Posted on Friday, 12 June 2015

Most of us spend our lives working, being busy and only sometimes we stop to wonder - what would happen if one day I decided to change my life? What if I decided to leave everything, my job, my home, pack my suitcase and get wanderlust in this magnificent world? I surely thought about it once or twice. However, soon enough most of us simply forget about the idea. The world is so big and the fear of the unknown sometimes becomes your worst enemy. That is why we choose to travel only 2-3 times a year with the assurance of safely returning home afterwards.

Then there are those who have ‘wanderlust' written in their destinies - Nicolas Petit and Gabriella Zanzanaini are two of them. Before starting their travels they were both directors of companies taking on a serious task of “saving the world”. Gabriella was a Director of European Affairs for an NGO focusing on global food and water issues and Nicolas was one of the directors at a not-for-profit organisation until one day they met in Brussels, Belgium. Since then they are inseparable, separately and together they travelled to about 70 countries.

Nicolas and Gabriella (The Funnelogy Channel)

“The desire to change our life and travel long term grew more out of a desire to take on a new challenge and to use that opportunity of change to learn more about our world and the people we share it with. The further along we went, the more it became clear that we wanted to continue this adventure and continue exploring. The whole world is our home!” – Nicolas & Gabriella

The Funnelogy Channel

Nico & Gabi describe themselves as a “food and travel-obsessed duo who want to better understand the world they live in through eating everything in sight”. That's how The Funnelogy Channel was born – a blog full of food and travel stories from all over the world.

What does ‘Funnelogy' mean and why did you choose this title for your blog?

We came up with a ridiculous word that somehow made sense to us because we realise that every story is filtered through our own personal experience, plus we wanted to have a whole lot of fun while doing this.

FUN-NELOGY [FUHN/:L-OL-UH-JEE:] NOUN.:

1. The science of understanding the world we live in while having fun
2. The art of funnelling multiple stories through our own lenses

Gabriella is usually the one who is cooking and writing, Nicolas takes on the task of documenting everything in photographs.

The couple use Nikon D3200 with a 50mm 1.4 lens and a 35mm 1.8 lens for their blog photos and an iPhone 4S for their Instagram feed (The Funnelogy Channel)

Why did you decide to focus on food more than anything else?

When we started this journey by land from Brussels to Hong Kong last year, we knew that we wanted to use food as a way to communicate with others when language would fail us. We never expected so many people to open their homes to us. We were not looking for famous chefs, fancy restaurant dishes or perfectly styled food, but for what people eat every day.

Steamed Jiaozi (The Funnelogy Channel)

Food has a central role in our interactions with each other, we all eat to survive and those of us that can, eat for pleasure. Food is often a safe and comforting way to communicate trust, generosity, love, care and mutual interest within a society.

When a treasured family recipe and meal is shared between new friends, it is not only about the food before you, but it is someone letting you in to their cultural heritage and telling you a story about the history of food and themselves.

Making of naan bread (The Funnelogy Channel)

What's your favourite type of cuisine? Favourite dish / drink?

It's almost impossible to choose only one, but on this journey, Vietnamese definitely topped the list for incredible street food such as the numerous “banhs” we discovered and Chinese cuisine for its sheer variety. Our favourite non-alcoholic drink was probably the Gaziantep Atom, a smoothie from a town of the same name in Turkey and Spritz as an aperitif in Northern Italy.

Noodles and Dumplings in North-West China (The Funnelogy Channel)

Khao Neow (The Funnelogy Channel)

A year of beds around the world

It took Nicolas & Gabriella exactly 306 days and over 20,000 km to get from Brussels to Hong Kong by land. “After stuffing ourselves in over 30 restaurants in Hong Kong, we flew to the Philippines, New Zealand and New Caledonia.” On the islands they have qualified as a Rescue Diver and an Advanced Diver and learnt how to surf. By now the couple has ridden on about 49 buses, 15 marshrutkas, 8 trains, 6 Jeeps, 4 bicycles, 2 donkeys, a camper van and a horse.

Other than documenting their culinary adventures, Nico & Gabi also document the beds they have slept in over the course of 365 days. Their sleeping arrangements vary from pretty decent hotel beds to sleeping under the stars.

The Funnelogy Channel

Get there and see what happens Do you plan your travels?

When you only have two weeks before your trip, it's normal to plan your travels and try to make the most of the limited time you have. When you are travelling slowly by land for a year, the perspective changes a lot, mainly into, 'get there and see what happens'.

Can you tell us about your most favourite moment since you started travelling?

This is perhaps the hardest question that we often get asked. We cannot count the number of times we have said to each other, “this is the perfect day.” Some days are special for the people you meet, others for the amazing scenery. Internally, one of the best moments was when a few months in, you pinch yourself and realize, THIS is our life now.

One of the specific highlights was staying with the Bakhtiari nomads in the Zagros mountains of Iran. They live in tents in the mountain valleys during the summer months and welcomed us into their home. Even though we had language barriers, we felt like we had a great conversation. The mother of the group, Mohnessa is one of the most stunning women (in every sense) we met and made fresh naan (bread) at the speed of light. We will never forget hanging out by the fire altogether and sleeping under the stars with the goats and horses to keep us warm.

What is your most favourite place in the world?

It is impossible to choose our favourite place in this world when there is still so much to see, but on this particular trip, Iran was definitely a highlight.

Gabriella wearing a full chador in Shiraz, Iran (The Funnelogy Channel)

Just say YES What is your favourite thing about travel?

The people you meet and the unexpected moments that come from it when you just say “yes”.

Do you find it easy to meet new people? I'm sure you have friends all over the world by now?

Generally yes. If you have an open-minded attitude and are friendly, it almost always attracts kindness in return. Other factors also matter though, such as language barriers and local customs. Overall though, this trip has shown us how most of the world is inherently good and interested in meeting new people.

The Funnelogy Channel

If you could add a soundtrack to your life / travels, what song would you choose?

Our soundtrack... Tough question but nice one! Crosby, Stills & Nash - Marrakesh Express

What cities/countries would you recommend for low cost holidays?

South-East Asia is definitely the easiest for low-cost holidays, once you get there, food and accommodation is very cheap especially in Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand. If you want to go for something more adventurous and low cost, Eastern Turkey is amazing and great value. In Europe, Greece in low season is beautiful and not expensive and Albania might also become a surprising destination for low-cost holidays.

Currently Nico and Gabi reside in Brussels, but soon they will be travelling to Italy, Kenya and the South of France before making their way back to Asia. The pair will definitely continue travelling, shifting into slow travel and exploring the Asian region. In the future they plan to move onto the African continent.

Future Do you have a bucket list and if so, what's on it?

We thought after this journey our list might be shorter, but in fact it is longer! Some places we dream of going to include: Socotra Island in Yemen, Penang in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Madagascar.

What would be your advice to someone who is planning to start travelling?

Just go for it and trust your instincts, you are wiser and braver than you know.

If you are interested in following Nico and Gabi's travels, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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