Before I went on my RTW travels, I could be often found stalking other travel blogs but what really interested me was the travel blogger behind the witticisms of their writing. Who are they? Are they real? Are they fit? So hence, for a long time coming, I wanted to do some travel blogging interviews and crack them open for their rawness inspiration of travel inside. Think Michael Parkinson.
I haven’t met the guy in person but his personality and winning wit definitely shines through every time we talk on twitter. He’s not only the man behind one website but two websites! As a full-time workaholic, he tries to travel in short ‘jaunts’ throughout the world whilst raving all about he achieved pleasure in Spain…not as naughty as it sounds! With a cracking sense of humour and scarily my lookalike in the tall, dark and handsome stakes, I give you Josh of Cheeky Jaunt!
A poser in the making…
1. Name: Josh Taylor
2. Twitter: @CheekyJaunt / @spain4pleasure
3. Facebook Fan Page: Cheeky Jaunt / Spain For Pleasure
4. Blog URL: cheekyjaunt.com / spainforpleasure.com
5. Where are you originally from and where are you now?
I grew up in a small town near Stockport, went to University in Sheffield and I now live in Granada, Spain. (Ed Note: Great place to live!)
6. Describe yourself in 3 words.
Gangly, selfish and single 😉
7. Tell us about your blog. What makes your blog unique from all the other bloggers out there?
Despite the vaguely kinky undertone, Spain For Pleasure– my first blog –is not a porn site (some of my SEO search terms would suggest some people assume otherwise). It is in fact an expat blog geared towards people who are in exactly the same position as me: young(ish), independent, curious and on the lookout for an alternative to jumping on the career ladder immediately after Uni. Its aim is to provide useful information on Spanish culture, language, travel and the general goings on in expat daily life, with a few laughs thrown in for good measure.
Cheeky Jaunt is more like a journal of my part-time traveling endeavours; a space where I can write about all the non-Spain related stuff I get up to and engage with a wider audience. Its goal is to advocate the idea of travel in bite-sized portions, hence the name…
8. Why did you start writing a blog? And did you find it easy to set up?
Spain For Pleasure started partly because I wanted a platform to develop my writing skills and partly because of a chance encounter with another very successful travel blogger, but also because I wanted to keep my friends and family informed of what I was up to in Spain via fancy photos and whimsical anecdotes instead of annoying, gone-in-a-flash Facebook status updates. I never predicted the direction it would go in.
I’ve sort of fumbled my way through the techy stuff to blogging, learning tricks here and there. Cheeky Jaunt was a lot easier to set up after my experience with Spain For Pleasure.
Little did Josh know that it was completely solid to the ice…
8. If you had to travel with 3 other travel bloggers who would they be?
Johnny Ward of OneStep4Ward– said successful travel blogger who inspired me to blog. He has an insatiable hunger for travel; always on the move. I believe he’s off on the trip of his life starting next month, starting in Mexico and finishing in the south-pole.
Will Peach of willpeach.com– don’t actually know the guy personally but I’ve been a regular reader of his for a couple of years and have always admired his witty angles on done-to-death destinations/topics and brutal honesty. He’s gone a bit quiet in the blogosphere recently but he’d be a good laugh I reckon.
Beverly Reinemann of Pack Your Passport– again, we’ve never met but I’m a regular reader and she has a wicked style and creates awesome content. She’d be lots of fun on the road I think.
9. What’s the best advice you can give for new bloggers?
Content is king. You’ll never build an audience if you are only bothered about traffic and monetizing your blog. Take time and make effort with every one of your posts, engage with whoever’s interested, let your personality shine and most importantly be original. Monetization is a bonus but should never take priority over keeping it real.
10. Other than a job, what’s the easiest way to make money for travels?
Tough question. Take up busking? (Ed Note: I dread to hear your singing voice) Open another overdraft account and worry about interest rates later? Medical trials? Working really is the easiest and most practical way of making money for your travels. Go for painful and intensive twelve-hour shifts for a shorter period. Just keep thinking of those pina colidas on white sand beaches etc.
11. Where have you been in the world? And which was the best, worst, funniest, most random and scariest?
I’ve been to my fair share of destinations…
Best: Cusco, Peru.
Worst: Algeciras, Spain.
Funniest: Amsterdam, Holland.
Most random: Croatian to Bosnian & Herzegovinian border crossing, on foot, being ignored by motorists for 4 hours.
Scariest: Honestly, never felt threatened while travelling. Does the edge of a 20ft cliff drop in Whistler Blackcomb count? (Ed Note: 20ft?! Pffft, I laugh in the face of danger)
‘Don’t Jump!’
12. Naughtiest experience on your travels?
Gondola sex, Canada. (Ed Note: Wow, you’ll have a tough job keeping steady…)
13. Luggage or Backpack?
Backpack!
14. Top 3 items that you would save from your backpack if it was about to be sunk in shark infested waters?
Assuming I wasn’t strapped to it, in which case I’d save myself and forget my backpack, I’d first retrieve my staple box of Carrefour Muesli– that’s always strapped to the front anyway, so easy to get at. Then I’d be sensible and grab my passport. And finally my laptop. Sorry.
15. Skydiving or Bungee Jumping?
Skydiving. I’m afraid of heights, but I think adrenaline would take over with skydiving; I couldn’t deal with that quiet moment before bungee jumping. And I’d shit myself, literally.
16. Best travel idol (aside from me, of course) that you would want to sit next to on the plane?
Ray Mears (does he count?). He’d be a good companion to have around if the plane went down. I’d just have to watch my nuts at meal times (the nibbles kind).
17. What’s your party trick to show to other backpackers in hostels?
I’ve a few card tricks, but my pièce de résistance is making my neck disappear. (Ed Note: Intriguing yet gross!)
18. Hostel, Guesthouse, Hotel or Couchsurf?
Hostel if travelling solo, couchsurfing occasionally, place to ourselves if with friends.
Josh tries to be between a rock and a hard place…
19. Day Trip, Backpack or live? UK, Australia or Vietnam?
Day Trip: UK
Back Pack: Australia
Live: Vietnam
20. Lonely Planet or Rough Guide?
Travel Blogs.
21. Will you go out with me, a sexy, tall, dark and handsome god?
I feel at this point it is hard to say. I too fit that description. Would we clash do you think? As long as you don’t make me call you Teddy, then yes, I’d go out with you. (Ed Note: It’s like staring in a mirror!)
22. Did you find love on your travels?
Not yet. Of course I’m open to it, but seems like I’m a flings kind of guy.
23. Would you go on I’m a Celebrity and eat pig’s testicles?
Funnily enough I actually wrote a post about parts of the pig that commonly eaten in Spain not long ago, and this is one of them. However, I am neither a celebrity nor terribly fussed about trying pigs’ balls, so I’d have to say no to that one, unless there was a substantial reward involved.
24. And possibly, the most important question…Neighbours or Home and Away?!
Round The Twist!!
25. Which 3 songs have you played the most on your ipod on your travels?
I like to keep an open mind when it comes to music, especially when travelling. I am, however, a proper lover of drum & bass, which is misunderstood by so many people. These 3 are great, liquidy, experimental, uplifting tracks:
London Elektricity – Just One Second (Apex Remix)
Etherwood – One Day
Frederic Robinson – Theme Park
26. You travelled on your own, how did that go for you and did you find it easy to make new friends on the road?
I never have problem making friends on the road. I love travelling solo simply because you don’t have to run any decisions by anyone; you are your own boss. I think a large element of my preference and aptitude for travelling alone comes from being an expat and being able to speak another language.
…POSER ALERT!
27. What are your next travel plans?
Lisbon, in two weeks’ time!
28. What’s the best advice you can give to first time travellers?
Keep an open mind, but also your wits about you. Get to know a place before you get wasted in it and don’t be afraid to roll with a random idea…
29. Finally, tell us a funny travel story…
At the risk of sounding like a massive perv, myself and a few pals once went to a peep show in Amsterdam (see funniest place ever visited). It was actually more of a private booth, of which there were about 6, all surrounding a hidden room and each big enough for just one person. Stoned out of my mind, I pushed my €2 into the slot and a little shutter snapped open to reveal a naked woman, erm, getting in a fluster, and several other faces– some belonging to my shrieking (with amusement) friends, others to creepy, deadpan men –in the background. After about three minutes, the show was over and we had nearly laughed ourselves to death.
Upon learning of the events that had unfolded several minutes later, two other friends who hadn’t wanted to join in the first time suddenly got the urge to go and see the show for themselves. We waited patiently outside the booths until they returned, looking rather bemused. Turned out that the girl who we’d seen had since knocked off for the evening, to be replaced by a much older, larger and hairier man, who had apparently got himself in a fluster too.
Never laughed so hard in my life.
Thanks Josh for doing this interview! If you would like to know more about his journeys, click here.
If you would like to have an interview, please drop an email to rexyedventures@gmail.com and we’ll get you featured on here!
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