Dan and Audrey are an adventurous couple who quit their jobs in 2006 to be full-time travelers.  They advocate seeing the world first hand and having experiences of a lifetime by “measuring the Earth with our feet” – the tagline on their blog, Uncornered Market.   Their ultimate aim, in a sense, is to humanize the places they’ve visited by pulling their readers in with photos and stories.  This allows readers to connect with places and people they might have otherwise never heard about or paid attention to.  If you’re looking to plan your next big trip and need some smart advice from the travel professionals, check out their blog and be on your way!  Tours4Fun had the incredible opportunity to interview these experts, and are happy to share that interview with you today!

Tours4Fun: What have you found to be the most difficult part about continually traveling?
Dan and Audrey: The constant movement and traveling. It gets quite tiring always to be thinking and planning the next destination. This is why we started traveling more slowly.

Tours4Fun: What was it that fueled you to quit your secure jobs and be full-time travelers and storytellers?
Dan and Audrey: Curiosity to see and experience the world for ourselves. We had read a lot and saw a lot of documentaries, but we knew it would be different to see everything first-hand. This is also where our tagline, “measuring the Earth with our feet” is connected.

Tours4Fun: When in a foreign country, is it difficult meeting and connecting with the locals?  Are they usually open to telling you personal stories?
Dan and Audrey: The first step in meeting and connecting with locals is to go where the locals are hanging out. This is often why we make the local food market our first stop when we visit a new place and we travel lots by public transport.  In addition, we walk a lot. We find that if we show our genuine curiosity about a place, cuisine or culture, then locals are quite open in sharing their knowledge. In fact, most are proud to share their country with us.

Tours4Fun: What do you usually look forward to the most when you arrive at a new destination?
Dan and Audrey: The opportunities for discoveries because everything is new to us about that place. Also, new foods and wines 🙂

Tours4Fun: While traveling , it’s easy to lose sight of money and budgeting.  Can you give us any helpful tips on how to budget on travels while still making the most of your dollar?
Dan and Audrey: We often stay in cheap accommodation so that we can spend more of our budget on food and wine. In order to make your food budget go further, consider eating a main meal at lunch as many restaurants over good lunch deals. We’re also big fans of street food.

Tours4Fun: Do you two ever get homesick?  I’m sure you have family and friends in various pockets of the world that you can’t visit as and when you want to since you are always on the go.  How do you combat home sickness?
Dan and Audrey: We’re fortunate to have each other to travel with, but we do get homesick, especially around the holidays. Skype is fantastic as you can just hop on a call with family and friends for free and hear everyone’s voice, even if you are halfway around the world. We try to return home as often as we can, especially when it comes to holidays or birthdays.

Tours4Fun: What was the most exhilarating thing you have experienced in your travels?
Dan and Audrey: It’s hard to name just one thing here, but a few highlights include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, visiting Iran, trekking the Annapurna Circuit, traveling overland across Central Asia.

Tours4Fun: Are there any locals you have met that stick out in your mind?  If so, why?  Tell us their story.
Dan and Audrey: Oh, there are many people we have met who have taught us so much. In Georgia (Republic of), we met Leila and her friends at the local market in Zugdidi. Even though they had very little, they insisted on providing us with a feast to welcome us and share of their culture and cuisine.
Then there are the inspirational women from rural West Bengal, India that we met as part of a microfinance project who were building so much from so little and changing their village.

Tours4Fun: Out of all the places you’ve visited, which one is your favorite and why?
Dan and Audrey: This is another tough question. How about top 3? The common thread in all of these places is a not just a beautiful country for landscape, but a country with friendly and welcoming locals.
Republic of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Nepal.

Tours4Fun: Finally, where will your next adventure be?
Dan and Audrey: New Zealand! We leave next week to visit New Zealand for a month. This has been a dream destination of ours for ages so we’re super excited.