On the latest Five Travel Questions, we have David from xyzAsia tell us about why he loves Bhutan, flying over Victoria Falls and more!
Why do you love travel?
I’ve been travelling the world since a very young age. I can’t think of any other way to get the most of out life. Travel is more educational than any school or college. It has enabled me to learn about other cultures, be more tolerant of other people’s beliefs, and be a better human being. Travel photography has been a hobby all my life. I have a collection of photographs from 96 countries, and looking back through those is a way of reliving many enjoyable experiences and pleasant memories.
What destination is top of your bucket list?
Without a doubt, Tahiti is top of my bucket list. It’s the most beautiful of all the South Pacific islands and I want to add photographs of Tahiti to my collection. Many years ago I booked a stopover in Papeete when taking a Qantas flight from Sydney to Los Angeles (back then the SYD-PPT-LAX route was a popular one) but on arrival in Tahiti I wasn’t allowed to enter because I didn’t have a visa. The travel agent had advised me that a visa was not required, but that turned out to be not true (these days, however, a visa is not required for most nationalities). Since then I’ve never taken the word of a travel agent on visas. I’ve always done my own research.
Where is your favourite place that you have travelled to?
Bhutan is my favourite country. I love the Himalayas but most of the popular destinations in India and Nepal are so crowded these days with other travellers. In Bhutan, once you’ve left the airport at Paro, you may not see another tourist for days, and there are times that you feel like you are the only foreigner in the country. Bhutan is so clean, safe and peaceful, that I never have any hesitation as naming it as my favourite place.
What is your favourite memory or travel experience whilst travelling?
Flying in an ultralight over Victoria Falls was an experience I will never forget. I got some incredible photographs of the falls from the Zimbabwe side, and the view of the sunrise over the African plains was incredible from up there. Sitting on the edge of Victoria Falls on the Zambia side was an unforgettable experience too. I couldn’t believe that there were no safety railings and that visitors were allowed to go right to the edge of the falls. It was extremely dangerous but at the same time was unnervingly exhilarating, and certainly made you appreciate the power of nature as millions of gallons of water poured over a precipice
What is your favourite photo from your travels?
This is the hardest of the five questions for me to answer because I have so many favourites. But this photo taken in a remote fiord in Greenland is one that always stands out in my mind because it depicts the rugged beauty of the country and shows how little regard that man has for the environment. The fuel drums have been there for 75 years. They were dumped during World War II and nobody has been back to clean them up.
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