I've been writing for Travel Adventures of a Desi Blonde on this new site (dedicated to my travels!) since the beginning of 2011. (Before that, I wrote about my travel adventures on my main site, Adventures of a Desi Blonde.)
In June, I attended TBEX '11 to learn more about travel blogging. And while I did learn get some good insight into it, I also made a few friends in the travel blogging sphere. One of those people is Keryn from Walkingon Travels. Keryn recently nominated this blog for Tripbase's My 7 Links blog project, and I'm super excited to participate.
If you've never heard of the My 7 Links project, it's an effort to bring some (forgotten) blog posts back to the forefront. The My 7 Links project from Tripbase has been floating around the blogosphere for the past several months and many (many) bloggers have already done it. In addition to Keryn's, I read several others, including unbrave girl's 7 links, which I really enjoyed.)
So here are my 7 links.
My most beautiful post
Lahore Fort, in Lahore Pakistan
I know they say "a picture is worth a thousand words," but I tend to write more (rather than show pictures) in my blog posts, so "my most beautiful post" one was a hard one for me because there aren't many pictures (though I guess "beautiful" could also apply to a well-written post, depending upon how you interpret it...).
Besides our friends and family with whom we come in contact on a daily basis, it's pretty rare for me to meet someone who's been to Pakistan. And even more rare of me to meet someone who's gone to some of the sights within Pakistan that one might consider tourist destinations. (Not that Pakistan gets a lot of tourists these days, mind you.)
I've been to Lahore Fort and Badshahi Masjid in Lahore twice. On my 1st trip there, we went with some cousins, and I was the tourist. On my 2nd trip there, my husband and I played tour guides to our friend James and his wife while they travelled with us in Pakistan. The 2nd trip was so much better because we hired a tour guide and got to go "behind the scenes" in a couple of areas of Lahore Fort.
My most popular post
Celebrity sighting!
Last Labor day (2010), my husband and I took our very first trip up north to Canada. After wandering around Vancouver for what seemed like days, we got hungry and stumbled upon a fusion noodle place (The Noodle Box) in the late afternoon in the Kitsilano neighborhood. As it so happens, 2 celebrities from Smallville also decided to eat there as well, and I recognized 'Chloe' (Allison Mack) and 'Lana' (Kristin Kreuk) right away.
My husband was...mortified. I, on the other hand, was practically hyperventilating. (I'm not a huge fan of Smallville…I just love celebrities.) My husband was so embarrassed when I took their picture, but I don't care.
My most controversial post
Introduction
I know, I know, it's laughable to have my Introduction page as my most controversial post...but for almost 2 years, I blogged anonymously.
Earlier this year, I took steps to really define what I wanted my main blog and this blog to be. At that time, this site became dedicated solely to travel adventures, the Introduction page got almost completely rewritten, and both sites even got their own picture (of me!).
(I know, I know, it's not so controversial for all those bloggers who've been doing that all along…but it was controversial for me because I felt that it took a lot of courage for me to come and show my face on my blog after blogging anonymously.)
My most helpful post
10 things I learned at TBEX '11
As I mentioned, I attended TBEX '11 in June. When I originally signed up for the conference, I figured it would just be an excuse for my husband and I to take another trip for some fab eats in Vancouver. As it turned out, he wasn't able to go with me after all, so going to TBEX '11 became my first solo trip this year. (I also travelled solo to Iowa in July to visit family.)
Anyway, TBEX '11 was jam-packed with activities, seminars, and meet-and-greets. I ended up discovering a lot of cool blogs and meeting some great people. But I'll also never forget the things I learned from others, which I summarized in this particular post.
Post whose success surprised me
Tulips…everywhere!
I had no idea that a post about a springtime tulip festival in a tiny town in Iowa would get so much traffic, but I'm happy that it did and still does.
I went to the the Tulip Time Festival in Pella, Iowa many times when I was living in Iowa. As often happens as we get older, we sometimes remember things in a better light than they were, and I'll be the 1st to admit that some of that happened with Tulip Time. But when I went back several years ago, I was happy to see that it's still a fun time and that the Dutch letters are still as tasty as they were so many years ago.
To this day, Pella remains a favorite town of mine in Iowa, and I was happy to share information about the festival with others.
Post that I felt didn’t get the attention it deserved
Snakes…? I hate snakes!
Seeing a snake charmer in Pakistan certainly fell on my list of strange things to do on a vacation. I thought the sheer oddity of it would get people interested in checking out a post about it on my blog, but it failed to get many visits.
Maybe I'm not the only one who hates snakes…? Maybe some people were so afraid of snakes that they didn't even want to read my blog post about seeing a snake charmer? (Yes, I'm going with that reason.)
Post I'm most proud of
Where in the world is…Meliha?
If you've never talked to me IRL (in real life), then you'd probably never guess that I'm a bit hesitant to mention to others that I'm originally from Iowa and that my husband is from Pakistan. Why? Because people's minds instantly conjure up the most typical and worst stereotypes about that they can think of about those regions.
The biggest stereotypes about Iowa and Iowans? That we grow a lot of potatoes (that's IDAHO, people!), all live on farms where we milk cows, and are generally country hicks.
It also saddens me to see that Pakistan remains in such a constant state of unrest and that most of the news that reaches the U.S. is negative news. When I talk to others about Pakistan, I want them to know that there are good, kind, caring people there.
So that's my 7 links.
And here are the bloggers/blogs I'd like to nominate:
In June, I attended TBEX '11 to learn more about travel blogging. And while I did learn get some good insight into it, I also made a few friends in the travel blogging sphere. One of those people is Keryn from Walkingon Travels. Keryn recently nominated this blog for Tripbase's My 7 Links blog project, and I'm super excited to participate.
If you've never heard of the My 7 Links project, it's an effort to bring some (forgotten) blog posts back to the forefront. The My 7 Links project from Tripbase has been floating around the blogosphere for the past several months and many (many) bloggers have already done it. In addition to Keryn's, I read several others, including unbrave girl's 7 links, which I really enjoyed.)
So here are my 7 links.
My most beautiful post
Lahore Fort, in Lahore Pakistan
 |
| View of Lahore Fort from Badshahi Masjid (click photo to view larger) |
Besides our friends and family with whom we come in contact on a daily basis, it's pretty rare for me to meet someone who's been to Pakistan. And even more rare of me to meet someone who's gone to some of the sights within Pakistan that one might consider tourist destinations. (Not that Pakistan gets a lot of tourists these days, mind you.)
I've been to Lahore Fort and Badshahi Masjid in Lahore twice. On my 1st trip there, we went with some cousins, and I was the tourist. On my 2nd trip there, my husband and I played tour guides to our friend James and his wife while they travelled with us in Pakistan. The 2nd trip was so much better because we hired a tour guide and got to go "behind the scenes" in a couple of areas of Lahore Fort.
My most popular post
Celebrity sighting!
Last Labor day (2010), my husband and I took our very first trip up north to Canada. After wandering around Vancouver for what seemed like days, we got hungry and stumbled upon a fusion noodle place (The Noodle Box) in the late afternoon in the Kitsilano neighborhood. As it so happens, 2 celebrities from Smallville also decided to eat there as well, and I recognized 'Chloe' (Allison Mack) and 'Lana' (Kristin Kreuk) right away.
My husband was...mortified. I, on the other hand, was practically hyperventilating. (I'm not a huge fan of Smallville…I just love celebrities.) My husband was so embarrassed when I took their picture, but I don't care.
My most controversial post
Introduction
I know, I know, it's laughable to have my Introduction page as my most controversial post...but for almost 2 years, I blogged anonymously.
Earlier this year, I took steps to really define what I wanted my main blog and this blog to be. At that time, this site became dedicated solely to travel adventures, the Introduction page got almost completely rewritten, and both sites even got their own picture (of me!).
(I know, I know, it's not so controversial for all those bloggers who've been doing that all along…but it was controversial for me because I felt that it took a lot of courage for me to come and show my face on my blog after blogging anonymously.)
My most helpful post
10 things I learned at TBEX '11
As I mentioned, I attended TBEX '11 in June. When I originally signed up for the conference, I figured it would just be an excuse for my husband and I to take another trip for some fab eats in Vancouver. As it turned out, he wasn't able to go with me after all, so going to TBEX '11 became my first solo trip this year. (I also travelled solo to Iowa in July to visit family.)
Anyway, TBEX '11 was jam-packed with activities, seminars, and meet-and-greets. I ended up discovering a lot of cool blogs and meeting some great people. But I'll also never forget the things I learned from others, which I summarized in this particular post.
Post whose success surprised me
Tulips…everywhere!
 |
| Tulips at the Pella Tulip Time (click photo to view larger) |
I went to the the Tulip Time Festival in Pella, Iowa many times when I was living in Iowa. As often happens as we get older, we sometimes remember things in a better light than they were, and I'll be the 1st to admit that some of that happened with Tulip Time. But when I went back several years ago, I was happy to see that it's still a fun time and that the Dutch letters are still as tasty as they were so many years ago.
To this day, Pella remains a favorite town of mine in Iowa, and I was happy to share information about the festival with others.
Post that I felt didn’t get the attention it deserved
Snakes…? I hate snakes!
 |
| Snake with its charmer (click photo to view larger) |
Maybe I'm not the only one who hates snakes…? Maybe some people were so afraid of snakes that they didn't even want to read my blog post about seeing a snake charmer? (Yes, I'm going with that reason.)
Post I'm most proud of
Where in the world is…Meliha?
If you've never talked to me IRL (in real life), then you'd probably never guess that I'm a bit hesitant to mention to others that I'm originally from Iowa and that my husband is from Pakistan. Why? Because people's minds instantly conjure up the most typical and worst stereotypes about that they can think of about those regions.
The biggest stereotypes about Iowa and Iowans? That we grow a lot of potatoes (that's IDAHO, people!), all live on farms where we milk cows, and are generally country hicks.
It also saddens me to see that Pakistan remains in such a constant state of unrest and that most of the news that reaches the U.S. is negative news. When I talk to others about Pakistan, I want them to know that there are good, kind, caring people there.
So that's my 7 links.
And here are the bloggers/blogs I'd like to nominate:
- Laura from iGriza was one of the first bloggers I stumbled upon when I got started blogging. She writes about iPhone and iPad apps, home repair/decorating issues, and baby-related stuff. She's a great gal who writes well and loves all things Apple.
- James from James Pine Has a Blog has been a close friend of mine for like ever. He often writes about home, car, or computer-related repair issues of the day, math problems he's working through, or multi-day hikes he's doing.
- I love Gia from gorgeous and affecting. for her fun personality and comical tweets. She writes about a myriad of topics on her blog...from food to fashion to interpersonal relationships and friendship.
- I met Trish from Trip Styler at TBEX '11 in Vancouver. She's super sweet and was kind enough to educate me on "glamping." (It turns out, "camping" in Yosemite's Curry Village is actually "glamping"…who knew??)
thank you for nominating me...! you are the best! I really enjoyed the post on Lahore as I hadn't read it before. Having been to Lahore so many times, I've never actually explored the fort. Next time I got back, I really need to start doing some more site-seeing in between all the family events and weddings!
ReplyDelete:)