Last Updated on August 11, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa

These days I’ve been spending more time on Instagram for relaxation. Are you following me?

As a travel blogger feeding a blog and a YouTube channel, I juggle a lot and frankly, there are times when itbegins to feel like work. Times like that, I need to focus on other creative expressions, to give me a recreational outlet. Yes, I’m an odd bean.   So I’ve actually begun to post more photos there than I do on my blog or any one of my social media outlets.

So I’ve decided to share my favorite insta-photos via a monthly Instagram roundup!

Monthly Instagram Roundup: September

This month’s highlight is actually work. I love work, but more importantly, I love work that pays me to be creative, travel and experience new things. My highlight in September whisks me mostly into TV land, where I’m still struggling to get my career life back on track. When work is flowing, life feels great. When it doesn’t; it doesn’t feel so hot. Being freelance it’s important to strike an emotional balance, which isn’t always an easy thing, but I’m trying.

1.  Selfie: Playing Where’s Waldo with myself at Bangkok airport.

Waiting in airport check-in lines can be boring and I can get impatient.

Luckily, at Swarnabhum Airport in Bangkok, there’s a ceiling mirror and I can have some photographic fun as I wait.

2.  Kickass work day! Hiking somewhere near Opaiula in #Haleiwa for a #travel show shoot . First time hiking for a shoot; I’m the sherpa. Awesome excursion; learned a lot about indigenous fruits and plants.

The perk of having a travel job is that you get paid to travel. Working in television, there’s a lot of traveling and often into locations that aren’t commonly accessible to general public.  Sometimes, the act of filming in a particularly challenging location adds to the travel challenges, making them so much more memorable.

As part of the travel show we were filming, we had to do a trek in Haleiwa Valley.  It’s my first time carrying expensive equipment through rivers, stream and forests. As you hike funny thoughts go through your head and priorities blur– you wonder which has more importance and value… the camera equipment or your life.

3.  I wanna fly too! Gliders (they have no engines but are towed into the air) at Dillingham Airport. Up, up and away! 

Taking a glider trip over the islands is something I’ve never considered, in general. Just never thought of it. Another thing is that I have never been to Kaena Point, the tip of northwest Oahu, where the climate is dry and the beach sands brightly bounce light to make your eyes want to squint.

What you see in the backdrop is the Waianae Mountain range. Hawaii only has two mountain ranges, which span the length of the island in two directions. The Waianae range spans north to south of the island and is what you might follow to the North Shore.

We spent a short time setting up the equipment, [easyazon_link asin=”B00F3F0EIU” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”yes” tag=”gt0d8-20″]GoPro HERO3+s [/easyazon_link] and other crew fiddle-faddle. It’s a hot day and we have a couple more locations to hit up.   Learning about new activities and places is definitely one of the perks of travel and of working in television production.

4. Can you believe I get paid to do this? Filming on a fishing boat today at the #northshore. Check out my #slippertan. 

“Slippers” are what Hawaii folk call “flip-flops” and they are as ubiquitious to Hawaii, as high heel shoes are to women in Korea.  But slipper tans aren’t as common as you’d think they’d be. Unless it’s a really hot day and you’ve been in the sun the whole time, local skin seems to develop a bit of a resilience to them.  In fact, the last time I remember having one is traveling in Southeast Asia last year. Anyways, they’re ideal footwear when your location shoot is on the ocean and you’re shooting a spearfishing segment.

I’m not one to get seasick on a boat, but we were close to 5 hours on a boat in the middle of choppy, roller coaster-like seas. After the 4th hour my stomach I was feeling nauseous and hungry and I had to lie down.

During that lull in activity, one of the men of the boat called me out to reel in their catch~ they had snagged a fish and wanted me to share the fishing experience with me. I began reeling my line- they make it look so easy on TV but it’s actually quite challenging, when your fish is fighting back! Finally, I brought it up- a brilliant 3.5 foot blue marlin. What a beauty! Before I could admire it, one of the fishermen quickly slammed a large hook into it. The blood went splat against the side of the boat, just missing my white shirt and it was catapulted it into the boat ice chest and clubbed. It was kept partially alive so it would remain fresh.

For moments while processing the blood and violence, I felt frozen.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to eat sushi again.