{"id":16641,"date":"2021-06-07T07:27:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T07:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/?p=16641"},"modified":"2021-06-07T07:28:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T07:28:00","slug":"monthly-travel-journal-may-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/monthly-travel-journal-may-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Monthly Travel Journal &#8211; May 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s been a few months since I last wrote in my virtual journal. Honestly, I felt like nobody wanted to hear about what I was doing in my daily life since travel was not a possibility due to the current pandemic. 2021 started the same as 2020 ended &#8211; no travel plans in sight, bad weather and a lot of pessimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the pandemic started, my life took a 180-degrees turn, from monthly trips to spending most of my time at home. However, the vaccine became available in Romania at the beginning of the year and I could see a ray of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I jumped at the opportunity to get vaccinated. It felt like the only way to get back to normal. Soon after, a few borders started to open and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April, a local tourism agency contacted me and offered me a press trip to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/places-to-visit-antalya-turkey\/\">Antalya<\/a><\/strong>, Turkey. I couldn&#8217;t believe that things were starting to move forward on a professional level. I accepted the invitation and in May, I hopped on a plane for the first time in one year and shortly after, I landed in Turkey, a country I&#8217;ve never visited before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\" data-imagelightbox=\"g\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mermerli-beach-antalya.jpg\" alt=\"mermerli beach antalya city\" class=\"wp-image-16554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mermerli-beach-antalya.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mermerli-beach-antalya-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mermerli-beach-antalya-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mermerli-beach-antalya-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We stayed in 3 amazing hotels (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/ng-phaselis-bay-luxury-hotel-antalya\/\">Ng Phaselis Bay<\/a><\/strong>, The Land of Legends and Spice Hotel and Spa) and, for one week, it felt like life was back to normal. I enjoyed this trip to the fullest. I loved the places I visited, the views, and the feeling that this year was going to be better than the last one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\" data-imagelightbox=\"g\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ng-phaselis-bay-antalya-main-pool-palm-trees.jpg\" alt=\"Ng Phaselis Bay Hotel Antalya main pool\" class=\"wp-image-16466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ng-phaselis-bay-antalya-main-pool-palm-trees.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ng-phaselis-bay-antalya-main-pool-palm-trees-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ng-phaselis-bay-antalya-main-pool-palm-trees-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ng-phaselis-bay-antalya-main-pool-palm-trees-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption>Ng Phaselis Bay<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\" data-imagelightbox=\"g\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-land-of-legends-antalya.jpg\" alt=\"The Land of Legends Antalya castle\" class=\"wp-image-16556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-land-of-legends-antalya.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-land-of-legends-antalya-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-land-of-legends-antalya-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-land-of-legends-antalya-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption>The Land of Legends<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Soon after I got home, I got invited to another press trip, this time in Bulgaria &#8211; Golden Sands. It really seems like the travel industry is slowly bouncing back. I can also see it in my blog stats. The traffic is increasing slowly and steadily and more and more people seem willing to travel this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I took the jump and even booked a trip on my own to Amsterdam in June. I&#8217;m not sure if it&#8217;s going to happen because restrictions are changing from one day to another, but it would be nice to go back to Amsterdam, the city where I lived for one year during my masters&#8217; degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>A new Instagram account, YouTube profile and blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of the year, I realised that I want to share my experiences with my fellow Romanians. My Instagram account was in English, so I decided to create another one, this time in Romanian. That&#8217;s how <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/aura.calatoreste\/\">@aura.calatoreste<\/a><\/strong> was born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was planning to grow it to 10K followers by the end of the year, but a few of my reels went viral and now I have a beautiful community of more than 30K people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seeing that Romanians are interested in my travel stories, I decided to also create a YouTube channel. Here, I&#8217;ll post videos about how to travel cheaper and for longer periods of time. Soon I also plan to launch a blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>What about this blog?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This year I took a short break of a month from this blog. It was hard for me to keep being motivated when my traffic was tanking and nobody thought about traveling. I needed a break to focus on other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that I see that things are moving again, I feel more motivated than ever. I started enjoying writing again and I plan to keep posting new travel guides on this blog each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>New on the blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I managed to publish a few new articles on this blog. Enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/southeast-asia-packing-list\/\">Southeast Asia Packing List &#8211; 50 items you&#8217;ll need<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/gitgit-waterfall-north-bali\/\">Gitgit Waterfall Northern Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/is-travel-blogging-a-real-job\/\">Is travel blogging a real job? Or just a passion?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/places-to-visit-antalya-turkey\/\">10 places you need to visit in Antalya<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/top-things-to-do-in-oradea\/\">Top things to do in Oradea, Romania<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/ng-phaselis-bay-luxury-hotel-antalya\/\">Ng Phaselis Bay Hotel Review<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/dream-beach-nusa-lembongan\/\">Dream Beach Nusa Lembongan, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/things-to-do-nusa-ceningan\/\">10 best things to do in Nusa Ceningan, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/blue-lagoon-nusa-ceningan\/\">Blue Lagoon Nusa Ceningan, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/nusa-ceningan-secret-beach\/\">Nusa Ceningan Secret Beach, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/nusa-penida-photography-places\/\">10 best photography places in Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/top-things-to-do-nusa-penida\/\">35 things to do in Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/best-waterfalls-in-iceland\/\">25 Epic waterfalls in Iceland<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/best-beaches-in-nusa-penida\/\">11 best beaches in Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/karlovy-vary-day-trip-from-prague\/\">A day trip to Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/top-castles-transylvania\/\">Top castles and fortresses in Transylvania<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/top-italy-hidden-gems\/\">22 hidden gems in Italy<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/best-temples-in-bali\/\">Best 18 temples in Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/broken-beach-nusa-penida-bali\/\">Broken Beach, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/angel-billabong-nusa-penida-bali\/\">Angel Billabong Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/crystal-bay-beach-nusa-penida\/\">Crystal Bay Beach, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/thousand-island-viewpoint-nusa-penida-bali\/\">Thousand Island Viewpoint, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/diamond-beach-nusa-penida-bali\/\">Diamond Beach, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/peguyangan-waterfall-nusa-penida\/\">Peguyangan Waterfall, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/atuh-beach-nusa-penida\/\">Atuh Beach, Nusa Penida, Bali<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/malang-rainbow-village-jodipan-java\/\">Malang Rainbow Village, Java Island<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/backpacking-java-island\/\">Backpacking Java Island<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/timang-beach-gondola-java\/\">Timang Beach Gondola, Java Island<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/prambanan-temple-sunset-yogyakarta\/\">Sunset at Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/borobudur-temple-sunrise-yogyakarta\/\">Sunrise at Borobudur Temple, Yogyakarta<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/one-day-in-yogyakarta-itinerary\/\">One day in Yogyakarta<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/kampung-pelangi-rainbow-village-semarang\/\">The story of Kampung Pelangi, Semarang<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It looks like since the beginning of 2021, I managed to publish more than 30 blog posts, which is not bad at all considering that I took one month off. See you next month, with more travel stories!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>May the travel bug bite you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s been a few months since I last wrote in my virtual journal. Honestly, I felt like nobody wanted to hear about what I was doing in my daily life&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[92],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16644,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16641\/revisions\/16644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailytravelpill.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}