Around the World with Dan Perry

Sim and Nathan are Couchsurfers who stayed with Katie and me in Hong Kong. This was their final stop on a journey of more than a year. We had an awesome discussion about a variety of topics, ranging from traveling for free to exploding Pinto gas tanks.

Miljana Zutic, AKA “Serbian Traveler”, has been traveling around the world for the last four years with no money. Seriously, she left her home with two euros and has kept the adventure going for all this time. How, you wonder? Listen to this podcast to find out. Miljana’s social media can be found at the following links: Serbian Traveler on Youtube (educational videos from her travels) Serbian Traveler on Facebook Serbian Traveler on Instagram If you enjoy this podcast and Miljana’s social media pages, she would really appreciate it if you would kick a few bucks her way on PayPal. Here’s her address: pierrestatue@gmail.com.

Alec Hill is a world traveler who is just getting started on an open-ended trip. In fact, Hong Kong was his first international stop, and I was his second Couchsurfing host. We chatted about how he got here and what lies on the road ahead for him.

Katie and I met Alison Price many years ago at the Twin Ports invasion, dubbed “The World's Coldest Couchsurfing Invasion”, a claim that I do no dispute. Alison is an amazing artist based in Minneapolis.

My guest today is Ryan Sinn. He's a digital nomad who's into travel and cycle touring, and he has a unique and interesting worldview. I had a great time chatting with him, and I hope you'll enjoy our conversation.

A few months ago, Katie and I met Pradeepika Saraswat while traveling in Hampi, southern India. We hit it off and she later invited us to visit her in Delhi, where we recorded this podcast. Pradeepika is a journalist who has spent much time living in Kashmir, a region over which India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars. I also visited Kashmir a few years back and became very interested in the region, so naturally, this was the main focus of our discussion.

With only a few days left in our ten-month trip, Katie and I recapped our time in India and discussed how travel has changed us. Lots of good philosophical advice in this one.

Katie and I had an amazing month of trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Along with the gorgeous scenery and the extreme physical challenge of hiking to the 5416-meter Thorung Pass, the people were the highlight of our trek. Those who lived along the trail were extremely friendly, as were the other trekkers we met. And among them were today's guests, Martijn and Manon. We made some time a few days after finishing our trek to record a podcast and reminisce our month in the mountains.

In this episode, Katie and I sat on the roof of our hotel in Negombo and discussed our month in Sri Lanka.

Ruwan Perera hosted Katie and me at his home near Colombo, Sri Lanka. While we were there, Ruwan was also hosting a couple of tattoo artists from Ukraine. They asked Ruwan if he would like a tattoo in exchange for hosting them, and he said yes. In our podcast, Ruwan discusses getting his first tattoo, as well as some of the history of his country, and the importance of Couchsurfing and similar networks in this age of modern travel.

I met Ondrej and Nina at a guesthouse near the southernmost point of Sri Lanka. They both have become obsessed with surfing, so that factored into a large part of our discussion. And, I must admit, the beach we were staying on was perfect for beginner surfers.

I met Chris Hunter in a hostel dorm room in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Chris has lived in Berlin for most of his life, though he also spent five years in India and several years in San Francisco during his youth. Needless to say, he's an experienced traveler, full of knowledge. We discussed some of the places he knows well, and some of the ways in which travel has changed during his life.

In this episode, Katie and I talk about our six weeks (or so) in the Philippines, with a bonus of traveling to Bangkok for a job fair.

Last week at a job fair in Bangkok, Thailand, I met a number of interesting characters. Among them was Patrick Robert Scott, a travel writer who is journeying across southeast Asia for the first time. We talked about his recent adventures, as well as some interesting experiences in other parts of the world.

I met Jerome Hulin in the small town of Jagna, on Bohol Island in the Philippines. He's a freediving instructor, and he was gracious enough to sit down with me and talk about his passion in great detail. Whether you're an avid freediver or simply interested in learning more, this will be a really interesting podcast.

On this episode, my wife Katie and I talk about our time bicycling in Taiwan. We go over all of the highs and lows of our trip, as well as the unique cultural aspects we discovered on this small island.

My guest for today is David Shand, from South Africa. We met in his adopted home of Chishang, Taiwan and chatted ceaselessly for two days. This podcast contains a bit of our conversation.

On this episode, my wife Katie and I continue our talk about bicycling in Japan. We give you all of the ups and downs of our trip.

I met Philippe Hanin on a ferry from Osaka, Japan to Shanghai, China. He recently finished a nearly two-month pilgrimage, during which he walked to all 88 of Shikoku's temples that are associated with the Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi.

On this episode, my wife Katie and I talk about our journey thus far bicycling around Japan. We give you all of the highs and lows of our trips.

My guests today are Ross and Theresa. They met several years ago in Beijing, China. They fell in love, traveled the world for two and a half years, got married, and had two kids. Pretty much in that order. During the show we discussed all of this, as well as their love of yoga, and the "Yoganda" project, which teaches widowed women in Uganda to make yoga mat bags. Theresa is the founder of Taozi Tree Yoga. If you are interested in attending one of her yoga classes in Beijing, there is a link to her Wechat account at the bottom of her website. Theresa also has set up a fundraiser for The Yoganda Project. Thanks for checking it out!

My guest today is Brittany Dunn. She's a great storyteller, and on this episode she did not disappoint. She told me the craziest "welcome to China" story I've ever heard.

In this episode I sat on the roof of a Beijing bookstore to talk with Alice Chen. She's from Weifang, in Shandong province, China. Right now she's specializing in cross-cultural communication; she gave me many great tips to improve my skills.

My guest today is Ruby Tsai from Taiwan. We recorded our conversation from the top of a sand dune in the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

My guest this week is Tsenddavaa Nasanjargal, AKA Davaa. She and her husband own an amazing guesthouse called the Mongol Ujin Tourist Camp in the village of Khatgal, Mongolia. Davaa is passionate about the nomadic lifestyle that is still so prevalent in Mongolia, and she was generous enough to talk about it with me on the show.

I met Maria on the train to Ulan-Ude, Russia. She is an amazing leader in the Buryat community. She talked about her culture during the show.

Katie and I (especially Katie) have been dreaming of coming to Lake Baikal for quite some time. Now we are here! How did we arrive? Listen to this week's episode to find out.

Here is an update on our last week. Katie and I have been traveling across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Train. We started the last week in Suzdal, a little village near Moscow. We ended it in Krasnoyarsk, around 4000 KM to the east.  

Natalya works for a company called United Tours, giving free walking tours of St. Petersburg. We talked about life in Russia, her time living in Egypt, and travel in Cuba. Bonus: I discussed my attempt to visit Vladimir Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow.

While staying in Helsinki, Finland, Katie and I met Jari and Nadezhda. They used to live in Beijing, so we had a lot in common. We swapped many China stories, and I found out that they had taken the Trans-Siberian train from Vladivostok to Helsinki. Katie and I are at the beginning of our own Trans-Siberian experience. Currently we are in St. Petersburg and plan to head east to Lake Baikal, then south to Mongolia. On this podcast, Jari and Nadezhda gave me some great tips on riding this famous train across Russia

In this episode, I go over our hike in Iceland and I give a few tips if you're interested in traveling there. Katie also gives some advice on food preparation.

Morgan and I did a follow-up podcast, where she discusses her continued weight loss and skin removal surgery.

On this week's show, I talked with Paddy Robertson about our two-day bicycle trip from Beijing to the Iron Wall Silver Mountain, AKA the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest. This is officially recognized by the national government as a AAAA scenic spot, and it was one of the 28 designated tourist destinations during the 2008 Olympics. It's a sacred site of Buddhism, originally built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The current incarnation was built during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125).   Officially, the Silver Pagodas have been closed since 2014, but, as you'll hear during the show, Paddy and I found it easy to get into the park anyway.  

Nina Krafft is a friend who lives and works in Beijing, China. We talked extensively about life in Beijing, as well as travel around China in general.

Nitai works at The Hutong, a cultural exchange center based in Beijing, China. We discussed the types of trips he runs through the Hutong, ranging from Great Wall excursions to bicycling around Yunnan province.

My guest today is Debbie Ma. She's from Taiwan and has lived for a long time in Beijing. She's an acupuncturist and home brewer. She taught me the basics of how acupuncture works and we discussed the home-brewing scene here in Beijing, as well as travel in Japan.

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, and of course we told a few travel stories.

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!  

Tensions have been rising on the Korean peninsula. What are our options? My guest Jeremiah Jenne is a historian living 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 in Beijing. I went on one of these tours to the Summer Palace and thoroughly enjoyed it; highly recommended for anyone who wants a taste of old Peking. 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.”  

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.

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 http://mck123.com/1000t for more info.  

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.  

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. There's a lot more info available on my website.

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. Thanks for your support!  

My guest today is Moisés Santiago. We touched on a variety of topics, including being a teacher in China, spaying your cat (not for the faint of heart), staying calm in stressful situations, and the importance of maintaining possession of your passport while traveling abroad. It turns out that both of us have had the pleasure of losing our passport, though his experience had significantly worse consequences than mine. Moisés was an awesome guest and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.

Mirco Tranchina has lived in China for several years. Since coming here, he has become fluent in Chinese, and he is now on a TV show. He also has a full-time job, and he's finishing his master's degree. Fun fact: So far, Mirco has lived in ten different apartments in Beijing. Luckily, he was able to take some time out of his busy schedule to record this podcast. We had an awesome conversation; I hope you enjoy it.

My guests today are Erin Draycott and Connor Grill. They have both been living in Beijing for several years. I sat with Erin and Connor on the roof of their hutong apartment for a conversation about travel. We touched on many subjects, including their recent trip to Israel.

My guest today is Li Song Mei. I met her through Arthur, her former teacher, who was on episodes 30 and 31 of the podcast. Li Song Mei is from a small village in Guizhou Province, China. She's currently in grad school in Beijing.   Li Song Mei is a member of the Hmong (Miao) ethnic minority group. We discussed a lot about her culture, including the largest traditional Hmong festivals.  

My guest today is Morgan McKinnon. She has been living in Beijing for over four years. We talked a lot about expectations versus reality in moving to China, and some of the great and not-so-great aspects of living here. One of Morgan's many messages is that you have to keep challenging yourself. Following her own advice, she'll move to Morocco next school year, where she'll start the next chapter of her life.