Richard Leighton
Rich is a wannabe vagabond currently living and working in London. With ambitions of being location independent, a combination of volunteering, solo and group travel has so far taken him to South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Central America, Mexico, the USA and smatterings of Europe.
After gaining a psychology degree, he went to Mexico as a volunteer English teacher and so began the travel addiction – something he feeds when he can’t be on the road by writing about his adventures on it.
Always pondering his next move, you can often find him swinging in a hammock, photographing a sunset or doing a bungy jump.
What was your first travel experience?
Teaching English in Mexico was my first 'real' travel experience. It was volunteering there for three months at a university and living with a local family in Guadalajara.
Describe a travel experience that changed your life.
It has to be the first one. Even before I came back from Mexico I knew I wanted to see the world and it changed my life totally because I never saw myself as a backpacker or traveller before that. It set my life down a completely unexpected path.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words; do you take photos when you travel? Where have you taken the best photos?
Of course! I remember taking some awesome photos of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala - so big, blue and sparkly! Also Lake Matheson in New Zealand is extremely photogenic. I don't have a thing for lakes, honest.
What country's stamp do you most want to add to your passport?
I'm going to say Brazil. But ask me again tomorrow and it might be somewhere else.
What was your best meal while traveling? Worst meal?
Best meal? Hard one. Any number of curries I ate in Thailand and most of the time I didn't know what was in them or what they were called. Sorry to be vague! Pupusas in El Salvador are also sent from the culinary gods.
Worst? I'm not a fussy eater but I the first time I had tofu with rice thinking it was pieces of egg was horrendous. Nasty stuff, tofu.
Worst? I'm not a fussy eater but I the first time I had tofu with rice thinking it was pieces of egg was horrendous. Nasty stuff, tofu.
Rate this interview: