The Travelling Hive Podcast

Hard to believe all of this started with the two of us screwing around on our balcony overtop of a suspiciously still little bee on the patio table. What a wild ride it turned out to bee.

SPOILER ALERT - Listen to Zai Jian Taipei Pt 1 first, if you haven't already... In a flash our whirlwind, one-year tour around the world comes to an abrupt close when some tragic family news is shared with Chris. We bid adieu to the parallel reality where we explored the beautiful island and culture of Taiwan for the following 3 weeks, pay an abhorrent amount for rushed plane tickets home, and decompress abruptly without any safety stops.. Pause for nitrogen bubbles in the blood (that's a little scuba joke). Thank you Taiwan for all of the beauty, even just a taste was enough to tell us you would have made a beautiful home. Onward to Canada.

This week we really grab Taiwan by the tapioca pearls. Strap in for getting gritty in and around the city of Taipei. So many hidden gem night markets and neighborhoods, some Michelin-recognized street food, the spectacular Taipei 101 building, and of course, the birth of Bubble Tea. For those who are interested, Chris gets super deep into the history of Taiwan from a nuanced & multilateral perspective as only Chris can.. And for those who aren't interested, dui bu qi!! Let's ready for some Mandarin Immersion!

Taipei is an amazing blend of Chinese & Japanese cultures, with a proud democratic culture and amaaaazing food. We're posted up in Ximen district of Taipei (not to be confused with NEW Taipei City) and are immediately blown away by how comfortable & clean the city is. It's so cool to get a view of the history of Taiwan outside of the official international narrative, visiting the monument of Chiang Kai-shek, and enjoying dim-sum with our fantastic AirBnB host Brad (who fortuitously also has a degree in cuisine from Paris and runs his own tour company in Taipei ;). This is shaping up to be an amazing and unexpected experience. Ni hao Taiwan!

After a couple weeks of pure focus, we way overcompensate & knock our last week in Koh Lanta out of the park before jetting to Taipei. Keywords that start with S: Scuba Diving, (Drunk) Scots, Stand-up Paddleboard, Spirited Away, Snickers Adventure, S-tiny naked boy. Suffice to say it's been magical. Until next time!

After three months of straight training, Jess interviews Chris the morning after his premier Muay Thai fight in Williams Stadium, Koh Lanta. Chris recounts the moments leading up to the match in grueling detail, as he faced a local Thai fighter with his terrified wife watching on. This may well be as good as it gets out here in the world. We may have just reached peak bees, with one week left in paradise to make the most of it. Stay tuned for the riveting conclusion of this earth-shattering evening. Round One: Fight!

In this powerful retrospective we reflect on the interplay of expectation, privilege and empathy. They say you learn more from your losses in life than your wins. True to form, after a rocky start Philippines turned out to be the place where we had the most to gain from the poise and wisdom of the community we stumbled upon. Sorry in advance for the audio quality, it took a lot of tweaking to get it to where it is. Sometimes the greatest lessons are the hardest to hear ;) Salamat, Siargao.

Join us in the setting of 2017's Siargao, a love story about a hidden surfing paradise. We spill the tea on one of Southeast Asia's most storied surf spots with our lovely local guide Nina, before jetting off to (secret location redacted)!

Joined by our amazing and talented local host & guide to Philippine culture, this evening is one we'll remember forever. After a few tough weeks in Philippines, we finally find our community and have one hell of a big night out on the town. Amazing new dishes, hidden speakeasies, and one rocking outdoor club in torrential rain with a few streaking Brits among a sea of generic white faces. Thank you Nina!

DISCLAIMER: The views in this episode are those of our former selves and in no way represent the views of our current selves. Also, please forgive the sound quality, we recorded in a full coffee shop and if you put a seashell up to your ear you can hear a bit of glorious 90s rock. You're welcome. We kick off our month on the only island in the Philippines that's in wet season and tut tut, it sure does look like rain. But this is also the surf capital of the Philippines, a glorious island full of natural features and beauty, and we're here for it. Just as soon as we get over the massive typhoon that destroyed all civilization. Silly old bear.

Come ring in the Year of the Rabbit with a long-awaited food adventure across beautiful SINGAPOOOOORE! I've been telling Jess about this place since I visited in 2017 and we finally have a chance to explore it together at the most magical time of year. From the Marina Bay Sands, to the Avatar trees or whatever, to amazing food, amazing food, and amazing food. This is the first city in the world we could both imagine building a future in over Vancouver, which is really saying something. Come witness the beautiful harmony between east and west that the world needs right now. One delicious bite at a time.

2 much excitement for one episode! Straddling Thailand and Singapore (with a seamless mid-episode transition) your exhausted but fulfilled bees reflect on their last week in Koh Lanta. And it was an action packed adventure from start to finish. We say goodbye to all of our new friends, get a crash course in Thai medicine, and with no small contribution from Jess earning her scooter level intermediate we all live happily ever after! Thailand achievement unlocked. See you soon, Paradise.

Part one of what turned out to be a two-part wrap-up is chock full.. (chalk full? wtf...) of living in the moment, from swimming through a pirate cave and touching profound humanity to watching someone butcher Pink Floyd and getting molested by a 12 year old.. We can't make this stuff up. Catch us next time for part deuce where we cover our last days in tropical utopia. Peas~

Get ready for a healthy dose of nirvana in the heart of tropical Thailand, as close to Neverland as you could possibly encounter on earth. It has been a week full of magic, adventure, friendship and a lot of peace, spending the holidays in that place between sleep and awake, that place where you can still remember your dreams. We watched a fire-show, finally saw a live Muay Thai match, and built our own little tropical escape on New Year's Eve. My only unmet happy thought is getting my caffeine dosage just right. That would be effing bangarang.

It's Christmas Eve in gorgeous Koh Lanta, and all through the house, Chris is groaning about his brittle ankles from Muay Thai! We make some new friends, we get ready for three weeks of "straight" partying, and Jess gets her scooter level Beginner. A beautiful end to what has been an incredible calendar year. What a ride it has been.

Sawasdee krup! After 8 months of searching, your traveling bees have found the promised land. It's like Jurassic Park had a love-child with The Garden of Eden and that child turned out to be Tommy Chong. That's Koh Lanta. So glad we decided to forgo the run around all over the damn country and instead just plant ourselves in what has turned out be the closest place to paradise we have found in the whole world. Get ready for 6 straight weeks of good food, fun & freedom.. and Jean Claude van Damme quotes. Let's get it on!

As a storied destination for travelers, I've got to say Cambodia left us with a mixed impression. Incredible historical sites & significance juxtaposed with a pretty bleak reality for the locals serving the booming tourism industry. Definitely a profound experience, no matter which way you slice it. Leahaey Cambodia, and good luck. Next stop, Thailand!

Move over Lara Croft, get ready for the Tomb Raider reboot.. this time with more bees. In the heart of Phnom Penh, Chris and Jess, are drawn into a world of danger and intrigue. As they journey north to Siem Reap, they are pursued by shadowy figures with their own agendas. Despite the scorching heat, Chris and Jess refuse to back down, determined to uncover the truth. As they navigate the treacherous landscape of Cambodia, they are joined by a diverse group of allies, each with their own secrets to hide. From the bustling streets of the city to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Chris and Jess fight to stay one step ahead of their enemies. But in the end, their bravery and resilience pay off, as they retire to a life of luxury with a lavish three-hour, eight course meal. As the sun rises over the majestic Angkor Wat, Chris and Jess can finally rest easy, knowing that they have saved the day and thwarted the forces of evil. (Credit to ChatGPT for helping with the script rewrite - in the voice of a James Bond trailer ;)

We've crossed the great divide into Cambodia; the land of the Khmer Rouge, Angkor Wat and what appears to be a bizarre purgatory for all the lost traveling souls of the world. Join our noble adventurers as they venture through the upside-down-yesterday seeking a thread of spark (isn't that called a fuse?) to lead them back into the present. With the help of a benevolent Canadian spirit who manifests from the aether and in spite of some ungodly ATM fees, they may just persevere. Welcome to the heart of darkness.

Moving around literally once every 2.5 days on average for a full month (that's about 12 different sleeping locations) is a lot, and now it's time to enjoy our last Vietnamese stop, the culinary and cultural heart of Saigon! AKA Ho Chi Minh City, but not if you're basically local.. like we obviously are at this point. We wrap up our secret agent sleeper thread with an exciting clandestine rendezvous with our Saigon contact, and go on one hell of an epic food journey t'boot. Also, since great things come in threes, here's the link to the Hanoi newspaper article featuring your two favorite Travelling Bees! Weeeee're kind of a big deal in Vietnam. https://m.thanhnien.vn/du-khach-nuoc-ngoai-van-keo-den-pho-ca-phe-duong-tau-ha-noi-post1514174.html

After 30,000+ km, some 12 countries, and god knows how many cities, we've finally glimpsed the promise of what we set out to do. Reflect on the truths of the world outside of our own cultural context. So strap in, buckle up, and pour a great big coffee.. because we're about to get metaphysical in this mother. And neither art nor culture may be the same again. This is the real essence of Coffee Mornings with Bees.

There's a man who leads a life of danger-r. To everyone he meets he stays a stranger-r. With every move he makes, another chance he takes. Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow-w. Secret.. Agent Bees. Secret.. Agent Bees. This message will self destruct in 30 seconds. -Mr. F

Welcome to Paradiiiiiise!!! Or honestly, as close as you're going to get to it on Earth. We finish off our tour in northern Vietnam with a luxury cruise through the storied islands of Ha Long Bay, and they live up to their reputation for beauty, luxury, and island. Join Jess as she drinks snake wine, Chris having to sit through the happy birthday song in front of a room full of 50 strangers, and generally just the most comfortable experience of our entire trip to date. Definitely one for the books.

Your travel savvy bees finally face the statistical music at the airport in Hanoi. But we don't let this first impression get us down, on to the most fantastic waterfall in all of Asia, on the border between Vietnam and China - Ban Gioc Waterfall! All in all Vietnam has been an incredible journey so far, and we're excited that our story begins at the northern tippy-top, before making our way south down the 2,000km of coast-line toward Ho Chi Minh City (that's Saigon for those of you, like me, who've seen too many Vietnam movies). One egg coffee to go please!

Another episode edited by the ever-elusive Jess! As we ventured through the winding Northern roads of Vietnam, two bees wrap-up Indonesia by talking about the important things - Chris' overwhelming humility that would make an orphan cry, how to properly share/eat mango popsicles with your spouse, and of course - chickens. We'll be back, Bali. That's a promise.

WARNING: EXTREME OFFROAD SCOOTING! (skrrt skrrt) When we visited the picturesque island of Nusa Penida, just off Bali, we had no idea it would be the culmination of all our Indonesian scooter training. And we made our Sensei proud, bringing glory to our dojo. If only we could learn to fly in the rain. This is our last big day in Bali before jetting off to our next big adventure, chasing Anthony Bourdain through Vietnam. One for the books, for sure.

The travelling hive goes on a fantastic adventure Under Da Sea in this dazzling exploration of A Whole New World where the fish invite us to Be Our Guest as long as... We Don't Talk About Bruno? Long story short, Jess and I get scuba certified in gorgeous Amed on the northeast coast of Bali. And honestly we learn as much about crisis management as we do about breathing underwater.. Coincidence? No spoilers! Super glad to get this under our belt though as we gear up for the next 6 months abroad in Southeast Asia!

Check out our Insta @thetravellinghive to see the photos! In this very special episode Jess & I are invited to a traditional Balinese wedding at the nearby village of Klungkung in Bali, and we crash it in traditionally overconfident North American style. Honestly, after our own wedding just in April of this year, it's so interesting to be the married couple witnessing a new pair cross that threshold themselves, into the long.. interminable.. ... forever... bliss that is marriage. I kid, six months traveling the world has been a pretty comfortable initiation so far :) Join us through the mayhem in My Big Fat Balinese Wedding... Crashers. Sempai berjumpa lagi!

Welcome to Bali! This place is a beautiful paradise, full of culture and incredible hospitality. We're staying at the wonderful Graha Madesimon in Batubulan, and we've had so much fun exploring our neighborhood and surrounding areas. After so long travelling and sharing our space, it's really nice to have a little spot to call our own for the month. Looking forward to many amazing adventures!

After some radio silence we're back online with the fury of a thousand dueling banjoes. Navigating from Beirut to Jakarta was our most intense travel day (slash night) since our first flight across the Atlantic to Italy. But the reward of lush, tropical forest, bustling commercial activity, and all the delicious street noodles you can eat almost makes it all seem worthwhile.. almost like... 10% of the way worthwhile. Seriously you guys this flight experience was trauma. Now after 36 hours in transit and 3 days in Indonesia's exciting capital city, Jakarta, we've finally made it to Beautiful Bali. Sun, sand, surf and sambal. Let's get er done.

This may not be India but Holy Cow. In this episode we cover everything from the natural wonders of the world, the Christian Crusades and how real life princes are little dicky bitches, to bringing new life into the world and punching sock-vendors on trains. No joke, we listened to this whole episode at 1.25x and we were absolutely in stitches. We might have to release an Alvin & the Chipmunks style Christmas album if this thing takes off. God knows we've got the sweet, sweet nuts for it.

This episode will tell you everything you need to know about the current state of Lebanon in 15 minutes, and comes to you as a gift from one political economics junkie to another. After two action packed weeks in Lebanon, including tours of all the historic sights in and around Beirut, countless informal interviews & discussions with Lebanese residents and expats, and a very timely escape the day before armed hijackings by depositors to withdraw their own funds resulted in internationally renowned bank closures, we felt it was only right to share what we've learned. We are your accidental journalists on the ground, and this is the Lebanese Financial Crisis for Dummies. Please enjoy.

After a game-time pivot, we decide to spend two weeks with Jess' best friend Sarah in the subtly beautiful country of Lebanon, on the far eastern shore of the Mediterranean. This is our first real experience in the Middle East (outside of a few days in Dubai), and the temperature outside Beirut is high (both meteorologically and politically). Luckily, we're swept up in the comfortable embrace of traditional family hospitality. Join our stable oasis in the Lebanese mountains for some sheesha, shenanigans and shout-outs. Yalla!

Welcome to an impromptu Croatia wrap up! On a 24-hour layover in Italy (Hello Naples Pizza) we review our final memories from seaside life on the beautiful Adriatic Sea coast. The friends we met here were family away from family, and our time in the Balkans filled an unknown unknown in my heart. Sincere thanks, my friends.

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In Split, Croatia, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit DetectHives. These are their stories.

After a long tour across Western Europe, we find our tubies exploring the exciting and storied Adriatic coastal town of Split, Croatia. Famous for yachting, a massive & well preserved Roman palace, and of course horny 20-somethings getting shitfaced and trying to bang anything that moves. But it's also where we found a new family of misfit travelers from around the globe and felt the most at home we have since Canada. Big love for Croatia and our whole Croatian family.. Nadia, Duje, Hugo, even Antea. Hvala Vam!

At long last we close the door on our whirlwind tour of Northwest Europe. No more quids, Guinnesses or lads for these bees for a while, that's for sure. We're joined by our travel companion for this leg, my very sweet mum, to recap & recount all of our highs and lows across the British Isles (and Ireland!)

In this episode we venture back to the land of Chris' forefathers, lush & drinky Ireland (North and South). This marks the end of our whirlwind tour of the United Kingdom (and the Republic of Ireland for those paying attention) and it definitely didn't disappoint. We saw the Giants' Causeway, made new friends, learned to appreciate Guinness, and other such basic and predictable tourist stuff! Get a load of this episode now before it's *Taken*!

Acgh! Scotland was a friggin doozie. We chase Chris' heritage to the northern tip of the British Isle and Jess goes full gangster over Banoffee Pie. Prison rules, bitch. Diabetic highland cattle, real life Diagon Alley, and scraping the side mirrors in Edinburgh on the wrong side of the road. Tilt one back with me dog, shite's about to get real.

At long last, we're joined by Mother for London part 2 and Liverpool! This is the first quarter of our whirlwind trip across the British Isles, where we cover Jolly Old England in a little more detail, encounter a (most likely) dead body in the tube, and go grave hunting for ancestors. Tally ho!

We were lucky enough to reconnect with a friend from Canada and get a gritty, ground-level impression of this international and historic city. What ensues is a brisk tour around London Town exposing the heart of English culture: busy markets, strong drinks & unintelligible accents. Let's get lost!

Join us as we wrap the game in France! You'll get the good, the bad, and the ugly on life abroad in the romantic capital of the world (spoiler alert, according to Jess the good, the bad, and the ugly are all food). This has been a tremendous experience that we'll never forget, thanks everyone for joining us. Au revoir, France, nous t'adorons.

In this epic saga, it's a race against time to scale a sealed fortress, to obtain a key and secure the sacred brioche without losing sight of their narrowing chance to escape the country. Chris & Jess will need to flex the entirety of their command of French culture they built up over a month in Lyon, and leverage every relationship they've built along the way to achieve the impossible. Finally, they must defeat the final and most threatening boss standing between them and their freedom: the French language itself. This is the wildest ride yet.

Our second and final day in Paris is a dream in the belle epoch, complete with classic cocktails, ancient patisseries and a journey to the empire of the dead. Beware the wild bees that roam these catacombs with teeth that won't stay closed and an insatiable appetite for authentic Parisian pastries!

Adventurous Jess gets her fill of medieval sausage while Chris takes his best shot at alienating an entire culture, starting with one very suss street busker playing the part of a wookie sniper from the future. So basically a little something for the whole family. Jokes aside, Old Lyon (Vieux Lyon) really was picturesque and charming, and it turns out one full day is just not enough of Paris. Gear up for Paris Part Une!

80 layers of buttery mastery rolled into a crescent, two cafes au lait, and a couple of bees waxing. This is France the way you always knew you never wanted! Just jesting, it's friggin sweet. Join their bohemian life in urban Lyon, the third largest city in France, as they navigate bakeries, language barriers, and of course a dusky loft to paint me like one of their French girls. C'est parfait!

A quick recap of our 30-odd days in the land of topless sunbathing and seafoody rice, so a little something for everybody. We discuss our highs, lows, laughs, cries, and of course, how the country could benefit from our advice if they would just shut up and listen for a second. I only wish we'd gotten into how ecstatic Jess was to build her very first sandcastle ever. But even as we bid the very warm Mediterranean waters farewell, we know it won't be long before we return. Nos vemos muy pronto, España!

Join us on a truly life-changing pilgrimage through a labyrinth of diverse neighborhoods of one of the most vibrant and creative cities in the world, on a crusade to find the Holy Grail of grilled cheese sandwiches, the Zapatilla sandwich at Bar Melo's. Do believe the hype. Prepare for a magical journey with a soundtrack of intellectual jazz. This is Madrid as it's meant to be experienced!

Part one of an experience so immersive we had to split it into two! In this episode we finally see El Chojin live, we visit the famous San Miguel market, and we prepare for our Tapas Crawl Extravaganza.

Navigating the urban jungle in Spain's (40 Degree Celcius!) capital city!

Your two favorite bees bumble their way through a skillet of traditional paella and a jug of exquisite sangria in the historic city of Valencia. Who knew a little red wine and some artfully balanced saffron & seafood would reveal the meaning of life? Chao Gringo!