Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Evelyn Hannon
Occupation: Travel writer whose goal is to inspire women to travel safely and well.
Hometown: Montreal, Canada
Residence: Toronto, Canada
Website: JourneyWoman.com
Twitter: @Journeywoman
Facebook: Facebook.com/journeywoman
Bio: TIME Magazine named Evelyn Hannon one of this century’s innovative thinkers for the work she has done on behalf of females and travel. In 2009 she received the Griffin Writer’s Award for encouraging the global safety and independence of women travellers. Evelyn’s free travel tip newsletter connects over 65,000 travelers worldwide and her website.journeywoman.com is considered the premiere female-centered online travel resource. Evelyn began travel writing in 1994. Today, this 72-year-old continues her international journeys as ‘The Grandmother of Womens’ Travel’ and she welcomes women everywhere to join the Journeywoman Network.
How often do you fly: Approximately once every three months.
How many countries have you been to: 65
How many continents have you been to: I was missing one but I’ve just been invited to Antarctica so I will have touched foot on all.
Favorite American city: Chicago (so far). I still have many more to explore.
Favorite international city: Florence
Favorite World Heritage Site(s): The Great Wall of China and Canada’s Rocky Mountains
Favorite airline: Cathay Pacific
Aisle or window: Aisle for short hauls, window for long.
Favorite airport lounge: What favorite lounge? This Journeywoman flies economy. lol
Favorite cruise line: My favorite ship is the MV Explorer, a small cruise ship that is the floating campus for Semester At Sea (semesteratsea,org). As their ‘enbedded blogger’ I’ve spent a total of four months aboard that vessel as we sailed around the world.
Favorite hole in the wall: My local Chinese Restaurant has recently been renovated to ‘no longer hole in the wall’ but it remains my favorite. Spadina Gardens, Dundas Avenue in Toronto, Canada.
Favorite fruit: Ripe, luscious peaches
Favorite food: Middle Eastern
Least favorite food: Sweetbreads. Even writing the word makes me squeamish.
Favorite travel movie(s): SlumDog Millionaire
Favorite travel book(s): I always enjoy reading about women who follow their travel dreams. Two that come to mind are The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World (Polly Letofsky) and Tales from Tavanti, An American Woman’s Mid-Life Adventure In Italy (Rebecca Bricker).
Five things you bring on a plane: (1) A bandana, There’s an article on my website that has 40 uses for it; check it out. (2) a shawl that ,rolled up, doubles as my pillow, (3) tea, I like to drink decaf, which I find a little harder to come by, so I bring my own. (4) Empty vitamin bottle with a few vitamins in it to make noise. I hide some emergency money in that empty vitamin bottle. I’ve found that thieves are not interested in my vitamin C. (5) a note pad because I get my best ideas during the night when it is completely still on the plane. You’re away from all distractions and your mind is free to wander to wonderful places.
What do you always seem to forget: Something.
Worst travel moment: In VietNam three female shipmates and I took a taxi from downtown Ho Chi Minh City back to the port area. We knew from previous trips that the metered fare should be about $20. However, the taxi we chose had a rigged meter and when we got to the port area the driver demanded twice the fare. We complained. He took a lead pipe from under his seat. I don’t know if he would have used it but I quickly took out another $20. Sometimes, it’s better not to test the waters.
What’s your dream destination: Someplace I haven’t been to yet.
Favorite travel website(s) – besides JohnnyJet.com, of course!: My own, of course. It’s been my babe since 1997.
Best travel tip: This tip is dedicated to any one who travels by bus and wants to avoid the touts and thieves that inevitably hang out in terminals around the world. Carry the front section of a Chinese newspaper and pretend to be engrossed in it. When someone asks if you speak English, shrug and go on reading your newspaper. They’ll stop bugging you and move on to their next victim. P.S. Ummm… this tip doesn’t work in countries where people speak Chinese.
Thanks for profiling Evelyn, Johnny. Enjoyed discovering a little more about her. I’m a big fan.
Inspiring to see a woman so dedicated to living a life well traveled. It seems many women have to put everyone and everything else before our desires for endeavors that interests us, like travel! Go Evelyn!