Evolution of a Traveller
There is not a straightforward way to explain how and why I am the way I am; therefore how and why Chickenfeet believes so much in the act and effect of positive impact travel. It is a collection of moments of recognition, comprehension, and becoming aware. It is meeting hundreds of different people and learning their stories and exploring their perspective on different aspects of life. It is pushing personal boundaries and learning what my limits were and pushing them. It is going places, doing and experiencing things in new and different ways to learn how stuff works and a better way of doing things.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou
The best ways to “know better” is to live different experiences to get perspective, but if you put intention behind listening to the right podcasts, reading the right books, and watching the right documentaries, you can experience multiple lifetimes, know a person deeply, and travel the world.
I have been exploring the world consistently since 2006 which means that I have been a backpacker, a flashpacker, a luxury traveller, a weekender, hobby travelling, travelling with family, travelling for food, and everything in between. The big difference between working 9-5 and travelling 9-5 is routine—most people do the same thing every day, interacting with the same people with similar lifestyles as your own, and whether you realise it or not, falling victim to societal pressures. Travelling forces you to speak with people from different countries, backgrounds, jobs, and lifestyle choices; to be in a different location place every day; to try different activities as they come.
My evolution from Marine Biologist to part-time dive instructor and travel consultant
Growing up, I travelled with my family, doing what they wanted to do; lucky me, they mostly did nice, luxurious things. I travelled with my friends’ family, doing very different things like summer lake life and country-side life.
As a university student, I started backpacking. I just wanted to see as much as possible. Essentially valuing quantity over quality; rather than really knowing a place and its people. With limited spending power, there was not much of a buffer for exploring the “unexplored” places far off the beaten track to risk “wasting” time and money on a detour. But bear in mind that pre-2010, it was a smart phone-less, travel blogger-less, and a limited internet access and broken English-speaking world, where everything was an adventure.
Once I was certified as a scuba diver, I started to hobby travel. There is a list of must-sees as a diver and that brought me to different parts of the world. The big five of marine life are: whale sharks, mantas, dolphins, turtles, and humpback whales. And when I made the decision to become a dive instructor as a side hustle, I was even more goal-orientated.
Diving brought me to Borneo, Mozambique, and the Caribbean. And while I was there, I made sure to tick off other things that were enroute or nearby. I gathered more hobbies like multi-day treks, summiting mountains, surfing and kiteboarding, and sailing. And as information became more readily available and easily accessible while I was personally being exposed to so much more around me and expanding my horizons, I also realised that as the internet makes the world so much smaller in good and bad ways, there a lot to learn that is not available online.
Cultural intricacies and differences are fascinating. And discovering places and peoples that are not blogged about is very exciting to me. There are so many destinations, ethnic minorities, and subcultures, that are overlooked and underappreciated. Most important to preserve are the life lessons that can be learned through listening to the stories, folklore, legends, and superstitions of ancient tribes and their histories. Once I recognised my appreciation for this, once again, I had another hobby and reason to travel intentionally.
As I made my way through South America, arguably a more developed tourism market than Southeast Asia, and continued to expand my travels through South and Southeast Asia, I learned the negative effects of (over)tourism. Which then made me realise how travellers, when mindful, can have an immensely positive impact on popular destinations:
influencing the ethics of social and wildlife related activities and;
bringing awareness to plastic pollution and environmental issues and;
the distribution of tourism dollar farther and wider for a better quality of life for all.
Chickenfeet Travels is a positive impact travel company that emphasises experiences over selfies because of my travels and mind expanding encounters. I am who I am because of all the places that I have been and the people that I met along the way. By travelling, I learned:
To redefine and believe in a different measure of success and purpose by spending time with an indigenous tribe during the Ciudad Perdida trek in Colombia
To differentiate the difference between need and want by living on a sailboat with limited resources and managing them (water, electricity, internet and money)
To change my mindset about what I can do for the local guides compared to what I can get from them by listening to guides while trekking Roraima (Venezuela) and learning the importance and benefits of engaging and paying for their services
That there is so much more to be “discovered” by slow travelling by motorbike through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
That fashion is a first world luxury by hanging out and becoming friends with more locals around the world and learning function over fashion from them.
Whether you are making the transition from tourist to traveller or an experienced traveller, travelling alone or with your mates, or looking for a weekend or a month to travel Chicken Feet Travels has something to fit anyone.
When you travel with an adventure mindset and ready to cultivate curiosityor start a nature-based activity, I have been there, you are not alone, and Chickenfeet Travels can guide you along the way.
