Sarah Stewart
I'm a traveling vegan that's got a way with words
Score (What’s this?)
Perlu Network score measures the extent of a member’s network on Perlu based on their connections, Packs, and Collab activity.
View our support article for more information.
Pulse (What’s this?)
Perlu Pulse score measures how active a member is on Perlu, on a scale of 0 to 100.
View our support article for more information.
Lover of all things travel, vegan, and lavender. When I'm not writing, you can find me curled up with a good book or adding to my coffee mug collection.
- Moz DA 11
- Posts 2 9
- Engagement Rate 14.9% 17.5%
- Sponsored Posts 0 0
- Sponsored Engagement Rate 0.0% 0.0%
- Avg Likes 190 227
- Avg Comments 14 12
In this photo, I was at the Golden Gate Bridge, a longtime landmark on my must-visit list. It was my first trip after the most difficult year of my life so far, but I felt gratitude and hope for how my future could look despite everything in my life that had gone wrong. Part of what got me through my own traumas is a strong community of women. Thanks to one of them for tagging me in this, @destineynotdestiny. ❤ I'm inviting to the black and white challenge some of the other women who helped me through such a trying time, whose conversations and encouragement each brought me one step closer to healing. @malissag9 @han_christine @scarlettreneerowe @actually.from.nashville @clairebell_ @chey_q @hollyfoxcarter @nicole337_ @alexlips21 This week, I have been devastated at the news of Pınar Gültekin's murder at the hands of her former romantic partner. Her murder is shedding further light on the prevalence of femicide in Turkey and is a brutal reminder of just how far we have to go as a global community in ensuring women feel, and are, safe. You can find more important info on this in my stories. Femicide is a human rights violation far too many women experience all around the world. No one should be afraid for their life because of their gender. This has to stop. Rest in Peace, Pınar. You deserved better than this, and we won't stop fighting for you. #challengeaccepted. 📸 : San Francisco, CA, January 2020
From plant-based fusions of traditional Vietnamese coffee culture to pho sans flesh, Saigon is a vegan-friendly city for first timers and lifestyle changers alike. In this virtual Saigon vegan food tour, I’ll share with you 7 restaurants you should try when visiting this Vietnamese city (even if you’re only in town for a few days, just like I was). Coconut coffee and Vietnamese iced coffees with a delicious condensed milk (made dairy-free for people like me) are two of the best I’ve ever had! It’s a hole-in-the-wall spot that’s locally owned, serving British traditional fares and a full Vietnamese coffee menu.
You know, for all the traveling I do outside the United States, I've yet to do much sightseeing within my own home country. I'm even from a major tourist destination: Nashville! Here is my obligatory basic Insta girl pic in front of a Nashville mural. Lol. 😂 BTW, if you want a pic like this for your own feed, you shouldn't go to 12th South/The Gulch. The line to take a photo in front of the most popular murals wraps ALL THE WAY AROUND THE BUILDING. Personally, I love the blues and purples in this one, tucked into an alley in East Nashville. Oh, and the best part? No wait. No wait at all. My friends and I had the whole place to ourselves. ☺ Do y'all want to see more hidden gems in Nashville? I figure I don't have much else to write about since I'm stuck here for the time being. 😅
The Cambodia to Vietnam border crossing from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City was my first non-EU international overland adventure. In this post, I’ll share the logistics of a Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh overland border crossing, including the eVisa process for American passport holders. As I previously mentioned, Giant Ibis is a highly reputable bus company in Southeast Asia offering the Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh route. I know at least some of you only read this post for this part, so here it goes: For starters, many of the nasty reviews on Giant Ibis’ website is about an über-mysterious $2 fee exclusively for eVisa border crossings.
Excuse me while I lounge after *finally* completing my quarantine project... I completely redesigned my website! 🎉 And, I launched a weekly email newsletter, From the Aisle Seat, yesterday. Double yay! 🍾 From the Aisle Seat is a compilation of travel news, industry forecasts, travel-related media I'm loving, and what's new on Sarah L. Travels that arrives to your inbox every Friday, all in 5 minutes or less. 💌 {If you want to see the redesign and/or subscribe to From the Aisle Seat, check out the link in my bio.} Why the change? I wanted full control of the look and feel of my website, which I couldn't have unless I started from scratch. After a few hundred virtual crumpled drafts, I arrived at a result that excited me, challenged me, and reminded me why I started this blog in the first place. I learned in an entrepreneurship course that the real question to ask yourself is this: "If I close my (in this case, figurative) doors tomorrow, will all of this have been worth it?" Now, through From the Aisle Seat and a more intuitive web layout, I feel more empowered to keep writing than ever before despite shocks to the travel industry. Why? Because I'm writing, designing, and creating in ways that would make thousands of hours, sleepless nights, and moments of doubt worth it--even if I fail tomorrow. I'm writing in a way that helps me feel whole again. I'm writing like I remember why I started. And that, my friends, is worth celebrating. ✨ #LetsBeBraveTogether 📸: Parc Güell, Barcelona, taken June 2019
You see, I knew I had to visit the capital of Cambodia because it houses a highly important museum about the Khmer Rouge, a political group under dictator Pol Pot that committed genocide against the Cambodian population in the 1970s. Once I arrived at the bus station in east Siem Reap, which was just a $2 Grab ride in a tuk tuk, I was able to ask a Virak Buntham agent what time my bus would arrive. Visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was the number one reason I went to Phnom Penh in the first place. : Surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide, Nawuth Keat Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble
Last fall, just a few short months before you-know-what completely took over our consciousness, I took an impromptu trip to Europe after a short stopover in NYC (where this photo was taken). Why, you may ask? Because @destineynotdestiny was there and, so help me, she was NOT going to Amsterdam without Yours Truly. Ah, spontaneity. This reason, and this reason alone is the only way I've managed to maintain my sanity when there's no stability in my income. Call me crazy, but I'm completely willing to take the stress so I can buy a $210 RT to Chile without asking for anyone's permission. You're only young, single, and childless once. 🤷🏽♀️ Now, the closest I get to a transatlantic spontaneous trip is my daily walk to the mailbox in my pajamas with no shoes on. 😂 #thisisreallife.
Sure, La Pasta is a little on the expensive side for Cambodia’s price point, but it was fully worth it. For a Siem Reap vegan dish that is wholly traditional and reminiscent of Southeast Asian street food, head to Tevy’s Place. Tevy is a local Khmer restaurant owner with an extensive menu of rice and noodle dishes. A dish with rich, flavorful spices, vegetables, and rice, amok is a nutritious meal that will challenge your taste buds and leaves you satisfied for longer than expected for a plant dish.
I remember the first time a stranger called me brave. It was a chance encounter with a couple on vacation from the U.S. We met in line at Versailles when I was studying abroad in Europe. (BTW, plan to get to Versailles *very* early...) I detailed the long travel days I'd had on my way to Barcelona for my semester abroad, which included delays, cancellations, and a surprise 10-hour layover in Dublin. But that's a story for another time! 😅 After I was done, the woman talked about how brave that was. And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why. Because to me, the benefits of travel far outweigh being regularly thrown into confusing, frustrating situations when abroad. This week in From the Aisle Seat, I reflected on what it meant to be brave, and how travel, especially solo travel (like I was in this photo from Angkor Wat), has made me braver. Here's an excerpt: ""...instead of feeling inadequate because your days and your path don’t look like everyone else’s, remember that being brave goes a long way." Without this philosophy, Sarah L. Travels may not exist. There were so many moments that I wanted to give up. But I didn't, because sharing how travel has completely changed my life brought me joy. This is also the reason my travel blog's new tagline is "Let's Be Brave Together." I wanted to more fully define how travel has changed me, how I've witnessed it change others, and how it can change *you*." 💗 So, that being said, #LetsBeBraveTogether. ✨ As always, you can subscribe to From the Aisle Seat at the link in my bio. It's a fun 5 minutes for your Friday! 💌 #ShamelessPlug 💁🏽♀️ 📸: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, February 2020
Favorite flowers from past adventures 🌺 💕 If you know me at all, you know my obsession with flowers is level 1000. Most of the photos on my Sony are of flowers taken randomly on the street, and they're the photos I look at most fondly. The first photo in this collection was taken at a flower market in Bangkok on a day when my laptop (read: my entire office) was malfunctioning. My novel is on it, my poetry is on it, and pretty much my entire life is on that laptop. To say I was panicking is mild. (Thanks for putting up with Stressed Sarah, @travals2019!) But, when I stopped in this flower market on the way to the Apple Store, the entire world stopped. My anxiety. My stress. All my worries and worst-case scenarios for what could be wrong with my laptop. All of it melted away. I had a moment I'll never forget, a moment where the magic of traveling completely overwhelmed my senses. ✨ And I know I'll never forget it. 💗 📸 1: Pak Khlong Flower Market, Bankgok 🇹🇭 📸 2: Viewpoint 3, Koh Phi Phi Don 🇹🇭 📸 3: Angkor Archeological Site 🇰🇭 📸 4: An afternoon stroll in Thailand 🇹🇭 📸 5: An afternoon stroll in Siem Reap 🇰🇭 📸 6: An evening stroll in Bangkok 🇰🇭 📸 7: Another from the flower market, because ❤️ 📸 8: Flower festival at Sun World in Vietnam 🇻🇳 📸 9: Draping blooms outside a hotel in Koh Phi Phi Don 🇹🇭 Which of these is your favorite? You can see more in my stories! #LetsBeBraveTogether