Patrick Maselis is one of NomadMania’s founding members, joining our platform in August 2012, two months before our official launch. The first Belgian UN Master and among the first 50 UN Masters that we know of, Patrick continues to be fascinated by far-flung destinations while still having a demanding job and being a family man. More than a decade late, we finally caught him for a brief chat.
Patrick, tell us a little about your early life and how your love for travel developed.
My family travelled all over the world for generations. My great grandfather travelled from Belgium to Nicaragua in the 19th century and I remember travelling since I was born.
You are from Belgium. What do you believe makes a ‘typical’ Belgian and to what extent do you consider yourself ‘typical’ or not?
We are on the border between the Germanic and Latin worlds, which makes us unique. We take the best from both. In food, for instance, it means French quality with German quantity.
Do you believe travel has changed you over time? If so, in what ways and if not, why?
Travel opens the eyes. Although we have an excellent and open press, we are not always well informed. Especially in the Middle East, one cannot understand what is going on without having visited the area and having talked to all kind of people. But it is also true elsewhere. Some countries get too much criticism, others too little…
What kind of traveller would you consider yourself?
I am a quick traveller. I like to see as much as I can in the shortest possible time and this simply because I have no time… I still work full-time and I have a very demanding job leaving too little time to travel.
That’s also why I often travel by plane. If I have a choice, I prefer to travel in a group, but solo is not a problem either, although I try to avoid it. Luxury or total absence of any comfort, I can live with both. I slept in the best hotels and in the dirtiest places. Fortunately, my stomach can stand almost anything by now, so I only got sick once (in Ghana in a 4-star hotel…).
Which countries have surprised you most, positively and negatively?
Most positively: Uruguay, Somaliland, the Kurdish region of Iraq. These places were so much more developed than I could ever have expected.
Most negative experiences: Argentina, where I was robbed and Kribati: the only place where I was arrested without doing anything wrong.
Tell us one of the strangest or funniest travel stories you have faced that really made an impact on you?
On my first trip to Congo DRC, when we left the plane, a few fixers showed up to propose ‘full service for 100 dollars’. Knowing how customs and immigration in DR Congo are, I said ‘OK’ and less than 10 minutes later I cleared customs and immigration and my luggage was brought to me.
My wife, who travelled with me, was very angry and told me that I should learn to stop ‘wasting money’. Two hours after landing, and 1 hour and 50 minutes with me waiting outside the terminal, my wife also made it through customs and immigration. Her face looked like a thunderstorm.
Everything she had bought in the tax-free shop was ‘taxed’ and the two bottles of whisky she had for our family members were confiscated. I was about to ask how much money she had wasted, but was clever enough not to do. Otherwise, my marriage would have been ‘passé’ I am afraid.
And can you recall a fascinating character that you met during your trips?
The most intriguing guy I ever met was our fixer Bashir in Mogadishu. He looked so simple, not notable at all, but he had the strongest connections with all sides. When I told him I took insurance against kidnapping, he told me this was a waste of money, because part of what I paid to him had been used not to kidnap me!
What can you never travel without?
I always take a satellite phone with me. So, I can always call for help and it has been useful a few times…
You are one of the oldest members of NomadMania (ID number 117 from August 2012!). How do you assess the development of the platform?
The development of the platform is good news, but I disliked the, in my opinion, too many changes and additions of regions. It is a lot of work every time to check what has changed and I cannot see the purpose of it.
And what do you like most about NomadMania?
The many contacts I have made with other travellers. My wife says: “these guys are even more crazy than you”. She might be right!
You were one of the early UN Masters, and the first Belgian (one of only two that we know of!). What motivated you to do 193?
In all honesty, I was counting regions in my own way. Kind of a UN+ list. In 2004, for the first time, I wondered how many UN Members were still missing and it turned out to be only four countries. So, I gave priority to visiting these four.
So, what is still on your bucket list in terms of travel?
South Georgia is number one today. I would also like to visit Bouvet and Peter I island one day…
And our signature question – if you could invite any four people, including fictional characters, from any period in history, to an imaginary dinner, who would be on your guest list?
Stanley, Livingstone, Marco Polo and Shackleton.
