"Our motto: the worst day of travel is better than the best day at work"
In the mid-1990s, the Nielsens dropped by a travel exhibition in their hometown. "We grabbed a bunch of brochures, and for the first time I thought about a long-term adventure, one that could be called endless," recalls Sharyn. She is the brain center of all their travels. It is she who takes care of planning the route, preparing necessary items, obtaining visas, and buying transport tickets.
Tim wholeheartedly supported his wife's adventurous idea. "At age seven, I told my mom I would become a missionary when I grew up," Tim recalls with a smile. Since childhood, he had dreamed of leaving Australia for somewhere far away.
By mid-1996, all formalities were settled and the couple left home for three and a half years. They visited Asia, Europe, Africa, and America, traveling to 66 countries. Returning home, the Nielsens realized they wanted to make travel the meaning of their lives, but that required funds.
Selling their house in Broken Hill, the couple moved to Brisbane and over 10 years earned enough to buy two apartments. Most of their current budget comes from rental income from these apartments. Sometimes during travels, Tim, a graphic design specialist, picks up work where there is stable internet. They also earn a little money from photographs of their trips, which they sell through their blog.
THEY SET OFF on their second big journey, which with short breaks continues to this day, in May 2010. They started with Southeast Asian countries. Although an Australian passport allows visa-free entry to the US, Canada, all European countries, and former British colonies, the couple still spent quite a lot of time on paperwork.
By 2012, they had visited all countries in the region and moved on to China. Over several months they crisscrossed possible tourist routes and visited places where, they say, no foreigner had set foot before. The Chinese route ended with a visit to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
By that time, the Nielsens had finally obtained visas and crossed the border into Kazakhstan. From there, their path led to Kyrgyzstan, then Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Driving through Iran, the couple arrived in Istanbul. They decided to skip Europe: by plane to Gibraltar and then to Africa.
Here they broke their rule of traveling alone for the first time and joined other tourists. After driving through about a dozen African countries in trucks, they said goodbye to their travel companions and flew to Mauritius. Then Madagascar, the Comoros.
"The Comoros is perhaps the only place I would not recommend visiting. The people there are incredibly rude and have a not very good opinion of white people," complains Sharyn. "Terribly expensive, no tourist infrastructure, all foreigners are suspicious outsiders to locals."
In the Comoros, the Nielsens planned to spend several weeks, but after just three days they realized they could not cope with the hostility, bureaucracy, and an incredible number of checkpoints.
Returning to Africa, the Nielsens caught up with their truck tour group in Ethiopia and went with them to Egypt via Sudan. From there they moved to Southeast Asia and spent the next ten months in Vietnam. By autumn 2013, when the couple finally visited home, Sharyn had 103 countries under her belt, Tim had 101.
AFTER SEEING family and friends, the Nielsens grew bored in their native Brisbane within a few weeks, but there was no opportunity to explore new countries—they needed to prepare documents and save up some money.
They could have waited for documents from consulates and interest on deposits while watching TV with a bottle of beer, but that's not the Nielsens. Sharyn, as usual, quickly sketched out a route, packed a first-aid kit, and Tim brought two bicycles from the store—for the next five months and seven thousand kilometers, the couple pedaled across the vast expanses of Australia. Then they left the bicycles with relatives for storage, repacked their belongings, and flew to Vietnam.
THE INCOME from the apartments is modest, and they cannot always find extra work. Sharyn recently published a book, "Get Away Worry-Free: Pre-Trip Tips for Long-Term Travel," in which she shares secrets of a successful "endless journey," but that hasn't made them a fortune either.
Due to budget constraints, the couple mostly use public transport and try to walk as much as possible. They usually stay in inexpensive hostels or hotels, and cook their own meals or eat at cheap local eateries.
Tim says a day of travel costs on average $100. In China, Central Asia, and Africa, the daily budget reached $120.
There are considerable expenses for visas. The Nielsens spent over $4,000 on paperwork for their trip through Asia and Africa. Often, processing documents drags on for weeks and even months. "We waited 10 months for a visa to Ghana," recalls Sharyn. The couple advises all travelers to prepare all documents in advance.
THE NIELSENS arrived in former Saigon in April 2014. They rented a house; Tim, as usual, started working as a designer online, and Sharyn got a job as an English teacher at a local school. In addition, she started a second blog where she talks about the specifics of life in a big city.
In Ho Chi Minh City, the Nielsens regularly go to cafes and restaurants, and visit sights. Sharyn says they have many friends in Vietnam, both locals and Europeans, of whom there are many in the city.
In spring, the Nielsens plan to fly to Brisbane for their bicycles and organize a bike tour from Finland through Eastern European countries. "By autumn, when it gets cold, we will head to the Caribbean and join a sailing regatta there," says Sharyn.
In their next trip, the couple hopes to discover at least 20 more countries. Interestingly, they have not yet visited the largest countries: the USA, Canada, Russia, and Brazil. “America and Canada are very similar to Australia in terms of culture, so they have never been at the top of our 'dream travel' list,” says Sharni. Brazil and Russia, however, are on the plans.
Perhaps this spring or summer, during a ten-thousand-kilometer cycling tour, the Nielsens will finally discover the largest country on the planet.
Timur YUSUPOV.
«Lenta.ru»