Posted on Wednesday, 8 July 2015

We all love a nice relaxing holiday – a bit of sun and sea - there's nothing better than it! I personally love exploring: walking around unknown cities, looking for great photography shots, visiting famous monuments, trying out new food and drinks, meeting people… A good holiday is like a tiny piece of heaven.

However, I wouldn't be the only woman to say that before each holiday I spend weeks of dieting and getting my body in shape, but as soon as I get to my destination of choice I cannot wait to indulge myself in the variety of delicious foods available there. Yes, food is definitely one of the most enjoyable things in life.

Now, imagine you could travel as often as you could possibly want to not only to see the most famous monuments in the world, but to also try out a variety of cuisines available in those countries. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Well, Melissa from Girl Eat World is doing just that. To this day Melissa has travelled to 31 countries photographing pretty amazing foods in front of pretty amazing places. Take a look at the Hello Kitty donut taken at the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan for example.

                  Hello Kitty Donut at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan (Girl Eat World)                                              Agemanju in front of Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan (Girl Eat World)

Melissa originates from Indonesia and currently resides in Singapore. She works as an implementation consultant at an American tech company. In her free time Melissa enjoys scuba diving and playing RPG computer games. She speaks 3 languages (English, Indonesian and Japanese) and has been named as 1 of the 9 foodies to follow on Instagram by the Harper's Bazaar magazine.

Melissa (Girl Eat World)

How Does One Eat The World?

How did it all start, how did you come up with this photo project?

I was in Rome with my good friend Serena. She insisted on taking my picture in front of the Coliseum, while I insisted on eating my sandwich because I was too hungry. The resulting picture was a funny one of me pigging out in front of an iconic background. Since then, I thought about doing a collection of pictures like that, of me eating in front of famous places, but the next time I went to Europe I was by myself and a bit shy to ask strangers to take a picture of me. So I took the food pictures by myself in front of iconic backgrounds. One of my friends convinced me to create a dedicated Instagram profile and that's how the @girleatworld was born!

  Kimbap at Bukchon Hanok Village in Samcheong-dong, Seoul       Pudina Paratha (mint paratha) next to Taj Mahal in Agra, India                       Onigiri in Odawara, Japan (Girl Eat World)                                      (Girl Eat World)                                                                                    (Girl Eat World)                                                                                                                                     

How do you choose foods / drinks to photograph in each country?

It has to be something local or unique to each country, like street foods, national food, etc.

                        Travelling in a hot air balloon over Bagan, Myanmar (Girl Eat World)                                                       Kurotama at Owakudani in Hakon, Tokyo, Japan (Girl Eat World)

Different Weekend, Different Country

Where are you now and what's your next destination?

I am currently in Singapore, where I live. My next destination is Hong Kong this weekend, Joyo island next weekend and Penang the weekend after.

How do you get to travel so much?

First, I live in Singapore where income tax is low so I get more take home pay. Singapore is also an awesome hub for travels all over Asia with many airlines coming through to a large variety of destinations so it's easier to get cheap flights. We also have tons of budget airlines in the region.

Second, when not travelling for work I always travel budget. I fly budget airlines whenever I can, then save money by staying in 6-8 beds hostels if I am by myself. They usually only run me about $8-25 per night depending on the city. If I can't fly budget, I wait and look out for great flight deals. For example I flew from Singapore to Germany for $500 less than regular price thanks to an awesome sale by Lufthansa.

Third, my job sometimes sends me to different places and I would try to maximize this by flying early.

Last but not least, I am pretty good with money. Travel is a priority for me so I save up by living within my means, DIY stuff when I can, cooking my own food, choosing public transport over taxi, etc.

   Curry puff at Bussorah street near Masjid Sultan in Kampong Glam, Singapore (Girl Eat World)                              Tahu Gejrot from Cirebon in West Java, Indonesia (Girl Eat World)

Can you tell us about your most favourite moment since you started travelling?

It has to be the feeling of stepping my foot into a new city for the first time. I don't get to do that very often these days, but all the more reason to travel!

What camera / camera equipment / apps do you use for your photography?

I use my iPhone with VSCOcam app. VSCOcam is really the only app you need, and worth the money to buy the paid filters too! My favourite filters are the “vibrant” C-series (C1, C2, C3).

                      Bread roll by Neuschwanstein castle in Germany (Girl Eat World)                                                                       A bowl of pho in Saigon, Vietnam (Girl Eat World)

What 5 items do you always have to have with you when travelling? Excluding the most obvious ones (passport, money etc.)

My iPhone, wet wipes, disposable lenses, some snacks, and some form of local SIM card / data plan.

So what's next? Where do you see yourself in the future?

In terms of Instagram, it's still just a hobby of mine. I will keep travelling around the world since that's what I do regardless of my Instagram or anything else I do.

                                       Coffee in Melbourne, Australia (Girl Eat World)                                                                                          Coffee in Seoul, South Korea (Girl Eat World)

What would be your advice to someone who is planning to start travelling?

Save up, read up, and travel for yourself.

If you would like to see more of Melissa's photographs, you can find her Instagram profile here.

If you would like to start travelling the world, make sure you are covered should the worst happen whilst you are away. Visit www.starttravel.co.uk today for your travel insurance quote.

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