When we started this podcast back in 2014 to maintain our travel network while keeping in touch with one another, Trevor and I didn’t think much about where this would take us. Well, here we are a decade later, celebrating the 200th episode of Talk Travel Asia. We’ve covered a ton of ground, chatted with a load of interesting guests, considered aspects of traveling in this region that were new to us, and I think we love travel more than ever! Join us as we take a look back over the journey, reflect on some of our favorite episodes, most frequent guests, and everything we can think of in between. Here we go: the 200th episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast!
Some of us travel more than others. A few are blessed with a career in travel and learn the ins and outs so well that sometimes the exotic can become ordinary. Many have far less time to travel, particularly for fun, and must dream and plan for that special adventure for years. Today, we’ll share experiences of the former to enhance those of the latter, sharing tips and tricks to add some memorable pizzazz to your next Asian holiday with our guest and good friend, Daniel Fraser.
Continue readingSnakes are abundant in much of Asia, particularly SE Asia. Visitors to the region might be seeking them out as part of a wildlife holiday, but likely many more persons at some point during their journey are thinking about how they can avoid snakes during a trip. But alas, snakes are likely not as dangerous as some might think and even if you’re not here to see snakes, perhaps there are some good rules of thumb you can follow to see them, or avoid them. On this episode we’ll talk with a man who works with snakes in Cambodia for his living, Mark Dainty, to get the inside scoop. This is bound to be a slithery episode!
Continue readingOne of the world’s most exotic islands, Sri Lanka boasts diverse culture and religious beliefs, as well as considerable natural beauty. After five decades of civil war, peace in Sri Lanka opened the island to international travel in 2009; a decade later, a burgeoning tourism was nipped in the bud by COVID. Today, we’ll have a guest with great knowledge about the island – from a tourism perspective, in particular – who will share some of his top tips for visitors looking to explore this exotic island off the southeast coast of India, particularly Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority provinces.
Continue readingAs we near 200 episodes of Talk Travel Asia, on one hand we sometimes wonder what we could possibly still talk about, and on the other, we’re continually looking to up our game, think of topics we have not yet considered, and get even more interesting guests to share with us. We hope you have enjoyed the travel chat thus far and we have good news – we’re not slowing down. As we move further into 2024, we have a pretty sweet lineup of episodes ahead and thought it might be fun to share what’s coming with you.
Continue readingSlow travel is a buzzword that’s been kicking around a while: a “trend” in the travel industry, some might say, in the vein of ecotourism. Just as the terminology has evolved from global warming to climate change, however, more humans are increasingly considering their footprint, both on the environment and on the destinations they visit, often in an economic way. If slow travel means more than exhaust output of air travel – if slow travel means picking one particular destination instead of dozen and then using local means of transportation, bikes or hiking, even, to explore an area more in depth, at a more leisurely pace, then I’m all for it. Today, we have a returning guest and longtime friend of the destinations he lives and works in, Stuart McDonald, to give us his understanding of and experiences with slow travel in Asia.
Continue readingLed Zeppelin’s Kashmir has long-enticed me with it’s melodic mysticism, and when former guest Dave Stamboulis told me that he’d, quote, “Just completed a rather wild journey to Kashmir and Ladakh,” I knew that we had to have him back on the show to tell us more about these spectacular areas of India, a country we’ve been eager to explore more on Talk Travel Asia.
Continue readingTaiwan is a territory that traditionally has far fewer people traveling it than should. Sitting off the east coast of China, there are few spots hotter, geopolitically, than Taiwan. But what’s there from a tourism perspective? Are the people similar to those from mainland China? What’s the terrain like? Is it safe to travel? Friendly for visitors? Food tasty and accessible? Well, you can say ‘yes’ to all of those things but today we’re not only going to touch on Taiwan as a travel destination for the second time on this show, but also focus on cycling Taiwan’s east coast. So, pour yourself a cup of Oolong tea, steam some dumplings, and let’s dream of what was once known as Formosa.
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 readingThis is part two of our interview with Jason Rolan: For those who may have heard a bit about it or have traveled there before, the mystical ancient capital of Luang Prabang or the rubber-tube river rafting party town of Vang Vieng spring to mind. But to those who listen to the show, you already know there’s so much more. We’ve covered a number of great destinations in Laos before, but today we’re going deeper to discover lesser-known Laos with Jason Rolan.
Continue readingSome people travel to relax, unwind, and forget about the trials and tribulations of everyday life; some travel to expand their knowledge of the world; and others travel to make a contribution to the destination, or at least maximize the positive impact of travel while minimizing the negative impacts on local cultures, the environment, and economy.
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