Instagram star Sjana Earp hits back at trolls on Bali holiday

NYC teacher, 23, breaks her back after plunging off a 150ft cliff while fleeing sex attacker in Thailand who she asked for directions
BREAKING NEWS: Fox News to pay $20million and issue public apology to Gretchen Carlson to settle sexual harassment lawsuit against former network president Roger Ailes
Later life sex 'can aid women's health but may DOUBLE men's heart attack risk'
Middle-school football player, 11, dies after playing the 'choking game' which he 'learned from classmates'
Boy, 4, is hit and killed by a boat after he went overboard while his mother was water-skiing on Labor Day weekend
Legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen reveals his recent and crippling battles with depression and the fear of falling victim to it like his father did
Why a 4-day work week is NOT good for your health
Washington State University student, 18, is 'raped at fraternity house and another, 17, hospitalized after drinking alcohol there'
PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Stanford rapist Brock Turner signs sex offender registry in hometown where he has been focus of fury
'Are you sure that's my baby? He looks like a rat': Brutally honest parents reveal the moment they realised their child was UGLY
Is this the Holy Grail for cancer diagnosis? Simple blood test 'finds disease BEFORE the symptoms start'
'When was the last time you saw JonBenet alive?' Never-before-seen footage of murdered six-year-old beauty queen's brother talking to police is aired in new documentary
Kim Jong-un orders his military to 'continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering its nuclear force' and warns North Korea can 'attack its enemies any time'
Dutch jihadi heart-throb who received 10,000 marriage proposals after posting pictures of himself holding kittens is killed in air strike on ISIS stronghold
Surveillance footage shows fired 49ers tight end bloodied and in a drunken stupor after 'attacking a 70-year-old man and his son inside hotel room'
Chaos at airports worldwide as ANOTHER British Airways IT glitch causes heavy delays at check-in desks for passengers across the globe
Boyfriend 'beat 22-year-old mother-of-three to death and sliced her throat after she threw him out of their home, then told police she was attacked by someone else'
Pit bull savages a tiny beagle in front of its owner who gets injured while trying to save her pet in horrific scenes on the streets of Boston
Kanye West is 'evacuated' after firefighters are called to his New York fashion studio.. hours before live show at Madison Square Garden
Two police officers are fired a decade after they were caught on camera pointing a gun at an innocent man and beating him up in a taco joint after going out drinking
Heartbreak for Florida grandmother, 65, told to tear down her tree house paradise where she's lived with her pet racoon for 25 years
Are they joking? Warner Bros reports its OWN site as illegal and asks Google to remove it from search results
'It's not good etiquette to wear all white to a wedding': Traumatised bride blasts her mother-in-law's choice of outfit (but others say it's fine)
Georgia mother-in-law, 63, is charged with murdering kindergarten teacher who was in midst of a bitter divorce with her son

Sjana Earp is a 21-year-old blogger with 1.2million Instagram followers
She recently posted a series of luxurious holiday snaps from Indonesia
Some criticised her for posting 'deep thoughts' on travel from lavish hotels
Sjana says: 'Travel is not about where you stay or how much you spend'
She continues: 'It is about how deeply you explore within yourself'

By Steven Trask For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 21:49 EST, 4 September 2016 | Updated: 01:26 EST, 5 September 2016

e-mail

View
comments

Instagram star Sjana Earp has hit back at critics who slammed her for posting 'inspirational' travel messages from luxurious hotels.

The 21-year-old lifestyle blogger and Instagram star recently described her take on the philosophy of travel in a series of poolside snaps from Bali, Indonesia.

Some of her 1.2million followers criticised the pictures, saying she was not qualified to share life advice when she only stayed in lavish resorts.

Scroll down for video

Life of luxury: Next to this racy snap taken in Bali, Sjana gives her take on the benefits of travel

One snap, posted from Bali's luxurious Villa Ariana Grande, shows the beauty from Newcastle, NSW, posing in a skimpy bikini next to a pristine swimming pool.

She captions the picture: 'Travelling, in my humble opinion, is the greatest education known to humankind.

'There are no classes, no set structure, no books or essays. But the lessons you learn are far greater and more valuable than anything you could learn in an institution.

Paradise: Sjana says there is nothing more educational in life than travelling the world

'You don't learn how to recall specific pieces of information, or memorise certain answers. You don't learn how to make money and pay your bills to survive.

'But my god you learn how to live. And if nothing else, isn't that what we're here for?'

The post drew almost 200 comments and, although most supported her sentiments, some followers questioned her suitability to be giving travel advice.

Luxurious: One commentor asked why Sjana always stayed in the most expensive and glamorous resorts

Lavish: Some fans took to Instagram to criticise Sjana for sharing her thoughts on travelling

'So why aren't you staying in normal hotels?' one commenter asked.

'Why always the most expensive and luxurious hotels on water?'

Sjana addressed the criticism in a follow-up post the next day.

'Deep thoughts': Sjana wrote a post to address the criticism aimed at her for travelling in style

'Yesterday I posted a pic with a caption I wrote about travelling,' she writes.

'A lot of people seemed to have an issue with me posting my 'deep thoughts' with a pic of a beautiful villa and wearing bikinis.

'I just want to say that humans - myself no exception - have every right to post and write what they like.

Inspirational: 'A traveller is anyone who is open to the idea of growth and knowledge,' Sjana writes

'Also, travel is the traveller. It isn't where you stay or how much money you spend. It is about how deeply you explore within yourself as well as the world around you.'

Sjana went on to say, 'I have travelled for culture and slept in dodgy beds and seen poverty and experienced that side of travel. But I am also blessed enough to travel like this, and Although I have been travelling for three years now, I am STILL constantly growing and learning (regardless of where I choose to stay) [sic].

'Criticising someone else for what they do is not only horrible but it is the definition of a small mind and a closed heart.'

Open-minded: A traveller is someone who is open-minded and always open to new experiences, Sjana says

She continued: 'A traveller is anyone who is open to the idea of growth and knowledge of both the world around them as well as the world within themselves.

'It is someone who wanders in order to learn - regardless of their surroundings - and is always open to taking and making opportunities.

'It's not where you are, but who you choose to be!'