Meet the Nomads - Dan Arif of From Malaysia to the World

Dan Arif is the second Malaysian that I’ve featured in his blog. He maintains his travelling lifestyle while pursuing his chosen career at the same time. When not working, Dan likes to do a variety of adventurous activities such as white water rafting, scuba diving and sky diving.

Dan work in the Interior Design industry and he’s also a photography enthusiast. Learn more about Dan and visit his blog at From Malaysia to the World.

But before you leave this page, check out my short interview with Dan.

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“Just after I finished my uni , I went to Perth and stayed there for nearly a month. It was my first time being out of Asia. The lifestyle differences made me realize that there are a lot more to explore throughout the world.”

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

“It was back in 2003, when I was in Phuket. I was on board a tour bus heading towards Patong beach from the airport via the hilly roads. At one point, the driver lost control of the bus after overtaking a stalled truck in the middle of the road. Passengers were all panic at that time. Luckily the driver managed to regain control and stop the bus at the edge of the cliff. If not we could have hit other vehicles or worst, we could have gone down the cliff.”

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

“I found myself in Queenstown, south island of New Zealand in 2010. That was the place where I managed to embraced my fear and jumped off a plane doing a tandem skydive. The aerial view was unbelievable!”

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

“Travel makes me think differently. It gave me the opportunity to see with my own eyes how people struggle to make a living in various parts of the world. From the sulphur miners of Kawah Ijen, Indonesia to the laundry workers in Dhobi Ghatt, India, all the hard work they did made me realize how fortunate I am and should be grateful of what I have now.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“I love photography. Photography and travels compliments each other so in order to get some good landscape or travel photos, basically I need to travel. Apart from that, I usually hang out with #TravelholicAwesome, a group of Malaysian travel bloggers. Every time we met, it will be a never ending story about travels. They inspire me to travel more.”

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?

“I would say Brooke Silva-Braga. The producer, director and star of the travel documentary film A Map for Saturday. I would love to meet him in person.”

Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?

“There’s no place like home. The diverse culture, the tasty food, the lovely people, the amazing places.. but if u asked me about other places than my own country, it would be Queenstown. This small town is very quiet and peaceful but at the same time it also offers lots of thrilling activities.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?

“Get to know the locals. You will definitely learn something new.”

What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?

“I was running short of cash when I was in Hong Kong. Was thinking on how to save money and I came out with this silly idea of using a child ticket for the train ride.. Eventually I did it!.. bought the child ticket from the ticket machine and use it!. Luckily I didn’t get caught by the guards.”

What do you think about yourself?

“Adventurous type of guy, likes to try something new, sometimes a daydreamer, easy to adapt with the surroundings, loves to take photos and also being inside them.”