No Fairytale Travels

We are back to Cambodia in this episode and back to lots of fun little stories from my adventure in Battambang! From scams to food to exclusive rich white people hotels in Asia and... also... where I learn that the girl I liked also likes me... after she has already left ;(Also, I become Darth Vader.. sort of? Orrrr maybe I had too much wine?! Or both :)Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this episode!!!!Let me know your thoughts on my substack: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

I'm getting ready for another big series of travels and am now faced with the prospect of traveling to a country that might soon get invaded (re-invaded?!), Ukraine, or just going straight for South America.Anyway, this is my blatherings on this part of travel.Sorry for not finishing Cambodia or New Years subjects, I just haven't had the energy recently, which I address in the podcast.To comment, go to: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

Welcome to my Christmas Special Episode! Here I talk about what Christmas means to me and go over some of my favorite Christmas travel stories, European Christmas markets and a lovely day with a lovely lass at the Vienna Christmas Markets. :)Enjoy! :)(Cambodia stories will be back shortly.)To leave a comment, go to: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

It was time for some more touristing around Battambang, Cambodia and the main attraction this day would be an army of bats!!!We rented a tuk tuk for the day, lost 2 girls to food poisoning, tended to my now severe leg burns from the rooftop canal boat ferry ride the other day, invaded an elementary school playground, feasted on country rats, and gawked at armies of bats descending upon the Cambodian forest to begin their evening feast.To leave a comment, go to my substack and you can comment there: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

The night starts with a date in a lovely funny town in Cambodia called BattamBang with a beautiful Italian girl... and her unsuspecting local lesbian Tinder date... can you say AWKWARD?!?!The night ended with drunk scootering around the city with a former American Cambodian gang member who was deported back to Cambodia and an Australian bar owner who might also have been exiled from the land down-under.It was a crazy night that capped-off a crazy day in a place I had never even heard of just a few days prior to this.Ask me some questions on my substack :) https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

This is the story of my first full day in the city of Battambang Cambodia with my new travel family. It involves recovering from massive sunburn, touring local markets full of worm vendors and knock-off everything and squactopus fish lol, and also a drunken bamboo railway adventure, renting a tuk-tuk for a day, fake police stops and bribes and a Simple Jack Tropic Thunder style jungle theater production!It was a truly fun and goofy day and it was perfect, especially due to the amazing travel family that I had! :)For more info, go to my substack and ask me a question: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

 Man Abroad is Not a Man Long Forlorn- MeThis is a story of how I came to have one of my best travel families ever, and a truly magical experience in Cambodia.In this episode, I meet my travel family and my guide.I get a massage from blind people that closely resembles torture, the guide gets a drive-by scooter mugging, I lose a girl to a total twat but end up with 2 Brazilians, Odin's Daughter is punched by her one-night man and everyone somehow manages to come together to make it on an 8 hour canal boat journey from Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) to the magical and unexpected city of Battambang, Cambodia, which is where the real crazy adventure begins :)To leave a comment on this episode head to: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

Part 3 of my Cambodian Adventure takes us to the world famous Angkor Wat, an ancient mega-city, that rivaled any other city on the planet at the time.Touring Angkor Wat is one of the coolest things that I have ever done - it takes you back into time as you travel by Tuk-Tuk from Temple to Temple, driving on dirt roads through this ancient city, taking you deeper into the Jungle and farther away from modernity as you see these magnificently carved stones seemingly growing from the ground and shooting into the sky, interwoven with trees and vines alike, people riding elephants through the Jungle in the background, and wrinkle-inducing smiles as you traverse the ancient ruins like a hungover and excited Indiana Jones!Needless to say, I love this place! :)To leave a comment, go to my substack post for this podcast: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

This is my trip to San Francisco in all of its honest and raw glory, sadness, and happiness.I'm giving you guys the real-deal on San Francisco, no sugar-coating, just what I experienced, from drug addicts and homeless people to the cutest architecture in the world to covid sadness and from plastic food to amazing food, from Alcatraz to Clam Chowder and so much more.My experience here was a full one and I am happy to have visited this city - it has a lot of things going on and is definitely worth a visit if you're around USA.(This episode interrupts my Cambodia story because I wanted to share my San Francisco trip while it's still fresh. I will take you back to the Cambodian adventure next week though!)Leave a comment on this at my substack: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

My adventures in Siem Reap Cambodia were plenty and full of food and drink and laughs and great times and this podcast covers those great times before I embarked upon the touristy elements of this adventure.This little city is the second largest in Cambodia and its main draw is the pile of rocks outside the city that used to be a world-class leading cutting-edge masterpiece of engineering, but this episode of my podcast deals more with the essence of modern day Siem Reap and the vibe and feeling and experience of the city.My adventure in Cambodia, 30 days that ranged from full-on tourism to full-on party to full-on beach life to some of the best travelers I have ever met and the best people I have ever met, was the best adventure of my life.I hope you enjoy following me on this adventure :)If you have questions or comments, check out my post for this podcast on substack: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

From the Vastness of Space... I Say Goodnight!

This is the start of my Cambodian adventure - it begins with being stuck on a flooding island in Thailand, where the pharmacy gave everyone Valium and Xanax instead of Melatonin, the only open things were the pizza joint, the bar, and the fake massage parlor.I hope you guys enjoy this adventure! I have many more stories to come :)Tell me what you think, leave a comment on the post for this on my substack: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

This is a recounting of another wonderful day filled with feasting, stories of adventure and a great time with great people.It takes place in the south of Albania, in a region called the Albanian Riviera - a truly wonderful place to visit.This story follows a full day of mine, starting with coffee at the "Mayor's" place, some bad yoga on the beach watching the sun rise, an early lunch at a local joint that specializes in fresh mountain lamb, mountain goat, and seafood, all caught fresh from the mountains in the background to the sea right off the shore, olive oil from the trees along the beach and lining the mountains, new friends, amazing stories and a Jesus from Kentucky who came with free beers.It was an honestly amazing day!These are the times that truly encapsulate the beauty of life!Questions or comments, go to: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

Join me on one of my favorite day-trips in Italy, when we took a train around Mamma Etna, an active volcano, ended in a city we never heard of, had some of the best food in the entire world: Pistachio Pancetta Pasta, Tender moist grilled chicken (no American steroid monsters), and Pistachio Pancakes made with the most perfectly balanced Pistachio cream to ever grace this planet.It turns out that the city that we visited is right next to the home of Pistachio in Sicily - it was literal heaven!I am officially a Pistachio monster now haha.The city itself, Randazzo, also turned out to be an amazing city, with streets and buildings made entirely from volcanic rock, which gave the city a regal, dark, yet warm and cozy feeling, full of small streets and cafes and taverns, some of which opened out onto a valley that spanned far and wide to provide you the most picturesque of places from which to watch the sunset.When we returned home from our trip, the hostel family had finished a home cooked meal and the Sicilian Mamma greeted us with open arms, warm hugs, smiles from ear-to-ear, laughter, even more food and, of course, wine.The day trip, the city, the food, and the company was perfect!This was one of my favorite adventures to recount and relive and I hope you enjoy it :)If you have any questions or comments, you can find the post for this podcast on substack and leave me a message and a like: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

I had a blast in Tokyo and this is a story of my favorite nights in this crazy and cool mega city!This is a retelling of my favorite nights in Tokyo, Japan - from the Gay Goth Samurai to being rejected from bars, having a chef literally walk out on us, without saying anything until we left, to bringing an entire bar to life, staying out until the sun rises in central Tokyo, and enjoying the best of times in a place called Golden Gai, a place of warmth and a welcoming spirit in the middle of a chaotic and otherwise seemingly impersonal city.Tokyo is a crazy, cool, amazing city and I can't wait to go back!!!I got a little carried-away with this story, so its a bit longer than my usual podcast, but I hope you enjoy it :)Leave me a message on: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

A full itinerary for how to have a Romantic Day in Paris - including some sightseeing, some wonderful food, wonderful candies, wonderful drinks, wonderful sights, and, gentlemen, at least 2 perfect opportunities to secure that first kiss!This day is a perfect thing to do for a first date, or a 50th date, or even just to spend with a few nice friends.During the day, you will visit some big sights, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc di Triomphe, the Louvre, a fun hidden crazy bar in the middle of the city, and a wonderful place from which to watch the sun set behind the backdrop of Paris.This is one of my favorite full-day itineraries for Paris and I have done this many, many times.Cost-wise, for 2 people, this day will be between 40 and 150 euros, depending on how much you spend on the food and the wine. Personally, I always enjoyed the lower-priced options for this day just as much as the more expensive options.To leave a comment or ask a question, go to https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/ and find this post and leave a comment there.

This is a discussion about the origins of Love, I suppose - I start with the creation of everything and tie it in with my thoughts on attraction and, if the origins even matter.The end of this Podcast deals with my family and a little bit about the difficult health situation. I know that it is selfish of me to ask, but, if you pray at all, I ask that you offer a few up for my father, who is having health issues.Thank you for listening! Stay Safe!Mr. Pirate

Question of the week: When you visit a country, do you ever actually really experience that country? And, does it matter?This is what I address this week and I use my experience in Ukraine, first as a tourist, and then as someone who lived there in Lviv, as the basis for this discussion.I find this topic to be quite interesting to explore and, as I learned in Ukraine, often our experiences as a tourist are more akin to that of Disneyland than reality. A famous comic book villain once said, "Reality is often disappointing."To leave a comment or ask a question, go to: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com  This Week's Wine: Pianerosse - Nero di Troia - Puglia - $8 Correction:Apartment Price in Lviv: ~275 euro/month

Europe is more than just the border that you see on a map!Here, I talk about some of my experiences with learning just how different parts of the same country can be, from languages, to music, and more.I hope you enjoy this podcast and don't forget to leave a comment on the episode page at: https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/

This is a fun monologue about some of the differences that I find interesting, especially eating in America vs eating in Europe! From driving to eating to a culture of abundance, here I explore some of the differences between USA and Europe. I hope you enjoy :)

What it has been like to live in Europe during the Covid times and my journey through this mess.This episode starts with me in Belgrade, Serbia, where I had my first lockdown and then continues on down to Albania, where I am now.This week, I wanted to interview a local about Albanian culture and viewpoints, but, sadly, she is very ill with "flu-like" symptoms and so can't make it - hopefully, in a couple weeks, I can start to interview locals to get their perspectives on life and culture.

Here, I head East, taking a train from Paris through Germany and Austria and all the way down to Ljubljana, Slovenia for my first new adventure on this trip.I visited 3 cities in Slovenia (Ljubljana, Bled, and Maribor) and met many interesting people, tried new foods, went crazy in a hostel, had lots of fun in a hostel, and everything in-between.This was a good all around adventure and it felt great to go explore a new place :)I hope you enjoy this episode and feel free to ask me any questions at https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com

This episode is heavy on wining and dining my way through Paris and the importance of connections. Paris has a fun and interesting culture to it and here I cover some of the more fun aspects of this culture as I experienced it through my many visits there and my Parisian girlfriend.Make sure to watch the previous episode so you are all caught up with where I am in the travel adventure!Sorry about the speed of this episode - I got a little excited and talked really quickly and couldn't figure out how to slow it down afterward without the recording sounding like a robot. Next episode, I will have some rum before I record it and that should help slow the story down, I hope ;PIf you didn't understand anything that I said, go to my substack site at https://nofairytaletravels.substack.com/ and find the page for this episode and you can comment there and ask me anything!

Here I take a one-way flight to Paris and go on a date with the girl of my dreams!This adventure also includes my first ever meeting with an Australian abroad and oh that was as funny and crazy as you would never expect if you hadn't also met an Australian Miner on their break.I hope you enjoy the fun little adventure and the romantic story in this episode! :)

A little mini-adventure before the big one and the catalyst for my long-term travels and, yes, of course it involves a girl!This travel podcast goes from Rome to Florence to Paris and then to Boston and includes an analysis of what makes life, our experiences, and those that come via travel, so special.While traveling from Rome to Florence, seeing the sights, staying in the worst possible hostel, meeting the most amazing people, and then meeting that special person, this mini adventure made the big travel adventure possible, but it was never a guarantee. I had a lot of fun reliving these stories; I hope you enjoy this episode! :)

This is the introduction to my podcast series and here I try to give you a little taste of what to expect and my approach for this podcast, which should be fun and relaxing, with a bit of hilarity and some snarky commentary. :)   Podcast Description:  I've been 9 years living abroad, mostly in Europe and a little in Asia, and I have a lot of stories to tell about the places I've been, the people I've met, and the experiences I've had - and I hope to make it a fun and exciting journey for you, as it has been for me!  Grab a drink and join me as I relive my past adventures in all of their glory, ridiculousness, and sometimes harsh reality.