Indie Travel Challenge Roundup: Travel Photos, Giving Back, Simple Moments & More

This week on the Indie Travel Challenge we asked about your favourite travel photos, how you afford to travel, the ways you give back, the importance of ecotourism, the ways you find pleasure in simple moments, what learning looks like while traveling and how you see yourself in the context of a rich and complex world. Here are some of our favorite responses!

By Jennifer Sutherland-MillerUpdated Nov 19, 2015

This week on the Indie Travel Challenge we asked about your favourite travel photos, how you afford to travel, the ways you give back, the importance of ecotourism, the ways you find pleasure in simple moments, what learning looks like while traveling and how you see yourself in the context of a rich and complex world. Here are some of our favorite responses!

Today marks the end of the third week of the Indie Travel Challenge and this session is flying by! With tons people participating, so far, we’re getting lots of great responses shared on Twitter. Search #Doyouindie and have a look at all of them for yourself! There’s some great material here that we know you’ll want to connect with and share.

Each Friday of the ITC we’re going to share the questions for the week and some of the responses we loved. If you want to be considered for next week’s round up, be sure you’re using the hashtag: #doyouindie when you share your post on Twitter. That’s the only way we’ll know you’re in!

This week asked about:

Your favorite travel photos

#doyouindie challenge: what is your favourite travel photo? First, I don’t have one favourite but many. This is one I really like though. Anytime I look at it, I remember the cold rain dripping from the shrine gate at #fushimiinaritaisha in #Kyoto. Because it was raining so heavily, the crowds dissipated. We had the place to ourselves for a brief but serene moment. It was one of the few times I didn’t mind having soggy sneakers. #travelogues #traveldeeper

A photo posted by Suzanne (@suzanneausha) on Nov 13, 2015 at 8:27am PST

Super French and a bad Geri Halliwell impersonator enjoying the wilderness of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

A photo posted by Nomadic Boys (@nomadicboys) on Nov 12, 2015 at 6:55am PST

#3) of my favorite 5 travel photos is this one of our Berber guide taking a rest on a sand dune in the Sahara desert. #DoYouIndie #travel #mytravelgram #travelstoke #travelpics #instatravel #sand #desert #sahara #africa #morocco #lifeofadventure #neverstopexploring #instagood #outdoors #instadaily #travelphotography #zentravellers

A photo posted by ZenTravellers (@zentravellers) on Nov 13, 2015 at 10:39am PST

A different perspective The Great Wall of China #DoYouIndie @BootsnAll #adventure #travel pic.twitter.com/0KvNl6yWw3
— Robb Saunders (@Robb_Saunders) November 13, 2015
Here it is @BootsnAll! Our top 4 favourite travel photos (: #DoYouIndie #travel #wanderlust #memories pic.twitter.com/85B0ZHEie4
— etsy (@etsyexplores) November 15, 2015
Too many favorite #travel photos. 10 years, 4 homes across the globe. Thanx for reminding me! #DoYouIndie #ttot #rtw pic.twitter.com/nUye6gZFpQ
— Culturiously (@culturiously) November 14, 2015

How do you cut expenses?

My Quarter Life Epiphany

  • I don’t pay for haircuts.
  • I hand wash the majority of my clothes.
  • I don’t go shopping.
  • I don’t go to the movies.
  • I cook everything from scratch.
  • I don’t and won’t own a car.
No cable tv, only basic cable internet. No car payment. No credit card debt. Eat out sparingly (1-2x per month) Buy used not new #DoYouIndie
— Mojito y Cafe (@mojitoycafe) November 14, 2015

Everyone wants to travel but they complain that it is expensive. Why don’t you think of saving? Window shopping instead of buying yourself new pieces whenever there is a new collection, cooking more instead of going out… Think about making your expenses more strategically! That’s what I have been doing the last 3 years! #doyouindie

A photo posted by Angela Koblitz (@angelakoblitz) on Nov 14, 2015 at 12:20pm PST

Sean Keener, CEO BootsnAll


“Today’s prompt is about cutting expenses, which is super practical when saving for a big trip. I analyze at least once a year all of my personal and business expenses.

1) Which ones am I still using, and provide value
2) Am I spending money on something that is not aligned with my core values and purpose? (If so, AXE it)

When I look back at what I actually spent money on, I can’t kid myself, it’s there in black and white and evidence of what I value in this world.”

Two Scots Abroad


“We made it – we’ve saved £10K each. How? Continually asking myself ‘Canada or crap Gemma?’ and executing Two Scots Abroad’s 5 S’s of Saving.”

How do you give back while traveling?

Day 15 #DoYouIndie I love seeking out small, neighborhood shops to support local merchants. Best prices, good people and fun discoveries.

A photo posted by Karen Marshall (@dancer98221) on Nov 15, 2015 at 11:10pm PST

What are the ways you can make an effort to give back to the local economy when you travel? #doyouindie To eat local food from local markets or tiny restaurants. Refreshing & yummy #ceviche mixto from Rosita “la existosa” at #mercadodesurquillo #sodelicious. “Todo lo que tú me deseas, que Dios te lo duplique”. 🙂

A photo posted by Joan (@araiaqui) on Nov 15, 2015 at 12:43pm PST

#DoYouIndie Day 15: #CorporateAmerica is a juggernaut fueled by greed and shattered dreams. Don’t perpetuate it – #buylocal when possible!
— Greg Rodgers (@vagabondinglife) November 15, 2015
@BootsnAll #DoYouIndie day15: buy locally in a village and listen to a great story about food unfold #Croatia pic.twitter.com/Wx5BJBwqhp
— Andrea Pisac (@AndreaPisac) November 15, 2015
Indie Travel Challenge Day 15 #DoYouIndie #IndieTravelChallenge #local #giveback #buy local https://t.co/kKeX6PZGkY pic.twitter.com/7UqMhFePZt
— Arlie Bledsoe (@redhead_wander) November 17, 2015

We asked your thoughts on ecotourism

#Travel responsibly, consider #EcoTourism where available. @GreenPathways in #Nicaragua. @visitnicaragua #DoYouIndie pic.twitter.com/MU0zYAUlTG
— Culturiously (@culturiously) November 16, 2015
#DoYouIndie I try to go with locally based operators that are part of the community and avoid tours that degrade/disrespect people/animals
— QuarterLifeEpiphany (@myQLepiphany) November 16, 2015

Arie Bledsoe, Ramblings of a Readheaded Wanderer

  • DO NOT LITTER!
  • Buy locally
  • Respect the regions customs and culture
Visited Uganda’s Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where staff guard the endangered white rhinos around the clock. #DoYouIndie pic.twitter.com/OaIKK8qAWK
— Zen Traveller (@zendylanism) November 17, 2015

Taking pleasure in simple moments

#doyouindie challenge: how do you enjoy the simple moments and details when you travel? Whereever I am, I always seek a quiet place. I don’t speak. I don’t write. I just sit and take it all in. You can’t believe how refreshing it feels just to be present, even it’s just for a few minutes. #travelogues #traveldeeper #Bude #Cornwall #England

A photo posted by Suzanne (@suzanneausha) on Nov 17, 2015 at 11:49am PST

#doyouindie I like to try a new local food each day! Here are the lokma I tried in #Turkey ?? pic.twitter.com/90SAlWvjeU
— Ali Leyland-Collins (@Alilc4) November 17, 2015
@BootsnAll No idea why the photos that belong to the tags don’t show! Take II. #SmallThings #Vietnam #DoYouIndie pic.twitter.com/nE5S8L7lj9
— Culturiously (@culturiously) November 16, 2015
Life slows down when I listen to live jazz or lounge in a piazza glazed with light.This is why I #travel #doyouindie pic.twitter.com/UwRFOSWKC4
— Kelsey Ann (@WendAwayTravel) November 17, 2015

Learning through travel

Kelsey, Wend Away


“Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education.”

“Unfortunately I didn’t stumble upon this nugget of wisdom until some time during college. It was then it finally dawned on me— I could learn outside the walls of a classroom or lecture hall.”

#doyouindie challenge: have you used travel as an educational experience? Inadvertently, yes. When I was in #Malaysia, a friend thought it would be a good idea to visit a famous #mosque. I had never stepped foot in a mosque before even though I was born in a country with many religions including #islam. Wasn't I glad I did because our guide, Jamal totally changed my misconceptions about the religion. #travelogues #traveldeeper #bluemosque #Selangor

A photo posted by Suzanne (@suzanneausha) on Nov 18, 2015 at 1:24pm PST

Marie-France Roy, Big Travel Nut


The advantages of learning a language abroad include:

  • It is often cheaper than at home
  • It gives your trip a purpose
  • You have the option of staying with locals
  • Immersion means you learn faster
  • You get more out of the country
In Beijing I studied Chinese. When I left I passed an intermediate level Chinese exam and backpacked southeast China by rail. #doyouindie
— Aleya (@audaciousaleya) November 18, 2015

Sean Keener, Travel Access Project


“My paradigm, of the world was goto school/college, graduate, get a job, and if you are lucky when you are 65, you can travel the world and have some free time. All of my role models were people who worked hard to make a better life for themselves and their families.

I quickly learned, that my way, was not the only way. There are more options and paths in the world that we are even aware of. Leaving home on my own for the 1st time, opened my eyes to more options that are available.”

Seeing yourself in the context of a rich & complex world

#DoYouIndie I'm in Rio de Janeiro! I've been here for a year so far – such a gorgeous, diverse, lively city! #rio pic.twitter.com/JhFkIh3oIG
— QuarterLifeEpiphany (@myQLepiphany) November 19, 2015
Day 19 of #DoYouIndie. Sitting in my back yard in #Melbourne, enjoying #breakfast in the #sun. Always #abroad 😉 pic.twitter.com/ElCbGoAa7b
— Culturiously (@culturiously) November 19, 2015
#doyouindie Day 19: Seeing myself in the context of a complex world: finding my places. @BootsnAll pic.twitter.com/MEXkkt1akg
— Jenn Miller (@edventuremama) November 19, 2015
#DoYouIndie Day 19: Ok…but you asked for it. This is fishing for dinner during #theYucatanExperiment near Belize. pic.twitter.com/EHjCsbvqsE
— Greg Rodgers (@vagabondinglife) November 19, 2015

Join us as the Indie Travel Challenge continues:


Photo credits: Galyna Andrushko , strelka , Rat007 , GaudiLab , Poprotskiy Alexey , bikeriderlondon , Pachai Leknettip , macknimal

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