Travel Challenges: Why Was The Yum List Created
Travelling to a foreign country can be exciting and intimidating at the same time. You are taking an adventure somewhere and have totally no idea what things will be like when you arrive.
When you are planning your next trip, you’ll have many questions and much research to do before you board that plane.
How do I get around? Can I get by with English? What will the climate be like? What kind of clothing should I pack? The most important thing, though; where is the good food?!
The best place to turn these days is a blog to get the most up-to-date information from a source on the ground. Picking the right one though can be a challenge.
- Does the writer’s taste match my own?
- Is the content up-to-date?
- Has the writer personally tried the places she writes about??
- Are the write-ups genuine or paid posts?
- Does it give me what I need?
- For example, vegan choices or gluten-free options??
- Am I looking for unique and quality food or do I just want something cheap?
In finding a blog to match your needs, all questions must be considered. If your travel style leans towards luxury stays, incredible spas and loads of gourmet wining and dining, then The Yum List is the site for you.
In this digital transformation journey series, Monica Tindall, founder of “The Yum List,” tells you how to skip hours of research. Instead, read the end results of weeks of investigation, experiences and tastings to get the list of the best of the best in each travel destination.
Introduction to The Yum List
The Yum List is a community resource for expatriates and travellers looking for exceptional restaurants and bars, hotels and spas.
This guide gives you the “in” on your next travel destination as Monica uses her extensive contacts in the food, beverage and hospitality industry to get the lowdown on what’s hot.
With heavy coverage of Malaysia, and a good deal on Asia and the rest of the world, you can find somewhere for your next dinner out, weekend away or extended vacation.
Saving readers time and money, all content is produced with the philosophy, “if it’s not good, it doesn’t get posted.”
Furthermore, special focus is given to businesses that engage in socially responsible practices such as reducing waste, sourcing local organic produce, are shark’s-fin free, and who actively participate in programs to help the community.
As this is the founder’s passion project (she has a “real” job that consumes just as many hours) and the concept is one of being a community resource, the layout is clean and advertisement-free.
The Yum List is different from other gourmet travel blogs as they provide quality content and “real experiences” without advertisements or sponsored posts.
The founder has personally tried every item written about on the site giving an amazing depth and breadth of knowledge on which to base reviews. She has written over 4000 articles on gourmet travel!
Check out The Yum List here. Click here if you are interested in collaborating with The Yum List Blog.
“Our unwavering philosophy is to ‘grow the good.’ When you focus on the positive that’s what will thrive.”
—Monica Tindall, founder of The Yum List
The woman behind the blog
Monica Tindall is the worldwide editor and driving force of The Yum List. Twenty-five years of life as an expat and over 30 years of global travel have given her taste buds worldly cultivation.
She personally chooses to eat foods that are healthy for herself and for the environment but will try anything within reason. She has a great interest in the provenance of food and how where it is grown and how it is processed has an impact on self, others and this place.
One of her goals for The Yum List is to help educate and “grow the good.”
Challenge is the crucible for greatness
Monica says that the beginnings of The Yum List were casual and inconsistent. “The idea was that everyone in the community would contribute. What ended up happening was that everyone supported by recommending places for me to write about rather than doing it themselves. So I ended up being the sole contributor!”
“About 18 months in (10 years ago), I realized traffic was around 20 thousand a month. People were actually reading what I was writing!”
The results pressured Monica to take the work a little more seriously and set up a regular posting schedule. “Seeing people benefiting from my efforts was motivation to go on.”
This influenced Monica to increase the quality of the photos and the text, which she claims were of pretty poor quality. At times she even thought about deleting most of the earlier posts.
However, the educator in her liked the evidence that with a growth mindset, anyone can improve and hone their craft. Chronologically, the content shows growth over time, and that’s something to value.
The thing I learnt from The Yum List
Monica reflects that, “Persistence, practice and taking feedback from your audience are key in growth and improvement. Making mistakes along the way is all part of the experience. Accept them, learn from them and keep on keeping on!”
“Our unwavering philosophy is to ‘grow the good.’ When you focus on the positive that’s what will thrive.”
We are in the digital era
Monica tells of the benefits of having an online publication. “Having a website makes search easy. Readers can quickly find what they are looking for. It also enables updates to be made in real-time. Something closes, or opening times change – they can be updated immediately.”
“The Yum List began as a Blogspot. Exabytes provided the platform for me to shift to something much more “serious,” a website.”
While travel in the immediate future is not likely, now is the perfect opportunity to research your next gourmet holiday destination.
Whether looking for a delicious night out, a weekend away or a few weeks of overseas travel, The Yum List is sure to tantalize your taste buds.
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