Questions and Answers

We love receiving questions from people -- whether they are armchair travelers or world explorers. We’ve even had questions from our own parents!

This spot is reserved for questions and responses in 2008.

If you have questions of us, please send them to mail[at]twogypsies[dot]com.

Q: Why Peru?
I.P. in Iowa City, Iowa
A: Don visited Peru many years ago and always wanted to take Becky to Machu Picchu and the sacred valley of the ancient Inca Empire. He has also seen Lake Titicaca, at 12,500 feet, said to be the highest navigable lake in the world. In this trip, we’ll add the mysterious Nazca Lines, the huge drawings in the desert of southern Peru that can only be seen from the air -- even though they were made more than 2,000 years ago. This will be a fascinating but not easy trip; our drive from Arequipa to the world’s deepest canyon will reach an altitude of almost 16,000 feet.

Q: Why are you returning to Asia for a sixth time?
H.P. Bangkok, Thailand
A: We keep returning to Thailand because there is so much to explore -- that, and the fact that after so much time there, we have many friends. In fact, at Christmas we will be staying in the home of friends we met at a mission hospital near the Burma border in 2000. This couple, and their two daughters, will visit us at Expedition Headquarters in June, 2009.

On our trip to Asia in late 2008 and early 2009, we will headquarter in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and travel from there to extreme northern Laos, an area where we were headed on two previous trips (but had to return due to parental health problems). We may also adventure into northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan province, China. We’ll be out of the USA for about three months.

Q: How can you afford to keep traveling like this?
D.H. Livingston, MT
A: We can’t....at least not as well as we could in late 1999 when we sold almost everything we had and hit the road. On our upcoming trip, we’re using airline miles we began earning nearly 15 years ago. And over time, we have learned how to travel more economically (by necessity). You’ll notice that we don’t travel to Europe. Having been there numerous times during our working years, we now find more interesting things to explore in other parts of the world. But in truth, we can’t afford to spend months in Europe, like we still can in less developed parts of the world.

Q: Your next expedition headquarters in Thailand? Isn’t that a little risky right now?
G.E. Columbus, Montana
A: There is risk in everything. We are careful to assess risks, but also careful not to overreact. Right now (early December 2008) there is improvement in the political situation in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We monitor situations like this closely and do whatever it takes not to become ensnared.