Interview with Lindsey Puls From Have Clothes Will Travel

Hello!  Today I would like to introduce you to very special guest Lindsey Puls, who is known all over the world for her famous travel blog Have Clothes, Will Travel.  Truth be told, I don’t travel that much, which is why I find exploring different parts of the world through Lindsey’s travel blog so fascinating.  I have been following her blog for a few years now and she has taken me to see: museums where people can participate in DMM.Planets Art interactive art exhibits in Japan, to see what it is like to visit  Hobbiton in New Zealand which is the land where the Hobbits were filmed from the movie The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings (one of my all time favorite posts), and what it feels like to spend the night in a romantic Treehouse Lodge in the Peruvian Amazon surrounded by lots of wildlife.  Also, you won’t want to miss out on seeing the cutest pictures in the world of Lindsey cuddling with her cute sloth baby that she met in the Peruvian rainforest!

So, here we go…

Tell me about yourself.

Hi! I’m Lindsey. I’m a style/travel blogger at Have Clothes, Will Travel. I’ve recently moved to Moscow, Russia, but I’m originally from Wisconsin. (Go Packers!) My husband and I have been moving all over the country and world for the last 5 years, and Have Clothes, Will Travel has served as a way to document it all and to inspire others to experience the world through travel. I also use my blog as a way to explore my passion for style and encourage others to wear what makes them happy.

How would you describe your personal style?

Classic yet quirky. I love to wear vintage-inspired clothing but with a modern twist and a quirky accessory to top it all off.

What do you usually do to prepare for a trip?

I’ve turned into quite the planner over the years. So, preparing for a trip for me includes making itineraries, contacting hotels or B&Bs (or wherever we might be staying), making a list of restaurants to visit…making a lot of lists in general, actually! I’ll make packing lists for clothes, my camera equipment, documents I might need at country borders and on tours, etc.

Honestly, I have always been amazed at how organized you have to be to do what you do.  What is the most challenging part about living out of a suitcase and fashion blogging?

Packing a sufficient amount of shoes, haha.  Shoes take up so much space and are quite heavy, so I only pack a few shoes when I’m going to be living out a suitcase for a while.  My footwear tends to get rather repetitive in my outfit posts…but it’s also very versatile.

When you married your husband, did you know how much you would be traveling and had you traveled much previously?

Well, as odd is this sounds, my husband and I actually got married in order to travel. We needed to be married for me to go with him on a move abroad. It’s a really long story and it all went horribly wrong, and we ended up homeless and living with my parents for a while! (You can click here if you want to read the entire story.)

But marriage was always in the cards for us, at the time we had been living together for a couple years and dating for gosh, maybe 4 years? We just hadn’t been in a rush to get married until this travel opportunity presented itself.

What is one of the funniest things that has ever happened to you while traveling?

Oh this is a surprisingly tough question! I’ve gotten myself into a lot of unusual situations while traveling. But hmmm, one time I was invited to play a drinking game with a Geisha while in Kyoto… And I lost, haha. (This video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls6t0gtIxI)

And on our recent trip to the Amazon Rainforest, our guide gave us a banana to feed to a semi-domestic monkey, and while I was filming my husband handed the banana to the monkey and it fell out of the tree on to him! I managed to get it all on film too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pnp7Ul7MBo

Out of all of the places you’ve traveled to so far, where did you feel the most welcome?

I would say I’ve felt the most welcome in Argentina. It is one of the few countries I’ve been that didn’t seem to have a terribly negative stigma about Americans. I was never hesitant to say I was from the United States (or Estados Unidos) and everyone I meant was incredibly kind and went out of their way to make me feel welcome (and even inviting us over for Asados! – which is a famous Argentine BBQ).

What are your top three favorite places to visit and why?

Oh, another tough question!

The top three right now are in this order:

1.)    Japan – Japan, had the most amazing food, culture, and public transport, historic and new sites to visit. Climbing Mount Fuji is one of the best travel memories I have to date. Japan is also amazingly safe, clean and quiet. I’ve never been any place like it, and I hope to return one day.

2.)    Peru – Like Japan, has amazing food, so many incredible sites to see and the hiking here is fantastic. A close second for me in terms of travel memories is hiking Rainbow Mountain in Peru. It’s just such a diverse country. We actually visited Peru twice, and I still want to return because we haven’t seen all it has to offer!

3.)    New Zealand – The natural landscapes of New Zealand are unparalleled. Queenstown and Milford Sound are some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and once again, the hiking in New Zealand is amazing! The people in New Zealand are also very, very kind. I also loved the extreme sports you could do while you’re there like jumping off the world’s first bungy jump bridge!

After traveling to so many places, what new dishes have you learned to make and what new customs or traditions have you adopted?

After living in Argentina for a year, my husband and I have both come to enjoy sharing Mate. It’s a tea-like drink that you share with a group of people and you drink it out of cured gourd with a straw.

I also learned to make the Peruvian dishes, ceviche and Papa a la Huancaina…which is a Peruvian Potato Salad. I really like Peruvian food.

What advice would you give to someone who has never traveled that much internationally and is entering into a life of constant travel and change to their daily life?

Be open-minded and be ready for change. You can plan as much as you want, but when traveling, things are never going to go according to plan. The key to a successful travel experience is how you are able to react and adapt to the changes and challenges you’re presented with. If you are able to roll with it and laugh off the cancellations and delays, language snafus, and also embrace the cultural differences you encounter, you’ll have an amazing experience.

It’s also important to be cautious but not afraid while traveling. As Americans, we seem to have this idea that every city outside our borders is terribly dangerous. And while it is true, you should always exercise caution wherever you travel to, it’s also important to realize that not that many places are dangerous warzones…and we shouldn’t let our fear of these foreign places stop us from experiencing them. I always ask people if they would you ever NOT visit Chicago because it’s dangerous? Sure, Chicago has dangerous parts, but you’ll be perfectly fine if you visit Navy Pier, the South Loop, etc. It’s the same idea in just about every other city in the world.

Where can we find you?

Thank you so much for featuring me, Joanna!

Feel free to check out my blog, Have Clothes, Will Travel.

I’m also on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/have_clothes_will_travel/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HavClothWilTrav

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/haveclothes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haveclotheswilltravel/

Bloglovin’: https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/have-clothes-will-travel-12848585

Thank you Lindsey for sharing your time with us today!  You’ve shown me so many places that have sparked my interest for future travels.  Thank you for sharing your knowledge and beautiful photos with us, I can’t wait to see where you’ll go next!