WHY I STARTED THIS TRAVEL WEBSITE

I spent the last few months traveling around the world, visiting different historical places, meeting new people, tasting food of foreign nationalities, and reflecting upon my life. The start of my latest journey was action-packed. I didn't have much time to sit down, relax and think about my life. 

This situation changed by the end of my journey. Today is July 19, 2022. The weather is very hot outside. By the end of June 2022, I was in Antalya. After long journeys, I arrived to one of my most favorite cities in the world. I was glad to be there. At the same time, I was suffering because of the hot Antalyan weather. 

PARADISE BAY WAS MY SOLUTION

Immediately after my arrival to Konyaalti beach, I understood that I won't be able to spend long time here because of the hottest sun that made me sweat like crazy. I decided to look for some countryside places where I could spend the rest of my holidays. 

After several Google searches, I decided that Paradise Bay in Kemer, Chamyuva is the best place to save myself from the hot Antalya sun. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE RETREAT

Surprisingly, I didn't buy much food and water for my summer retreat. I was ill at that moment. A few days before my arrival to Antalya, I drank a very cold ayran that made my throat soar. Now, I had a high temperature, and my appetite was at the lowest point. Thus, I went to the neares SOK supermarket near to Sea Life hotel in Konyaalti beach, and bought 5 litres of water. I didn't plan and had no idea whether Paradise Bay has any supermarkets nearby. I was just going with the flow. 

I bought the water, rode a bus that brought me to Antalya Otogar (bus station). I sat in a bus which destination was Kemer, and after an hour, I was in Paradise Bay. 

REFLECTIONS UPON MY LIFE

I will cover Paradise Bay in some of my future blog posts. Right now, let me disclose the set of conditions that led to the creation of ProBackpacker. 

I had already my airflight booked, and after 14 days, I would fly home to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Hence, I wanted to spend the last days of my holidays in Paradise Bay. 

The place and my time there were awesome. I was camping in a nearby forest. There were no people or friends around me. I was absoutely alone and had a lot of time to think about my life. Contemplating about my life was the main activity I was combining along with resting and swimming in Paradise Bay. 

WHAT AM I LIVING FOR

I was constantly asking myself this question – "What am I living for"? Even though I earn money through my digital marketing business, I realize that designing and building websites, creating logotypes, running ad campaigns for clients, and consulting companies don't mean anything to me. I do these things just to make money and be able to afford to travel more. 

I would even bother pursuing my business activities if I had millions of dollars which I could spend traveling around the world. Finally, I realized that backpacking lifestyle is my real passion. I would continue backpacking around the world even if I had 100$ million dollars. 

After a few days of deeply thinking about my life, real values and priorities, I understood that I have to connect travel with business and turn my travel knowledge, journeys and experience into a money-making machine. I had to connect my passion with business and make more money doing what I really enjoy doing. 

In my tent, I was reading blogs through my smartphone and exploring ways to make money traveling around the world and travel blogging. Even though it is 2022 and I had already shut down one of my lifestyle blogs that I started back in 2016, I realized that it is never late to start a travel blog. 

Finally, I decided that I would start a travel blog when I come home. Since I am a seasoned backpacker and backpacking is my favorite style of traveling, I made a decision that my travel blog will be dedicated to backpacking. 

After 60 days of traveling around the world, I arrived home and had one day of rest. Then, I started thinking about my backpacking blog plans. I spent a few additional days Googling and reading articles on "is it worth to start a travel blog?", "is it too late to start a travel blog?", "blogging vs YouTube?", "blogging vs vlogging?", "can you make money blogging?", and other related search terms. Finally, I registered the domain name probackpacker.com, set up the website, and started blogging. 

I have a strong financial motivation to move this backpacking project. Yes, a digital marketing business is my main source of income. However, it has its own disadvantages. The biggest one is that people are too mean to invest in their businesses. When it comes to showing off and buying unnecessary accessories and brand clothes, people will even borrow money to satisfy their egos. Only smart people invest in their businesses, and unfortunately, the number of these smart indviduals is very small. 

Apart from having a financial motivation, I feel a strong urge to express my emotions, thoughts and ideas. I have seen and experienced a lot of different things while backapcking the world. I am sure that my experience, ideas, and knowledge will benefit everyone who wishes to travel smartly.