What do you get when you mix Rough Guides, World Nomads, Travelfish and a Malaysian food tour? You get the World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship for 2012, and this one is not only a brilliant way to get your foot in the door of a travel writing career, but also a mind-blowing escape to three of Southeast Asia’s best: Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
A mentorship.
One aspiring travel writer will get the chance to work directly with Richard Lim, Rough Guides author for Singapore. In the process, first hand experience and insight into the world of travel writing will be given while updating the latest Singapore guide.
Yes, the winner of the scholarship will instantly become a published travel writer in the latest Rough Guide to Singapore! Plus, it is interesting to note that past winners of the scholarship have gone on to receive further writing roles with the company.
A cultural immersion.
The next part of the trip involves a 6-day hangout with Stuart McDonald — writer and founder of Travelfish.org — in Bali. It is here that you’ll get a local’s perspective on the beautiful country, and, in that time, you’ll take surfing lessons, climb a volcano, learn about black magic and then some.
And, of course, you get the time to learn more about Stuart’s work and the world of online publishing.
A food tour.
You can’t go to Malaysia and not expect to eat… heaps! Malaysian food is known to be some of the most colorful and aromatic in the world, and this last stop allows for the inner foodie to come out. The winner will join up with Tin Cho Chaw, a cookbook author and blogger at hsa*ba, in Kuala Lumpur for a night market food run before heading up to Penang for even more food adventures.
Oh, yes, durian will definitely be involved!
To get you even more excited about the idea of Malaysian food, see this post on the Malaysian food we ate in Malaysia, as well as this post on the Malaysia Kitchen food tour I took in Sydney.
Dates and Deadlines
In order to apply, your application must be submitted by April 23, 2012. You must also be available for the tour from June 18th to July 6th, 2012. For more rules and restrictions, please see the official site.
World Nomads is looking for passionate people to apply for this scholarship — anyone from students to those individuals that love travel and are looking for a career change. You just need to have a good command of the English language and be ready for adventure!
Learn more about the scholarship on WorldNomads.com.
>> Learn more about World Nomads travel insurance and how I’ll donate 5% of the sale to the Footprints Network.
American girl left to travel the world in 2007. Studied languages, slept in a yurt, taught English, met Aussie guy and fell in love. Moved to Australia. Calls Sydney home. Wants a puppy. Still loves to travel. Read more 
What an amazing opportunity! I’m sad that I’ll still be teaching in Korea then. But I did just go on my own Malaysian food-venture… such great food there!
Yeah it looks really cool and will probably change the winner’s life
Too bad you can’t apply, but Korea is an adventure of its own I’m sure!