Dave Stamboulis

Born in Greece, Dave Stamboulis started travelling from an early age, sailing with his parents to the United States. He came of age in Berkeley, California, then travelled to Europe for three years, working as a grape picker, steelworker, and bistro cook before returning home to start leading bicycle trips for teenagers and adults, as well as starting an outdoor education program for inner city children.

Dave then spent 7 years riding a bicycle 45,000 kilometers around the world, later writing Odysseus' Last Stand, a memoir based on his experiences detailed in the voluminous journals and photos captured during the journey. The book received the Silver Medal Award from the Society of North American Travel Writers for Travel Book of the Year, and following this Stamboulis embarked for Southeast Asia, where he spent 15 years in Thailand, becoming an updating writer for Fodor's Thailand guide, doing countless articles for inflight and travel magazines across the region, and eventually writing and photographing his own guidebook 500 Hidden Secrets of Bangkok.

Dave and his Filipina wife Raquel spend much of their time now working remotely from locations around the world, and recently completed an 800 mile hike from Mexico to Utah on the Arizona Trail.