Meet the Nomads: Andreas Sigurdsson

I stumbled upon Andreas's personal blog after logging in to Twitter. Someone twitted about his link and mentioned that he's currently travelling in Xinjiang, which captured my attention right away.

I was planning to travel last year to Xinjiang but due to the commotion that broke out, I was advised by some Chinese friends not to pushed thru with my plan. So I went instead to Yunnana and Sichuan.

Andreas is not your usual travel blogger, his blog is more of his personal journal about his experiences. He's a project based consultant in China especializing on business development, process engineering and branding and online stratey.

Get to know more about Andreas and visit his blog at http://andreassigurdsson.com/.

Here's Flip's short interview with Andreas.

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

"My eyes were opened and my passion for travel ignited August 2001 in Bangkok. I went there for a brief sudden trip without any expectations. What I didn't count on was how much it would change me and still influence. I stayed with a journalist and a photographer who shared an apartment. Still have a lot of contact with the photographer who continues to inspire and we are very good friends."

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

"Cannot really think about anything specific horrible. I count all that happens as part of the travel experience. But to mention something more recent disappointing it was how ruined my experience of kashgar was due to meeting the wrong people. Using coachsurfing.com I got in contact with a local uighur guy who offered to meet up and show us around. This guy showed to be only after making money of me and although very friendly he never ones paid for anything and then wanted to be paid as guide. Worst was that he fed us with a lot of lies about the situation of roads and places we wanted to visit so that we should pay him to arrange it instead of doing it ourselves. After refusing he started being rude over the phone and tried to threaten us to pay. A very uncomfortable feeling, especially when you are far away from home, and it made us use the hotel backdoor and mistrust other people in Kashgar."

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

"The travel experience that still warms me the most is my travel with train in China 2002 and especially the city Yingchuan in Ningxia province. It is all about the people I met. There a CITS guide travelling with an American tourist offered me a ride back after being stuck on the country side. I was then taken care of by him and his friends, invited for dinner at both restaurants and home, and then two of them took a day off to drive me out in the gobia desert to see some old part of the great wall. The last evening, when wandering alone on the street, a man there for business just started to chat and invited me for dinner. As if not enough, a waitress in the restaurant sent a paper note offering to show me around in the city the day after. Leaving for Beijing my heart was warm by the hospitality everyone had shown."

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

"I love beautiful scenery, being lonely up in the mountains, enjoy quietness and clean air, but it is still the people I meet that gives the lasting memories."

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

"I find it inspiring and creating a need for more travel. The more I learn about different places, the more do I want go out and see more. Often on a trip I get ideas for another trip that I start to plan even before finishing then current one. I believe it is important to have a certain mission or theme with the travel, such as e.g. following the silk road, climbing a peak, going from point A to B etc. This trip I have started to plan my next ones; bike over the mountains in Taiwan, go with Chinese motorcycle across Mongolia, and explore the mountains of qinghai with start from Qiemo and up into China's largest nature reserves etc..."

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

"If in need of a "celebrity" travel companion I would choose someone like Sven Hedin, a Swedish explorer that travelled a lot in Xinjiang and mapped ancient cities in early 1900 but left excavation and plundering to others, or some spiritual person that would inspire me to greater good such as I imagine Dalai Lama would."

Where’s your favourite place in this planet and why?

"The world is just full of amazing places and I don't think I have found my favourite yet, but Taiwan is a potential candidate where I could imagine having a base. It is a somewhat isolated island with its mix of stunning scenery, friendly people and great food."

Best advice for new travellers?

"Have Fun, Adopt to the situation and don't have any Expectations."

What do you think about yourself?

"What I think of myself...I can be somewhat irritating as I like to ask questions about all details, make backup plans, change the plan on sudden new influence etc. Not making a lot of noise I prefer to listen and observe. Also getting more and more risk averse, especially when I have a companion with me for whom I feel responsible for."

"My blog is just a normal personal blog which I play around with as a digital nomad. With a passion for technology I try to share things immediately and with the passion I have at the moment. I am now using my HTC Desire which works excellent as a travel tool. I use my blog as a diary for myself, as a tool for friends and family (if interested) to see what I am up to, but also to share information to fellow travellers. I havent found any forum good enough for sharing hut Wikitravel is something I want to use and feel should be used more." - Andreas