Aude et Wilfrid, 27 years old, wanted to escape, understand and discover the world. So they travelled during 11 months and went through 3 different continents.
After visiting Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Nepal, India, Equator, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina , Chile, New Zeland, Australia, the PikeoExplorers are back in France and tell us some memories about their trip…
Why did you decide to do this World Tour?
A World Tour has always been Wilfrid’s dream. Our project came up at the right time: we didn’t live in the same town because of our job, and we had neither children, nor current loan. It was a mean to escape and live a unique experience together during 11 months.
How long did it take to prepare this project?
We took the decision a year before leaving. We then started to think about a theme and an itinerary according to the different climates. But the real preparation started 4 months before (visas, flight tickets, vaccines, equipement, …).
Did a country particularly touch you ?
For travelling, we’ve been touched by two countries: Burma and Nepal. The landscapes are amazing and the people are really welcoming.
We also would like to go back to India: the country is so big we’ve only seen half of it.
Asia is the most desorientating country, but it is easier to meet people in South America.
We have learnt to be suspicious from the beginning of this trip. In Thaïland, in Bangkok, we have been trapped with a really well done trick… We meet a first Thaï in the street who finds us a cheap taxi to go visit the temples. He asks us some questions about us: Is it the first time we’ve been to Thaïland? For how long we are staying? Where we’re from?
Then, at the entrance of the temple, we meet a thaï teacher. He is also really nice and we talk with him during 10 minutes. In this temple, there is only an other tourist. He is from Holland, but talks French fluently. We share tips and advices, and places to see. As we are getting closer, he explains us he comes to Thaïland every year at the same period, when there are no taxes on jewellery for tourists. He buys 3 stones, with a certificate of authenticity, and sell them twice their price in London.
If a Thaï had talked about that, we would have been suspicious, but as he is a tourist, just like us, we buy the stones… They are real but they are only worth the fifth of the price we’ve paid. It has been hard to admit the trick, but we never had this problem again during the trip! We’ve become really suspicious!
Was it easy to load regularly the photos on Pikeo and on your blog ?
We had our own laptop, so it was easy to load our content. The wifi exists everywhere, even if not indicated. But it’s been harder in New Zeland because the connexion was very expensive. In Burma, there was no access to the exterior of the country, and in China many websites are under the control of the State.
What do you keep in mind?
- We met a lot of people and have built real friendships with French or foreigners
- A real cultural enrichment, a discovery of many cultures
- Wonderful landscapes, a unique contact with nature
- We’ve learnt on ourselves and on our couple
We have noticed that there were a lot of travellers like us, and that travelling in these conditions is easier than we thought.
And now ?
We are back and closer than ever. We are getting married in 7 months. We are looking for a job in France but in the long run we’d like to go to South America.
One thing is sure: the curiosity and the open-mindness we have acquired will be real advantages for the future.
Aude and Wilfrid have been through 3 continents and 15 countries. If you want to have a look at their unique experience, go on their blog http://www.lesblogtrotters.com/ or on their Pikeo account LesBlogsTrotters.
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