 Vicky Lee - Communications Manager Hey there, I’m Vicky and I am here to help, so let me know if there is anything you don’t understand like blogs, profiles, messageboards or anything else - I will sort it or at least find the right person and get them to do it!! The best part is I love to know what you are up to / where you are going / cool things you have seen / going to do - why not share your travel tales with the largest gap year community in the whole entire world. Come on email me and make me jealous!!!! How to get involved with Gapyear.com There are many ways that you can put your stamp on Gapyear.com, why not get involved in... Live Blogs Photos Become a country editor Become one of our travel writers To find out how - email me! Countries visited Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain. Unusual experiences 1. Singing power ballads whilst camel trekking in the Sahara desert unbeknownst to our deaf & mute guide. 2. Japanese Love Hotels... A must for unusual experiences. 3. Hong Kong New Years Eve - walked into the middle of a gang turf stand off - oops we swiftly walked out again. 4. Got taken to a hostess karaoke bar for my leaving do - had my very own Japanese hostess to keep me company!! 5. Went to a fire festival in Japan. LOCATION - grounds of an ancient wooden Japanese shrine; EVENT - to swing burning bales of hay tied together by rope around your head within close proximity of shrine & hundreds of people; TRAINING: None; OUTCOME - I smack a lady round the head with a burning bale of hay, luckily she suffered no serious injuries or hair loss !!!!! Top five tips 1. Trust your instincts, if it doesn’t feel right DON'T do it. 2. Less is more, don’t over pack - trust me! 3. Pick your travel partners VERY carefully. 4. Try not to rush yourself, it’s not a competition of how many sites you see but how much you enjoy the ones you do see. 5. Respect the local custom, it’s just polite. |
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 Jeremy Green - Head of IT I am the 'phantom' member of the gapyear.com team - I used to be the editor of the website and very active in the community, but I have now settled into a role whereby I create and maintain all of the software that allows the website to be so interactive. I do all of this from Johannesburg in South Africa, where I run gapyear.com's first international office. I still do a fair amount of travelling - do you ever lose the bug? I hope not. Countries visited Botswana, Germany, Ireland, Mozambique, Portugal, Switzerland, UK, USA, Zimbabwe. Unusual experiences 1. Spent my entire trip to California in bed with Flu. 2. Drove through Southern Africa (over 17000km in one month) with some Cornish lad, madness. 3. Got caught in a flood in Botswana - the entire country was under one foot of water (it's very flat there). Top five tips 1. Be aware of the local customs & follow them. 2. Don’t be a smart arse or take unnecessary risks. 3. Tell people where you are going & when you'll be back. 4. Don't sweat the small stuff; are you on holiday or what?? 5. You CAN come back - although things will never be the same, different is good. |
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 Cormac Scanlan - Head of Design Hi, I'm Cormac and I do most of the designy stuff at gapyear.com. Because I occasionally use made-up words like ‘designy,’ the guys keep me away from writing content. Being the designer works out ok though; I am a bit Photoshop junkie so I come to work to get my daily fix. Photography and film production are mainly hobbies for me, but I’ve done some professional freelance work in the field too. I’ve photographed public events, art shows and weddings, worked on a Channel 4 documentary as a runner and been hired as a cameraman for a small production company. I am currently one of the least travelled members of the team but I'd love to see the World and make an artistic Fricke-style film on my travels one day... Countries visited Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden Unusual experiences 1. Going to Fort William & scaling Ben Nevis on a whim. 2. Accidentally wandering into Ministry of Defence property only to run away upon hearing gunfire. 3. Going water divining at Eye Castle. 4. Meeting a drunk in a park and having a random hour long philosophical discussion about the nature of reality. 5. Attempting to smoke pinecones when I was 15. 6. Having Jim Bowen (of Bullseye fame) turn up on my front door step and ask me directions to a darts tournament. 7. Anneka Rice of Challenge Anneka landed in her helicopter in the playground of my primary school. Top five tips 1. If possible, try and travel with people you know you can get on with, if you argue a lot at home it could be far worse when you’re abroad. 2. Try to plan ahead. Have a rough schedule of what and where you'd like to go, there’s nothing worse than coming home and with a long list of things you wished you'd done. 3. Bring a camera, even if you don’t enjoy taking photos. 4. Don’t eat the yellow snow! 5. When compiling a list of top 5 tips, make sure you have more than 4... |
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 Kim Bennett - Web & Sales Administrator Hi, I’m Kim web and sales administrator (among other things) for Gapyear.com. I spent a month in Central America on an Overlanding trip. I have travelled to some of the Greek Islands with my friends and some of the Spanish ones. I also travelled throughout the South of France when I was younger. Countries visited Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, France, Spain, Turkey, Portugal, Greece. Unusual experiences 1. At a travel show in Ireland being asked if I was from Timbuktu! 2. Sharing a swimming pool in Central America with giant (and I mean giant) frogs. 3. Waking up to about 20 Gecko’s running around the ceiling in a hotel in Central America. 4. Tripping over the largest pavements I have ever seen in Spain! 5. Climbing a live volcano in Antigua (Central America) and coming back down on a donkey. 6. Finally learning what that shovel is for on an Overland Truck! Top five tips 1. Always make sure you have comprehensive travel insurance and don’t lie to the insurance company it will end up costing you a lot of money. 2. Make sure your passport is up to date. 3. Check the visa’s you have to have and if need be apply well in advance. 4. Take a phrase book. 5. When at borders do not annoy the nice men with the guns! |
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 Thanh Luu - RTW Expert - gapyear.com sales team at STA I love travel and everything to do with travel, so working at STA travel is the perfect occupation for me. I've been at the company now for 2 years and I still feel excited when I help people book their first RTW trip. More seasoned travellers are great too, as they generally know what they want and tend to ask for the non typical routes so I have to work a little harder to find them their ideal RTW ticket. Countries visited Done the trans siberian train from Beijing to St Petersburg, Vietnam (my home country), Guyana, live and travelled in the US for a year, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Dublin, Holland, Florence overland to Milan, north African countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco. New Zealand. Norway, Copenhagen. Mexico, Belize, Guatemala. Hong Kong. Unusual experiences 1. I had to deal with pesky Mongolian clothes smugglers on the Tran-Siberian train. They tried to stuff their goods into my backpack, my bed, my shopping.... Theres was no way I was spending any time in a Russian cell so locking them out of the cabin worked a treat! Their constant banging on the door did disturb my sleeping though! 2. I had a very bad reaction to the yellow fever Jab when I went to South America, I was transformed into a lizard lady for the begining of my trip, fortunately I had insurance so paid a little visit to the local doctor to sort it out. 3. Last year I spent my birthday in Guatemala, I thought it was a good idea at the time of booking but on the day I felt very much alone walking the streets of Antigua. However, I did bump into the same American couple I had caught a local bus with the previous day and they brought me dinner and a birthday cake too! Goes to show that you can meet lovely strangers on your travels. Top five tips 1. Do plenty of reserch when planning your trip, Gapyear.com is a great place to start! 2. Be flexible. 3. Have a realistic budget before you book your trip. 4. Don't expect things to be like home because you're not at home. 5. Have fun! Call me 0845 3 447 667 or email your enquiry here |
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 Petra Albrecht - RTW Expert - gapyear.com sales team at STA Hi, I'm Petra and I’ve been part of the Gapyear.com team at STA for about 12 months now. I love hearing about people’s plans and helping them make it real on a budget. I was born and bred in Germany, but have spent most of my adult life living and working in Italy and Southern Europe. I moved to the UK about 12 months ago, but all the talking about travel for work just makes me want to get out there again. My next big trip is my honeymoon in 2009, initial plans are Zanzibar but knowing me we'll end up somewhere completely different! Countries visited Germany, France and Corsica, all of Italy and the islands, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Thailand and Singapore, Egypt, Australia East Coast, New Zealand, Fiji, US. Unusual experiences 1. My boyfriend got mugged in a subway station in Rome at the Coliseum - I chased the guys and got him his wallet back but he ended up being really angry with me because it was such a stupid thing to do. 2. I had a bit of a reaction to the tap water in Egypt while staying with a friend - it ruined my stay but I lost a few pounds. Bottled water next time. 3. 3. One of my best experiences was doing the Oz Experience from Cairns to Sydney - I did embarrass myself in Surf Camp but the people were great and I’m still in touch with some of them now. Top five tips 1. Don't pack too much - you'll only end up throwing stuff away (never mind the excess baggage charges!!!) 2. Get your travel passes in advance so you know any money you have is spending money. 3. It’s worth paying a few pounds extra to waive the Medical Excess on your travel insurance - it means you can see a doctor or hospital if you need it without worrying about the costs. 4. Make the most of the time you have - there's no point visiting 12 countries if you have 3 months to travel. 5. 5. Make sure you have some emergency money and try not to spend too much at first - most peoples trips are cut short because they run out of money. Call me 0845 3 447 667 or email your enquiry here |
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