When people bumps into my social media channels and goes through all my pictures, gets a lot curious about what I’m doing and how it all started therefore starts sending questions.
What they don’t know is that I receive nearly every day the same questions all over again, therefore I’ve decided to ask on my Instagram account to all my followers what they wanted to know and make an article out of it so that they could have somewhere where to read what they’re curious about..and so I did!!
Those are the most frequently asked questions which I have received so far:
1. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU STARTED TRAVELLING?
When I decided to start travelling I was feeling a strong need of change and pursue something different, something that could make me feel alive, motivated and challenged and that’s exactly what I’ve got along with a whole ton of other feelings and emotions.
2. WHAT’S YOU FAVORITE PLACE SO FAR?
It’s difficult to tell but out of the 30 and counting countries I’ve visited, the ones I’ve loved the most are the ones where I’ve had the most significant experiences with people. Needless to say that’s where I’ve made friends and where I’ve had a genuine direct access to the lives of people that are totally different form me, from what I’m used to but which have welcomed me without asking anything in return. They just accepted me, no questions asked, no judging but just genuine smiles and friendship like in Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and many more.
3. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAVELING?
I’ve been travelling for 2 years now and will be doing it for sure for another year and this had proved to be the best decision ever!
4.WHAT WAS YOU CRAZIEST EXPERIENCE WHILE TRAVELLING?
I have tried crazy things that I wouldn’t have done back at home: I went paragliding in Nepal, I have jumped off crazy high cliffs into the water into the open water, I have sea walked in the ocean, visited some of the most beautiful wold wonders like Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, I swam with sharks in Malaysia, got burned from one of the most dangerous Jelly fishes in Borneo and caught a Parasite Larva in one of the most beautiful beaches in Krabi, Thailand. I love animals and I have the tendency to pet them a lot but in certain countries looked like they didn’t really like me: In India I got attached by Cows and by a Camel; In Nepal I’ve had some encounters with monkeys, in Borneo I got over 20 jelly fish stings in a week one of which resulted in a serious burn over my whole thigh as I was mentioning before. Over all, this has all been a crazy experience that I would choose all over again!!
5 HOW DID YOU START YOU TRAVEL LIFE AND HAVE YOU TURNED IT INTO A FULL-TIME JOB?
It all basically started from the want to change my life and do something different, focusing on what I really like to do: simply travelling. The rest came along later as the project was shaping with time. I don’t deny that there was an idea behind, some intentions and a project, but in order to realise it I needed to start travelling first of all and then focus on the rest. What I have achieved is not a casualty but a strong want of accomplishing an idea and nowadays I can live with what I’m doing and I totally consider it a full time job.
6. MANY PEOPLE SAY TRAVELLING CHANGES YOUR MIND FOR THE BETTER. HOW IS IT LIKE IN YOUR OPINION?
I agree, it really changes you because you go through different things and situations you probably won’t have faced previously. I don’t know if this is necessary good because you get to understand a lot about you, your potentialities but your limits too. I have met people who were actually pushed the other way around, who understood that they couldn’t live in any other place than they home country because it was too much to deal with and too different from what they were used to… So in a certain way they appreciated more their country by becoming super nationalistic, xenophobic and intolerant. I know it sounds crazy and paradoxical but I have also met this kind of people along the way. Either way people might go, I do think travelling in the majority of the cases opens you mind in a way or the other and might certainly be beneficial for a lot of people.
7.HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT QUITTING?
We’ll, When I’ll stop next year I’ll be doing this for exactly 3 years on a row, without having never ever been at home once. I don’t think I want to do this for ever but what is certain is that I won’t stop travelling anyway.
8. OF COURSE INSTAGRAM IS A VISUAL PLATFORM AND GREAT IMPRESSIONS ARE CRUCIAL. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE TO ANYONE WANTING TO TAKE AWESOME PHOTOS?
I think that in order to produce quality content there must be a certain commitment, you must study a little of the basics in photography in order to be able to face any weather condition, lighting and so on and demand yourself to always improve and get better at it. I receive a ton of DM’S asking me which camera I use because people basically believes that if you buy a very expensive camera and use it in automatic mode it will do the job for you. But it won’t! Those wonderful gears are equipped with really amazing features but if you’re not able to understand what those are for and how to use those to your advantage manually without studying about it and practicing and exercising, you’ll never reach the level you’re looking for. I started myself from zero, I knew really nothing about it… But that’s how it is for all of us but demands commitment and ambition so my suggestion would be: if you really want to start from somewhere, start from the basics of photography and practice a lot and once ready it will be easier for you to find your way of doing things, your own style which will eventually become your signature brand.
9. MANY FEMALE TRAVELERS ARE AFRAID OF TRAVELING ALONE. IF YOU HAVE EVER TRAVELED ALONE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR DOUBTS AND THOUGHTS AND HOW YOU ENCOURAGED YOURSELF.
I would tell all the girls out there that the world isn’t a scary place, that it isn’t that dangerous and that along the way you will see that there’s a lot of kindness and genuine people who deserve to be trusted; forget about all the stereotypes and what you know about it from other people’s experiences. Make your own one and try not to be biased and you’ll be positively surprised! The world is definitely a better place than the one pictured in our minds as dangerous or misogynist. The only thing is that even if you open yourself for the best and positively, just keep in mind that you’ll be out there alone so be cautious and thoughtful anyway. Don’t put yourself in jeopardy or in stupid situations and everything will be fine. I’ve met a lot of women travelling and I’ve noticed that some were kind of lost because those had no idea where they were, hadn’t done any research about the culture, people or traditions and where disoriented. They expected to find only the very sweetened tales they had heard about it and not the whole thing. Just make sure you are prepared and you have more elements to be able to have a full picture so that you’ll always be confident and able to face any challenge or situation. Along the way you’ll see things that are just wrong but you can’t do much about it because in certain countries those are still allowed. So it will be difficult and you have to decide where you want to stand when unpleasant things happen. Sometimes you will want to question everything you know, all the things you were told to be “true”, “right “, “bad”, “wrong” or whatever … You’re going to be challenged and it’s up to you to decide how to take it and what to make out of it 🙂
10. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO ANY WOMEN OUT THERE WHO WANTS TO START DOING THE SAME?
My advice is definitely not to wait; if you’re waiting for the right moment to do it just don’t because you’ll always find a good excuse not to and you’ll just keep pushing it to the next “right moment”. The truth is that it is a jump in the dark, it might be scary at first but if you want to do it, means that it’s necessary for you. We all have different reasons or sometimes some of us find the reason or purpose once in it, so don’t be afraid of changes and just go for it, just take your decision and don’t look back… You are never going to regret it anyway, I promise!!
