Virtuoso Life - May/June 2012 - (Page 50)
INTERVIEW LIVING THE VIRTUOSO LIFE One trip to change your life: That’s the challenge Tim and Karis Tompkins put to their travel advisor. INTERVIEWED BY DAVID HOCHMAN T im and Karis Tompkins of Raleigh, North Carolina, traveled frequently for business, but “those were not trips that mattered,” Karis says. “We started asking, ‘What would a meaningful trip look like?’ ” Astonishing, it turns out, when planned by the likes of travel advisor Sandra Williams. Tim, 48, and Karis, 32, ditched their sales jobs for a global odyssey that hit 19 countries in six months. KARIS: “Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, China, India, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and a string of countries in Eastern and Western Europe.” Q&A So where’d you go? Did you bring 100 suitcases? KARIS: “Nope. One each: an Eagle Creek roller with a detachable backpack. We visited countries when the weather was mild, which meant no winter clothes. I’m a woman who loves heels, but I allowed myself only two pairs of shoes and didn’t bring a jacket – we From top: Tim and Karis Tompkins at the Taj Mahal and at Fox Glacier, New Zealand, and a Thai tuk-tuk. 50 V I RT U O S O L I F E (TUK-TUK) STEVE ALLEN TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY
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