INTERVIEW WITH THE STYLISH TROTTER

• Hello, Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Victoria and I am the content creator at the stylish trotter. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry but traveling is my passion. Sometimes I wonder why I went to school because I would rather travel but I have to make money to fund my travels right? I love experiences new places, new food (not all types of food haha!), and I consider myself am free spirit.

• Why did you decide to start traveling around the world, what inspired you?

Before I started traveling, my days involved going to work, coming home and occasionally hanging out with friends. I always felt I was missing something in my life but I was never able to figure it out. I took my first major trip out of the country in March 2016 when I traveled to Colombia and I have not been able to stop ever since. I have a certain freedom when I travel because I don’t have to worry about work for the most part and I loved this freedom. Also, I enjoy experiencing new cultures so I am always looking forward to traveling. 

• How many countries have you been to?

So far 17 countries

• How do you juggle the expenses involved in traveling around the world?

When I realized I love to travel, I started taking saving more seriously. I try to save as much as I can after paying bills and I use that money to travel. I opened several high interest savings accounts where I allocate my funds to and I also cut down shopping. I love buying shoes and bags but I have cut down on that so that I can travel more. 

• Have you ever come in contact with an extraordinary experience in any country...what was your reaction?

Traveling itself is extra ordinary. I would not single an experience out per say because I am always in awe when I visit a new place and I have had instances where I prolonged my visit in a country/region because I enjoyed it that much. 

• Do you ever think you would stop travelling at any point in your life? Why?

I honestly don’t think so. There are 195 countries in the world and I only visited 17. I still have a long way to go.

• What was your most recent trip and your experience there?

I visited Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, Brazil. I loved Bahia especially because the city has a lot of Yoruba influence. It was very refreshing to visit another part of the world and experience parts of my culture. 

• How many times do you travel in a year?

This year, I have traveled 5 different times. 

• What has been your best experience or memory? Why and what country?

I cannot specify. I have enjoyed all my travel memories both good and bad. They have all been a learning experience. 

• Have you ever had disappointing moments in a country?

Havana, Cuba. It was not what I expected. I have a blog post about it on my website. 

• How much luggage do you take?

It depends on the duration on my trip. When I started traveling I would take 1 check in bag and 1 carry-on bag. Now I only take one carry on. 

• What country do you dream of visiting, and why?

I dream of visiting Island nations within the Indian Ocean because they are just so beautiful. So countries like Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. If I had to pick one among all of them it would be Seychelles or Sri Lanka because I want to visit the Islands in Seychelles and Sri Lanka is filled with so much culture. I would definitely love to visit and see it for myself. 

• What would be your advice for up-coming or aspiring travel bloggers?

Consistency is the key to building a brand. Since I am up and coming myself, I have been struggling with consistency because of my busy work schedule. 2018 looks like it will be an amazing blogging year for me though because I have a lot of amazing destinations lined up so look out for my blog posts.