Matt Bowles: My guest today is Isabel Leong. She is a full-time travel blogger, SEO coach, and digital nomad who has been traveling the world since 2015. She is the founder of Bell Around the World where she documents her world travels. And she also helps aspiring content creators and brands get the most out of their online presence by attracting more organic traffic, monetizing it, and achieving financial freedom. She is regularly featured in the media and is also a keynote speaker at events around the world, ranging from the Women in Travel Summit to the Bansko Nomad Fest. Originally from Singapore, she has now been to over 50 countries. Isabel, welcome to the show.

Isabel Leong: Hi Matt. Thanks for having me.

Matt Bowles: I am so excited to have you here. You and I know a lot of people in common. So, it was only a matter of time until we put this interview together. Let’s just start off, though, by setting the scene and talking about where we are recording this from today. And fortunately, we are not in person. I am actually on the East Coast of the United States. I am in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. And where are you today?

Isabel Leong: I am back home in Singapore for a bit, recovering from an injury.

Matt Bowles: Well, Singapore is a really remarkably special place. I had the privilege to visit in 2016, and I have been talking about it ever since. I feel like we should open this up to sort of giving some love to Singapore, talking about what we love about Singapore, and then for people that haven’t been, maybe making some recommendations and so forth.

So, you obviously have spent a lot more time than I have there. Can you share a little bit about what some of your favorite things are about Singapore and for people that have never been, maybe why they should come to Singapore and what you’d put them on to when they get there?

Isabel Leong: From traveling full-time, the thing I miss most about being home is definitely the local food. You can’t find that anywhere. I think Singapore has its perks too like it’s really convenient, it’s very accessible, it is also reliable, like you always have public transport on time and if you need any assistance, they’re just a phone call away. That sort of thing that I’ve taken for granted for sure, especially traveling around more emerging countries.

Those are things that I definitely miss and enjoy being in my own country. What I would recommend to others who want to visit here is if they enjoy like the cosmopolitan type of city, I will really get them to go into our little like local hubs like Chinatown and Little India to see different cultural senses of Singapore because we are a multicultural society. We have different ethnic groups as well. So, it’s quite nice to see different community hubs operating in these little towns.

Matt Bowles: Can you share a little bit about your cultural background and what your experience was like growing up in Singapore and some of the changes that you’ve seen from when you were a kid until now?

Isabel Leong: Yeah, well, Singapore is a really evolving country. Like every single time I come back after an extended period of travel, something new has evolved. So, I feel almost sometimes like a foreigner in my own city. So, my parents are both from Singapore, but my grandparents came from China. I feel like the early part of my childhood was always centered around school and trying to fit in and stuff like that.

So Chinese is the predominant ethnic race and then followed by Malays and then Indians. So, there is always a mix of different backgrounds for us to mingle with. So, meeting different cultures has never been an issue.

Matt Bowles: Well, Singapore was amazing. I was living in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2016 and some friends were going over to Singapore to go to formula one race. And they were like, you got to come to this thing. And at the time I knew nothing about the formula one. They’re like, don’t worry about it just come with us. We’ll tell you everything you need to know. It’s just an event. You just need to experience it. You just need to be there. And so, I went for the formula one and it was completely I mean, this is, they do the street circuit, the night race.

I mean, it was totally wild. And then it’s a whole festival. They have all these a list musician, they’re performing and everything else, which was wild. And then I knew about one bucket list thing that I wanted to do in Singapore that I had known about for a long time, which was that I wanted to spend at least one night in the Marina Bay Sands Hotel so that I could swim in the rooftop pool.

Now, people don’t know about this. The Marina Bay Sands is really the architectural centerpiece of the Singapore skyline. And one of the really famous things about it is basically three skyscraper buildings next to each other. With one giant rooftop pool deck that goes across all three buildings. And the only way you can get into that pool is to stay at the Marina Bay Sands hotel.

And so, we were coming over from Kuala Lumpur and I was there with a bunch of folks. And so, what some people would do in KL, some of the travelers that I was with would rent the room at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur that would have like a cool pool deck or whatever. And then they’d invite a bunch of us over as guests.

And the whole bunch of people would just go to the hotel. One person rented a room, and 10 people would come over and have a pool party. So, I was going to Singapore with some friends and there were probably about 10 of us that went to Singapore. And we’re like, okay, here’s what we’ll do, three of us will rent one room. We’ll split it three ways and then we’ll invite all the rest of you guys over and you can just come into the pool, and we’ll just have 10 people over and just bring to the pool. So, we’re like, okay, this is a great plan. So, we go to check into the Marina Bay sands and they say to us, okay, so you’re welcome to have three people stay in the room. We can bring you up a cot, but the room only comes with two pool passes. If you want the third person who’s staying there to be able to go into the pool, that’ll be an extra 250 for the third person to have pool access. So, we were like, well, I guess that plan of inviting 10 people over to use the pool is not going to happen this time.

I mean, we split it, right? We just said, well, add the third guy onto the thing and we’ll split it three ways and we’ll just do it. And then we checked in at like noon and literally sat at the pool for 11 straight hours until it closes at 11 PM, but it’s such an extraordinary experience because it’s an infinity pool and you literally swim out to the edge of it, and you are then overlooking the whole city of Singapore from the sky.

And when you’re looking at it at night in particular, it’s completely insane because everything is lit up with the skyline of the buildings. I mean, it was truly a bucket list experience that I’ve been talking about to this day.

Isabel Leong: That’s amazing. Yeah, it’s definitely an iconic centerpiece in Singapore. Rumors have it that they are building a fourth building. So, we’ll see how that comes out. And actually, as we speak, I’m seeing all these roadblocks because they’re setting up for F1 again in town. Definitely a big event every year here.

Matt Bowles: Well, let me also ask you about the food situation because Singapore is legendary in terms of the culinary scene in Singapore.

I think one of the street vendors actually won a Michelin star. In Singapore. I mean, just to give people an understanding of how good the quality of the food is at every level in Singapore, it’s just completely mind blowing. And so, coming from Singapore and coming from a place that has that amazing food, which if anybody’s having a serious discussion about top food cities in the world, Singapore is always going to be in that discussion if it’s a serious discussion for sure. But for you, as you’ve traveled around now to 50 plus other countries outside of Singapore, what have been some of your other favorite food cities in addition to Singapore?

Isabel Leong: I guess I’m a bit biased, but it’s quite universal. That Asian food is the best. So, I like going to Thailand, Bangkok to eat Thai food. And then I’m also especially privy to Vietnamese food. So, that’s always nice as well as Japanese food. Japan is a country that we frequent quite frequently to, you know, Tokyo, Osaka, and just pigging out on all the Japanese local food and seafood.

Matt Bowles: Those are really good picks. I would have to agree with all of those. Well, Isabel, I want to talk a little bit now about your story and your trajectory moving into this life of travel. And I want to start all the way back in Singapore. Can you talk about how your interest in travel initially started to develop when you think back, what were some of your earliest travel experiences? I know that you ended up eventually studying abroad in France. Can you share a little bit about what led up to that?

Isabel Leong: I would say I’ve always been very privileged with my family taking us all as a family unit to visit countries at least once or twice a year during the school holidays, but it wasn’t until, yeah, I did this study abroad in France where I thought that, okay, this is going to be my last big break before I’m going to be able to travel so extensively again, because back then, you know, you’re sort of influenced to think that you are just supposed to finish school, finish Uni, university, and then get a job indefinitely.

So that study abroad, that six-month-long period would have been my last bit of freedom, like my only and last bit of freedom. And so, I wanted to make that best and full use of it. So, I did like 55 cities in six months around Central Europe and documented everything. So, I was a very excited 21-year-old with some new found freedom, a new DSLR.

So, I was really excitedly going on and about documenting my travels. and doing it on a cheap which led to kind of some news features in Singapore about how I was able to do it so cheaply. So that spearheaded or kick started my blogging journey and that was also when I got myself out of the comfort zone and actually met people that I normally wouldn’t meet through couch surfing and meeting strangers.

I’ve learned about different stories and different life choices, like people who are able to make a living doing alternative things, more creative things like being a musician, being an artist, things like that, which opened my eyes to this realization that not everybody has to follow the same conventional path and they can still be happy and be living life on their own terms and so that really struck a chord with me and that was like the epiphany which opened the possibility of, hey, maybe I can do travel blogging and travel full time, which back then was really all I wanted.

Matt Bowles: So then once you realized that what was your next move after your study abroad experience in France ended, what did you do?

Isabel Leong: It’s reality hitting you with that dream as well. So, I know that graduating from school, I didn’t really have any solid work experience except for maybe interning at a PR agency.

Even if I wanted to be a freelance writer, I still needed contacts. And so, I did get a full-time job upon graduation, but it was through my travel blog that I got this job actually, which was working in a social media agency. So, I was working full time whilst my blog was still that pet project that really resonated with me.

So, I was still keeping it going and trying my hardest to get it to do better in terms of traffic and terms of recognition. So, it wasn’t until like I got my first press trip, which is when like a tourism board would pay for your entire trip to go to that country or that destination to cover a particular event or just to promote tourism in general.

So, I got that through a bunch of different freelance media publications that I was writing for. That was me just wanting to be paid to go on trips was just like the dream back then when I was still hustling for my blog. So, that was when I knew that as I was getting more and more of these press trip invites, I had to let go one thing or another.

I didn’t have to say no to these fast trip invites or say no to that job. So eventually I thought that that was the turning point for me because as I was getting more recognition, I was getting more trips. So, I spearheaded and decided to quit my job and that the rest was history.

Matt Bowles: Well, I know that one of those early trips that was really impactful for you in that transitionary period was the time you spent in New Zealand, which is a place that I have still not yet been, Isabel, and I keep hearing these amazing stories about it.

But can you share a little bit about your experience in New Zealand and what some of the highlights are for you from New Zealand?

Isabel Leong: Yeah, totally. Continuing on that timeline, I did get my press trip invite to New Zealand and it was like the country to go to. And I was there for my grad trip. And so, I knew that I really loved it there.

And to be able to get invited, it was such an honor for me back then, especially when I was such a small fry. And so, I knew I had to do it. I had to quit my job. I went over and then I decided that, okay, it’s my second time here it mustn’t have happened by chance. And they still have this working holiday program and so I decided on a whim say because I am already here, I might as well just apply for that working holiday which allows you to work and travel legally in the country.

I got it and that allows you to stay in a country for a period of up to six months. This was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I got a job offer in a glacier town where the nearest supermarket was three hours away and you know coming from Singapore where I can just go downstairs where I live and within five minutes of walking, I can just find access to over 20 food stalls. This was frightening for me.

That was my only worry, I guess. It wasn’t so much just seclusiveness. It was really just the fact that, well, what if I don’t have access to food? But anyway, that was the best decision of my life. I just said yes to it. I worked in this glacier adventure company where we would bring tourists on a helicopter up to the glacier and then they get to hike on a glacier.

So, on my off days, I get to go up to the glacier and ice climb, which was also a dream come true for me, for a rock climber of over 10 years, to be able to ice climb on natural glacier ice. The whole pace of life was slowed down. So, in contrast to Singapore, this whole slowing down on the pace of life, as well as just being in nature itself was something so starkly different from Singapore and I really loved it and people were warm and friendly.

Like just to cite an example, this job interview that I got with this glacier company, the first thing she would ask me when we hopped on a video interview was like how I’m doing and how my travels are treating me. How’s New Zealand treating me? Whereas in Singapore, people go straight to the point.

They’re like, they would jump straight into the interview questions like, oh, why do you want this job? What makes you qualify? And things like that. And so that was the thing that really solidified the fact that I just didn’t want to be in such a city hustle culture anymore. That period of my life really was one of the pivotal moments in my life as well.

Matt Bowles: Can you describe the ice climbing that you did on these glaciers just so that people have an understanding of exactly what that means and what it was like?

Isabel Leong: Yeah. When you’re up on a glacier, you know, you’re just surrounded by ice at the top and at the bottom, it’s sort of like a valley where the sites of the Glacier are mountains or rocks in that sense, and when you’re in a glacier you have to wear those crampons, those really pokey things that go under the boots.

Everything is icy, so just imagine being in an ice cave. And then you get roped up, you will be lowered down an ice cliff, maybe about 10 meters, and you have your crampons that you fit on and your boots, and you’ve got a pair of ice eggs that you’re supposed to use to ascend the ice. It’s basically like an X but with a pointed edge and so as you ascend, you’re supposed to hit the ice so that you form a hole which allows you to grip on the ice and with your feet as well where your toes are on the crampons there that these pointy sharp edges, which you would use to hit the ice cliff as well. So, as you do that, you have to use your all four limbs to climb up this ice wall. Can you imagine that?

Matt Bowles: That is amazing. Well, I’ve been going through your YouTube channel Bell Around the World, and I’ve been looking at your videos from different places in the world.

And one of the places that you and I have both been, but we had a different experience there is Guatapé in Colombia, because they have a really famous rock there, El Peñón de Guatapé. And this is like a 200 or something meter, well over 600 feet high, very famous rock, very steep, very vertical. And they have stairs that I walked up to get to the top of this rock.

So, it’s like 700 And something steps and you can walk and it’s very steep and then you get to the top of this rock and then you have this stunningly beautiful view of all of these lakes, and everything is really, really gorgeous up there and it’s totally worth the climb. And when I say climb, I mean the stair climb to get up to the top of there.

You went to the same city, and you went to see the same rock, but you selected voluntarily a different method of getting to the top of this rock. You decided that you were going to climb up basically a sheer cliff. side of this rock and just scale it vertically with your rock-climbing skills. And you documented all of this on your YouTube channel. Can you explain what that experience was like?

Isabel Leong: Yeah, we were really fortunate to have met a local guide being rock climbers ourselves. I was more than down for that adventure. So basically, the height of the rock is 220 meters. We ascended it six times. So, there were six pitches. So, on average, each climb was around 37 meters.

So basically, you put on your harness, and you’re tied onto a rope. There were three of us, the guide included. And you put on your climbing shoes and just imagine a wall, like a flat wall, but it’s inclined or declined and basically using friction to climb up that slab. We call that a rock slab. It was really an interesting experience because you are closer to nature than you thought.

Like the moment you turn around, you know, you’re facing the wall and you’re climbing, but the moment you turn around, you can really see the lakes and the whole of that Guatape town right in front of you. And totally unblocked and without the crowds as well. So that was quite an exceptional experience. I don’t know how long it took, probably took us a couple of hours.

I wouldn’t say it’s easy because it’s with any kind of rock climbing, you’re using your toes. So, at some point, imagine walking with your toes for a couple of hours, they’re going to burn for sure. But it was still a really great accomplishment, especially when we reached the top because of just that sheer hard work that we did to get there.

Matt Bowles: So, you’ve been rock climbing now for a number of years. Are there any other climbs, either rock climbing or ice climbing that you’ve done around the world that come to mind as really spectacular and memorable?

Isabel Leong: I would say one of my earlier experiences of rock climbing was in Krabi, Thailand because you get to climb right next to the sea.

So, we didn’t exactly do the whole free solo climb, which essentially is climbing without your rope. So, you can do that if you climb next to the sea and then just jump down from the top into the ocean. That’s a bit too extreme for my taste, but we still had a good fun time rock climbing by the sea. And because it was like a rock-climbing trip with my rock-climbing buddies, we spent like 10 days just rock climbing.

And in between those days, we had rest days, and we would just eat by the beach where, you know, those locals would set up shop and just cook your home cooked stuff. So, it was a really very homely and heartwarming experience.

Matt Bowles: In addition to Columbia, I want to ask you about another place in South America, which was one of the most remarkable, spectacular places that I have ever been.

And I’ve been telling people about it, which is Bolivia. And I went there with about eight people, and we sort of had an idea what to expect. Like we’d seen pictures. We were going to go to Uyuni and go through the salt flats and we were going to spend some time in La Paz. And we kind of had a sense of, yeah, this is why we’re going to experience these things.

But for me, it just, and everybody else in my group, I mean, it just blew us away in terms of what it was actually like to be there on the ground experiencing those things. And so, I’m curious for you, can you share a little bit about your time in Bolivia? I want to definitely hear about some of your highlights.

Can you maybe even start with Uyuni and start with the salt flats and what that experience was like for you in Bolivia?

Isabel Leong: I was actually in Bolivia to do a pet-sitting job. So, we were there for three months. The first thing that struck me was just the altitude and how dry it was. So, it really took us some time to acclimatize to that whole altitude and the climate.

So that’s it. Yeah. Uyuni was one of the highlights and it was unreal. I would say, cause I’ve never seen a scene as flat, as white, as deserted as Uyuni. So, it’s, it’s almost like a desert, but just made of salt flats. And it was  crispy, it was white, it was sparkly, and they formed really just the most beautiful textures and shapes.

It was just unreal. I felt like I was back to, you know, in the 80s era or even earlier, before civilization happened. So that was quite a unique experience for us.

Matt Bowles: Yeah, it was incredible. And I explained this to people. I try to verbalize what it’s like to be there. It’s hard to explain it until you get there, but it really feels like you’re on another planet.

The landscape is entirely otherworldly. And even having traveled as much as I have now, I’ve never seen anything like the landscapes in Bolivia. I mean, it is just incredible. You’ve got the salt flats. Which as you described are insane and you’re not, they’re not just white salt as far as you can go.

Cause you’re like driving through these things in a four by four. And then you’ll come upon an island which has thousands of cacti on the island. And then you’re just like, where did this come from? And then if you spend a couple more days there, In and around that area in the national park, all of a sudden you start seeing there’s red colored lagoons and there’s rainbow-colored mountains and there’s natural hot springs, which are doing things is volcanic rock formations. And you really feel like you’re on a different planet each day and the landscape is just so fundamentally unique and different from anything I had ever seen. It was like a sensory overload. I mean, it was unbelievable.

Isabel Leong: I felt like it was also a little bit like a desert in some sense. And I was able to catch the sunset there, which was unforgettable.

We were, as you mentioned, on a four by four, they set up a whole makeshift 10 there for us to consume our lunch. No, it was dinner. I think it was dinner because then it was followed by drinks and then catching the sunset. So that was really quiet an unforgettable experience.

Matt Bowles: Yeah, it was completely wild.

And then you stay in, some hotels are like made out of salt. Like the actual, the actual hotels are actually made out of salt. Like you’re sitting on things, and it’s made out of salt. The walls, you run your finger on them and lick your finger. And it’s salty because it’s actually made out of salt.

And so that’s a Uyuni though. That’s where the salt flats are and everything. But then La Paz, I found also to be a completely extraordinary city. What was your experience like in the capital of La Paz?

Isabel Leong: I felt like we definitely went back in time, because I enjoy going to local markets and every weekend, I believe they always have this open air markets where everything was sold for cheap and they were selling all sorts of things, including floppy disks and you know those pencils with the erasers at the top?

And I was like, do people still use this? So, everyone was really more old school, older fashioned. Everything was more traditional and manual, which was quite a breath of fresh air.

Matt Bowles: Yeah. And I think La Paz too, just had all kinds of really interesting stuff. Like they have witches’ markets, you know, they have really interesting things.

You just kind of stumble upon it. You’re like, okay, but the city itself is built on the side of a mountain. And you take cable cars to get around the city and you have these aerial views. And it was wild. Then the cable cars are like these super high-quality gondolas that are built by the Austrian manufacturers that built the Swiss Alps cable cars.

So, you’re like riding around this city and these premium gondolas. To get around like that’s how regular people get around the city instead of a subway. It’s a gondola. I mean, it was crazy

Isabel Leong: Yeah, I wanted to say that’s their main mode of transportation, which was insane. Yeah, because you don’t have to pay to go up to gondola you’re basically taking a public transport to see the sights of La Paz and what scares me was looking at these houses perched on the edge of these cliffs and that is just how the structure of La Paz is because they’re just built on hills. And the houses are just built around it and in it and by it.

What happens if there is a natural disaster or something like that? It just feels so dangerous. But people actually make it work in the city.

Matt Bowles: Yeah, it is a remarkable city. It’s incredibly unique. It’s the highest altitude city in all of South America. And it is just really a very different and very extraordinary place.

So, I’ve been encouraging everybody to go to Bolivia. You know, it’s really, if you have a week and you could just go in and go somewhere in South America, place to go. You will never forget spending a week in Bolivia. It is just incredible. And obviously if you can spend longer, of course, you know, spend as long as you can there, but it is a very special place.

You though, did something that I did not do in Bolivia. You went mountain climbing. You went on a really significant trek. Can you share a little bit about that?

Isabel Leong: Yeah, because Bolivia is characterized by all these beautiful and tall mountains and I was going to fall on my birthday month and I thought, okay, I got to do something that scares me and something that’s going to be memorable and there is this mountain called Huayna Potosi which is over 6, 000 meters or close to 20, 000 feet.

This is already one of the entry level climbs that you can do from La Paz. So, I thought it would have been a good idea to do it because we had time to acclimatize to the altitude. And so, this was a three-day, two-night hike. Up to Huayna Potosi’s summit is also the highest I’ve ever climbed. The first day it was all dry.

We were all in just our regular hiking boots. and we set up camp. The second day was the killer because you would be hiking at an altitude where there is snow and going up and down the same day. So, the second day was when we did the summit climb and because I was slower, you know, with the altitude and just coming from the city, I was slower than the average hiker, I suppose, we decided to set off at 12 midnight in order to catch the sunrise at the top.

And I remember in Bolivia, they have this tea that helps you battle altitude sickness, which is coca tea, I believe it’s called. And so, I remember like drinking that before we set off the climb. So far, everything has been great. I wasn’t hit with altitude sickness or anything like that. So, we just began our climb.

And I just remember we had our torches, our head torches, and we were tied in a single rope with the guide in front of us because it was pitch black, it was. In complete darkness and complete silence, all I could hear was the crunching of the snow, as well as just the glimmering of the snow as the torch hit the blanket of ice.

So, we were just going on and on, and we started hitting obstacles. So, there were certain points where we had to ice climb, there were certain points where we had to really walk quickly because we were subject to the harsh conditions of the wind and the cold. And I remember that was when the altitude really hit me.

I was running out of air. I felt like my lung capacity was reduced to 50 percent or less. I was just constantly running out of air. I thought, okay, maybe I just needed to get some sugar in me. I would, you know, pop some snacks in, but it was still be the same. And even like a normal ice climbing would usually be very enjoyable and fun.

Our guide was actually really serious about this whole ice climb and this whole traversing across certain parts of our hike because it hit me that we were actually subject to nature’s conditions, and we were just like a pawn in the bigger world where if one wrong mistake and we could probably you know Just fall to our death down the slope to be never seen again.

So that was when I was really humbled by the experience. I enjoyed just pushing my body and I didn’t know that my body could be pushed as much, but it was still a really challenging hike. And of course, the summit was sweeter than you can ever expect because not only were you able to catch the sunrise, but it was also through really sheer pushing of the body, both physically and especially mentally, that allowed us to get there. And of course it was extremely cold as well.

Matt Bowles: Yeah, I just summited Mount Kilimanjaro last year and very similar type of experience on the summit day in particular, and there was no technical climbing on the route that we took, but boy, was it a challenge with the altitude and the steepness and the terrain, and you get up at 10pm, eat some food and then leave at midnight.

And track the entire night in the pitch dark and it’s freezing cold. And it was a very intense experience, but really rewarding, right? Because when you’re able to push your body through that, the Kili hike, we were probably hiking in that final push up to the summit and then back down to where we needed to get to.

It was about 24 hours of hiking in a 34-hour period. So, it was a really intense push of your body to the limits. And so, once you do that, it’s an incredible feeling of accomplishment, but it is intense while you’re doing it. And the other thing that got us, I think, in terms of the group that we went with was you were giving everything you have to make it to the summit.

And then you finally get there, and you feel amazing, and you take your pictures and all that. And then you realize you have to go back down. And in many ways, the descent was more difficult, totally different muscles. It was a very different type of hiking technique that you needed to use to get down than you did to get up.

And you’re just totally wiped out. Like everything was out of the tank, getting you to the top. And now you realize you have to go significant part of the way back down. So, it was a very intense experience.

So, I want to now ask you about one of the countries that is very high on my list. I’ve never been to, and I know you have written a few different blog posts about your experience there, and that is the country of Bhutan. And for folks that are not familiar with Bhutan, there’s a lot of really remarkable things about the country and I would love to hear about some of your experiences there. Maybe just starting with your arrival and the fact that this is regarded as literally the number one most dangerous airport in the world in the world to fly into. So, can you just share a little bit about arriving in Bhutan and then how long you were there and what some of the highlights were for you?

Isabel Leong: So, it is regarded one of the most dangerous airports in the world because you’re basically flying through a valley into the airport. So, it’s one of the narrowest spaces that a plane can fly into and that is why, if I remember correctly, only Bhutan certified airlines are able to fly into Bhutan.

And one thing that I think most people would know about Bhutan most is that you need a tour company. You need to have a certified tour from Bhutan. in order to be in Bhutan. So, for me, I was fortunate again, through my travel blog to be working with this Bhutan tour company. And so, they invited me over.

So, the moment I stepped off the plane, I was already greeted by my tour guides. I could also feel the altitude right away. And my general impression of Bhutan is that the landscapes really raw and dry. And it’s also a bit colder. There is a lack of infrastructure. Everything was really primal in that sense.

Most of the attractions there was visiting Buddhist temples perched on top of a cliff. And the whole religion there is really strong as well. Everything was unique there, including the foods and the drinks that we tasted were really unique and really just harmonious with the culture.

Matt Bowles: Can you talk about what the tiger’s nest is, which is widely regarded as the number one sort of, or at least most iconic and popular attraction in Bhutan. But for people that have never even heard of this, they’ve never seen pictures. What is it and what was the experience like going there?

Isabel Leong: It’s a sacred Buddhist site that was constructed around 1692 in a cave. So, imagine the Buddhist temple, but built within a cave. It’s situated quite high up.

It requires a hike to get up there. And yes, you can hike on foot, and you can hike with a pony. Along the way, there is always that landscape that would always draw your breath away. You can see the valley and you can see the river stream at the bottom. And then finally you see this little, tiny shimmering thing at the top of the cliff that’s golden.

And it’s actually the roof of the temple. And so being able to go in there to just admire the architecture and how people in the past were able to construct this was just impossible to fathom. So, because Buddhism is so steeped in their culture there, I believe that Tiger’s Nest was where most of the Buddhist monks would go there to meditate for days, months, and years, and so it’s a really sacred site for people to visit.

Matt Bowles: Well, I also read one of your blog posts on Bhutan where you talked about this concept of phallus worship. Did you know about that before you went to Bhutan? Or was that something that you just happened to stumble onto while you were there? And can you give people context and explain what that’s all about?

Isabel Leong: No, I definitely did not know anything about the whole worshipping of the phallus in Bhutan. So that is also one of the main attractions when you’re there. You literally, one day you’re just driven into this town and then you start noticing paintings on the wall that resembles a dick and then you start seeing people carving dick shaped key chains and wooden carvings and just centerpieces around town and then you get brought into this temple where you worship a phallus. And it is said that people who have trouble conceiving or people who want to meet their other half, would be encouraged to visit that temple and pray. And they have case studies in a book that shows people coming back to thank the temple, to thank the town for having their dreams come true, which is like, you know, getting really healthy offsprings as a result of visiting those temple sites.

Matt Bowles: Isabel, at this point, how do you design your travel lifestyle? How do you pick your locations? How do you choose how long to stay and how have you gotten into a flow of balancing work and hanging out with people and seeing cool stuff in the places that you are? What does your lifestyle look like today?

Isabel Leong: Pre pandemic, I was definitely really bouncing from country to country to report on the tourism side of things. I wouldn’t say I lived in that place; I would just say I was visiting and reporting for travel and tourism sake. Versus during the pandemic, it forced me to slow down and actually find a routine within a foreign country. So that part I’ve come to really enjoy because like during the pandemic, everything was slowed down. The borders were complicated. So, you want to stay as long as your visa allows. And so, I really found the joy and slow traveling or slow living in a place.

I would spend six months in Bolivia, four months in Costa Rica and things like that. And that I realized was a lifestyle that I really enjoy because not only can you balance work with travel, but it also just feels a bit healthier, and you get to immerse yourself in the local life much better. My ideal duration would be a minimum of two months because that’s when you can really get your work routine going, including looking for groceries or gym, things like that, and also having time to travel to the local hotspots.

Matt Bowles: Can you talk a little bit about that concept of local immersion? I feel like one of the things that’s happening now with so many remote workers and digital nomads is that there’s a lot of travelers in a lot of places. And there’s a very organized social network, which on the one hand is great because you can just roll up to a city and there’s digital nomad meetups and you can meet people and travelers, of course, are very interesting and all of that.

But I also feel like that creates an opportunity for people to put themselves kind of in the bubble, which is often pretty segregated from a lot of the local life, right? So how do you think about that, Isabel? And what are your thoughts and approaches to local cultural immersion as well as socializing with other travelers?

Isabel Leong: So, I like to stay in a mixture of places where it’s nomad friendly, as well as offering some sort of cultural immersion as well. So, for example, In Colombia, I was living in Medellin for a month because it was a good place to be based in for nomads. And then the second month I was primarily focused on traveling and visiting the towns around it.

So yeah, I would say I need to make sure of that both. Like I don’t want to be too much in a bubble, but I still enjoy traveling and discovering aspect of a new foreign destination.

Matt Bowles: Yeah, I agree. And I think it’s an important balancing act, especially in terms of doing this lifestyle long term.

Isabel, I want to ask you about this. I have heard you self-identify as an introvert. Can you talk a little bit about traveling? And this particular lifestyle and everything you’re describing about meeting new people, whether they’re travelers or local folks every few months and what that is like as an introvert and how that has been for you over the years?

Isabel Leong: Definitely as an introvert traveling, it’s always more comfortable traveling with people you’re familiar with. So, I do a mix of traveling with people I’m close to as well as just on my own. And typically, when I’m on my own, I would say I mostly keep to myself. I know a lot of people would stay in hostels to meet friends, that sort of thing.

But if I’m traveling as a traveler, I know that these traveling friends are also quite temporal. And so that’s not the kind of like connections that I actively seek out. So sometimes if I’m traveling and I have an agenda, I just get them done and that’s about it. I’m happy with that. But sometimes when you’re traveling long term as a digital nomad, I definitely crave human connections.

And so, I would seek out people who are kind of in a similar boat as me, either through Facebook groups or people I know through online social media, things like that, which helps me quell my sanity. Like I sometimes go crazy just being in my own company. So, it is nice to be able to meet like-minded people when I’m traveling in different places and having had an online profile for over nine years, it’s quite a blessing for me because I have friends from different parts of the world.

I do travel to see people as well. I do travel to places where I at least know someone. So, then it doesn’t get too lonely. And I always find the best way to travel is through a local person that is able to bring you around. So that being said, I feel like because I’ve been traveling solo for quite some time, I’ve been exposed to the world for these couple of years.

I am definitely much more comfortable speaking to a stranger or being surrounded in a network setting than I used to do in the past. And so, I do enjoy meeting new people these days as well. Now that I’m back in Singapore, I feel like I have to expand my social network once again, because it’s been a while since I’ve been home.

And I feel that if you’re on your own, it’s essential to cultivate these friendships. And so, most of my closest friendships are nomads or people who live abroad. And so, our form of connection these days maybe is through virtual phone calls, video calls, but it’s still important in a person’s life, I believe.

Matt Bowles: One of the questions I get asked a lot is how dating and relationships and finding love works in a lifestyle of itinerant world travel. Can you share any thoughts or reflections on that since you’ve been doing this for a while now?

Isabel Leong: Most of my personal experiences have been quite unique in the sense that since I’ve embarked on this extended period of nomading, the last long-term relationship was someone that I met because he was my surf coach.

And we met in Costa Rica, which led me to inviting him to Mexico, and it was supposed to be a two-week trip. But because of the situation with the pandemic and everything, we were able to do everything online. We were able to make it work. And so that went on to a full year of traveling Latin America.

Apart from that, I was based in Bansko for a while last year in my first Bansko Nomad Fest. And there were interesting people. And also, you meet like-minded people, you meet people who understand what you do. Why it wasn’t able to last, I think just of that expiry date I feel like because you know, you’ll only be in one place for a couple of months and then who knows what’s going on next. So, there’s always this question mark in a relationship.

And so, I mean, I haven’t figured that out yet I’m still in the process of figuring it out as well. But this is one of the issues that come up a lot as nomads because everything feels sped up as compared to if you’re in a conventional job, you’re based in one city for an indefinite period of time, you maybe meet up once a week and you slowly cultivate that relationship.

As a nomad, the time that you’re in one place is limited. And so, it feels like it’s sped up and it feels a bit unnatural, but it also feels Natural. I don’t know if you understand what I mean.

Matt Bowles: I understand exactly what you mean and that is exactly correct. A nomad relationship accelerates so much faster than another relationship for one, the reason that you just said, which is you’re overlapping in a particular place for a particular period of time.

So, you’re incentivized to go much deeper, much quicker. And see if this is something that you’re interested in pursuing further. And then if it is, the next step is usually to start traveling together, which means moving in together, which is much faster than you would normally do that if you lived in the same city, which is very interesting because one that can test out a lot of things about the relationship at the front end, right? Like, how do we travel together? How does this cohabitation thing work for us? And you get to test a lot of things very early on, but it definitely moves a lot faster. And I think there’s certainly pros and cons to that. I appreciate you sharing your experiences. I also want to talk to you about your business and the way that the travel blog has now developed to be a completely sustainable business.

You’re even coaching other people on search engine optimization and all of that. So, can you share a little bit just as an overview about your business and how personal journey with growing the blog, learning about search engine optimization, and how you’ve developed your blog to the place where it is today?

Isabel Leong: Yeah. So, when I first started, it was really just a hobby blog. As I spoke about, I kind of just wanted to use it as a place to document my travels. But then as I went on and I dug deeper into travel blogging, I realized that back then, 2015, there were already bloggers out there that were able to make it work, getting paid to travel, getting paid to work online.

So, I delved more and more into it. I started learning more about search engine optimization. Starting social media accounts, using Pinterest to drive traffic. And it was a lot of work, not going to lie, because you have to constantly be active and you constantly push it, not content. And so, at one point I started.

Look at my statistics and re-evaluating what is going to be sustainable long term. And I found the two biggest drivers of traffic for my blog were the SEO stuff, which is when somebody chances upon your article on Google when they type in a certain keyword. And also, Pinterest back then. And with Pinterest, it is very labor intensive because you basically have to design your pins and then pin 20, to 30 times a day.

And your pins have to be original-looking as well. So, since this was going to be like a long-term plan of mine, and I was going to travel full-time as well, I wouldn’t have that much time to dedicate to growing my traffic manually. And so that’s when I homed in all on to SEO and it’s rewarded me well.

So far in July, earlier this year, I was able to travel full time. I was maybe the maximum on my laptop, two hours a week, and still, I was able to earn the same amount as if I had actually worked full time on this blog. So, SEO really pays off because even when you’re asleep, even when you’re engaged in other activities, if you’re able to have your articles rank on Google, you’re able to get traffic onto your blog, you’re able to monetize that traffic through variety of ways like advertising through sponsored work, brand collaborations, affiliates, if you’re promoting, say in the travel space, if you’re promoting travel, tours or hotels, things like that.

So, it’s a really sustainable way of working online, being your own boss, but not tying your work to your time. And so there is that remote work freedom that you get

Matt Bowles: Right. So, the more traffic you can get to your website, the more you can charge for advertising, the more people might click on your affiliate links and generate fees for you that way.

And the more brands will be interested in collaborating with you. If you can show them how much traffic comes to your website. So, at this point in your career, Isabel, what are your primary Sources of monetization in how you’re monetizing your web traffic.

Isabel Leong: It is through the ads that you see when you’re scrolling through my articles, as well as through sponsored collaborations.

For example, if my Guatapé post is really doing well, and there is a tour company in Guatapé or a transport company in Guatapé that needs that visibility, that audience. The people who have that search with the intent of wanting to visit Guatapé, then they would try and advertise with me on that page because it receives X amount of traffic every month.

Matt Bowles: All right. So, I want to break down some of the different components of search engine optimization and get some of your tips because I know there are also some of these techniques that have changed over the years. Some of them remain the same, I’m sure in principle and concept, but can you share a little bit for folks that are either at the beginning of their journey, or they might be running a business and they have a website and all that, but they’ve just kind of not paid quite as much attention to SEO and they’re looking to sort of refresh and reinvigorate and take a harder look at their existing content.

Can you share a little bit about keyword research and optimization and then the onsite content creation and what people should be thinking about in terms of doing that effectively.

Isabel Leong: As compared to just a regular content creator where maybe you’re just writing out of your personal experience. With SEO, it’s the reverse where you’re writing about what other people are searching for and that is where keyword research comes into play.

Cause keyword research gives you data on what certain people are looking for, depending on your demographic that you’re targeting. There are different forms of the same topic that people search for, like whether it is traveling with a double L or traveling with a single L, things like that. Or some people might be searching for things like what to do in Medellin versus other people might be searching for things to do in Medellin.

And so, it is this little nuance of first filtering down the broad topic and then going down into how people are searching for it, what kind of words, what kind of terms people are searching for it. And then once you’ve got that data, it is then utilizing those keywords and sprinkling them into that article that you’re hoping to rank for that keyword, that’s the keyword research.

And then you want to optimize your on-page SEO by sprinkling those keywords that you know; people are searching for into the article. And because Google is prioritizing user experience. So, you want to write it as naturally, as easy as possible. You want your readers to be able to get the answers that they’re looking for through this Google search and clicking to your article. And so, these are some of what constitutes good on page SEO.

Matt Bowles: So, what tools would you recommend that people use to do some of that keyword research?

Isabel Leong: I like to recommend this entry-level keyword research tool called KeySearch. It’s been in the market for a long time.

I know there are plenty of other keyword research tools that have sprouted out, but it is one of the most entry-level affordable keyword research tools that any content creator can start with, and that is the one investment that I would say to invest in. It’s not about paying for expensive themes that can come later.

It’s not about paying for expensive domain hosting whatsoever. It’s having good keyword research too. These days I use a bit more premium tool. Which is called Ahrefs, A-H-R-E-F-S. By comparison, the keyword research tool is maybe about 15 bucks a month, whereas Ahrefs is $99 a month. So, depending on how serious you are, it can also get a bit overwhelming in the beginning, because there are so many numbers and you don’t know how to figure out, and there is also that strategy of deciding which keywords to use that entry level keyword research tool is something that probably can take away that overwhelm.

Matt Bowles: So, once you’ve identified the keywords that people are searching for that are relevant to things that you’re writing about, what then are the best practices for how long the post should be on your site? How frequently you should post, how the post should be formatted with subtitles, or that kind of stuff. Any tips that you have on that?

Isabel Leong: The length of the post depends very much on your niche or the topic that you’re trying to cover. If we’re talking about travel, it’s quite saturated these days. The best way of deciding the length of posts is by looking at your competitors for those keywords that you want to rank for.

How long are your competitors articles? A general rule of thumb is at least 2000 words, at least from a study that showed the average length of the top-ranking posts. But this again is a general rule of thumb. It depends very much on how competitive your keywords are. There are some really niche topics that are easy to rank and so you probably just need a thousand words or less.

In terms of frequency, I like to tell my students to at least post once a week just to get that momentum going because a lot of people, I hear experience that overwhelm where they’re just not able to get content out consistently but really it doesn’t matter as much because the key is to be strategic with what you post and it’s not just about quantity. It’s more about the quality and the beginning at the very least once a week.

In terms of formatting, as part of your on-page SEO best practice, you want the keywords to be in your title. You want it to be in your URL. Meta description doesn’t matter as much anymore. You want it throughout the body of your text, also in your H2 and H3 headings, and then just sprinkle all over your article.

Matt Bowles: And I know there are some plugins that if you have your website on WordPress that you can use like Yoast and things like that, which will alert you and make recommendations for onsite SEO tweaks and improvements and things like that. So, there’s a number of tools now out there in the marketplace. One of the things that I also want to ask you about Isabel is the importance of getting other websites to link to your website.

And how important those backlinks are versus all this other stuff that we’re talking about in the larger scheme of SEO rankings.

Isabel Leong: I would say keywords and backlinks go hand in hand. So, you can have a thousand posts published, but if you don’t have any backlinks, if you don’t have any other sites linking back to you, these backlinks are Google’s way of deciding how legitimate your website is.

Imagine it’s like saying the more people are linking to you, the more legit you are because these other websites are “vouching for you” and that’s why they agree to link to you. And so, if you can get a link from large websites like Wikipedia, Forbes, CNN, Huffington post, those are like the big guys out there in the internet world.

And if Google sees that they are linking to you, then you get a good domain authority as a result of these backlinks. So, these days they are still as important as creating good content out there. So, in terms of your traffic, in terms of Google’s visibility for your site, it definitely goes hand in hand.

It is not as easy to get them as it used to be in the past. Now, because there are a lot of people that can abuse it, there are definitely different ways that you can go about getting them. And one of those ways is to guest post for the bigger publications.

Matt Bowles: So, if you’re able to pitch an article to a large website with very high domain authority, whether that’s a news site, or it might just be an independent site that has a really high domain authority. But if you can pitch them and say, “Hey, I’ll put this really good quality piece of content together for you. I’ll write it for your site”. And then they agree to put it on their site. They will then link back to your site. And that is a way to build the domain authority. And I think the higher quality of the site, the higher quality, your content piece is going to have to be for them and the more customized and specific and everything else.

And so, like anything else, it’s about the work you put in and the relationships you build and the quality of the content that you create, can you give folks. A tip on what you think would be the biggest leverage points to get the most traction as quickly as possible in terms of SEO, like the low-hanging fruit, right?

If people have websites and they have businesses and they kind of really haven’t looked at it in a little while for people that are going to say, okay, listen, the lowest hanging fruit, the quickest shortest-term things that I can do to get the biggest results on my SEO, either journey from the beginning or looking at your SEO situation again. What would you say are the biggest ways to move the needle?

Isabel Leong: I would say first to get your foundations right in terms of the site structure. If you just have a static landing page to make sure that the landing page or the home page has. All of the necessary keywords that you are trying to target for your target audience. So having that really down pat and because again, Google prioritizes user experience, you want to make sure that your site speed is also in a healthy range.

That’s a bit technical, but that is something that once you’ve solved it, you can forget about it for a while. So, once you’ve got that foundation done with the landing page, you know, making sure that each page is not broken and making sure each page has sufficient keywords and it’s written legibly.

And then the second thing I always recommend clients do is have a block section. So even if you’re selling a product or a service, you should have a block section to furnish your authoritativeness. So, there is this term EAT, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness that the SEO world is familiar with.

By having a block section, you would be able to establish your authoritativeness because you are writing about that topic that you are supposed to be an expert in. So having a block solves that part apart from just churning out new content, it’s also wise to maybe think of it strategically about who you can maybe leverage or collaborate with that has an overlapping audience where you can both benefit from so maybe it is working with a key opinion leader in your space who maybe requires your service and who will be happy to share about your service or your product because that exposes you as a small brand to a large audience of people who might be interested in your service in the long term.

Matt Bowles: And then if people are starting from the beginning, obviously the advice is getting this right from the start and set up your website properly and do all these things from the get exactly how they should be done and just build it that way, doing it right the entire time. So, you don’t have to go back and redo it.

I know that you work with bloggers and businesses on their SEO. Can you talk a little bit about your coaching program and what it’s like to work with you? I know you have both courses that people can go through on their own, and then you also work with clients directly. So, can you share a little bit about some of your services in the SEO realm?

Isabel Leong: I do offer this free masterclass that you can sign up to, to get a sense of like what SEO is about. If you know it’s important, but you don’t really know what it is about, I offer this free masterclass. And then because I’ve had feedback from both bloggers, as well as business owners who all are in dire need of SEO, but don’t know where to start.

There is that DIY option of going through my course. It’s like this step-by-step different video trainings that go through from A to Z about setting up. The different plugins on your blog how to do technical stuff and making sure your links are not broken. And also, the nitty gritty I walk you through how to use keyword research tools and how to format your posts in a way that it’s totally SEO optimized.

That’s in the DIY course, but then people who have gone through that course, they also comment that there are things that get in the way. There are always new platforms coming up. You want to hop on the latest trends. So, then you get very split attention. And that’s why I offer that coaching program to get you on track and to set week by week goals.

Because SEO, again, is a long term, it’s a marathon. It’s like a long, some game. So, it’s not something that you can just speed through as compared to maybe social media. If you’re posting a real for 30 days, you can get viral and you can see results. Sometimes with SEO, it’s a bit longer and you don’t see results to a couple of months later, but then the results that you read, you get to read them for months and months to come.

Because for example, I have this post about the best places to visit in Greece in October and every year. During this period over summer, it just gets lots of traffic again, and it’s a post that I’ve done maybe five, six years ago. That’s why I love SEO. And back to the point about consistency, that’s why I offer that coaching program as well.

Matt Bowles: So, who would be your ideal client, the type of person that would be the right fit for your coaching program. I mean, we’re going to link up the DIY course in the show notes for this episode. So, folks can go there, click on the link, check out the course. And if you want to go through that on your own, you can absolutely do that. But then for your coaching clients, who might be the right fit to work with you in that capacity?

Isabel Leong: I would say anyone from content creator point of view who has a blog, I don’t work with social media. There’s a blog we’re all ranking on Google. So yes, that skill can be applied to keywords on TikTok and keywords on YouTube, but I really focus more on the long form content.

And so, I work with content creators who have a blog as well as business owners, because especially going through these nomad meetups, these nomad communities, there are a lot of creative and entrepreneurial people that have set up their own companies, their own businesses, their own, ideas and everything is online, but how are you going to stand out from the online space?

And yes, they have their website, but then they don’t know what to do with it. This program is thus suitable for them because yes, you can have a static landing page but how are you going to get it ranked and get it seen by people without having to pay exorbitant amounts of money to run at. So, if you’re thinking about running ads in order to get the audience that you want, I would highly suggest you to also look into SEO to drive more long-term results.

Matt Bowles: Awesome. All right, Isabel, let me ask you one more question and then we’ll wrap this up and move into the lightning round. When you think back about all of the travel that you’ve done over the years, what impact do you think all of that travel has had on you as a person? And why do you continue to travel today. What does travel mean to you?

Isabel Leong: It has definitely made me a more resilient person because when you are traveling, you can’t control your circumstances. You can’t control your outcomes. Most of the time, as much as you want to, there are times where things don’t turn out the way you want them to.

And there are times that test you and make you want to just give up and just retreat back to your comfort zone. You know, in a similar way when you’re pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, going hiking or doing things that scare you. Traveling has allowed me to do all of that and made me realize how much stronger, how much more resilient I am.

It’s also helped me become more independent and more confident as a person because you have to really get out of your comfort zone to seek help, to talk to people, to open yourself up. And I’ve also learned a lot from different people and different personalities. And maybe out to be a more humble person as well, stronger, more confident person as well.

So, I feel like traveling, because I’ve been doing it for the past nine years, full time, almost, it has definitely shaped my identity in a way where sometimes I don’t even recognize myself before I was, you know, doing all that traveling. Traveling to me is a way for me to find myself and be myself because when I’m back home, I feel like I have to conform to certain expectations and certain standards and certain societal expectations.

So, when I travel, I feel like I can be myself much more. I’m more comfortable being on my own. The reason why I still continue traveling is because I feel like I haven’t found that sense of home yet. I am in search of that feeling of home, and there are certain places that come close to it. For instance, in Bali, in Bansko, where I am able to surround myself with like the chosen family, where you have that group of networks of friends that you can rely on and who understand you. And so, yeah, I travel to find that feeling of home where I can be unapologetically me.

Matt Bowles: That’s an amazing point to end the main portion of this interview. At this point, Isabel, are you ready to move in? to the lightning round.

Isabel Leong: Let’s do it.

Matt Bowles: Let’s do it. All right. What is one book that has significantly impacted you over the years, you’d most recommend people should read?

Isabel Leong: I want to share this book that I recently got my hands on, it’s called The Mountain is You by Brianna West. And it talks about how to turn self-sabotage into self-mastery. A lot of self-development work where there are certain behaviors that you’re doing that you’re probably not aware of could be sabotaging you from doing more within your potential. So, there’s been a book that I’ve been digging quite a bit recently.

Matt Bowles: What is one travel hack that you use that you can recommend?

Isabel Leong: When I’m doing like the long-term travels and I need extra luggage space, I always travel with a travel pillow because if all else fails, you just stuff things into that travel pillow.

Matt Bowles: Good one.

Isabel Leong: Don’t tell anyone.

Matt Bowles: All right. Who is one person currently alive today that you’ve never met that you’d most love to have dinner with just you and that person for an evening of dinner and conversation?

Isabel Leong: So, there is this one YouTuber that I’ve really been looking up to and I feel like we have quite similar travel styles and travel content in a way where I’m also trying to build my YouTube channel and he has also been doing this content creator thing for a while, but he’s been really successful. He’s also building his second property in Bali, which is something I eventually want to do, like build an actual place. You know, it’s quite ironic as a digital nomad, but yeah, that sense of home again is this person called Christian LeBlanc. He is mostly known for being called Lost LeBlanc.

Matt Bowles: All right. We’ll link it up at the show notes. If you could go back in time, knowing everything that you know now and give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would you say to 18-year-old Isabel?

Isabel Leong: Hmm. I would say that everything happens for a reason, and it all leads up to a point in life that you probably don’t have a clue about yet. But as long as you follow your gut and your intuition, you will eventually be in the right place at the right time.

Matt Bowles: All right, Isabel, what are three of your favorite travel destinations you would most recommend other people should definitely check out?

Isabel Leong: Yeah, New Zealand’s definitely top of my list, followed by Cape Town and South Africa. The last one, I’ve been really digging Bali recently. I know it’s overrated, but there is an energy that I, you don’t really find it anywhere else.

Matt Bowles: Bali does have a very unique energy, that is for sure. Isabel, last question. What are your top three bucket list destinations? These are places you have not yet been and highest on your list you’d most love to see.

Isabel Leong: There is this island close to Bali, it’s called Sumba, where the horses roam in the ocean. And I feel like, yeah, that’s the, it’s a combination of two of my favorite things in the world. So that’s one place I want to get to. I haven’t been second is Egypt. Recently, I put it on my radar because some digital nomads actually recommended Dahab as a nomad destination. And before that, I never thought about visiting Egypt, but now that you know, it’s on my radar, I really want to visit it as well as Brazil.

Matt Bowles: Good picks, I actually lived in Cairo for a year. So, when you’re ready to go to Egypt, definitely hit me up. And then Brazil is one of my all-time favorite countries on the planet. I’ve been a few times. I’m going back in December. Actually, I’m going on the nomad cruise, which is going from the Canary Islands to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil.

Isabel Leong: That’s cool.

Matt Bowles: I will be back there yet again. I have not yet been to Salvador. I’m super excited to go there.

I’ve spent about three months in Brazil. But I’m always excited to go back. It is another one of those magical places that has a really special energy and vibe to it. Definitely, hit me up when you’re ready to do that. All right, Isabel, I want you to let folks know how they can find you, how they can follow you on social media, how they can read your blog and let them know one more time about how they can come into your world if they’re interested in your SEO services.

Isabel Leong: You can find me at bellaroundtheworld.com. It’s my blog. It’s also my portfolio. You can find all of my social media handles there, as well as my free SEO masterclass.

Matt Bowles: We are going to link all of that up in the show notes. So, you can just go to one place at themaverickshow.com, go to the show notes of this episode, and there you will find all of the ways to contact Isabel as well as links to everything we have discussed in this episode.

Isabel, this was amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Isabel Leong: Yeah. Thank you for having me. We had fun. I for sure.

Matt Bowles: Well, we’ll have to link up in person around the world sometime soon, but it was great to have you on the show and good night, everybody.