off local and went to Edinburgh alone, and now I’ve solo travelled numerous countries – from Italy and Greece, to the Balkans and South East Asia! My most recent trip took me up to Estonia.

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

I started my blog when I returned from Bulgaria in April 2019. It is largely a travel blog about historical sites I visit, but I have included blogs on my experiences whilst travelling and tips on solo travelling too.

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

My biggest hobby outside of writing is photography. I have been a keen photographer for almost 10 years and love capturing landscapes and my travels! I have just finished four years at university studying history and heritage and I currently volunteer at a local museum.

What’s your most recent travel memory?

My most recent travel memory was being in Tallinn, Estonia just as every country decided to go into lockdown! It was actually incredibly exciting being around so much drama, even though I was disappointed the museums were forced to shut. This was certainly a unique trip, and I thankfully made it home before the UK made any serious measures!

What is the best accommodation you’ve ever stayed in? What’s the worst?

When in Vienna, my friend and I had an ant infestation in the dorm room and the hostel upgraded us to a 4-bed apartment! It was amazing and peaceful. It had proper beds, a free TV and such a well-equipped kitchen. Definitely my favourite.

The worst accommodation I’ve ever stayed in was in George Town. The hosts were not at all accommodating. We felt like the only people there despite it apparently being full and the atmosphere was terrible. We left after one night.

What’s your best travel memory of the last year?

Of the last year, my best travel memory has to be hiking for orangutans in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra. It was such an amazing experience. They are animals you only dream of seeing but don’t think the dream will ever come through, but this one did! It came to life in a sweaty, 7 ½ hour jungle trek that resulted in seeing 17 orangutans and river rafting back to the guesthouse!

What is still on your travel bucket list? What have you recently checked off?

I checked off a lot of my travel bucket list last year, including seeing the Marina Bay light show in Singapore, seeing orangutans, going to Borneo, solo travelling for several months and swimming with turtles. Still on my list is to see the wildebeest migration, road trip around New Zealand and see the Northern Lights (of course).

Travelling has made me…

Travelling has made me confident. When I started solo travelling, I was the worst version of me. I lacked so much confidence and would have gladly hidden inside all day. Solo travelling has dragged me out of my shell, shown me the world and places I had only ever dreamed of visiting and, in turn, has given me memories I will treasure forever.

What’s something you do/pack/eat on every trip?

I have a little travel teddy friend named Alexander who has travelled with me to my last 10 countries. He’s probably the most well-travelled teddy going! I also keep a travel diary with me so that I remember every second of my travels. I never want to forget them, and I now have a wonderful pile of journals forming on my bookshelf!

Do you have any travel regrets?

My biggest travel regret is having a drink with ice cubes in it in Asia that then made me quite ill (I had a bacterial stomach infection). This meant that I was ill during the Komodo cruise. Whilst I made it to the Komodo island and saw the dragons, I was too ill to go to the Padar Viewpoint, and that will always be my biggest travel regret. I would have loved to see that, and I was so, so close!

Best food you’ve eaten on the road? Worst?

Asia has offered me a sensation of foods. I loved Malaysian curries; I think they were absolutely wonderful and pretty much what I lived off for my three weeks there – particularly the wonderful curry place outside of my hostel in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, my worst food experience was also in Malaysia… I ate at a shop on the side of the road in Kuala Lumpur. When I ordered fried rice with vegetables I, as a vegetarian, assumed it wouldn’t have any meat with it, but it came with chicken in the rice! The rice was also the worst rice I had eaten in Asia, and that is a feat considering I was there for almost three months!

What destination would you go back to over and over again?

I would gladly go back to Bulgaria over and over again. In 2019 I went twice, and it did not let me down either time. The people are so incredibly friendly, the hostel in Sofia (Hostel Mostel) is probably my all-time favourite – and I have now stayed in well over 30 hostels. It is just a beautiful country to visit.

What experiences would you recommend people have in your home country?

This is such an important question to me; so many people visit the UK and never leave London. Yes, London is a lovely city, but it really doesn’t represent the UK at all. Head up to the Scottish Highlands and explore the glens, or visit my county, Yorkshire – home of rolling hills and arguably the best fish and chips (in Whitby!). The Jurassic Coast in Dorset is a must see for any dinosaur loving tourist, as are the wonderful medieval cities of York and Norwich! Visit Hadrian’s Wall, Stonehenge, Norwich Castle and, whilst I’ve heard people don’t like our food, you really can’t beat a good old Sunday roast!

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

I have written quite a few blog posts over the last year or so, but my favourite isn’t actually about history, but about sustainability whilst travelling. I am incredibly aware of how large my carbon footprint must be whilst I travel, and so I wrote a blog post about ways I intend to reduce this whilst travelling. These are simple actions that others can also implement in their travelling lifestyle!

Lastly, where can we find you online?

My blog is: www.thehistorictraveller.wordpress.com and my Instagram is: @rachel_glaves

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Thank you for joining my Traveller of the Month series, Rachel! Head on over to Rachel’s blog to check out her adventures and stay tuned for September’s Traveller of the Month!