An Interview with Marc Smith
Marc Smith
Connect With Marc
My name is Marc Smith and I’m the founder and chief adventurer at 30 Day Adventures. As a child growing up in Northern BC all my vacations were spent camping at Lakelse Lake or road tripping throughout BC visiting friends and family. When I moved to Vancouver in 1989 it was my first time in the big city and between then and 2011 my vacations were few are far between, primarily the beaches of Puerto Vallarta. In 2012 I came up with the idea of 30 Day Adventures and have used the blog as an opportunity to “story tell” and travel to places I’ve always wanted to visit but never been. Every day and every trip is a new adventure that I wake up to pinching myself I feel so lucky and fortunate to have.
When and how did you discover your passion for travel?
I’ve always wanted to travel but when I had the time I didn’t have the money and when I had the money I never found the time. Most of my travel adventures were fantasies and day dreams about places I had read about in books. The United Kingdom thanks to the Famous Five by Enid Blyton, Greece and Turkey through a love of Greek Mythology in Elementary school and New Orleans thanks to Ann Rice and her Vampire Lestat series.
Marc Smith
How has travel changed your life?
How can it not? Seeing how other people live makes you appreciate your own life so much. Every time I discover and experience a new place it just makes me fall in love with my home city of Vancouver even more. The more you travel the more you realize we are all people and we are all the same. Different GPS coordinates, and perhaps a different skin colour and language but we are more alike than we are different. Plus I love all the new cultural traditions and eccentricities I get to experience for the first time.
What is your biggest pet peeve while travelling?
Other travelers with inflated senses of entitlement. People getting onto a plane with more carryon luggage than allowed and then stuffing the overhead bins so there is no room for anyone else’s luggage. The Inconsideration
What is the one thing you absolutely never travel without?
My phone because it is my camera and my lifeline to work. My non tech never leave home without is my Nexus Card J
What is the most unique experience you've ever "accidentally stumbled upon" while travelling?
Marc Smith
I meet a lot of people when I travel and by talking to them I discover lots of fun things to do where I am visiting. Sometimes it is discovering a small group of Islands in New Brunswick, or a restaurant in New Orleans way off the beaten path that serves Alligator Cheese Cake & sometimes it is just making friends during an adventure.
If you were going on a one-week rest and relaxation vacation somewhere you've previously been, where would you go and why?
Kaanapali Beach Resort because everything is there and I wouldn’t have to leave unless I wanted to. Swimming, beach time, snorkeling, dining, and shopping it is all there.
With the Canadian Dollar being a little weaker than it once was, what is something unique you do to stretch your dollars while travelling?
When I purchase US$ for a trip I use VCBE as it offers the best rate and if I can’t get there to pick it up they will courier it to me.
If you could pack only a carry on sized backpack for an extended trip, what would you pack?
This is how I travel already. A few days worth of underwear and socks, Board shorts that double for day time wear, 1 collared shirt and of course my laptop, phone and a few t-shirts. That is all I need.
What kind of mistakes did you make when you first started travelling?
Over packed.
What is your most embarrassing travel story?
It is so embarrassing I am not willing to share it. Let’s just say I ate something and it didn’t agree with me, AT ALL!
What's the craziest thing you've ever eaten while away?
Marc Smith
Is Alligator crazy? So far nothing has been too crazy, but maybe because I live in Vancouver and have such a diverse food experience background nothing is that crazy to me.
What is the most exciting thing/craziest story that has ever happened to you when travelling?
I was interviewed by the CBC in New Brunswick and I put a call out looking for authentic experiences from the listeners. One of them emailed me right after the show and invited me to join them for a day touring 2 small islands I had never heard of. During this day I saw parts of New Brunswick I would never have found on my own. Did you know that there is an International Park in NB named after an American President (FDR) and that it’s operation is 50/50 Canadian and US?
Of all the places you've been, what was your favourite destination and why?
I haven’t been to my favourite destination yet. The one I am going to next is my favourite because I haven’t been there yet. There is so much to see and experience I can’t pick a favourite, nor would I want to because they all offered me something unique and special.
Want to read more of Marc's travel adventures? Check out his blog 30 Day Adventures!