And this matters because not everyone has the luxury to travel everywhere without extensive visas or permits, or the ability to partake in activities such as WOOF or "Teach English" programs.
In fact, whenever you do read a travel blog, the tips and tricks are those that are relevant for people from privileged countries. Where are the blogs that talk about visas, flights, discrimination, surveillance and what not?
Well, lo and behold, there are blogs and here are my favorite ones:
My favorite blog is Anam's blog called Girl with Green Passport. She is from my own homeland Pakistan and has the most amazing resource out there: Visa Guides. This matters because applying for visas from Pakistan is a lengthy and tedious process often requiring extensive documentation, from your marriage certificates, family registration certificates, itineraries, bank statements and cover letters demonstrating extensive home ties. The process is daunting and even then, there is no guarantee that a visa will be granted. Anam's blog resonates with every Pakistani, as well as others from the developing world who need visas to travel to most countries. Not just that, she's a woman and colored women have a hard time traveling than white women. Her gender, passport, and color of her skin have not stopped her from travelling so everyone should be following her.
This blog is of a lovely couple, Sona and Navdeep. Sona Charaipotra is a New York City-based journalist, who's written and blogged for many well-known publications. She's also writing her novel. Navdeep Singh Dhillon teaches university courses like English composition, Film and literature, and Creative Writing. Both have two kids and their blog is focused on food. While I have found their adventure stories to be sparser than most, I love one thing about them. THIS POST. It has laid bare the problem with most travel blogs which are overwhelmingly white and gloss over the many challenges that non-white folks face. And there are a lot of us there.
One of my favorite blogs, and also because Lakshmi is a wonderful writer. I would love to meet her, and get to visit India with her. Her itineraries section is great because she suggests great activities if you are short on time or you have a 48 hour layover.
The blogger is Nabila, an East Coaster-turned-West Coaster Pakistani-American who is awesome and relates her cultural struggles of being raised in a Pakistani family while traveling. She has traveled to 35 countries as a full-time student in both undergraduate and pharmacy school. Hot Damn! Talk about overachieving!
Francesca is your go-to girl who has written about study abroad while broke! She's based in California, but is a proud Afro-Latina with Honduran Garifuna roots. Francesca is also a professional journalist and on-camera host.
0 comments