AtW Podcast, Episode 23: Jun in Shangri-la

In this episode, I talk with Jun, owner of the Tavern 47 Hostel in Shangri-la, China. Jun's story is very interesting. He grew up in Seoul, South Korea and was a real go-getter. As a young adult, he was making a handsome salary and living the high life. How did Jun transition from a fast lifestyle in a big city to running a youth hostel in a remote town? Listen to our conversation to find out.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 22: Kroy and Shalon

My guests for this episode of The Around the World Podcast are Kroy and Shalon Nernberger. Kroy is a world-class curler who was invited to play in a tournament in remote Xining, Qinghai Province. His wife Shalon joined Katie and me in Beijing, and together we traveled to meet up with Kroy. We recorded this podcast from Xi'An, just before we split up. Shalon and Kroy recounted all of their adventures in China. Hopefully you'll gain some inspiration to plan your next trip!

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AtW Podcast, Episode 21: Sam Dreiman

My guest for this episode of the podcast is Sam Dreiman. His first trip to China was just before the 2008 Olympics. He has been living in the country, on and off, for the last six years. Other than China, we talked about his upbringing in Africa, my trip to Antarctica, his time biking down the World's Most Dangerous Road, and North Korea. Sam is a fascinating character who has spent much of his life traveling around the world; I had a great time talking with him.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 20: Paddy Robertson

My guest for today is Paddy Robertson. He and I met on his first night in Beijing, about a year and a half ago. At the time, he was just beginning to study Chinese, and now he speaks the language far better than most foreigners, even among those who have been here for much longer than him. How has Paddy managed to learn Chinese so quickly? One big reason is that he works for Smart Air, which sells affordable air purifiers. His co-workers are Chinese, so he gets to practice the language on a daily basis.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 19: Monica Tooki

My guest for this episode is Monica Tooki. We talked about her upbringing in two very different worlds – Singapore and Mississippi. We also discussed the Peace Corps and her time living in Kiribati. Monica is an experienced traveler and an expat, with lots of good stories to tell.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 17: Jeroen and Linda

For this episode, I talked with Jeroen from the Netherlands and Linda from Germany. They started hitchhiking from their home in Berlin several months ago, and plan to make a giant loop around Asia. I met them in my apartment in Beijing, when they were about halfway through their trip. Hitching has given them a unique perspective on the world, in which they place their complete trust in other people. During the show, we talked about their amazing journey, and told many stories along the way.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 16: Ryan Campeau

My guest this week is Ryan Campeau. We sat on my balcony in Beijing for a lengthy discussion about travel, specifically in China, Europe, and the good old US of A. Along the way, we did quite a bit of story-telling.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 15: Honey Sherma

My guest for this episode is Honey Sherma, from Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. He has traveled to every continent except Antarctica on cargo vessels. We discussed his life, both on the high seas, and in small towns in India. A large part of our conversation was focused on dhabas, those wonderful shops/guesthouses that always seem to pop up in the middle of nowhere in India. I like the concept of the dhaba, and the conversations that take place in them, so much that I even considered changing the name of this podcast to “Chai and Chat with Dan”.

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AtW Podcast, Episode 14: Ben

For this episode of the podcast, I sat down to talk with Ben Ochner from Germany. We were huddled in a tarp-covered shelter called a dhaba on a cold and rainy day in the remote outpost of Chhatru, India, population 120. Just to mix things up, Ben decided to interview me for this podcast, so we get a little more insight into my life and why I chose to travel.

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