Wanderlust From Guam

Guam is a U.S. territory located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is known for its beautiful landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and diverse community. Blogging about Guam can cover a wide range of topics, catering to various interests and audiences.

Bloggers share their personal travel experiences in Guam, including recommendations for must-visit places, accommodations, and local attractions. Bloggers provide travel tips, such as the best time to visit, transportation options, and cultural etiquette for visitors. I recommend that you explore Guam’s unique Chamorro culture, traditions, and history.

Guam has a diverse culinary scene, including traditional Chamorro dishes and the influence of various cultures on the island’s cuisine.

Karen is a blogger originally from the Philippines but lives in Guam with her husband and daughter. KGB is her initials. Karen loves to cook, bake, travel with family, and take photos. She is meticulous with travel planning, researching the next destination, listing things to do, and eat, and creating a life-changing itinerary. Karen talks about her own travel experiences and blogging.

Karen, please tell me what KGB in Wanderland is all about. 

KGB in Wanderland is a blog about food, travel, and lifestyle. I share a lot of travel tips, DIY travel guides, hotel, and Airbnb reviews. I will soon be expanding my content to include tons of my recipes from Asian cooking to baking.

What’s different about KGB in Wanderland?

I know that travel blogging is very popular right now, especially with all those so-called influencers. But I never let that intimidate me because although our general niche is the same, our audience will be different. I’m not about glamorous travel with all those carefully staged photos nor am I an extremely budget-conscious traveler. I guess you could say that I am a practical traveler, and I believe a lot of travelers fall into this category. We want the best time and the best experience but for the most reasonable price. We want to make sure that what we are paying for is worth it. We want our time to be well spent. And so I gather all these practical tips and share them whenever I can.

I research before my trips and blogs are my top resource. I, however, do not always find what I need so when it’s my turn to travel and share, I make an effort to include that information in the hope that someone like me who needs it, would find it and help them with their travel plans.

How did Wanderland come about?

I have always wanted to blog but never got around to doing it. I started and closed down probably more than 5 personal blogs since college because I was never really comfortable with my writing nor did I have a clear idea of what I wanted the blog to be about aside from posting personal stuff. And just like every new blogger, I was afraid of criticism. So I parked the idea of blogging and that was until I discovered my love for traveling and my eagerness to share my experiences with others. All of a sudden, ideas and words came pouring out and I finally realized what I was meant to do.

I initially wanted my blog to be all about food and travel. I still intend to do that. I love to cook and bake, and I have many recipes to share but for now, the bulk of my website content is about travel.

What’s special about Guam and the food scene?

I consider Guam as my second home (I was born and raised in the Philippines) and so it will always have a special place in my heart. I love the slow-paced island living. There’s no pressure, no stress and the locals are very nice, it’s just wonderful!

Tourism is one of Guam’s biggest sources of income, with flocks of visitors coming mostly from Japan and South Korea. Aside from the native Chamorros, Filipinos are the next largest ethnic group living in Guam. The rest of the demographics include Micronesians, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese. As such, a lot of the restaurants in Guam cater to the Asian palate. In recent years though, American chains like IHOP, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden have built their presence on Guam.

How has marriage changed your life?

Ah, marriage. People tell you it won’t be easy but you never really understand what they mean until you experience it yourself. Being married and staying married is the hardest work you will ever do in your life. I have always thought that I am a mature and practical person but after I got married and when I became a mother, I realized that I still have a lot of immaturity that I needed to get rid of to be an effective wife and mother to my family. I now have people who rely on me for all types of support and that changes your attitude towards life and how you perceive and handle things.

What is your favorite place to visit and why?

This is a hard question because I have a lot of places that I want to visit over and over again (and some I want to live in) but if I have to choose one, I would say Osaka, Japan. Or maybe any city in Japan because I just love the country, the people, the culture, the lifestyle, and most of all, the food! I’ve honestly never had a bad meal when I’m in the country.

Is blogging all that glamorous?

It appears to be glamorous but the reality is, it is so much more than stories and pretty pictures. It is hard work. It’s not just about writing, it’s also about learning the technical stuff, networking, marketing your content, etc. Readers do not really get to see the backwork we put into what we do and they all just think “Wow, she must have an easy life” or “She must have nothing else to do that’s why she’s blogging” but that’s not true at all. Blogging, if you want to get it right and if you want to get something valuable from it becomes a full-time job that requires love and attention.

What are some of the challenges of being a blogger?

Time is my biggest challenge because I’m a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) and I can only work on my content when my child is at school or when she’s sleeping. What little free time I have in between, I use it to promote my content on social media. I have so many ideas that I am excited to write about but finding it hard to get it all done in such a short amount of time.

Blogging is a never-ending learning process. When I first started, I did not know anything about SEO, how to properly format my content to make it readable, and how to promote my content. I’m still not an expert on these things but I am learning. Changes in algorithms, industry practices, etc – you have to keep up with them for your content to stay relevant to your readers.