Holding the Guinness World Record for the youngest person to travel to all 196 sovereign countries in the world, the British traveller has now become an entrepreneur as well, running his travel business called Holiday Swap.
He is also an author and a blogger.
As he walks into the KLix Lounge of Parkroyal KL for a chat with FMT Lifestyle, James Asquith is eager to speak of the good and bad times he’s encountered while travelling the world.
“The USA,” he answers without hesitation when asked about his favourite country.
He explains that the diverse natural sights of the USA as well as the different cultures there make it a place that offers something different with every visit.
He does concede however that if Europe was a single country, it would beat out the USA handily.
As for which country he finds the most surprising, he answers, “Iran”.
“Iran is incredibly friendly,” he says. “Such friendly people. So outgoing. You know, the majority of people there love the US.”
“It’s stuff that you might not see in the media that we get exposed to. I was shown around by a group in Tehran; saw great sushi restaurants and pizza spots…It was very surprising in a positive way.”
He also noted the unique cuisines he has been privileged to taste from around the globe but admits he cannot tell for certain which country’s food he misses most. “It’s a difficult question to break down.”
He explains that despite loving sushi, ten days in Japan is enough to satiate his appetite for it; likewise, his temporary aversion to mozzarella cheese after three weeks of an Italian summer.
Asked about the most spectacular and memorable sight he’s witnessed during his travels, he says it was watching the sun rise from the easternmost beach of the Pacific Island of Kiribati.
“I remember watching it from the beach. I had gotten up early at 5am and I looked down both sides of the beach, there wasn’t a single person. So literally, I was the first person in the world to watch the sunrise that day.”
Over the course of his travels, Asquith says he learned the virtues of patience and having a sense of humour.
Both are requirements, the once impatient Asquith says, explaining that in certain parts of the world there are problems aplenty to deal with.
In addition to being mugged in Bali, he’s had a gun put to his head near the Afghan border, and had to jump out of a moving car in Somalia.
“But here I am. I survived,” he quips nonchalantly.
In a sign of the times, he says his phone has superseded his passport in being the most important part of his travel inventory.
However five years ago, when he required entry stamps on his passport as documentation that he was indeed making a world record, the passport was his most valuable possession, earning a permanent place in his pocket.
“Your phone is now everything: your camera, your calendar, your contacts list…If I lose my passport, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I can probably wait for a new one but losing my phone would be a disaster.”
Even when overseas for months on end, he keeps in touch with his family, dropping them messages on a daily basis.
He says that even after all his travels, his parents are still the most interesting people he knows. “They kind of gave me everything… They are still super inspiring to me.”
In addition to writing and blogging about his travels, he runs a travel business called Holiday Swap, called by some to be the “Travel Tinder”.
Holiday Swap, he says, helps to overcome the issue that prevents most people from travelling, that of accommodation and how expensive it can be.
With the use of the application, wannabe travellers can meet and negotiate with people from foreign countries to exchange their houses and use them as accommodation for their holidays.
As the prices of staying in an Airbnb and conventional hotels rise, Holiday Swap has taking off, with some 4,000 new users coming on daily.
“Why are you paying so much money for a bed, when you can use that money to go on a tour, a trip or a flight? Holiday Swap is a true sharing economy platform and is the second biggest home swapping site now.”
It’s not all travel and business, however, as Asquith has been to crisis-ridden Yemen and witnessed all manner of suffering.
Joining hands with Unicef, he is now working tirelessly to raise funds for aid and spread awareness about the humanitarian crisis there.
“I want to be able to show people what’s going on in Yemen… no one knew anything about Yemen. Most people can’t even point it out on a map.”
His travels have clearly taught him much. “You learn to tolerate things. You learn to respect and like differences in terms of what people are doing. It’s the best education I have ever had.”
Holiday Swap is available for download on the App Store and Google Play.