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: Jon Turk
Occupation: Writer, Public Speaker
Hometown: Darby, MT
Residence: Montana
Website: www.jonturk.net
Facebook: Jon Turk
YouTube: Jon Turk
Short Bio: Jon Turk received his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1971, but switched to extreme adventures. Jon’s two-year kayak passage across the North Pacific Rim was named by Paddler Magazine as one of the ten greatest sea kayaking expeditions of all times. His circumnavigation of Ellesmere with Erik Boomer was nominated by National Geographic as one of the top ten adventures of 2011 and awarded “Expedition of the Year” by Canoe and Kayak Magazine. Jon won First Prize in Print Journalism from the Northern Lights Award in 2013.
Jon chronicles his journeys and mental and spiritual passages in a trilogy of three books Cold Oceans, In The Wake of the Jomon, and most recently, The Raven’s Gift. He is a storyteller in a modern dance troupe and speaks frequently about environmental, adventure, and motivational topics.
How often do you fly: More than I want to. I prefer to go to a place and stay a while rather than zoom back and forth.
How many countries have you been to: Probably 25, give or take a few.
How many continents have you been to: Four
Favorite American city: Darby, Montana
Favorite international city: Fernie, BC, Canada
Least favorite country: I don’t have a “least favorite” anything.
Favorite airline: Thai Airways
Favorite aircraft type: 747
Aisle or window: Aisle (so it is easy to get up and pee)
Favorite airport lounge: I’m not fancy enough to get into any airport lounges.
Favorite U.S. airport: They are all the same to me.
Favorite international airport: I like the small, decrepit, unheated, leaky roofed airports in remote parts of Siberia. No pretense.
Favorite hotel: Even the worst hotel is so much more comfortable than a bivouac without a tent or sleeping bag, in a blizzard, that I am unimpressed by the number and size of pillows.
Do you unpack into the dresser/closet? Or live out of your suitcase? All of the above, except that sometimes I live out of my pick-up truck.
Favorite cruise line: Ha ha! I go to sea in my kayak.
Favorite fancy restaurant: I don’t have the money, or the inclination to do the fancy restaurant thing.
Favorite hole in the wall: The Sawmill Bar in Darby, Montana
Favorite food: Muktuk
Drink of choice (In the air and on the ground) Water
Favorite travel book(s): The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant
Right now I am reading: Apocalyptic Planet by Craig Childs
Five things you bring on a plane: My nook, bag of gorp, sunglasses, pad of paper, pen
What do you always seem to forget: Earplugs
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport duty free store? Nothing
Favorite travel iPhone app(s): I don’t have an iPhone
Worst travel moment: When I got held up at gunpoint in Bolivia.
What’s your dream destination: It’s about the story, not the destination.
Best travel tip: Unusual Travel Suggestions are Dancing Lessons from God (Kurt Vonnegut)
