We’ve decided to start a fun “Travel Blogger Interview Series” which will take place monthly right here on DatesintheStates.com.
This month we’ve interviewed Kenton de Jong of KentondeJong.com. He’s a Canadian Travel Blogger who travels all over the world blogging about fascinating and some bizarre places.
If you are a travel blogger interested in being featured in one of our upcoming interviews, please contact us!
Tell us a little bit about you and your blog and where your based out of:
My name is Kenton de Jong, and I’m a travel blogger based out of Regina, Saskatchewan. My blog is called Kenton de Jong Travel and focuses mostly on Saskatchewan and Alberta. When I’m not travelling locally, I seek out obscure and bizarre destinations, like abandoned houses, penitentiaries, military forts, haunted islands and even nuclear wastelands.
2.) How did you get into travel blogging/writing?
I’ve been writing since I was a child, but I wasn’t very good at it. In fact, my Grade 9 English teacher told me I shouldn’t bother taking Advanced English because my writing wasn’t strong enough. Ouch!
I officially started my blog in December of 2014 after wanting a place to write about my travels to Europe, New York and Japan. After running out of content, I started writing about Regina and my blog started getting a lot more attention.
3.) What has been your most rewarding travel moment?
My most rewarding experience would probably be when I arrived at the Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dolls, near Mexico City. The first time I went to the area to see the dolls, the guide showed me a “replica” island, because the actual island was too far away.
Determined to see it, I came back the next day and found a different guide, and she took me several hours down the river. About half way there, we encountered a dam in the river. There had been some flooding earlier that week, so they dammed the river for repairs. We were forced to turn around, get a smaller boat, carry the boat over the dam, and then continue down the river.
After another hour in the boat, we arrived at the island. The island was covered in thousands of haunted, rotting dolls. The island was incredible, and very, very creepy. I was afraid to touch the dolls, but took thousands of pictures of their blackened faces and melted plastic bodies.
The journey back up the river also took several hours and required carrying the boat over the dam again. The trip was exhausting, and I was very sunburnt when the day was over, but seeing the island in person made it all worth it.
4.) You have an unlimited travel budget for 24 hours – tell us what you’d do:
Unlimited money for a day is a tough question. A bad answer would be to invest it, so besides that, I would probably hitch a ride on a delivery plane up to Northern Saskatchewan and visit the Uranium City, Lake Athabasca or the Four Corners – which is a monument on the corner of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Going up north can be expensive and time consuming, but it could probably be done in 24 hours with an unlimited budget.
5.) Are there any social norms or practices you’ve encountered on your travels that you wish were normal in your native culture?
When I was in Japan I was blown away by how clean everything was. Not just clean, but neat. Rocks were raked in lines, trees were planted in lines, cars were parked perfectly, houses were kept spotless. If I go anywhere in the Western World, there’s a certain amount of disorganization or randomness or “chaos” in every city. The idea of everybody and everything having a place is almost foreign in the West, and I wish we did a better job at that.
6.) Is there anything you do on your travels to try and minimize your impact on the environment?
I can’t think of anything specific, but I have been trying to do more local travel instead of international adventures. There’s a lot to see in Saskatchewan, and I feel a lot of my readers love hearing about that. If I can stay local, explore my own backyard and inspire others to do the same, then I guess I’m doing my part in minimizing my impact on the environment.
7.) Have you ever gotten paid or complimentary travels from having your blog?
Yes, just recently Ford Canada flew me out to the East Coast to drive from Charlottetown, PEI to Quebec City. They flew me out there to test out their 2018 Ford EcoSport. They covered the costs of the flights, hotels, food and gave us a couple hundred dollars to spend on whatever we wanted. Beyond that, I’ve worked with a lot of other companies like Tourism Winnipeg, Tourism Medicine Hat, Tourism Alberta, Tourism Regina, and others that either cover the cost of travel, or cover the costs upon getting there.
8.) What is the one thing that you wish you could bring on your travels that might be too large or impractical to take with you?
I’ve always wanted to take my cat on an adventure. I think it would be hilarious to see her see a mountain for the first time, or get her paws wet in the ocean, or just watch her carefully step over branches or twigs. She likes to explore, but she hates car rides, so I think we will be stuck exploring our park for the immediate future.
9.) Please share a photo of your most recent trip and give us a short story:
My most recent trip was to Roche Percée, Saskatchewan, a small village about 2 hours south of Regina. Roche Percée is known for their bizarre geological formations which are their namesake. “Roche Percée” translates into “Pierced Rock” because it looks as if some divine being pierced the nearby rock outcroppings. The area was very cool, and I had a lot of fun exploring the caves that are burrowed into the cliffs. I was told the rocks I was visiting had been worn down by over a century of visitors, but down the river were some better preserved ones. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a canoe, so I couldn’t go see them. Maybe next time!
10.) Where do you plan to travel to next?
The next place I want to visit around Saskatchewan would be the Limestone Crevices, which are about 8 hours away. I also want to visit Batoche and North Battleford, but those a several hour drive. Outside of Saskatchewan, the number one destination on my Canadian bucket list would be the Jurassic Forest, just outside Edmonton. After that, if all my cards fall in order and I can afford it, I hope to go to Ethiopia in 2019 for my birthday. I have my doubts, but there’s no reason I can’t dream!
Thank you Kenton for taking part in our interview! This was such a fun experience to hear your travel stories and can’t wait to continue following your unique journey’s. Follow Kenton on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!