Today we feature a real adventurer: someone pushing the envelope of creativity in travel and transportation, going above and beyond the beaten path. Many people take at least one trip per year, then spend the rest of the year dreaming about their next one. For some, this trip is a week or so in length, but there are a growing number individuals that are finding creative ways to make travel their full-time gig. These people roam the world experiencing places and activities, then blog about them, take photos, videos, and find creative ways to generate a full-time income. Today we’ll chat with Ric Gazarian, an American who’s been doing just that for a number of years.
Trevor and Scott kick off the episode talking about how they started out as travelers and discussing how and why they made travel a full-time occupation, making a living exploring the world. They discuss whether it was as glamorous as people might think, talking about the ups and downs of being professional travelers. Then then introduce their guest, Ric Gazarian, who has made a full-time job of travel. Ric was firmly in the corporate mainstream, working mostly in banking, then got laid off in 2008 from Lehman Brothers and decided to take life in a new direction. He immediately set out and traveled to all seven continents and has a goal of visiting all 193 countries that the UN officially recognizes. He’s been to 93 of them so far, documenting his journeys on his website GlobGaz. We spoke with him in Chiang Rai, Thailand at the ‘PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference 2016’.
Our Sponsor: PATA – Pacific Asia Travel Association. PATA are a not-for profit association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 88 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 22 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 62 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. They invited us to attend the ‘PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference 2016’ where this interview was recorded.
Ric Gazarian answer the following questions:
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Where are you originally from and where do you call home now?
- You traveled for a while after being laid off, but what led you to decide to try making travel your full time job?
- How long did it take to get yourself to the point where you were actually making a living via full-time travel?
- You’ve done enough interesting travel that we could cover many podcasts, but today we would like to quickly touch on a few of your escapades in Asia. In 2012 you took part in a 2,000km rickshaw rally across India, then wrote a book and produced a documentary about it called Hit the Road India. Tell us about that experience.
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You followed that up with a 12-day, 1,600km tuk-tuk rally across Cambodia in 2015. What was that trip like?
- What can we expect from the upcoming film, Hit the Road Cambodia, that you’re getting ready to release?
- Another one of your book projects is Photos from Chernobyl, where you document your 2-day journey to the site of the world’s worst atomic disaster. What led you to go there and what was the experience like?
- You’ve been to Thailand’s Surin Islands – tell us a bit about destination and experience.
- What’s one of your favorite travel destinations in Asia and why?
- Where in Asia have you not yet been to that you’d really like to visit?
- What’s next for Ric Gazarian?
See a Photo Gallery of pictures from this episode!
Check out a Google Map of Ric’s Adventures!
About our guest:
To learn more about Scott & Trevor:
- Follow Scott on Twitter: @scottcoates73
- Trevor’s Blog
- Scott’s Blog
- Groovy Map Seoul
- National Geographic Cambodia
- National Geographic Thailand
- Follow Talk Travel Asia on Twitter
- Follow us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Vine
- Theme Music by Jamie Ruben
Our Sponsor: PATA – Pacific Asia Travel Association. PATA are a not-for profit association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 88 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 22 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 62 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. They invited us to attend the ‘PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference 2016’ where this interview was recorded.
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