TRAVELLERS: Jean & Rudi Nägele from Germany

Globerovers Magazine is in conversation with super travellers Rudi and Jean Nägele of Germany. Rudi has visited all 193 UN countries plus the Vatican, Taiwan and Palestine, while Jean is still short of Cuba, and the elusive Libya.

Globerovers (GR):  How many countries have you visited?

RUDI:  I have been to all 196 independent countries of the world over the span of more than 50 years. The actual travelling time in foreign countries totals 15 years. My professional working time in 17 of those nations adds up to another 6 years. We don’t count territories, colonies or international areas like Antarctica as separate countries. We include the 193 recognized by the United Nations as well as the Vatican, Taiwan and Palestine.

JEAN: I’m at 194 so I still have two independent countries, Cuba and Libya, to do as of May 2015.

GR:  What are your top 6 most preferred countries for leisure travel?

RUDI & JEAN: For leisure travel, which is not our main goal: Argentina, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Vietnam and India.

Kiev, Ukraine (2014)

GR:  Which is your most preferred country for travel?

RUDI: Nepal, which we travelled during 1977 and 1979 over a five month period on three different visits in a VW-camper. It has interesting traditional cultures, breathtaking landscape, excellent birding, good mountain trekking, and we loved the seasonal Hippie-experience.

JEAN: Argentina. Its people, their political awareness and interest in world events, Tango dancing, gauchos, the nature, landscape, the wonderful nature parks especially Peninsula Valdes with its unique animal life – watching Whales, Southern Elephant-Seals, Penguins and beaching Orcas.

GR:  Where do you wish you were right now?

RUDI & JEAN: In Libya- a missing country for Jean. It is not possible to get a visa for Libya at the moment. Rudi was there for 3 weeks in 1991/92 in a 4WD-camper truck. No guide needed, no restricted zones, free roaming in the desert, and extraordinary hospitality.

GR:  Among those countries you have not yet visited, which ones are at the top of your “must do” list?

Cusco, Peru (2002)

RUDI: Since I have been to all of the 196 independent countries, I am interested in seeing wildlife I have missed so far: Polar Bear, Walrus, Blue Whale, Whale Shark, Siberian Tiger, Tapir, Puma, Jaguar, Maned Wolf, Lowland Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Giant Forest Hog, Pangolin, Okapi, Bongo, two species of Echidna, Tasmanian Devil, Wombat….and some of my important missing birds: Shoebill, Giant Sea-Eagle, Picathartes, Harpy Eagle and still more of those “flying dreams”.

JEAN: During early 2015 I have been to Bulgaria, Malta, Cyprus, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville and the Bahamas, leaving only Libya and Cuba of all 196 independent countries in the world. Libya is the country, where I want to be right now, but cannot go because the country has been virtually destroyed. Despite all the rumors since mid 2015, the US Government is still not allowing US citizens to visit Cuba as tourists. I will wait, possibly forever, until I am able to travel there legally as an independent traveller and not confined to one of the 12 different types of supervised groups. We have always travelled independently.

GR:  If you could spend the rest of your life somewhere other than your home country, which country would that be?

RUDI and JEAN: We would both always select the place closest to our family, friends and a familiar environment with our keepsakes, memories and books to study, etc. Rudi would move officially to Tyrol, Austria, about 120 km from our current home, so I could still visit my old home Germany easily. Jean: Besides being with Rudi, I would enjoy living in Argentina, also to improve my Spanish.

GR:  Please tell us about the most memorable mishap you have ever had while travelling.

Pantanal, Brazil (2003)

RUDI: Being in a fire in the driver’s cabin of our Mercedes 4WD-truck-camper in the Pantanal, Brazil in 2003 during our 3½ year trip driving 125,000 km around South America. I was very lucky to not have been burned to death. I tried to store an aerosol can of spray paint next to the batteries under the driver’s seat. The can mistakenly touched the 24 Volt-contact, exploded and the contents of the can created a tremendous fire in the cabin lasting about six seconds. People are shocked when they look at the pictures of my burns.

Durchschuss, California (1980)

JEAN: My accident in Tanzania in 1992 on the road to Ngorongoro crater. The flat tire Rudi threw up on top of our rented “Nissan-Hilux” bounced off and the tire rim hit me on the back left of my head. I was going to the bathroom right next to the car at the time. When Rudi called out: “The wheel is coming!”  I put my head on my legs and didn’t break my neck, which could have easily happened. The medical treatment provided by a Swiss missionary nurse, Sister Verona Hutter, who sewed me up, was phenomenal. She had spent 7 years of her missionary life in Papua New Guinea and was very qualified to tend to injuries in primitive situations.

Our other incredible experience was being shot at on a freeway outside of Oakland, California, in February 1980. We had just arrived on the west coast of the USA still on our trip around the world with our VW camper. The bullet went into the passenger side of our vehicle’s curved windshield and out the other end on the driver’s side. If the shooter had waited a split second longer before pulling the trigger he would have hit us. That is the closest call to death for both of us at one time we have had in our entire travelling life. We have indeed been lucky never to have been so seriously injured or become ill that we have had to stop our travels.

GR:  Based on your travel experiences, if you were to recommend the one most amazing destination for intrepid travellers, which place would that be, and why?

Karakorum Mts. Pakistan (1978)

RUDI: I cannot guarantee if the Baltistan province of Pakistan is still as it was in 1978 during our world trip. Fly to Skardu, take the short-based pick-up type Landrover with 500 liters of gasoline and a total of 14 people aboard for the 100 km drive to the most beautiful village in Pakistan named Khaplu, which is built from pebbles. The road to Khaplu is carved into rock just large enough, in height and width, for the Landrover, so you have to constantly watch your head for the rough rocks on the ceiling. There is one-way traffic on one day, for opposite direction the next day.

Arrange a crossing over the wavy Shyok River with a raft consisting of inflated goat skins and hope that the air holds and you make it, before the waterfall drop. Then start walking for a few days toward the mountains in the Karakorum Range with its 4 out of 14 of all the 8,000 m high mountains in the world. Follow the tracks of the mountain climbers and go until the altitude and the rest of the food-supply make you turn around. You will meet local people who clearly can distinguish between good and bad people. I think this trip was the furthest away we have ever been from civilization.

Goroka, Papua New Guinea (2014)

JEAN: The annual Goroka Show in Papua New Guinea – where Rudi and I visited last year – lasts three days: Friday to Sunday, always the weekend before September 16th Independence Day. It is the largest and most unique native “sing-sing” in the world.  When Rudi attended the Goroka-Show in 1974 during his 9-week expedition to Papua New Guinea 40 years ago, these people were still living in the Stone Age. Despite big changes in their society, they remain unspoiled, unaffected by commercialization and are natural and friendly, proud of their heritage and proud to celebrate it.

GR:  Which people by nationality or subgroup would you say have been the most hospitable during your travels?

Skardu, Pakistan (1978)

RUDI and JEAN: We found (almost) all of the 22 Arabian countries plus Afghanistan and Iran without question always full of unforgettable memories of hospitality and generousness. To mention a few. In the old city of Sana’a, Yemen, the whole neighborhood next to the hotel where we stayed gathered in a big crowd to say goodbye to us and gave us farewell gifts. In Tunisia a family we met asking directions invited us to their home for a meal, gave us gifts, shared a day with us and invited us to return and stay at their farm.

Many invitations by Muslims for drinks and meals in Turkey, Oman, Algeria, Pakistan, Syria, and in particular, a memorable experience near Kandahar, Afghanistan, back in 1978. After inquiring about an overnight parking place for us to stay in our VW camper, we were spontaneously invited by this young Afghan man, who was giving us the directions, to park in front of his family’s compound. It turned into a three day visit, participating in his sister’s engagement party, dancing, eating and celebrating with the entire family. Muslim hospitality toward total strangers like ourselves stands out during our travels.

GR:  How do you think travelling around the world for independent travellers has changed over the past 20 years?

Ankor Wat, Cambodia (2005)

RUDI:  For me there has been a lot of change since I started travelling more than 55 years ago. In the ”old days” you had to carry a lot of cash, communication was by mail which you picked up at the general post office under  “poste restante” or at your embassy. Usually no guidebooks were available. You were on the lookout for other travellers and they were hunting for you too to obtain travel information. Visa regulations have also changed. During our African trip, travellers could not go to Tanzania if you had been in South Africa, but we did it with a special trick that other did not bother with because it was a lot of work.

JEAN: Starting with the beginning of “free trade” agreements and “globalization”, many places in the world have become increasingly unstable politically and there are more militarized conflicts that prevent travel there. In 2008 we went to “Marigot Bay” in St. Lucia where Rudi had sailed during his seven month “Robinson Crusoe” adventure in 1970 from Barbados to The Bahamas. He remembers this as the most pristine beautiful spot he had ever seen. In 2008 we returned to find this former jewel of the Caribbean Sea virtually having been destroyed. At one half of the bay they had taken out all the mangroves and the beach was turned into a line of jetties with about 30 catamarans and trimarans, not a single one in use besides, a deserted bankrupt luxury hotel complex.

The other big change has been the availability of travel guide books such as “Lonely Planet” which has all the details about places where intrepid travellers and fully independent travellers (FITs) can venture easily on their own. Many of our travel friends with whom we remain in contact are from these beginning years of travel when one was exchanging information with others who were also exploring a particular country. Those relationships were and are still a special part of travelling. Nowadays no one needs to seek out other travellers for information and in the process learn about them and their experiences. Contact now with other like-minded travellers is limited, and only occurs, but also not automatically, in “hostel type” accommodation where travellers eat and congregate in a central place.

GR:  Do you have any “must take” items which you travel with?

East Africa (1986)

RUDI: Video camera, binoculars for wildlife observation, and a loud mechanical alarm clock (“modern” alarm clocks don’t wake me up).

JEAN: Special medicine to stop diarrhea, mineral tablets for muscle cramps due to excessive perspiration, flea powder – just in case, special leg money pockets that we wear below the knee to keep money, documents, and passports. We have a square plastic tub in one of our suitcases for washing clothes. Most stoppers (sink plugs) in hotel and hostel rooms are missing.

A tub makes it possible to soak clothes overnight to get them clean. We always take two plastic soup bowls, silverware, a can opener, a knife and an electrical heating coil along for small meals in the room to save money, and be able to buy food in a supermarket to eat. We take condensed soup powder and an enamel cup along for boiling water, to make soup which is always good for extra mineral intake and if one has diarrhea. A small flash light and long sleeve shirts (for mosquito protection and for clothes layering when it is cold) are important. In Africa we always take our collapsible igloo tent along with mosquito net for malaria prevention on the top and rubber bottom against flees and bedbugs and put it up on the double bed in the hotels.

Papau New Guinea (1974)

GR:  What is your favorite travel resource on the internet?

RUDI and JEAN: For flights: fluggesellschaft.de, for hotels: booking.com and for paper guidebooks: Lonely Planet Travel Guide Books.

GR:  Let’s talk about food. Which one country that you visited has the best food in the world?

RUDI:  For both of us, it is Asian food in particular Indian and Chinese. However, for me, the food from my home province “Swabia” in the State of Bavaria in Germany is the best food in the world!

JEAN: We always sample the food in every country we go. Asian food remains the most complementary.

GR:  Where was the best meal you have ever had during your travels?

RUDI: Eating “Flakies” in a restaurant in Krakow in Poland. “Flakies” are made from cow stomach, also called tripe. The US Southern food of “Chitlins” made from the small intestine of pigs is also very good.

JEAN: Chicken Masala at the “Blue Fin Restaurant” in Mombasa, Kenya.

Sailing the Caribbean (1970)

GR:  And where was the worst food during your travels?

RUDI: In Taiwan – the way the internal organs (usually I enjoy them) were prepared and served at the market in Taipei. Also the general cooking in The Netherlands is known as the worst in Europe. I can eat everything and everywhere, but I hate cooked carrots!

JEAN:  The (rancid) butter tea in Tibet! – which Rudi loves.

GR:  What is the strangest or weirdest place you have ever spent a night?

RUDI: A small, hot and sticky room with no windows and no AC in Medan on Sumatra, Indonesia in 1979 – but the rate equivalent to 30 US cents (US$0.30) for the double was great.  Trying to get the room cheaper would have been impolite!

JEAN: On our first trip to Madagascar in 1987 we stayed at the Hotel “Terminus” across from the Railway Station in Tana. The Mattress was too soft and was broken down in the middle – we virtually crawled out of this “funnel” all night long and Jean finally just slept on the floor.

GR:  Based on all your travel experiences, what is the best tip you can offer to new travellers?

Singapore (1979)

RUDI:  If you want to have full control and safe transport of all your documents, passport, driver’s license, money, tickets, pc-software, spare keys etc., put them in one or two pocket-like bags with plastic bags inside to prevent documents from getting wet from sweat, closed with a zipper or “Velcro”. Hold them in place with rubber bands under your knees. Nowadays you can buy these in travel shops. Fifty years ago I used modified volleyball knee protectors for that purpose.

JEAN: Be sure to always get a receipt for plane reservations, hotel payments and tours paid as proof later, when and if an “open” bill returns to haunt you. Be aware of scammers and keep with you a list of contact people in your home country in case of emergency. Be very careful the first day or two in a new country, place or culture – this time usually turns out to be the most expensive period for “greenhorns”. (That is more than one tip, I know, but there is so much to share!)

GR:  What is the single best lesson you have learned about the world during your travels around the world?

RUDI: Be prepared for the worst to happen and enjoy every moment.

JEAN:  Listen to advice and read about the countries and places you plan to go, but do not go with a preconceived opinion about what you will see or experience. The news media seldom, or other travelers if ever, portray any place in the world the way you personally will experience it. Make up your own mind about what you think and do not compare cultures.

GR:  Do you have any strange, weird, or even bizarre travel rituals that you can share with us?

RUDI: I am always checking if my one or two knee-pockets are still on my legs. I do this especially when I cannot feel them anymore.

JEAN: We always put all of our belongings in our suitcase, including our toiletries, and lock it when we leave our hotel room for the day. That way you keep track of everything you have. We speak, read and write fluent English and German. Jean understands more Spanish than she can speak and Rudi speaks more Spanish than he understands, so in South America our special ritual involved Jean telling Rudi what was said and he responded in Spanish.

That only worked for basics but not for in-depth conversations. The Spanish speakers never seemed to mind and didn’t even find it strange! That of course made that mode of conversation possible.

GR:  What is the main focus of your travels?

RUDI: I have been taking motion pictures always and everywhere for over 50 years because I am interested in almost everything, except for textiles – I was supposed to inherit the textile store of my grandfather, of course that did not happen. Since 1990 I use video cameras. Being able to speak comments into the camera, I could shorten the writing of diaries.

JEAN: Photography to capture the experience and as a sort of diary of the time. Also to enjoy the culture and traditions, food, and collecting coins. I also focus on birding and wildlife.

This interview with Jean & Rudi Nägele from Germany was conducted in mid 2015 and appears in the July 2015 issue of Globerovers Magazine.

Globerovers Magazine July 2015

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