Travel can be summed up in a Jackson Pollock painting. The best parts of it are often random, haphazard, and spontaneous. And it can sometimes be a mess. Being on a team of professional travelers has exposed us to the different ways people travel, and given us some new tools to try out in creating our own masterworks.
We asked the Hacker Paradise team 4 important travel-related questions so you too can pick up on some tips from the remote work experts living the dream on a series of one-way tickets:
Vanessa, Facilitator – USA
Favorite travel destination: Mendoza, Argentina is delightful! Went there for the wine and stayed for the amazing Andes!
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: speakers to get the party bumpin’.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: Rented a car to drive from Austria to Switzerland and got five speeding tickets in one day — one of which I had to go to the police station for. Eeeek.
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: Philippines, Romania, South Africa.
Spencer Jentzsch, El Jefe – USA
Favorite travel destination: I love Porto, Portugal. Nice weather, beaches, cheese and meat boards for all meals — it’s totally my jam.
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: My packable backpack. It sounds silly but the best advice I ever got before coming out on the road was to pack bags within bags. I laugh every time I see someone else using their huge 40L travel bag to carry their laptop to work or to go on a short 3-hour hike.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: Suffering from lack of oxygen after hiking all day towards Machu Picchu. The sun was starting to set and I had separated from my group. The lack of oxygen from the high altitude was making me a bit delirious. I decided to climb up on a tall rock to see if I could see the campsite for the night. After multiple dazed attempts I found the campsite was right over the hill and I was saved 🙂
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: Berlin, a beautiful Greek island, and Chapada Diamantina (a huge canyon system with waterfalls in Northeast Brazil).
Renata, Program and Scouting – Brazil
Favorite travel destination: Cape Town was my first HP Trip. I had been traveling for almost a year and a half. When I stepped into the city and sat on the bus on my way from the airport, it immediately felt like home (for the first time since leaving Brazil). Not only is the city beautiful, but it offers so much culturally, nature is incredible and I couldn’t get enough. Some of my closest HP friends I met on that trip too. It was really really special.
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: I would HATE to lose my sarong.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: I wanna say that one time I celebrated my birthday in Thailand and danced the Brazilian “bottle dance” on the stage of a drag queen show ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: Egypt! Which I’ll be going soon. Patagonia. And hopefully, I’ll make it to Burning Man one day with Dani.
Will Newhart Facilitator – USA
Favorite travel destination: Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A. It is both a picturesque escape from society and an ominous reminder of the far-reaching and perilous effects that society has on our climate.
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: My glasses. I’m really screwed without those.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: The circumstances leading up to my friends getting drugged & mugged in New Orleans.
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: New Zealand; Cape Town, South Africa; Havana, Cuba
Sara, Trip Facilitator & Head of Admissions – Italy
Favorite travel destination: Aaaa so many places! Cape Town is a special place. It has both incredible nature and a city life buzz like no other! You can wake up every day and decide if you’d rather go to the beach or hiking.
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: My pink wig — it was a gift from an alumnus on my first trip and I’ve traveled with it since then. You never know when the next crazy party will be!
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: In Seoul — danced on the floor with 3 drag queens wearing the above pink wig. I would tell my parents but maybe not my children.
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: Namibia, Amazon forest, New Zealand.
Dani Dirks, Head of Technology – USA
Favorite travel destination: The two locations that really surprised me were Mexico City and Cape Town. I expected both to be (for lack of words) a bit “grungier” and dangerous but what I found upon arrival were such beautiful cities with amazing food, culture, art, and people.
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: I have a bag of jewelry that is full of gifts from momentous occasions in my life and things that I’ve started collecting from each location that I go to. Being a nomad, it’s difficult to collect mementos from each place you go, and I’ve found that unique pieces of jewelry from local artists are a nice compromise.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: That time I was almost kidnapped by a taxi-driver following a date in Cusco. I got my date on the phone, who happened to be related to a very influential Peruvian politician, and he managed to convince the driver to turn around.
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: I’m more into specific adventures than specific destinations. My big 3 would be backpacking the Camino de Santiago in Spain; the Pacific Coast Trail in the US; and both the Argentinian and Chilean sides of Patagonia. I’m obsessed with hiking and looking forward to checking a few trails of my bucket list.
Kitti Borissza, Trip Facilitator – Hungary
Favorite travel destination: I love Israel because it is so diverse for such a small country. I mean how the f* you find your female self in a gay bar between a church, a synagogue and a mosque in Jerusalem?
That one thing in your suitcase that’s not an option to lose while on the road: Detachment, baby. We came to this world with nothing, and we don’t take anything with us in the end. Just make sure to enjoy what we have in the meantime.
A travel memory you probs will never tell your parents about: The creative ways I found to distract myself in Sri Lanka during curfew following the terror attacks. Def something I’ll keep to myself.
Your top 3 Bucket-List destinations RN: Cuba, Amazonian tribes and Jamaica.
