Please introduce yourself briefly.
We are Herlinde (51) and Marc (47), since 2007 we have a
15-year long dream come true now. Why we have
waited this long ... first we wanted to work hard and build a
savings account for this. Since February 2007 our
"life journey" started, we also see it a bit like a 'half
career'. In our lives we want to gain more
experience than the model pattern describes : a (nice) job, house,
garden, baby, and wait for your retirement to make great
journeys. Since then we have traveled all
countries of Central America, the northern part of South America, a
piece of Europe, a piece of Asia, ...
Why is travel important to
you?
We want to explore the world! For us
this is a dream come true for many years, we have not regretted our
decision for even a minute. Prolonged travel
changes you as a person, you become stronger, you are less
interested in material things, you are calmer and more social ...
it is every day a little better, you get a lot of impressions, get
to know a lot of people (both travelers and locals) ... in short, a
wealth that nobody can take away from us!
What's your current / next
project?
On May 19th, 2011 we left on a new track: Tour of Asia in
+ / - 18 months.
What is your greatest expectation for this
trip?
In Asia, we hope to discover beautiful nature,
eg. islands, primary jungle, volcanoes,
mountains, and get to know and understand the different
cultures , to make contact with many local
people. In this context we expect to experience
some unforgettable highs, as we also have experienced in Latin
America.
What countries do you definitely want to see
& why?
Antarctica: an area where nature still reigns, little
tourism, very special and wonderful.
Overwintering in the Arctic: a ranger station in Denali
NP, Alaska, we saw once a documentary about the lives of animals
and especially the wolf, during the winter. So we
want to experience winter in the north, to see how people are
living in such extremely harsh conditions.
Mongolia: a country that is still difficult to travel
individually, the people there have very basic lives & live
under harsh conditions, but they are pure, and very beautiful
nature and special circumstances to travel.
Iceland: impressive nature. We have a
very long list, we want to explore the world ... and so far we
"only" visited 52 countries.
What do you absolutely need to take with you in
your backpack?
Actually, almost all over the world you can come by, but
just don't stick too much to a specific brand of a
product. The trick is to travel as light as
possible.
Important:
- Personal medications + a statement from your doctor that
you need it (if it is a lot of medicine, eg. For longer
trips)
- General medicine: antibiotics against prolonged diarrhea,
broad spectrum antibiotics, possibly malaria pills
Handy to have with, but not necessary:
- A silk sheet sleeping bag, weighs almost nothing and is
useful if there's no (clean) sheets on your beds (so no need for a
sleeping bag)
- A memory stick (+ e-mail stuff to yourself) with a scan of
all important documents you might need,
eg. passport, insurance contract (s), invoices,
important items in your luggage, ...
What we certainly take into tropical destinations: - a
mosquito net, just in case ...
Why did you choose TangaTanga for your travel blog
?
The decision that we would keep a travel blog, we took for
two reasons:
1. So we should not send all
acquaintances each e-mail about our adventures
2. We ourselves will have a nice bundled
memory of our travel experiences when we're finally decide to stop
travelling
From the wide range of travel blogs we have reviewed,
considering ease of use, layout and completeness, TangaTanga looked
the best to us. A choice that we certainly do not
regret, the blog functionality is regularly updated, expanded
opportunities, and last but not least a perfect support.
What is your ultimate tip for those who doubt
about leaving for a long trip?
Do'nt hesitate, just do it! Dreams are
to be realized!
Anyone with questions about 'long travel' we recommend
talk with several people that have
experience. This may include contacting people
through TangaTanga or WegWijzer.
[Ed.] Marc Herlinde and give occasional lectures to an
audience of would-be world
travelers. Last month they placed the
slideshow "How to plan a long
trip "on their blog - be sure to take a look if you're
planning a long trip...
Got a funny travel story ?
Amusing anecdotes, so many indeed...
For example, when we visited Brazil's capital Brasilia, we
were suddenly face to face with Elisabeth and Jacques, a French
Canadian couple who just one year before we had met in
Panama. They too are long-term travellers, but
they use their own transport.
A year later, we arrived in Myanmar in a restaurant on
Inle Lake, and there were Bianca and Ramon, a Dutch couple we had
met 1 ½ years before in Brazil, during a stay in the Pantanal
wetlands. We wonder who will be the next victims
... the world is oh so very small.
When Herlinde sat on a bus in Myanmar doing a Sudoku, she
was observed by a man who wrote numbers in pencil in a dog-eared
notebook. Herlinde tore some pages from her book
(with solutions) and handed it to the man. He was
so happy that he wanted to return his harmonica as a gift to
Herlinde ...
This photo was taken in Yangon, Myanmar, where a man
walked with baskets full of fruit (which is a typical picture on
the street). Just at that moment the guy after him steals a piece
of fruit.
Do you have anything to add to this
interview?
As long as there is TangaTanga, we will continue to
travel ... Enjoy life!
