Travel blogs by Travellerspoint

May 2010

Talking Travel with Sheila and James (aka Hawkson)

27.05.2010

This month, I got in touch with Sheila Swanson and James Hawkins, who go on Travellerspoint by the pseudonym Hawkson. Over the past couple years, Sheila and James have been two of Travellerspoint's most prolific bloggers, detailing their trips through Asia, Europe and most recently to Egypt. I decided to get in touch with them for this month's installment of the Talking Travel series -- and discovered in the process that James is in fact the author of several popular mystery novels (see his website here). Enjoy their thoughts on travel and writing below!

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Sheila and James at Windsor

Over the last few years, you have travelled quite extensively throughout the world, from Asia to Egypt and Europe. What excites you about travel?

Now that we are in our early sixties we would describe ourselves as “Young senior citizens of the world” and are drawn to visit as many of our earthly neighbours as possible before travelling becomes too tiresome or difficult.

The prospect of seeking new horizons and of encountering different peoples, cultures and foods always excites us. Despite the fact that we have both lived in a number of different countries, and have travelled extensively throughout all five continents, there are still many places for us to discover. The Earth is, at one and the same time, both very big and very small, and our natural curiosity leads us to explore as much of it as possible.

You're one of the most prolific bloggers on Travellerspoint, with 110 posts at last count! Do you find that blogging from the road helps you appreciate the places you visit more?

Blogging has greatly enhanced our travel experiences and has given our friends, families and followers a vicarious opportunity to enjoy the sights and ambience of many countries. A blog is just a snapshot of our time on the road but, in striving to capture the essence of each venue and its people in a way that is interesting and informative, we have a much greater appreciation of the places we visit.

At the end of each trip our blog becomes a permanent reminder of our travels. Because the blog requires that we carefully choose just a few meaningful photos, and that we write concisely about our experiences, we have created a journal that is both informative and interesting for ourselves and our friends.

A question for James: Do your travels influence your novels?

The answer is that all of my mystery novels are in some ways based upon my travels. I have lived in France, England and Canada in recent years and have used these locations as the venues for my novels. Many of my novels feature all three of these countries whilst others include Holland, the U.S., Turkey, Iraq, etc.

I only write about countries and places that I know.

Being a successful novelist requires an eclectic knowledge of people and places, in addition to having an ability to write, and I find that world travel broadens my mind and enables me to give my readers a more satisfying experience.

Your current trip is a holiday through Egypt, England and the south of France. What inspired this trip?

Our present trip was inspired by an opportunity to crew on a barge on the Canal-du-Midi in south west France. We are food lovers and decided that we would use the two week cruise to blog about the renowned cuisine of the Languedoc- Roussillon region. As for the Egypt leg of the trip, we dug into our bucket list and came up with a country that neither of us had previously visited – and what a wonderful place it turned out to be.

What have been some of the biggest highlights of your trip so far?

Egypt assaults the senses in every possible way. The sights, sounds and smells of Egypt are so intense, so strident, and so unique, that it is impossible not to be moved by the experience - We have touched ancient history and ancient history has touched us.

Where to after this trip? Do you have any more travels in the pipeline?

As for the future... we have someone to look after our house and cat from this September through to next spring and are looking at spending much of the winter travelling in India and Japan.

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Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

Posted by dr.pepper 21:27 Comments (1)

Talking Travel with Dodger

09.05.2010

This month, our featured member is Roger (aka Dodger), who is on a long-term, open ended trip that currently has him exploring Vietnam and Cambodia. I asked Roger a few questions about his current trip and his love for travel in general, and he was kind enough to post in from Saigon with his tales.

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Roger in Nepal.

So you just got to Ho Chi Minh City last week, and your next step is to cycle to Cambodia. What inspired you to travel by bike?

Actually the plan was to rent a motorcycle in HCMC and ride up to see Dalat then over to Mui Ne and back to Saigon to drop off the motorcycle then pick up a bicycle, ride through the delta down to Phu Quoc then on over to Cambodia. I might have bitten off more than I can chew. As usual I've jumped into something only to realize it's not a simple 1-2-3 process. First strike was finding out that things have changed a bit in HCMC and motorcycle renters are now more reluctant to rent bikes for trips out of Saigon. I guess I could have lied and said I just wanted it for a local trip, or rented one of the cheaper crappy bikes I was offered, but the buses are so simple and cheap I decided to just jump on a bus to Mui Ne.

Because of a previous commitment to a race in New Zealand and the ticket I already had bought last year for a flight to India, it means I have 4 weeks for both Vietnam and Cambodia. I'm limiting myself to only southern Vietnam and even less in Cambodia. Even so the time is already flying past. I left my big backpack in Kuala Lumpur, so I could travel light here. But trying to get everything into my daypack, it's now overstuffed and bulky and will be a pain to carry on a bicycle. I can probably figure something out, but my biggest problem is I'm running out of time. Even limiting myself to the south of Vietnam on this trip it's difficult to get everywhere and see everything without it being a rush, and I hate traveling like that. The bike ride isn't totally out of the question, but I need to make a decision here really quick if I am going to try and do it. My inspiration? I have met a number of travelers on bikes, and since biking has always been a big part of my life I thought I really ought to try traveling by one.

Have you ever done a long-distance bike trip like this before?

I've never done a long distance tour, but I've raced bikes for years, so cycling has always been something I enjoyed and doing 3 hour races at a fast pace seems like I should be reasonably prepared for a tour pace. Just thought it would be a nice way to see the country and it's such an approachable way to meet with the locals.

I was looking at the map for your current trip and noticed you've titled it: "I don't know where this one will end"... Sound mysterious! Are you playing this trip by ear, or do you have a rough idea of where you want to go?

Well this trip is actually still a continuation of my current trip that I'm 2 years into. I don't have a firm plan of where it's all going to end and this current segment was going to leave me in India in October. I keep going back to New Zealand for their summer, partly because I bought a campervan there and my bikes are there. I'm a bit of a creature of habit and even with travel I find I'm going back to the same countries over and over. That's not always a bad thing. I enjoy getting to see different parts of a country or seeing the same place but in a different season. It's also nice to meet up with local friends I've made. But in the back of my mind I'm always feeling I should try new places too. When I planned this segment I was trying to make a decision about if I should return again to New Zealand, I'd sort of left things open as to where it would end.

Your first trip was when you were nineteen. Where did you go on that trip?

I told my parents I was going for a 2 week holiday to America and visit my brother who had emigrated there. In my head I had a plan to travel the world and not go back to England.

Looking back, do you think that first trip had a big impact on your life? Or more generally, how much do you think travel has affected your outlook on life?

It completely changed my life. Setting out on that first trip back in 1982, I used to meet all these great people that were backpacking around the world. Most of us didn't have a penny to our name, but getting work was much easier back then. The more I traveled and the more people I met the more I was inspired to keep going. It also becomes very difficult to stop wanting to see more places once you start. I traveled all over the US and even though I sort of settled down in America, it never felt completely like it was my home. I always dreamed of finishing what I started out to do. For a number of reasons I was stuck in the US and couldn't leave. So there I stayed for 27 years! until i finally decided to up end my entire life and hit the road again. Haven't regretted it yet.

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Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

Posted by dr.pepper 22:32 Comments (0)

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