About me
Working hard!
Hi! I’m Megan Singleton and I’ve been travel writing for 14 years and blogging for 7.
It’s been a fantastic ride (as you can probably guess). I have over 500 posts here where you’ll find reviews, tips, itinerary ideas, recommendations for places to stay and things to do and all sorts of tidbits from my travels.
I’ve been chuffed to receive the US Travel Association Travel Writers Award in 2009 and 2011 and an on the NZ Herald list of Top 50 Tweeters to follow.
So, in case you were wondering, this is how it all began…
At the age of 17 I waved goodbye to my family in the tiny town of Hastings on the East Coast of New Zealand and set off to see the world as an exchange student. Well to see the US, to be precise. Rockville, Maryland to be exact. Little did I know that this 1 year abroad would bite me and leave a travel bug for the rest of my days.
Scroll down a few years and I embarked on a 5-year stint in London. Originally intending to “seek my fortune and be a nanny” I sadly didn’t achieve either. I was fired from my nanny job after 3 weeks (I couldn’t keep up with the cushion plumping and shag pile vacuuming) so went temping in London on the big bucks. £4.75 per hour. It was enough to pay a modest rent and use the rest to fritter on cheap flights to Europe where accommodation may or may not be pre-arranged.
I decided to take writing seriously in 1999 when I studied for a Diploma of Freelance Journalism at the NZIBS and then “fell” into travel writing. My first travel story was published in Next Magazine in 2000 about visiting the (hilariously weird) Tate Modern in London.
Ahh, but blogging, you ask. Why blog? Well, in 2006 I was hired by a large travel agency in New Zealand as their full time blogger. For 3 years I blogged twice a day, 5 days a week and then they ditched it. But don’t cry! I launched this lofty travel blog, Travel Blogger at Large in 2009.
I also still freelance for the NZ Herald, Herald on Sunday, NineMSN and several supplements and magazines. You’ll hear me on Newstalk ZB every Sunday morning and I’ve also forayed into the world of TV and speak at events about travel writing and blogging.
My Media Training Workshops
After 14 years of travel blogging, feature writing, editing websites and magazines and working with numerous travel PR companies, I have put it all together into a half-day Media Workshop designed especially for travel brands and destinations who want to get their product into the media. More details here >>>
But my proudest achievement? I co-founded Random Acts of Kindness Day in New Zealand on September 1st 2005 and I love that RAK Day is now firmly established on New Zealand’s national calendar.
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Now what?
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! You deserve a wine. And if you want to know where to go next, type a destination into the search bar above or begin on these blogs – my personal faves!
Not for the ticklish: Foot torture at the fish foot spa in KL >>>
For tips on where to drink in LA: Five cool rooftop bars in Santa Monica >>>
The belching masseuse: My worst massage experience ever >>>
And I’d love you to come and join me on Facebook and Twitter, or subscribe to my newsletters to keep up to date when new blogs are posted or I see a special deal I think you’d want to hear about.
If you’d like to get in touch to discuss a famil or a speaking engagement, please shoot me an email to [email protected]
Happy reading,
Megan x
