When we travel, many of us hope to experience an exotic culture or visit a spectacular natural attraction. Often these are chosen based on recommendations from family and friends or may be long-awaited bucket list destinations. Little do many of us know, however, that the United Nations has already selected more than 1000 such sites, hundreds of which are in Asia. These World Heritage Sites are some of the most impressive destinations on Earth, and we’ll discuss some today that you may wish to consider adding to your next Asian adventure, on our second episode about UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia.
Continue readingAs expats who have lived in Asia for almost 25-years each, we recently got thinking about our proximity to famous, royal palaces. Scott is not so far from Bangkok’s Grand Palace and Trevor for many years lived very close to Cambodia’s Khemarin Palace. That got us thinking about other royal palaces we’ve been to throughout Asia, along with ones we have not yet visited. Then we wondered what constitutes a royal palace? We bumped into our friends Greg & Ed from the Bangkok Podcast, mentioned this to them, and realized we had a good episode on our hands, but it would be a heck of a lot more fun to chat about this as a foursome. So here we are, our second crossover episode together, where we’ll explore the royal palaces of Asia.
Continue readingLong after we’ve returned home from our holiday, perhaps even after our memories of a trip begin to fade, our homes may be decorated by a selection of souvenirs we gathered from our travels around the world. Many are tied to memories of a small artisanal village in the mountains or a local friend’s relative who specializes in making cultural curios. These souvenirs can be some of the most special experiences of travel: meeting local people and bringing home a small piece of their culture. Today we’re going to speak to a man helping preserve such traditions and make them available to visitors to Cambodia.
Continue readingAccording to the History Channel, the Frisbee story started in 1871 when William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company. University students were soon throwing the tin pie plate to each other, yelling “Frisbie!” as they did so. In 1958, Wham-O (the company responsible for the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball and Water Wiggle) changed its name to the Frisbee disc (with two “ee”s at the end). By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O sold over 100 million discs by 1977. In 2023, while neither frisbee golf nor Ultimate frisbee have yet to become Olympic sports, both games are popular across the world, including in Asia, where our guest today will shed some light on the two sports, the itinerant character of many game players, and how you can make playing frisbee in Asia a part of your trip to the region.
Continue readingEveryone poops. There’s a book about it. Here in Siem Reap, Cambodia, there’s a blog that will direct you to the best nearby public toilet (which, incidentally is the preferred English word for a bathroom in Asia). Most people don’t plan their holidays around their trips to the toilet, but the experience is undoubtedly, and not always pleasantly, an unavoidable experience on every trip to Asia. Today, we’re going to share some of our experiences, offer a few tips to help you navigate the water closets of Asia, and hopefully give you a good laugh in the process.
Continue readingIn 2020, longtime listener Kristina Tague packed up and set off for Asia with the intention to live in the region. In January 2023, she came on Ep. 163 to talk about how that decision was made, where she journeyed to, and why she settled in the city she did: Bangkok. Since being on the show, she’s traveled across Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, exploring largely by motorcycle, which she purchased in Laos. Today, Kristina returns to the show to share her adventures.
Continue readingThe Mekong is one of the world’s great rivers. Covering a distance of nearly 5,000km from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, the river flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam. Its basin is home to one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world, with more than 20,000 plant species and 850 fish species discovered to date. An estimated 80% of the nearly 65 million people living in the Lower Mekong River Basin depend on the river and its rich natural resources for their livelihoods, making sustainable development crucial for the environment and communities living in the basin.
Continue readingWhile we typically book our holidays based on the destination, it’s often the component experiences that really make or break a trip. Whether a half or full-day outing, day-trips within a longer trip, are the elements that make a vacation truly memorable. Still, making the most of your time can be challenging, so how do you ensure that you make your hours in-country count? Today, we’ll share some of our favorite, most rewarding, and memorable half and full-day experiences across the region that we’ve personally enjoyed to help you make the most of your time in Asia.
Continue readingThe Mekong is one of the world’s great rivers. Covering a distance of nearly 5,000km from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, the river flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
Continue readingHere we are, nearing the end of 2021, the future looks brighter around the world, and we hope to all get traveling again. It’s been a while since Trevor and Scott last met in person and with vaccines appearing to be having positive effects and countries talking about opening up again soon, we thought it was time to do a check-in with one another. On this episode, we’ll gauge what’s on our travel radar, places we’d love to travel together and give updates on what regional travel for us looks like in the coming months. This is Checking in with Scott & Trevor.
Continue readingTravel creates opportunities to try new things, learn about the world, meet inspiring people, be active, and disconnect from daily life. But travel has largely come to a standstill and the tourism industry has required novel solutions to survive. Our guest today will discuss how he’s making it possible for underprivileged young people to gain travel experiences and the benefits from travel in order to help transform their lives –and help keep tourism providers afloat. Listen to this week’s episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast to learn about how tourism can help children in Asia by Sharing the Wonder.
Continue readingExperiencing animals in Asia can be one of the most interesting parts of your travels. The animals you will encounter while traveling in Asia are often exotic: certainly different from the animals found in most visitor’s home countries. From elephants to street dogs, you’re bound to have at least a couple interesting animal encounters and experiences as you travel through Asia (and a few animal tales to take home as souvenirs). After living in the region collectively for more than four decades, Scott and Trevor have had some fun, at times unnerving, and often unique animal experiences in Asia, which they share on this week’s episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast: Animal Tales: Experiencing Animals in Asia.
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