PANGEA DREAMS ALUMNI BLOG
WITH ALLY ARCHER
BALI EDITION – FEB 2017
Would you recommend the retreat to a friend or someone who is interested in joining us on a retreat?
Absolutely! I’ve already recommended this retreat to a few of my friends in the travel blogger/Instagram space. Anyone looking to learn more about content creation, photography and photo editing, working with brands, and doing it while traveling and connecting with likeminded women needs to go!
Plus, Tracy and Kat were extremely organized and everything ran very smoothly. They’re fun to hang out with and some of the nicest girls you’ll meet! You hear that some blogger events or conferences tend to be intimidating or even a little catty, but you don’t need to be worried about that at all with Pangea Dreams <3
What was a highlight from your trip?
The retreat was a launching point of a big trip for me through seven countries in Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia! I loved having Bali be my “intro” for this trip. I think just being in Bali – a longtime bucket list destination for me – with other likeminded girls was the main highlight. I also liked how every night we’d make sure to see the sunset, whether it was at a beach club, dinner spot, or other location!
Tell us about the photoshoots and content that was created while on the retreat!
They were so fun! Each day consisted of traveling to around Bali, and each day we had photoshoots at really cool locations to create content for all the partner brands. I loved how we traveled to all the places I would want to go to anyway, but made time for content creation with our photos, as well as our personal Instagram Stories, YouTube, etc.!
What I enjoyed about being with the retreat girls was that we were all in the same frame of mind for wanting to both explore Bali and create content – this isn’t always the case if you travel with friends or family. This was so refreshing.
Months later I am still pulling from content to post on my Instagram and blog. Since I don’t travel full-time, this allows me to continue posting consistent content on Instagram. And of course, I always want to have high quality, beautiful images on my blog posts!
Outline your fav day from the retreat. What did it consist of? Why was it your fav?
It was our longest, busiest day, but I LOVED the day when we climbed Mount Batur, had lunch and a shoot at Kamandalu Resort in Ubud, explored more of Ubud at the water temple, then enjoyed a sunset dinner overlooking a rice field before going back to the villa for a good night’s rest.
Getting up super early to climb a volcano and summit for sunrise was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had, with some of the most amazing views I’ve ever seen. Our trekking guides were awesome too! It was just a really fun day to be in nature, see some popular spots in Ubud, and get to know each other better.
Did the retreat live up to your expectations?
Yes! It exceeded my expectations. Everything was so easy and relaxed at the villa – travel logistics were covered like getting picked up from the airport, getting around everywhere in Bali was already arranged by Tracy and our super nice and cool drivers, having delicious breakfasts made fresh daily, complimentary laundry service, and of course getting our “goody bags” of products that we got to create content with was a fun touch!
We got to travel but also connect and learn from each other and explore our creative passions through photography, social media, and blogging.
Furthermore, Tracy and Kat are phenomenal photographers, directing our shoots and even going through all our favorite photos to professionally edit them in Lightroom and Photoshop. That’s a lot of work! I’ve learned so much from them in this sense (and have since upgraded to Lightroom myself instead of using iPhone apps for photo editing!)
