Exactly ten years ago today, I registered a domain and started building a blog. I had zero expectations, zero skills (aside from writing), and no idea where the project might take me.
A decade later, it’s fair to say that this website has completely changed my life. And in many ways – although I hesitate to admit it – it has become my identity.
Ten years of anything is worth celebrating, so I’ve decided to write a little something to mark the occasion. Here is a short reflection on the origins of Wander-Lush, how far I’ve come since 2015, and where I think I’m headed next.
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How it all started
Ask any blogger how they got started and most will tell you the same thing: their site began as a way to document their travels for family and friends.
My story is a bit different.
In August 2015, Ross (then my boyfriend, now my husband) and I decided to leave Australia and move to Thailand. Inspired by my thesis supervisor who had done the same thing years earlier, my plan was to become a digital nomad and try my luck as a freelance writer. I was still working for a publication back home – and I had connections in Chiang Mai – but still, it took all of two months to realise that freelancing probably wasn’t for me. Among other things, I’m terrible at handling rejection.
A few weeks later, I did the thing I had wanted to do for a long time: create my own platform. My previous three or four attempts at blogging had gone by the wayside, but this time I was determined to make it work. Sitting in our Chiang Mai hotel room, it was Ross who came up with the name.
My motivation was selfish, in a way: I wanted an online space that I had complete control over, where I could publish the stories and photos no editor wanted.
So for the first few years, I tried to keep this website a secret. The thought of someone I knew in ‘real life’ reading it absolutely mortified me. I never promoted the site, never tried to monetise it (I thought that would be impossible), never even said the name out loud. It took me years to create social media pages or even consider an email list. Anxiety, fear of judgement, and my own perfectionism held me back.
In the beginning, I enjoyed the creative process. I loved having an outlet to practice my writing, and I was having fun teaching myself how to take photos. But once I started joining online blogging communities and hearing about other people’s successes, I inevitably started comparing my blog to theirs. That threw me into a spin. I started to feel like a failure; like I was investing time and money into something that would lead nowhere; like I just didn’t have the right personality for blogging either. I became disillusioned and almost threw it all away. Once again, it was Ross who inspired me to keep going.
Everything changed for me in March 2017 when we visited Georgia for the first time. I had heard about the country on a podcast and was intrigued – mostly because it was so far away, and so different from Southeast Asia where we had been living for 18 months. Bloggers I really admired – Megan Starr, Kami and the Rest of the World, Kathmandu and Beyond’s Mark and Kirsty, Stephanie Craig (History Fangirl), and Allison Green (Eternal Arrival) – were writing passionately about this part of the world. I wanted to see it for myself.
Right place, right time: my visit coincided with Georgia’s rise in popularity as a travel destination. My writing took a bit of a turn as I identified knowledge gaps and started to focus on practical tips for taking trains, choosing guesthouses, hiking, and the like. All of the sudden, people were actually reading my content. I was floored.
After three months in the region, we seriously contemplated staying in Tbilisi, but I took a job in Vietnam instead. The next big breakthrough came in 2018, near the end of our time in Hanoi, when my website was accepted into an ad network called Mediavine. I know, I know – no one likes ads. But being able to earn money from my blog – however small it was in the beginning – gave me the confidence to start taking it seriously.
After we left Hanoi, Ross and I spent almost a full year travelling from Colombia to Portugal to Bulgaria and overland through the Balkans. My goal was to collect as much material as possible to grow my blog into something meaningful.
At the same time, I was searching for another Georgia: another place I would love as much as Tbilisi, or a country that would inspire me in the same way. But I never found it. Returning to Georgia and Armenia for a few weeks in 2019 felt like coming home.
But we had already made the decision to settle down in Australia. So it was back to Brisbane to try and restart life there. Then I was invited on my first press trip – to Mauritius. Hanging out with like-minded colleagues was a revelation. (Up until that point, I could count the number of bloggers I had met in person on one hand.) That trip convinced me that we should go back to Georgia. I wanted to go all in – more conferences, more press trips, more content, more community. (The first two never eventuated.)
Of course, things didn’t go to plan. Instead of staying in Georgia for six months like we had planned, we never left.
In 2020 and 2021, when most travel blogs stalled, I was just beginning. I was extremely lucky to be in a country where travel was still possible, so I took advantage of the opportunity and worked harder than ever. I knew that travel would rebound eventually, and that there was a good chance Georgia would become even more popular. It paid off, and 2023 and 2024 ended up being my biggest years yet.
Making a home in Georgia
My blog is inextricably linked to my life in Georgia – without one, I couldn’t have the other.
The more I researched and wrote about the country, the more my attachment to it grew. So when the time came to put down roots, it felt natural to invest here. In 2022, we bought our house in Kutaisi – a whole other saga that I promise I’ll write about someday!
Wander-Lush has never been about me. I’ve never felt comfortable being in front of the camera or sharing too much about my personal life. Georgia has become my protagonist, the star of the story. Five years on, my intrigue hasn’t faded in the slightest. My list of places to visit, people to meet, things to do keeps growing, not shrinking – no matter how much I try to squeeze out of each year.
Having a base in Georgia has given us the chance to explore some incredible places further afield as well, from Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Armenia and Azerbaijan to Moldova, Poland, Malta, Lithuania and Greece.
Highs & lows
Blogging has given me some incredible gifts: the flexibility to wake up most mornings and work on whatever I feel most passionate about; the freedom to travel as much as I want; the ability for Ross and I to spend more time together than most couples. But it hasn’t come without big sacrifices.
The past twelve months in particular have been tough. Algorithm updates, the rise of generative AI, plagiarism and copycats – it wears on me. Traffic is down almost 30% so far this year. That’s just the reality of the internet right now. At the end of the day, I’m incredibly grateful to still be here when many of my colleagues have been forced to walk away.
I still get an immense amount of satisfaction every time I hit ‘publish’ on a new blog post. But I also enjoy the part that comes next.
I vividly remember the first email I received from a reader in winter 2020. It caught me completely off guard. Now I get a dozen or more messages every day thanking me for my website.
I am still an anxious introvert, but much to my surprise, I do really enjoy connecting with travellers: inspiring people to visit Georgia, to dig deeper, to venture beyond the obvious. Some people have returned because of things they have seen on my site, and I know that a few have even moved here after discovering the country through my writing.
But the best part of all this has been the people I’ve met here in Georgia. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, guides, drivers – incredibly talented, motivated individuals whose work I’ve been able to shine a light on. I know that we (me, the writer, and you, the visitor) have made a positive impact on a lot of lives.
A decade in numbers
Over the past 10 years, I have published 659 blog posts covering 35 countries.
In 2019, I was averaging around 100,000 page views a month. In 2024, it was closer to 580,000. Considering I focus on what is still quite an obscure corner of the world, I am incredibly proud of that growth.
My Facebook Page is my key community, and a few months ago I was excited to hit the 10K followers mark (now at 10.5K and growing). My relationship with Instagram is very hot and cold (maybe you know what I mean!), and the 15K followers number doesn’t mean much at the end of the day – but still it’s a nice figure.
All of my travel and planning these days revolves around producing my monthly newsletter, which more than 25,000 people have signed up to receive. If you aren’t on the list yet, please do join us!
Looking ahead
I’d love to end this by saying ‘here’s to another 10 years’… But honestly, I’m not sure how realistic that is.
The internet is changing, and blogging as a profession – the kind of blogging I love, where I share in-depth, detailed, long-form content – is becoming less relevant to a lot of audiences.
Last year I asked my Facebook community how I should pivot or diversify. The overwhelming response was simple: keep doing what you’re doing. It’s humbling to know that there are still people out there who value my work.
I am incredibly stubborn and afraid of change, but I also know I need to stay open to new opportunities if I want to keep working in this industry. In the future, you might see me experimenting with new formats or branching out on new tangents. Whatever happens, I will always try to keep the blog at the centre of what I do.
For now, I’m getting ready to mark this 10-year milestone by going back to where it all began – Thailand. From there, Ross and I will be visiting home for the first time in almost six years. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.
I already know I’ll be looking forward to coming back to Georgia – to another year of adventures, stories, and whatever comes next!
With complete sincerity, thank you for reading and for being part of this journey!
If you’ve been following Wander-Lush for a while, I’d love to know how you first discovered the blog. Was it a Georgia guide, or a story from somewhere further afield? If you’re new here, let me know what kind of content would be most useful for your future travels.
Here is to ten more years!
Cheers, Owen!
Loved reading about your journey Emily. I found your website when researching a month long trip to Georgia, which we loved. I also was born in Australia, worked in NGO comms and lived in Chiang Mai so it’s been interesting to see your parallel travels! I’m actually contemplating purchasing in Kutaisi for the future so if you do write about that adventure I’ll definitely buy you a coffee!
Sure Rowena, happy to discuss over a coffee any time!
Emily, I somehow stumbled upon your blogs when planning a trip to Georgia with my partner and we pretty much followed everything you suggested we do! We were there March 2021 during Covid in an especially cold and snowy winter, so many of our plans got waylaid because of Covid, the start of the war on Ukraine and the weather (heavy snowfall on Batumi’s beaches). So many places were closed, but we still really enjoyed what we were able to see of Georgia, still one of my favorite places.
A few years later, a girlfriend and I decided to go to Albania and when we saw that you had written a guide to a road trip through this beautiful country, we both agreed without hesitation to follow your lead in Albania!
Now, my partner and I are planning a trip to Azerbaijan, and we immediately looked up your blogs and printed out your recommendations.
It’s so nice to find a blogger who writes about the things we like to do which are cultural, food and wine based, and nature too!
Thank you for your detailed descriptions and suggestions- I know it’s a lot of work (I’m a lazy travel blogger!)
You and all your hard work are much appreciated.
Grazie mille!
Posts from a Flashpacker, aka Cindy Sheahan
Cindy, thank you! It’s a great pleasure to have been able to help with your trips, and to have accompanied you on your adventures in a way! I hope you enjoy your visit to Azerbaijan!
Thank you for the kind words.
I first discovered your blog while researching for my trip to Georgia, which also happened to be my very first solo trip abroad (I live in Iran). I was amazed by how thorough and helpful your information was. When I arrived at Tbilisi Airport, I followed your guide step by step and was pleasantly surprised at how accurate and up-to-date everything was! I also pinned so many of the places you recommended to my Google Maps.
I remember reading every single post you had about Batumi and Tbilisi and taking plenty of notes. A few months later, when I set my sights on Turkey as my next solo destination, I searched for a blog as good as yours—but unfortunately, I couldn’t find one. The difference it made to the quality of my trip was huge!
All in all, I’m deeply grateful for all your hard work, and I’ll keep coming back to your website for all my future travels.
Thank you so much, Saba! That means so much to me!
Dear Emily,
Reading your blog posts is my daily routine. Now I’m drinking my coffee and say “Woow” to your ten years on your blog. What a luck for me to find you. If you write about somewhere than I feel my self in safe. You always give a chance even boring places. You find nice sides of a city than show us them in an aeshtetic way. I’m a Georgialover. Your blog has helpt me to plan my trips and explore the hole country. I’m a Turkish travel blogger, I also like your blog posts about Turkey too. You’re very talented to find underrated places and promote them. Thanks a lot for everything and congratulations!
Thank you so much, Yesempatik! I really appreciate the kind words – I feel like you understand me and my mission completely!
Your comment made my day.
Congrats on 10 years of blogging, that’s a huge milestone! I’m so glad you’ve decided to start your blog and I could be a small part of your journey. I’m really hoping we can meet again soon!
Thank you, Kami! I’m looking forward to it.
All the best for the next 10 years, I will visit Kutaisi again in October.
Thank you, Peter!
Congratulations! Your website is fascinating with so much detail. It was so helpful with a past trip to Armenia and my upcoming trip to Georgia!
Thanks so much, Erin! I’m pleased to hear that!
Hello Emily,
I discovered your blog while planning a trip to Georgia with three friends for my 50th birthday in the fall of 2023. Honestly–I planned our entire trip based on your knowledge and advice (you even replied to an email I sent about time needed at the airport in Tbilisi). My friends and I all still have great memories about every place we visited thanks to you! I wish there was a blog like yours for EVERY country (that I want to visit–which is Balkans, Eastern Europe, or former Soviet Republics–my fascinations). Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to share all that is wonderful and beautiful in Georgia.
Sincerely,
Heather
P.S. I’m currently planning our trip to Armenia for this year’s birthday in November and am delighted to find your resources on the country. 🙂
Thank you so much for the feedback, Heather! That’s very kind of you! I hope you love Armenia!
My husband (Swedish) and I (grew up in Brisbane) are currently in Tbilisi and we have based our 7 weeks of travel around Georgia entirely on your blog posts. We retired early in 2017 and have been travelling full time ever since. This is our first time to Georgia and we are here primarily because we stumbled across your blog earlier in the year when we were in the Philippines and travel planning. Congrats on your 10 years, and your blog will be our first stop when researching other destinations in this region. All the best to you both!
That’s incredible, Peta! 7 weeks is a great amount of time for your first visit. I hope you are enjoying your time here!
Thank you very much!
Congratulations Emily!
I can across ‘you’ when I unexpectedly ended up in Istanbul and needed some serious help on what to do and where to go…
I loved your style of writing and how we got to experience the ‘real’ parts of that city. We felt like travellers and not tourists.
Your practical tips along with obvious enthusiasm for the city helped make our stay epic.
I hope you can keep doing what you love for as long as possible!
Cheers
Rachael
Thank you so much, Rachael! I really appreciate that!
I am new to your monthly newsletter. I can’t recall how I found you but I must have stumbled upon you when researching our annual travel.
I am in my seventies now and began travelling at 18.
How travel has changed and become more accessible. I have so many memories of my travels without travel guidebooks – just word of mouth of places to visit along the way. Technology has changed travel.
Amongst many places I have still to visit, Georgia is one of them and that time will come. However this year we’re travelling to North East India for 8 weeks.
Thank you for the practical information you provide in your blog.
regards,
Rosemary.
Thank you very much, Rosemary! I hope your time for Georgia comes around sooner rather than later.
Congratulations, Emily! The experience of reading your work is unlike that of any other publication for me and from the very first piece I read of yours when we were planning coming to Tbilisi, I was hooked! Few creators have your way with words, your photographer’s eye, and your journalistic integrity. So excited for the next decade of W-L ❤️🌸
Thank you so much, Aoife! It has been a huge blessing to share so many experiences with you both over the past two years. We are so grateful to have you.
This is fantastic to read and your blogs, not only about Georgia, have helped us immensely. We follow everything and always quote you as having useful, accurate and well written content. Please keep going- we love everything you write. Good luck
Thanks so much, Liz and Mike! I really appreciate the recognition!
Great to find out how it all started. I can’t remember how I discovered your blog originally. I also follow Katmandu and Beyond ( met up with them in Tashkent), Kami and Red Fedora as well as a few more.
That’s great, Trish! Thanks for your comment.
I don’t remember how we first came across each other in this crazy world of blogging but I am forever thankful that it happened. You have always been the benchmark in this industry in my opinion. I knew that was how I felt when I would refer people to your site instead of my Armenia one I used to run (humbling to admit haha).
But what I think always separated you from people was your focus on the destination more than yourself. Not saying that a blog wouldn’t be spectacular with the story about you, but you always allowed the story to be about the people and destination you were writing about.
It might be the anxious introvert in you (fellow anxious introvert here), but I think it is also that you do your research and take pride in every single post you put out there. Your name and brand of photography and writing are remarkably unique and tell your story in a way that separates you from other bloggers.
You have been such an inspiration to me over the years and I am so lucky to call you a friend and colleague. Um, is 2026 going to be the year we finally hang out? Poppy sent me a personal invite… Anyway, congrats on 10 years and I hope you enjoy your time in Thailand (and home).
Thank you, Megan – this means so much coming from someone I have always admired and looked up to. You get me! And that’s such a rare and special thing.
You are a huge part of the reason I’m here today!
2026 is the year. Poppy and I are waiting! xx
Congrats on 10 years Emily,
It was because of your blogs that we discovered Armenia and Georgia in 2022. The 2 months we spent there were a highlight of our travels and these two countries rank amongst the most enjoyable of the 50 or so countries we have visited so far.
Looking forward to returning and enjoying Georgia in 2026.
Regards,
Fantastic, to hear that, David! Thank you! Let me know your plans and perhaps we can connect in person this time!
Hi Emily, time to say thank you for your blog and congrats for the first ten years. In 2022 we planned our first visit to Georgia and found your website by search engines. It seemed to us the best researched and most credible source. And it proved to be so. Without you we probably wouldn‘t have left the beaten tourist tracks. We visited (and loved) Racha, we were on the Komli tea farm and visited the incredible Kerovani winery in Signaghi. (Btw, the lady at Komli asked us how we found her and then replied, as if we had given the expected answer, „Ah, the Australian girl. 😉 “). Thank you very much for opening our eyes for the beauty (and challenges) of Georgia, which has become our most-loved place to travel to. All the best to you and the next 10 years of Wander-Lush!
I’m so pleased to hear that, Holger! It means so much to me that I could help with your forming connections with such special places and people.
Thank you so much!