I first heard about Matt Gibson through Jeannie of Nomadic Chick when they were still planning to visit the Philippines a few months ago. And I’ve been silently following his blog and reading his travel adventures in different countries since then.
Matt’s writing is the kind that takes you with him in his journeys and makes you want to visit the places and relive his experiences. Get to know more about Matt and visit him at Matt-Gibson.org.
But before you click away, check out my short interview with Matt.
How did you discover your passion for travelling?
“I started traveling as soon as I could. When I was fifteen a couple of friends and I started hitchhiking around the area where I lived in Canada. As we got older, we went farther and farther. In some ways, those were some of the best trips that I ever took. They gave me my first taste of independence and adventure.”
What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?
“I was riding a motorcycle across Borneo in search of pygmy elephants. On the second day I drove into one of the worst typhoons I’ve ever been in (and I’ve been in quite a few). I was too far from the last town to turn back, but still very far from my destination, so I ended up driving for about eight hours in the downpour. There was so much rain that the water reached the floors of the stilt houses along the sides of the road. The road, which was raised just a little bit higher than the stilt houses, had rivers several inches deep crossing it in some places.
Despite my rain gear and rain cover for my backpack, when I finally arrived at a hotel everything single thing I had was soaked except for my computer and camera, which I kept in a special waterproof bag. My passport was practically destroyed. As it turned out, that didn’t really matter, because it was stolen a few days later.”
What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
“I was hitchhiking home one summer day when I was sixteen. I was about 200km away and I had to make it home that day. I didn’t have money or a tent. A friendly grey haired man with an old car had given me a ride on a small secondary highway. He had to turn off the highway onto a dirt road to get where he was going, so he dropped me off. I was probably 100km from the nearest town.
I stepped out onto the dusty shoulder of the road and watched his car drive down the dirt road until it disappeared. I looked up the highway in one direction, and then the other. There were no cars as far as the eye could see. Billowy white clouds moved slowly across the sky casting enormous shadows on the valley bottom. I had recently discovered Led Zepplin. I took out my discman and put on Led Zeppelin III and lit a cigarette, alone in the big empty valley.
They say that heroin addicts keep taking heroin because they’re chasing the feeling they had the first time they tried it. If the same can be said for travel, I’ve been chasing the feeling I had that day ever since.
At that moment, as I stood on the side of the road, alone, in the sun, waiting for a ride that may never come, it became clear that I had no control over what was going to happen to me–like being adrift in a small boat at sea–and that there was nobody I could rely on but myself. I gazed at the mountains and the clouds. I felt incredibly alone and completely free.
It was an epiphany.”
“We are all adrift in a small boat at sea.”
What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?
“I guess I answered that in number three.”
What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?
“Motivation to travel has never been a problem for me.
It’s easy to fall into a rut at home following the same routine each day. It’s very comfortable. Long ago I realized that when I fall into a rut like that, I become depressed. I’m unhappy when life is routine.
Travel is the solution to that. One of the things I like most about travel is the challenge. I don’t even count that day riding my motorcycle in the typhoon as a bad day. It was just a hard day. Traveling keeps you on your toes and that kind of stimulation makes me happy. It makes me feel alive.
Kurt Vonnegut said, “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing wings on the way down.”
Travel is a big cliff and by jumping of it we can force ourselves to grow wings.”
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?
“That’s easy. Jack Kerouac. I had started hitchhiking before I first read On the Road when I was sixteen, but after that I really yearned to travel. He’s one of the people that most inspired me to both travel and write.”
Filming an Episode of House Hunters
Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?
“For me it’s a toss-up between the Taiwan and your home country, the Philippines.
I lived in Taiwan for 6 years and I loved it. The people are kind and generous. The weather is fantastic. I really enjoy studying Chinese. And, as an English-speaking westerner, it’s very easy to make a comfortable living there as a writer and teacher.
The Philippines is awesome in many similar, but unique, ways. It’s probably the coolest culture I’ve ever encountered. By that, I mean that the people are genuinely cool. Filipinos are some of the friendliest, warmest, humblest, and funniest people I’ve ever met. The country is awash in white sand beaches and untouched jungles. Also, Tanduay Rum for $1.50 USD a bottle is a pretty big selling point.”
What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?
“Synthetic clothing. Leave the cotton shirts and jeans at home. Synthetics dry faster, roll up smaller, and are lighter.
Also, bags. Lots of lightweight nylon drawstring bags. Separate your things and pack them in these bags and make sure you can tell them apart.
They’re like drawers for your backpack and useful for shopping, taking clothes to the cleaner, etc.”
What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?
“I refereed a midget boxing match in a strip club in Manila.”
What do you think about yourself?
“I think that I’m a pretty adventurous traveler. I enjoy challenges, both physical and mental. There are two sides to that. First, I’m always looking for outdoors adventure activities to do, like hiking, kayaking, paragliding, surfing, stuff like that. Second, I don’t like to make plans. I like to just jump in and figure things out as I go. This also often results in unexpected adventures, such as driving a motorcycle through a typhoon because I didn’t invest the 34 seconds it would have taken to check the weather forecast for the week.”
“My blog is many things to me. First, it’s a professional portfolio for my writing and photography. I include links to all of my published work there so that editors can find it easily.
Second, it’s a place where I can promote the kind of travel that I love. I want to travel in the most eco-friendly way possible, that is, under my own power. I am hoping to do some long human-powered expeditions by bicycle, kayak, and other means in the future. I also want to spend more time volunteering as I go. In this way, I want to make my travel lifestyle a way of life that is sustainable and responsible as well as ridiculously fun.- Matt Gibson
Editor’s Note: All pics are provided by Matt
Next: Mariellen Ward of Breathe Dream Go. Previously: Dustin Main of Skinny Backpacker. For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.
Lucky to have met Matt and Jeannie in Manila last December and I am impressed on how he loved the Philippines. He had been to the places I’ve never been, which is a good think in a way
Not surprised to read ‘Tanduay’ in this interview =))
a lot of foreigners seem to like Tanduay and San Miguel Beer
Matt sounds like a really cool guy. That story of driving a motorcycle in the rain was just really vivid. I’ll be sure to check out his blog. Great interview.
Nice interview! That typhoon sounds horrible to me, I would not like it for sure