Isabel Leong Travel Blogger

You started your blog in 2015. What or who inspired you to become a travel blogger?
You’re right – my blog was launched in 2015, when I began my first solo international journey around Europe. The blog was meant to be a platform for me to catalogue my travels and share travel tips, itineraries and budget hacks. I wanted it to be a useful resource for others looking to visit the same destinations as I’d visited.

Some travel bloggers that inspired me were IAmAileen, World Of Wanderlust and The Blonde Abroad. Hearing their stories of being able to travel and blog full time certainly gave me a confident boost in hopes that I one day can lead such a lifestyle marrying my passion and work too.

I admire all independent travelers, but especially those who have been able to travel during the past few years. How were you able to overcome your fears about leaving Singapore in October 2020 to travel solo for an extended period of time?
I was in a really unmotivated state in Singapore and I knew I needed to change my environment if I was going to get inspired and start creating travel content again.

Having very supportive friends in the US assuring me of the state of things there helped. Knowing they’d be more than happy to host me and take me to explore their backyard ignited my wanderlust once again. Finally, a few days before my birthday, I took the one-way flight from Singapore to the US. I documented my whole journey flying from Singapore to the US in the following video.

As for the extended period of time, I honestly hadn’t thought that far beyond the fact that I needed to get out of Singapore and out of my rut. I bought a one-way ticket and it was the spontaneity and meeting people along the way that led me to go southward to South America and spend a year there!

Tell our readers how you make money to be able to continue to travel and support your current lifestyle? These days, a content creator has to do so much more than just create content.

You’re so right! Some days (okay, most days), I feel like an octopus having to juggle different aspects of blogging, from social media management to email copywriting and SEO – it’s no longer just a case of writing what you feel like writing!

By creating content that my audience wants to read rather than what I want to write, I’m able to grow the traffic on my blog organically (i.e. without paying for ads). I never write an article without doing keyword research first. With greater traffic comes income from advertising and sponsors that pay for brand exposure on the blog.

I earn through a variety of sources, including advertising through my blog, doing SEO consulting for other brands and selling my SEO courses. I’ve also shared on a video how I (and other bloggers can) earn money by blogging.

Tell us about your SEO/blogging course. How can people benefit from this?
If you’re ready to get serious with growing your site traffic so you can attract your dream audience and clients on autopilot and monetize your blog, I’d love to invite you to check out my free SEO training.

My Skyrocket With SEO course covers everything from A to Z about ranking on Google and beating the search algorithm, taking the overwhelm out of you with easy-to-follow videos.

Ultimately, my wish is for more people to prioritize their happiness and the time they have left on Earth by doing more of what makes them fulfilled and joyful. I want to offer the opportunity for creators to live the Lifestyle Freedom everyone covets, where you can work anytime and anywhere you want while earning a living doing what you love.

Travelers know that time on the road is not always positive. I know you had several negative experiences in 2021. Can you share one of these with us?
Beyond getting my valuables stolen at a “friend’s” place and getting deported at LAX airport, the latest misadventure has me getting my Airbnb broken into in the Dominican Republic. We woke up to a wide-open main door, our backpacks (and essentially everything we were travelling with) missing and our clothing dumped on the floor in the rain outside our patio and the garden. We also found a knife (!!) and a pair of sandals the thieves left behind. You can watch the full story in my video below, as well as some safe travel tips I shared from these first-hand travel horrors I’ve experienced.

Between being held for over 10 hours in the airport, body searched and interrogated, and having your apartment broken into, it just goes to show that a lot of incidents can happen while travelling that are out of your control. This not only builds up one’s character but also one’s resilience and adaptability in dealing with unprecedented circumstances.

What have your travels taught you?

My travels have most certainly shaped who I am. It’s helped me carve a career around doing what I love. It’s turned me into more entrepreneurial. It’s shown me not to accept everything at face value. It’s helped me read people better (you begin to be able to read body language and tell who’s got a motive and who’s genuine). It’s allowed me to take chances and be pleasantly surprised at these risks I take. It taught me to take chances with people and opportunities, because no one day is the same, and you may never get a second chance again. Above all, it’s shown me how little I know and how much more there is to explore, both in terms of places and the people I’ve yet to meet. Carpe diem!

Since Singapore was your original home, can you suggest a few activities for first time visitors?
Food is a big experience in Singapore. Don’t be intimidated by hawker centres – it’s where you find the cheapest food that’s served authentically.

Climb the highest hill in Singapore (at only 163.63 m/ 536.8 ft) and be greeted by mischievous monkeys.