Monthly Archives: October 2017

Welcome to China

I met up with Brittany Dunn at a French bakery in Beijing, China. She told me the craziest "welcome to China" story I've ever heard, and it was coordinated to some soothing, serendipitous music.

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Show notes:

Brittany mentioned a book called Ape House. Here is some more info.

And here is a video of chimpanzees doing a superhuman mind trick:

Around the World #61: Alice Chen (陈希)

Alice and I recorded this podcast from a Beijing bookstore's rooftop.

Greetings from Beijing! Katie and I have spent a whirlwind week visiting our old stomping grounds. We caught up with many old friends and met a few new ones. Case in point: Alice Chen ( 陈希). She's originally from Weifang in Shandong province. Recently she traveled to the US, including visits to Hawaii, Colorado and Washington DC. We talked extensively about her trip; it was great to hear about my own country from an outsider's perspective.

Alice also specializes in cross-cultural communication. She shared many tips to improve your communication skills. And on that note, let's listen to my talk with Alice:

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Strolling Through the Gobi Desert

Gobi: Picture of Ruby Tsai and Dan Perry.

Ruby and Dan at the White Stupa, part of the Gobi desert.

I spent the last week touring the Gobi desert with three other backpackers, my wife Katie and a driver named Balgay. One of those three other backpackers was Ruby Tsai, from Taiwan. We climbed to the top of a sand dune, watching the sun go down over this marvelous land, and recorded a podcast. She's currently on her way to England, via the Trans-Siberian railroad. We talked about her trip, and she gave me some great tips for visiting Myanmar, as well as her native Taiwan.

Thanks for checking out the show and be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to see some pictures from the Gobi desert. It's a beautiful destination that I can't recommend enough.

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Show Notes:

We talked briefly about the Naadam Festival in Mongolia. Here is some more information about Naadam.
And for even more info about Naadam, you can listen to my podcast with Tamara Gil.
If you want to learn about the reindeer herders, as well as the other nomadic people in Mongolia, you can listen to my podcast with Davaa.
Here is some info about the Myanmar trek Ruby mentioned.
The tallest mountain in Taiwan is Yushan (玉山), at 3952 meters.
And the largest lake in Taiwan is Sun Moon Lake. Maybe we'll end up there soon.

Ruby shared the following pictures from her visit to Bagan, Myanmar (Burma). I can't wait to see it for myself!

And, as promised, here are some of my photos from our trip to the Gobi desert:

Day 1: walking up the rocks of Baga Gazriin.

Ruby enjoys the open landscape.

Campsite on our first night.

There was a bit of grass in the desert. The animals love it like hamburgers.

The open road.

Camel ride!

Check out those choppers.

Post-camel group shot from inside a ger. We're eating goat cheese and hard bread. We're drinking yak milk tea.

Baby's first sand dune.

Gobi: Picture of Ruby walking on a sand dune.

Walking on the dunes.

Tammy reaches the top of the 300-meter sand dune.

Ruby crawls to the top.

Gobi desert landscape.

The creamy desert.

Camels crossing the desert.

A footbridge to the dunes.

Gobi: Picture of Katie on the Flaming Cliffs.

Katie walks along the Flaming Cliffs.

Gobi: Picture of Katie looking at the Flaming Cliffs.

Checking out the Flaming Cliffs.

We spent one night in a ger.

We got to watch a guy take down his ger. He was moving for the winter months.

The White Stupa.

Sitting in the middle of this vast landscape.

The other side of the White Stupa.

Day 7: Back in the Ulaanbaatar

A quick stop at the monastery before ending our trip.

For more of my photos from the Gobi desert, click here.

Nomadic Life in Mongolia

A ger is essential to nomadic life in Mongolia.

My guest this week is Tsenddavaa Nasanjargal, AKA Davaa. She and her husband own an amazing guesthouse called the Mongol Ujin Tourist Camp in the village of Khatgal, Mongolia. Davaa is passionate about the nomadic lifestyle that is still so prevalent in Mongolia, and she was generous enough to talk about it with me on the show.

You can find more info about the Mongol Ujin Tourist Camp on TripAdvisor, Facebook, and AirBnB.

And now, please enjoy this special podcast:

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Show notes:

In Thailand it's the year 2560 BE. In Israel it's the year 5777. In North Korea it's Juche year 106. In Mongolia it's the year 2017.
Ulaanbaatar has a storied history dating back to 1639. For more info click here.
Here's an interesting article about Mongolia's reindeer hunters, and their threatened way of life.
Once again, you can find the Mongol Ujin Tourist Camp at the following locations: