World Travellers: Sally from Elsewhere & Beyond

Welcome to the latest interview in my World Travellers series, which started back in 2012. Today we meet Sally from Elsewhere And Beyond, sharing stories dating way back to communist Soviet Union days…

Who are you?

Hi, I’m Sal, I’m 54, and have been married to Jim for 25 years. I’ve been travelling independently since I was 17 with my first adventure being to Russia in 1987 which was also the first time I’d ever flown. Travel has always been my passion, when I was 8 I won a prize at school and I got to choose any book I wanted from an amazing book shop in Bristol, I chose an Atlas!

Where are you from?

I was born in Solihull England but moved quite quickly to South East England. When I was in primary school we moved to Winscombe in Somerset and that’s where I truly felt I belonged. We moved back to West Sussex when I was 15 and I lived there until my husband and I decided to move back to the West Country 13 years ago.

Where have you been?

I’ve been to most of Western Europe, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, China, Turkey, Cyprus, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Cape Verde, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Jordan, USA, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Peru, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Comoros Islands, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Fiji.

Where are you now?

At home in sunny Devon, England.

What are the top 3 places you’ve visited?

I get asked this a lot and I really struggle to answer because every country is amazing in its own right and holds special memories. I think if I had to chose I’d say Bhutan, Fiji and sea kayaking around Flores and Komodo in Indonesia.

What is the best travel experience you’ve had?

I’ve had a few but I think the stand out one would have to be in Bhutan. We turned up at a remote village to find out the place we were supposed to be staying had been commandeered by the royal family and officials because a nearby Dzong was being reconsecrated by the King the next day after renovations. We were escorted to a temporary tented camp nearby and if I’m honest we were a bit put out as we had paid a lot of money for this trip. However we decided to make the most of it and got chatting to the other people staying there who turned out to be the minister of tourism and the head of police. After spending the best evening with them sharing food and stories the head of police insisted we went to the Dzong in the morning to ‘meet’ the King. In the morning we turned up to find hundreds of Bhutanese in national costume lining the streets waiting. We stood right at the back just happy to be at such an amazing event but then the head of police saw us and waved us through, the crowds parted and we went to stand with him and at that moment the Kings car arrived and the policeman opened the door to let him out right in front of us. After we’d spent some time at the Dzong watching proceedings we left to continue our journey and in the afternoon we arrived at a much smaller, quieter Dzong. Just as we were about to look around our guide became a bit flustered and it turned out that the Prince (now King) was there visiting. We were told we’d have to stay on the ground floor and that the Prince would be walking around the upper floor but he looked out spotted us and came rushing down to say hello and to chat. It turned out he’d been educated in England and loved the country, he introduced us to his sister’s the Princesses and we talked for about half an hour. I think our guide was beside himself and I don’t think he looked up from his shoes once in that time (a sign of respect in Bhutan).

What is the worst travel experience you’ve had?

This experience isn’t the worst in the usual sense of the word, it actually turned out to be the most amazing experience perhaps of them all, but it was the most difficult and challenging and, at times, frightened. There was a small expedition of people who were going to walk 300 miles along the Skeleton coast in Namibia completely unescorted. There is no fresh water along this stretch of coastline just mile upon mile of sand, sea, and seals. This expedition was going to be the first in the world to walk this stretch, through the De Beers diamond mines and also the first anywhere in the world to have no access to fresh water and to have to rely solely on desalinating their own seawater. Eight weeks before the departure date someone dropped out and they needed a female to replace them, I got that gig 😳. It was terrifying. Was I fit enough, could I do it, was I brave enough? I had to carry a 5 stone rucksack, over half my body weight at that time, and cover 300 miles of unchartered sand in 20 days, finding safe places to camp near the sea so that we could go in and gather 3 litres of water for every 1 litre we needed to drink. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we made it. The reason I’ve chosen it as my worst experience is because it was pretty terrible at times, but more so because it could have been the most amazing experience being completely on our own, no contact with the world at all, just walking along next to the sea, camping under the most amazing skies, doing something noone else had but the truth of it was I was so busy just trying to survive and get through the day that I didn’t really have the capacity to enjoy any of that and it feels a bit like a lost opportunity now looking back on it.

What is the funniest travel experience you’ve had?

I took a member of my staff to New York for her 21st birthday and because I was paying for everything money was tight and so I booked a cheap hotel, with bunk beds, but in a fabulous central position. When we arrived we were in a rush to go out as we had dinner booked at the Rockefeller centre so we didn’t really check anything out but when we got back we were super tired and just wanted to go to sleep. When we went to get into bed we couldn’t find a sheet or duvet anywhere just a pillow so in the end, after searching for 30 minutes, we just laid on top of the beds under our jackets to keep warm. The next day we got up and went straight out to explore hoping housekeeping would sort the bed issue out whilst we were away but when we got back the room had been serviced but the bed was exactly the same. I knew I’d booked a cheap room but it had a hairdryer so surely it would have a sheet! We went down to reception to ask and they looked at us as if we mad and said “all the bedding is on the bed”. We said “no it definitely isn’t we have searched for it both evenings now” but they were adamant so we went back and sure enough when we pulled the beds apart what we thought was just a mattress was actually an eiderdown that had been pulled so tightly across the bed and tucked in it looked just like an unmade bed. Underneath it was all the bedding you would expect. We felt really really stupid but we got a good night sleep that night and we still giggle about it today 19 years later.

What is the scariest travel experience you’ve had?

I think it would have to be in Pakistan although I want to say straight away that that we loved our time in Pakistan and everyone we met were amazing and kind. Our visit was also one month after the Americans killed Bin Laden in Abbottabad. We’d driven for the whole day across very difficult terrain to get to Chitral where we were going to stay for one night before heading out to meet, and stay with, the Kalash people for a few days, the bit of the trip I was most looking forward to. Our driver was tired so went to bed but our guide had to go to report to the police that we were there and to get our permit to go to the Kalash valley the next day. When he came back he was very serious and told us that there had been an attack on a nearby police and army position by the Taliban and people had been killed and that he didn’t think we’d be able to stay in the valley but that we should be able to go to visit during the day. He had been told to go back to the police station later that night to recheck the situation. I was obviously disappointed but it was more distressing that people had been killed and at least I still got to go for the day. When Irfan, our guide, returned from his second visit to the police we could instantly see something was very wrong. Apparently the Taliban were moving closer to Chitral and we had been ordered to leave immediately for our own safety. Our driver was far too tired to leave that night so the four of us agreed to stay the night and leave at first light the next day. As you can imagine it was a very restless night and when we got up to leave in the morning we found two armed guards outside our door. We left in our open top jeep with two very young armed men who had been instructed to escort us out of town and over the pass. They looked terrified for their own lives as well as ours which made us feel really guilty as they should have been concentrating on protecting their own people and town, not us, so once we reached the outskirts of town we explained to them we were there by choice and we knew the risks and we didn’t want them to endanger themselves to protect us and that they should go back to town. They left us looking somewhat relieved and we retraced the journey we’d taken the previous day back to Gilgit where we arrived fortunately without further incident.

What is the most random job you have had on your travels?

I’ve never worked whilst travelling I like to totally immerse myself in the country and people and to see as much as possible.

How do you fund your travels?

When I was young (and working but had a mortgage) I used to get bank loans then as soon as I’d paid them off I’d get another and go away again 🤭 Once I got a bit older and met my husband (two salaries, a bigger mortgage) we would save and then travel. I put spending money on travel above all other expenditure except household bills.

What 3 tips would you give a new traveller before they set off on their adventure?

1) Travel light! Get out what you think you’ll need, then half it and then, if you can, half it again. Most things can be bought where you are going, clothes can be washed or just rework etc. It makes it so much easier when travelling on public transport, accepting a lift, or just generally moving around. I’ve never regretted something I haven’t taken but often regretted something I have.

2) Planning and research, for me at least, is almost as much fun as the actual trip. You can learn so much in advance about where you are going, what you’d like to see or experience and the culture of the country however I really advise you not to stick too rigidly to any preconceived plans or itinerary as the true joy of travel can be found in the most unexpected and unplanned events and you need to allow yourself time to be spontaneous. Travel shouldn’t be a checklist of things to cross off.

3) Every person you meet is as important to this world as you are and the reason you travel should be to gain a greater understanding of them and their lives. Take time to talk to people, really listen to them and be compassionate this way you’ll get the most out of your travels, be treated with respect, and make friends for life.