A New York resident for over 10 years, traveling seemed more of a necessity to James Gonzales during the early years of his life. His willingness to venture to countries off the beaten track only further heightened his desire to travel.
When he reached his thirties, James no longer wanted to be bound by living in New York and traveling only when his job permitted him to do so. After saving a substantial amount of money over the course of two years, James embarked on a journey across Asia. During the arduous months of saving, James began writing about his traveling exploits, earning money for regular columns on New York travel websites, as well as a slew of art publication originating from the Lower East side where he used to reside. When he saved enough money, it was finally time to begin the extended journey he’d only read about on travel blogs and websites.
As a Filipino-American, James wanted to experience what it was like to live and journey across the archipelago and understand how his ancestors lived. Inspired by books such as Pacific Rims by Rafe Bartholomew, James planned out the various islands he wanted to visit in the Philippines. This would act as a starting point for his travels before embarking on other parts of Asia, North America and Europe.
After becoming accustomed to writing down his thoughts – documenting his many discoveries and experiences, the natural progression was to build a website that would relay the information and insights. So Daydreaming in Paradise was born.
Daydreaming in Paradise aims to help travelers in every aspect of their journey. It’s a network for writers to open up to our readership about the hardships and successes they found through traveling. We want to provide insights to the best places to visit that don’t often get mentioned on the Huffington Post or the Guardian or any other travel blogs for that matter. We aim to provide a personable approach that helps you to build a long lasting relationship with Daydreaming in Paradise and its many contributors.
Building a community of travel enthusiasts is Daydreaming in Paradise’s ultimate goal. We want to learn from the experiences of travelers from across the globe. It should be a place where we hear about the hidden gems of coastal regions, urban jungles, artistic areas and beach resorts. Daydreaming in Paradise has no boundaries. The website will also convey James’ passion for fashion, tech and anything else that he looks to write about while on his travels. But as aforementioned, the long-term goal is for Daydreaming in Paradise to go beyond the founding editor’s experiences and encompass a multitude of experiences from people across the world.