Dan created this blog to document his South America trip, which covered every country on the continent and lasted over two years. He currently lives in Madison, WI.
My guest today is Lisa Gay. She has lived in China and Japan for a number of years. We talked about her upcoming trip around China, swapped our worst Greyhound bus stories, and talked a bit about traveling in Japan.
I said that pandas were once legendary creatures. This was only partly true. Pandas were known, though not famous, in ancient China. They were indeed thought to be a myth in the West until 1869, when a French missionary sent a panda pelt to Europe.
Speaking of myths, this BBC article sheds some light on panda mating habits in captivity vs. in the wild.
Fun fact: The first Westerners to shoot a panda were none other than Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., sons of President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 2008, Vince Li killed and ate his fellow Greyhound bus passenger in Canada. I was shocked to learn that he was released earlier this year, after spending nine years in a Mental Health Center.
The International Olympic Committee has 95 members. The USA has four of those members. Lichtenstein, Monaco, Luxembourg and North Korea each have a single member, so when voting, the USA has as much power as those countries.
My guest today is Mich Albor, from the Philippines. Katie and I plan to visit her country at the end of this year, so I got a lot of great advice from her.
Carlos VillaWolf and Leah Ittner are good friends of Katie's and mine. They lived in Beijing for four years and moved to Ho Chi Minh City about ten months ago. They were back in Beijing to visit friends over a long weekend, and we managed to squeeze in some time to record this podcast.
This one is full of sage wisdom; I hope you enjoy it!
EU countries could start requiring US citizens to get visas for travel, but this isn't really because of our current political climate. And it would be an easy thing for the US government to fix. The problem is that we still require citizens of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania to obtain visas to visit the US. This is a violation of our reciprocity agreement with the EU. If the EU actually changed the rules, my guess is that we'd start honoring this agreement real quick.
Here's Louis CK on Jay Leno talking about how he's not saving anything for his kids:
Tensions have been rising on the Korean peninsula. What are our options?
My guest Jeremiah Jenne is a historian based in Beijing. He has been to North Korea multiple times, including just a few weeks ago (I have been there as well). Jeremiah laid out three potential military strategies for the US to intervene in North Korea; unfortunately, all of these options are various shades of terrible. He also talked about diplomatic strategies, which also are controversial and risky.
Jeremiah has several other projects in Beijing. He runs a small company called Beijing by Foot, which gives walking tours of historical sites around the city. I went on one of these tours to the Summer Palace and thoroughly enjoyed it; highly recommended for anyone interested in Chinese history.
Jeremiah's blog is Jottings from the Granite Studio. This includes the writing he does for other publications, as well as his Podcast, “Barbarians at the Gate.”
Jeremiah's podcast is Barbarians at the Gate. He and his co-host and guests talk about their favorite characters in Chinese history, as well as more recent events in China. I especially appreciate the way he gives historical context to what is happening in China today.
After you have listened to Barbarians at the Gate, Jeremiah recommends that you check out Laszlo Montgomery's excellent China History Podcast and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast, which tells the story of the classic Chinese novel of the same name.
The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about the Hutong construction project that is currently taking place in Beijing. Of particular interest to me is San Tiao (3rd alley) in the Beixinqiao neighborhood, which I mentioned during the podcast. A few weeks ago there was so much debris in the road, you coould barely walk through it. Katie and I returned more recently and found that, while there were many brick walls where there had been entrances to restaurants, the alley was still a relatively lively place.
Finally, an “only in China” moment happened a year and a half ago when the government enlisted monkeys to dismantle bird nests ahead of the country's military parade.
Last year Katie and I traveled to North Korea. Here is Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang.
Pyongyang subway. And then the actors lined up... Just kidding.
When I went to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, all of these people were vying for position to capture a photo of the iconic sunrise over the temple.
The next morning, we arguably got a better view of Angkor Wat from the top of Phnom Bakheng.
Travel is a huge part of my life, and while I usually talk about destinations, I thought I'd mention a few tips for staying comfortable one the road. What do you think? Anything else you would add?
Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Tommy John's upcoming infographic featuring some of the comfort tips I've included in this post! They specialize in men's base layers, like boxer-briefs, so comfort is in their DNA.
Footwear
Quality footwear is one of the few pieces of gear I'm willing to splurge on. When you travel, you're often on your feet all day. Terrain can be uneven and unsuitable for cheap and uncomfortable footwear. This is especially true if you're traveling with a heavy backpack. I recommend buying a pair of hiking boots with rigid soles and ankle support. Trust me, you don't want to walk for hours on cobblestone streets and potholed sidewalks in a pair of loafers or high heels. Your feet and ankles will thank you at the end of the day.
Air Mattress
A good night's sleep is essential to staying healthy on the road. If you're a budget traveler like me, you'll often find yourself sleeping on friends' couches, in airports or on cheap hostel beds. In China, where I currently live, even medium-range hotel rooms come with beds that are slightly firmer than particle board. If you travel with an air mattress, you'll set yourself up for a comfortable night's sleep no matter where you are. Technology for air mattresses has greatly improved in the last few years; you no longer need to carry a thin piece of foam that won't even fit in your backpack, or a huge bed that requires an air compressor to inflate. Nowadays, there are several models of air mattress that are the size of a 1-liter Nalgene bottle and weigh less than one kilo. They take less than a minute to inflate; you'll be in dreamland before you know it.
Ear Plugs and Eye Mask
It's 3 a.m. You're in a hostel dorm room, sound asleep. Suddenly, the door creeks open and the lights are turned on. You hear laughter and maybe even some sounds that you can't un-hear. Your bunk-mates have returned from a long night of drinking, and now you're wide awake. Of course, you would never be so discourteous, but not everyone will follow the basic rules of dorm-room decency. You could eschew dorms in favor of private rooms, but that can get quite expensive. What other options are there?
Use ear plugs and an eye mask! They are both cheap (or free!) and have saved me more times than I can remember. I still use an eye mask that was provided to me years ago on a long flight. As for ear plugs, I find the ones that are made for women with snoring husbands the most comfortable. (I realize this is ironic on multiple levels.)
Pro Tip: If you use the trifecta of an air mattress, eye mask and ear plugs, you can sleep comfortably in airports, in hostel dorms, under the stars, on your friend's floor, or almost almost anywhere else.
Slow Down
Fatigue is one of the greatest sources of discomfort on the road. And one of the biggest causes of fatigue is traveling too quickly. You'll have some of your favorite life experiences when you travel. Just make sure to slow down enough to thoroughly enjoy yourself.
Acceptance
Keep in mind that travel itself is not always comfortable. Hostels can be noisy (see above). Bus rides can be cramped and bumpy. You might get sick from the water. You could even be delayed due to a natural disaster or political unrest. Often you can avoid these situations, but not always.
My advice is to accept the hand that is dealt to you. If you really wanted to live the most comfortable life possible, you would never travel in the first place. Giving up control is a big part of being on the road. At some point, you'll have to accept this and move on. If nothing else, you'll end up with a good story.
My guest today is Gigi Wong. Originally from Hong Kong, she currently lives in New York, where she works with first-tier Chinese real estate developers. We spent most of our time talking about a trip Gigi took a few years back. Starting from Beijing, she rode the Trans-Siberian railway to Moscow. From there she headed into Finland, Estonia, Germany, Austria and Turkey. She still wanted more adventure, so after Turkey, she traveled to the little-visited countries of Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Gigi is very well-traveled and I had a lot of fun talking with her. Now, let's get to our discussion:
Though simplified forms of Chinese characters have existed since ancient times, the first large-scale simplification of characters didn't take place until 1956. This was mainly done to increase literacy in agrarian China. A proposal to do away with the character system entirely in favor of using “Pinyin” (Roman letters) never gained much favor.
Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region in northern Iraq. Gigi talked about her visit there during our podcast.
Unsurprisingly, US citizens need a visa to enter Iran, and there are a lot of additional restrictions and considerations listed on the State Department's website.
My guest MCK runs a program called Bounce. Basically, it's a twenty-minute conversation in which he listens to you and asks you the right questions to work through whatever's on your mind. He and I did a Bounce session at the beginning of this podcast and it was very helpful. We also touched on many other travel related topics.
Special Offer!
For one week after this podcast is released, MCK will give you a twenty-minute Bounce session, and you can pay whatever you think it's worth. Head on over to mck123.com/1000 for more info.
MCK's website is mck123.com. He has lots of information about Bounce, as well as his other projects.
His other website, ShallWeBounce.com is focused exclusively on Bouncing.
We talked rather extensively about my Chain Fail episode of this podcast. Highly recommended.
When I said that there were 100 million cars in China, I was citing outdated news. In fact, this number is from 2011. It's nearly double that number today, and there are likely more licensed drivers in China than there are people in the US.
Here is the sour papaya that MCK brought in. It tastes like a lighter version of a Sour Patch Kid.
Matthew Clausen and I recorded this podcast on a dark and breezy night, while sitting atop the Great Wall of China. We had just finished a long day of trekking on the wall, starting at the popular restored section of Mutianyu, and ending at “wild” Jiankou. We had a fantastic time reminiscing his week-long visit to Beijing, culminating in this outdoor adventure. We also discussed rock climbing, our views on what it means to travel, and much more.
According to worldpopulationreview.com, the district of Huairou (怀柔区), from which we recorded this podcast, has a population of 373,000, barely a blip on the radar by Chinese population standards.
Jiankou (箭扣), where we were camping, was constructed in 1368 and has never been restored.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect basically states that when people have a low level of skill for a certain task, they tend to overestimate their skill level at that task.
We didn't talk about this during the podcast, but these infographics help to explain the cultural differences between Germany (or “The West”) and China (“The East”).
Apparently Amazon Prime Air is real, and it's coming to an airspace near you.
It is forbidden to fly a drone over the Forbidden City in Beijing. Just ask Trey Ratcliff.
You can hear Roni Rodrigues tell his story of flying his drone over Lake Baikal here.
Here's an explanation of the notion that You Remember 10% of what you read.... It's not really quantifiable, as we suggested during the podcast.
And now for some photos from our hike on the Great Wall of China:
My guest today is Tamara Gil, a multimedia journalist based in Beijing, China. Tamara and I had a long and interesting conversation, during which we covered quite a large number of topics. Be sure to check out the Show Notes below for more info.
Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye was impeached last month. Now she could be charged with bribery, a crime that could land her in prison for ten years or more.
The BBC has more info about the latest laptop ban. This article, as well as other media I've read, focuses on the fact that we'll have to talk to our neighbor or read a book while flying. It'll be just like the good old days! But my concern has nothing to do with this. I'm worried about my laptop getting broken or stolen. This is no laughing matter; the media (at least from what I've read) doesn't seem to get it. Especially considering the fact that journalists (AKA the media) are commonly targeted by hackers. And now they have to hand their laptops over to airlines – maybe even to hostile governments – and hope for the best. This is far more important a concern than keeping yourself entertained during a long flight.
Where are the people at? This map shows China's population distribution.
Here's a short video about the Naadam Festival in Mongolia:
The movie about the Mongolian family is called The Cave of the Yellow Dog. You can buy it on Amazon.
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is the best podcast out there. I talked about Wrath of the Khans during this show.
The Netflix show that's set in Kublai Khan's time is called Marco Polo.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann is a great book about Percy Fawcett's 1925 journey into the Amazon. A movie of the same title is now out. I can't wait to see it.
Conspiracy theories abound about Malaysian Airlines flight MH370's disappearance. Here are some of them.
And finally, here's some more info about the 2014 protests in Hong Kong, AKA the Umbrella Revolution.
And now for some photo fun! Here are some pictures of some of the places Tamara and I talked about:
The Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building, at 2722 feet and 163 floors.
The Dubai Mall has all sorts of elegant art and architecture. Here are some umbrellas hanging from the ceiling
When it's 45 degrees outside, it's good to know you can stay inside. In this case, I'm riding the metro toward the center of the city. The trains are automated, so you can stand in front and look out the giant windows.
My guest today is Sean Kelly. He's an art teacher in Beijing, China. He has also lived in Shanghai and Costa Rica. We talked about life here, living on campus, travel and a few interesting movies that remind us of China.
Click the Play button to listen, or you can follow the link to download the mp3 directly. Better yet, you can subscribe on iTunes. Thanks for your support!
The original Blade Runner came out in 1982 and was set in Los Angeles in November 2019. Seven different versions of the film have been released, so it can be a bit difficult discussing the plot.
Blade Runner 2049 comes out in October of this year and is (obviously) set in 2049. It looks to be a sequel, not a reboot.
Here's a video from the Chinese/Burmese border town of Ruili:
Contrary to what I had thought, 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhist, 12.6% are Hindus, and 9.7% are Muslims.
Big shout out to Carol and Fei Fei; you can find the podcasts I recorded with them by following the respective links.
The Nicaraguan Canal is a strange story. Progress appears to have been halted amid controversy, protests, and extreme engineering difficulties. But officially, the project is still on.
Sean and I were both right about the Panama Canal's history. The US originally wanted to build the canal in Nicaragua, but the French changed the proposed location to Panama, which was then part of Colombia. In 1903 the US backed a revolt which led to Panama becoming a separate country, and more agreeable to US interests. You can read more about the history of the Panama Canal on Wikipedia.
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Ahh, clean air!
This one reminds me of Brazil.
Many motorcyclists wear futuristic garb here.
Katie is playing on an abandoned adult playground.
You'll meet some colorful people in India. You might even wake up to a snake charmer at your doorstep.
Here I am with my Punjabi friends.
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Check out this boat coming through the Panama Canal:
