Interview With TD of Travel Drunk
TD, please give my readers a background about yourself. What made you want to start travel-drunk.com?
Around 2006 my girlfriend (now fiancee) and I decided that we needed to get out and travel. We were both professionals, both scientists with good jobs that we didn't like, and we both wanted to move to a new city. Realizing that we wanted to quit our jobs and move, we decided to save a little (actually a lot) cash and travel. By late 2009 we had saved the money, quit our jobs, sold almost everything we owned, and had a one-way ticket to Panama. I would have never done this on my own, and I really owe the best decision of my life to my beautiful fiancee.
I started travel-drunk for fun, and as a way to get information out to the backpacking community. Often the best tips on places to stay and where to go is passed on in person, so I wanted to get that info out to everyone. I also had trouble finding specific info online, such as the best place to get a cheap beer in some random city in Turkey, or something similar. I hope that travel-drunk helps fill that gap. I also started travel-drunk as a way to document all of the good and terrible drinks from around the world. I love drinking, from wine to whiskey, and I think it's fun to try new drinks.
In all of your travels, in your opinion what country has the best food? and the worst food?
This is an easy one for me. Hands down, Nepal has the best food in the world (or at least the 30+ countries I have been to). Nepalese food is heavily influenced by Indian food, coming from the south, and by Chinese food coming from the north. This combination, plus dishes only found in Nepal, creates incredible menus. Nearly every place in the world is limited in the variety of food distinct to that area, and I generally get tired of eating the same thing every day. In Nepal I was never sick of the food, the spices are incredible, and it's one of the cheapest places to eat and travel in the world, so you're not limited by budget. Seriously good stuff.
The worst food in the world? I think that is a tie between a lot of places. We tried some pretty strange food: guinea pig and lama in Peru, crocodile and piranha in the Amazon, pigeon, snake and dog in Vietnam, and who knows what else. I like trying new things; even if it turns out to taste terrible, at least I tried. The places that were the worst were always places that had little variety and no spice. Generally, rural areas of South America were pretty bland, and parts of Eastern Europe have really heavy food (I'm looking at you, Romania), so they were my least favorite.
When you first started traveling, did your family support your decision?
I'm incredibly lucky to have a family that was supportive of our decision to leave everything and travel. My parents and sister even met us for a week in Turkey when we were about 7 months into our trip.
If you had to choose one favorite destination, which one would you chose?
I get asked this a lot, and it's a tough question. I usually cheat, and list the best places for experiencing different things: South Africa for wildlife, Nepal for trekking, the Peruvian Amazon for wild adventure, ect. I also constantly change my answers as time passes. It all depends on what you're looking for; no one destination has it all. The top places I want to return to: Africa since we saw very little, and Nepal to do some more trekking.
What has been the least exciting destination you've traveled to?
I was pretty unimpressed with Dubai, but I'm not rich and didn't spend very much time there. I also thought Singapore was pretty boring, but nice. Romania was also very pretty, and the people are nice, but I wouldn't go back. We actually stayed at an awesome hostel in Romania, and met some cool people there, so we stayed more than a week, even though it was a boring place. This is the advantage of traveling without a timeline, you can just do whatever feels right at the time.
Did you always have a love of travel or did you develop your passion for traveling as you got older?
I really didn't have much international travel experience before this trip. My fiancee is really well traveled, and has always had a love for it. I was never opposed, but I think I just didn't have the experience, so I really didn't know what I was missing. Now I'm addicted. I now wish I had made travel more of a priority when I was younger. I think that your perceptions of a place change as you get older. That is to say, if I visit the same place at 19, 30, and 50 years old I will experience different things each time. Another way to put it: it's hard to stay out at a club until 5am and still appreciate a mid-evil church the next day. I'm already looking forward to re-visiting places again when I'm an old fart and telling young people how much better they were "back in the day".
What impact has travel-drunk.com had on your life?
Almost none. I keep it anonymous and none of my friends or family knows about it. I did this more as a person hobby to organize my experiences, and I'm happy with that choice. I do really enjoy it though.
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.
I think Budapest surprised me most. I love it there, and Pest is best! I didn't know anything about the city before we went there, and I was surprised by the beauty of the place, how friendly people are, and the amazing art and culture. There is also awesome night-life, with a ton of great bars. We also went to the baths, which are incredible! I've never been so relaxed in my life. If it was on the coast I would consider moving there. Everyone should visit at some point (they have some of the best hostels in the world there also).
If you had to decide which destination has been the most influential in your life, which destination would you chose?
Albania! That's a really weird answer, right? We went to Albania based on the recommendation of another backpacker we met in Romania, and it was great. Albania is so different from the surrounding area, or really anywhere else on earth (head nods are opposite, so yes is side to side). We also landed jobs working in the only hostel in Berat, Albania: Berat Backpackers. This is a great hostel, with an equally great owner. After working there for about a month I think we both decided that this is what we wanted to do. I mentioned previously that we both didn't like our jobs, and needed a change. When we were in Albania I think a lightbulb clicked in our heads, and we said "we could do this!".
We're currently working on a business plan to open our own backpacker's hostel here in San Francisco, CA. After staying in close to one hundred hostels all over the world, I think we have a solid understanding of what makes a great hostel (and also what ruins a hostel). I hope that we can turn our love of travel into a successful business that will help other people have the kind of experiences we enjoyed.
What advice would you give to a newbie traveler?
I think the best way to travel is with a budget, and no plans. Just go with the flow, and try to talk to other travelers about where to go, where to stay, what to do. Once you relax, traveling is easy. Getting out there is the hardest part..... except for coming back.
Thanks TD for the interview. Please visit his blog @ Travel Drunk !