The Travelers

Today we’re talking about something that is all the rage in Asia, particularly Japan and Korea, but not so popular here in the United States — Karaoke! In the malls of Japan, right next to the stores or food courts, they have karaoke booths — think a photo booth, except it’s people screaming Journey in a tiny room. And I’ve brought Harvey Silikovitz, a travel writer and blogger who’s done karaoke in over 35 countries and counting — onto the show to discuss what is up with karaoke, where his passion for it comes from, and where this quest for international karaoke has come from. Explore Further: HBomb's Karaoke World Tour Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. We’d be grateful for a review. Leave one here. If you do, click here to let me know so I can personally thank you! Your Feedback If you have an idea for a podc

Having spent a life learning to sail, Behan Gifford lives on a 47 foot sailboat with her husband Jamie and 3 kids, since 2008 when they left their home on Bainbridge Island, one of the 2 residential islands off Seattle. Currently, the Gifford family is cruising Southeast Asia after enjoying Mexico, the South Pacific, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. If it’s not already apparent, the Giffords home-school on the boat, while also giving their kids the greatest education there is: travel. And for anyone interested in sailing, homeschooling, or traveling more with a family, Behan writes about their experiences in a helpful way on her blog SailingTotem.com, which is full of resources and guides to create a life of travel in this particular style: At sea. A Quick Preview:  Details coming soon... Explore Further: SailingTotem.com Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on

Sonja Lischynski lives in Ottawa with her husband, Stefan, and a small chihuahua named Montecristo - who, and this is what Sonja explores in her work — travels internationally with Sonja and does not impede her travel style much at all. And that’s the point of her website, montecristotravels.com — written by montecristo — okay from his perspective— and helping dog owners avoid the pitfall of believing they can’t travel the world and have a dog at the same time. And she also has a series of children’s books on the way about Monte and his travels. So this will be a fun topic for anyone who loves dogs but also has that wanderlust and doesn’t want to feel like they’re trapped by that decision. A Quick Preview: How Sonja got started traveling as the daughter of a diplomat and storyteller, who took her on these amazing adventures. How Sonja kept traveling regularly even after she got a dog, and what she found by traveling with a dog. The trip to Tuscany that convinced Sonja she loves traveling with her dog. How

“If you want to be a digital nomad, if you want to be a full time adventurist, all you have to do is sit there and take a look at which ones of your skills are going to help you get there and then just chase them.” Annette O'Neil is a writer, journalist, producer, adventurer, and compulsive sharer. She's also a former Hollywood commercial producer turned digital nomad and thrill-seeking adventurist, writing from coffee shops and base jumping around the world. But Annette's life wasn't always so unconventional and on this episode, we explore how and why she took the plunge to leave her job in television to pursue a more passionate story and challenging existence. A Quick Preview: How Annette got into adventure sports by racing motorcycles in Los Angeles and base jumping in South Africa. Our mutual love of skydiving and how adventure travel works as a metaphor for Annette’s desire for a greater taste of life. Annette road to location independence, and how you can get there too. Explore Further: Clever Ginge

Trevor Thomas always loved extreme sports. This love, however, was threatened when, in 2005, when at the age of 36, Trevor began to lose his sense of sight. And eventually, he went completely blind. But this didn’t stop Trevor from doing something that I am dreaming to do someday — and even doubt my ability to finish — which is planning and completing a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. All 2175 miles. He’s gone on to complete the Pacific Crest Trail, the Tahoe Rim, and founded Team FarSight, to challenge societal misconceptions about the blind and visually impaired, and to show that it’s not the insurmountable disability that most believe it is. A Quick Preview: Where Trevor learned a love of extreme sports. How he lost his sight. The change that allowed him to change his mindset and rediscover his identity. Why he chose to get started by taking on the Appalachian Trail. What he gets from these experiences, and how people - who once thought he was crazy - see him today. Explore Further: TrevorThomas.

We’re over 150 episodes into the Daily Travel Podcast, and today, the day before Thanksgiving in America - our busiest travel day - I wanted to just quickly say thank you for listening, for reaching out and sharing with me how much you like the show. Giving thanks is the whole point of the holiday, so I only thought it was fitting to say it again. And now for something completely different. This is my first solo-episode and I'm a little nervous putting it out there. But I think the time is right and I've been encouraged to do more solo-episodes. As you'll hear, I wrote and recorded these thoughts after the school shootings in Portland, Oregon, earlier this year - and a couple days ago, there were ongoing riots in Ferguson, Missouri that just made everyone I know very, very sad. And maybe I shouldn’t even bring up Ferguson. But in the darker days of our country, when we can’t help but look at the problems, it’s easy to forget how much we have to be thankful for in society. And even when we take a moment to ref

Lynn O’Rourke Hayes is a world traveling writer, photographer, consultant, founder and editor of FamilyTravel.com and columnist with the Dallas Morning News. Her writing has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and more and she’s appeared on CNN, NBC, The Today Show, and stood before the US Congress (which I do ask her about!). She’s taken her degree in Journalism with her to over 100 countries on 6 continents, and has still managed to raise three sons, which is impressive. She, like me, believes deeply in the transformational potential of travel experience, and holds her own retreats, appropriately called Transformational Travel Retreats, which in 2015 are going to Italy and Santa Fe. Explore Further: LynnORourkeHayes.com @lohayes on Twitter Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. W

I’m sitting down on this episode with a travel and wellness writer, teacher, strategist, and cancer survivor, Elena Sonnino to talk about chasing dreams and finding wellness in your travels — and exactly what that word means. Elena's the founder of LiveDoGrow, which helps others find everyday wellness in far-flung places as well as your own backyard. So let’s break this down: Do you ever feel stuck? In life, in health, in your mentality or attitude about life? Wellness goes well beyond your physical health, fitness and diet. And we’re going to have an upbeat chat about how travel affords you the opportunity to either make a change in your life, or meet your goals. Explore Further: LiveDoGrow, Elena's website LiveDoGrow on Facebook Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just takes a second and you can help the show increase its rankings on iTunes just by this simple and quick gesture. We’d be grateful for a review. Leave one here.

Dana Freeman Howard is the Founder and Editor of FindandGoSeek.net - a hyperlocal destination website for families to discover what to see and do in their community. She is originally from New York City but has been living in Vermont for the last 14 years. And while she is always looking for insider tips on Family Fun in Vermont, she also writes a travel blog providing hotel and destination reviews in Vermont and beyond. Dana pens a weekly column for the Burlington Free Press and curates a morning show piece for Star 92.9 FM. She has appeared on Huffington Post Live, contributes to the Forbes Travel Guide and has written for Homeaway, Minitime, Ciao Bambino! and Yucatan Holidays. She is the Family Travel Expert for Hotel Vermont as well as an Ambassador for Ski Vermont's Family Ski & Ride Guide – The All Mountain Mamas. Explore Further: FindandGoSeek.net @MissMagpieFGS on Twitter Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review! It just ta

Thai Nguyen is the founder of  The Utopian Life, which describes itself as "practical wisdom for personal evolution." Thai is living in Cusco, Peru, where he’s working on his first book all about mastering internal dialogues and the stories that shape our lives. He was born in Vietnam and grew up a refugee living in Australia after the war, studied Theology in Texas - and has since gone on to develop a love of entrepreneurship and exploration, of both ideas and the world. Thai loves to focus on the things that hold us back, and whether it’s taking that trip, making travel a bigger priority, or somehow figuring out that travel lifestyle, I’m excited to dive into Thai’s perspective on these topics and how it is he’s found himself in Peru, writing a book. A Quick Preview: What Thai is doing down in Peru, living not far from Macchu Piccu, in the mountains. How his varied background has led him down the path to explore life’s bigger questions. What it was like growing up as a Vietnamese refugee and how that eff

“I never knew if I was going to make it but I just wanted to know. I wanted to set out.” - Laura Dekker Today’s guest did something that no other person her age has ever done before. At age 14, Laura Dekker set out to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the planet singlehandedly. And at 16, she completed that journey by sailboat. And while it’s an understatement to call that world record amazing, what I love most about it is that she took her time to complete it — exposing herself to the world, meeting people and finding stories waiting for her, one port at at time. She’s the subject of the documentary film, Maidentrip, given a TEDx Talk in Auckland, and the author of a new book called One Girl, One Dream — an autobiographical account of her epic adventure. In this episode, we explore Laura’s journey and the person she’s become today. A Quick Preview: How Laura's early years spent sailing helped her to see life as a series of challenges. What happens to time when you're alone at sea for weeks. Why

Alicia Sherrin has lived in Togo since July 2012 — and if you’re wondering where Togo is, it’s a tiny country between Ghana and Benin, in western Africa. Way back on episode 38, I mentioned someone was listening to the show in Togo, how little I knew about that place, and how amazing I thought it was that someone might be listening from there (the show was only 2 months old at this point!). Alicia was that someone and she reached out to me as a listener to see if I wanted to learn more about Togo. Alicia’s been embedded there with the Peace Corp for 2 years, but recently left to travel across Africa and into the Middle East, and western Europe before returning home to California. So I’m taking her up on her offer to come on and teach me something about Togo, the Peace Corp as an opportunity for others to experience the world, and her travels across these amazing continents. A Quick Preview: What exactly is The Peace Corp and why did Alicia decide to participate as a volunteer with them. Where is Togo and wh

Today's guest walked across America and lived to tell a TED Talk about it. Nate Damm took seven months to walk across fourteen states, clear across the continent of North America, and in this conversation today I cannot wait to ask him, "Why? Why would you do this?" And what came out of the experience? Including a book, Life on Foot: A Walk Across America. And a guide, How to Walk Across America for anyone who dares to follow in his literal footsteps. A Quick Preview: What compelled Nate Damm to walk across the country The most trying experiences and best stories that he encoutered How he felt when he accomplished Explore Further: NateDamm.com Nate's guide, How To Walk Across America Life on Foot, Nate's book Nate's talk at World Domination Summit in Portland: Nate Damm on Walking Across America: A World Domination Summit 2012 Attendee Story from Chris Guillebeau on Vimeo. Nate's TEDx Talk Credits Music credit: Intrepid Journey, by Aaron Static Become a Friend of the Show: Please subscribe and review!

Katja Gaskell has been published by Lonely Planet, Mr & Mrs Smith, and many other travel publications. She's moved with her husband and two kids to Mexico City, after living previously in Australia and India - while visiting Sri Lanka, Nepal, New Zealand, Fiji, the United States and much of Europe. Through all of this she’s become the co-founder and editor of GlobeTotting.com, a web platform, publication, and purveyor of adventurous escapes for families. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of living with nomads in Mongolia or sleeping in the remote hill villages of Vietnam — Globetotting finds and shares the ways you can do this with kids, which can redefine the way you see your travel opportunities should you wake one day with a couple kids running around the house, believing your best travel days are behind you. A Quick Preview: Katja's background as a career travel writer and how having kids unexpectedly changed her travel life. Where the idea for Globetotting came from after many adventures with her own kid

"How many people trudge off to work dreading the day ahead? How many people do you know who feel trapped in their jobs, working just to pay the mortgage, instead of pursuing their life's ambition because they just can't afford to take a risk? I can't, but I'm doing it anyway." Today’s guest wrote this, 3 years ago — on her kickstarter page, which launched a dream that changed her life. Jean Ellen Whatley is a writer who after experiencing a few deaths in her life successfully ran a kickstarter in 2011 to quit her job, hit the road, and pursue her dream of writing her first book, Off the Leash — which chronicled her eventual road trip with her dog, 8,400 miles across the country to meet her half brother for the very first time. Identity - who we are and the ways we relate to a world, where we fit — these questions play such a large role in travel. And Jean stopped letting these questions go unanswered. By making the simple realization that the obstacles preventing her from leaving were almost entirely self-imp

This is part 2 of my conversation with Akshay Nanavati from Existing2Living. Listen to Part 1 in which we talk about his battles with addiction, war, and PTSD. Today’s guest is on a lifelong quest to traverse every country in the world, on foot, while raising a million dollars for his own non-profit foundation, Fearvana, which will partner with other for-purpose organizations to assist the global family with healing, both financially and spiritually. Before that, Akshay Nanavati was born in India, spent time as a firefighter, he’s a veteran of the US Marines spending time in Iraq. He’s a journalist and photographer, and a mountaineer — clearly he’s an explorer curious about many things. On his website, he wrote something that I can’t possibly do better than, so I’m just going to put it here: “I began the latest chapter of my life within the purity of nature. It will continue in the realm of humanity’s relationship to each other and the land beneath our feet. By exploring different cultures, engaging planet ea

This episode is part of a wider campaign for Veterans Day 2014 called Voices for Vets, in which more than 40+ podcasters have dedicated an episode of their show to interview a veteran or discuss veteran issues. Learn more. “The symptoms [of PTSD] don’t have to equal ‘disorder.’ These symptoms are just human symptoms in response to war. But they can also lead to growth.” - Akshay Nanavati Today’s guest is on a lifelong quest to traverse every country in the world, on foot, while raising a million dollars for his own non-profit foundation, Fearvana, which will partner with other for-purpose organizations to assist the global family with healing, both financially and spiritually. Before that, Akshay Nanavati was born in India, spent time as a firefighter, he’s a veteran of the US Marines spending time in Iraq. He’s a journalist and photographer, and a mountaineer — clearly he’s an explorer curious about many things. On his website, he wrote something that I can’t possibly do better than, so I’m just going to put

Lauren Salisbury is the founder of Something In Her Ramblings, a travel blog aimed at inspiring women and solo travelers to explore the open road. A California native, she has found the best way to get to know a region of the world is to live there, and with that in mind has worked in four countries. While earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, she wrote for NBC News and spent six months living in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating, she moved to Florida to work in Public Affairs at Walt Disney World Resort. In 2013 she took a leap of faith and left her settled existence in the United States behind to teach English in Madrid. During this year she fulfilled her goal of visiting 25 countries in her 25th year of life. Lauren’s next adventure takes place in Costa Rica, where she is currently living in the rainforest and working as Social Media & Marketing Manager for Outward Bound. What We Cover: Lauren got her start traveling with her family, road tripping across the c

“One of the things I admire most about travelers is how independent and confident they are. Those are qualities I never had growing up.” Today’s guest left a life in California to spend 4 years on the road with friends before settling, broke, in Thailand to study Muay Thai kickboxing and try his hand at entrepreneurship. He is the host of the Travel like a Boss podcast, where he interviews location independent entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs about their 4-hour work week style businesses, many of whom are living and working in Southeast Asia. I’m happy to welcome Johnny on the show today to share his stories and explore his relationship to travel, as well as the entrepreneurial scene there in Chiang Mai, Thailand - what that’s like, and what Johnny’s working on. What We Cover: How travel, and discovering a love of diving, helped Johnny come to the realization that he wanted to invest in experiences rather than things. Why he considers slow travel to foreign places to be “real travel”, as opposed to quick st

"Travel can transform communities and lives around the world... Imagine if we got to a place where people can go on holidays as their way of giving back." - Bruce Poon Tip I’m excited to bring on the show a figurehead in the world of travel whose passion — which is not unlike mine, or many of the prevailing motifs of this show has actually influenced the global perspective of what’s possible through the act of travel. Bruce Poon Tip is the CEO of G Adventures, the world's largest independent tour operator — doing over 1,000 small group experiences for over 100,000 travelers a year across all seven continents.  They’ve been named by National Geographic Adventures as the best ‘Do It All Outfitter’ on Earth, and are among the Top 100 Employers and 50 Best Managed Companies. They’re also champions of sustainable and responsible tourism which I’m sure we’ll get into. More importantly, perhaps — is what they believe about the importance of travel. On their website, it says — “If you share a lust of life and have an