Toronto man seeks woman with ex's name for free trip around the world

Have you ever dreamed of taking a round-the-world adventure? To see the bright lights of New York City up close, feel the romance of Paris in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, taste the bursting hot, sour, sweet and spicy flavours of Thailand’s famous street food, experience New Delhi’s infamous traffic?

Now is your chance, but there’s a catch — your name must be Elizabeth Gallagher.

• LISTEN | Axani on CBC's As It Happens

Last March, Toronto native Jordan Axani and his then girlfriend, Elizabeth Gallagher, booked a globe trot that would take them to three continents in three weeks over the Christmas holidays.

According to Axani, the couple used a temporary “glitch” in a travel website that let users land once-in-a-lifetime trips for dirt cheap prices.

Then they broke up.

But instead of cancelling the journey, Axani took to Reddit to find someone else with the name Elizabeth Gallagher to take the trip — free — saying the fees for changing the name on the ticket would negate the savings on the original booking.

“Because I hate the idea of a ticket around the world going to waste, I am looking for a Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher who could use the ticket,” Axani wrote in the Reddit post.

He told CBC’s As It Happens that he’s not necessarily looking to stay with the new Elizabeth Gallagher for the duration of the trip, and wrote on Reddit that he’s “not looking for anything in return.”

“I’m actually totally fine with someone taking the ticket and going to do their own thing,” he told As It Happens host Carol Off.

“I think it’s a potentially wonderful opportunity for somebody who has always wanted to see these parts of the world or has friends in these parts of the world and wants to go for a great trip.”

In his online posting, Axani lays out a few requirements for any prospective travel partners:

• Be sane, smart and (hopefully) interesting.
• Have always wanted to travel, but maybe haven't had the opportunity or cash to see much of the world.
• Be named Elizabeth Gallagher and have a Canadian passport.
• Be ready for a rather spontaneous life experience that will, one day, be an epic story that you'll tell your kids.
• Pay it forward. I’ve been lucky in life and this is me giving back to the universe. Do something similar someday.

The trip starts on Dec. 21 in New York City with stops in Milan, Paris, Bangkok and India before returning to Toronto on Jan. 8.

Axani said he has received a “sea of emails” from Elizabeth Gallaghers across the country.

If your name is Elizabeth Gallagher and you have a Canadian passport, you can get in touch with Axani via Reddit.