Next to answer our Five Travel Questions is Declan from The Two Gallivants (the other Gallivant being Emily). Since meeting in London two years ago, they’ve packed in an incredible number of travels thus far. Taking indefinite career breaks, they jetted off to Asia while next year they hope to travel and work in Australia!
Why do you love travel?
I could ramble on and on, shooting off the usual (and very true) traveller cliches about new experiences, wonderful people and breathtaking places, but I will try and be brutally simple instead. Essentially, I do not like missing out – on anything! So for many years I used to sit in my office staring at my computer feeling pangs of anxiety that the world was keeping secrets from me, tempered only by short breaks away, but not anymore. Long term travel has removed all that worry and I feel in a much calmer place.
What destination is top of your bucket list? (Country, city, etc wherever!)
Our style of travel this year in Asia has been usually slow, staying at least one month in the countries we visit. Therefore we have experienced a lot of what those countries have to offer. So much so in fact, that up and down the length of these strange and exotic lands I could point you to little gems of pubs and restaurants in random towns, recommend where to experience jaw dropping natural wonders, or tell you where to rest your head for the night. Now, if you asked me to do the same for my own country of Ireland (as many people have), I would be stumped – a little embarrassing don’t you think???
I moved from Derry, my birthtown, to England to study when I was 18 and only went back to visit my family in the Derry/Donegal area for short breaks. So in my adult life I have not seen much of my homeland and that’s something I want to change after my Round The World travels. From the rolling, verdant scenery that it is famous for, to beaches, waterfalls, mountain ranges and bustling towns and cities, from Guinness to Irish stew and, most of all, its friendly locals, probably the only thing not great about Ireland is the weather – and I want to see it all!! I did have a mini Irish adventure last Christmas before Asia and you can check out the fun that was had by clicking here.
Where is your most favourite place you have travelled to? (and why).
Argghh, the dreaded question…so many to chose from and for many different reasons! Berlin for the partying, Thailand for the beaches…but I’ll play the game and pick one. I would have to say Ratanakiri province in north-east Cambodia and its capital, Banlung. It’s remote enough that it and the locals have not been over exposed to tourism and it retains an authentic Cambodian feel which you won’t find in the tourist traps of Siem Reap or Sihanoukville. Also, it’s where I first fell in love with jungle treks! You can read all about my adventures in Banlung and Ratanakiri here.
What is your most favourite memory or experience whilst travelling?
Again, a difficult one indeed! But I’ll have to go with Tiger Leaping Gorge in China. I did a trek there in July, through a very quiet valley of almost biblical beauty and met a goat herder and some other friendly locals along the way. The main thing for me though was that I was doing it without a guide or other travellers. Doing the trek by myself at my own pace, I had time to set up the shots that I wanted and take whatever detours that caught my eye. More than that though, I was able, without interruption, to take in my magical surroundings and reflect on my travels so far and what I was going to do for the rest of the year. I sorted a few things out in my head in those mountains as it was the first time I had true peace and quiet in a long, long time.
What is your favourite photo from your travels?
There are two that I am most proud of, and I can’t/won’t decide between the two of them! 🙂 So here they are:
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Paddyfield worker near Vang Vieng, Laos – I got lucky with the weather and the worker being there to get this shot…
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Hong Kong by night from a hill top restaurant – it took me a few goes to get this reflection shot how I wanted, but I am more than pleased with the result!
You can get in contact with me via www.thetwogallivants.com and the site has links to all of our other social media profiles – come say hello!
