Ann (dark blue shirt, red glasses, right, in the back) guiding a Tour.
Learn more about Ann at “The TRIP Chicks”. Follow @TheTripChicks
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“Catch the travel bug and you’ll come home happier, refreshed, and ready for another vacation sooner than you think.”
You’ve been a travel consultant for over 25 years, what first sparked your love of travel?
My parents were members of the ATL Council for International Visitors and we had lots of international visitors in our home when I was young. Those visitors motivated me to travel. Expo 67 in Montreal made a huge impression on me in my youth, and I dreamed about traveling far and wide. A few years later, one day I walked into a travel agency and asked how could I train to be a travel agent. The owner signed me into the airline computer for self-paced lessons. The rest is history.
Can you tell me why this happened? And what your first reaction/thought was?
I had the misfortune of making a hair appt in Seoul the same afternoon and in the same neighborhood as the student unrest was gearing up. I decided to go outside for a whiff of fresh air while the hair stylist was giving someone else a very strong-smelling perm. Needless to say, the perm was nothing compared to the tear gas fumes. I was literally all alone right in the middle of armed police on one side and the shouting students on the other. My first reaction was to get the heck out of there. Made it back into the salon in the nick of time before the real action began. The tear gas was bad news.
I’m the queen of (mis)adventure. But the person upstairs gives us only what we can handle.
In your experience, what are the benefits of traveling in a group vs. traveling alone?
Group travel is helpful for travelers who are hoping to have a very organized, tightly run trip with very few if any curve balls. Economically, group tours often make sense for folks wanting to get a good overview of a place and then use that info to come back later and spend longer exploring on their own. The tours are usually a pretty efficient way of covering alot of ground in the least amount of time. But experienced travelers often prefer the freedom and serendipity of doing what they want when they want. On a group tour, if you like a city but your bus is scheduled to leave out at 7 a.m the next morning, unless you break away from the tour, you have to follow the tight schedule.
What advice would you give travelers who opt to travel solo?
Smile. Be patient, flexible, and open. Pack light. Strike up a conversation or use hand signals with locals. Go to a restaurant without an English language menu. Ask students for suggestions. Couchsurf or try Servas or 5W homestays for a taste of the real culture. Use common sense and a well-honed sense of adventure. As a solo traveler, you can have experiences those on big group tours can’t come close to.
5 W = Women Welcome Women Worldwide (also open to spouses and friends of female travelers. I love couchsurfing.
What’s a spot in the world that you don’t think has been “discovered” yet and needs to be?
Honestly I would prefer those under-the-tourist radar places remain undiscovered for as long as possible so I and my friends, family, and globetrotting clients can enjoy them a little longer in their semi-pristine states.
The Dolomites are the best of Italy and Austria rolled into one. The food, the transportation infrastructure, the culture (traditional folk festivals, wine, etc.), and scenery are just super. The trains run on time, and there’s a wonderful regional train/museum combo deal available at a rock bottom price for tourists. Also, no traveler should miss seeing the amazing ancient “Ice Man” Oetzi in Bolzano. Absolutely fascinating…
You’ve explored 85+ countries; which country could you see yourself living in?
There’s not a country I’ve visited that I wouldn’t consider living in for at least a few months. Long-term, it’d have to be New Zealand, Argentina, the South Tirol region of Italy, or my top choice: the first country I ever visited outside North America - my beloved Switzerland.
Switzerland has stolen a lot of travelers hearts - including mine!
While many travelers prefer the French-speaking part of Switzerland, I am a huge fan of German-speaking Switzerland, especially the dreamy alpine villages of the Bernese Oberland. I actually worked on a Swiss farm so I could pick up some of the Bernese Swiss German language. With a train/postal bus/lake steamer transportation system that is the world’s best, an extremely well-prganized tourism infrastructure, cheese and chocolate (and great wine too..they just don’t make enough to export), drop-dead gorgeous scenery, four national languages, and a variety of colorful traditional markets and events, and modern cities which still protect their ancient quarters, endless opportunities for boating/hiking/running/cycling and more, Switzerland packs a huge punch in a compact country. I love it. P.S. And I forgot ..SKIING!!
Every year we take at least one small group to Switzerland and home-base in one tiny alpine village. They we make day trips from that cozy base. Everyone on our trip comes home saying “I want to move to Switzerland.”
Can easily understand why they’d all say that.. : )
What is a travel destination that clients are always requesting?
It comes in cycles. This year we’re getting more and more requests for Germany, Switzerland, and South Africa. Last year it was Italy, Spain, England, and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. France, I’ve heard, is the world’s most popular travel destination, and I’m sure the people with whom I biked and barged in Burgundy this past May would agree! La France est magnifique!
That’s interesting - the way travel requests change every year.
Travel comes in waves. More and more North American travelers also are heading to places where they get more bang for their buck, i.e. destinations where the US Dollar is still relatively strong. That means South America, eastern Europe (esp. Bulgaria, Romania, and other destinations not well-traveled by the typical North American vacationer.
To someone reading this who hasnt really traveled before - what would you say?
Mark your calendar today for your vacation dates and follow through. It’s good for your mind, soul, and overall physical health. The USA has the western world’s highest rate of lost “use or lose vacation” and that really needs to change. Catch the travel bug and you’ll come home happier, refreshed, and ready for another vacation sooner than you think. As The Trip Chicks say, “Put vacations on life’s front burner.” Get out there and discover the great planet we share!
Exactly! Love the saying. : )
Thanks so much for letting me chat with you today Ann! : )
Ann (red jacket, flower print shirt) in New Zealand.
Anna & Dave at the 10,000km mark
Visit Anna & Dave at “permacyclists”. Follow @permacyclists.
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”We came around a bend in the thick of the forest and Dave saw ahead of him Anna stopped and mumbling something and pointing at the side of the road and there it was! A gorilla! One of the 300 or so left in wild! It was unbelievable.”
Church bells are ringing in Guadalajara, it must be 9:00…
Yup! : )
Thanks so much for letting me chat with you this evening.
Your about us page says that you two met in Mongolia. That “We were on the same plane from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar and we fell in love when, across ten rows of sleeping Mongolians, 35,000 feet above the Gobi desert, we made eye-contact and smiled.”
Who approached who and what did they say? : )
so, we made eye contact on the plane, and smiled at each other - I (Dave) smiled at Anna and she smiled back.
Then at baggage claim I was looking all around to find the cute blonde, and I didn’t see her. i saw her backpack go around the carousel and then disappear though, and then finally I spotted her in the corner, reading her Lonely Planet…
I went over and talked to her and asked her if she knew where she was going - I didn’t.
So I talked to her first, but what I later learned was that she was faking reading her LP so that I would talk to her.
Anna knew exactly where she was going and was just pretending to stall for time.
So I spoke first, but only thanks to her ruse…
lol! That is too cute.
Yeah, it’s a funny story, we forget it sometimes.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie “Before Sunrise”?
Nope! Should I netflix it?
It’s a couple who meet on a train and then spend the night in Vienna wandering the city talking. He is American (Ethan Hawke) and she is French and when we got back everyone made us see that movie.
it’s okay, nothing exceptional, but they are in Vienna, where we lived after we first met, so it’s a funny film for us to see. And it is eerily similar to our own story…
You spent 16 months cycling through twelve countries – How did cycling vs. driving a car or taking public transportation, change your overall travel experience?
Tremendously! There is nothing like cycling and we could go on for hours about what makes it so great. In general though, you are traveling on the same level as the local people - especially in Africa where few people can afford private cars.
And so people are much more open to you and approach you and since they generally think what you’re doing is totally crazy they’re curious and ask lots of questions.
And then also, when you’re cycling you’re limited to how far you can pedal in one day -100km maximum for us really - and so you stop where you need to stop, not where the guidebook says to stop.
As a result, you spend a lot of time in areas where tourists usually never go - and for good reason of course, there’s nothing “to see” there. But what you realize pretty quickly is that “nothing to see” doesn’t mean anything, there are people living there, it’s their whole universe, and most travelers miss it totally.
Anyway, if you haven’t cycled somewhere, you don’t know it really, that’s our feeling on travel!
Did you meet other cyclists?
We only met 5 other cyclists in our whole 16 months in Africa.
There are lots out there in other parts of the world, but Africa isn’t so popular in the cycling crowd.
But the ones we met were very hardcore - three of them had done over 100,000km, one of them had been living on his bike for 9 years at that point.
Oh my goodness..just finished an hour run and am feeling like a slacker…
An hour run is hard! Cycling is easy compared to running! And besides, no one starts out saying you will bike a billion kilometers.
Every day you just make it to the next village and soon you find it’s a bit easier, the hills aren’t so steep, and you roll along.
And then you realize you’ve had 6 hours of exercise, you’ve been outside all day, and that in the space of 24 hours you’ve had the best and worst moments of your life.
Must of been incredible.
it’s incredible, yeah, totally.
You must of worked up an appetite!
oh yes, we ate a TON!
Favorite meal you enjoyed?
In Mozambique, they make a stew of casava leaves, coconut milk, peanuts, and sometimes shrimp. and it’s served with “sima” which is a sort of hard maize meal cake (like a thick polenta), which is a staple all through eastern and southern africa.
Matapa it’s called! it’s delicious, best food we had the whole trip
A big part of what you two are doing while traveling is trying to understand issues facing the world right now and then trying to make a difference - - In your opinion, what is a big problem, that most people aren’t really aware of?
Hm, interesting question…
Anna thinks that most people don’t really appreciate the degree of the destruction of the environment. This is what struck us most in Africa, seeing that in the least developed continent, where you would think things would be relatively preserved, that still the forests were being cut down, the fields were becoming deserts. And then you realize, once you know what to look for - once you know what a healthy ecosystem is and what an unhealthy one is - you see it everywhere. The planet is sick, and most of us live lives that are so divorced from nature that we dont realize it. For us, this was the biggest revelation of our time in Africa. (Dave agrees - like a good husband).
The environmental destruction we saw there is present everywhere, in every continent, we just need to learn how to see it. Traveling through the southern US you see kudzu growing everywhere, and there is a massive drought now in texas, and the list goes on and on. It’s not just Africa, it’s everywhere…
What’s a phrase that you learnt in Africa and used quite a bit?
There are a few phrases we picked up that we still use actually. One is Mzungu, which is a Kiswahili word to refer to foreigners and white people in general. You hear this constantly in the parts of Africa where we were. “Mzungu how are you!” is like the national anthem in some countries. We got used to it though, and now we say Mzungu all the time, which is nice since most other people don’t understand it.
The other phrase is “pole pole” which is also Kiswahili and which means “slowly slowly.” It’s something people will say whenever you need to be careful, or just to say there is no need to rush. Pole pole is for us such the African approach to life - work hard, take things seriously, but no need to rush, things will happen as they happen, when they happen. A great mantra for travelers!
How is traveling as a couple different than traveling by yourself?
We have both traveled independently, in fact we were traveling alone when we met. Since then though, it’s been mostly traveling together. I think we couldn’t say one is always better than the other, but they work for different phases of life. When we were younger and wanted to go out and see the world and sort of “find ourselves” I think traveling alone made more sense, it’s more intense and pushes you in a more personal way. Now though that we’re older and our interests are more in understanding the political / environmental situations of the countries we’re visiting (and especially now that we’re meeting and filming environmental organizations on our way down to Rio), it’s much easier to be in a couple. It gives you someone to talk to about what you’re seeing, a sounding board for ideas and the like. It also makes traveling for long periods easier in general - we’re each other’s family, so we’re always home when we’re together, so it’s not so bad to be on the road for 16 months, or now 20 months. It’s like that song: “Home is wherever I’m with you…”
What is one travel memory from your time in Africa, that’s particularly special to you?
A memory that is particularly special to us… There are so many! Every day, especially when you’re cycling, is so intense that there are moments of bliss and moments of horror sandwiched together.
There are many people who offered us hospitality and kindness along the way out of nothing but the warmth of their hearts, and we remember each of them with such fondness and gratitude. I suppose though that if there was a sort of “epic” moment that we will never forget, it was in Uganda, biking on the worst road ever through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. This is where Uganda’s gorillas are, and tourists come and pay about $1,000 all together to see them, which is way beyond the kind of budget we have. We thought we would take the public road across the park just to see the tropical forest though, which is spectacular. Everyone we met assured us that we wouldn’t see the gorillas of course, they are so few, and they would be on the other side of the mountains at this time of year, and on and on. Some people who lived there had only seen them once in their lives, so we assumed we wouldn’t and just went to bike through the park. But the roads are atrocious and the local people, who know that tourists spend more money than they will see in their lives just to spend 45 minutes with a gorilla, were not very welcoming, chasing us and grabbing at our bags and demanding money. It was the hardest cycling of the trip, though the forest was so beautiful that the moments we were thick in it we forgot all the difficulties. It was raining too of course, it always is at such moments.
Anyway, on the second day, we came around a bend in the thick of the forest and Dave saw ahead of him Anna stopped and mumbling something and pointing at the side of the road and there it was! A gorilla! One of the 300 or so left in wild! It was unbelievable.
We parked our bikes farther on and watched from a distance and took some photos. There was one by the road, and then another up in the hillside above us, and another we could hear downhill a ways. They were all grunting to each other and eating leaves. It was amazing, and we were alone there with them until the park rangers came and shooed us on - Mzungu can’t see gorillas without paying $1,000 it turns out.
We didn’t mind though, it was such an incredible experience.
Dave & Anna at the southernmost point of Africa
Apache Lake, Arizona
Read Mike’s travels at “Mike’s Road Trip”. @MikesRoadTrip on twitter.
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“The premise is this…the slower we go, the more we see/experience. In other words…if you fly…how much do you see?”
On your about me page, you mention that you lost your house and sold everything before starting your adventure.
Yes, that’s correct.
Can you tell me more about that - what you were up to before you started Mike’s Road Trip?
My background is in marketing…I had been offering freelance web development and online marketing services for the prior six years.http://www.ShubicWebDesign.com
Business really started to fall off with the economy and all. My house dropped 50%+ in value.
Had you traveled much before?
For sure! I love to travel! I’ve been to Europe three times, S.E. Asia, all over Canada, Mexico and of course the States.
You capture a lot of your travels by filming short videos - what equipment and editing software do you use?
I just upgraded a few months back from a Kodak Zi8 to a prosumer Canon HD S-10 I think it is. I have just been using iMovie for my editing, but am hoping to get a new Mac at some point…then I want to learn how to use Final Cut Pro.
I also purchased an upgraded mic, Manfrotto tripod and a number of batteries.
Your road trip takes you all over the US, what’s one state that you don’t think gets enough praise as being a travel destination?
Montana.
Why Montana?
It’s hard to get to Montana from here/there (by air), so most people have to drive and it’s can be a trek.
Open spaces, the landscape is just awe-inspiring…so many rivers, snow-capped peaks and outstanding accommodations
What are some things you’d recommend doing in Montana?
Well, Yellowstone for sure…although it’s so crowded that kinda of sucks, but there is so much to see and do in the park that it’s worth the effort. Whitefish, MT is a really cool small town with a great ski resort and outstanding recreation. Whitefish Lake is great in the summer for skiing, kayaking, hiking, etc.
Flathead Lake is also very cool…lots of small towns surrounding it…many with great lodging, restaurants, etc.
Oh, fly fishing of course is big in Montana…so many rivers and lakes. I was just there at the Grey Cliffs Ranch just outside of Bozeman and caught a number of nice 20” trout on one of their own private lakes.
Your road trip car is a Ford F-150 truck, does it have a name? : )
LOL…no, funny enough it does not.
Maybe I should have a contest? :-)
Would you be open to a truck naming contest?
LOL…we’re on the same wave length…
For sure! A “name Mike’s truck” contest.
I’d be down. You’d have to put a limit on the amount of entries per person..because I’d submit quite a few… : )
I need to think of a prize.
If you weren’t driving an F-150, what car would you be?
Well, I’ve been trying to secure an RV. I put together a comprehensive proposal to the GoRV’ing folks, but things are not moving as quickly as I’d like. I do like my F-150 and would love it if I could do some sort of social media campaign with Ford. I also really like the full size Toyota truck.
RV’s are fun!
Yeah, plus it would allow me to stay on the road for longer durations as I would have an office in which to do my video editing, blogging, etc.
Favorite meal you’ve had while road tripping?
I was going to say you’re going to have to be more specific, but something came to mind…
lol..tough question, I know : )
I had the most amazing dining experience in Cannon Beach, OR last year…it was a “dinner show” by EVOO. It’s a cooking school, but in the evenings they offer a “dinner show” for say 20-25 people. It’s like being on the set of a cooking show. There are several courses and wine with each course. It’s spectacular!
EVOO won “best dining experience” last year on my “best of 2010” list.
If your truck were to be parked in any state in the US and you were told that you have 6hrs to go and explore….Which state would you wish you were in? What would you try to see in the 6hrs?
Hummm, is this a state I’ve never been or one I’d like to return to…to hit places I’ve not “explored?”
Never visited
Six hours…pondering…
There are only 14 states I’ve not yet been to…I think I’d pick a small one like…Vermont! I think I could see a lot in six hours. :-)
Probably! Any particular things you can think of?
Ben & Jerry’s factory…LOL.
Yes!!! A must. lol
Final question…
Shoot…
Why should travelwiggle readers consider a road trip? You’ve traveled before..what makes a road trip via car or RV special?
I just wrote a blog post on this very topic…well, sort of. The premise is this…the slower we go, the more we see/experience. In other words…if you fly…how much do you see? If you drive on the Interstate vs. the Highway, how much do you miss? If you’re on a bike vs. a car, how much more to you experience? The more we see, the more we experience. Slow down…smell the roses and you’ll be living life rather than letting it pass you by. I think I articulated this more effectively in my blog post. :-)
Thanks so much. Have a great night!
Cheers!
Top of Whistler, B.C.
Isle of Skye, Scotland
Read Shannon’s blog “A Little Adrift”. Follow @ShannonRTW on twitter.
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“But I had only two months left on my lease and I thought to myself “is this TRULY where I want to be. Not just for another year on the lease, but in my life, am I doing something I love passionately enough to stay.” And the answer was no”
Hi Shannon! Thank you for letting me chat with you about your travels today. : )
You’re most welcome! Looking forward to it :)
Reading over your blog, one of the posts that really jumped out at me was the post where you talk about why you started traveling when you were 24 in May of 2008 - can you tell me a bit about that moment?
Sure! I was living in Los Angeles at the time, and I had been there for nearly two years.
But I had only two months left on my lease and I thought to myself “is this TRULY where I want to be. Not just for another year on the lease, but in my life, am I doing something I love passionately enough to stay.”
And the answer was no - although I loved acting, I had always wanted to travel, I was miserable living with all of the traffic in LA.
I was in some debt from the expenses living in the city, and I already had an internet based job so I made a VERY snap decision after reading the Lost Girls blog to buy a one-way ticket and leave.
I bought the ticket the same week I had my breakdown/revelation.
What did your friends and family think?
My best friend out in LA egged me on, and then hugged me when I *freaked out* 20 minutes later that I had actually bought a one-way ticket!
My dad has always been very supportive, and although he had his reservations about my safety, and that sort of thing, he was on board the whole way.
I joke that he’s been my personal assistant as well, I am very fortunate that I am allowed to stay at home between travels, he collects my mail, and handles things when I do something stupid like lose my US debit card : )
lol - I’m sure the post ticket purchase freak out is very common. : )
Oh yes, I think especially if you do it spontaneously like that. A bit terrifying! I still had a whole apartment in LA, no plan, and hadn’t told a soul besides my friend about the plan when I booked it!
Very cool - your dad sounds really awesome.
He is wonderful. : )
Thinking back to the person you were in 2008 and who you are today, how has traveling changed you?
I have more time to listen to people. On the road I’ve learned everyone has a story, it’s unique to them, they have hardships, love, and losses. And that’s easy to say and easy to dismiss, but really think about that, and when I lived it on the road, meeting other people, it took me further out of my own bubble of self-obsession (which I think we all possess to an extent).
I was very busy with *my* career in LA, now even though I’m further away, in some ways I’m more connected with the people back home because I listen to them more.
Couple that with a LOT more patience and a complete belief in my ability to survive on my own wits, which I know because it’s been tested, and I am stronger and more confident now.
What advice would you give to folks who feel the same way as you did in 2008, who are saying “this is not my life”?
If you truly want change, you can live life however you choose. A hiker on the Appalachian trail is quoted as having said something along the lines of “All you need to know is it can be done.” He said this in reference to how he travels with nearly nothing, but it goes wider than that. I can’t tell you HOW to do it, but it can be done, I did, others have found a way to travel, or change their life in some meaningful way, and knowing it can be done is the battle. The fun part is figuring out how it’s going to work best for you!
Which place in the world could you see yourself living in for awhile?
Thailand. I was just living there this spring and I hope to head back there in the fall. Also, foreigners are allowed to buy land in Guatemala, and I’ve always thought that would be an amazingly lovely place to have a getaway house at some point!
Thailand comes up often as a place many travers would love to live. Why do you think that is?
The quality of life! You can live very well for a small sum of money, and yet you don’t have to trade any of the Western conveniences you enjoy. Thailand has US speed internet in many places, grocery stores, and a is *relatively* stable politically, so it’s a good bet. A lot of expats are my age, but also retirees head there too.
I did a Thailand Cost of Living breakdown that went viral a few months ago because people were amazed by the value and the lifestyle you can live there.
I’ve heard that folks in Thailand are incredibly welcoming and friendly.
Thailand bills itself as the “Land of a Thousand Smiles” and it really is true.
Favorite meal while traveling?
Favorite meals get a hat tip to India. I loved nearly every single meal I ate all seven weeks in the country. It was like an orgy of delicious foodiness and I salivate at the thought.
What kind of ingredients were in a typical meal you enjoyed in India?
curries with paneer are a win every time. I’m a sucker for palak paneer, which is finely ground spinach with paneer chunks served with deliciously warm garlic nann to scoop the goopy dish into your mouth.
Oh wow… : )
So tasty!
Sounds like it!
For my last question today…if you could tell the whole world one thing, what would you say?
Do what that you love, the thing that makes you smile to consider, your heart beat a little fast to think about. Do that and be happy.
It sounds like you’ve done exactly that. : )
Thank you so much for your time this morning!
Thank you too! Good luck with this new site, :) If there is ever anything I can do to help as well, let me know.
Connemara, Ireland.
