Hear it from the Bloggers | Q&A with Dubai’s duo bloggers – Part Two

We are back with part 2 – A Q&A round with Dubai’s duo bloggers. They are very different some singular bloggers – I dive into why these duo bloggers came together to start a blog, their aspirations, their struggles, how they work together and their inputs and suggestions for aspiring bloggers. Read on, leave a comment, I love hearing from you all!

SheSaidSheSaid | Namrata & Nancy
Instagram: SheSaidSheSaid | Website: shesaidshesaid.co

1. How long have you both known each other for? – A lifetime. We have been best friends for 17 years but known each other longer.
2. Who takes pictures? Who writes content? – Both. Nancy has the latest iPhone so portrait mode all the way! Content – depends on the post.
3. Why did you guys start this blog?- We both love food and realised our phones were full of food photos. At the same time, we were asked by friends and colleagues new to Dubai about where to eat, hidden gems in old Dubai etc. So we decided to put it out there and so the blog was born!
4. Apart from blogging, what do you both do?- We both have full-time jobs. Namrata is Assistant Dean at Hult International Business School and Nancy works in Corporate Communications at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
5. Do ya’ll see taking blogging as a full-time thing? – Probably not. It is a passion project but when it feels like “work”, its not fun anymore. Don’t think we’ll be giving up our day jobs anytime soon!
6. Who writes? Who photographs? – We both do both.
7. Advice you would give to budding duo bloggers? – Have each others back – life gets in the way and you can’t be present all the time – that’s why you have each other. But also hold each other accountable. Enjoy working with one another and most importantly, two minds = two different imaginations. Tap into the awesomeness that each of you bring to your creative space.
8. What is something that makes you guys unique? -How do you keep it real in the digital world crowded with thousands of bloggers? – What makes us unique – our old friendship and the unique name of our blog HAHA! How do we keep it real – we don’t do things because we have to, we do things we want to.
9. Go-to restaurant/café in Dubai? Nancy – 3Fils, Namrata – Maine Oyster Bar or Mythos.
10. Favorite place to travel to for a quick escape? Nancy – Istanbul or Singapore, Namrata – London (only been once but she would keep going back if she could)

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Adventure Faktory | Mitch & Thuymi
Instagram: adventureFaktory | Website: www.adventuryFaktory.com

1. How long have you both been dating eachother? – It will be four years in April! Time passes by so fast.
2. What made yall start this blog together? – It was a combination because of my work as a strategic planner to understand better the blogging sphere and the fact people kept asking over and over again for tips and itineraries. We thought we had to document it!
3. What are both your favorite places to travel to? We do love to go back and forth to Thailand. Beautiful locations, Bangkok is cheap and amazing for its street food and tons of fitness activities for us to keep fit while travelling!
4. What advice would you give someone who wants to start a travel blog? The blogosphere is so saturated you have to jump into it with a point of differentiation. Why are you doing it? It is a mix between doing it for yourself, not to just jump into the trend. It has to also be for the readers. Are you going to be relevant? At the end of the day it will depend of your objectives on creating the blog. Is it just a hobby or you are looking to monetize? If it is to monetize, then 100% reader’s interest first!
5. What equipment do yall use to capture moments? We use everything from our iPhone 8 Plus with its Ollo Clip, GoPro equipment, DJI drones, 360 cameras from Insta360, Canon & Nikon DSLRs, name it! At the end of the day, whatever you use is all about your style and the story though the media that will count!
6. How far do you see yourselves take your blog? To the point that we don’t even call it a blog most of the time. It’s literally an online magazine and we have many writers around the world.
7. Who writes? Who photographs? We both do and we always proofread each other to finalize the article to its best quality! But, of course, Mitch has to take my “candid” insta shots and we use the tripod for our photos together.
8. If there is one thing you can improve work on your blog, what would that be? We are finding the best way to integrate bookings and more languages as we get flooded by inquiries by people interested in doing tours and activities hosted by us. Something we will think of for the future!
9. Places on your wish-list to visit? Oh so many, Antarctica, Mongolia, all the stans, many many more! The goal is for Thuymi to reach 100 countries at 30 years old. At this rate it might be a piece of cake!

Also read: Unique Hostels for Travelers in India

WhereMyFoodAt | Kim & Den
Instagram: WhereMyFoodAt | Website: www.wheremyfoodat.com

1. How and why did you both start WheremyFoodAtWho does what for the blog? – When we started dating in 2012, we took our dinner dates pretty seriously and started exploring different restaurants and trying out new cuisines. I (Kim) had the habit of continuously checking in on Facebook and uploading pictures, to which friends and family got rather intrigued and questions like “how was it?”, “was it worth it?”, “what to order?” started arising. It was then that we decided to start a food blog to document our experiences and eventually document our memories with each other too. And that’s how WhereMyFoodAt was born. I do the writing, and engagement on social media, Den does the photography, editing, and uploading posts on social media as per his schedule.
2. Do you guys EVER fight – t’s funny. We used to fight a lot when we started dating. But as the years progressed our fights have reduced. Haha! #Touchwood
   We do occasionally fight even now, but we make sure to resolve the matter before going to bed.
3. If not blogging? What would each of you be doing instead of your daily 9-5 jobs? – I’m addicted to CrossFit, and both of us love running (main reason why we’re not obese yet). We also love Netflix. But what we REALLY REALLY love to do – sleep 🙂
4. Do you guys plan on making food blogging a full-time gig? –  I quit my banking job so it’s already a full time gig for me, and it wasn’t that hard to make that decision since Den’s the one with the steady job at Emirates. It’s always important to have two sources of income, so even if WhereMyFoodAt does exceedingly well, I don’t think he would quit too.
5. What is each of your favorite cuisines? – I love Thai and Indonesian, and Den loves British.
6. What advice would you give aspiring bloggers – Stick to your niche, don’t compare yourself with other bloggers and be consistent and creative.
7. How would you advice one on juggling between eating food, finding time to work out, working and everything else – Do everything in moderation. And it’s not just with food, it’s with working out and social life too. You don’t need to workout 7 days a week for 2 hours a day – you’ll end up getting worn out. At the same time, if you catch up with friends constantly, you might end up getting carried away and wasting a lot of time you could’ve spent doing something else. It’s important to know where to draw the line – with how much you eat, workout, socialize and work. It’s hard, but once you’ve achieved that balance, you’re unstoppable!
8. Who usually plans date nights? –  It’s both of us and it usually depends on our mood and what cuisine we’re craving for.
9. Apart from eating and fitness, what do you guys do together? – Netflix, chai dates by the road (almost everyday), weekly church visits, movies (occasionally) and planning vacations too.

 

Also read: Q&A with Dubai’s Favorite Bloggers – Part 1

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