About Me

About Me

Hi, I’m Stephen Gollan.

Embarking on adventures to the less traveled corners of the globe, I serve as your personal guide in the vast world of travel.

I have been travelling nine solid years and have been to over eighty countries, my travel expertise can create and inspire your next trip abroad. If you love travelling just as much as I do you’ll feel right at home. My experience has taken me to sipping tea in a Kabul bazaar, crossing snow covered peaks of the Nepalese Himalayas and teaching English in the Saharan country of Libya, but I tend to travel where most travellers dare not go, so if countries like Libya, Afghanistan, Congo or Pakistan are on you’re to go list then my advice can help you to travel to wherever the road takes you. I am still on the road discovering new places and experiencing what the world has to offer and share.

About Me
Stephen Gollan: The Uncharted Backpacker

Born and raised in Canada I developed a sense of adventure at a early age. At seventeen I left home for Thailand, the trip that changed my life forever. I Climbed to Everest base camp at nineteen, and after a stint teaching Scuba Diving in Thailand and dodging bullets in Libya as an English teacher I have consistently been on the road travelling. My adventures travelling have been steady for about eight years now. My home base is Edmonton Canada, but I like to think of the road as my home.

About Me
Hanging out in the streets of old Sanaa, Yemen
About Me
Stephen Gollan Above a Sea of Fog
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If you are addicted to or love travelling as much as I do feel free to message me and subscribe for unlimited free travel info, and I can keep you up to date of my whereabouts and my next destination.

About Me
Eagle Hunting in Western Mongolia

Why The Name Uncharted Backpacker?

About Me
Hiking In Pakistan

Travelling to me is my life. But its so much more than just “Travelling”. For example Its always amazing to arrive at a destination like the Taj Mahal. Walking through the ancient archways and being faced with something that you have seen in books as a kid. Once the shock of being there and seeing it dies out what is left? Well that is how I came up with the name Uncharted Backpacker. I go looking for the unknown, the places inside a place to find culture, stories, hidden wonders. The world maybe becoming a lot more travelled, but there is still lots of magic yet to be found. Travelling never has to be a list of places to go before I die, instead make it a open list. A list of discovery, and experiences yet to be found. Travel Uncharted! no expectations and you will never be disappointed or bored.

About Me
Crossing the Khyber Pass Afghanistan/Pakistan

How Do I Travel So Much?

So many people ask me this question. They think I have rich parents, or a very high paying job. Well to all those people, you are wrong. My family is not wealthy, I work as a life guard (no it doesn’t pay much), and I have no hidden secrets to my success. It all just boils down to one word. That word is “Dedication”. Instead of spending my meager Life guard wage on new cars, clothes or other materialistic items. I save it. I work hard and many long hours and save as much as I can. Then I take that money, buy a plane ticket, and leave for another adventure of a lifetime. I am dedicated to travelling. Travelling is my life, I love everything about it.

About Me
Volcano Crater In Indonesia

So that is my secret. If you too make some life changes, put some money away and make some sacrifices. Then you can travel just as I do. Be ready though, because its not a life of luxury. When I travel I have stayed in some very questionable hostels, ate some dicey food, and taken some very sketchy rides on public transport. After all that I would not change a single thing about my experiences. I have learned so much from travelling. I can honestly tell you this, travelling is the best form of education there is. You will come out of it a much more open minded and free individual.

Rickshaw in Dhaka Bangladesh

Life Before I Began Travelling

From when I was a young kid I always dreamt about travelling the world. When I was sixteen I saved enough money to go on a high school trip to Greece and Turkey. This trip set me on a path I am still following today. After graduating from high school reality set in. I had my first big job at a water treatment facility, and travelling was put on the back burner. In North America you are constantly told how you should live your life. Go to school, get a job, make money, get married, and live the life you are told to live. For some this is what they want. But after four months into my job I was constantly thinking about that trip to Greece and Turkey. One evening after a long shift I did it. I spontaneously bought a ticket to Thailand. After one more month of work, I quit my job and got on a plane to Asia.

About Me
Diving In The Philippines

I ended up working as a PADI dive master in Thailand. All the travellers I met told me stories about the hectic streets of India, The steamy jungles of the Amazon, and the Lost cities in the Sahara. I was fuelled with the burning desire to see this world. Returning home it began. I became a Life Guard, because the wage is decent, and its and easy job to quit and come back to. I saved my money and kept travelling. I have now been on over thirteen trips and have no plan to quit. During my travels I have also worked as a English teacher in Libya, and opened a small business in Canada selling spices from India… I am known as the “Spice Guy” all over western Canada.

About Me
Safari In Tanzania

Want to Travel The World Like Me?

This site is dedicated to all those who have told me that travelling is not realistic. That it is to expensive, and not possible. This site will encourage you to travel. To get on that plane and see this wonderful world. Look into my posts and learn how to travel, even on a tight budget. Learn that no destination is off limits. The world is full of adventure and amazing experiences. Let me help you find discover and find them!

Soon enough you too will travel the world and develop your own stories and experiences. Go out and see this world!

Feel free to send me a message about travel advice, or if you just want to talk about travel. Subscribe to my site and receive tons of free travel info and updates while I am on the road! I look forward to seeing you there.

The Spice Merchant

Now you can find me here at my amazing spice shop in Calgary Alberta!