Ted Nelson, author of Traveling Ted TV is one of the newest travel blogs that I’m reading lately. He blogs a lot about his travels around the US which I personally find nice since i don’t know much about other places in US aside from the major cities. He also blogs about canoeing and skiing which I haven’t tried yet.
Get to know more about Ted and visit him at .
But before you do that, check out my short interview with Ted.
How did you discover your passion for travelling?
“When I was 16 my 19 year old brother passed away. Two weeks later my parents and I went canoeing through the Florida Everglades. Paddling through alligator infested waters and seeing an amazing array of beautiful birds was like a shot of Novocain. I have not stayed still for long ever since.”
What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?
“I would have to say taking a bus from Poipet, Cambodia to Siem Reap was the worst experience. Since then I have heard they have paved the road, but when I went the road was in abominable shape. It took us five hours to travel 55 kilometers. To make it worse, I was traveling in a cramped bus sitting in this little mini seat in the aisle. Dust was billowing in through the open windows, which we could not close due to the heat.”
What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
“I was traveling with a Venezuelan girl in Chiang Mai and our car she rented ran out of gas literally in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, we ran out at the top of the hill. I pushed it over the apex, and we coasted down into a little village and finally stalled right in front of a bar. The nicest person ever helped us in our plight. He rode me on his moto-bike to the nearest petrol station and then drove us back to the car. We then had a few drinks with him before moving on.”
What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?
“People are the same everywhere. We may be separated by language and culture, but we have the same hopes, dreams, and goals wherever we live. I also have realized that people are basically good. Eighty to ninety-five percent of the population, no matter where you go, consists of good people willing to help and fun to meet.”
What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?
“I have never really thought about motivation when it comes to travel. I guess I am just naturally curious and want to see what is around the next bend.”
This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?
“Canadian Singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn. Besides being a phenomenal songwriter and one of the best finger picking guitarists around, he is also quite a world traveler and a lot of his music is influenced by his travels. He has traveled to crazy places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia, Nicaragua, and all over Africa.
The songs he writes about his travels including “Mines of Mozambique,” “Postcards from Cambodia,” and “Nicaragua” are full of introspective lyrics that show he travels not to see the sights, but to understand.
Circling back to question 1, this is why I travel: to understand and more specifically, perhaps to try and understand my brother’s death. I think those who are serious about travel do it to comprehend something greater than them self.
Everyone is seeking answers to questions like “who are we,” and “why are we here.” Some ignore these questions and live lives of quiet desperation while others travel the world seeking them. However, I am not perpetually in this questioning and truth seeking mode. I often like to drink beer and talk about sports while traveling.”
Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?
“I would say Thailand. The food is amazing, the people are friendly, the women are beautiful, they have some really cool jungles to explore, and they have an amazing array of birds and animals.”
What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?
“Read and subscribe to and FlipNomad. Besides that, get on twitter and interact with the traveling community.”
What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?
“When I was in college, a class of mine studying World War II traveled to Normandy, France to visit the D-Day Beaches. This is of course where the Allies stormed the beaches and began the liberation of Europe from NAZI domination. I organized and led a reverse D-Day and stormed the English Channel running as fast as I could into the cold channel followed by several classmates.
We did not last long in the icy channel. Although this was a joke, doing this activity gave me great respect for the people in the military who had to run on that beach with people shooting at them. If it was not for them, I would have never been able to do my goofy silly activity.”
What do you think about yourself?
“I would say I am someone with a laid back personality with a pleasant demeanor. I seem fearless, but I do not like big hairy spiders.”
“Most backpacking blogs are either centered on outdoor hiking or gallivanting through different countries with a backpack on. My blog focuses on both as I love both kinds of backpacking. I also canoe and ski, so my blog is focused on a variety of adventure travel activities.” – Ted Nelson
Editor’s Note: All pics are provided by Ted.
Next: Mica Ivealis of Kaypacha Travels. Previously: Mica Rodriguez of Senyorita. For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.
Honored to be included among the adventure travel giants you have interviewed. Thanks Flip.
you’re welcome Ted
thanks for participating
Nice feature on Ted! I agree with his realization on traveling. I am a new reader of his blog and my favorite so far is his post about Batad
Who is this Ted guy??? I may have to go over and check out his blog
Seriously, great interview from one of my favourite travel bloggers.
TT- I read your Blog on Moose. I do believe whether “man” or global warming, animals are on the move.
With that said, this is in response to your “MOOSE HABITAT”.
Actually, three of us had a close entire with a juvenile next to my car 5 feet away and saw it thriving along with other Moose. This is in the evening in Northern AZ, west, outside of Flagstaff along side rural highway 180. Additionally, soon after we had a shocking encounter with an elk who darted out.
Earlier that afternoon we located a Puma/Mountain Lion paw print in snow. Plus we found tracks of the smallest (I suppose) mouse w occasional tail print. Too bad some of those sighting were as “lost” trackers. lol At least the 3 of us know date (15 Feb), route, and time of these sightings. No matter my age, I’ll always love to track/view animals and check out rocks & minerals. E.