“Lost With Purpose” is another blog about travel and backpacking ran by a 27 year old named Alex. I found this one when I was researching about solo female travel. I love how her homepage, titles and bio are all written in her own unique personal style. She writes so amusingly and you really get what she is saying. She takes amazing photos. Her top destinations are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. She’s gone to places her government tells her she should avoid, like the border of Pakistan.
Her point of travelling was to again provide information but also in her own words, “Mission 2.0 is to promote tourism to these countries by sharing peoples’ stories, and showing sides of these countries that the media will never show. ” Which I think is super brave and goals.
My favorite post of hers is about how she saves money for travel. I really don’t have the understanding of budgeting but this guide gave me some nice ideas. She’s truly honest in talking about how hard travel blogging can be and how she would prefer to travel without all of her electronics sometimes. She has a huge following on social medias and has been interviewed and featured in all kinds of things.
She’s been to Pakistan four times and has had a lot of attention for it. On one interview for Pakistan Today, Alex explains how important it is to adapt to local culture, she says, “This way, the conversation can be about what you’re doing and not what you’re wearing. It is also a sign of respect for the local culture. Just yesterday, I went to a party in Karachi. Well, I was the only one there in shalwar kameez. So, I thought, this is awkward.” She says that the western media has it all wrong when it comes to Pakistan. She also talks about ‘unneeded ‘protection” that comes from being a female and a foreigner. “I have to say, I am very bitter about security here. I hate it when I’m given unneeded protocol. How am I supposed to relax in a beautiful green valley if there are men in Kalashnikovs standing next to me?”
Travel media has really grown tourism in Pakistan, showing a side of Pakistan the media doesn’t show. Not many people know how Pakistan really looks. Here is a short video, not by the blog, that shows how pretty Pakistan really is. My second fave post by Lost With Purpose is the great divide where she talks about how as tourists we don’t see everything by just going to iconic monuments in big cities. They saw both the traditional and modest part of the country and the Western part of the country. Seeing both sides really shatters mental images and myths. “There’s a massive disparity in this country between the rich and the poor, men and women, but it’s not something we’re truly confronted by often.”
Works Cited:
https://www.lostwithpurpose.com/what-is-lost-with-purpose/
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/09/29/breaking-western-myths-western-female-travelers-talk-of-pakistan/
♔Empress Tasha♔ 
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