Who’s David Metraux (in brief) and why this passion to travel ?

I was just an ordinary guy living an ordinary life until my parents opened my eyes up to the life on international travel. I was 19 when I first left North America and haven’t looked back since

Can you present your project (your goals and your goal progression) ?

I set a goal for myself to always have visited as many countries as my age. I set this goal when I was 20 and was studying abroad in Hong Kong. At the time I had 5 countries, and now, 6 years later, I have 34, so I guess you can say that I met my goal, at least for now.

What’s your objective when you add a new page (ie a new country) on your site. What’s your goal or your style ?

My site pages have multiple audiences and I try to cater to them all. The site was initially set up for family and friends and to this day it still serves this point. The country pages have also morphed into educational tools and have also been used for travel information sites. They now have a new function which is a "showcase" for my travel photography and writing with the hopes of a future career in that field.

What has been your most important travel ?

Two places really:

• Japan, as it was my first travel outside of North America and it really opened up my eyes to the rest of the world. I have my parents to thank for this experience and if it wasn’t for this I would never have studied abroad in Hong Kong which truly opened up my eyes to the world.
• Cambodia, as it was unequaled in the beauty which surrounds it and also is unequal in the tragedy it has faced. I was able to visit before the country opened up to mass tourism so I was still able to see the deep scars left from the Khmer Rouge. However, what impressed me the most was the honest smiles that remained on the faces of all, young and old.

I get feedback from people of all ages and nationalities on a regular basis. In fact, the feedback (sometimes good, sometimes not!) is what
keeps this site alive.

What are your next projects: for the travel ? and for the site ?

Well, I just returned from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Poland, and the Czech Republic so I have plenty to keep my busy for the next few months. I also plan to redesign the site over the summer / fall to make it more user-friendly.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 1999: We arose before dawn to catch this mesmerizing view of Angkor Wat. There were few tourists there and the villagers had not yet begun to hawk their wares. It was a moment of tranquil peace that a photograph can never duplicate.