These are the coolest travel blogs as far as I'm concerned. If I was stranded on a desert island with my laptop and internet access... oh, and it's an Australian desert island, which means there's no broadband, it's dial-up, there's a convoluted 'plan' so you have no idea what you're ultimately paying, the signal's weak and inconsistent, it's excruciatingly slow, and, oh, you pay by the byte! (Sense some frustration here?). So, if I was only able to read six travel blogs a day, this is what they'd be... oh, and they just so happen to meet my criteria of what makes a travel blog cool for me (see yesterday's post):1) Maryam from Marrakesh: this whimsical blog is a wonderful example of one that communicates a personal vision. Maryam expresses her own unique way of seeing the world as she shares the magical times and frustrating moments as she and her architect-husband build a guesthouse in Morocco. A creative outlet for Maryam, it has an addicted community of vicarious travellers who visit every day to experience Maryam's Marrakesh.
2) Pret a Voyager: written by Baltimore-based designer Anne who loves to travel, this is a brilliant example of a blogger who 'connects' with her content. Anne is always discovering and sharing all kinds of fascinating stuff related to her passions for Paris, design, travel, maps, and her hometown, and presents them through her own special perspective. Anne occasionally writes about things we might read about on other blogs, but when Anne shows us something we see what makes it relevant to her and why it should be important to us.
3) Primitive Culture: this is a prime example of a blog that's engaging because it's written from experience. Xander, formerly based in Bangkok, born in New Mexico, and educated in South Africa, documents his observations from his experience living, working and traveling through Asia, Africa and America, providing an insight into the pleasure he gains from experiencing local food, coffee, exotica and esoterica.
4) Wide Angles, Wine and Wanderlust: written by (full disclosure) my co-author/husband Terry, this is a fantastic example of a blog with a sense of purpose. It has motivation, direction, and originality. Terry writes in an engaging, insightful and often witty way about his profession (photographer/travel writer) and his passions (photography, food & wine). He doesn't write every day, only when he has something to say. And that's exactly what I mean.
5) Going Local: this blog focused on hospitality tourism (couchsurfing, home-swapping, house-sitting and so on), written by former Guardian journalist and new Buenos Aires-resident Vicky Baker, is an excellent example of a blog that is well-written. Each post has focus, structure, is engaging, has focus, and holds my attention. It doesn't matter if Vicky writes 10-words or 1000, I'm going to read them.
6) Life In A Venti Cup: this is a fabulous blog with a capital F and fits my eye-candy criteria to a cute T. It's chic, sassy and sexy (just like Franki), boasts gorgeous pics, cute design, a clean look and feel, and light and breezy content that keeps me coming back for more - with a capital M.
I'm keen to know what you think of my criteria - and these blogs. And I'm dying to know what your desert island travel blogs are - and most of all, the reasons why.