Podcast Archives - Books And Travel

Visiting Places That Other People Try To Leave. Weird Travel With Adam Fletcher

Weird travel is visiting places that other people try to leave or places that are not usually thought of as tourist destinations. Adam Fletcher talks about North Korea, the unexpected beauty of Chernobyl, a tuk-tuk race across India, and the death rituals of Sulawesi, as well as the peculiarities of being British, and how to notice the unique weirdness of your own country, wherever that is.

Adam Fletcher is the best-selling author of Weird Travel books and humorous memoirs, including Don’t Go There, Don’t Come Back, and Tuk-Tuk for Two. You can find all his books on Amazon.

Show notes

What is weird travel — and why is it a different way to approach the world?
How travel can help us notice strange things about our own culture — and a discussion on being British
Travel in North Korea
Questioning the morality of travel to places where the money goes to a regime you might not want to support
Weighing the danger of a trip against the desire for something unique
Respecting a culture’s rules, even if you don’t agree with them
Learning to tune into the weird and unusual in every place
Driving 1000km in India in a tuk-tuk race
Recommended travel books

You can find Adam Fletcher at Adam-Fletcher.co.uk and his books on Amazon.

Myanmar With Jessica Mudditt

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How does Myanmar’s complicated history shape the country today? What are some of the wonderful places to visit — if tourists are able to travel again?

Jessica Mudditt talks about her experience in Myanmar, as well as facing fears around travel, and the experience of reverse culture shock on returning to Australia.

Jessica Mudditt is an Australian freelance journalist and travel writer. Her latest book is Our Home in Myanmar: Four Years in Yangon.

Show notes

Myanmar / Burma, and the complicated history and politics that shape the country
Diversity of the landscape and places to visit — once tourists can visit again
Dealing with fears when traveling — and how people are mostly wonderful, even if a country has a bad reputation
Reverse culture shock — and how we both struggled with Australia
Respecting local culture when traveling
Recommended travel books about Myanmar

You can find Jessica Mudditt at JessicaMudditt.com

Hooked On The Horizon. Sailing Blue Eye Around The World With Tom Dymond

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Can we ever be satisfied with life if we are always ‘hooked on the horizon?’

Tom Dymond talks about some of the highlights and challenges of sailing around the world — as well as the mindset issues around living for a future state, and returning to real life after years away.

Tom Dymond is the author of Wrongs of Passage and Hooked on the Horizon: Sailing Blue Eye Around the World.

Show notes

Preparation for the circumnavigation — and when you just have to get going
Life aboard a 32-foot yacht
High points and memorable places on the journey
Challenges along the way
Traveling with a friend for several years
Wanderlust — and being ‘hooked on the horizon’
Re-entry to ‘real life’ after years away
Recommended travel books

You can find Tom Dymond at tsdymond.com

Slow Down And Wander. Visit Paris Like An Artist With Cynthia Morris

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Paris has so much to see and do, it can be overwhelming if you try to do it all. In this interview, Cynthia Morris talks about how to visit Paris like an artist and how walking and wandering is a great way to see the city in a more relaxed way. We discuss how to manage museum and art gallery overload, how to pay attention to your curiosity and tap into your senses, plus we talk about some of our favorite places in the city.

Cynthia Morris is the author of historical fiction as well as travel memoir and creativity books, including Visit Paris Like An Artist. She’s also a coach, speaker and runs workshops in Paris and online.

Show notes

Wandering the back streets of Paris, taking it slow and allowing for serendipity
Managing your energy when there is so much to see
Eating and drinking well in Paris with recommendations for resources to find out more
Tapping into your senses in order to see things in a different way
The value of curiosity and slowing down when exploring a new place
Recommended travel books about Paris

You can find Cynthia Morris at Originalimpulse.com

Beauty In Ruins, Dark Myths, And Hope In Difficult Times. Greece With Peter Fiennes

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Peter Fiennes talks about his search for beauty — and hope — in Greece. We discuss the different areas of the country with recommendations for ruins to visit, as well as how the ancient Greek myths still resonate in modern times, with their tales of the darker side of humanity.

We consider whether generations of belief can somehow imbibe specific locations with spiritual meaning, and how a realization of our place in history can give us hope that things live on — and that life is to be celebrated, even in difficult times.

Peter Fiennes is the author of four non-fiction books, including Footnotes: A Journey Round Britain in the Company of Great Writers, and A Thing of Beauty: Travels in Mythical and Modern Greece, which we’re talking about today.

Show Notes

The unique and varied landscape of different areas of Greece
Finding beauty in ruins
Consulting the Oracle of Delphi
Do landscapes resonate with the belief of those who have come before us?
Why ancient myths still hold meaning in modern times
Attractions of modern Greece
What travel may look like in the future
Recommended travel books

You can find Peter Fiennes at One World Publishing

Layers Of Invasion And Empire. Slovakia With Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

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Slovakia only became an independent state in 1993, so it is less than 30 years old. In this interview, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson and I discuss borders and how strange it is that history draws lines on a map that don’t necessarily represent the people who live within them. These layers of invasion and empire can shape lives for generations.

Sarah also recommends places to visit for both culture and nature and shares specialties of the region, as well as some of her favorite travel books.

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is the author of memoir, poetry, and religious nonfiction. And today we’re talking about I Am a Brave Bridge: An American Girl’s Hilarious and Heartbreaking Year in the Fledgling Republic of Slovakia.

Show notes

The sense of always wanting to be somewhere else — and whether those of us who are ‘unrooted’ will ever find home
How borders split Europe in ways that resonate through history
Interesting places to visit in Slovakia, for culture or nature
Slovakian architecture, including wooden churches, built without nails
Food and drink specialties of the region
Recommended travel books

You can find Sarah Hinlicky Wilson at SarahHinlickyWilson.com

Header photo: Photo by Branislav Knappek on Unsplash

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