Peter Shaw is the author of Nomadical Sabbatical, one of the newest blogs that I’m following. Peter left his job to pursue his lifelong dream of long term travel. He has written a lot of useful resources for people who are thinking of doing the same thing. He also writes a lot of helpful travel tips that you should definitely check out.
Learn more about Peter and check his blog out, visit him at Nomadical Sabbatical.
But before you leave this page, check out my short interview with Peter.
How did you discover your passion for travelling?
“I was lucky enough to have been brought up by parents who never spent too long in one place. I was born in Hong Kong and lived there till I was about 10 and well before I was 12 i’d already visited plenty of different countries so I think travel (at some level) was something I kind of always did growing up. Spending so much time in Perth (most isolated capital city in the world) really makes you more interested in seeing what else is out there too! I think I’ve always been interested in exploring new things and I’ve grown up with the philosophy that you only live once so you really need to get as much out of life as you can, I think travel is fundamental to this mindset and travel was always something I think I knew I would do.”
What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?
“Most recently was nearly getting alcohol poisoning in the Philippines. It was Fiesta and we hit the Tanduay Rum pretty hard.. After sinking a silly number of Red Horse Extra Strong beers (7% each!) I knocked back 2 full tumblers of Rum one after the other then basically fell off my chair. Vague memories of being violently sick for the rest of the night are all I have to go on now, my GF later told me she had to spend the whole night making sure I didn’t drown in my own vomit… it was not pretty!”
What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
“The first moment that comes to mind was the last time I was in Thailand, my best mates and I had been on Koh Pangan for a few days we heard a story about how the king once trekked for days through the jungle to find a stunningly beautiful waterfall. Naturally we hired scooters and set out on a quest through the jungle to find it. After hours of touring the islands coast we found the trail and set out inland on what we thought was the right track. The track was so rough that we had guys on dirt bikes refusing to try it.
After about 4 hours of smashing the scooters over the trail, we eventually had to abandon them and continue on foot, an hour later and through more jungle than you can poke a stick at we found the waterfall and climbed a palm tree to harvest fresh coconuts to drink while we swam beneath the falls. Simply breathtaking tropical views of the coast and falls made all the better by the 8 hour ordeal to get there and the knowledge that almost no one else had ever experienced what we did.”
What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?
“I think the realization of just how unbelievably lucky I have been in my life. If you don’t experience the grinding poverty much of the world live through day to day, you might take a life in Australia (or any other wealthy country) for granted. I think travel’s the best way to open your eyes to the fact that no matter where you’re from we’re all people, and our privileged position in the 1st world really is nothing more than a lucky roll of the cosmic dice. Travel directly led to my understanding of this realization and it’s something i’ll keep with me always.”
What keeps you motivated?
“I think that I have always had the motivation and the mindset to keep learning and exploring new things, I’d like to think this is how I approach my life and travel is an extension of this mindset. There’ll always be ups and downs like any other journey/task but the knowledge that there’s always another new city to explore is enough to keep me going through the low points.
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’d say Richard Branson, I think he’d have a great sense of humor and he’s always up for an adventure. He’d be a fantastic person to get to know on a personal level and I think he’d have some fantastic stories for the campfire too!”
Where’s your favorite place in this planet and why?
“Off the top of my head so far.. I would say it’s probably Chang Mai in Thailand. I only spent about 5 or 6 days there but I was with great friends and we had some fantastic times, there’s a nice layed-back hippie vibe with the roof top bars and I also had access to a Harley Davidson bike at the time which I spent days on touring the mountains of Northern Thailand, just a fantastic place to get lost in the Thai culture and really experience the jungle and the mountains Stunning scenery, lovely local people, great travelling companions and an all round fantastic place to go.”
What’s your best tip for newbie traveler?
“Don’t stress, it’s all going to be okay. Even if your bag goes to Peru, your camera gets stolen you accidentally soil yourself and are left wondering why the hell you left the comforts of home, it’s all going to be okay in the end. Don’t be scared to put yourself out there and meet new people, try everything new you can get your hands on and never stop exploring the unknown.”
What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?
“Hmmm maybe singing Karaoke at the top of my lungs in Tagalog (don’t speak a word of the language) in front of a whole village in Panay. Didn’t even know what the song was, just ended up busting out a tune and dancing like a crazy person, for the next week the entire village laughed at me!”
What do you think about yourself?
“As a man I generally consider myself to be an ego wrapped in skin haha actually I think i’m a child stuck in a mans body, I keep trying to grow up but it’s harder then it looks.. I’m probably too laid-back for my own good, I love the beach and the mountains, i’m a bit of a nerd and I love a good conversation.”
“Nomadical Sabbatical is about all things long term travel. From general nomadic musings on travel to photography, all in (what I hope is) a humerus tone of voice. The blog encourages you to take the path less traveled and to always get lost. It’s about the journey as much as the destination and it’s about an experience that too many people make excuses not to achieve. My goal with the blog is to inspire more people to explore the world abandon their office jobs and experience real travel. – Peter Shaw
Editor’s Note: All pics are provided by Peter.
