Chris Carriero Interview
This month Rob Savage had a sit down with the force behind Indie travel favourite iKangeroo ‐ Chris Carriero. Here’s what happened.
Ok first up ‐ beer or larger?
Yes please.
In ten words ‐ what is iKangaroo and where did it come from?
Fantastic information where travelers want it. We (travellers) need it.
Now in as many words as you like, tell us about your virtual baby.
Thanks for asking! iKangaroo creates and distributes fun and useful information that travellers can access on devices such as the iPhone, the iPod or any other mini computing device. We want tourists to have all the benefits of a super knowledgeable and friendly tour guide, without being tethered to a group or having to pay for a tour guide. We are developing an iPhone application that will be composed of our Guide Yourself Podcasts and digital maps, jam packed with worthwhile places to eat and drink, and more.
Our Angels & Demons Podcasts were recently recognized by the Telegraph as the best travel Podcasts so far this year and in addition to our podcasts, iKangaroo maintains a blog that features travel articles about where to find the best bargains, what hostel is doing something interesting and other bits of information that I can pass along ‐ from my 10 years plus of experience with budget and student travelers.
Where in the world would you never recommend to travellers and why?
I vote for giving the border between South and North Korea a complete and utter miss. I haven’t actually been there but getting out seems to be a hassle.
Do you think the new online passport controls are a step too far towards a Big Brother state?
No, we just have to face it there is a lot of data out there about most, if not all of us. Frankly the retina scans seem to me more Orwellian, but it looks like that company failed so we won’t be seeing that control widely used in airports ‐ anytime soon.
What are your final thoughts on MJ?
Talented and tortured. May he rest in peace.
Name the five books that would go with you on a round the world trek?
Right now I am trying to make my way through The Hunchback of Notre Dame but at the rate I’m reading it I would be able to walk around the world and make the trip before I finish. I will however start my list with that one! Also on the list would be The Future of America: A History by Simon Schama ‐ the art historian from Great Britain who teaches at Columbia University in New York City. And the last three are Lincoln by Gore Vidal, The Western Canon by Harold Bloom and last but not least, All Souls by Christine Schutt ‐ a book based on my good friend’s high school class in Manhattan.
In your travel industry opinion ‐ was the recession all that bad as far as backpackers are concerned?
I like the way that you put that question in the past tense. From what I have been hearing the recession hasn’t deeply affected the decision of backpackers to travel. In fact the downturn may have benefited budget travelers ‐ as a lot of hostels had to slash prices. Beyond that ‐ from what I could tell empirically speaking ‐ plane fares were pretty low.
In terms of traffic I am hearing a lot of positive news. I recently had a drink with an old friend who owns a tour company and he told me that he has been astonished by how business has held‐up and that his decisions to cut back staff for this season was completely wrong. I talk a lot with hostel owners and bar owners the consensus has been that business has been good, and in many cases better than they could have possibly imagined! As a general rule the backpacker market has always been pretty strong in down times and this seems to be the case now.
What's the most played album on your iPod?
Coldplay’s Viva la Vida
Would you rather eat nothing but KFC for the rest of your life or squawk like a demented chicken every time you tried to say the word ‐ the?
I suppose that I would have to sound silly because I would absolutely replace “the” with ‘a’, ‘an’ or some made up word. Don’t get me wrong KFC is fine but I rather deal with: “the cluck word … the … Cluck, CLUCK…uh oh” before I give up on a varied diet!
‐ Rob Savage
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