This week we collaborated with the experts at Audley Travel for our #PPTravelExpert Instagram challenge. We asked you to share some of your favorite moments in which your adventure was taken to the next level by local knowledge, a shared tip from a fellow traveler, or the expertise of a guide.
From Peru to Mongolia, our guest judges @lovewalkeatsee and @lucylaucht loved reading about some of your adventures begin with the help or hint from someone else. Thanks to everyone who participated, and keep sharing your stories with us on #passionpassport!
Congratulations to this week’s Instagram challenge honorable mentions (moving left to right, starting top-left): @mcascari, @a_johnstonian, @aminhluong, @azford, @onchira, @jessdoesfun, @femkitectography, @danflyingsolo, and @_madickey_.
Congratulations to this week’s Instagram challenge potential winner @5yearanexpat receive $500 towards his next adventure as well as a consultation with one of Audley‘s experts! His photo and write-up are below:
I was at a family gathering a few days ago and was questioned about my recent trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I recounted my trip and received an: ‘Of course you met some amazing locals. You always get so lucky,’ in response. It’s true, but I suppose I never thought about it before.
This is TinTin. I met TinTin in the Schwedegan Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. I was asking my fiancé a question when he magically appeared with an answer. He gave us a tour of the Pagoda when we asked him if he would spend the day with us as our guide and guest.
He took us to his favorite restaurant and arranged all of our taxis and insisted on accompanying us to the bus station like a gentleman. Also, at 74 years old, I couldn’t make him sit in the taxi seat. He insisted on sitting in the back of the car He knew about nearly every current even imaginable and had an opinion on every one. He raised a son that became an engineer, and he was proud. He worked as an electrician for 40 years and recounted stories of getting shocked that made us roll with laughter. He always kept a pen in his pocked because ‘You never know when you are going to hear something you want to share.’
He walked 14 miles every day to the Pagoda. He was curious and young-at-heart, wanting to consume the world with each traveler he met. I can still remember his smiling face and the conversations we shared over watermelon juice, and I still think of him often.
