Nomadic Matt: Your “Lonely Planet Guide to Southeast Asia” changed guidebooks and travel. It created a mass market and accessibility that didn’t exist before. How does having such a big impact on travel make you feel?
Tony Wheeler: Great, looking back we were there at the start of something big happening. Travel was becoming more affordable and accessible so there was a demand for destination information. That’s how Lonely Planet started, with people asking us for our recommendations for destinations because we’d been there and done it. This led to the creation of our first guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap. There’s actually a book about to be published by a guy who tries to travel around the region today using one of our original books, South-East Asia on a Shoestring (now 36 years old). Amazingly, he finds lots of places either still in operation or run by the children or even grandchildren of the people we encountered when we researched the guide in 1974. Travel is constantly changing and developing but the need for trusted, accurate information about destinations is still there. More people travel further and longer and in different ways. Our guides continue to provide the tried and tested recommendations that our first guide, Across Asia on the Cheap, was founded on.

Lonely Planet is considered the bible for young, backpackers and long term travelers. It’s the book they use far more than any other guide out there. Is that the market you had always hoped for given that was the style of travel you started with?
We started out doing books for people just like us, young and penniless. Obviously we’ve changed over the years and so have the books! But although we cover the upscale travel just as much as backpacking these days I still have a real soft spot for the backpackers, they’re travel pioneers, they’re often pioneering new routes and new ways of travel and let’s face it, there’s no travel experience like the first time travel experience. I reckon gap year travellers learn more in that year than they did in their last 5 years of school. Or the next years of university! I also like the tough travel, off-the-beaten track information, which is why I’ve enjoyed myself using our Africa guide in Congo DRC these past three weeks.

In the book “The Beach”, there is a line “Once it’s in the Lonely Planet, it’s ruined.” That comment reflects a feeling that Lonely Planet (and guidebooks in general) sterilize places and turn them into tourist traps. How do you react to such criticism?
The key here is that Lonely Planet guidebooks are just that – a guide. We encourage travellers to use our guides as a starting point, by providing them with the tools to create their own adventures. Tourists will visit destinations regardless, we are just providing them with the tools to travel independently and put their tourist pounds back into the local economy. It has always been paramount to us that Lonely Planet encourages responsible, independent and ethical tourism. Our guides advise travellers about the local history, politics, culture, wildlife and economy so that they can get to the heart of the place and understand the destination they are visiting. I have dedicated my life to travel and am a strong believer in its benefits, both for the traveller and the local community that they are visiting. Travel broadens the mind by sharing cultures, language and traditions. It is impossible to argue that tourism doesn’t influence destinations but there are many factors contributing to the growth of tourism, not least flight routes and the declining cost of travel.

Are there any aspects of travel that have changed over the last 20 years that you DON’T like? Why?
A lot of people will say the greater ease of travel, communication, and information have taken the romance out of travel, but I reckon things like internet cafes are just a new version of poste restante. There’ll be just as many tales of internet cafe meetings and romances as ‘sitting on the steps of the post office reading long lost letters.’ The saddest change is a post-911 security one. Of course, I hate all the farting around with metal detectors and X-ray machines (and I could design a better way of doing it than 90% of airports I pass through) but the biggest one is that you can’t go up on the flight deck anymore.While you never could on US airlines,  elsewhere in the world if you asked nicely you could generally get invited up to the flight deck to have a look over the pilot’s shoulder. The one occasion I flew Concorde I went up the sharp end and twice I even got to sit in on a landing of a 747.

On the flip side of that question, what do you see as the more positive aspects of how travel has changed over the last 20 years?
Romance or not, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the ease of doing things these days whether it’s booking a hotel, getting a seat on a plane in Congo DRC or a train in Switzerland, and that you can download visa application forms instantly. (Iran was amazingly wired and helpful in that respect the last time I went there.) That almost anywhere you can get a free or near-as-damn-it free local SIM card for your phone so I’ve had my own phone number everywhere from Afghanistan to Zambia is also amazing as is ATM machines spit out currency in the weirdest and most unlikely places.

Where do you see guidebooks going in the digital age?
It’s often said there’s as much print as ever, it’s just not necessarily on paper anymore. I think we’re going to keep on researching things, to do a good job you have to go there, you cannot research a place from behind a desk or in front of a computer. But whether that ‘guidebook’ will be a book or an iPhone app, who knows.

What do you think of travel blogs?
Great. Travel blogs publish such a wealth and diversity of travel articles. It is a fantastic community and it’s exciting to watch it grow.

Do you believe there is a professional quality to travel blogs that is on par with guidebooks?
Some of them. But then there are some good guidebooks and some crap ones as well.

Which blogs do you like? What are some examples of “good ones”?
I don’t follow any blogs, but if I’m looking for something connected to some trip or place or idea I’m thinking about then I often end up on somebody’s blog. The Congo trip I’ve just done was very mundane, but God there are some great Congo stories out there. Like this one by a Belgian couple who slogged their way right across the country, all but destroying their Land Cruiser en route and putting it through the sort of hell Toyota could hardly have dreamed up. And I’ve gone down plenty of ‘roads’ on Land Cruisers where, at the end, I thought ‘what a vehicle! Amazing!’

Why did you sell your stake in Lonely Planet?
We didn’t want to run it forever and it was time for a change.

Now that you have sold Lonely Planet, how are you keeping yourself busy?
Travelling! I’m working on a new travel book and Lonely Planet keep asking me to do some things.

So you are still involved with LP? Is that as an advisory role or do you have a special title?
A title? A role? Something I get paid for? No. But I write a monthly column for the LP Magazine, I seem to write a lot of intros/forewords/columns/etc for assorted LP books, I’m still often asked to front for something, appear for something, etc with LP. And for the rest of my life I’ll be ‘one of the people who started LP.’ And I’ll never be able to go anywhere without sending back corrections/additions/suggestions for the relevant book. Incidentally, I never had an LP business card with a title or role on it.

If you have any one advice for travelers, what would it be?
Go. And go somewhere interesting.

“Most people in the world are out to help, not hurt you. We spend so much time being told not to accept candy from strangers because they are going harm us that we forget that sometimes, the woman next to you on the bus just has some spare sweets to share.” – Alex

“Never have expectations. Open yourself up to the endless possibilities and the world will offer you more then you knew was out there.” – Jessica

“Take it slow, and don’t plan too much. Have an idea of what you want to do and see, but try not to lock anything down until you have to.” – Mike

“You’re going to enjoy these experiences ten times more once you are back home. You will relieve every moment, regret all you didn’t do, and make it out to be much more exciting than you realized it was at the time. While few newbies realize it at the time, your travel experience only becomes better once you are home and as time goes on.” – Aaron

“A big smile and some enthusiastic pointing will get you a lot further than looking stricken as you struggle with unfamiliar verbs. That being said, if you can memorise “hello”, “thank you”, and “I’ll have a beer, please”, it does make life slightly easier.” – Susan

“Traveling is not so much about the places you visit or the things you do, it’s about the people you connect with and the experiences you share. It’s about immersing yourself in and learning about another culture, so be open-minded and respectful so you can get the most out of your travels.” – Niki

“When you travel, things go wrong.” That’s been my mantra for years now. If people can be at peace with that before they leave home, they’ll have much happier trips. The farther away we step from our comfort zones, and our homes where we know how to do things, the greater the chances are that things will go awry. If we’re going to have happy journeys, we need to accept those moments rather than resist them. Later on, they usually end up being our best stories.” – David Fox

“Slow down and enjoy your time. So many new travelers try to see everything in a short amount of time and they get burnt out. ” – James

“Pack less & spend less! As we did Asia first, we quickly realised that all the expensive clothes we bought and packed into our big rucksacks we’re a waste of money & time. Just buy the cheaper t-shirts & tops as and when you need new ones, they last about as long and cost a whole lot less.” – JW

“Don’t skip out on doing something because you never know if or when you’ll return.” – Michael

“All the stuff you really need can fit into one bag that’s easy to carry, no matter how long your trip.” – Sarah

“Take it slow! You have your whole life ahead of you; there’s no need to fit everything you possibly can into a single trip. Also, build in some recovery days, particularly if you plan to travel long-term. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself, even when (or perhaps especially when!) you’re on the road.” – Christy

“Accept every invitation because you don’t know the outcome until it arrives.” – Maria

“Go with the flow! Be amenable to change. Not everything is going to go according to plan, and you have to be ok with that. Embrace spontaneity!” – Allie

“You CAN do the travel thing. It’s easier than it seems and there are so many other people out there doing the same thing.” – Mike

“Keep in touch with home. Some travellers will tell you that the internet has destroyed travel, and I get their point. Once in a while, it’s good to disconnect. However, travelling solo will mean you sometimes get lonely, and even a five-minute Facebook chat with a friend back home can help cheer you up on a blue day.” – Tom

“Be open to everything. Travelling is meant to be a new experience, so don’t close yourself off to things you initially reckon you won’t like, as you will more likely than not be surprised.” – Rob

“Clean underwear are a luxury worth having.” – Crystal

“Book the flight that starts your trip, and leave the rest to the road. That first one makes sure you don’t put it off forever, and the freedom afterward leaves you open to whatever randomness traveling throws at you. ” – Stephen

Thank you everybody who participated and sent in responses to the questions over the last few months. This was very interesting and I learned a lot about you. (I hope you learned a lot about each other!) Now, to celebrate my 5 year travel anniversary, check back here on Monday for when I give away a bunch of free plane tickets to places around the world! (Yes, I said free plane tickets. And, yes, I also said around the world. It’s going to be a good giveaway!)

“My laptop.” – Sarah

“Pen and paper. You can’t always get Internet connections, batteries have a finite supply – especially during power outages, but you can always write (or draw) to remind yourself, explain yourself, communicate.” – Maria

“My iPhone…I can write on it, take pictures with it and it has been known to get me out of some pretty hairy situations in the past!” – Nicole

“I’d say either my diary. The diary I need, as I always want to take down notes, incase I forget some small detail in the future. Needless to say though, I have forgotten many times to write down things but there is no harm in attempting.” – Rob

“My cameras. I can’t imagine being unable to document my travels. Not only are photographs the best souvenir, but I think stopping, composing an image, and preserving it forever makes you more intimate with the subject. I have actual nightmares about my battery running out at a beautiful moment my underwater housing flooding during a great dive.” – Alex

“I would say my greenstone necklace gifted to me in NZ. It reminds me that this life isn’t always about work or play. Balance is essential.” – Crystal

“Our RV. It is our home, and we love it. Our 8 year old likes to tell people we are homeless. This isn’t exactly true — it’s just that our home is on wheels and we rarely stay anywhere for more than a week.” – Amy

“Aloe. No matter what I do, I always get a burn somewhere and aloe saves me every time.” – Julie

“Books. Not even necessarily good books, because the random castoffs from hostel libraries will do in a pinch. There’s not much mundanely worse, though, than boarding an overnight bus/train without an unread book to pass the time.” – Stephen

“I suffer from bad ear pain while flying so I can’t live without Airwaves chewing gum (an Australian brand). The gum contains eucalyptus, which helps my head decongest and chewing the gum unblocks my ears.” – Justine

“Ipod. I couldn’t sleep most nights in hostels without it.” – Mike

“Lipgloss.” – Jenni

“I hate to admit it, but I love having my laptop with me. My laptop provides me instant communication with friends and family back home (so important when traveling long-term), and it provides security when managing my finances and other personal affairs online.” – Stephanie

“My camera, to be cliche. Or a notebook, I like to write on buses and planes so I don’t forget everything that just happened.” – Penny

“My personal travel sized air purifier. I never travel without it!”- Kelly

“Obviously, my passport but next would be a camera.”- Niki

“My blackberry smartphone. It does many things. I can use it as GPS if I get lost, taking pictures and post ‘em to Facebook. And it’s fun when people always knowing where I go, so if you’re in trouble they can track you.” – Emir

“My camera.” – James

“My Lonely Planet guide. It really is my bible.” – JJ

“I have grown accustomed to having my macbook with me, so I can write, email, and upload my photos immediately.” – Michael

“An iPhone. Having instant access to maps, directions, and GPS (not to mention all the other apps) has been a huge advantage on the road.” – Christy

“In these times of high-technology, I couldn’t live without… the soap container! A fantastic plastic box that solves forever the problem of a drying multi-purpose soap bar.” – Fabio

“Solid shampoo and conditioner from Lush. It doesn’t count towards your liquid allowance on a plane as it’s, well, not a liquid. Plus it smells great, and you can also buy a travel tin so the insides of your backpack don’t turn into a gooey, albeit pleasant smelling, mess.” – Tom

“A folded zippered tote bag ready to be stuffed with clothes so the main suitcase is available for purchases.” – Margy

“Hands down my PackTowl quick-dry towel”- Kelly

“A hoodie. It’s a good pillow/comfy for car travel, a hair protector, a cover from rain and cold, and a clever disguise!” – Margot

“My Kindle. It really helps to pass the time at airports, weighs next to nothing, and doesn’t take up any space in my suitcase!” – Pinai

“Sometimes I feel I have tried to do too much while traveling and that I don’t allow myself to immerse myself into the culture or sometimes I become too lazy that I find I don’t really do enough to get a feel of the place.” – Rob

“Missing out on hiking Franz Josef glacier in NZ.” – Crystal

“I didn’t begin earlier.” – Maria

“My biggest travel regret was my first trip to Europe 12 years ago. I hired a car and did the grand tour of Europe, 6 countries in 20 days. Spent the vast majority of the time on motorways, trying to make the next destination. Saw next to nothing except European motorways.” – Rod

“I’ve been around Southeast Asia three times and never been to the Philippines! I’ve also been to Indonesia three times and never visited Sumatra! I’ll be going though!” – Slice

“That we didn’t leave sooner.” – Amy

“Not studying abroad. I didn’t start travelling until I was 22. I wish I started at 18 or sooner.” – Mike

“I would not have pre-booked a package of flights. Although I may have saved a bit of money, I sometimes wonder how my path may have veered more from my original plan if I wasn’t thinking about those future flights.” – Stephanie

“My biggest regret is coming back to the U.S. and letting myself get sucked in and stuck too long. Now I have to dismantle my life, job, responsibilities and try to be free again.” – Niki

“Allotting two or three days to cities that deserve weeks.”- Allie

“That I didn’t discover budget airlines sooner! I used to think Expedia was the only website you could book flights on and that if they didn’t show a certain airline, it simply didn’t exist. Boy was I wrong!” – Tom

“Not getting post cards in every city!” – Krisan

“Delaware.” – Erin

“Not traveling earlier in life. I didn’t start until I was 45, and can kick myself in the a** for not doing it sooner. The excuses, “I can’t afford it”, “I don’t know the language”, “Screw the French” was just so wrong!!” – Terry

“Not getting the names or contact information of people Ive met along the way.” – Kerra

“I wish I would have stepped outside my comfort zone a little more while I was on my first trip. I also wish I would have tried more local food but I was on a strict budget. Looking back, I would have gladly paid a few extra hundred dollars to experience that part of the local culture.” – James

“Not studying abroad in college when I had the chance. The thought of going away on my own to a foreign country for several months (and leaving behind my boyfriend, now husband) was just too frightening for me at the time. I also regret not traveling for a few months after college. For some reason I was so quick to want a job and be in the real world. Now I’m not sure why I was in such a hurry!” – Emily

“Not starting taking advantage of all that free time I had during college to travel more.” – Courtney

My biggest travel regret is focusing too much on the “sights” and forgot to interact with locals and fellow travelers. I’ve realized that the people you meet on the road are always the ones that makes the trip worthwhile.”- Plif

“Running out of money.” – James Clark

“Not taking advantage of all the work visas available to travelers when I was younger.” – Audrey

“My biggest travel regret it the same, every time: going home. This time, I’m not going to do it!” – Alex

Editor’s Note: If you want to share your story for the upcoming posts, come over to my my original blog and submit your answers. Tell us your story. We want to hear it. I want to hear it.

Nomadic Matt: Why did you start Airfare watchdog?
George Hobica: I noticed that other sites weren’t listing fares on all airlines, such as Southwest and Allegiant, and they weren’t listing promo code fares or fares available only on the airlines’ web sites. And I felt there was a need for a human touch. A $500 fare to Europe in the dead of winter isn’t the same as a $500 fare in summer; traditional airfare alert sites weren’t triggering alerts if the fare season or rules changed, because they were only tracking the price.

How do you find these deals? It must take a lot of work to hunt them out, especially obscure ones.
We do monitor fare changes using a software program, but each fare is analyzed by a real live human being, who decides, based on years of experience, whether the fare is a “buy” or not. If it’s historically low or otherwise a “decent” price (or more hopefully, a sizzling deal) we post it on site.

Do you ever feel a conflict between your company and it’s parent Expedia? After all, they sell fares and you might send people somewhere else.
No. Nor do we find a conflict with TripAdvisor or Hotwire, also sibling sites. They leave us alone to do our thing, which is great. Basically the feeling is we just want to cover the marketplace as much as possible.

For consumers looking for a cheap flight, what tips would you give them for finding one?
We have a list of our top tips for finding fares here: http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/blog/3802366/updated-our-best-tips-for-finding-low-airfares/

But the number one tip is to sign up for fare alerts, and follow our tweets online. Fare alerts are great, but they’re sent out by email, and email has inherent problems with deliverability and timeliness. Twitter and Facebook are great “instant” sources. Second tip is to search frequently and often and doggedly because fares change all the time.

Is some of it just luck? The best fares always seem to be when an error occurs and someone was there just to catch it at the right time.
It’s not just luck but hard work and vigilance. Not all the deals are errors, in fact most of them aren’t. They’re just sneak sales during which the airlines are trying to fill just a few seats on the sly. If they wanted to sell more, they’d advertise them.

As someone who deals with airlines prices all the time, is there any method to how airline pricing? It seems to have no rhyme or reason.
It’s all very irrational. If the airline business were rational, it wouldn’t have collectively lost so many billions of dollars over the years.

Is there anything consumers can do to game the system?
There are some tricks, some of them not necessarily ethical, and some that can backfire. I’d rather not go there.

Ok, then, is there any truth to the rumors I’ve heard that airlines and airline booking sites use “tracking cookies” to see consumer behavior? Thus if I go to site X, search but don’t buy and come back again and do the same search, the prices might be higher?
We have noticed this at least with Travelocity.com. If you do a flexible date search and see a low fare, and then come back later doing the same search, you might not see the lowest fare again, but rather than next lowest fare. It doesn’t happen all the time but we have seen it happen in the past. But honestly, we don’t see it on other sites too often. If it does happen, it’s because only one or two seats were available for that flight at X fare and when you come back they’ve been sold, leaving the next lowest fare.

If consumers buy a fare and the price goes down, do they have any way of getting the lowered price?
Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest will give you a voucher for the entire amount of a fare drop difference. Other airlines charge up to $150 on a domestic ticket or $250 for an international one, and some fares on some airlines don’t qualify for fare-drop refunds at all. Yapta.com is a good way to track any refund you might be entitled to, although it doesn’t work with all airlines (most notably Southwest and most non-U.S. carriers).

What are your favorite online tools for finding and monitoring ticket prices?
If I’m totally flexible in my dates, and I usually am, I like Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com. Otherwise, I’ll go with TripAdvisor.com/Flights.

If someone was going on a trip say 6 months from now, would you advise them to buy now or wait?
I’d advise them to start looking right now, follow tweets, sign up for lots of different fare alert emails, and keep looking 2-3 times per day for a couple of months. If there’s going to be a huge price drop, chances are good it will happen over a 2-3 month period but the best sales only last a few hours and they are not advertised.

What do you see for the long term future of airline ticket prices? Up or down?
If I knew that I wouldn’t be sitting here answering these questions. Seriously, no one can predict because there are so many variables: oil prices, further industry consolidation, geopolitical events, natural and manmade disasters, and so on. Over the long term, yes fares will creep upwards, if only due to inflation. But consumers have a breaking point and they are only willing to pay so much to sit in a tin can on a thinly padded seat, get pawed by TSA, breathe stale air, and deal with cranky babies and passengers of size spilling over into their space. So fares will only go up so much; they’re inelastic.

You can find George giving more tips and fare alerts on the site Airfarewatchdog. I also recommend following their twitter stream for fare alerts and amazing deals that appear last minute.

“On my first visit to New York, I soon found out that the hostel I had booked was not in fact ‘Upper West Side’ as advertised, but in the depths of Harlem. This wouldn’t have been too much of an issue except that I arrived at 2am and there was no one at the hostel to let me in, despite the racket I was making! Let me tell you, I don’t want to recommend being a single woman alone in the middle of the night in Harlem to anyone! I thankfully survived til sunrise, but not without hearing multiple gunshots, being harassed by a gang and having to make a run for it with a giant suitcase.” – Nicole

“The most memorable one was in Latvia when I had some weird ‘stalker’ who kept touching me up on the bus, and then when I got off the bus early to avoid him, he followed me through the forest for three hours before I eventually lost him. It was a shame I never got to see the Castles I originally went out to see because of him.”- Rob

“Either getting robbed in Bali, or struggling with getting a ticket for a 12 hour train ride in Thailand. We absolutely had to be in Bangkok and left it until the last minute to buy a ticket for the sleeper train. The only tickets they had were for 3rd class ‘Standing.’ We had to stand up for 12 hours on a cramped train all the way.” – Slice

“We had just crossed the state border of Northern Territory and South Australia. Though it’s the middle of the desert, it was pouring rain. Despite trying to find somewhere to pull over and stop for the night we hadn’t been able to find anywhere for a few hours of looking. We hit a large puddle of the road, and it felt like a tire had blown on the RV. We pulled over to check the tires, and although it turned out that they were fine, we sank almost to the chassis in the soft mud on the side of the road. My poor husband had to dig the caravan out of that shoulder in the twilight and the rain, while I kept the kids occupied and happy in the car. We kept driving and came to a road house not much further along the highway. We pulled in, but because the roads were so slippery with the rain and the fuel on the ground, the back end of the RV clipped a truck window.” – Amy

“Having to leave before I am ready to go. ” – Maria

“In 2010, I went quad biking in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was going great, right up until the moment where one of my tires hit a rock and I lost control. I flew into a ditch about two meters deep, and the bike turned over onto its side. If I hadn’t been thrown clear, chances are the side of the ditch would have taken my head off. As it was, my worst injury was a banged up knee and a long strip of road rash along one arm. I had to pay $400 for the bike damage, another $75 to get cleaned up at the doc’s, and get some antibiotics and painkillers to make sure I didn’t get an infection, then had to take a night bus to Sihanoukville, still wearing the same clothes I’d crashed in, trying my best to hold my sore arm away from the other passengers to make sure nobody banged it!” – Susan

“Witnessing the point blank assassination of 3 drug dealers at a bar in Puerto Rico.” – Mike

“I came down with swine flu when I was traveling in Turkey. One of the biggest advisories during the season of swine was to not get on a plane while ill, but I was stuck in Istanbul and needed to get home. I was petrified that the airport would have a fever-detector and I would get detained and not be able to leave – thankfully that didn’t happen. It was still a pretty miserable experience though.” – Allison

“My sister’s car blew a head-gasket by Death Valley in August, where the temps hovered around 123 & we had about $50 left because we were due back to her home in a day. There was no Western Union, signs were posted to not leave your car at night due to rattlesnakes & not to leave your car if you run out of gas. This while showing a skeleton holding a gas can. The message was that in the very hot desert we would die within a day or so from dehydration. It took us 5 days stranded in the desert before we got back to her home in Santa Cruz.” – Joy

“Waking up with a cockroach on my face.” – Jemma

“A week before Spain’s dictator Franco died, I was wondering round a corner in Madrid admiring the architecture. A soldier appeared from no-where, stuck a machine gun in my face and demanded I go with him. Young, cheeky and foolish, I argued with him. He pushed the gun closer into my face. I obeyed. He takes me to Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring and demands I buy a ticket for the fight.” – Sonia

“Someone come into my room WHILE I was sleeping and stole 2 cameras, $250, an mp3 player and a watch. It was the creepiest thing to know someone came into my room while I was asleep.” – Hopscotch the Globe

“Experiencing last year’s 4 minute long, 8.8 Chilean earthquake only 50 miles from the epicenter. And then spending the next 5 days sleeping outside, never without my Swiss army knife and a golf club because of all the escaped convicts from the nearby prison that fell down. Fun times!” – Tia

“Randomly decided, en route from Morocco to Greece, to catch a bus all the way up rather than flying. Unbeknownst to me, I had contacted some sort of marine bacterial infection in my eye while surfing. Ended up in 4 days of excruciating pain on a crowded, non-stop bus, only to get to Paris and be told that “I would be permanently blind in one eye.” The bad? Two weeks of quarantine, a missed flight to Greece, and a ban on further travels for awhile. The good? I recovered my sight completely, and being trapped in Paris started my love affair with the wonderful city.” – Yolanda

“Being stuck on a train with Nomadic Matt for 5 days while traveling through Canada!” – Andrew

Editor’s Note: If you want to share your story for the upcoming posts, come over to my my original blog and submit your answers. Tell us your story. We want to hear it. I want to hear it.

“After a challenging full-day hike up Volcan Fuego just outside Antigua, I was rewarded with the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. Our small group sipped boxed red wine and watched the sky turn all shades of orange from above the clouds, the tops of volcanoes peaking through the clouds showing the path of the fault line in the distance.” – Stephanie

“I spent a month in 2009 on a boat travelling around the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula. Needless to say, I saw many spectacular things over those weeks, but on our very last day, under a blazing warm sun, we had the best sight of all. Just as the boat was turning to begin the journey back to Argentina, the bridge spotted a pod of about 200 orca whales up ahead. As I was running down to the bow to get a better look, one of the crew grabbed me and pulled me to the port side of the boat, where, leaning over the railings, we could see a huge Antarctic Orca a few feet below us, right next to the hull. Looking around, we saw dozens more. I ran along the side of the boat for a few minutes, following them as they swam lazily alongside, until I reached the stern, where I ran into some friends. We grabbed each other and screeched excitedly. I had left my camera upstairs, so I didn’t get a single picture of them, but in some ways, I wouldn’t change that – instead of looking at them through a lens, I was watching them with my own eyes, and every second is emblazoned on my memory. It was the perfect end to the most amazing month of my life.” – Susan

“Teaching a group of Kalahari Bushmen how to play Frisbee. I was co-guiding a travel writing safari at the time. We spent the day in the desert with a tribe of bushmen who still live as their ancestors have for centuries – sleeping in the sand, dressing in kudu hides, storing water for the dry season in ostrich egg shells buried in the ground. They’re incredible people who spent the day teaching us how they survive in the desert, and sharing some of their games and dances with us. I stood there wishing we could give something back to them. Then I remembered I had a Frisbee in my backpack. They had never seen one before, but were instant experts. (I’m sad to say I did not display the same level of expertise when they tried to teach me a spear throwing game.)” – David

“The most exciting was skydiving out of a helicopter while in Switzerland. It was a totally spur of the moment thing and I’m so glad I did it.” – James

“One of the greatest memories I have is when I snuck into the pyramids after hours. I had met an Irish man named Fred in a hostel in Egypt. He was a little eccentric but the most saintly man I have ever met. He began teaching me about eastern religion, Atlantis and the prophecies of Edgar Cayce. He believed that I would help him open a secret hall of records under the Sphinx. Long story short, we didn’t discover the records of Atlantis but we did discover many ancient hieroglyphs and a complex network of catacombs, which at times led us 30 feet beneath the sand. I never felt more like my idol, Indiana Jones.” – Lief

“Being pulled into a nude male protest in the main square of Mexico city!” – Oneika

“Sitting at a cafe perched at the top of Santorini island in Greece with my sister. It overlooked the ocean and volcanic islands from the cliffs above. Behind us were rows of white-washed buildings with blue domes. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to–I never wanted to leave. It was also the first time I had ever traveled alone with my sister. I just remember sitting there on that sunny day and being in awe of the beauty and history.” – Emily

“One time, I met the sailors on the Queen of Denmark’s private yacht in a bar in Copenhagen’s Vesterbro district. We talked until 4 am and they invited me to come and tour the yacht the next afternoon. No big deal.” – Allie (Editor’s Note: While doing a canal tour a few days ago in Copenhagen, I saw the Queen getting ready to leave this yacht in the harbor.)

“Hand feeding a sea turtle while scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef.” – Mike

“Swimming across a lake in the bush of Australia, overcoming fears of the poisonous creatures that might be swimming with me, to participate in my first-ever triathlon with my husband and two kids as my teammates. The four of us running and cheering together in that crazy event captured the degree to which traveling and spending 24/7 together made us a team.” – Sarah

“Getting the idea to do it.” – Jen

Skydiving in Kaikoura, New Zealand… my early 30th birthday gift to myself. Took every ounce of courage I had and I did it without a tour group or friend! Scariest and coolest thing I’ve ever pushed myself into doing!” – Crystal

“Getting engaged while houseboating on Lake Powell.” – Kara

“My first ever solo trip which was to the Fijian Islands. I was nervous, but ended up meeting so many great people with whom I partied, drank and snorkelled with for 10 days, and after I got home I felt like the world really was my playground, and that I could do anything from there on in and be OK. ” – Nicole

Editor’s Note: If you want to share your story for the upcoming posts, come over to my my original blog and submit your answers. Tell us your story. We want to hear it. I want to hear it.

Nomadic Matt: What made you start Johnny Jet?
Johnny Jet: It’s a long story but I used to be afraid to fly and also afraid to leave the house. Once I got over my fear, I wanted to share my experiences and show people what’s out there. The Internet was brand new and there wasn’t a website out there that had all kinds of travel-related information so I just created JohnnyJet.com for fun and the next thing you know, it took off.

Did you ever think it would become your life? Was there anything you wanted to do?
It was my wildest dream. When I started the website for fun, I was a college recruiter, traveling a lot and sharing my experiences. I never thought I would be able to travel the world, share my experiences, and make money. Seven months after this site launched, I quit my job and focused on the site full time.

Can you tell people what Johnny Jet is all about. What do you want to be for travelers?
It started as a newsletter with travel news, tips, deals and my personal stories. One of the major features is the travel portal, which lists virtually every worthy travel website ever created, allowing travelers to see what’s out there and help them keep their costs down. I want it to be the one-stop shop for travel and I want it to be a household name. I have a lot of work to do!

You travel differently than I do, taking more shorter trips. What are your top 3 tips for taking a two week vacation?

1. In two weeks you can basically go anywhere in the world – don’t think that it’s not enough time to go halfway or even around the world – it can easily be done. The most important thing is that you get out there and see the world.  2. Pack for just one week and pack only carry-on so you can easily take public transportation and don’t have to pay baggage fees or worry about airlines losing your bags. When it’s time to wash your clothes, do it in your tub or bring it to a local laundry mat; don’t send it to the hotel laundry. 3. Some of my favorite two-week vacations have been when I fly to a destination, spend 2-3 days there and then go on a weeklong cruise. Then I spend 2-3 nights in that port city before flying home.

How much does being flexible play a part of it? Most working Americans book their vacations months in advance.
Flexibility is everything in finding deals.

Since you are Johnny Jet, how many miles do you fly per year? Do you stick to just one airline alliance?
I usually fly around 150,000 miles each year. I used to only stick to United but not anymore. Last year I flew 33 different airlines. This year I’ve already flown 10 different ones. So my goal every year is to make elite status on an airline from each of the three main alliances so I have status on United (Star Alliance), Delta (SkyTeam), American (OneWorld).

Do you think any one alliance is better than the other?
Star Alliance since they have more airlines and destinations.

Speaking of airlines, what is your favorite?
I don’t have a favorite but I fancy Air New Zealand, Virgin America, JetBlue, Jet Airways, Etihad, Emirates, Singapore, Cathay, and Qantas.

What should people look for in a great airline when deciding who to fly?
Choose an airline that is based out of your closest airport. So if you live in Phoenix, you should choose America West since they have a ton of flights out of there and most likely won’t have to connect to get to a destination.  It all depends what they are looking for:  Safety – then go with a reliable airline. Price – choose an airline that has competitive prices.  Schedules – choose an airline that has a lot of flights to the destination(s) that you are going. Frequent flier program – will you be able to earn miles for a free flight or achieve elite status so you can upgrade? Comfort – does the airline have enough legroom? do they have clean planes and state of the art entertainment systems? There are so many variables, that it all depends what you are looking for.

What tips do you have for finding great flight deals, especially in business or first class? Anything really creative?
For cheap economy fares, I follow AirFareWatchdog and surf FlyTalk’s Mileage Run Deals forum. For getting business or first class deal, the best bet is to achieve elite status so you can get upgraded for cheap or free. Or date a flight attendant or a pilot!

I know you only bring a carry on when you fly? Any tips for packing light?
Well, for men it is easy. Just bring a week’s worth of underwear and socks. Then bring a pair of jeans and a pair of dress pants, a bathing suit, a couple pairs of shorts (if going to a hot-weather destination), two T-shirts (solid colors – no logos or phrases), a sweater, a dinner jacket, a pair of walking shoes and dress shoes, a couple of button down shirts and your toiletry kit. Then, my friend, you’re good to go.

What are the five best sites for finding travel deals on the internet?
I would use:
JohnnyJet.com
AirFareWatchDog.com
FlyerTalk.com
Priceline.com (use BiddingForTravel.com as a guide)
Twitter

For more on Johnny’s adventures and deals, visit his website or follow him on twitter for the latest travel deals, specials, news and tips.

“It’s not that I *believe* the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but if you never peak over the top… how do you know? I want to know: Is there grass on the other side, what color is it, what’s the texture like, how does it smell? So I travel.” – Maria

“Primarily, boredom. At 21, I had never left Australia and was desperate to see Europe, so me and a friend set off on a whirlwind tour of the continent for a month. This trip changed my life, and I knew then that I wanted to continue to travel for the rest of my life. Eighteen months later, I moved to London and have been travelling ever since. ” – Nicole

“Every since my first international trip after college, I have loved exploring new places. The food, the landscapes, the people – it is just so interesting and exciting. Through my travels I met “backpackers” who were my age or younger and traveling for several weeks, even months at a time. I realized I could do that if I wanted to. I didn’t want to wait until I was retired and paid off the mortgage to live my dream.” – Stephanie

“I have an insatiable appetite for new experiences – aka, I’m easily bored and have a short attention span. It is not enough for me to see pictures of monuments, natural wonders and new landscapes. I want to touch, breathe, smell, feel everything there is to experience in the world. I love how it opens my mind and how nothing is ever quite as it looked in the picture. I love new people too, and their stories.” – Penny

“I was just a junior in high school when I attended the World Youth Day pilgrimage in Denver, CO in 1995 to see Pope John Paul II. That was the first time I met people from all over the world. It was then that I knew I wanted to travel. It changed my perspective on life and sparked a life-long curiosity, desire, and passion to connect with people from other countries and learn about other languages and cultures.” – Nikki

“My first overseas trip was a big one. My family moved from the United States to England when I was seven years old to live for a year. It’s the best thing my parents ever did for me. They took every opportunity we had to travel around Europe and northern Africa. By the time we moved back to the States, I was obsessed with foreign cultures. It was a long time before I made it overseas again, but my obsession remained, and I’ve been a professional international tour guide and travel writer for more than 15 years now.” – David

“I’m lucky that my parents started taking my siblings and I on trips at a very young age, so I never knew what life was like without travel. I also went on a week-long volunteer trip to the slums of Mexico two summers in a row, which changed my life by seeing poverty first-hand and realizing how fortunate I am. Once I graduated college and was making my own money, I decided it was time to see as much of the world as I could. That’s when I began going to Europe for two weeks every summer. I got hooked.” – Emily

“I grew up pretty sheltered so wanted to see more of the world after I graduated college. After my first backpacking adventure I was hooked! Now I try to go on at least one big trip every year.” – Michael

“To re-evaluate direction in life, make a career break, learn about the world and become better global citizens, bond as a family & “roadschool” the kids, and experience a stripped-down nomadic life to greater appreciate our regular non-traveling lives.” – Sara Lavender Smith

“I spent the fall of my junior year studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and it changed my life. I grew up in a small town outside of Boston and went to college about a half hour away, so my universe was pretty centrally concentrated. Being in Europe for four months opened my eyes and I was able to travel literally all over the continent while I was there. Now I’m addicted to the concept of traveling and can’t wait to get out there again.” – Allie

“I’ve always wanted to see the world but was married at an early age. My life fell into the typical marriage, house, school, responsibilities, etc and there was never time or money to travel. Almost four years ago, my ex-wife left me for someone else and it gave my life freedom. I finally realized traveling the world wasn’t some dream the “other people” did, I could do it myself. I saved hard core for years after in order to give myself a year of seeing the world.” – Mike

“This may sound like an odd one, but debt. Most people use debt as a reason not to travel, but for me, it was my get-up-and-go. My career working for GE Finance in the UK was going well. But every month, all my money was going towards bills, rent and credit cards. I wasn’t saving anything. So, I looked into working abroad and came across teaching in South Korea. Three months later, I was here – and whilst clearing my debt (halfway there!) I’ve managed to travel to Turkey, Taiwan, and all over Korea in the meantime. Later this year, I’m going to Germany and Morocco. Working in South Korea has meant that my debt is no longer controlling my ability to travel – although I have to use my limited holiday days wisely!” – Tom

Editor’s Note: If you submitted answers to the questions posted in my original blog and didn’t see your response here, fear not. I didn’t use every response. I am only planning to use some or all of the responses sent over. The most common reason for this is because some answers are simply too long or too short to be included. But if you submitted something, something you said will be used eventually.

Nomadic Matt: What made you decide to travel the world together?
Amanda Presser: Five years ago, ditching my job and leaving New York to backpack around the planet seemed a completely illogical decision. At the time, I’d just gotten my toe in the door at my dream job as a magazine editorial assistant. But there was always another part of me—one that grew more vocal and insistent the longer and harder I worked—that kept trying to warn me just how much I was missing by spending every night (and many weekends!) inside of a dark office while the real life took place outside the window.

I really thought Jen and Holly were just playing along when I told them that I was considering quitting and leaving to study at a language school in South America, and they agreed to come along for the adventure. But Jen and Holly had their own, very personal reasons for wanting to leave New York, and they pushed for us to expand the trip into something even greater and more rewarding. I think at some point, we realized that this RTW trip was not just some wine-fueled vacation fantasy. We actually had a very rare, and special opportunity before us: If you have two friends willing to quit their jobs, pack up their apartments and put their relationships on hold to backpack around the world for a year, well then…you don’t question it. You just go—and we did.

Did you stay together the whole time?
No. Each of us had a period of time traveling on our own. Holly was the first to do it: She spent a month in an ashram in India to earn her yoga teacher training certificate while Jen and I explored the beaches of Goa. Then, when Holly joined my family and me for a week long riverboat excursion in Myanmar, Jen opted to stay back in Bangkok and challenge her fear of traveling solo for a short period of time (as it turned out, she loved it!). And I waited until the trip was “officially” done to do my jaunt. Jen and Holly had returned to the US almost exactly a year after we’d initially taken off from the states, but I felt that my personal journey wouldn’t be complete until I spent a month on my own.

Did you feel like you were changed by your trip?
I think some things about yourself will never change but I believe that emotionally, I’m forever altered. For the most part, I do not get so stressed out by the curveballs that life throws at me and I’m much, much more comfortable with uncertainty. Even when I don’t know exactly where life is headed, I have some sense of trust that things will work out. I think constantly being disoriented and in a state of flux on the road—and always eventually getting where I needed to go—gave me that peace of mind. I also realize that there are other things in life that inspire me, and that I’m good at, besides my career! I now understand that you don’t have to travel in order to learn about yourself, and to grow—but it’s one amazing, intense way to take a crash course on the study of you!

You created your website and it morphed into an inspirational site for female travelers. Did you intend on that to happen and are you happy it went that way?
Not at all. In fact, I was a bit behind the curve when it came to blogging! Back in 2006, before the trip, I assumed that a blog would simply be a portal for family and friends to keep up with our adventures so we wouldn’t have to write and send mass emails! I loved that we could publish updates from anywhere, and so I spend a few weeks learning HTML coding before we left and jerry-rigged a Blogger template in order to make it look (slightly) less generic! Jen and Holly agreed to join me in posting updates along the way. At some point, we realized that it might be fun to publish the tales of other female inspiring travels that we met, and so we started our first regular column, “Lost Girl of the Week.” Because we didn’t have much time to report and edit on the road, we invited these women to write and share their own stories directly, and it was in this way that we got our first contributors.

Then, after we returned home, we all wondered, “Is this it? Should we shut down the blog because can’t share our own travel stories anymore?” What prompted us to keep it going were the emails we’d received from so many young women (and guys!) who told us that they too felt “lost” and were inspired by what we’d done. Many were thinking about giving their notice at work in order to travel, and they wanted real, practical information on how to do it tactfully. And so, we decided to turn Lost Girls World into a community-run site to keep inspiring people.

Why write a book?
In the US, it’s still not totally acceptable (or at least, encouraged) to just pick up and travel for the sake of self-exploration, or real-world education—or for no set goal at all. We hoped that writing The Lost Girls would in some ways lend support for the idea of establishing an “American Gap Year,” an idea whose time has officially come in this country. At no other point in our history have young people (young women especially) have been presented with so many choices, and been so much opportunity to create the lives we want.

Jen, Holly and I found that extended travel gave us a unique opportunity to detour from of our own regularly scheduled lives in order to challenge our values and explore exactly who we were as individuals. What drove and excited us? What made us want to get out of bed every day? As we learned from our year abroad, it’s utterly humbling and eye-opening to view the way the rest of the world lives and impossible to return home exactly the same person as when you left. The world shaped us in ways that we never expected.

What are your hopes for this book? Are you looking to inspire people?
Our goal with the book was not to share the wacky misadventures of three city girls, and to create some lighthearted fish out of water tale, but to really dig into the fears and insecurities that are shared by many 20 and 30-somethings who are starting down their futures. Travel many not be the right way for every person to gain insight into who they are, and to feel a little more at peace with their place in the world, but it definitely was that for us. We hope that by picking up the book, readers will see that it is not only possible to do a trip like ours (or a slightly curtailed version!) but budgeting the time and money travel may be one of the smartest investments they’ll ever make.

Why do you think your particular travel tale got made into a book?
We were told that the reason our book sold (many, many travel manuscripts were being pitched at that time in the wake of the Eat, Pray, Love success!) was that we managed to find a unique spin on the traditional travel memoir. We were three best friends and young professionals who’d quit our jobs mid-career to address specific quarterlife issues on the road. This felt a bit more timely and unique to our editors than a single traveler visiting a single country, which represent at least 80 percent of the proposals circulating.

What do you plan to do next? Will you continue to focus on writing or your website?
Jen, Holly and I are all back at full-time jobs. Rather than accepting a staff job, however, I’m working as a freelance web editor for Hearst in order to learn the digital skills that I’ll need to a) stay relevant in publishing industry and b) To continue improving and expanding Lost Girls World. Growing the website and promoting The Lost Girls are our two major focuses right now.

For more about Amanda, Jen, and Holly, visit their website “The Lost Girls.” You can get your copy of The Lost Girls book from this link. A portion of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to Village Volunteer’s Butterfly Project, a educational scholarship program for young women in Kenya.