Their blog is full of informations on every country they went and detailed budgets.
They are very generous to agree to answer questions for this interview.
1. First of all resume to us who you are, where you are from and what you are doing now or what you are planning?
Hello Normand and hello to your followers.
We are a couple of Abitibiens (Amos); Maryse Guévin and Dany Thibault, we are in the late thirties. We are francophones, Quebecers and appreciate our Canadian passport. Maryse work in restaurants like before our RTW trip and Dany work in two jobs, blue collar for the town of Amos and works at Sogitex. We both work very hard preparing our next trip, if possible of an even longer period (10 years would be nice).
2. Wow 10 years, you have already spent 4 years on the road RTW. What motivates you to want to leave again, are there places where you have already been that you would like to see again?
In the beginning, we only wanted to leave for 2 years, and we thought that it would be enough for us. But the more time we spent, the more places that we found out about, the more we realized we did not know much. There is so much to see, to discover that we realized that only a few years would not be enough.
Of course there are places we would like to see again, a few places where we think went through to quickly, now we are torn trying to decide where to go next tim, because there are so many places we naver went that we want to go. Inevitably, we will go through India again one day and Thailand is a great place for a stopover. We would like to take more time without any restrictions for that. We could stay longer in any village and give french classes to students, do some real "volunteering" doing something we believe in, working here and there and why not take on bikes for a while, a few months or maybe years. Even if we traveled for 4 years, if we would have known, when we left, what we know now, we would have done some things differently, but we need to travel to know ourselves as travelers and know what is best for us.
3. Speaking of adaptation, are there countries where adaptation has been more difficult than others? What has been your biggest culture shock among the 26 countries you visited?
It is certain that India is culturally very different from what we knew. Everybody had to put in their two cents by telling us that it's very dirty, that it is extreme poverty, that food was rarely clean, etc. .. The majority who said that were people who had never set foot in India. (It must be said that our internet searches were very limited in 2006, there were fewer travelers blog). We expected so much worse, that it ended up not being such a big shock. Laos people, surprised us with their patience, so patient it was almost ridiculous. But, a shock that we did not expect is our arrival in Australia, a culture "close" to ours (and later we were returning to Quebec). We thought we would feel good there, quite in our place, and even more, we thought it would comfort us to spend some time there after several months in Asia. Quite the contrary, we felt we were rather out of place and we were not quite attracted to the same things anymore. In fact, it made us realize that we had changed a bit ...
4. Changes, I guess there are naturally things that change in the way of seeing things after a few years on the road. After Australia, I know you made a stop in Quebec, and then you left again for South America. What are the first places that come to your mind when thinking of the continent, what is your best memory, something you would advise other people to see? (Of course this question comes to me with interest, because of my destination)
South America has almost always brought some nice surprises, like most countries we visited elsewhere. Peru and Bolivia are culturally very interesting countries and they are easy to travel given the distances that are small (even if the buses are very slow) and the prices were very good for us. These are two countries where we would return with great enthusiasm. With Chile and Argentina we were amazed with the beautiful scenery and meeting great people when hitchhiking. Especially Patagonia and the far north of both countries were great. We also loved Central America, especially Guatemala, very colorful, but we would put a note on Panama we were a bit disappointed. We did not think it was so Americanized, we had very bad weather for walking, we were probably in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are times like this in the logical continuation of a journey, where we are not "ready" for a particular location.
5. If you could only bring one object or tool (other than clothing) with you, what would it be and why? Let's say that you could have one for each of you.
Say other than passports :)
Maryse: I'll take two: my walking sandals because my feet are fussy and a comfortable backpack carefully chosen. And I would fill it along the way, because everything can be found everywhere.
Dany, a laptop, because with it, it avoids having an excess baggage with travel books (picture books or PDF), very useful as a means of communication (email or Skype very cheap), can be used to pass time during long wait (movies, music, or games). Useful to write a travel journal, a blog, edit photos and videos and to store them. But ultimately, it is not essential.
A mini photo album of our family, our country, landscapes and animals are well appreciated to share with the people you meet on the way.
(Maryse, I will include in your sandals in clothing so you only have one object. For passports I give you a point, hahaha)
6. In your opinion what is the key to stay safe while traveling? And what trick or tip would you give to a new traveler like me?
Everything depends on the country of course. We must understand that many people think we are rich even if we do not consider ourselves that way and are not.
First, I would copy the locals. If people have a habit of getting up at 5 am and go to bed early, do the same. For the rest, these are things we know but sometimes forget to apply. No jewelry, not to take out the equivalent of a week’s salary to pay a fruit (put a small amount available for purchases of the day and the rest of your money hidden elsewhere) not to use your laptop in a transport of 28 h (for example), of course someone could try to steal it while you sleep. Having your day bag on you whenever you go long travel rides and never put your bags it in the overhead compartments or under your seat. Having a fake wallet has saved us many casualties. Twice we had pickpockets steal it, and the third time, a guy with his revolver was'' satisfied'' with our fake wallet and our camera without going to see any further. Our fake wallet contained several fake credit cards, canceled or expired, a little money and a laminated copy of our passport that was often taken for a real one. You must not be too naive and trust everyone, we do not trust everyone back home, and it’s the same thing everywhere.
But there is also a matter of luck or bad luck, but let’s say that we can influence it.
7. What is the biggest thing you learned while traveling?
Take the time to live and settle for less and do not put your happiness for later.
I love this answer. Simplicity and living the moment.
8. What is the best meal or food you've eaten and where were you?
Maryse: a delicious Thali in India especially in Hampi in a small place where the friendly lady, cook and probably the owner of the 4 tables, 10 chairs and four walls, would cook a delicious Thali twice a day for us.
Dany: chicken with pepper and garlic on the island of Koh Pha Ngan, right on the beach.
But often we also dream of sautéed vegetables from China, Indonesian Satay’s, juicy fruits from Vietnam, dried smoked meat from Laos, the Chilean empanadas, Peru’s pork ... we would do love to do a foodie world tour :)
9. And last question, what are your hopes for your future trips?
Have the health to continue to discover and appreciate the marvels of our planet.
Thank you so much for this wonderful interview. It was a great first experience for me. I wish that you have the health to continue for a long time and to keep discovering the world. For me it remains to be seen where the road will take me after my two years in Latin America. Thank you very much Dany and Maryse and keep yourselves and us amazed. I must also thank you for your wonderful blog for all the info you provided that allowed me to take my courage and also get into the adventure.
Thanks to you Normand and we look forward to following your adventures on your blog. Who knows, maybe we will travel together for a while one day :)
To read their adventures: World Tour : Maryse and Dany, 4 years photos, videos, budget and travel journal RTW. (French with possibility to translate using google translate app right on the blog).
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