As promised, this post is dedicated to Shane Dallas (or more commonly known as @thetravelcamel) my fellow founder of #TRLT, our weekly Twitter travel chat which stands for The Road Less Travelled.

Shane is a professional public speaker, traveller and photographer. His photography was what stood out to me and what got us talking on #travelpics, the Twitter chat that we now both host. Shane, Ariana (due to a busy life, she unfortunately left during the earlier stages of #TRLT) and I started talking and realized that we had something in common. We’d all been to Afghanistan and other places most would consider dangerous. Together, we decided to create a chat that discussed something none of the other travel chats covered, The Road Less Travelled.

Sunrise at Borobudur, Indonesia

In Shane’s words, “This group seeks to inspire others to travel respectfully and to see destinations away from the usual tourist routes. Places that allow us to explore, to learn and to understand the world and its people. For those in #TRLT, travel is more than a holiday.”

Every single week for the past 16 months (yes, even including Christmas Eve!), Shane and I have dedicated our time to creating topics with five questions to discuss for an hour each Tuesday. 850 days ago today, Shane left his home in Brisbane, Australia for his nomadic lifestyle. Close behind me in his country count, Shane has visited a whopping 96 countries and plans to visit his 100th in the very near future. He is famous for his real Indiana Jones hat and crazy obsession with camels.

Qala-e Panja, Afghanistan

Shane has been staying here with us in Holland for the past 2.5 weeks and we’ve definitely enjoyed his company. He shared with us his knowledge of travel, social media and we even got a private rehearsal of his speech on “Public Speaking” that he will give at #STS  in Hamburg, Germany next week.

It’s amazing that we happened to meet through a different Twitter chat and create such a special travel community. Neither of us expected #TRLT to be as successful as it is today. Our fantastic community of travellers, with their incredible stories and info to share, is growing each and every week. Last Tuesday we outdid ourselves again with our record high of participants in the hour. I couldn’t think of a more perfect co-founder for #TRLT! It has been a fun journey.

Old City of Sana’a, Yemen

We always love to see new faces on the chat, so if you’d like to join, it starts at 6pm UK/1pm EST time and goes for an hour. Questions are posted here and don’ forget to join our #TRLT Facebook page where members can help suggest weekly topics and questions.

If you haven’t found me already, my twitter handle is @sihpromatum

Hamer children, Turmi, Ethiopia

BIO: Shane Dallas is a Dubai based professional travel blogger and keynote speaker who has been blogging for a decade as “The Travel Camel”. He specializes in inspiring others via his writing, photography, Social Media, speeches and radio to explore and learn more about the world and its people. Shane is a highly skilled public speaker with 25 years experience in delivering presentations across five continents. He is in demand as a speaker within the travel, Social Media and cruise ship communities. Shane has a weekly travel segment on Dubai Eye, the premier English language radio station in the Middle East.

Northern Lights in Kilpisjärvi, Finland

Thank you Shane for sharing these incredible photos with us!

Savannah