My hobbies for the past 20 years have been influenced by the internet: online chatting, writing, HTML, photography, travel, and toy collecting. It is through the many hours I spent online that I learned about those things, and what continued to fuel passion for them.

It particularly made a huge impact on my traveling. What started as an impulsive decision to travel solo brought on by a quarter-life crisis has brought me across continents and recognition for this blog.

Found out about Chefchaouen in Morocco through pictures online

The Internet plays a big role in my trips: it’s where I research about my destinations, it’s how I book my flights and accommodations. It’s also where I get my inspirations. It’s where I got the idea to see if Chefchaouen is as blue as the photos I’ve seen online, and to travel over four hours just to visit Tama, the Stationmaster Cat of Kishi Station.

I have an extensive bookmarks of the places I want to visit in my browser, but it helps to have a visual reference. That’s where Pinterest comes in handy. If you don’t use Pinterest yet, it’s a visual bookmarking tool. Though it’s very popular amongst crafters and brides (also wannabe brides), it works well for travelers too.

When you log in to the site, you are shown “pins” of people you follow, as well as suggested pins based on your interest. You can also type in keywords on the search bar to see specific destinations. Click on the image that appeals to you, and you can click through it to visit the site where the photo is from. Pin it to your own board if you want to bookmark it for future reference.

Follow Just Wandering’s board It’s a Wonderful World on Pinterest.

This is my travel board. It’s basically the places I’ve been to (and want to visit again), and the places I want to see in my future travels. As you can see, I’m obsessing over Europe!

Not on the Pinterest site? You can easily pin images for your pinboard by clicking on the Pin it button (if they have it on their site, similar to what I have here in the blog; just hover on the photos to see the button), or you can install a browser extension that will let you do that.

Pinterest has officially come to the Philippines, and there’s a waiting list to get a sign up. The good people of Pinterest Philippines, however, has given me a signup link for Just Wandering readers, so you can try the site out. I’m told this is only available for a limited time, so sign up now!