British, male, 59 years old, retired IT specialist

1. Explain yourself in a few words.

Born in UK, 50 km outside London. 14-15 years old – interested in communications, radios. First heard about other countries from the radio –> “What these countries would be like?”. Wanted a job overseas.
2 years training in southwest of England.

Jobs abroad:
1) Gambia, Africa
Cultural shock. No globalisation. Felt homesick, even hated the place those days. Spent 6 months there.
Then 1 year training in UK.
2) Ankara, Turkey
3) Nigeria, Africa
Hated even more. Wasn’t expected “this kind of places”. Spent 6 months there.
4) Hong Kong, China
5 years there with a job contract. Then another contract for 3 years. Married with a Filipino, after 10 years – divorce.
Then short jobs on contract.
5) Thailand (1 year)
6) South Korea (1 year)
7) Australia and so on…

The plan was to buy a condominium, furnish it, then rent it out. Now I have a job and I live in this condo.

2. What countries have you visited?

Europe: UK, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Africa: The Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles.
Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, China, Guam, Saipan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
Other: USA, Dominican Republic, Australia.

3. Where do you plan to travel to next?

Hong Kong for a couple of days. 5 days on Samui, Thailand. 5 days in Bangkok. Siem Reap. Visiting mom in England.

Future plan:
Take a ferry from Zamboanga, Philippines to Sandakan, Malaysia.
Climb Mount Kinabalu in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (4 100 m, the highest peak in Southeast Asia)

Explore Philippines more.

4. Can you give me a list of all necessary items required for your travel?

  • Mobile phones x2
  • A laptop (for more than a few days)
  • Wires, cables, charges
  • Clothes
  • A toiletries bag
  • Medications
  • Eyeglasses
  • Money, credit cards, ATM cards (backup cards)
  • A local SIM card
  • A passport
  • A travel wallet (with money, passport, driving license)

5. May I ask your advice on guidance? What do you advice me not to do while I’m traveling?

  • Try to understand a local culture (show your respect, follow the way people treat each other). Certain words you shouldn’t say. “What’s your salary?” – OK in China, not OK in Europe.
  • Don’t trust anybody unless you know a person really well.
  • Always be suspicious (ask yourself “what’s this person looking for?”).
  • Plan in advance (more you plan before, better your experience will be).

6. Have you got any slogans to describe yourself?

“Be prepared and be organised. Getting there is half a fun”.

7. What questions would you ask a more experienced traveler?

–

8. In your experience how is traveling now in comparison to the past (let’s say 50 years ago) and do you expect things to change much in the future (let’s say in a 100 years, 1000 years)?

Past: It used to be a trip in a year. You needed to prepare and arrange a trip a month before, go to a travel agency, spend hours, days for booking and buying tickets. Cost of a ticket was higher and cost of a hotel was lower than nowadays. Not many people did long distance travels.
Now: Traveling is cheaper. It takes 5 min to book a flight, hotel. Now there are more difficulties with security (checking bags, bodies), so it’s more stressful. Plane seats are more uncomfortable (it’s not a luxurious thing anymore). Planes replace ferries.
Future: More technology in everywhere. No physical passports. ID, cards, money – on your device. More people will travel. More flights from regional airports. Driverless cars. Flexible check in/check out time in hotels (you pay for 24 hours, 12, 36, up to you).

9. What brings joy to your life?

  • Friends (people I’ve known for many years).
  • Family (my mom would do literally everything for me).
  • Traveling.
  • Nice food.
  • Drinks (alcohol).

10. How to do it so you don’t think where to get money from?

  • Travel writing/articles + nice quality pictures –> to sell to magazines (reviews for money).
  • Travel blog + selling advertising places.
  • Online jobs while traveling.
  • Marry somebody rich.

11. Why do you travel? What’s your spiritual way? What do you believe in (the Energy of the Galaxy, Mother Earth, religion, destiny)?

To discover what’s there. I’m agnostic. I believe in reality, in happiness.

12. How do you want to die?

Quickly, instantaneously. Die in my sleep with something kills me instantly. Die before I’m really really old.

13. Why don’t people kill each other? Do you value life? Why do you value life?

We have feelings to each other. Most people have respect for human life, for rights of other people to live. I value life because it’s all and the only thing we have.

14. Why doesn’t everyone have sex with everyone?

You don’t have attractions to all people. Magic happens when people meet and have these attractions, then you think “I want to have sex with this person”. And also there are not so many opportunities to do that.