Hi everyone, and welcome back to another inspiring interview. This week we are proud to feature none other than Wes Nations, writer of the travel blog Johnny Vagabond. Wes was last seen on a motorcycle in Southeast Asia, occasionally surfacing at wifi hub spots to share his experiences on the world wide web. We are delighted to feature Wes on our site and share his unique stories and experiences with our community. We hope you enjoy the interview!

GO!: Hi Wes, thanks for joining us today. Shall we start with a brief introduction?

Wes: I'm Wes Nations and I'm currently traveling around the world on an open-ended 1+ year trip. I'm visiting the developing world, mostly, as I'm traveling as cheaply as I can. I started my travel blog, Johnny Vagabond about 7 months ago as a way to share my adventure with friends, family, and fellow travelers.

GO!: Where has this adventure taken you so far?

Wes: I've been on the road now for four months in Southeast Asia, exploring Thailand, Cambodia, and now Vietnam via a rented motorcycle. From here, I plan to cross into China for a month or two, visit Laos, and then fly to India. I'll eventually make my way to South America and work my way up to my home town of Austin, Texas.

So far, I think Cambodia has been my favorite. I went in without researching it very much and found it to be a wonderfully exotic, yet accessible, culture. The people are amazingly friendly and the country still retains its own feeling, its own heart. In Thailand, I found it difficult to 'get off the beaten path', but in Cambodia it's often as simple as crossing the street.

GO!: How did you plan and decide where to go?

Wes: It was more of a case of deciding where not to go, to be honest. I worked up a list of places that I really wanted to see, then sat down and began prioritizing. After dropping places I couldn't afford, such as Australia and New Zealand, I began plotting a route.

GO!: Is this a once in a lifetime adventure, or do you see yourself doing similar trips in the future?

Wes: This is certainly the Big Trip, though the dream is to find a way to make it self-sustaining. I do a little freelance work from the road. It's not enough work to pay for the trip, but it helps. The site itself has recently provided a little advertising income, so that's encouraging.

It's a bit of a leap of faith that if I can just keep traveling and produce an account that is honest, entertaining, and informative... somehow it'll all work out.

GO!: What did you do prior to this trip?

Wes: I've been working as a graphic artist for about ten years now. My last job was creating print and web graphics -- I learned a lot about marketing there, which has definitely helped me with promoting my own site.

GO!: How did your blog, Johnny Vagabond, come about and who is your intended audience?

Wes: I originally had the idea while camping about a dozen years ago. I thought it would be the ultimate job to travel around the world and update a website with stories and photos from the road. Neither blogs nor Wifi existed then and the idea went nowhere.

As for goals, my intent has always been to encourage others to get out and explore. I want to show people that it doesn't require a huge amount of money to do it, or secret ninja skills to keep you safe from harm. All it takes is a will and a desire to make it happen.

All over the world, cultures are becoming more and more homoginized and languages and traditions are dying out – if you don't experience it now, you may never get another chance.

I hope my site appeals to anyone and everyone who's ever considered independant travel and had a desire to explore a different part of the world. Google Analytics claims that my main demographic so far is single women between the ages of 30 and 35, which I think is awesome. Hello, ladies!

It's always a challenge. The online travel genre is a very crowded space and there are a lot of extremely-talented writers and photographers scrabbling for a finite number of readers.

The office.

GO!: It would seem that every traveler has aspired to start a travel blog at some point. Why do you think this form of blogging has become so popular?

Wes: Well, I think that for the average traveler —someone who has no intention of making a career out of— it's the perfect way to document and share your adventure. Travel blogs are replacing the paper journal of old.

For aspiring travel writers and photographers, there's always the hope that your site will take off and earn you a living or that it'll serve as a portfolio for paying work. It's certainly possible to make it a career, but it takes a lot of hard work and probably a fair amount of luck.

I try to add a lot of humor to my writing, as I think that's something that's missing in a lot of travel sites. I try to balance between posting useful information, interesting photos, and stories of my more entertaining experiences – usually ones that involve me finding myself in an awkward spot.

Writing for the web is tricky – most people don't like to read long-winded prose online. So, it requires a different 'voice' than you might use in, say, a travel article in a magazine. I try to edit prose as tightly as I can and present it in manageable chunks.

GO!: What impact, if any, has this adventure had on your relationships back home?

Wes: It hasn't been as tough as I thought it would be. With Skype, email, the blog, Facebook, etc., it really is easier than ever to keep in touch and feel like you're still an active part of your loved ones' lives.

GO!: What are your plans for the future?

Wes: As my budget stands now, I should have another year of travel left. I'm just focusing on seeing/experiencing as much as I can and sharing it in an entertaining way. Hopefully, the site will continue to grow and I can make a second pass around.

GO!: Any last words?

Wes: I think I've bent your ear enough already. Thanks for listening!

-Wes