About me
To travel - is to live...
Wise words from my fellow countryman from Denmark – the world-famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen – and something I totally agree upon.
When I am traveling is when I feel the most alive and free.
My name is Thomas – and to travel is my number one priority and what I mainly have been doing for more than 20 years now. I am educated as a computer scientist, but since my first 6 months backpacking tour (back in the year 2000) my full attention has been on traveling.
The following 5 years I managed to do 2 more 6 months tours, a 4 months tour, and a 3 months tour. Those years were some of the best times in my life.
In 2005 I decided to start working in the travel industry (and I haven’t regretted that for one moment!!). I have worked as a travel agent, as a salesperson, and I have made itineraries for group tours – but most of the time, I have been working as a tourleader.
Since 2013, I have worked full-time as a group tourleader. That means that I take a group of people – usually between 15 to 30 people – somewhere in the world and guide them for one, two, or three weeks at a time. I am working 220 days a year like this and the rest of the time I am free to explore by myself (yeahhh).
By now I have managed to visit 71 countries – I have worked in 25 of the countries as a guide, and I have lived in 7 of them.
The Golden Pavilion, Kyoto – Japan
As a tour leader, I have to guide groups around different countries, show them the major attractions, and give them all the information and stories about the highlights we visit. We eat at great restaurants to try the local cuisine and also stay at very comfortable and centrally located hotels.
It all sounds great to travel around the world and get paid for it (and it is), but it is also a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of planning and studying to prepare for the tours. Through my work, I have acquired an enormous knowledge about many countries, the attractions, the food, and the cultures.
And all this knowledge is what I want to share with you….
Plan as much as you can - before you go...
That’s some of the best advice I can give you…
Personally, I like to see as much as possible when I am in a country and try to get under the skin of the country and the people – to try and understand the way they live and think. I also like to plan in what order to see things to be as effective and to see as much as possible.
One of the worst things I know is if I, later on, find out I missed a big experience because I hadn’t planned it well enough. If only I had driven 20 kilometers more, then I would have seen a magnificent view – or something like that.
Another great thing about planning as much as you can before you go is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time during your trip, to sit and plan about what to see and how to get there. It often ends up with you sitting in the evening, trying to plan what to see the following day. This way you won’t be able to just relax in the evening, go to a nice restaurant, get a drink, and just recharge your batteries.
So I can only recommend doing your research before you go since things will be that much easier when you get there.
Angkor Wat – Camboia
Don't plan everything - as experiences will find you...
This is another piece of advice I will also give to you (and I know I totally contradict my prior advice)…
What I mean by this advice is that you should plan as much as possible before you go – but don’t over plan your trip. Allow yourself some air in your program. Try to get lost sometimes, and just see what experience comes around the corner.
I have gotten some great experiences on days where I have just gone to an area, where I know there are maybe 2 or 3 different attractions I would like to visit. I have visited the sights, but still had allowed time in my program, to just wander around and follow my feelings for where to go.
Hill of Crosses – Lithuania
Suddenly experiences are happening that I hadn’t planned. It could be a local funeral, a football game with the local children, a band practicing, a special building, a local shop that sells unique things, etc.
This can give you unique experiences that not many other tourists get. Everybody can get a picture with a major attraction, but that doesn’t give you unique local experiences where you get under the skin of the people.
Mijajima Island – Japan
Travel as much as you can - while you can...
Another piece of advice I can give you and something I live by.
I have decided I want to see as much as I can – while I can. I don’t want to sit like an old man and regret what I didn’t do. I actually have a lot of guests on my group tours that tell me they wished they would have traveled more and prioritized it more – but now it was too late.
Go while you can and don’t postpone your traveling plans! Suddenly you might find yourself regretting you didn’t go before you got children, or the hard job that takes all your time, or maybe you just got too old to follow your traveling dreams.
I also live by the code, that I want to try everything I can – at least once. It could be a 1-kilometer zipline tour in Costa Rica 400 meters up in the sky, eating fried dogs in Korea, diving with bull sharks in Mexico, or taking a salsa lesson in Cuba. Break boundaries and push your limits!
Something will end up as an unforgettable memory, and other things will end up as an “ok I did it-” experience, but I won’t do it again (as I found out about eating dogmeat in Korea)
But it will all make you stronger and could end up as a funny story sometime in the future…
