ROUND THE WORLD IN 130 DAYS

He brings new meaning to the phrase, “Road Warrior.” A senior sales position with a large, successful software firm in Burnaby for many years, our client Buzz Hemphill flew to all sorts of crazy spots in Canada and the U.S. So, when he decided to take a sabbatical, what did our road warrior decide to do? Fly round the world, of course—attempting to visit every country and continent you could possibly squeeze into STAR ALLIANCE’s special round-the-world airfare. Buzz ended up flying to 27 cities in 130 days, and he covered a lot more territory by boat, train, car, etc.

You can read more about Buzz’s adventures in his entertaining blog, www.buzzwords.ca , but we thought it would be fun to interview him now that he’s back.

TTG: So, most important question first, Buzz. What country has the best beer?

Buzz: This is an excellent question and I can tell you I took my investigation very seriously. By “serious” I mean I drank a lot of beer! The hands-down winner is Ireland. It is hard to beat Guinness, Kilkenny, Murphy’s, Smithwicks, and many, many more. Mmmmm, beer.

TTG: Did you get mugged, drugged, or hugged (inappropriately) on your trip?

Buzz: When you go on a trip, you just accept that a few nasty things are going to happen. I am not sure if it was my paranoia or “spider-senses” but nothing too horrific happened to me.

That being said, scams are the same everywhere. I think I saw this one in “Paper Moon” (starring the young Tatum O'Neill in her Oscar-winning performance): I was walking along when this guy started walking beside me. He was wearing a fancy suit, very clean and walking very straight. It was a little too perfect. Then from behind someone rushes quickly between us bumping us both. I of course throw my hands to my pockets immediately as I do anytime I am bumped but nothing was missing. Suddenly two 1000 ruble bills drop to the street at our feet. These bills were also too perfect - like they just came out of the cash machine; these were definitely not mine. The well-dressed man started his spiel. "Why, what do we have here?" I took off. Buzz rule: anytime you don't know what is going on; get the heck out of there.

TTG: Sage advice, Buzz. You say in your blog that South Africa is a country you’d definitely want to visit again. Why is that?

Buzz: Cape Town is a stunning place. If I didn’t live in Vancouver I would have serious city envy. The people were amazing everywhere I went in South Africa (please note that I kept a safe distance from Johannesburg at all times). There was so much to do there and I only scratched the surface: tour of the Cape, oggle the penguins, make fun of the ostriches for being big and dumb, petting cheetahs, spelunking, great beaches and of course safari. I could easily spend another month there.

TTG: I remember one of your goals was to check out Oktoberfest in Munich. How did that go?

Buzz: A huge success as measured by beer consumption, injuries, dead brain cells and giant pretzels. If you are a wallflower, you probably wouldn’t have a great time there. However, if you are a bit extroverted this is the place for you. It is exactly what you want it to be: an obstacle course of dancing Germans in wacky get-ups swinging insanely large beer steins at your head singing/yelling in some incomprehensible language (German) while hypnotic “oompah” music dulls your senses ( think it was the music that was dulling my senses!)

TTG: What’s the best airline you’ve ever flown?

Buzz: Singapore airlines certainly knows how to treat you. The attitudes, food and amenities were all top notch. This could be a result of the staff being such huge fans of Buzz but they seemed to treat everyone this way. Who am I kidding? I am sure it was because they were fans of Buzz.

TTG: Any nifty hotels you want to mention?

Buzz: The Imperial in New Delhi was colonial opulence at its best. This should be the mould for all five star hotels. Every luxury you could imagine was at hand. The staff doted on me to such a degree that I began speaking with an affected British accent and quoted conversations I had with “the Raj”.

TTG: Do you have any language barrier stories?

Buzz: Using a Greek payphone proved pretty challenging. My problems began when I realized they don’t take coin, cash, or credit cards; you have to have a pre-paid card. Oops. I managed to convince a Hungarian, who spoke no English or Greek, at the phone next to me to give me his phone card. I like to think I am a smart guy, but I couldn’t figure out how to make this crazy phone and card work. I got the Hungarian to make the call for me, but he had no better luck

New strategy required. I flagged down a cab driver, because they always have cell phones. Of course, he is also not so good with “The English”. Through a serious of grunts, points, mime, and a moving rendition of dance of the bumblebee, I managed to communicate my dilemma. He made the call to the agent. After only another 45 minutes of miscommunication and confusion, I figured out where I had to go.