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Though we agree that not everything goes according to plan, we would like to start this interview by delving into Tom's most memorable positive travel experiences. Here is what he wrote: “After uncountable trips around the world and more than 10 years of full-time continuously traveling the world, I can talk for hours about absolutely amazing travel adventures, from going completely off the grid on a small boat and a hammock deep into the jungle of Suriname to sailing the gorgeous islands in West Papua or from my overland trip from South to North Africa or climbing mountains in the Nepali Himalayas. It is very hard for me to choose the most memorable travel experience."
"When I keep it closer to date, I just finished an absolutely amazing trip to Algeria. Not many people had the chance to see the full potential of what Algeria has to offer since it is still a pretty closed country, and the visa process is not easy. Finally, I obtained a visa and spent 2 weeks traveling around the country.
Visiting the national parks nearby Djanet in southeast Algeria on the border of Niger and Libya was the absolute highlight. A 2-hour domestic flight took me deep into the Sahara Desert where I went off the grid for almost a week. We got to see the most amazing landscapes, rock formations, valleys, gorges, and of course, sand dunes. But what made me fall in love the most was the simple life with the Tuareg people, the people from the Sahara Desert. Away from civilization and technology, we really bonded with them and learned about their way of life dealing with the extreme conditions of the desert. We braved sand storms and extreme heat during the day, but at night we watched them making tea and cook meals for us on a campfire and listened to their local music and their performances. A week out in the desert without any phone signal gets you thinking a lot about life. For me, beautiful moments to reflect on yourself, develop your personality and think about where I want to take my life with my constant travels around the world.”
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The plane stopped on the tarmac and a set of rolling steps was used for us to leave. Armed soldiers were on either side of the line of people going into the terminal and we were marched, at a very fast pace inside.
When we were allowed to get back onto the plane it had been moved to a typical gate we could enter from inside the building. Each person was patted down before being allowed on. As a soldier was patting me down his hand hit my camera. He began shouting at me in Arabic, I didn’t speak the language so, I did not understand what he was saying. He motioned to my pocket, indicating he wanted me to remove what was there. I slowly swung open my jacket as he pointed his weapon at my chest and took the safety off. I figured I was in trouble for having a camera, as we were warned to not take pictures. He continued to talk very fast as I very slowly reached into the inside pocket of my jacket and pulled out my camera. As soon as he saw it was a camera he made a spitting sound, turned away from me, and waved at me to get on the plane. No big deal, I guess, well other than having an agitated soldier point a weapon at my chest with the safety off.
Getting out there and going to as many different places as Tom, you are bound to get into all sorts of craziness. Tom recollected one of the worst experiences while visiting the jungle of Guyana in South America. He shared: “I could talk about getting arrested in Gabon for my viral TikTok videos and interrogated for 2 consecutive days about why I was making videos everywhere. Or floating aimlessly on a river between Senegal and Mauritania because I got deported from Senegal and couldn't get back into Mauritania.
But the craziest travel memory is most probably that I had to jump out of a sinking boat with all my stuff just moments before the boat plunged down a 220m waterfall deep in the jungle of Guyana in South America.
We had to cross a river and were waiting for a little boat to make the crossing for about 2 hours. We chilled at the most amazing waterfall, completely unknown to any tourists, about 3 days walking from the last village on the Guyana/Venezuela border. After a long wait, some of our local guides found an old wooden boat in the jungle, and they came up with the idea to completely wrap it with tarps to make it float. They tested it, and an hour later, they first transported goods and other porters to the other side of the river. It worked.
When we got in the boat, it suddenly and completely started pouring down rain, and within seconds a small water tornado showed up out of nothing. The calm river turned into a raging river, and this all happened in just a minute. With just a stick and being hit by the tornado, the boat became incontrollable and started making water. It was heading straight to the drop-off of the waterfall.
When the local guide started screaming: 'Be prepared to jump off,' I first was like... okay, let me grab my phone and take a video of this. So I did! I jumped off last moment, trying to film at the same time, and before I could even look back, the boat already plunged down the 220m high waterfall.
All 4 of us in the boat managed to keep our backpacks and swim to the side of the waterfall, and everyone was ok. Besides that, all our cameras and electronics were soaked.”
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Some of the most common difficulties when traveling are communication or cultural barriers. Tom shared how he navigates through these sorts of situations. “Language barriers are constant issues when traveling. Luckily, we have a lot of technology nowadays to make us understand each other even if we don't speak the language. But in the days before mobile phones and the internet, that was a completely different story.
I remember the times that I traveled around with a book full of handy pictures. So whenever you needed something, you just pointed at the picture in the book, and it sounds so simple, but it worked perfectly.
The funny story is that there was one time in South Korea when I entered a restaurant, and the menu was written on the wall, but just in Korean language. There was no internet, no phones, and one else in the restaurant, so I couldn't point at a dish. I tried to order by pointing at the first line of signs from left to write. My intention was to order the first dish on the menu.
There was a lot of confusion, and the people in the restaurant all looked at me so puzzled. No word of English was spoken, but we smiled. I sat down at my table, and to my surprise, I actually got some pretty nice food. However, later I learned that in the Korean language, they don't read from left to right, but from top to bottom. So basically, me pointing at the first line from left to right was meaning, I want all the dishes!
The most important thing is that you do everything with a smile, an open mind, and an approachable attitude. We all make mistakes, it is impossible to know all the habits and customs of every culture. Even as a professional and full-time traveler, I constantly make small mistakes, but be open to learning, be patient, and listen to the directions of local people helping you to get accustomed to different cultures. And another important thing: don't judge!
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"Look I'm not dealing with you tonight. Why don't you go harass them at pump 3 and get the hell out of here?"
My sister looks these guys dead in the face and tells them if they come near her car, she'll hit them with it. They seemed to back off.
I stood with her while she filled the tank, we moved to hop in the car, and from behind us one of the guys got his phone out and shouts "MTY huh? Like Mitty or like Empty?" We ignored him.
It was only a few hours later, when we stopped next, that I realized what he'd been referring to.
MTY. It was the letters on the end of her license plate. Which I'm almost positive he'd taken a picture of.
She ended up changing her plate real soon after that trip.
#7
But in the air, we went. And landed in Frankfurt a couple of hours later visibly relieved.
12 seconds... That's exactly how long it takes for 2 stern-looking German Police Officers armed with machine guns to materialize and pin you to a wall.
We were also very curious to know if, throughout Tom’s travel experiences, he has ever faced any safety or security concerns. We wanted to know how Tom prioritizes his personal safety while still immersing himself in new and unfamiliar environments, and what precautions he takes to ensure a smooth and secure journey.
“Let me first add that I am a tall and fit European guy and that traveling for me is completely different compared to, for example, a vulnerable cute blond girl. Obviously, I also have to deal with a lot of safety issues, but there are way fewer risks involved for me when traveling the world than other, more vulnerable travelers.
Luckily, in more than 3,850 days of continuously traveling the world, I hardly ran into crazy situations where I felt that I was in danger. After all those years of traveling, it is a ton of experience that guides me through the weirdest situations. But that has obviously been different when I started traveling.
I must say I have never felt my life was at risk or I got into a life-threatening situation. Not even when I was on a little boat in Gambia crossing a 4-kilometer-wide river with 10x more people on the boat than actually possible.
The main car-ferry boat broke down, and the only way to cross the river was by small little boats, but there were hundreds of people and only a couple boats. The boat guys saw their chance to make some quick money, so they stuffed the boat with way more people than actually possible. It was one big chaos, screaming and fighting for the maybe 20 life vests when there were about 100 people on the little boat. As soon as we left, suddenly everyone was dead silent, and they began to pray. At that time, I knew this could be a 'fun' trip.
When we were about halfway into the crossing, the engine stopped working and the boat began to make water. Big panic, people screaming and for about 20 minutes we floated around, towards the ocean. Waves got bigger as well as the panic and the chaos. Luckily, somehow they managed to get the engine going again, and we somehow made it to the other side of the river. I never feared for my life, but I did have my escape plan ready when the boat would sink. I already said goodbye to my backpack and my electronics, but luckily it never got that far.
My most simple tips for other travelers, which seem to be very hard for some people, are to use common sense, don't be naive, and rely on your gut. If something doesn't feel right, then your own safety and security should always be a priority! Looking back at the boat crossing in Gambia, it was obviously a really stupid decision to take the risk and stay on the boat, when I had the chance to say no, this is too much, and leave the little boat,” shared Tom.
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About an hour outside of Lajes, we hit some terrible weather. If you have never flown in a C-130, there are not really seats. All the gear is on pallets in the center line of the completely open fuselage and there are pull-down "seats" along both sides of the plane facing the middle.
The weather got so bad I was afraid the pallets would come loose and crush us. Now the C-130 is an AWESOME aircraft. Stable, can fly just about anywhere, it's even the largest plane to land on an aircraft carrier and is even equipped for snow ski landings. It's a beast.
We're on the final approach and bouncing up and down, side to side and I'm thinking "THIS IS IT! THIS IS HOW I GO!"
We hit the runway so hard and were tipping at about a 30-degree angle I thought we were going to flip. The pilots did a great job but we still went off the runway and had to do an emergency exit into the storm.
I was never so glad to put my feet on the ground.
And lastly, we wanted to know if Tom has ever experienced travel fatigue or burnout, since traveling can be physically and emotionally demanding. He shared: “Like everything in life, travel inspiration comes with ups and downs as well. A great example is my article about What it is Really Like to Visit Every Country in the World. It describes perfectly my feelings about visiting every country in the world. On the one hand, it was a big inspiration to see new places and countries I had never been to. On the other hand, it started to feel like a race in which I completely lost my inspiration.
Sure thing, I still want to visit every country in the world, and it will keep me going for the next few years. Even though I have now visited almost 160 countries, I don't feel the pressure of visiting the last 35 countries somehow fast, just so I can say I visited every country in the world. I'm actually starting to feel the opposite and taking it even slower than before.
What is most important to me is that I keep enjoying traveling. There was a reason I escaped the corporate rat race and the pressure of society more than 10 years ago. The last thing I want is for traveling the world to start feeling the same!
What keeps me going and inspires me a lot is actually the support and enthusiasm of my followers on my social media channels. My 800K TikTok @traveltomtom and my 430K Instagram @traveltomtom are amazing ways to get inspired. And one of the most amazing things about being a travel blogger is that it allows me to change perceptions. Showing that Pakistan is NOT the land of terrorism, but of incredible hospitality. That women in Saudi are NOT obligated to wear a hijab. That renting a car and driving around Iraq is an amazing travel adventure. That Syria is NOT all about war. That it is totally safe to visit Algeria.”
“For more information about my travel experiences from all over the world, how I became a travel blogger, my journey to visit every country in the world, and of course, almost 1,000 travel blogs with all my travel tips for planning your next adventure abroad, visit my blog: www.traveltomtom.net.”
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P.S. There was no cell service.
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We eventually arrived at our home airstrip. I asked the pilot if there was a problem ... he took me to the front of the plane and grabbed hold of one of the two propeller blades which just flopped around loose in its housing.
The only thing stopping the propeller from flying off was a retaining ring.
Pilot reckons it was touch and go there and we had only just made it back.
Almost had an underwear mishap right there and then.
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