Interview with Rishi Sankar
· Rishi, please give my readers a background about yourself. What
made you want to start rishiray.com?
Growing up in Trinidad, you’re surrounded by all the sun and sand, but
it can be incredibly limiting in terms of cultural diversity and awareness.
I always knew that I wanted to see the world, but when you grow up in the Caribbean
without the benefits of strong currency or relatively high income, this is almost
always a “pipe dream”. When I left Trinidad to go to McGill University
in Montreal, I knew that I had an opportunity to break out of the conventional
framework. I formulated a game plan to find a job that would allow me to travel
for little or no personal cost.
As for starting rishiray.com;
it personally started out as a way for my parents and friends to keep track
of me. I started hardcoding the HTML on a bulletin board, then it naturally
evolved to full website over the years as more and more readers started logging
and pinging me. As the feedback came in, it reinforced my beliefs and kept me
motivated to travel even more.
· Did you have a natural affinity for traveling ever since you were
small or did you develop your love of traveling when you got older?
I’ve always had a natural affinity for travel. Reading travel novels and
Natural Geographic magazine stoked that fire. As I got older, I developed the
framework and ability to enable to the travelling vision. It is not enough to
want to travel, one has to develop a framework to enable that success; be it
by surrounding yourself with travel positive people, evolving with every new
travel experience and having that burning desire for discovery and the physical,
cultural and mental awakening.
· What has been the most surprising destination you've been to? Meaning,
you had a specific mindset about a certain destination but it was totally a
differnet experience than you had imagined.
The Philippines definitely was the most surprising, in terms of the people,
food, culture and the natural beauty of the islands. My experience with the
Philippines was limited to my Filipino friends but I never knew how awesome
a destination it was. I had few expectations about the Philippines and spending
a couple of weeks there, still managed to completely surprise. even an experienced
traveler as myself.
Israel was also completely surprising, since most people’s knowledge of
Israel is limited to what they see on CNN. The people, the land and remarkable
diversity of the people really touched me. Who knew you could have a raging
drunk time in Tel Aviv?
· If you had to choose one favorite destination, which one would you
chose?
The Maldives hand down was the most relaxing place I’ve ever been to. In
the Caribbean, we tend to “over-busy” ourselves, even with our relaxed
attitudes. The people in Maldives were naturally accommodating and the quality
of the beaches and water were just spectacular.
· What has been the least exciting destination you've traveled to?
For me, the Sistine Chapel is the most overrated tourist attraction I’ve
been to. It is a complete tourist factory meant to separate you from your money.
It is world famous for the art, yet the people who run it, treat the patrons
like complete garbage. I would never recommend it, but it is on many people’s
bucket list – so it is good for a one time walk in.
As for least exciting, anywhere can be exciting, if you’re interested
in the destination. Personally, I’ve not been to any place that I wasn’t
excited by – since I’ve always found a story in each place.
· What impact has rishiray.com had on your life?
Blogging on the site has allowed me to meet many interesting people who’ve
stumbled on my site. It’s also added some credibility to my efforts to
travel more. Most people you meet, will always question your desire to travel.
Curiously enough, once I direct them to the site, then the questions seem to
evolve from a “Why?” question, to the logical “Where” questions.
· Through blogging, have you met any interesting people?
Definitely, I’ve met other travel bloggers and even met people who emailed
me while I was visiting a city to take me out drinking and to show me their
town.
· If you could travel with one celebrity for one week, who would you
chose?
I can’t personally think of any celebrity that I find interesting enough
to spend a week with. I love travelling alone ..
· What advice would you give to a newbie traveler?
Have no fear. The world is not a scary place. Do it while you’re young
– if you wait, life and responsibilities will catch up to you.
· In 10 years, do you see yourself still traveling or slowing down?
I’m now in my 30’s, so naturally I will start slowing down –
because of more responsibility and the fact that I don’t desire a truly
nomadic lifestyle. In my earlier years, I did have a desire to be nomadic, but
by choosing a job that allowed almost constant travel and being on the road,
it satisfies that desire. I will always travel in my life, the only difference
now is that I have modified my approach to include my better half and any future
offspring.
Thanks Rishi for the interview. Please visit blog @ Rishiray.com