I (ALMOST) FEEL LIKE A MOVIE STAR - Lili's travel plans was nominated for the Sisterhood of the

Hi guys!

I'm so happy to tell you I've been nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award by the fantastic Nikki from Where is Noodles?. OK I know this doesn't necessarily mean I'm suddenly the best blogger in the world (yet :p), but it's so great to know that someone nominated me out of all the travel bloggers that are out there! So thanks, Nikki, I really appreciate this and hope our paths will cross soon so we can get that cup of coffee we've been talking about!!

So what is it all about? What is the Sisterhood of the World Blogger Award?

It's an award that aims to recognize the contribution and efforts of women bloggers from all over the world. Female bloggers nominate other female bloggers who's blog they like, and the nominees pass on the award on their turn. Everyone answers and asks a list of questions, so that we all get to know each other better.

So sorry guys, you're great too but this is a girl thing. Most of us travelling girls aren't so much into girly things like nail polish, handbags and things like that, so I think we at least deserve to have our own award instead :)

So today it's my turn to answer Nikki's questions and nominate 10 other great female travel bloggers!

Let's start with the 10 questions Nikki asked me!

1. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Hitting the publish button. And the excitement that comes with it. Every. Single. Time.

Will people read it? What will they think? Will they interact? Will it get viewed more often than the last one? I'm not looking for traffic at any price, but it obviously makes me happy every time someone checks out my blog!

A few weeks ago, someone told me one of my articles made her cry... It was the best day in my travel blogging life! To know that I managed to pass on the emotion I felt during that boat trip on the Mekong and to touch somebody with it so hard it made them cry was just so rewarding... But don't worry, I'm not on a mission to make everybody cry, we can have a laugh, too! :)

2. What one piece of advice would you give to a first-time traveler?

Do it your way and don't waste time trying to fit into one of those boxes people define for you. It's not about doing it right for others, all that counts is doing it right for you!

3. If you could learn a new language, what would it be?

Spanish, and I've actually already started. I have some basic knowledge but I'd like to be able to really communicate with the locals when I'll go to South America, which has been on my wishlist for a long time now.

I already speak 4 languages and I've always loved learning new ones to be able to meet and get to know people from all over the world! Check out my About page to learn all about how I speak German like a porn star and other 'interesting' things about me!

4. Are you a nature, beach or city traveler?

I need change. I my everyday life and in my travels, too. So I'd say a mix of all 3, and I'd even add a 4th one, which is probably the most important for me: people.

5. If you were stranded on an island, what would be the top three things you couldn't live without?

I don't wish anyone to be stranded on a deserted island (wel at least not like forever :)), but some company would be appreciated. To keep things decent, maybe a toothbrush and some toothpaste (that counts as 1 item, right? :p). And to finish, I'd like a copy of "wilderness survival for dummies".

If the deserted island could look anything like this, I wouldn't mind being trapped for a while...

6. What has been your favourite travel experience so far?

Everything that involves people and culture shocks. Call me weird but I often prefer the 'bad' experiences to the good ones. When I say bad experiences, I obviously don't mean things like getting robbed or violated, but you know, those situations that scare you, give you stress or make you cry while they're happening but turn out to be the best memories when you look back at them afterwards.

7. What's the strangest thing that's happened to you while travelling?

When I went to Vietnam, we had a stopover in Guangzhou, China. We hadn't received our boarding passes for the flight from Guangzhou to Hanoi in Brussels, so we tought we'd get them once we'd arrived in Guangzhou. As soon as we got to customs, however, we were asked to follow and to sit down in a seperate area and hand over our passports. There were little under 10 other foreigners and a customs officer walking up and down the area the whole time. She wouldn't stop staring at us and started jelling “sit down” as soon as somebody moved. Each of us tried to ask some questions about what was going on but they just answered “wait here!” and left again. After more than an hour another guy told us to follow him in a not-so-friendly way and we were really starting to ask ourselves what was wrong. A few minutes later we arrived at the gate for our onward flight... Turned out they were just preparing our tickets!

If you want to read more about strange things that happened to me in China, check out this page!

8. If you could time travel, where and when would you go and why?

I'd go back to the 15th century and become an explorer. If you love traveling in the world we live in today, imagine what it would have been like to sail off into the unknown and discover new countries and continents for the first time!!!

9. What's the last place you visited? Would you recommend it and why?

Strasbourg. It was nice to get the Christmas feeling and to stroll around the picturesque streets and alleys. Too bad there were so many people.

10. Tell us more about your blog and what you hope to achieve with it.

I started blogging almost 4 months ago, because I wanted to write down and share my stories. It's been a learning process but I know exactly where I want to go now. I want to inspire people to travel by telling them real stories about my (mis)adventures. No fake pictures or lists with “the 10 cities to visit in ...”, but passion and emotions. I want you to laugh and I want you to cry. Because that's what I do when I travel, too, and that's what makes the beauty of it. I recently wrote a whole article about this and I have been told it was hilarious (I think it is, too, but I'm trying to stay humble :p), so check it out if you're in for a laugh!

Alright, my turn to ask questions now!

1. If you had to give me one single reason why you travel, what would it be?

2. Why did you start a travel blog?

3. Tell us about the moment you realized you had a real passion for travel. Or have you always known?

4. What's the biggest culture shock you've ever had?

5. Give us your best travel blogging tip, the one that worked best for you.

6. What's the most stupid thing you've ever done while traveling, your biggest mistake?

7. What's your favorite travel memory?

8. We all know travel isn't always roses. What's the hardest part of traveling for you?

9. Share your favorite 'secret' destination with us, a place nobody knows about.

10. Present us your blog! Make us want to read every single article on it!

And these are the fantastic, extraordinary, awesome, girls-who-rule-the-world nominees!

1. Nikita from Life in transience

2. Shanti from A wanderphile

3. Shelly from Sell all your stuff

4. Mel from Illumelation

5. Mihaela from World travel bug

6. Sabine from The travelling chili

7. Cynthia from Journal of nomads

8. Sally from Passport & plates

9. Sarah from Tales from a fork

10. Prianka from Map halves

Big thanks to Nikki again, I had a lot of fun writing this article!

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