One on One with Karley and Ben

One on One featuring traveller and entrepreneur Karley DeCocker and Ben Ulusaraclar  

New York and Germany based traveller, photographer, social media influencers and ambassadors, the ideal wanderlust couple share their journey around the world, some memories and valuable tips to get you started. Read it all in this exclusive One on One segment

Home and Childhood

Karley grew up spending most of her time outdoors with her family in the countryside of New York State. “Fishing, hiking, camping, swimming, boating and campfires describe my childhood”.
Ben liked playing outside with friends going on new adventures mainly trying to stay out of trouble. “I remember running home as quick as I could for my mother’s to-die-for cooking”

How did Karley and Ben meet? 

“We met in Melbourne on a travel website where travellers meet and possibly travel together. We didn’t link up right away and we accidentally bumped into each other in Cairns when we were both traveling on our own.

We were surprised to see each other and had a nice time chatting about our experiences.


​After that it was history!”

Karley and Ben started travelling together since when?

“We met in Australia on both of our own first solo trips and bumped into each other twice and kept in touch. We became best friends and our friendship blossomed into a lifelong everlasting romance. You can say we found each other through travel.”

How often do you travel?

“Permanently, traveling is our lifestyle. We are currently traveling throughout Asia and making our way back to Europe and then to the East coast in America.”

What has been the longest travel you have ever done?

For Ben it was a 30 hours night train from Stuttgart to Berlin and a flight to New York and a bus to upstate New York.
​ “This wasn’t my most difficult travel but I sure was exhausted once I finally arrived. I will travel any amount of distance to be with my love.”

How do you choose the places you want to see?

“We usually choose places that we have either been on our travel list or we hear about new places when we are traveling from locals and we “do as the locals do”.  We try to travel with as few plans as possible and make our plans as we go. We have seen some of the best places that way."

How many countries have you visited so far

49!

Your top 7 places so far? (Cities)

Melbourne, Bangkok, Penang, Munich, Antwerp, Cairns.

“These places we have spent some of our most cherished moments together.” 

What made you get the travel bug, do you think you are addicted to travelling

“We both love exploring new places, which means we have to travel to be somewhere completely new. New food is always fun to try as well as being immersed in a new culture. We are comforted that the world is large place to explore! Karley is working on being able to draw out the entire world by memory.”

How do you budget and save for your travels?

“Prepare, plan and save… SPEND… REPEAT. Here’s a useful tip, try not to spend money on too many things like objects save your money to spend on experiences.”

What is TimeOutSociety ?

“We are connecting people with the world by sharing photos and stories to encourage travel and to take time out of your day to chase your passions in life.

If you could live anywhere on this awesome planet, where would you build your dream home?

“Hmm that’s a tough one. Melbourne is our favourite city so possibly there!”

Are you a travel photographer?

Karley: “Yes, Ben started taking photos 5 years ago." 
Ben: "Karley has been learning since we met and is doing extremely well."

When you photograph places, things or people, what are you trying to capture and reflect?

“Our main focus is to show how life looks at each place we go to.  Some days we are on a mission to photograph specific things and other days we just walk around and see what happens…some of our best photos have been taken this way.”

Did you ever go on a Solo trip? If yes then when, where and how was your experience?

“We both travelled to Australia on our own and made friends along the way. Solo trips turn into a not so solo trip if your lucky and you can meet other like minded people who share the same interests as you.  We both fell in love with Australia because there are so many travellers looking to make friends and at the same time see and explore the country!

Do you make money while traveling?

“Our travel funds are prepared before we actually travel."

What profession(s) you associate yourself with? And what advice would you give to someone wanting to join the same?

“We are social media influencers, entrepreneurs, travel guides, photographers, and ambassadors. We recommend that if you want to do anything start now and start building up your own social media accounts such as Instagram with your own photos, experiences, and hobbies!”

What camera gears do you use

“Canon 550D and our phones when we don’t carry our camera with us.  Also our little Gopro!”

That one factor that you love about travelling, which actually keeps you wanting to travel more?

“Meeting new friends is always a huge plus because its another reason to travel more to see them again! We always say “It’s never goodbye it’s see you later”!

A Thank You Note for Karley and Ben

When I came across your quirky gallery I knew it will be wonderful to have a feature on you. Thank you for sharing your travel stories, tips and experiences. Hope you have a great time in Philippines. 

Wishing you both all the best.


With Best Regards
Chris

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"Don´t focus on things that others do, but work on yourself instead. 
Last not least: be nice and don´t get caught up in criticising others...”





Read previous interview with Felix Inden here.