#88 – Favorite Watering Holes in Asia II: our favorite bars in Asia.

Ep.88-Favorite Watering Holes 2Hot places go cold, new joints open up, but there’s always somewhere to drink in Asia. In this episode we share some of the most memorable and enjoyable spots in the region to enjoy a drink (or two or three) and night out that we’ve experienced over the last few years. Get thirsty and ready to paint the town red! Lots of hot tips on this episode to be had! So, if you’re looking for a bar in Asia to find some of the best drinks around, look no further than our Favorite Watering Holes in Asia.

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Episode 86: Asia’s Best Meals 

Food is essential to life but can also enhance it so much. Couple great food with a trip and you have a winning combination. While cooking shows, gourmet meals and celebrity chefs have become all the rage as of late, on this episode we’ll recall some of our absolute favorite meals throughout Asia, most of which are inexpensive, and we continue to dream about them to this day. If you’re not hungry now, you soon will be!

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Episode 85: 4,000 Islands & Vat Phou, Laos

On this episode of Talk Travel Asia podcast, we’ll talk about one of our favorite areas in all of SE Asia – southern Laos – specifically the ancient Khmer temple of Vat Phou and 4,000 Islands, near the border with Cambodia. Laos, a country of 5.5-million, landlocked, and sandwiched between China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is little-known to most travelers. Sure, they’ve heard the name, but don’t know much about what it has to offer, or for that matter, often where exactly on the map it’s located. In a day and age when over-tourism is becoming a problem at many traditional sites and countries, now is a great time to strike out from the masses and discover this charming land-locked nation.  Continue reading →

Episode 84: Foreigner Faux Pas and Cultural Clumsiness with Ed Knuth of Bangkok Podcast

Asian cultures are often very different from western ones and many foreigners make some horribly embarrassing mistakes as a result of these disparities. Even those who read up in their guidebook about the do’s and don’ts in a particular destination only grasp the general concept and not necessarily all of the nuances. Beyond the standard differences between east and west, such as greetings (the handshake vs a bow or wai) some are much more subtle and can lead to some awkward situations.

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Episode 76: Travel Light & Responsibly

responsible-travelTravel, as we say in our intro, is one of life’s great pleasures. But with visiting other countries comes waste we generate and impact as guests. As more and more people have the means to travel, the stress on communities and countries is growing. If destinations are to remain pristine, beautiful and worth visiting, travelers and those working in tourism are going to have to make some adjustments to preserve the places we love. On this episode we’ll chat about practical travel issues and ways you as a traveler can reduce your footprint and impact.

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Episode 75: Vegetarian Vietnamese with Cameron Stauch

Cameron Stauch

Cameron hard at work; courtesy Matthew Dakin

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Episode 74: Three Nights in Luang Prabang, Laos

Laos is one of Southeast Asia’s sleepiest countries. Home to 6.5-million people and landlocked, it’s a place of mystery for many travelers and unknown to much of the world. Once a French colony, also ruled by a royal family, then taken over by communist forces in 1975, it’s one of the region’s most friendly and unique destinations. Its number-one tourist destination by far is Luang Prabang, a charming town of 56,000, situated on the banks of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. A former royal capital, its been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995 and exudes laid-back cool. On this episode we’ll share our impressions and favorite things to do over a three-night visit.

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Episode 70: Impressions of Yangon, Myanmar

Yangon, formerly Rangoon, the capital of Myanmar, formerly Burma, is an exotic sounding name. In the early 1900s, it was one of the most developed and sophisticated cities in Southeast Asia. The elite sent their children there for school, commerce was booming, British, Indians, Burmese, and people from around the world mixed and mingled. And then things changed. In 1948 Burma got independence from the British. Then in 1962 the military took power for almost 50 years, finally loosening their grip in 2011.

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Episode 67: Craft Beer in Vietnam with John Pemberton

Scott and Trevor have a beer and a chat with John Pemberton the founder of Heart of Darkness Brewery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to talk about his beers, the beer scene in Vietnam, and how the brewing scene is developing across Southeast Asia.

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Episode 61: Riding Vespas in Southeast Asia with Steve Mueller

TTA-Ep.61-Vespa-2How you get from place to place during a trip can be a major theme of your travels—even the main focus. Some people take hiking trips, others go cycling, and some look to motorcycles to get around. Today we’ll chat with American Steve Mueller, who took his love for vintage Vespa motorcycles and turned it into a business, showing tourists the ins and outs of Ho Chi Minh City, and eventually other areas of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, on the back of vintage Vespa motorbikes.

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Episode 60: Best of Asia

Happy New Year – it’s 2017 and our gift to you is a celebratory episode of Talk Travel Asia. Today we’ll revel in our very favorite things about Asia in a multitude of categories from how to get around to where to imbibe and a whole lot in between. We take on a variety of categories from best transport, to airports, best movies theaters and a whole lot in between. This is our Best of Asia from more than 33 collective years living and traveling in the region. Ring in the New Year by celebrating travel and get planning your trip to Asia for 2017!

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Episode 58: Asian Bar Game Olympics

Episode 58: Asian Bar Game Olympics

A game cafe trend took off in Asia a few years back that included both board game cafes and beer pong tournaments, and it doesn’t seem to be dying down. Today, there are a wealth of opportunities to get your game on both in and out of bars across the region. In fact Scott and I recently organized and competed in the first Bangkok Bar Games Olympics. Today we are going to talk about a variety of places to play different games across Asia, everything from family fun to just get drunk.

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