My holidays: Matthew Kepnes

Matthew Kepnes in South East Asia. Photo / Supplied

What was your greatest holiday?
My greatest holiday was the month I spent living on the island of Ko Lipe in Thailand. It was by far my favorite travel memory. I met amazing people, many of who have become lifelong friends. We spent our days on the beach, reading books, learning Thai and snorkeling, and our nights under the stars relaxing with some beer. It was a marvelous time.

And the worst?
My trip to Vietnam. I didn't like it at all. I wrote a blog about it to explain in detail.

If we bump into you on holiday, what are you most likely to be doing?
Eating. I eat a lot when I travel. I think you can find culture in the food they eat so I'm digging in multiple times a day. Or you might find me running to burn off all those calories I consumed.

If we could teleport you to one place in New Zealand for a week-long holiday, where would it be?
Easy choice: Taupo. I loved that part of that area of the country. A close runner up would be Queenstown.

How about for a dream holiday internationally?
That's an even easier choice: Bhutan. That's my dream destination.

What's the dumbest thing you've ever done when travelling?
Just one thing? I don't know if I could ever name just one, but booking two flights for the same day and time because I forgot I already booked the first flight. That was pretty dumb.

Complete this sentence: I can't travel without...
my iPhone. It's my camera, music player, email checker, map, and everything in between. It's the one device to rule them all.

What's the best travel tip you've ever been given?
Go slow.

What was the most memorable meal you've had while travelling?
This is another hard question. My most memorable meal would be the fact I don't have just one. There's never been one meal where I've said "this is the best meal in the world". I've had too much good food in my travels.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip?
Memories. To be honest, I never bring back stuff. I travel for a while and I don't want to carry it around or be worried about mailing it back. On short trips, I usually take back art, but for those long trips I go on, I just take back memories. It's far better than stuff and I'd rather use my money to travel longer than have more stuff.

Favourite airport to land at?
Singapore's Changi airport. This is by far the best airport in the world.

Matthew Kepnes has been backpacking since 2004 and writes about his travel experiences at www.nomadicmatt.com