The power of travel

Small group journeys allow you to get off the beaten track while meeting real people and seeing their spiritual connection to the world. Ellie Fazan speaks to philanthropist and founder of G Adventures, Bruce Poon Tip

Broke and more than 3,100 miles from the check-in desk for my pre-booked flight home, I once travelled alone from Cape Town to Nairobi on public transport. En route, I was squashed into jeepneys with farm animals, slept on floors surrounded by curious children, and learned a thing or two about the world while loitering in bus stations. And while this changed my perspective on the planet, things carried on much the same as before. 

Not so for Bruce Poon Tip who went backpacking around Asia on US$10 a day at the age of 22. It was a truly transformative experience for him, and one that was to change the face of travel forever. “I got arrested in Burma. Ate crickets for the first time. It was an adventure!” he says. “But what really stood out was meeting real people and seeing their spiritual connection to the world around them.”