Welcome to RooAroundTheWorld.com!
I’m assuming since you hit the ‘Start Here’ button that you’re new to this neck of the internet?
As the title would suggest, this is pretty good place to start in order to find out a bit about the site and a bit about me. I’m Roo, a traveller who’s been on the road for the best part of 7 years, visiting countries such as Thailand, Laos, Australia, Costa Rica and the USA to name a few, and enjoying all that the backpacker lifestyle has to offer.
This page is here just to help you on your way to discovering the best of what the site has to offer – if you want to know a bit more about me as a human being though you can head over to my about page where there’s heaps of good stuff about who I am and how I came to find myself in this crazy traveller’s world.
Roo Around The World started as just a simple way for me to share my adventurous tales with friends and family back home (as most blogs do), but soon developed into a total passion (read: obsession) and, as my readership grew, it turned into a place to tell other backpackers or would-be travellers about my escapades – whether it be through funny stories from the road, reviews of accommodation or travel products, or simply passing on some useful tidbits of travelling advice and information that I’ve learnt from my own experiences.
To get you up to speed (and so you don’t have to wade through 3 plus years of posts all the while thinking ‘who the hell is this girl?’), here’s some of the main parts of the site that you might find interesting and/or useful. Just click on the links and go enjoy the ride (*ahem* read):
I love lists, and a Bucket List is no different. I think it’s a super fun way to stay motivated to do all the things you want to do (and it’s heaps satisfying when you complete one of your goals and get to tick it off!). My Bucket List is long and pretty varied, ranging from things like Skydiving, to building my own boat, to playing with an elephant…but that’s the point of a bucket list right? To aim for your dreams and hope that you get them one day.
This is where you’ll find all the info and fun about the places that I’ve visited on my travels, with Top 10 Things To Do lists, reviews of various hostels and hotels. Just click on the links in the page and you’ll be taken straight to all the posts I’ve written about that particular place in the world.
I’m a bit of a photography nut so I always have a camera on me when I travel, whether it’s my DSLR, my Polaroid, my 35mm film camera or just my trusty iPhone. While enjoying the moment without technology is what it’s all about, I also think photos are a pretty important part of travelling too…there’s nothing better than coming home and making a scrapbook or album of everywhere you went and being reminded of all the things you forgot. I post a photo on here every week (or almost every week…sometimes I forget what day of the week it is a totally miss the window) of something that sums up my travels of life for those 7 days.
I studied Film at university so while I’m travelling I love to make little videos of my adventures…sometimes they’re very silly and sometimes they’re very informative and (I hope) helpful to those who might be travelling to the same place one day. It’s just another way of sharing my travel excitement with you.
Give it a watch: ‘A Paris Adventure‘, ‘RTW 2011/12 Best Bits‘ or ‘The End To A Great Summer‘
Back in June 2011 I headed of to America to spend a summer working at Camp Sloane YMCA in Connecticut. What ensued was possibly the best time of my life and I have returned to camp every summer since. Camp is my absolute favourite place on earth and I could talk about it for ever and to anyone (which I often do). I’m obsessed. So obviously I write about camp a lot – when I’m there and when I’m not there. Working at summer camp is honestly the best thing you could ever do.
Give it a read: ‘10 Reasons Why Working At Summer Camp Is The Best Job In The World!‘, ‘Hello Sloane & Hello to the Summer‘, or ‘The Place That Changed My Life: Why I Keep Going Back To Summer Camp’
In Nov 2011 I set off on my first Round The World trip, starting in Bangkok and ending back at summer camp in the USA, visiting 10 countries over a period of nearly 11 months. It was a trip I’d been planning for years and it really didn’t disappoint. This section of the site is filled with planning advice, lots of lists, photos and of course, many amusing stories from the road.
Give it a read: ‘Photo Essay: Amazing Sights Around The World‘, ‘Around The World Round Up‘, ‘Bula! It’s Fiji Time!‘ , ‘Travelling NZ’s South Island (part 1…)‘ or ‘Thai Island Adventuring‘
As a long term traveller I’ve stayed in a lot of great places, and a lot of not so great ones. For your benefit (and maybe to remind myself to not go back to some of them), I’ve written a hell of a lot of hostel reviews, summing up the good, the bad and ugly of each place. I’ve also worked with some companies to promote their travel related products, so there’s a couple of cool gadget reviews here too.
Give it a read: ‘Hostel Review: HI Santa Monica, Los Angeles‘, ‘Hostel Review: Sydney Central Backpackers, Sydney‘, or ‘A Product Review: The WeBBem Watch’
Every month I write a post that sums up just how much I’ve spent in those past 30 or 31 days. With the help of a handy app called Saver, I break my spending down into different categories so I (and you) can see where it all really goes each month. I also chat about where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing, but that kind of goes hand in hand with the spending really.
I by no means claim to be a travelling expert, but over the years I’ve learnt a few things – from what to pack (or not) for a big trip, to how to save money, to planning your RTW route, to what free things there are to do in a certain city. So that’s what you’ll find here…a bunch of posts that I hope might help you as you embark on your own adventures.
Give it a read: ‘5 Money Saving Tips for Around The World Travel’ or ‘33 Things I’ve Learnt From 3 Years of Travel‘
Sometimes the world just gets the better of me and I have too many words spilling out of my head, so I like to get them all down on paper (or rather on computer screen). In this section you’ll find posts that contain rather deep and worldly musings, or angry rants about this that or the other. They always relate to travel, but more just in the larger sense of why we travel and what does it all mean. I told you it was deep.
Give it a read: ‘What Are Our Options?‘, ‘The Most Honest Post I’ve Ever Written: Help?! I Think I’m a Travelling Snob‘, or ‘What’s Normal Awnyway?‘
Woah, if you’ve got this far then well done! If you’ve liked what you’ve seen and read then why not head over and ‘like’ the Facebook page, follow me on Twitter (@rooaroundworld) and on Instagram (@rooaroundtheworld). Much appreciated.
Well I hope this was enough of a taster to whet your appetite…and to keep you browsing! Enjoy the rest of the site!
Roo Around The World 