Meet the Nomads – John and Craig of Flashpack at Forty

John and Craig ate the authors and the blog owners of FlashpackatForty.com, a great resource and inspiration for those who intend to travel longterm even if they’re already ath the peak of their careers lives. John and Craig started their round the world trip last 2011 in Australia and ha been traveling since then.

They started the blog as a means of updating friend and families about their whereabouts and it transitioned to be one of the most insightful and helpful travel blog resources nowadays.

Learn more about John and Craig and check follow their adventures at Flashpack at Forty.

Before you leave this page, check out my short interview with John and Craig.

John and Craig in Sapa

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“It kind of crept up on us slowly, after many years of taking luxury vacations to exotic destinations, we wanted more. We first experimented with a three week trip to Israel (and a bit of Palestine) for the millennium, our first ever independent travel experience. Our passion for travel accelerated over the next decade as we visited many different
places. Our desire to travel long-term finally took over, so we quit work, sold up and left for Australia in 2011 for our RTW trip. We’ve been on the road ever since.”

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

“It would have to be in Manila, although we love the Philippines. We’d had a great day out touring around the city, and didn’t realise it was so late, it was dark. We decided to walk back to our Manila hotel and drop our daypacks off. Walking back we turned down a road, and were jumped upon by a group of street children who were high on drugs. The children didn’t manage to take anything from us, despite the best efforts from many pairs of hands making a beeline for our bags and pockets. In the end, a guy with a large gun came to the rescue, after hearing the commotion. The horrible part was seeing these kids being exploited, in such a desperate state to score their next high.”

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

Craig: “Taking a helicopter ride to the Fox Glacier in New Zealand. The views were spectacular and it was topped off with a landing on the glacier itself.”

John: “It would have to be visiting China, somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit. Touring around Beijing and our trip to Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall of China were true high points for me.”

Craig at Fox Glacier New Zealand

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

“It’s that you don’t need a small fortune to travel on a long-term basis. We travel on a limited budget (albeit more than your average backpacker) but think this is something most people can achieve if they have a real desire to travel.

I think the biggest lesson travel has taught us is that material possessions really do count for very little, and certainly don’t maketh the man. We spent decades working hard and dedicating our lives to building successful careers. Some of the kindest, funniest and most genuine people we’ve met on our journey have had little in monetary wealth but it doesn’t stop them from sharing what they have.

Of course we always knew this, but when you’re busy working hard, and not actually seeing how other people live and different cultures work, you do sometimes forget.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“The clock is ticking and there are so many things that we want to see and do. The world is definitely getting smaller, but it’s still a very big place and packed with so much to experience. For us that is going to equate to years of non-stop travel around the world. If we’d carried on working in the UK, we’d have to work until our very late 60s (possibly early 70s) before travelling. That’s just too long to wait.”

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?

Craig: “I think for me it would have to Stephen Fry, as his wit eloquence and fascinating stories would make those long train or night bus journeys seem like a breeze.”

John: “Bear Grylls as I love his enthusiasm even for the most boring of everyday tasks. I’m sure if I got chance to spend some time with Mr. Grylls it would turn into one big adventure to remember.”

John and Craig in an Onsen in Japan

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

“Both of us would agree that nothing so far has beat New Zealand in terms of the range, diversity and fun of a single travel destination. It’s like all of your travel Christmas’ packed into two small Islands.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveller?

“Don’t just try and get as many stamps in your passport as possible, no matter how appealing this may seem. Travel as slowly as possible and experience some time doing whatever it is the locals do. Don’t overcomplicate your trip with a massive pre-booked travel itinerary as it can be costly to change. Then when you find a special place where you want
to spend more time, it’s not an issue.”

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

“Our most recent was going skiing in Bulgaria. We decided to spend a couple of weeks learning to ski in Bansko. As we’re both in our forties and have never skied before, every day seemed to be side splitting funny, painful and rather silly given our more mature years and levels of physical fitness. We won’t be applying to become ski instructors in the foreseeable future, but it was great fun.”

How do you keep yourself safe on your travels?

“Common sense basics really, such as we don’t wear any gold or expensive watches, wave our mobile phones about near roads, wear designer clothes/trainers, the sort of things that keep you off the radar of some thieves.

We don’t leave money, wallets, phones etc in hotel rooms or on bar/restaurant tables (we’re always staggered when we hear from people that money was pinched from their room or their phone disappeared off the bar).

Our best travel tip is to wear incredibly tight jeans (not a fashion tip), if you have to struggle to get your own wallet or phone out of your pocket, what chance does a pickpocket have?

Be acutely aware of your surroundings and trust and act on your instincts. It is something that has become second nature to us, we won’t always be right but sometimes it’s not worth taking the risk.”

What do you think about yourselves?

Craig: “I have always been a reluctant traveller, by which I mean the lack of planning and giving up the job was something I spent years agonising about. Now after almost 18 months on the road it seems I am getting the hang of it and wonder what all the fuss was about.”

John: “I think I’m one very lucky person.”

Craig and John write a travel blog about their adventures since packing up their desks, getting rid of their suits and setting off in their forties to travel around the world. The couple’s ‘flashpacking’ blog is a blend of travel stories, practical tips, travel itineraries and photography from their RTW trip.

Photo Credits: All pics are provided by John and Craig

Next: Allan Wilson of Live Less Ordinary Previously: Ian Ord of Where Sidewalks End For more interviews with travel bloggers, check out the archives of Meet the Nomads.