TRAVEL INTERVIEWS: JEREMY JONES OF LIVING THE DREAM TRAVEL BLOG

Jeremy & Angie on the Everest Base Camp Trek

As this interview goes live, Jeremy Jones is enjoying his honeymoon in Spain with his lovely bride, Angie. A BIG Congratulations to the newlyweds! Just before he got hitched this past Saturday, he squeezed in this interview with me. Thanks, Jeremy!

Jeremy’s had quite a life of travel thus far and has even recently written a very useful guidebook for RTW travels. In this interview, he shares his many travel adventures, favorite places, insights and advice. Let’s get started:

Q1: Your travel blog is dedicated to helping people plan and travel long-term. How and when did you catch the travel bug?

It is hard to say. I spent a lot of time in college watching the Travel Channel and dreaming of the day I could get up and go. So the day after I graduated I packed my bags, went to Europe for nearly four weeks, and it exploded from there. I can’t think of any one experience that really made me become addicted, but just a gradual build up over time.

Q2. You started Living the Dream in Aug, 2008, in conjunction with planning and preparing for your own RTW trip. When did you finally set out on your adventures, who did you go with, and how long did you travel? What areas of the world did you cover during that trip?

My initial plan was to head out solo and travel for as long as the money would last, which I estimated to be about a year. The itinerary included most of Eastern and Central Asia, and South America. At some point in the planning process, I got a girlfriend (Angie) who was 100% supportive of what I was doing. Not wanting to give that up, I split the difference and only did half – 5 months in Asia starting in Japan and ending in Singapore with everything in between. She came out and met me in Singapore, I proposed to her in Thailand, and we just got married last weekend (May 19). Overall, I think it was a good choice!

Jeremy at Petra, Jordan

Q3. Sorry for this is very over-done question, but what were your 3 favorite places and why?

I love this question. I just hope I am consistent in my responses when people ask me. My top three?

1) Thailand – Specifically Koh Tao, Koh Lipe, Koh Phi Phi (engagement spot), and Chiang Mai. It is really hard to compare absolute beauty with low, low prices.

2) Switzerland – Anywhere in the mountains makes me a happy person, and cheese fondue.

3) Tie between Jordan and Singapore – The ruins and temples in Jordan are nothing but stunning, but Singapore is one of the best food oriented cultures I’ve ever seen. With that, they are tied for third.

Q4: Were there any places you really disliked / hated / never want to visit again / wouldn’t advice people to visit? If so, where and what was the turn off?

I try to avoid not recommending places to people. When I am posed with the thought of going somewhere and having a bad experience versus staying at home and not experiencing anything, I’d rather have the bad experience. With that being said, I do look back at my time in Hong Kong and remember being pretty run down after spending 4 weeks in China. I think it was a mix of still getting used to the food and part getting used to being on the road (about 50 days in to traveling). I’d definitely go back to Hong Kong, but most of my time there was pretty frustrating from the emotional aspect of it all.

Q5: Looking over the sheer number of countries discussed on Living the Dream, I have to assume that you didn’t visit all those places solely during your big RTW trip. Could you give us the bigger picture on your life-long travels thus far. What other trips did you make before and after your big 2010 trip?

You’re right; I have done several smaller trips before the big one in 2010. I’ve been on three cruises that have hit more than half of the Caribbean islands, with our favorite island being Dominica. In 2008, I went to Europe and did a whirlwind tour of most of the major cities in the Western half of Europe from London to Prague, down to Rome, and up through Paris. In 2009, I took a three week trip to Egypt and Jordan with a long layover in Athens to see the Acropolis. Finally, 2010 was the grand adventure in Asia. Our next big trip is our upcoming honeymoon to Spain where we will spend 2 weeks eating our way through the country.

Jeremy at Miyajima, Japan

Q6: Americans tend to fear that many other countries in the world are dangerous, unsanitary, undeveloped and crime-ridden. In my experience, that’s just not true. From what I’ve seen, most countries in the world are actually safer, less crime-ridden, and surprisingly well-developed. What did you discover in these regards out in the world?

I feel much safer in most foreign countries than I do at home (USA). Although I cannot argue with some locations being unsanitary and undeveloped, the danger aspect is always overblown from what people tend to say. The fact of the matter is that many countries depend on tourism for the main source of revenue, and many of these places go out of their way to make foreigners feel welcomed. One of the only real threats any traveler has to be concerned with is pick-pocketing, and that can be avoided in most cases with proper precautions.

Jeremy & Angie paragliding in Austria

Q7: Did you ever feel in danger, threatened, or fear for your life? If so, could you please tell us about one experience.

I’ve been scammed countless times while traveling, mostly by taxi drivers trying to raise their rates on me at the last second or refusing to budge on their outlandishly high prices. But at no point in my travels have I felt like I’ve been in significant danger, even when paragliding off the mountains in Austria or scuba diving next to poisonous fish in Egypt. The most upsetting thing that I am able to report on from personal experience is another traveler in our group getting their camera pick-pocketed while in Egypt. Luckily, I had 2 backup cameras and let them borrow one for the rest of the trip, which they mailed back to me after we got home.

Jeremy & Angie at Phi Phi Island, Thailand

Q8: During your RTW trip, did you ever feel that you wanted to just travel forever and never return to your former life? If so, why didn’t you just keep going? Or did you always know you wanted to return and live a ‘settled’ life? If so, why?

We always had the thought of me coming back home when Angie came to visit in Singapore, so it wasn’t that unexpected when I actually did that. In fact, I spent many weeks throughout my travels coming up with an ingenious way to propose to her so it was a rather large culmination when it actually happened. In fact, I think a few other travel bloggers were secretly taking bets on if I would propose and go home with her when she came to visit. Many of the first responses were not “congratulations” but “I knew it!!” in response to me cutting the trip short.

If the opportunity for us to ever travel forever and never return comes up again however, you can be sure we’d do it.

Q9: Traveling long-term is a life-altering experience which changes travelers’ outlook on life, priorities, and understanding of humans and the world. How did your long-term travels alter your views and/or your lifestyle?

I went from being one of the most introverted people ever to one of the most extroverted, purely due to travel. But other than that, I think there are a number of skills that you pick up while traveling that have helped me in my professional career too, such as networking abilities, money management, and planning which can go quite far in life. I often cite travel as the reasons I have the skill set I do for my current job, and people look at me funny for saying that over 6 years of college, but those who have traveled and got a job after should know what I mean.

Jeremy Jones of Living the Dream

Q10: Long-term travelers often experience ‘reverse culture shock’ when they return home. What shocked or surprised you about the USA when you returned?

I knew that the prices were going to be a lot higher in the US than in the rest of the world. I think the biggest shock to me was how easy it was to get back to the normal routine. Most people have a difficult experience readjusting, but to me it just seemed like a normal thing to do. I suppose that I had the benefit of getting engaged at the end of my trip and that excitement to look forward to. Otherwise, I could see that coming home would be a bit of a shock for most. Still not used to the 9-to-5 hours though.

Q11: Are you planning any more long-term or RTW trips? If so, when will you be heading out and for how long? If not, what sort of travels are you planning in the next couple of years?

We’re keeping our travel plans a secret right now. But needless to say, you should be watching out in the future as things will get quite interesting once we let it out.

Q12: In early 2012 you released your first book, The Long-Term Travelers Guide. Congratulations! For those not familiar with your book yet, could you please tell us briefly what’s in the book and where people can buy it.

Sure! The Long-Term Traveler’s Guide is the definitive planning resource for all those looking to head off and explore the world for weeks or months on end.

Unlike most guidebooks that focus on a specific country or city and tailor their advice to select travelers, the guide is a location independent planning resource that covers all aspects of long-term travel – for every traveler. Rather than telling you what visa type a traveler from the USA needs to go to India, which is different than what is required of a traveler from Nepal, the guide covers the major types of visas that exist and shows you where you can find the information out for your particular scenario.

As every traveler and every itinerary is different, the guide covers how to build your dream itinerary, save for it, and have the perfect journey without having an unexpected setback that coincides with the dreaded phrase “I never thought of that.”

Right now we have The Long-Term Traveler’s Guide available in print, Kindle, Nook, and iPad formats; as well as a premium digital package that has many extra planning tools that we put together to help making planning a long-term trip a breeze!

Q13: What’s the biggest piece of advice (or 2) you’d give to anyone who’s dreaming of traveling long-term?

My first piece of advice would be to determine what your dream is, save as long as you have to, and then live it! The second would be that while you are living your dream, do not let anyone try and tell you that what you are doing is wrong. It is your dream, live it the way you want to!

——————————————————————————————————————–

Thanks much, Jeremy, for sharing your world travels and advice with us! Congrats on your marriage and honeymoon. See you out traveling again soon! cheers, Lash