Don't Go Unless

Are there some countries whose image has already been cemented in your mind, even before you've seen the latest posts and reels coming from people visiting them? You know, the ones that make the news, but for all the wrong reasons. When thinking about Pakistan, have you dared to imagine yourself traveling there, without an agenda, for months on end? Perhaps not, but we're about to hear from a traveler who did just that, whose perspective has the power to change your perceptions. Brent Timm is a full-time traveler who got his start sharing his love of snack food on his travels around the world. He aims to show a world that transcends our preconceptions, by highlighting humanity's common bonds. I caught up with Brent shortly after he returned from 100 days in Pakistan, and during a short rest period before his next adventure. Follow along with Brent on your favorite social media platform, or at Bren Timm.com.

Amanda Savan is a singer, actor, photographer, and solo travel enthusiast from North Hollywood, CA. She's traveled solo to over 20 countries and every state in the USA (except Alaska). You can usually find her scuba diving, long distance hiking, or camping. We spoke about her time spent in the Netherlands, where she took an unconventional approach, using rail transit but not skirting off to London or Paris from Amsterdam. Rather, she focused her travels entirely in this small country as a deeper dive into dutch living.

Have you ever realized how well you might just... *click* with another traveler? Do you wonder if that means that you're kinda wired the same way, or if there's something else going on? We won't find an easy answer, but in today's episode I speak with someone who's nearly the opposite of my traveler's persona, yet we frequently approach and experience travel in very similar ways. Does that kind of compatibility lead us to explore the same place in the same way? We'll look at our experiences on short trips to the country of Belize for answers.  Tippe Morlan is a city planner and world traveler, having visited 79 countries at the time of this airing. She has a podcast called Just One More Trip and occasionally podcasts about her travel experiences. She recently spoke at TEDxSaltLakeCity on the topic of Binge Travel, and spends all her free time figuring out where to travel next.

Some countries can become so well known for just one or two iconic types of experiences that it's easy to overlook the history, culture, and day to day lifestyles of the people there. Today we'll speak with a cultural immersion expert and coach about her time spent in Tunisia, which is on the North African coast between Libya and Algeria. Jess Lee is a travel coach, planner, and language teacher based in Boston, MA, USA.  Through her coaching program she helps women stop living in fear and feel empowered, confident, and safe to take their first solo trip.  She believes that travel can be healing and perspective-shifting and that the best tools to acheive these goals are solo travel and cultural immersion.  You can find her on Instagram @thewanderword.

You know that feeling when you see a country you know and love fall into tumultuous conflict and civil strife? When heroes are exposed for their own hypocrisies, and you feel powerless to change the outcomes, but still emotionally invested because you've formed a bond with a country and her people? For seasoned world travelers, this kind of feeling comes up more often than any of us would like. Today we'll speak with a traveler who's made it to nearly every country in the world, and we'll focus on the vexing country of Myanmar. Ric Gazarian is an avid traveler, travel blogger, professional photographer, drone pilot, author, podcaster, documentary producer, and industry speaker.  He is on a quest to visit every county in the world and has visited all 7 continents and has traveled to more than 140 countries.

Many of us face burnout at some point in our careers, and that's especially true, unfortunately, in the lives of career public servants and aid workers. Today we'll speak with someone who took her observations of inefficient systems and used that as a foundation to build a travel business with a specific aim toward public benefit, and we'll dive a bit deeper than usual on travel personas and the wild diversity of experiences offered by the country of Botswana. Jen Curran is the owner of Globe & Tribe Expeditions and Pith & Pearl Africa.  Before starting her travel companies, she traversed the globe for almost two decades as an epidemiologist and humanitarian aid worker.  After some serious burnout, she forayed into the travel world with a keen eye on connecting curious, well-intentioned and intrepid travellers (and their tourism dollars)  to some of the world's most beautiful and remote destinations. 

Despite rampant overtourism, one of the most amazing natural landscapes to explore in North America is the cenotes of México's Yucatan Peninsula. In this episode, we discuss the types of travelers that tend to visit Cancun and Tulum, and what makes the cenotes such a unique destination for adventure sport enthusiasts.

Some destinations can stymie you as a traveler. Weather conditions in remote locations can make or break a trip, when it's just a few days. Another way you can risk ruining a short trip is choosing the wrong travel companion. In today's episode, we'll hear from a traveler that decided to take a guest on an international trip for a first date. Andy Luten is a world traveler, professional photographer, and was named Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year. (as were you, listener!) Andy caught the travel bug as a child and never really stopped traveling thereafter, culminating in the 2012 debut of Andy's Travel Blog, part of the Boarding Area blog network.  

It's natural for most of us to have a travel bucket list. Some travelers, however, are hard-wired to do everything in their power to check off those countries and those experiences. In today's episode we will once again speak with our friend Samer Kawar, this time about the country of Guyana. We'll hear about prioritizing natural encounters, even if they come with unexpected discomfort. We invite you to listen in on today's conversation to get some ideas of how and why you might want to do something similar on your next trip...wherever you're headed.

Some destinations are so steeped in history and tradition, that their eternal truths are inescapable and unavoidable. In this episode, Graham Marsden talks to a travel company founder about his time living in Syria, and we'll compare notes about our observations of the temporary political realities playing out against the backdrop of human history so evident there. Dennis Vilovic is an entrepreneur and global citizen - he has lived in 9 different countries on 3 continents, advising governments and businesses on how to increase operational efficiency using technology and data.