Last Updated on July 14, 2023 by Christine Kaaloa

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Thank you for signing up to become part of the GRRRLTRAVELER community. I really appreciate it! It means a lot to me that you made the effort to join us.

I hope that I can help inspire your solo travel goals.

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 About Me

Popular Asked Questions

Hi, I’m Christine Ka’aloa .

I’m a legacy female solo travel blogger and one of the first solo female travel vloggers on YouTube!

GRRRLTRAVELER is a solo travel blog helping travelers find confidence in traveling alone, one destination at a time, while doing it responsibly, sustainably, anti-cruel and making a positive impact! You can have fun solo adventures at any age

I left my life in New York, as a reality TV camera operator and producer  to live/work abroad in South Korea.  From there, I launched into a 7+ month solo backpacking trip through Asia and Southeast Asia. Since, I returned to the U.S. and am a full-time travel content creator and freelance videographer.

I started GRRRLTRAVELER, a female solo travel blog in 2008 (I’ve kinda been around since the start of travel blogs), when a trip to India with friends went awry and I was forced to go it alone.

I began my solo female travel YouTube channel in 2012, where I document my solo adventures, offering trip and food guides and cool finds as a responsible blueprint for adventurous travelers and foodies to follow in my footsteps.

GRRRL TRAVELER  is a travel survival and solo travel site inspiring others to find their GRRR for travel at any age! It’s about navigating cultural diversity while experiencing the bizarre, foreign, frightening and often times, funny.

I film, blog and Instagram my solo adventures to take you into my adventure, where I demystify the ‘scary’ in solo travel.

Not all solo beginnings start on a happy note…

In 2008, I was on a backpacking tour through India and Nepal with a group of friends. We signed up for a scam tour and midway, I decided I wanted off (…you can read my gory details here).

Thrown into a crazy world, beautiful, different and dizzying.  There were moments I felt uncertain, vulnerable and “a little chicken” of a sheltered Hawaii girl.  The only thing I knew I’d never do, was give up!

I pulled every self-survival trick I could think of to flip my rupee into positive change and I turned what could’ve been the worst trip in my life, into the greatest!  What got me through was my GRRR!

GRRRL TRAVELER was born.

I used to think that traveling alone started with courage and confidence and I had to have both in order to go solo.

Truthfully, few people start at point zero with courage. Courage and confidence are things you develop with time and experience. You can test waters by doing things, like going to a social event alone or taking a solo weekend trip outside the city.  If its your first time traveling internationally, do so with a partner first so you can learn to adapt to culture shock.

But taking a full-blown solo trip is a different beast and there’s no way to prepare for it, really. The easiest way — take the leap (or my case, have the rug pulled out from under you).

To be honest, I don’t think the fear ever goes away. At least not with me.

I’ve been traveling solo for over seven years and I still encounter moments of reluctance of booking a new destination. Each destination is similar and yet, unique with different challenges. But the moment I book my trip, reality sets in place and my fears and worries gradually subside. My instinct to survive kicks in and helps me along.

I work and save for my travels like everyone else.  Starting out in blogging and YouTube, I did invested in travel a lot to grow my brand. You have to spend money to make money they say. Sometimes, I use credit card points. I loved what I was doing.

I’ve always been good at steering  towards jobs the pay me to travel.

Teaching English in Korea was an all-expense paid move to Korea and my work paid me enough to travel during vacation breaks. I based my travels on affordability, choosing the countries based on low flight costs and which are inexpensive to travel.

Being a freelance video camera operator ,  affords me travel and takes me into different lifestyles on each assignment. It is one of my favorite ways to travel.

And due to the fact my blog and female solo travel YouTube channel have grown, I occasionally get sponsorship, brand deals and work with tourism boards that invite me to film content there.

Most people think my job at GRRRLTRAVELER is an enviable vacation and it’s true that I experience a lot of things- but it’s also 100% work. I don’t get weekends, holidays or sick days off -creating content and inspiration is around the clock work. Trip planning involves not only researching and planning my creative fun, but how I will film it, work within a budget or reach out to sponsors to help me create content that will inspire audiences.  But I love shooting and creating travel video content which inspires. That is rewarding

Yes, you can.  You have to do a lot of legwork, take additional employment when you’re starting out and find other ways to diversify your blog services. I use everything from affiliate programs, ad sales, sponsored posts, brand deals, campaigns and Patreon.

Many influencers want sponsorships and brand deals to fuel their work and travel. You’ll need to learn how to pitch and negotiate for projects or you can wait for brands to find you.

If you’re really interested in the various ways to monetize your blog and YouTube channel (check out this ebook bundle I created).

These days, I also do speaker engagements and mentor creators on building a business on YouTube. I teach in a couple months, what it took over six years to learn on my own.

It helps to have a business plan or strategy, because my job is to travel but also be self-sustaining. Often I’m wearing more than one hat.

If quick money is your aim, it’s definitely easier to get a job and get paid an hourly wage.  The joy of travel blogging has to be your passion before all else.

Got Questions?

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Ask Me in Comments

I love hearing from you folks, but often I’m so busy, I don’t always have time to respond to emails. Nevertheless, I love to hear feedback!

Recommended Trip Planning Services: 

Getyourguide my favorite tour booking site.
Booking Yoga Retreats – a huge directory of yoga retreats around the globe.
Skyroam– Global wifi (take 10% off with my referral code GRRRLTRAVLER)
Booking.com who I book accommodations with
World Nomads trip insurance that covers my adventure style in travel.

16 Comments. Leave new

  • Grrrl POWER!!! I discovered your website searching SAPA Vietnam and started reading your travel blogs/tips, i’m hooked! Keep traveling and making awesome videos. Safe travel.

  • Just discovered your blog and love your stuff! The video on being a polyglot is so fun (!) and so true. Loved, “Left” and “right” in Korean, then “straight” in English (but with a Korean accent, of course). Lol!^^ I’m an American in Korea right now and am getting ready to go to Jeju, which is how I discovered your scootering around Udo video. Udo wasn’t on my radar but you make it enticing! Thanks for your awesomeness!

  • Christine, Your website and Youtube posts inspired me to leave my job/life in the states behind and travel/work solo in Korea and surrounding countries. So far it’s been life affirming and confidence busting experience. Thanks for all the great information and for your honest and entertaining posts.

    • Christine Kaaloa
      February 4, 2016 11:39 pm

      Wow, I’m so happy everything has worked out for you @Amy and that my posts and videos were helpful in making your leap. Rain or shine, your leap was one of the greatest moves in self-faith and trust a person can make! And it will only give you back more. Be proud of yourself– what you’ve accomplished is HUGE!

  • Your website is great. I love the photos and info. Are you back teaching in korea these days?

  • I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now and I never left a post (I don’t really know why though)
    I simply love your writing style, very funny and clear !
    Your experiences are just ….. GRRR
    I’ll keep reading, so keep traveling =D

  • very cool, grrrrrl!

  • Runaway Jane
    April 22, 2010 9:39 pm

    Ha I never thought about it like that but it’s a great idea! I’m actually planning a trip over across the trans-siberian express later this year from moscow to beijing. If all goes well then i’m going to turn it into a RTW journey over land and sea.
    I also like the jailbeak idea! 🙂

  • All I can say is “agree” and “agree.” Keep on keepin on!

  • I love the name of this site! Sort of remindes of the frosties advert (not sure if it was ever shown outside the UK) 🙂

    Very inspiring story! I want to go to India at somepoint. Can’t wait to hit the road again!

    • Thanks Runaway! Your site name was pretty eye-catching for me too and I like how the nickname I’m giving you sounds like i’m talking to a jailbreak sister! Love your story too- I love impulsive leaps like yours! Are you choosing your next destination by your top 5 travel films list?

  • Hey there, I just wanted to stop by and say I love the concept of “GRRR”!

    • Thanks Unstoppable. You sound like a GRRR! travel sister too weathering malaria ridden trips & Bolivian hostels! There’s an imperfect & uncourageous traveler in us all. It’s interesting to me, how qualities such as “confidence and fearlessness” are often inspired thru trial & error, accident/mistake, horribly (but funny) unraveling & stumblings, etc… Hope you continue to drop by and share some of your story. 😉

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