"I want to make a lot of money, find true love, settle down, and travel around the world".
The above statement would be the reply of 5 out of 10 persons when asked this question,
What is your fantasy of living your best life?
My fantasy has always been to earn a lot of money, find true love, marry and travel around the world. So you can count me among the 5 persons that would give that same reply.
Traveling around the world has become a sort of habit for some people and it's really cool. Another word for it is called touring. It's been my dream to check out amazing landscapes I see on the internet and on television. Well, I haven't been able to even travel around five states in my country. That's a sad thing for me. I don't feel so bad though, because I haven't given it much thought. Maybe another reason is that I'm not financially buoyant to afford such trips. Well thanks to activity, income, and expenses tracking, I might be able to save up funds to execute the trip. I'm still searching for true love though, but she may arrive when the funds are available.
This article is part of my "Steem Trek" series. I decided to pen down my journey through some decentralized apps on the Steem blockchain. It has been really interesting so far. This would be the third publication in the series.
In the first publication, where I introduced the series, I recounted my story, how I joined the blockchain. I explained how consistency and determination where the major tools that kept me on the blockchain. I mentioned some dApps on the blockchain that I said I will be reviewing in this series.
The first dApp I reviewed was Steemit. I stated my reasons for reviewing Steemit first. One of the reasons was; Steemit was the first and oldest dApp on the blockchain. In fact, Steemit was the foundation that gave rise for other dApps to be built. While people blogged on Steemit, they saw the need to create other platforms that could be of great benefit to Steemians who couldn't write blogs. In that publication, I discussed some major talking points. The best point was "The misconceptions of Steemit". I explained how and why the platform was misunderstood.
In the second episode of the series, I reviewed another amazing project on the Steem blockchain. This is a project that encourages Steemians to search within themselves and find a service they can offer. The slogan of this project is "Everyone has something to offer".
How true can that be? Well, you will find the answers you need on SteemGigs.
SteemGigs was the second dApp I reviewed in this series. The concept of the platform is really fascinating. It's a kind of fiverr platform on the blockchain. The project is designed for freelancers. I got to appreciate the project more because I'm a freelancer. In the publication, I did a general overview of the platform's concept. I also went ahead to drop suggestions on how to better improve the user experience of the platform. I hope the project owner finds time to read the article.
Links to the previous episodes will be available in the links section below.
In this episode, I will be talking about another project I find interesting. The project is basically designed for travelers.
Apparently, I'm not a certified traveler yet, but I'm planning towards becoming one. I'm positive that I will engage in a traveling spree as soon as I save up enough funds for it.
The project I will be talking about is Dtrip.
Like I did in other publications, I will be doing a general overview of the project. I will review some of the app's features too.
To be more precise, these are the talking points of this article;
- What is Dtrip
- Features of Dtrip platform
- Why traveling is fun, and why I want to engage.
These three points will be discussed in this article.
I hope you have a wonderful read.
Dtrip: Share travel experience, meet up, get rewards.
I'm not so old, but at my age, I should have a reasonable amount of travel experience. Well, I haven't dwelt in the same location since I was born. In fact, I've been to other places, but, those trips were necessitated and not for leisure. I can recall that I've traveled out of my original location for leisure only two times. That's abysmal, considering my age. Most of my trips have been either for business or education. As soon as I was done with the intent of the trip, I was back to my original location.
There are a lot of things I want to do this year, and, traveling to new fun places and meeting new people is on my 2019 to-do list. There are so many exciting places I want to visit. I heard Ethiopia has wonderful spots. I want to check them out. I would also love to visit places outside Africa and meet with amazing people and learn new things.
Without further ado, let's delve into the discussion of this article.
What is Dtrip?
In the About section on the platform's webpage, Dtrip is defined as;
An app which helps travelers to share their impressions, favorite places, reviews and get rewarded for it.
From the definition of the platform, you can deduce that this platform is designed for travelers to share their experience on their trips. The added advantage is that they can be rewarded for sharing their experience.
The idea of the platform is really amazing. I mean, how else can you describe it? I go on an enjoyable trip, which is a plus, then sharing my experience on the trip could earn me rewards. This is a win-win situation.
The platform doesn't have restrictions on what kind of trips you can share your experience about. But, I know business trips are likely to be less fun than trips taken for leisure.
When trips are taken for leisure, that's when it's more interesting. This is because, you have time to check out the environment, meet new people, learn things about the people. It's fun!
Features of Dtrip.
In this section, I will be reviewing the features of Dtrip. So the app is not designed like a typical steem based app. You'll only know it is a steem based app when you want to log in and when you start seeing the posts on the feed.
As I have always done, the first feature I will be reviewing is the User Interface.
Dtrip's User Interface.
Dtrip isn't sporting a great user interface. In fact among the steem based apps I've seen, Dtrip should rank among the least. That's not to say it is entirely bad though. I love the map that is on display. It looks great.
Lately, I have developed a bias for apps with poor UI but important functions. So once again, I'm biased about the UI of this app. But, the project owner really needs to step up the user interface of the app. I know it can be better.
Dtrip's functions.
Dtrip isn't laced with all the standard features of a steem based. It just has what is necessary.
Post Editor.
The post editor is a common feature of all steem based app. The app would be pointless with this feature.
The post editor is pretty standard. It is laced with markdown shortcuts which are quite important for people who can't manually type it.
The difference between Dtrip's post editor and other project's editor is the inclusion of location. Dtrip is integrated with Steemworldmap. So I can just input my location details and that's it. It cool to be honest.
I noticed an issue on the post editor though. The post editor supports side by side display. Which means I would be able to see the preview of what I'm typing on the editor on the other side. Well, this function doesn't work as expected. On side by side mode, I'm unable to preview what I'm typing. Because the screen is not evenly split and I can't even see the preview of whatever I'm typing on the editor.
I'm not sure if the project owner knows of the issue. I will make a report on Github if it hasn't been reported. If it has, a fix should be coming up soon.
User Profile page.
There is a user profile page on Dtrip. This is a positive thing. However, I was surprised to still see the map on the user profile page. It was kind of weird. I expected the user profile page to contain only information about the user.
Well, after some time browsing through the app, and the user profile page, I adjusted to seeing the map on the user profile page.
There's an edit button on the page. At first, I thought it means I'd be able to edit my steem profile on the app. But, the edit button is for a different purpose. After clicking the button, I get to specify if I'd love to receive guests or meet up with someone. Well, I'd love to receive guests and meet up with someone, so I checked those options.
Wallet.
I won't call what is described on Dtrip as "wallet" a wallet. In my opinion, it shouldn't have been there at all.
The wallet on Dtrip is just a display of a user's steem balance. No transactions can be made from the app, thus creating the need for dependency on other steem based projects.
Map.
The map is an unnoticeable feature on Dtrip. In fact, the map is everywhere on Dtrip. It's cool.
From the scanty list of features, you can tell that Dtrip is still lacking quite some decent features that would enhance user experience. But the basics are there, and for now, users should be able to do what the app was primarily meant to do.
Why traveling is fun, and why I want to engage.
Traveling gives you a chance to experience some certain things. In fact, there are certain things you will get to find out only if you travel.
Here are some points why I think traveling is fun and why I want to engage in it.
1. You learn new languages.
When you travel to other States or countries, you start learning a few words of a new language. It is beautiful to know even a few words belonging to another language. Trust me, it’ll somehow come of use.
Currently, I know how to speak my native language, English and a little bit of French. I would love to learn other languages. I find the African Swahili fascinating. I would love to learn a few things about the language. Although there are several mediums for learning new languages these days, nothing beats experiencing it first hand.
2. You learn about new cultures and traditions.
Aside from learning the language of the locale you travel to, you might also learn about their culture. In fact, in the process of learning the people's language, you might be indirectly learning their culture. You get to learn how they perform certain activities. I think it will be fun.
3. New delicacies, New Food!
This is definitely worth traveling for. So I might not have told you, but, I'm a foodie. Yes, I like food. Trying out different combination is something I like doing. Traveling to new places gives you an opportunity to try out new food. This point is definitely important for me. I've eaten Nigerian delicacies for too long. Even with the experiments I've done with these delicacies, I feel I have seen it all. I would love to try out new delicacies somewhere else.
4. It Helps You Meet New People.
Traveling will always give you the opportunity to meet with new people. Except you are an introvert. I don't think introverts care about traveling around the world though.
Traveling creates an avenue to meet people and socialize. To best enjoy your stay in a new location, socialization is very vital.
It’s always nice and fun to expand your social circle and moreover, you might end up meeting like-minded people.
5. It Broadens Your Perspective.
Traveling opens your eyes to things you’ve never seen before and you start looking at things in ways that you never have before. It really is beautiful, the feeling.
6. You get some 'YOU' time.
Traveling gives us the breathing space that is often lost in our usual day-to-day existence. Having a moment to take advantage of the peace and quiet and to simply 'be' allows us to let go of stress and tension and just enjoy being in the moment. It is a key focus of meditation and a practice you can take home with you. If you're traveling with a partner, it's a chance to spend time with only each other for company. This is a thought that probably shouldn't fill you with dread.
The above points are why I think traveling is fun and why you and I should engage in it.
Summary.
In this article, I have been able to discuss the talking points I mentioned in the introduction.
Dtrip is an exciting platform. Although I'm yet to actually use the platform, I'm hoping to do so in the coming months this year. There are so many places I want to visit. I can't wait to visit those places and share my experience with everyone.
I would be glad if there were improvements on the platform by the time it becomes necessary for me. The project owner needs to do redesign the UI of the platform. The app could do with more functionalities too. I'm hopeful about the project and I look forward to seeing great changes in no time.
Thanks for reading.
Links
- Project repository: https://github.com/d-trip/dtrip
- Project link: https://dtrip.app
Resources:
- The images used in this article are screenshots from my PC or mobile phone. Other images used, are properly sourced.