WSGT’s next Travel Influencers are Dishana and Alvin of Boring Beautiful who want to bring you along on their adventures—and misadventures—to inspire your own travels and show you what lies beyond your front door.
1.)Where was the first place that you traveled that made you think WOW—travel is amazing.
Mongolia as a whole was breathtaking but there was definitely something magical about Lake Khuvsghul in north of the country. Lake Khuvsghul is the second most pure lake in the world (after one in Antarctica) and it was amazing to photograph at sunset. It was half frozen when we visited it; Alvin was completely frozen after he jumped in.
2.)If you had unlimited resources, where would you go and what would you do?
Antarctica or house deposit? It’s a tough question. Antarctica is our ultimate dream destination. To be so far from civilisation, we imagine it would feel like we were on another planet. We would kayak through icebergs, photograph complex ice formations and observe what remains of the native fauna.
3.)What were you afraid to do and how did you find the courage to overcome it?
A day before flying to Turkey, there was a terrorist attack at the airport. It was the fourth bombing in the last year. Naturally, our friends and family told us to let things settle, and change our plans. It wasn’t until a chance conversation with some backpackers that we were convinced that causing irrational fear was exactly what these extremists would have wanted. So we kept our flight. There was never a time that we get unsafe in Turkey. The locals were lovely, and the police presence was reassuring. Turkey remains our most frequent answer to the question “which country was your favourite?”
4.)What apps do you use regularly that make your life easier?
Evernote is a great way for the two us to share research and ideas, because it allows multiple users to view and edit its documents at the same time. Wait, who are we kidding. Dishana did all the research and planning. Evernote was a great way for Dishana to share research and ideas.
Maps.me was a lifesaver because it allowed us to download maps from the wifi, and navigate through GPS when data was not available.
5.)What place do you wish more people have seen?
Kyrgyzstan was a pleasant surprise for us, with it’s rich culture and natural beauty. The problem is, most people we speak to about our trip don’t really know anything about Central Asia. There is so much to see and learn in that part of the world, but unfortunately it doesn’t often make an appearance in the media or every day conversation. Except, of course, the war-torn regions.
6.)Best advice you have been given and by whom?
Casey Neistat recently made a video on his YouTube channel. The sentence “do what you can’t” is the perfect answer to the self doubt that prevents most of us from achieving our dreams.
7.)When were you surprised by the kindness of strangers on a trip?
A lady in Bucharest comes to mind. She spotted us lurking around an Orthodox church, unsure of whether we were allowed to go in or not. She was so proud of her city, and so happy that people were visiting that she spent an hour giving us a tour of the church and a detailed history lesson of Orthodox Christianity in Romania. Then she forced her husband to drive us around to all the surrounding churches in the city.
Hitchhiking isn’t particularly common in Australia so the whole experience was surreal for us. Who in their right mind would want to allow two unwashed strangers in their car and then drive them to their hostel? But a surprising amount of people did, and we saved so much time, money and made countless new friends in the process.
8.)What inspired you to travel for extended periods of time or live in a new country?
Our main reason to drop everything and travel was to break away from an unproductive cycle. We were stuck in an unhealthy routine with bad habits, and life became quite stagnant. They say time goes by quickly when you are having fun. We think life goes by quickly when you don’t stop to appreciate it. The change was healthy. Now back from our gap year, the clean slate provided us with the chance to reshape our lives and routine in accordance to our ideal lifestyle.
9.)I travel because….
We travel because travel is one of the greatest life teachers. Travel has taught us to be grateful of what we have at home. It taught us tolerance by exposing us to new people and different cultures. It has taught us mindfulness. When you are travelling, you are living in the moment. Once you’ve practised doing that abroad, it is quite easy to adopt the same mindset when you are back home.
Hi! We are Dishana and Alvin, a Melbourne based duo vlogging and blogging our backpacking adventure across the globe. We aim to bring you along on our adventures—and misadventures—to inspire your own travels and show you what lies beyond your front door.
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